JP6763556B1 - Lock mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lock mechanism capable of reducing difficulty in an insertion / removal operation. A lock mechanism (20) includes a stopper (22), a locking portion (21), and an operating mechanism (23). The stopper 22 is provided on the pluggable optical interface module 10 that can be inserted into the cage 14. The locking portion 21 is supported for movement at a lock position P1 that abuts on the stopper 22 and a lock release position that avoids the stopper 22. The actuating mechanism 23 holds the locking portion 21 at the locking position P1 and the unlocking position by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage. [Selection diagram] Fig. 2

Description

The present invention relates to a locking mechanism.

The optical transceiver insertion / removal mechanism of Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the optical transceiver is unlocked from the cage by rotating the bail downward and a configuration in which the optical transceiver is unlocked from the cage by pulling the pull tab forward. Has been done. When unlocking by operating the bail, for example, after removing the optical fiber from the optical receptacle of the optical transceiver, the bail is rotated downward to unlock the optical transceiver from the cage. Hereinafter, the optical transceiver will be referred to as a "pluggable optical interface module".

JP-A-2018-81767

However, the bail insertion / extraction mechanism of Patent Document 1 requires an operation of removing the optical fiber from the pluggable optical interface module when the lock is released by operating the bail. When the optical fiber is removed from the pluggable optical interface module, for example, dust or the like may adhere to the end face of the optical connector to stain the end face of the optical connector.
Therefore, the insertion / removal operation may be difficult.
In addition, some bail lowers to a position lower than the bottom surface of the pluggable optical interface module when the bail is rotated downward. For this reason, the bail may hit an object located within the movable range of the bail, which may make the insertion / removal operation difficult.
Further, in the insertion / removal mechanism using the pull tab of Patent Document 1, when the lock is released by the operation of the pull tab, for example, the pull tab pulled forward may come into contact with the front plate of the device. For this reason, the pull tab may be an obstacle, and the insertion / removal operation may be difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism that solves any of the above problems.

The locking mechanism of the first aspect is a locking portion that can be moved to a stopper provided on the pluggable optical interface module that can be inserted into the cage, a locking position that abuts on the stopper, and an unlocking position that avoids the stopper. The pluggable optical interface module is pushed into the cage to provide an operating mechanism capable of holding the locking portion at the locking position and the unlocking position.

According to the above aspect, the difficulty in the insertion / removal operation can be reduced.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which arranged the lock mechanism in the lock position in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which enlarged the part II of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the line III-III of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which arranged the lock mechanism in the lock release position in 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the VV line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which arranged the lock mechanism in the 2nd Embodiment of the minimum configuration at a lock position.

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding configurations are designated by the same reference numerals in all drawings, and common description will be omitted.

<First Embodiment>
The first embodiment of the lock mechanism 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. Hereinafter, the lock mechanism 20 of the pluggable optical interface module 10 may be abbreviated as "lock mechanism 20".

It should be noted that this embodiment can be applied to the configuration of an electric connector capable of securing a space for mounting the pluggable optical interface module 10. For example, examples of the electric connector include CFP (Centum gigabit Form Factor Pluggable), CFP2, CFP4, CFP8, SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable), SFP +, and SFP28. Further, examples of the electric connector include QSFP + (Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus), QSFP28, QSFP-DD, and XFP (10 Gigabit Small Form Factor Pluggable).

As shown in FIG. 1, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example, and includes a printed circuit board 12. The pluggable optical interface module 10 is used by being inserted into the cage 14 of the host system. With the pluggable optical interface module 10 inserted in the cage 14, the electrical signal terminals (not shown) of the printed circuit board 12 are connected to the electrical connector 16.

Further, regarding the insertion / removal direction of the pluggable optical interface module 10, an optical fiber (not shown) is connected to a portion 10a of the pluggable optical interface module 10 on the opposite side of the pluggable optical interface module 10 on the side including the printed circuit board 12. The printed circuit board 12 comes into contact with the push rod 25 (described later) when the pluggable optical interface module 10 is inserted into the cage 14.
Hereinafter, among the insertion / removal directions of the pluggable optical interface module 10, the insertion direction may be referred to as rearward.
Further, among the insertion / extraction directions of the pluggable optical interface module 10, the extraction direction may be referred to as forward.

