JP3164384B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector used for optically connecting a plurality of optical fibers and switching between optically connected optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of optical fibers are attached to ends thereof.
By abutting each other at the butting end surfaces, the corresponding optical fibers are optically connected to each other, and as an optical switch for switching the optical fibers optically connected by moving one optical connector with respect to the other optical connector by a predetermined amount, The one shown in FIG. 9 is known.

[0003] The optical switch 1 has a fixed connector 2 and a movable connector 3. The fixed connector 2 is attached to the end of the tape fiber 4 in which the plurality of optical fibers 4a are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the end faces of the plurality of optical fibers 4a are exposed at the butt end face 2a and are exposed at the butt end face 2a. Guide pins 2b, 2b are implanted on both sides of the plurality of optical fibers 4a.

[0004] A movable connector 3 is attached to an end of a tape fiber 5 having the same configuration, and a plurality of optical fibers 5 are mounted.
On both sides of a, pin holes 3b, 3b opening in the butted end face 3a where the optical fibers 5a are exposed are formed.
The pin holes 3b, 3b are formed as elongated holes longer in the width direction by an integral multiple of the arrangement pitch of the optical fibers 4a, 5a than the diameter of the guide pins 2b, 2b.

In the optical switch 1, the connectors 2 and 3 are butted at the butting end surfaces 2a and 3a, and the guide pins 2b are inserted into the corresponding pin holes 3b to position the connectors 2 and 3 so that each of the connectors 2 and 3 is positioned. The optical fiber 4a is optically connected to each corresponding optical fiber 5a. And the pin holes 3b, 3
When the movable connector 3 is pressed in the direction shown by the arrow A or B in the figure, the movable connector 3 is guided by the inserted guide pins 2b, 2b, and is brought into contact with the butted end face 2a of the fixed connector 2 because b is a long hole. The optical fibers 4a and 5a which move along and are optically connected to each other are switched.

[0006]

By the way, in the optical switch 1, if there is a gap between the butted end faces 2a and 3a, that is, if air exists, the connection loss of the optical signal transmitted due to the difference in the refractive index increases. . Therefore, both connectors 2,
3 may be immersed in a refractive index matching agent having a refractive index similar to the core (not shown) of each of the optical fibers 4a and 5a.

[0007] However, when switching the optical connector, bubbles may be entrained in the refractive index matching agent, or gas dissolved in the refractive index matching agent may be vaporized as bubbles. If such bubbles penetrate between the mating end faces of the two optical connectors and adhere to the end faces of the optical fibers, a sudden loss occurs in which the level of the transmitted optical signal suddenly drops, and stable optical communication is performed. There was a problem that was hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is intended to reduce bubbles generated by switching of an optical connector immersed in a refractive index matching agent from a butt end face of an optical connector which is abutted with each other. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector which is quickly discharged and prevented from staying in this portion.

[0009]

According to the present invention for achieving the above object, SUMMARY OF], a plurality of optical fiber end surface is exposed, the refractive index matching the optical connector have a butt end surface which is polished end face
The optical fibers are immersed in an agent and the abutting end faces in the refractive index matching agent are abutted against the abutting end faces of the other optical connectors, so that the corresponding optical fibers are optically connected to each other. In an optical connector for switching an optical path by moving the optical connector by a distance, a recess is formed on at least one of an end surface of the butting end surface where the optical fiber is exposed or a peripheral region thereof.

[0010]

The optical connector is immersed in the refractive index matching agent with the butting end faces of the optical connector being butted with other optical connectors. When the optical connector is switched, bubbles are generated and may enter between the butting end faces. is there. At this time, a concave portion is formed on the butt end surface of the optical connector, and the end face interval formed between the butted optical connectors is extended by the concave portion. For this reason, the flow of the refractive index matching agent is improved, and the bubbles are quickly discharged to the outside without staying between the butted end faces of the butted optical connectors.

[0011]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
It will be described in detail based on. In the following description of each embodiment, the optical connector is used in a state of being immersed in a refractive index matching agent. The optical connector 10 is, as shown in FIG.
The distal end side of the tape fiber 12 is fixed to a substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body 11. The main body 11 has a step 11a at the rear.
In addition, elongated pin holes 11b, 11b are formed on both sides in the width direction.
Are formed through the main body 11, respectively, and a stepped portion 11 a
The tape fiber 12 extends from the rear part of the tape fiber. Body 1
As shown, a groove-like concave portion 11d is formed at the center of the butting end surface 11c of the front surface, and the end surface of each optical fiber 12a constituting the tape fiber 12 is exposed in the concave portion 11d at a predetermined arrangement pitch. The end face is polished.

