JP3515422B2 - Optical connector tool - 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 tool for pulling out an optical connector from a female housing such as an optical connector adapter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a so-called MU type optical connector (Miniature-Unit cou) established in JIS C 5983.
When multiple optical connectors (optical connector plugs) are densely connected to a narrow area, such as the optical connector adapter of plimg optical fiber connector, a dedicated tool is provided to pull out the desired optical connector. There is. MU
The conventional tool applied to the optical connector has a complicated structure and is unsatisfactory in terms of cost and operability. Therefore, simplification of the structure, cost reduction, and improvement of operability have been demanded. On the other hand, tools applied to so-called SC2 type optical connectors (SC type optical connector: Single fiber Coupling optica
As a tool applied to the l fiber connector, for example, a tool shown in FIG. 11 is provided. Figure 11
, Reference numeral 1 is an optical connector tool, 2 is a grip,
3 is a tool body, and 4 is an engaging movable piece. A pair of support parts 5 are projected from the tool body 3, and further, insertion pieces 6 are respectively projected from the tips of these support parts 5. The engagement movable piece 4 is rotatably attached to a pivot 7 provided on both support portions 5. For example, when an operator manually operates the rear end portions 4a of both the engaging movable pieces 4 near the grip 2 to approach each other, the engaging movable pieces 4 rotate about the pivot 7, and When the tip portions 4b located in the vicinity of the insertion piece 6 are opened and the hand is released, the urging force of the spring 8 pushes between the rear end portions 4a of the engagement movable pieces 4 and, conversely, the tip portions. 4b approach each other. The engaging movable piece distal end portion 4b is brought into contact with the outside of the insertion piece 6 to restrict movement in the directions toward each other. Then, the claw 4c projecting from the engaging movable piece tip 4b passes through the opening 6a formed in the insertion piece 6 and projects into the connector storage groove 9 between both insertion pieces 6.

When both plug-in pieces 6 are inserted along both sides of the target optical connector 10 (here, the optical connector plug of the SC2 type optical connector), the protruding wall 6b at the tip of the plug-in piece 6 is used. , The optical connector 1 of the claw (not shown) on the female housing 12 (here, the optical connector adapter) side
The engagement with 0 is released. After the optical connector 10 is housed in the connector housing groove 9, the pawl 4c is projected into the connector housing groove 9 from the opening 6a by the rotation of the engaging movable piece 4, and the pawl 4c is engaged with the optical connector 10. A portion (not shown, engaging recess, etc.) enters and engages. In this state,
When the optical connector tool 1 is pulled, the female housing 12
It is possible to pull out the optical connector 10 plugged into the.

[0004]

