Patent ID: 7775725

Claim:
An optical connector having a front and rear orientation and comprising: a housing; an outer sleeve at least partially contained by said housing; a first inner sleeve having an inside diameter and disposed at least partially in said outer sleeve; a ferrule having a first outside diameter just slightly less than said inside diameter and disposed at least partially in said first inner sleeve such that said ferrule is axially aligned in said inner sleeve; a lens having a second outside diameter about the same as said first outside diameter and disposed at least partially in said first inner sleeve in front of said ferrule such that said lens is axially aligned in said inner sleeve independent of said ferrule, thus said ferrule and said lens are held in optical alignment by said first inner sleeve; and wherein a forward end of said outer sleeve extends beyond said first inner sleeve to receive a second inner sleeve of a mating structure, said first and second inner sleeves having the same diameter which is just slightly less than the inside diameter of said outer sleeve such that said first and second inner sleeves are aligned within said outer sleeve.