JPH0625810B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an optical connector used when coupling optical transmission lines in an optical fiber communication system or the like.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In optical fiber communication systems and the like, various optical connectors are used to connect optical fibers to each other or to connect optical fibers to light emitting / receiving elements.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view showing an example of such a conventional optical connector. In this optical connector, in order to connect the optical fibers, one connector 1 and two fixtures 2,
3 and 3 are used. The connector 1 is provided with columnar portions 5 and 6 on both sides of the flange 4, a through hole 7 is formed in the central portion thereof, and male screw portions 8 and 9 are further formed on the outer surfaces of the columnar portions 5 and 6. It has a structure. Fixtures 2, 3
Has a cylindrical shape, and internal thread portions 11, 1 are formed on the inner surface of the tip portion thereof.
2 has a structure formed. The base ends of the fixtures 2 and 3 are rotatably attached to the outside of the support members 15 and 16 connected to the optical fiber cable holders 13 and 14 while being prevented from sliding. The optical fiber cables 17 and 1 are attached to the optical fiber cable holders 13 and 14, respectively.
The outer sheath of 8 is held, and the optical fiber (not shown) exposed from the outer sheath of 8 is built in on the central axis of the ferrules 19 and 20. The ferrules 19 and 20 are supporting members 15,
16 is cantilevered.

When connecting optical fibers to each other with this optical connector, first, while inserting the tip of one ferrule 19 into the through hole 7 of the one columnar portion 5 of the connector 1, one of the fixtures 2 is inserted.
The female threaded portion 11 is sufficiently screwed into the male threaded portion 8 of the one columnar portion 5. Next, similarly to this, while inserting the tip of the other ferrule 20 into the through hole 7 of the other cylindrical portion 6, the female screw portion 12 of the other fixture 3 is attached to the male screw portion 9 of the other cylindrical portion 6. Fully screw. As a result, the tip surfaces of the two ferrules 19 and 20 are abutted against each other in the through hole 7, and the two optical fibers are optically connected to each other.

By the way, in this optical connector, since the fixtures 2 and 3 are screwed into the connector 1, the attaching and detaching work thereof is troublesome. Therefore, an optical connector that can be attached and detached with one touch has been developed.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view showing an example of such a conventional optical connector. In this figure, the same components as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In the connector 21 of this optical connector, prisms 23 and 24 are provided on both sides of a flange 22, and a through hole 25 is formed in the center thereof, and grooves 26 are formed above and below the bases of the prisms 23 and 24. 27 is formed. The fixtures 31 and 32 are U-shaped and have a structure in which locking pieces 33 and 34 are formed on the inner surfaces of both tip ends thereof. The bases of the fixtures 31, 32 are fixed to the support members 15, 16. The attachments 31 and 32 are made of an elastic material such as synthetic resin.

Therefore, in this optical connector, for example, the tip of one ferrule 19 is connected to the through hole 2 of the one prismatic portion 23 of the connector 21.
When one of the fittings 31 is pushed in the direction of the arrow A while being inserted into 5, the both engaging pieces 33 are separated from each other along the prismatic portion 23 by the elastic action and then fitted into the respective grooves 26. become. When detaching, the attachment 31 may be pulled in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction.

As described above, the conventional optical connector includes a screw type connector as shown in FIG. 6 and a one-touch type connector as shown in FIG. By the way, in such an optical connector, when a space is formed between the front end faces of the two ferrules 19 and 20 inserted into the through holes 7 and 25 of the coupling tools 1 and 21, the air layer and the optical fiber are separated. Reflection occurs at the boundary surface, and light leaks out of the core of the optical fiber, resulting in optical power connection loss. Therefore, in such an optical connector, as described above, the two ferrules 19 and 20 are used.
The leading end surfaces of the above are abutted against each other in the through holes 7 and 25. However, in this case, the distal end portion of the ferrule 19 will protrude from the fittings 2 and 31 in the detached state as shown in FIG. 8 or 7.

