| Abstract: | An optical switch reliably maintains its on or off state even when
subjected to environments where the switch is bumped or otherwise moved.
In addition, the optical switch maintains its on or off state
indefinitely without requiring external power. External power is used
only to transition the switch from one state to the other. The optical
switch is configured with a fixed optical fiber and a movable optical
fiber. The movable optical fiber is guided by various actuators in
conjunction with a latching mechanism that configure the switch in one
position that corresponds to the on state and in another position that
corresponds to the off state. |