US Patent 7309168 Optical fiber cable

An optical fiber cable, comprising a cable main unit with an optical fiber covered by a sheath and terminal units mounted on end portions of the cable main unit, wherein each of the terminal units has a transparent cover member with a refractive index approximately equal to the optical fiber, the cover member of at least one of the terminal units and the optical fiber are welded under such condition that the cover member is brought closer to or into contact with the optical fiber, and the cover member and the optical fiber are integrated with each other.