The concave portion 11d is for expanding the interval between the end faces formed between the optical connector 10 and a mating optical connector (not shown) with which the optical connector 10 is brought into contact. As a result, when the optical connector 10 abuts against another optical connector, the recess 1
As a result of the increase in the end face interval in 1d, the flowability of the refractive index matching agent is improved, and even if bubbles accompanying the switching of the optical connector 10 enter between the butt end faces, they are quickly discharged to the outside without staying in this part. You.

Therefore, even if air bubbles enter between the butt end surfaces in accordance with the switching of the optical connector, the air bubbles do not adhere to any one of the end surfaces of the plurality of optical fibers 12a, and the occurrence of sudden loss is prevented. Can be prevented. Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following modified examples, portions having the same configuration as that of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawing as those in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the optical connector 20 is provided with a concave groove
d is formed. This concave groove 21 d is
1c, the end face of each optical fiber 22a and the pin hole 2
It is formed in the direction of arrangement of the plurality of optical fibers 22a through 1b and 21b, and extends to both side surfaces of the main body 21.

Therefore, in the optical connector 20,
When the optical connector is butted with another optical connector, the concave groove 21d makes it easier for the refractive index matching agent to flow between the butt end faces in the width direction. As a result, even if air bubbles enter between the butt end faces, the efficiency does not stay in this portion. Well discharged to the outside. The optical connector 30 shown in FIG. 3 has groove-shaped concave portions 31d, 31d formed on both sides of a butt end surface 31c.

The recesses 31d, 31d are provided with abutting end faces 31c.
The plurality of optical fibers 32a are formed in the arrangement direction of the plurality of optical fibers 32a on both sides of the exposed end faces of the plurality of optical fibers 22a. In this optical connector 30, when the optical connector 30 collides with another optical connector, the flow of the refractive index matching agent in the concave portions 31d and 31d is good. Therefore, even if air bubbles enter between the butting end surfaces, the air bubbles are dragged by the movement when switching the optical connector 30, and are discharged to one of the concave portions 31d, 31d without staying between the butting end surfaces. It does not adhere to the exposed end face of the fiber 22a.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the optical connector 40 includes a fixed block 41, sandwiching blocks 42 and 43,
A holding block 44 and adapters 45 and 46 are provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the fixed block 41 has inverted trapezoidal trapezoidal grooves 41a, 41a formed on both sides in the width direction, and the optical connector 40 is connected to another optical connector (not shown) in the trapezoidal grooves 41a, 41a. When the optical connector 40
Guide pins 47, 47 (one of which is not shown) for restricting the movement in the width direction are inserted. Also, the fixed block 41
Is that the tip side of the tape fiber 48 is trapezoidal groove 41a, 4
The end face of each optical fiber 48a is exposed at the fixed portion 41b in the middle of 1a, and is integrally molded. The fixed block 41 is inserted into the holding groove 44a of the holding block 44.

The holding blocks 42 and 43 have a holding portion 44a.
The holding block 44 holds the fixed block 41 inserted in the holding block 44, and the holding groove 44 of the holding block 44
(a) The fixing block 41 is fixed to the holding block 44 by being inserted into the insertion grooves 44b and 44c formed on the upper part, respectively, as shown in FIG. The holding block 44 is a slightly rectangular block having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has the holding groove 44a long in the width direction and the insertion grooves 44b and 44c formed on the holding groove 44a as described above.

The adapters 45 and 46 are thin plate-shaped members. As shown in FIG.
1b, and the other adapter 46 is longer than the adapter 45 and is attached to the lower part of the fixing portion 41b. Thereby, the adapters 45 and 46 are connected to the plurality of optical fibers 4.
A recess (not shown) is formed on the front surface of the connector 40 where the connector 8a is exposed.
To form

Therefore, in the optical connector 40,
When the guide pins 47 inserted into the trapezoidal grooves 41a butt against other optical connectors, the flow of the refractive index matching agent in this portion is improved as in the above-described embodiments,
Even if bubbles enter between the butt end surfaces, they are efficiently discharged to the outside without staying in this portion. As described above, when the concave portion is formed in the mating end surface of the optical connector using the adapter, the conventional optical connector can be used as it is without special processing. For example, the optical connector 50 shown in FIG. 7 shows a case in which the optical connector 50 is applied to the conventional optical connector 1. The main body 51 is attached to the tip of a tape fiber 52, and the adapter 53 , 54, a groove-shaped recess (not shown) is formed along the exposed end faces of the plurality of optical fibers 52 exposed on the butted end face 51c.