By the way, when a plurality of female side housings 12 are gathered at one place, the optical fibers 14 (mainly the optical fibers 14 drawn out from the optical connectors 10 inserted into these female side housings 12 are mainly. Since the optical cords are densely packed in the vicinity of the female housing 12, the optical connector 10 to be pulled out becomes difficult to see, and there is a problem that the optical connector 10 not to be pulled out is apt to be pulled out by mistake. There is a demand to mount the female side housing 12 as densely as possible, and if the more female side housings 12 are mounted at high density, the above problem becomes more remarkable. Also, the optical connector 10 to be pulled out
When scraping the optical fiber 14 near the optical connector 10 in order to confirm the position of the tip of the insertion piece 6 of the tool 1 or the tool 1, for example, a sharp bend that affects the optical characteristics is applied to the optical fiber 1.
There is also a problem that the optical fiber 14 is likely to be damaged due to being given to the optical fiber 4. Therefore, in order to apply the tool 1 to an optical connector, such as an MU type optical connector, which has a higher density than the SC2 type optical connector, it is necessary to overcome the above problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the tip of the insertion piece can be easily positioned with respect to the optical connector inserted into the female housing by the positioning jig, and the optical connector can be pulled out. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector tool capable of efficiently performing the above.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an optical connector is provided.
An optical connector tool for pulling out an optical connector from a female side housing to which is connected, the pair of insertion pieces being provided in a protruding state from the tool body and inserted on both sides of the optical connector inserted into the female side housing. And a pair of engagements that are provided along the respective insertion pieces and that have claws protruding from the distal end that can be engaged with the engagement portions of the optical connector side portions that are housed between the insertion pieces. Movable piece and the side part of the tool body or the insertion piece
Is attached to the side portion of the insertion piece and is brought into contact with the female housing at a position displaced from the insertion piece so that the tip end of the insertion piece.
To the optical connector inserted in the female housing
A tool for an optical connector, comprising a positioning jig provided with a contact piece for positioning with respect to the optical connector, is a means for solving the above problems. According to this optical connector tool, the contact piece of the positioning jig is brought into contact with the female housing to position the positioning jig. It can be easily positioned with respect to the optical connector inserted in the side housing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical connector tool according to the first aspect, the positioning jig has positioning means for positioning the tool body or the insertion piece. It is characterized in that a plurality of insert pieces are arranged in multiple stages in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction from the tool body. According to this optical connector tool, when the positioning means is selected and the contact piece of the positioning jig attached to the tool is brought into contact with the female housing, the tip of the insertion piece of the tool is easily attached to the female housing. Can be positioned. When the positioning means is changed, the positioning position of the tip of the insertion piece with respect to the female housing is changed. This allows the tips of the insertion pieces to be selectively positioned with respect to the optical connectors inserted in the female housing with which the abutment pieces have abutted, or to be selected from a plurality of female housings that have been assembled. It is possible to position the tip of the insert piece.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optical connector tool according to the first aspect, the positioning jig is a slide supporting means, and the positioning jig is provided with respect to the tool body or the insertion piece. It is characterized in that it is slidable in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction from the tool main body, and is attached to the tool main body or the insertion piece by an attaching means. By fixing the positioning jig, which is slid by the slide support means, to the tool body or the insertion piece by using the mounting means, the mounting position of the positioning jig to the tool can be freely selected. At the same time as positioning the positioning jig with respect to, the tip of the insertion piece can be positioned with respect to the female housing. By selecting the mounting position of the positioning jig with respect to the tool body or the insertion piece by the slide movement by the slide support means, the positioning position of the insertion piece tip with respect to the female housing is selected. Thereby, for example, the tip of the inserting piece is selectively positioned with respect to the optical connector inserted in the female housing with which the abutting piece abuts, or one selected from the plurality of female housings assembled. It is possible to position the tip of the insertion piece and so on.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an optical connector tool of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1A, 1B to 8A, 8B show an optical connector tool 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an optical connector tool 20.
FIG. 1 (b) is a sectional view showing the vicinity of the engaging piece 38, and FIG. 2 is a plan view. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 11 are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description. The optical connector 10 is an optical connector plug of an MU type optical connector, and the female housing is an optical connector adapter.

1 (a), 1 (b) and FIG.
The optical connector tool 20 has a pair of insertion pieces provided in a protruding state from the tool main body 22 to which a grip 21 is fixed and the pair of support portions 23 protruding from the tool main body 22 in the protruding direction. 24, and a pair of engaging movable pieces 26 that are arranged along each of the insertion pieces 24 and have the claws 25 protruding from the tip end portion 26a. Both of the engaging movable pieces 26 are in the shape of an elongated pin, the central portion thereof is rotatably supported by a pivot 27 as a movable supporting portion, and the tip portions 26a thereof can be opened and closed. The tip end portion 26a of each engaging movable piece 26 is movable into and out of the connector storage groove 29 between the two insertion pieces 24 via the storage groove 28 formed in the insertion piece 24.

The movable support portion is not limited to the pivot 27, and any movable support portion can be used as long as it can move the pair of engaging movable piece tips 26a toward and away from each other. The movable movable pieces are supported parallel to each other while being supported so as to be variable in separation distance, and both engaging movable pieces are slidably supported so as to be slidable.
Various configurations can be adopted, such as a configuration in which 5 can appear and disappear. As the storage groove formed in the insertion piece, a plate-shaped insertion piece 2
The storage groove 28 is not limited to the storage groove 28 opened in the central portion of 4, and various configurations such as a storage groove formed by cutting out a part of the insertion piece 24 in the surface direction from the outside can be adopted.

A positioning jig 32 for positioning the tips of the two insertion pieces 24 with respect to the female housing 12 is attached to the central portion of the one insertion piece 24 in the protruding direction from the tool body 22. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the positioning jig 32. In FIG. 3, the positioning jig 32 is composed of a plate-shaped jig main body 34 having a positioning contact piece 33 that is in contact with the female housing 12 and protrudes from one side, and the jig. And a plate-like lock piece 35 that is superposed on the main body 34.

