JP2002006175A - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical connector of simple shape which is attachable/ detachable with no use of a special jig and tool. SOLUTION: The optical connector is an optical connector which is connected to such optical connector having a first housing 11 provided with at least one ferrule 21, and is provided with a second housing 12 provided with a ferrule 22 connected to the ferrule 21 of the first housing 11, and a third housing 13 for housing the second housing between a first position not engaging with the first housing and a second position engaging with the first housing, for advancing/receding. The second housing is provided with two rotatable latch tabs 15a and 15b which engage with the first housing when the second housing moves to the second position, and the open angles of the latch tabs is regulated so as to guide the first and second housing into engagement state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector which is used at a connection point of an optical transmission device and which can be detached by inserting and removing a board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an optical transmission apparatus, an optical connector used at a connection point is a single-core MU (Miniature Unit coupe).
pling) A plug-in optical connector using a connector has been put to practical use. In this connector, a connector portion is attached and detached by inserting and removing a board. As an example of such an optical connector, there is a connector described in Utility Model Registration No. 2562491. This connector releases the engagement of the internal housing accommodated in the external housing of the female optical connector by simply inserting the male optical connector into the female optical connector, enabling the movement of the internal housing, and The purpose of the present invention is to absorb variations in the axial direction when the optical connector is mounted on the unit, thereby making the abutment of the connection plug excellent and improving the transmission performance.

Further, such a mechanism is provided by a multi-core MT (Mech).
An example applied to an anionic transferable connector is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-21250.

[0004]

With the recent advances in large-sized computers, there is a need for a technique for connecting a larger number of optical connectors at once. The above-mentioned utility model registration No. 256
The connector described in Japanese Patent No. 2491 is to connect a plurality of MU connectors collectively. However, when the number of connectors to be connected at once increases, the size of the housing increases. Further, when the internal housing is housed in the external housing in an engaged state, and when the male optical connector and the female optical connector are connected, the internal housing is disengaged inside the external housing. In addition, the molding accuracy of the housing must be kept very high.

However, as described above, when the number of connectors to be connected at one time increases and the housing becomes large,
The basic shape of the housing becomes complicated, and it is difficult to keep the molding accuracy constant. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector which has a simple shape and is detachable without using a special jig.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, an optical connector according to the present invention is an optical connector connected to an optical connector having a first housing with at least one ferrule. A second ferrule having a ferrule connected to the ferrule of the first housing.
And a third housing accommodating the second housing movably between a first position not engaged with the first housing and a second position engaged with the first housing. The second housing has two rotatable latch pawls for clamping the first housing when the second housing moves to the second position, the latch pawls being provided between the first housing and the first housing. The opening angle is regulated so that the second housing and the second housing are brought into the engaged state.

[0007] By simply engaging the first housing with the second housing, the two latch claws provided on the second housing engage with the first housing to ensure the connection between the ferrules. it can. In particular, when the first housing and the second housing include a plurality of ferrules, the ferrules can be reliably connected without using a housing having a complicated shape.

Further, since the two latch pawls provided on the second housing are rotatable, the opening angles thereof are regulated so as to guide the first housing and the second housing into an engaged state. The first housing and the second housing can be easily engaged.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, an optical connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first housing 11 having an MT ferrule 21.
And a second housing 12 having a connector plug (MT ferrule) 22 connected to the ferrule 21 and having latch claws 15a and 15b for holding the first housing 11, and moving the second housing 12 forward and backward. And a third housing 13 or the like that accommodates as much as possible.

The first housing 11 includes a printed circuit board P
This is a plastic block body having a substantially T-shaped cross section that can be fixed to the housing, and is composed of a housing main body 11a that accommodates the ferrule 21 and mounting portions 11b that extend to both sides from the housing main body 11a. Ferrule 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes an MT type ferrule, and an end face (lower end in the figure) has a pin 21 for positioning with an opposite ferrule.
p is protruding. The ferrule 21 is fixed in the housing main body such that the end face is located slightly inside from the end face of the housing main body 11a.

A positioning pin 11p for positioning the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 protrudes from a surface (lower end surface in the figure) of the housing main body 11a in contact with the second housing 12. On both side surfaces of the first housing 11, recesses 11r for engaging the latch claws 15a and 15b are formed. The recess 11r is formed with an inclined (tapered) surface 11t so that the engagement of the latch claws 15a and 15b can be easily released when the connector is detached.
The mounting portion 11b is formed with a through hole 11h through which the latch claws 15a and 15b pass, and a screw hole 11n for fixing the first housing 11 and the third housing 13.

