Connector for optical fibers

Claim 1

A connector comprising: (a) first and second sleeves each having a terminal region provided with a conical outer surface tapering toward a flat end face, the sleeves placed end to end with said flat end faces in contacting relation; (b) a housing having a recess therein holding the first and second sleeves; (c) at least three balls engaging the conical outer surfaces of the first and second sleeves; (d) a plurality of first springs in the housing recess, each first spring urging a ball radially inward; and, (e) first and second coil springs urging the first and second sleeves against each other, wherein: (i) the ratio having a numerator equal to the force exerted by a coil spring and a denominator equal to the force exerted by a first spring is equal to n (sin α)(cos α), where n is the number of balls and α is the included angle of the conical outer surfaces; and (ii) the tangent of the included angle of the conical outer surfaces is less than {1÷[μ (n-1)]}, where μ is the coefficient of static friction of the flat end faces and n is the number of balls.