The jig main body 34 is provided with holes 36 as positioning means for positioning with respect to the insertion piece 24 in a multi-step manner in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the insertion piece 24 from the tool main body 22. The plurality of lock pieces 3 are arranged in a row and opened.
5 also has a hole 37 opened at a position corresponding to the hole 36.
Are arranged in multiple stages. This hole 37 also cooperates with the hole 36 to function as a positioning means for positioning the positioning jig 32 with respect to the insertion piece 24. Figure 4 (b)
As shown in FIG. 3, the hole 36 includes a through hole 36a through which the engaging piece 38 (see FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2) protruding from the insertion piece 24 can penetrate, and the through hole 36a. It has a T-shape with a small groove 36b cut from one side to the outside. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the hole 37 also has a cross shape having a through hole 37a through which the engaging piece 38 can penetrate and a small groove 37b cut out from one side portion of the through hole 37a to the outside. ing. If the cutting directions of the small grooves 36b, 37b from the holes 36, 37 are opposite to each other in the direction along the insertion piece 24, the insertion piece 24 front end side or the rear end facing the insertion piece 24 front end. Either side (the tool body 22 side) may be used. In this embodiment, the small groove 36b of the hole 36 is cut toward the tip of the insertion piece 24, and the small groove 37b of the hole 37 is cut to the opposite side. . Small groove 36 of holes 36, 37
The protruding base end portions 38a of the engaging pieces 38 from the insertion pieces 24 can be inserted into the base plates 38b and 37b.
The engaging piece tip 38b, which has a shape protruding from the tip of the a to the periphery, has a shape that cannot be inserted.

The pair of engaging movable pieces 26 engage the claw 25 at the tip with the engaging portion 11 (see FIG. 7; engaging recess) of the optical connector 10 inserted into the female housing 12. At this time, since it is necessary to push open to both sides by rotation about the pivot 27 and retract it to the outside of the connector storage groove 29 (pulling operation described later), the retracted engagement movable portion 26 is located outside the insertion piece 24. In the case where the engaging movable piece 26 is projected (to the movable movable piece 26, even if it is retracted, it is only stored in the storage groove 28 and may not project outward from the insertion piece 24). It is provided so that the protrusion amount to the outside of the insertion piece 24 can be secured. The amount of protrusion of the engaging movable piece 26 required for the operation of pulling out the optical connector 10 to the outside of the insertion piece 24 may be small, so that, for example, a recess 38c is provided in the protruding base end portion 38a of the engaging piece 38. As a measure, the amount of rotation of the engaging movable piece 26 can be secured. On the other hand, the engagement piece 38 functions as a stopper that prevents the engagement movable piece 26 from protruding more than necessary to the outside of the insertion piece 24, so that the engagement movable piece 26 protruding to the outside of the insertion piece 24. Is the surrounding female housing 1
2 and the optical fiber 14 can be prevented from interfering with each other.

Guide portions 40 on both sides of the lock piece 35 are superposed on guide portions 39 extending along the insertion piece 24 on both sides of the jig body 34. In addition, the jig body 34
41a, 41b for sandwiching the lock piece 35 with the lock member 35
(The screw 41a and the nut 41b in FIG. 3) are penetrated by the guide groove 42 that is elongated in the lock piece 35. Therefore, the lock piece 35 is guided by the guide portions 39 and 40 while being guided by the guide groove. Within the range of 42, it is movable with respect to the jig body 34. 3 and 5, the guide parts 39 and 40 are both plate-shaped jig bodies 3
4, which is a rib-like shape protruding from both sides of the lock piece 35,
The guide parts 40 on both sides of the lock piece 35 are superposed on the guide parts 39 on both sides of the respective jig bodies 34 from the outside, so that the jig body 34 is stably provided between the guide parts 40 on the lock piece 35 side. It is supposed to be sandwiched.

To attach the positioning jig 32 to the insertion piece 24, first, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b),
The through holes 36a, 37a of the plurality of holes 36, 37 of the jig body 34 and the lock piece 35, which are overlapped with each other, are made to communicate with each other, and the through holes 36a, 3 of the selected holes 36, 37 are
7a is penetrated through the engagement piece 38 on the insertion piece 24 side from the jig body 34 side, and the engagement piece tip 38b is projected to the outside of the lock piece 35. Then, the lock piece 35 is slid with respect to the jig body 34 along the guide portions 39 and 40 (see FIG. 3) (movement to the tip side of the insertion piece 24 in this embodiment), and FIG. As shown in c) and (d), the jig main body 34
The protruding base end portion 38a of the engaging piece 38 into the small groove 36b of the hole 36 of
To store. As a result, the tip 38b of the engaging piece is moved to the small groove 37.
It engages with the lock pieces 35 on both sides of b, and the engagement piece tips 38b
The jig body 34 and the lock piece 35 are sandwiched between the insertion piece 24 and the insertion piece 24, and the engagement piece 3 from the holes 36 and 37.
8 is restricted, and the positioning jig 32 causes the insertion piece 2
It is attached to 4. In addition, the hole 3 of the jig body 34
6 is provided between the ribs 34a continuously provided in the jig main body 34, and the ribs 34a above and below the hole 36 are inserted into the insertion piece 2
The positioning jig 32 is attached to the insertion piece 24 without wobbling by making contact with the upper and lower portions of the positioning jig 32 from above and below. Figure 4
From the states of (c) and (d), the lock piece 35 is attached to the tool main body 2
2A, the through holes 36a and 37a of the holes 36 and 37 are made to communicate with each other, and when the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is obtained, the engaging piece 38 is inserted through the communicated through holes 36a and 37a. The positioning jig 32 can be removed from the insertion piece 24.