The second housing 12 is a plastic block having a rectangular cross section. The second housing 12 has a plug housing hole 12p for accommodating the connector plug 22 and the coil spring 22s so as to be able to advance and retreat, and is formed on both sides of the plug housing hole 12p. And a positioning pin 11 of the first housing 11
and a latch claw 15 rotatably fixed by pins on both sides of the housing 12.
a and 15b.

An inward flange 12f (see FIG. 2) is formed in the opening of the plug receiving hole 12p, and the step of the connector plug 22 is brought into contact with the flange 12f by the urging force of the coil spring 22s. Connector plug 2
A positioning hole (not shown) for engaging with the positioning pin 21p of the ferrule 21 is formed on the end face of the ferrule 21. When the end face of the ferrule 21 and the end face of the connector plug 22 come into contact with each other, the end faces of the respective optical fibers are turned off. Optical connection is ensured exactly. The connector plug 22
Is connected to a second housing 12 and a third housing 1 described later.
3 are led out through holes (not shown) formed in each of them.

Alignment hole 12 of second housing 12
h is formed such that when the positioning pin 11p of the first housing 11 is engaged, the end face of the connector plug 22 enters the opening of the first housing 11 into which the ferrule 21 is inserted and fixed. When the positioning pin 11 p of the first housing 11 is completely engaged with the positioning hole 12 h of the second housing 12, the connector plug 22 is in close contact with the end face of the ferrule 21, and
Is pushed into the housing 12 by a predetermined amount.

The latch claws 15a and 15b, which are rotatably fixed to the second housing, have convex portions 15t and 15u for engaging with the concave portions of the first housing on the opposing surfaces of the tip portions. . The opening amount of the latch claws 15a and 15b is controlled such that they expand at a predetermined opening angle. The opening angle is regulated by a tapered (inclined) surface 13t formed in an opening of the third housing 13 described later, and specifically, the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are disengaged. In the state, the latch pawls 15a and 15b are connected to the through holes 11h of the first housing 11.
Are restricted so that the first housing 11 can approach the second housing 12 while being aligned with the width direction.

The third housing 13 is a plastic block having a substantially U-shaped cross section. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 13 has a small taper angle along the inner wall of the opening.
And a second tapered portion 13u having a large taper angle adjacent to the tapered portion 13t. The taper angle of the first tapered portion 13t is such that the latch claws 15a and 15b are in sliding contact with the first tapered portion 13t in a state where the second housing 12 is not pushed into the third housing 13. ing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip portions of the latch claws each make a certain angle α with respect to the direction in which the second housing 12 advances and retreats, and the minimum width W of these tip portions is equal to that of the first housing 12. Of the latch pawls 15a and 15a.
The opening angle of b is regulated as described above.

As shown in FIG. 1, a mounting portion 13b which is in contact with the mounting portion 11b of the first housing 11 is formed on the opening side of the third housing 13, and fastening means such as screws (not shown) are provided. Thus, the two mounting portions can be connected. In addition, the third housing 13 can be fixed to an optical connection device (not shown) via screws (not shown) on the side and bottom surfaces.

The third housing 13 and the second housing 12 are connected to each other by a coil spring 12s so as to be relatively movable. In addition, the coil spring 12s
As described above, when the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are not in contact with each other, the latch claws 15a, 1
5b is the first tapered surface 1 of the third housing 13
3t, the length and the spring constant are set so that the latch claws 15a and 15b remain at the open position (non-engagement position).

Also, a coil spring (first elastic body) 22s connected to the connector plug 22 and second and third coil springs
Spring (second elastic body) 1 between housings 1
2 s means that the coil spring 22 s has a smaller spring constant than the coil spring 12 s, and when the first housing 11 is engaged with the second housing 12, the connector plug 22 is in close contact with the end face of the ferrule 21. After that, the connector plug-side spring 22s is compressed by a predetermined amount, and the positioning pin 11p of the first housing 11 is completely inserted into the positioning hole 12h of the second housing 12, after which the second housing 12 is First
And pushed into the third housing 13.