Therefore, in such a conventional optical connector, even if the ferrules 19 and 20 are made of metal and have a large diameter, if the ferrules 19 and 20 are accidentally dropped or bumped,
The optical fiber on the end face of the may be damaged. In particular, when the diameters of the ferrules 19 and 20 are reduced in order to increase the packing density of the optical fibers, the ferrule itself may be damaged as well as the optical fibers on the end faces. Therefore, an optical connector that can cover the tip of the ferrule in a detached state has been developed.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional front view showing an example of such a conventional optical connector. In this figure, the same components as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In this optical connector, the ferrule 1 is attached to the outside of the fixture 2.
A cover 41 for covering the tip portion of 9 is provided so as not to come off and slidable in the directions of arrows B and C. A coil spring 42 for urging the cover 41 in the arrow B direction is provided outside the fixture 2. Further, a cover 43 for covering the coil spring 42 is provided outside these. Therefore, in the detached state, the tip portion of the ferrule 19 is covered with the cover 41. On the other hand, when the fitting 2 is screwed into the connector 1 shown in FIG. 6, the cover 41 contacts the flange 4 and is moved in the direction of arrow C against the force of the coil spring 42. As a result, the tip of the ferrule 19 is projected from the fixture 2 as expected.

As described above, in this optical connector, the distal end portion of the ferrule 19 is covered with the cover 41 in the detached state, so that not only the optical fiber on the end face of the ferrule 19 but also the ferrule itself can be protected.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As described above, in the screw type optical connector, the tip of the ferrule can be protected. However, in the one-touch type optical connector as shown in FIG. 7, for example, both locking pieces 33 of the fixture 31 may be separated from each other along the prismatic portion 23, so that as shown in FIG. The sliding type cover 41 cannot be provided outside the fixture 31. Therefore, the one-touch type optical connector has a problem in that the tip of the ferrule cannot be protected in the detached state.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector of a one-touch type which can protect the tip of a ferrule when it is detached.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the present invention, a ferrule having a built-in optical fiber on its center axis, a support member that supports the ferrule in a cantilevered manner, and an attachment provided outside the support member so as to be slidable in the center axis direction of the ferrule. And a connector having a through hole into which the ferrule is inserted and the attachment is detachably locked, and in the non-fastened state, the attachment is positioned so as to cover the tip of the ferrule. If the force required to lock the attachment to the connector when the fastening is performed is f ₁ and the force required to slide the attachment with respect to the support member is f ₂ , The relation of f ₁ <f ₂ is established, and in the final fastening state, the fitting is in a position not covering the tip of the ferrule, and when the fastening is released, the fitting is removed from the connector. The force required for f _{11 is} the above. The biasing device is obtained by constituting such that the relationship of f _11> f ₂₂ when the force required to slide relative to the support member and f ₂₂ is established.

According to the present invention, the support member and the fixture are relatively slidable, and the sliding operation is performed under certain conditions, so that fastening and releasing can be performed with one touch. In addition, the tip portion of the ferrule can be covered with the attachment in the non-fastened state.

〔Example〕

 Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a vertical sectional front view thereof.

In the optical connector of the present embodiment, a mounting tool 52 is provided outside the support member 51 so as to be slidable in the directions of arrows D and E (the central axis direction of the ferrule). A clamp member 53 is provided outside the fixture 52 so as to be slidable in the directions of arrows D and E. The support member 51 is connected to the optical fiber cable holder 54. The optical fiber cable holder 54 holds the outer cover of the optical fiber cable 55, and two optical fibers (not shown) exposed from the outer cover are built in on the central axis of each ferrule 56. The two ferrules 56 are both supported by the support member 51 in a cantilever manner.

The support member 51 is made of a synthetic resin having elasticity, and has a two-step structure of a support member main body 51a and is positioned above and below the support member main body 51a. Two cantilevered 5
1b and the structure. A cantilever 51c is provided on the inner surface of the free end of the cantilever 51b. Further, on the right side of the base end portion of the cantilever 51b, protrusions 51d are provided at predetermined upper and lower portions of the support member main body 51a, whereby the first and second protrusions 51d are provided on both sides.
Locking grooves 51e and 51f are formed.

The attachment 52 is made of elastic synthetic resin,
A square tubular body 52a slidably provided outside the support member main body 51a, two openings 52b formed above and below the square tubular body 52a, and located inside these openings 52b. In the drawing, the right end portion is provided with two cantilever beams 52c that are connected to a rectangular tubular body 52a.
A locking piece 52d is provided on the inner surface of the free end of the cantilever beam 52c. Further, first and second locking grooves 52e and 52f are formed at predetermined two positions on the outer surface of the cantilever beam 52c.