Next, the work of pulling out the optical connector 10 using the optical connector tool 20 will be described. First, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the hole 36 of the jig main body 34 is selected, and the holes 36 and 37 (specifically, the through holes 36 a and 37) which communicate with each other of the jig main body 34 and the lock piece 35.
The engagement piece 38 of the insertion piece 24 is passed through to a), and the lock piece 3
5 is slid to attach the positioning piece 32 to the target position of the insertion piece 24 (in FIG. 5B, the hole 36 at the position of the display 43 of “5” is selected from the holes 36 of eight steps). Exist). Then, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the abutting piece 33 protruding from the jig body 34 of the positioning jig 32 is brought into contact with, for example, the outer wall of the female housing 12 to perform positioning. Then, the insertion piece 2 integrated with the positioning jig 32
The four tips are positioned with respect to the target optical connector 10 to be pulled out of the plurality of optical connectors 10 inserted into the female housing 12. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the contact piece 33 having an L-shaped cross section, the female housing 12 is
By abutting on the outer wall corners and the like, positioning can be performed easily and accurately.

The positions of the holes 36 of the jig body 34 correspond to the optical connectors 10 inserted in the female housing 12, respectively. Therefore, by selecting the holes 36, the optical connectors to be pulled out can be selected. 10 is selected. Further, in the jig body 34, holes 3 corresponding to the positions of the optical connectors 10 inserted in the female housing 12 (or the positions of the connector holes of the female housing 12) are formed.
Since the display 43 (the numeral in FIG. 5B) is provided in the vicinity of 6, the target optical connector 10 to be pulled out even before the contact piece 33 is brought into contact with the female housing 12.
The positioning jig 32 can be attached to the insertion piece 32 by selecting the hole 36 corresponding to, and the positioning jig 32 can be easily positioned with respect to the insertion piece 24.

Initially, the contact piece 33 contacts the female side housing 12 only at the tip of the contact piece 33, but when the positioning of the tip of the insertion piece 24 with respect to the target optical connector 10 is completed, the contact piece 33 shown in FIG. ), (B), the contact piece 33
The entire tool 20 is pushed into the female housing 12 side by sliding the optical connector 10 into the female housing 12, and inserting pieces 24 are inserted and inserted into both sides of the target optical connector 10 to insert the optical connector 10 into the connector receiving groove 29. Store inside. Since the arrangement pitch of the ribs 34a protruding in multiple stages on the jig main body 34 is the same as the arrangement pitch of the optical connectors 10 to be inserted into the female housing 12, the ribs 34a were inserted toward the female housing 12. Positioning jig 3
The second rib 34a does not interfere with the optical connector 10. Also,
Each rib 34a is abutted only on the insertion piece 24 on one side, and the projecting dimension from the jig main body 34 may be about 2 to 3 mm, and the rib 34a and the optical fiber 14 pulled out from the optical connector 10 which is not a pull-out target. Interference is to be avoided.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the insertion piece 24 is inserted, the urging force of the spring 30 pushes between the rear end portions 26b of the two engaging movable pieces, and conversely, the engaging movable pieces 26 are engaged.
It is preferable that the tip portion 26a of the above is accommodated in the connector accommodating groove 29 or the accommodating groove 28. As a result, the thickness in the vicinity of the insertion piece 24 can be substantially reduced as compared with the case where an immovable claw is engaged with the optical connector 10, and parts around the optical connector 10 to be pulled out, for example, , Adjacent optical connector 10 and optical fiber 1
The contact with the 4 or the like is avoided, and the insertion work of the insertion piece 24 is efficiently performed. Further, the engaging movable piece tip portion 26a has the tip inclined surface 26c, and can be appropriately escaped to the outside of the connector housing groove 29 by the action of the spring 30, so that the tapered boot 13 at the rear end of the optical connector 10 is provided. It is easy to reach the vicinity of the side portion of the optical connector 10 along the outer surface and the like.