Hereinafter, the optical connector 10 having such a structure will be described.
3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first housing 11 attached to the substrate P is brought closer to the second and third housings 12 and 13 attached to an apparatus (not shown). In this state, the second housing 12 remains at the first position in the third housing 13 via the coil spring 12s.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3B, the substrate P is pressed against the apparatus, whereby the positioning pins 11p of the first housing 11 are inserted into the positioning holes 12h of the second housing 12. In this step, first, the tips of the latch claws 15a and 15b are previously expanded in a tapered shape at a predetermined opening angle as described above, and the protrusions 15t and 1
Since the minimum width between 5u is substantially equal to the width of the first housing 11, the protrusions 15t and 15u guide the first housing 11 smoothly while guiding the second housing 12 in the housing width direction. 2 can be approached.

At the same time, the positioning pins 11p of the first housing 11 are aligned with the positioning holes 12h of the second housing 12 in the width direction. As a result, the latch claws 15a and 15b of the second housing 12 can be easily inserted into the through holes 11h of the first housing 11. Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
Is further pressed against the device, the alignment pins of the first housing 11 are aligned with the alignment holes 1 of the second housing 12.
2h, the positioning pin 2 of the ferrule 21 is inserted.
1p enters a positioning hole (not shown) of the connector plug 22, and the distal ends of the latch claws 15a and 15b pass through the through hole 11h of the first housing 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, by pressing the substrate P against the device, the ferrule 21 and the connector plug 22 come into contact with each other. From this state, connector plug 2
2 starts moving toward the inside of the housing 12 against the urging force of the spring 22s by being pushed by the ferrule 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the substrate P is pressed against the device, so that the positioning pins 11p of the first housing 11 are pressed.
Is completely inserted into the alignment hole 12h of the second housing 12, and the first housing 11 is
2 and the connector plug 22 is pushed into the plug housing portion 12p of the second housing 12 by a predetermined amount. The connector plug 22 is a coil spring 2
2s, the connector plug 22
Is pushed into the second housing 12, a load is applied to the joint surface with the ferrule 21, and the connector plug 22 can be brought into close contact with the end surface of the ferrule 21.
At the same time, the second housing 12 receives the urging force of the coil spring 12s while the third housing 13
Of the latch claw 15a,
15b is pushed by the inner wall of the third housing 13 and starts rotating in a direction (arrow X) to close each other.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5B, the substrate P is pressed against the device, and the mounting portion 11b of the first housing 11 is pressed.
Is brought into contact with the mounting portion 13b of the third housing 13, the second housing 12 further moves inward of the third housing 13, and stops at the second position shown in the drawing. Along with this, the latch claws 15a and 15b further rotate and engage with the concave portions 11r of the first housing 11, and firmly clamp the first housing 11.

By setting the spring constants of the coil springs 12s and 22s to the optimum values in advance, the urging force of the coil springs 12s and 22s and the frictional force between the latch claws 15a and 15b and the third housing 13 are reduced. Are balanced, and the connection state of the optical connector can be maintained without fixing the first housing 11 and the third housing 13 with fasteners such as screws.

In order to reduce the stress applied to the latch claws 15a and 15b, the mounting portion 11 of the first housing 11
b and the mounting portion 13b of the third housing 13 may be connected by fastening means such as screws (not shown). As described above, the connection of the optical connector 10 can be easily and reliably performed simply by pressing the substrate P toward the device. That is, the first connector 11 is connected to the second connector 1.
2, the latch pawls 15a and 15b cause the first
Since the housing 11 and the second housing 12 are aligned in the width direction, the positioning holes 1 of the second housing 12 are formed.
The positioning pin 11p of the first housing 11 is easily inserted into 2h.

The positioning pin 2 of the ferrule 21
When 1p is engaged with the positioning hole of the connector plug 22, the end faces of the optical fibers accurately match each other. At the same time, an appropriate contact pressure can be applied to the joint surface between the ferrule 21 and the connector plug 22 by the urging force of the coil spring 12s. As a result, preferable optical connection is achieved between the connection end faces. Also, the latch claw 15
Since the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are firmly connected by a and 15b, an appropriate connection state of the optical connector 10 can be maintained for a long time.