The clamp member 53 is made of a synthetic resin having elasticity, and is provided on the outside of the rectangular tubular body 52a of the fixture 52 so as to be slidable, and the predetermined upper and lower inner surfaces of the rectangular tubular body 53a. The structure is provided with an escape groove 53b formed in the above position, and two cantilever beams 53c that are continuously provided above and below the rectangular tubular body 53a so as to project rightward in FIG. A locking piece 5 is provided on the inner surface of the free end of the cantilever 53c.
3d is provided.

The connector 61 of the optical connector is made of synthetic resin, and is formed with a flange 61a, prismatic portions 61b and 61c provided on both sides of the flange 61a, and central portions thereof, and both ends thereof are tapered. A through hole 61d,
The structure is provided with locking grooves 61e and 61f formed at predetermined positions above and below the prismatic portions 61b and 61c.
In addition, a total of four prismatic portions 61b and 61c are provided, and two through holes 61d are formed.

When the optical connector is in the non-fastened state, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking piece 51 of the support member 51 is formed.
c is locked in the first locking groove 52e of the fixture 52. In this state, the tip of the ferrule 56 is attached to the fixture 5.
Covered by two. Further, the locking piece 53d of the clamp member 53 is locked in the first locking groove 51e of the support member 51. In this state, the clamp member 53 is in a position where it does not cover the free end of the cantilever beam 52c of the connector 52, and the escape groove 53b is in a position that faces the free end of the cantilever beam 51b of the support member 51. .

When fastening with this optical connector, the clamp member 5
3 is gripped and moved in the direction of arrow D in FIG. Here, the force required to lock the locking piece 52d of the fixture 52 in the locking groove 61e of the coupling tool 61e is f ₁ , and the locking piece 51 of the support member 51 is the first engagement member of the fixture 52. Letting f ₂ be the force required to disengage from the stop groove 52e, and f ₃ be the force required to disengage the locking piece 53d of the clamp member 53 from the first locking groove 51e of the support member 51, these Are in the relationship of f ₁ <f ₂ <f ₃ . this is,
The shapes of the respective locking pieces and the respective locking grooves may be set so that the relationship of f ₁ <f ₂ <f ₃ is established.

Therefore, when the clamp member 53 is gripped and moved in the direction of the arrow D, the locking piece 52d of the mounting tool 52 is locked in the locking groove 61e of the coupling tool 61, as shown in FIG. In this state, the tip of the rectangular tubular body 52a of the attachment 52 is brought into contact with the flange 61a of the connector 61, and the ferrule 56
Will be inserted into the through hole 61d of the connector 61.

When the clamp member 53 is further moved from this state in the direction of the arrow D, the locking piece 51c of the support member 51 comes out of the first locking groove 52e of the attachment 52 as shown in FIG. It is locked in the second locking groove 52f. In this state, the ferrule 56 is fully inserted into the through hole 61d of the connector 61, that is, as expected. That is,
In this state, the tip of the ferrule 56 is projected from the attachment 52 as expected.

When the clamp member 53 is further moved from this state in the direction of the arrow D, the locking piece 53d of the clamp member 53 is finally moved to the first locking groove 51 of the support member 51 as shown in FIG.
After coming out of e, it is locked in the second locking groove 51f. In this state, the tip end of the rectangular tubular body 53a of the clamp member 53 is in contact with the flange 61a of the connector 61, and the escape groove 53b is located at a position not facing the free end of the cantilever 51b of the support member 51. It will be. Therefore, in this state, the pair of cantilevered beams 52c of the mounting tool 52 are prevented from moving in the direction of separating from each other, and the pair of cantilevered beams 51b of the support member 51 are also prevented from moving in the direction of separating from each other. It Therefore, in this state, even if the optical fiber cable 55 is pulled in the direction of the arrow E with a certain amount of force or more, the locking piece 51c of the support member 51 may come out of the second locking groove 52f of the fixture 52. In addition, the locking piece 52d of the attachment tool 52 does not come out of the locking groove 61e of the coupling tool 61, and the fastening force increases.