However, the insertion pieces 2 on both sides of the optical connector 10
In order to prevent the claw 25 from being caught by the unevenness or the like on the side of the optical connector 10 in the insertion work of 4, it is necessary to open the space between the engaging movable piece tip portions 26a. At this time, for example, when the operator manually operates the rear end portions 26b of the engaging movable pieces 26 near the grip 21 to approach each other, the engaging movable pieces 26 rotate about the pivot 27. Then, the tip portions 26a are opened. Each engaging movable piece 26
If the rotation amount is large, as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
It projects from the insertion piece 24 to the outside. However, the engaging movable piece 26
The rotation of the connector to the outside of the connector housing groove 29 is more preferably within a range in which it does not project to the outside from the insertion piece 24, whereby the engagement movable piece 26 comes into contact with the optical fiber 14 and the like existing outside the insertion piece 24. This can be avoided and the workability of inserting the insertion piece 24 can be improved. In addition, each engaging movable piece 26,
By adjusting the protrusion amount of the stopper 31 provided at the rear end portion 26b of both the engaging movable pieces 26 to set the closest distance of the engaging movable piece rear end portion 26b to the tool body 22, the engaging movable piece 26 can be moved. It is possible to reliably prevent the tip end portion 26a from being unnecessarily wide opened, and avoid contact with the surrounding optical connector 10 and the like.

The claw 2 with respect to the engaging portion 11 of the optical connector 10
5 is positioned, by releasing the restriction on the opening between the engaging movable piece rear end portions 26b, the urging force of the spring 30 pushes open between the engaging movable piece rear end portions 26b, and conversely, the tip end. The parts 26a approach each other, and the claw 25 engages with the engaging part 11 on the side of the optical connector 10 in the connector storage groove 29. Then, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the optical connector tool 20 is pulled while maintaining the engagement state between the engagement portion 11 and the claw 25, the optical connector 10 is removed from the female housing 12. Can be pulled out. Initially, the insertion piece 24 is inserted deeply after slightly passing the position where the claw 25 engages with the engaging portion 11, and then is pulled and retracted from the female-side housing 12, so that the claw 25 is inserted into the engaging portion 11. It is usually engaged.

According to this optical connector tool 20, the contact piece 33 of the positioning jig 32 is attached to the female housing 12.
Abutting against the pre-selected positioning means (hole 3
Since the tip end of the insertion piece 24 of the tool 20 to which the jig 32 is positioned and attached by 6) is easily positioned with respect to the optical connector 10 to be pulled out, which is inserted into the female side housing 12, Even if a large number of optical fibers 14 and the like are gathered in the vicinity of the optical connector 10 to be pulled out, the insertion piece 2 is inserted into the target optical connector 10.
4 can be accurately positioned, and the optical connector 10 can be pulled out without making a mistake, and the workability of pulling out is improved.
Further, since the optical fibers 14 can be removed from the vicinity of the optical connector 10 to be pulled out, it is not necessary to move these optical fibers 14 largely, and there is an advantage that the optical fibers 14 can be prevented from being damaged due to the movement.

Insertion piece 24 for the target optical connector 10
At the time of insertion, the tip end portions 26a of the two engaging movable pieces 26 are housed in the connector housing groove 29 or the housing groove 28,
Contact with parts around the optical connector 10, for example, the adjacent optical connector 10 or the optical fiber 14 is avoided, and the insertion work can be performed efficiently. As a result, it is possible to avoid affecting the optical connector 10 and the optical fiber 14 in the hot line state. Since the tip of the optical connector tool 20 in the insertion direction is substantially thin, the insertion work can be efficiently performed even in a narrow space.

Even when the space between the engaging movable piece tips 26a is opened, the inserting piece 24 of the engaging movable piece tip 26a is different from the conventional example in which the engaging movable piece is not housed inside from the outside of the inserting piece.
The amount of protrusion to the outside is small. Therefore, the rotation space of the movable engaging piece 26 secured around the target optical connector 10 can be reduced. As a result, the female housing 1
No. 2 makes it possible to reduce the array pitch L2 (see FIG. 7) and implement high-density mounting. As the mounting density of the female housing 12 is improved, the optical fibers 14 drawn out from the optical connectors 10 inserted in the female housing 12 are also concentratedly and densely arranged near the female housing 12. However, as described above, by using the positioning jig 32, the positioning property of the tip of the insertion piece 24 with respect to the target optical connector 10 is secured, so that the optical connector 10
The workability of pulling out can be improved.

(Second Embodiment) An optical connector tool according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 (a)-(d).
Will be described with reference to. In the optical connector tool of this embodiment, a positioning jig 50 is applied in place of the positioning jig 32 of the optical connector tool 20 of the first embodiment, and the positioning jig 50 is attached. The attachment means (engaging piece 38) is provided at two locations on the insertion piece 24 (see FIGS. 10A and 10C). In addition, in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 (a)-(d), FIG. 1 (a), (b)
8A and 8B, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the positioning jig 50 applied to this optical connector tool, a positioning contact piece 51 for contacting the female housing 12 is provided from one side. The jig main body 52 has a plate-like shape, and the plate-like lock piece 53 is superposed on the jig main body 52.

