Stamped precision lightguide interconnect centering element

Claim 1

A splice element for use in butt splicing two optical fibers, said element being formed from a thin sheet of deformable material having opposite surfaces and a pair of parallel grooves formed in one surface, two of the walls defining said grooves form a rib having equal converging sides and a first fiber supporting surface therebetween, the other two side walls forming the grooves are separated at their base portions from said two of the walls by land areas at which said sheet is folded, and said other two side walls extend from said land areas to said one surface of said sheet and include surface areas defining two additional fiber supporting surfaces which are disposed in an angular relationship to each other and with said first fiber supporting surface of said rib which surfaces collectively define an optical fiber passageway larger than the dimensions of a fiber when said sheet is folded to receive and align two opposed fiber ends at the axis of said passageway, and the sides of said sheet parallel to said grooves form legs which diverge from each other with the sheet folded and serve to draw the supporting surfaces toward one another upon movement of the edges of the legs toward one another to engage two said fiber ends and clamp them in axially aligned position.