Patent ID: 6968099

Claim:
An optical switch for switching optical signals between a plurality of input and output optical fibers, comprising: a holder; a first stopper; a second stopper; a driver; at least one input collimator aligning with the input fibers and collimating the input light; at least one output collimator aligning with the output fibers and collimating the output light; and a switching element assembled with the holder and having an optical component displaceable between a first and a second positions and a rotating mechanism which rotationally moves the optical component between the first stopper (corresponding to the first position) and the second stopper (corresponding to the second position); whereby, when the switching element is in the first position, the optical component is in optical paths from the input collimators to the output collimators, and light beams from the input fibers transmit sequentially through the input collimators, the optical component, the output collimators, and then to the output fibers; and when the switching element is in the second position, the optical component is out of the optical paths, and light beams from the input fibers transmit through the input collimators, the output collimators, and to the output fibers without being bent or deflected by the optical component, to transmit to different output fibers.