In the jig body 52, two long grooves 54 extending in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the insertion piece 24 from the tool body 22 are formed in parallel with each other, and the lock piece 53 is formed.
Also, two long grooves 55 corresponding to each long groove 54 of the jig body 52 are formed in parallel. Each long groove 54, 55
Has a shape through which the engaging pieces 38 (see FIGS. 10A and 10B) projecting from the insertion piece 24 can penetrate. Further, small grooves 54a, which are positioning means for positioning with respect to the insertion piece 24, are cut out from one side portion of the long groove 54 to the outside at a plurality of positions in the extending direction of the long groove 54 of the jig body 52. ing. The cutting direction of the small groove 54a from the long groove 54 is either the tip side of the insertion piece 24 or the rear end side (the tool body 22 side) facing the tip of the insertion piece 24 as long as it is along the insertion piece 24. However, this embodiment exemplifies the notch in the front end direction of the insertion piece 24 (left front side in FIG. 9). On the other hand, also in the long groove 55, small grooves 55a through which the engaging pieces 38 can penetrate are provided at a plurality of positions in the extending direction thereof.
This small groove 5 is cut from one side to the outside.
The cutting direction of 5a is the rear end direction of the insertion piece 24 (the right side on the paper surface in FIG. 9), and the cutting direction for the long groove is just opposite to the small groove 54a on the jig body 52 side. The insertion piece 2 of the engagement piece 38 is inserted into the small grooves 54a and 55a.
Although the protruding base end portion 38a in which the protruding base end portion from 4 is thinly formed can be inserted, the engaging piece tip end 38b having a shape protruding from the tip end of the protruding base end portion 38a cannot be inserted.

Guide portions 57 on both sides of the lock piece 53 are superposed on guide portions 56 extending along the insertion piece 24 on both sides of the jig body 52. Further, a connecting member 58a for sandwiching the lock piece 53 with the jig body 56,
Since 58b (screw 58a and nut 58b in FIG. 9) is penetrated by the guide groove 59 that is elongated in the lock piece 53, the lock piece 53 has the guide portions 56, 57.
It is movable with respect to the jig body 52 within the range of the guide groove 59 while being guided by. In FIG. 9, each of the guide portions 56 and 57 has a rib shape protruding from both sides of the plate-shaped jig main body 52 and the lock piece 53, and the guide portions 57 on both sides of the lock piece 53 have respective ribs. By overlapping the guide portions 56 on both sides of the jig body 52 from the outside, the jig body 52 is interposed between the guide portions 57 on the lock piece 53 side.
Is sandwiched in a stable manner.

In order to attach the positioning jig 50 to the insertion piece 24, first, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), the jig body 52 and the lock piece 5 which are superposed on each other.
The three long grooves 54 and 55 are communicated with each other, the long grooves 54 and 55 are penetrated through the engaging piece 38 from the jig body 52 side, and the engaging piece tip 38b is projected to the outside of the lock piece 53. Next, the positioning jig 50 is formed by the long grooves 54 and 55.
Is slid with respect to the engagement piece 38 to position the selected small grooves 54a and 55a on the engagement piece 38. When the positioning of the small grooves 54a and 55a is completed,
As shown in (c) and (d), the guide portions 56 and 57 are formed.
The lock piece 53 is slid relative to the jig body 52 along the direction (in the present embodiment, moved to the tip side of the insertion piece 24),
Small grooves 54a, 55 for the purpose of the jig body 52 and the lock piece 53
The protruding base end portion 38a of the engagement piece 38 is housed in a. As a result, the engagement piece tips 38b are located on both sides of the small groove 55a.
3, the jig body 52 and the lock piece 53 are sandwiched between the engaging piece tip 38b and the inserting piece 24, and the engaging piece 38 is pulled out from the long grooves 54 and 55. The positioning jig 32 is restricted and attached to the insertion piece 24. At this time, the long grooves 54 and 55 both function as slide supporting means for slidably supporting the positioning jig 50 with respect to the insertion piece 24. Small groove 54
Reference characters a and 55a function as positioning means for positioning the positioning jig 50 with respect to the insertion piece 24.

From the state shown in FIGS. 10 (c) and 10 (d), when the lock piece 53 is pulled toward the tool body 22 and the long grooves 54 and 55 are communicated with each other, the states shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are obtained. The engagement piece 38 can be pulled out through the long grooves 54 and 55 that are communicated with each other, whereby the positioning jig 50 can be removed from the insertion piece 24.

