Patent ID: 7382948

Claim:
An optical switch for switching combinations of optical paths between a plurality of optical fibers, the optical switch comprising: a device body with at least three optical fibers extending out therefrom; and a switching optical block housed in the device body so as to be optically coupled to the respective optical fibers, the optical block comprising: an integrally formed lens block having one surface side to place the optical fibers on, and comprising three integrally formed collimating lenses positioned side by side in the device body, each collimating lens having a same focal length and configured to position the optical axis of the optical fibers in a same plane, two of the collimating lens having parallel optical axes and the optical axis of the third collimating lens being skewed with respect to the optical axes of the two collimating lenses; a prism which is spaced from the lens block on the other surface side of the lens block such that the direction of travel of light incident from one of the optical fibers through the collimating lens is changed, by the prism, to be directed toward a further optical fiber; a switching mirror insertable into and removable from between the lens block and the prism; and an actuator for driving the mirror, wherein the respective optical fibers extend from the one surface side of the device body, and optically coupled surfaces of the respective optical fibers are positioned on the respective focal points of the collimating lenses.