When the fastening is released by this optical connector, the clamp member 53 is gripped and moved in the direction of arrow E in FIG. Here, the force required to disengage the engagement piece 52d of the attachment tool 52 from the engagement groove 61e of the coupling tool 61 is f ₁₁ , and the engagement piece 51c of the support member 51 is engaged with the second engagement of the attachment tool 52. The force required to disengage from the groove 52f is f ₂₂ ,
The locking piece 53d of the clamp member 53 is attached to the second of the support member 51.
Letting f ₃₃ be the force required to disengage from the locking groove 51f of the above, these are in the relationship of f ₁₁ > f ₂₂ > f ₃₃ .

Therefore, when the clamp member 53 is gripped and moved in the direction of arrow E, as shown in FIG. 4, first, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.

Although the clamp member 53 is used in the above embodiment, this is mainly for preventing the unintentional release of the fastening as described above. Therefore, basically, the clamp member 53 may be omitted.

Further, although the two-core optical connector has been described in the above embodiment, it goes without saying that it can be applied to a single-core or three-core or more. Further, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied not only to the optical fibers but also to an optical connector for connecting the optical fibers to the light emitting element or the light receiving element.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the tip of the ferrule can be covered with the fixture in the non-fastened state, the ferrule and the optical fiber on the end face of the ferrule are not damaged, and the protection function is enhanced. Since it can be achieved and the fastening and releasing can be performed with one touch, the work is simple.

Further, if the clamp member is used, the fastening force is increased, and the fastening reliability is significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view thereof, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing respective states when the fastening is performed. Front view, No. 6
FIG. 7 and FIG. 7 are vertical sectional front views showing respective examples of conventional optical connectors, FIG. 8 is a partial vertical sectional front view showing a non-fastened state of the conventional optical connector shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. It is a partial longitudinal front view which shows the other example of the conventional optical connector. 51 ... Supporting member, 51b ... Cantilever, 51c ... Locking piece, 51e, 51f ... Locking groove, 52 ... Fixing tool, 52c ... Cantilever, 52d ... Locking piece, 52e , 52f ... Locking groove, 53 ... Clamping member, 53c ... Cantilever, 53d ... Locking piece, 54 ... Optical fiber cable holder, 55 ... Optical fiber cable, 56 ... Ferrule, 61 ... … Couplings, 61d… through holes, 61e, 61f… locking grooves.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A ferrule having an optical fiber built in on its central axis, a supporting member for supporting the ferrule in a cantilevered manner, and a slidable member provided outside the supporting member in the central axis direction of the ferrule. A fixture and a connector having a through hole into which the ferrule is inserted and the fixture is detachably locked, and the fixture is a position where the tip of the ferrule is covered in the non-fastened state. And the force required to lock the fixture to the connector when fastening is f ₁ and the force required to slide the fixture with respect to the support member are f ₂ . Then, the relationship of f ₁ <f ₂ is established, and in the final fastening state, the fitting is in a position not covering the tip portion of the ferrule, and when the fastening is released, the fitting is removed from the connector. The force required for removal is f ₁₁ , An optical connector characterized in that a relationship of f ₁₁ > f ₂₂ is established, where f ₂₂ is a force required to slide the attachment with respect to the support member. 2. A clamp member is provided outside the support member so as to be slidable in the central axis direction of the ferrule outside the support member, and in the non-fastened state, the clamp member is connected to the connector of the fixture. The force required to slide the clamp member with respect to the support member when the fastening operation is performed is at a position that allows the locking operation and the relative sliding operation of the support member and the fixture. ₃ , the relationship of f ₂ <f ₃ is established, and in the final fastening state, the clamp member releases the lock of the fitting with respect to the connector and the relative sliding of the support member and the fitting. in a position to prevent operation, so that the relationship of the the clamp member the force required to slide and f ₃₃ with respect to the support member f _22> f ₃₃ when releasing the fastening is performed is established Configured The optical connector of the claims preceding claim, characterized in that. 3. The cantilever having at least two locking members, wherein the connecting member has a locking groove, and the mounting member has a locking piece at a tip thereof which is detachably locked in the locking groove of the connecting member. The support member includes a groove, the support member includes a cantilever having a locking piece releasably locked in the locking groove of the fixture, and at least two locking grooves. The optical connector according to claim 2, further comprising a cantilever having a locking piece that is detachably locked in the locking groove of the support member.