On the other hand, when the optical connector 10 is detached, when the mounting portions 11b and 13b are fixed with screws or the like, fasteners such as screws are removed. Then, the substrate P is separated from the apparatus. Thereby, the inclined surface 11t (see FIG. 1) formed in the concave portion 11r of the first housing 11 acts to push and open the latch claws 15a and 15b. At the same time, the second housing 12 and the third
The spring 22s connecting the housing 13 extends. As a result, the second housing 12 moves toward the opening of the third housing 13, and the latch claws 15a, 1
5b expands while slidingly contacting the tapered portion 13t of the third housing 13. Then, both latch claws 15a, 15b open outward to the open position (non-engagement position), and the engagement between the first housing 11 and the latch claws 15a, 15b is released.

As a result, the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are separated. Further, by pulling the substrate P, the ferrule 21 of the first housing 11 and the second
Is separated from the connector plug 22 of the housing 12, and the optical connection is released. The second housing 12 and the third housing 12
When it is desired to clean the housing 13 of the second housing 12, the latch claws 15a and 15b of the second housing 12
The second housing 12 may be further separated from the third housing 13 so as to be in sliding contact with 3u.

As a result, the latch pawls 15a and 15b are further widened from the opening angle, so that the cleaning operation can be performed more easily. As described above, the connection of the optical connector 10 can be easily released only by separating the substrate P from the apparatus. Further, since a complicated fitting mechanism is not required unlike the related art, it is not necessary to mold the housing into a complicated shape. Furthermore, it is not necessary to use a special tool for connecting or detaching the substrate P.

Next, another embodiment of the optical connector according to the present invention will be described. In addition, about the structure similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, the corresponding code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. The optical connector 30 according to another embodiment differs from the optical connector 10 according to the above-described embodiment in that a plurality of ferrules 41a, 41b,... And connector plugs 42a, 42b,. The feature is that they can be connected at once. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the optical connector 30 is connected to the first housing 31 in which a plurality of MT ferrules 41a, 41b,... Are arranged in parallel, and to the ferrules 41a, 41b,. Are arranged in parallel with each other, and latch housings 35a and 35b for holding the first housing 31 are provided at both ends of the second housing 32. A third housing 33 for accommodating the second housing 32 so as to be able to advance and retreat.

Each of the ferrules 41a, 41b,... Disposed in the first housing 31 has two positioning pins 41p, similarly to the above-described embodiment, and has positioning holes (not shown). Connector plug 42a having
42b,... Are appropriately connected. The second housing 32 has latch claws 35a, 3 at both ends.
5b is provided rotatably, and the latch claws 35a, 35
b, the opening amount is controlled and the third housing 3
The opening angle is regulated by the tapered (inclined) surface 33t formed in the opening 3 and the coil spring 35s. More specifically, similarly to the above-described embodiment, when the first housing 31 is brought closer to the second housing 32, the protrusions formed opposite to the distal ends of the latch claws 35a and 35b make the widths of the housings wider. The opening angles of the latch claws 35a and 35b are regulated so as to match the directions. In addition, the minimum width between the convex portions formed at the distal ends of the latch claws 35a and 35b is expanded so as to be substantially equal to the width of the first housing 31.

The connector plugs 42a, 42b... Of the second housing 32 are coil springs 42s, respectively.
., The connector plugs 42a, 42b,... Abut against inward flanges (not shown) formed on the second housing 32. The second housing 32 and the third housing 33 are connected by a coil spring 32s,
By pressing a substrate (not shown) to which the first housing 31 is fixed toward an apparatus (not shown) to which the third housing 33 is fixed, the coil spring 32s is compressed, and the second housing 32 is compressed. Is the third housing 33
Is to be pushed into.

The spring constant of the coil spring 42s for urging the connector plugs 42a, 42b,... Is set smaller than the spring constant of the coil spring 32s between the second and third housings. Since the optical connector 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, the plurality of ferrules 41a, 41b,... And the connector plugs 42a, 42
.. can be reliably connected at once. That is, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 can be engaged with each other while being aligned in the width direction.

More specifically, the second housing 32 is
First, with each ferrule 41 stopped at the position
, a and 41b,... and connector plugs 42a, 42b,.
Are connected while matching with each other in the width direction. By further pressing the board against the device, each connector plug 42a, 4
.. Move into the second housing 32, respectively, and the first housing 31 comes into contact with the second housing 32.