In this optical connector tool, the positioning jig 50 is slidably moved with respect to the engaging piece 38 by the long grooves 54 and 55 communicating with each other, so that the positioning means (small groove 54a) can be easily selected. It can be installed easily. Further, since the engagement pieces 38 are respectively engaged with the small grooves 54a formed in the two long grooves 54, the positioning jig 50 is stably supported without wobbling with respect to the insertion piece 24. The positioning accuracy of the tip of the insertion piece 24 with respect to the housing 12 is stably ensured. The operation of pulling out the optical connector 10 using the optical connector tool of this embodiment is similar to that of the optical connector tool 20 of the first embodiment, and the engaging portion 11 of the optical connector 10 inserted into the female housing 12 is inserted. Then, the claw 25 at the tip of the engaging movable piece 26 may be engaged, and the tool may be pulled.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various changes can be made. The positioning jig is not limited to the configuration described above, and various changes can be made. For example, the configuration is not limited to the two-piece jig main body and the lock piece, and a one-piece configuration may be used. The positioning means for positioning the positioning jig with respect to the insertion piece, the mounting means for attaching the positioning jig with respect to the insertion piece, etc. are not limited to the holes and the small grooves shown in the above-mentioned respective embodiments, and for example, It may be an engaging claw or the like that also serves as these positioning means and attachment means. The slide support means for slidingly moving the positioning jig with respect to the insertion piece or the tool body is not limited to the long groove, and for example, the rail on the positioning jig side is slid to the guide on the insertion piece or the tool body side. It may be configured to be engaged as much as possible. As the contact piece,
For example, various configurations such as a configuration in which a dedicated rail portion provided on the female housing side is slidably engaged can be adopted. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration in which the positioning jig is attached to the insertion piece has been illustrated, but the attachment object of the positioning jig may be the tool body.

The present invention is not limited to, for example, a configuration in which the engaging movable piece is housed in the storage groove provided in the insertion groove, and the opening of the insertion piece is opened from the outside of the insertion piece not having the storage groove. It is also possible to employ an optical connector tool having a configuration in which an engaging movable piece that engages the claw inserted into the connector storage groove via the engaging portion of the optical connector is used. The female-side housing is not limited to the optical connector adapter applied to the MU type optical connector, and may be an optical connector adapter having another configuration, for example, an optical connector adapter such as an SC type optical connector. Other than the connector adapter, it may be an optical connector receptacle, a jack, a housing for holding an unused optical connector, or the like. For SC type optical connector, etc., see Fig. 1.
The protruding piece 24a at the tip of the insertion piece 24 of the tool 20 shown in FIG.
Can function as an engagement releasing piece for releasing the engagement of the engaging claw engaged with the optical connector (optical connector plug) from the optical connector adapter side. The optical connector is not limited to the optical connector plug of the MU type optical connector, and various optical connector plugs for single core and multiple cores can be adopted.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the movable engaging piece is manually operated has been described as an example. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the operation of the movable engaging piece is automatically performed by the drive device can also be adopted. is there. Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the positioning with respect to the target optical connector, the operation of the engaging movable piece, etc. are automatically performed by the drive device controlled by the control device. In this case, the optical connector can be automatically pulled out. The use of a positioning jig also has the advantage of facilitating the automation of positioning.

[0037]

As described above, according to the optical connector tool of the present invention, the positioning jig is positioned by bringing the contact piece of the positioning jig into contact with the female housing.
Since the tip of the insertion piece of the tool to which this positioning jig is attached can be easily positioned with respect to the optical connector inserted in the female side housing, the space secured around the optical connector to be pulled out is small, for example, Even when it is difficult to confirm the position of the optical connector due to the presence of many obstacles such as optical fibers, the tip of the insertion piece can be easily positioned and the workability of pulling out can be improved. Even if a plurality of optical connectors are assembled, the tip of the insertion piece is accurately positioned to the target optical connector due to the above-mentioned positioning property, so there is no risk of accidentally pulling out an optical connector that is not the target of pulling out. . Further, in order to visually confirm the position of the optical connector, it is not necessary to move an obstacle existing in the vicinity of the optical connector by an unnecessarily large amount. It has an excellent effect of not having it.

According to the optical connector tool of the second aspect, the mounting position of the positioning jig with respect to the insertion piece and the tool body can be easily set by selecting the positioning means. It is possible to freely select the mounting position, and as a result, it is possible to easily position the tip of the insertion piece in accordance with the optical connector to be pulled out, and it is possible to further improve the workability of pulling out the optical connector.