Here, a modification of the second embodiment in which the fixing block 41 is provided with a concave groove will be described with reference to FIG. As shown, the fixed block 55 has inverted trapezoidal trapezoidal grooves 55a and 55 through which guide pins (not shown) are inserted on both sides in the width direction.
a, a concave portion 55b is provided at the center on the front surface of the intermediate portion of the trapezoidal grooves 55a, 55a, and the concave portion 55b
A concave groove 55c is formed in the width direction from. In the fixed block 55, the tip side of the tape fiber 56 is integrally molded at the center between the trapezoidal grooves 55a, 55a, and the end faces of the optical fibers 56a constituting the tape fiber 56 are arranged in a predetermined manner in the concave portion 55b. Exposed at the pitch,
The end face is polished.

Therefore, in the optical connector using the fixed block 55, when the optical connector is brought into abutment with another optical connector, the refractive index matching agent is easily circulated in the width direction between the abutting end faces by the concave portion 55b and the concave groove 55c. Even if air bubbles enter between the butt end surfaces, they are efficiently discharged to the outside without staying in this portion. The material of the optical connector of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it meets the above-mentioned object. For example, a metal material or a non-metal material such as ceramics, glass or synthetic resin can be used.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the shape of the pin hole enabling the movement of the optical connector is a long hole or a trapezoidal shape is described. However, the shape is not limited to the pin hole. The connector is
For example, a shape such as a V-groove may be used as long as it can be moved by an integral multiple of the arrangement pitch of the optical fibers. Further, in the moving direction when switching the optical connector, in each of the above embodiments,
Although the case of moving along the arrangement direction of the plurality of optical fibers has been described, it is needless to say that the movement may be performed in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of optical fibers.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the optical connector of the present invention, a concave portion is formed on at least one of the end surface where the optical fiber is exposed, or the peripheral region thereof, of the abutting end surface. The flowability of the refractive index matching agent is improved, and the bubbles generated due to the switching of the optical connector,
The optical connector can be quickly discharged from between the butting end faces of the optical connectors that are butted with each other, and can be prevented from staying in the corresponding portions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a concave portion is formed on a butt end surface.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an optical connector according to a modification of the first embodiment, in which a concave groove is formed in a butt end face.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an optical connector in which a concave portion is formed on both sides of a butt end surface, showing still another modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an optical connector for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an adapter is attached to a butt end face to form a concave portion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fixed block constituting the optical connector.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the optical connector before an adapter is attached.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a modification of the second embodiment and showing an optical connector in which an adapter is attached to a conventional optical connector.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a further modification of the second embodiment, in which a fixing block provided with a concave groove is enlarged.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a switching state of a conventional optical switch having a fixed connector and a movable connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Optical connector 11, 21, 31, 51 Main body 11c, 21c, 31c, 51c Butt end surface 11d, 31d Recess 21d Recess (recess)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Shigematsu 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshihiko Ota 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Inside the company (72) Inventor Yasuo Uemura 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinji Nagasawa 1-6-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Hiroshi Miyazaki 5-23-8, Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Shoden Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-55-156903 (JP, A) JP-A-4-281413 (JP, A) ) Patent 2895515 (JP, B2) Patent 2737800 (JP, B2) Patent 2766630 (JP, B2) Patent 2842695 (JP, B2) ELECTRONICS LETTE RS, VOL. 12 (15) (1976), p. 388 (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/24-6/40 G02B 26/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of optical fiber end faces are exposed, the refractive index matching agent optical connector have a butt end surface which is polished end face
By immersing the optical fibers in a refractive index matching agent and abutting the butt end face with the butt end face of another optical connector, the corresponding optical fibers are optically connected to each other, and the optical fibers are arranged along the butt end face by a predetermined pitch. In the optical connector that switches the optical path by moving only the butt end face,
An optical connector, wherein a concave portion is formed on at least one of an end surface where the optical fiber is exposed or a peripheral region thereof.