Subsequently, when the substrate is pressed against the apparatus, the second housing 32 is pushed into the inside of the third housing 33, and the latch claws 35a, 35b at the open position are also moved to the third position.
And is rotated by the inner wall of the housing 33 in the closing direction. Further, when the substrate is pressed against the apparatus, the second housing 32 stops at a position (second position) where the urging force of the coil spring 32s and the force for inserting the substrate are balanced. In this position, the latch claws 35a and 35b engage with the concave portions 31r of the first housing 31, and the first housing 3
The first and second housings 32 are securely connected.

When the second housing 32 stays at the second position, the coil spring 32s applies a biasing force to the second housing 32.
The second housing 32 is kept pressed into the third housing 33 by the frictional force between 5b and the inner wall of the third housing 33, and the engagement between the latch claws 35a and 35b is not released.

On the other hand, when the connector 30 is detached, it is only necessary to separate the board from the apparatus as in the above-described embodiment. That is, by separating the substrate from the apparatus, both the first housing 31 and the second housing 32 move toward the opening of the third housing 33,
At the same time, the latch claws 35a, 35b are no longer pushed by the inner wall of the third housing 33, and expand to the open position (non-engagement position). Thereby, the first housing 31 can be easily separated from the second housing 32, and the optical connection between the ferrules 41a, 41b,... And the connector plugs 42a, 42b,. Can be.

As described above, the optical connector according to the present invention differs from the conventional optical connector in that each housing constituting the optical connector has a simple shape.
In particular, it is suitable for manufacturing an optical connector having a plurality of ferrules. As a modified example of the optical connector, as shown in FIG.
The mounting projections 3 are provided on both the 1 ′ and the third housing 33 ′.
1b and 33b are formed, and the first housing 31 'and the third housing 33' are fixed by screws via a guide G attached to the substrate P using a tool such as a driver or a wrench. good. This prevents extra stress from being applied to the latch pawl.

In the above embodiment, the description has been made using the multi-core ferrule, but a single-core ferrule may be used instead. Further, the number of ferrules is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and a plurality of ferrules other than two latch claws may be provided. The material of the housing and the latch claw is not limited to plastic, but may be metal.

Further, an elastic body such as a leaf spring or rubber having an appropriate spring constant may be used instead of the coil spring. Also, a recess is formed at the free end of the latch claw side,
May be formed on both sides of the housing.

[0042]

As described above, the optical connector according to the present invention comprises a first housing provided with at least one ferrule, a second housing provided with a ferrule connected to the ferrule, and a second housing provided with a ferrule. And a third housing accommodating the first and second housings so as to be able to advance and retreat between a first position not engaged with the first housing and a second position engaged with the first housing. The housing includes two pivotable latch pawls that engage the first housing when the second housing moves to the second position. Therefore, only by engaging the first housing with the second housing, the latch claw provided on the second housing engages with the first housing, and the connection state between the ferrules can be secured. In particular, when the first housing and the second housing include a plurality of ferrules, the ferrules can be reliably connected with a simple configuration. Therefore, there is no need to mold the housing into a complicated shape.

The two pivotable latch claws provided on the second housing have their opening angles regulated so as to guide the first housing and the second housing into an engaged state. The first housing and the second housing can be easily engaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state before connection of an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed sectional view partially showing the optical connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for connecting the optical connector of FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for connecting the optical connector 10 of FIG. 1 subsequent to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for connecting the optical connector of FIG. 1 subsequent to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state before connection of an optical connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a modification of the optical connector of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical connector 11 1st housing 11p Positioning pin 11r Concave part 11t Slope 12t Second housing 12h Positioning hole 12s Coil spring 13 Third housing 15s Coil spring 21 Ferrule 22 Connector plug 22s Coil spring 30 Optical connector 31 1 housing 32 second housing 33 third housing 35a, 35b latch claw 35s coil spring 41a, 41b, ... ferrule 42a, 42b, ... connector plug 42s coil spring

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Jun Yamakawa 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H036 QA03 QA32 QA49 QA57

Claims (1)

[Claims] An optical connector connected to an optical connector having a first housing with at least one ferrule, the optical connector having a ferrule connected to a ferrule of the first housing. A third housing for housing the housing and the second housing so as to be able to advance and retreat between a first position not engaged with the first housing and a second position engaged with the first housing; Wherein the second housing has two rotatable latch claws for clamping the first housing when the second housing moves to the second position, An optical connector, wherein an opening angle is regulated so as to guide the first housing and the second housing into an engaged state.