According to the optical connector tool of the third aspect, the positioning jig slid by the slide supporting means is fixed to the tool body or the inserting piece by using the attaching means, so that the inserting piece is inserted into the inserting piece. It is possible to freely select the mounting position of the positioning jig, and as a result, it is possible to easily position the tip of the insertion piece in accordance with the optical connector to be pulled out, and it is possible to further improve the workability of pulling out the optical connector.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are views showing an optical connector tool according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is an overall perspective view and FIG. 1B is a sectional view showing the vicinity of an engaging piece.

2 is a diagram showing the optical connector tool of FIG.
(A) is a top view, (b) is a front view which shows an engaging movable piece.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a positioning jig applied to the optical connector tool of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the relationship between the holes on the jig body side of the positioning jig of FIG. 3, the holes on the lock piece side, and the engaging pieces on the insertion piece side, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view showing a state where an engaging piece is penetrated through two communicating holes, (b) is a front view of the (a) seen from a jig body side, and (c) is a jig body and a lock piece. 2D is a plan sectional view showing a state in which the engaging piece is housed in the small groove and cannot be pulled out, and FIG.

5A and 5B are views showing a state in which the positioning jig shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the optical connector tool shown in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 5A is a plan view and FIG.

6A and 6B are views showing a state in which the tips of the insertion pieces of the optical connector tool of FIG. 5 are inserted into both sides of the optical connector inserted into the female housing, FIG. 6A being a plan view, and FIG. Is a front view.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the tip of the insertion piece of the optical connector tool of FIG. 1 is widened.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a work of pulling out the optical connector from the female side housing by the optical connector tool of FIG.
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a front view.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention and is an exploded perspective view showing a positioning jig.

10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the long groove on the jig body side of the positioning jig of FIG. 9, the long groove on the lock piece side, and the engagement piece on the insertion piece side, FIG. FIG. 6B is a plan sectional view showing a state in which the long grooves of the lock pieces are communicated with each other and the engaging pieces are passed through, FIG. 7B is a front view of the jig body viewed from the jig body side, and FIG. A horizontal cross-sectional view showing a state in which the engagement piece is housed in the small groove of the lock piece and cannot be pulled out,
(D) is a front view of (c) as viewed from the jig body side.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a conventional optical connector tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Optical connector (MU type optical connector plug), 11 ...
Engaging part (engaging recess), 12 ... Female housing, 20 ... Optical connector tool, 22 ... Tool body, 24 ... Inserting piece, 25
... claws, 26 ... engaging movable pieces, 26a ... tip portion, 32 ... positioning jigs, 33 ... abutting pieces, 36, 37 ... positioning means (holes), 50 ... positioning jigs, 51 ... abutting pieces, 54 , 5
5 ... Slide support means (long groove), 54a, 55a ... Positioning means (small groove).

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yukio Hayashi 1440 Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Fujikura Ltd. Sakura Factory (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Nomura 1440, Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Fujikura Ltd. Sakura Factory ( 72) Inventor Tsuneji Mine 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Japan Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Shigenori Uruno 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Fumi Izumida 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (56) Reference JP 2000-89059 (JP, A) JP 64-66607 (JP) , A) JP 10-307232 (JP, A) JP 10-300980 (JP, A) JP 10-274725 (JP, A) JP 10-239560 (JP, A) JP 10-170763 (JP, ) JP-A-10-68842 (JP, A) JP-A-7-281056 (JP, A) JP-A-7-20354 (JP, A) JP-A-6-102433 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-63- 140505 (JP, U) Actual development 7-8808 (JP, U) Actual development 5-21213 (JP, U) Actual development 3-100809 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/38 G02B 6/42

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tool for an optical connector for pulling out an optical connector (10) from a female housing (12) to which an optical connector is connected , the tool being provided in a protruding state from a tool body (22), A pair of insertion pieces (24) inserted on both sides of the inserted optical connector, and arranged along each insertion piece,
The optical connector side engaging portion (1
1) A pair of engaging movable pieces (26) each having a claw (25) engageable with 1) protrudingly provided at a tip portion (26a), and the tool body.
Mounted on the side or sides of the insertion piece, the
The tip of the insertion piece is inserted into the female housing by abutting on the female housing at a position displaced from the insertion piece.
A positioning jig (3) which is provided with abutting pieces (33, 51) for positioning with respect to the inserted optical connector.
2, 50), and an optical connector tool (20). 2. The positioning jig (32) has positioning means (36, 37) for positioning with respect to the tool body or the insertion piece, and the projection means projects the insertion piece from the tool body. A plurality of optical connector tools according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of them are arranged in multiple stages in a direction perpendicular to the direction. 3. The positioning jig (50) is perpendicular to the protruding direction of the insertion piece from the tool body with respect to the tool body or the insertion piece by slide supporting means (54, 55). 2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector is slidable in a direction and is positioned with respect to the tool body or the insertion piece by positioning means (54a, 55a). Tools.