The pluggable optical interface module 10 is held at the insertion position by the lock mechanism 20 in a state of being inserted into the cage 14. The lock mechanism 20 includes a locking portion 21, a stopper 22, and an operating mechanism 23. The locking portion 21 and the operating mechanism 23 are provided inside the cage 14. The stopper 22 is provided on the pluggable optical interface module 10.
Since the locking portion 21 and the operating mechanism 23 are provided inside the cage 14, the pluggable optical interface module 10 does not need to include the locking portion 21 and the operating mechanism 23. Therefore, the configuration of the pluggable optical interface module 10 is simplified.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operating mechanism 23 includes a pushing rod 25, a rotating shaft 26, a rotating mechanism 27, a holding portion 28, a supporting portion 31, and an elastic member 32.
The push rod 25 has, for example, a cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape.
The push rod 25 is fixed to the electric connector 16 fixed to the cage 14 in the circumferential direction and is supported by the electric connector 16 so as to be movable in the axial direction.
To configure the push rod 25 to be fixed in the circumferential direction and supported so as to be movable in the axial direction, for example, the push rod 25 has a groove extending in the axial direction on the outer circumference, and the electric connector 16 is formed. It suffices to have a protrusion on the inner circumference.
At that time, the protrusion of the electric connector 16 is configured to fit into the groove extending in the axial direction of the pushing rod 25 at a position facing the groove extending in the axial direction of the pushing rod 25, so that the pushing rod 25 is rotated. It is fixed in the direction and can be moved in the axial direction.
For example, the push rod 25 may have a protrusion on the outer circumference, and the electric connector 16 may have a groove extending in the axial direction on the inner circumference.

Further, the push rod 25 is arranged at a position where the front end portion 25a abuts on the rear end portion 12a of the printed circuit board 12 when the pluggable optical interface module 10 is inserted into the cage 14. The pluggable optical interface module 10 is further pushed into the cage 14 in a state where the front end portion 25a of the push rod 25 is in contact with the rear end portion 12a of the printed circuit board 12. As a result, the pushing rod 25 is pushed in the pushing direction (insertion direction) by the pushing force of the pluggable optical interface module 10.

In this way, when the pluggable optical interface module 10 is inserted into the cage 14, the printed circuit board 12 comes into contact with the push rod 25. Therefore, the pushing rod 25 can be pushed in the pushing direction by the printed circuit board 12 by the pushing force of the pluggable optical interface module 10. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated pushing member for moving the pushing rod 25.
As a result, the number of parts of the lock mechanism 20 can be reduced. Moreover, the configuration of the lock mechanism 20 is simplified.

A rotating shaft 26 is arranged behind the push rod 25.
The rotating shaft 26 is supported by the electric connector 16 so as to be rotatable with respect to the electric connector 16 and movable in the axial direction.
The rotating shaft 26 is pushed in the pushing direction by the pushing rod 25, so that the rotating shaft 26 rotates in a direction intersecting the pushing direction.
For example, the rotating shaft 26 may rotate in the circumferential direction with respect to the pushing direction by being pushed in the pushing direction by the pushing rod 25.

The rotation mechanism 27 is composed of a rear end portion 25b of the push rod 25, which is a rear portion, and a front end portion 26a of the rotation shaft 26, which is a front portion.
The rotation mechanism 27 is configured so that the rotating shaft 26 rotates in the circumferential direction with respect to the pushing rod 25 by moving the pushing rod 25 rearward.

In order to configure the rotating shaft 26 to rotate in the circumferential direction by moving the pushing rod 25 rearward, for example, the rotating mechanism 27 is provided with an inclined surface 35 provided at the rear end portion 25b of the pushing rod 25. , The protrusion 36 provided on the front end portion 26a of the rotating shaft 26 may be provided.
At that time, the inclined surface 35 and the protrusion 36 face each other in the axial direction of the push rod 25 (or the rotary shaft 26) at a position displaced in the radial direction from the axial center of the push rod 25 (or the rotary shaft 26). There is.
Further, the inclined surface 35 is configured to be inclined along the circumferential direction at a position displaced in the radial direction from the axial center of the rear end portion 25b of the push rod 25.
Further, the protrusion 36 projects from the front end portion 26a in the axial direction at a position radially deviated from the axial center of the front end portion 26a of the rotating shaft 26.

According to such a configuration, when the pushing rod 25 moves backward, the protrusion 36 moves in the circumferential direction along the inclined surface 35, so that the rotating shaft 26 rotates in the circumferential direction with respect to the pushing rod 25. Can be made to.

For example, in order to rotate the rotating shaft 26 by 180 degrees, the inclined surface 35 may be provided on the rear end portion 25b over a range of at least 180 degrees in the circumferential direction.
For example, a plurality of pairs of inclined surfaces 35 and protrusions 36 facing each other may be provided in the circumferential direction.

In the present embodiment, the rotation mechanism 27 includes an inclined surface 35 provided on the rear end portion 25b of the push rod 25 and a protrusion 36 provided on the front end portion 26a of the rotation shaft 26. The configuration may be.

For example, the rotation mechanism 27 may include a protrusion provided on the rear end portion 25b of the push rod 25 and an inclined surface provided on the front end portion 26a of the rotation shaft 26.
Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the rotation mechanism 27 is composed of the inclined surface 35 and the protrusion 36 will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As another example, the rotation mechanism 27 may include a spiral groove provided on the outer circumference of the front end of the rotation shaft 26 and a protrusion provided on the inner circumference of the rear end of the push rod 25. At that time, the protrusion is configured to be movable while being fitted in the spiral groove at a position facing the spiral groove.

According to the rotation mechanism 27, the pushing rod 25 is pushed backward to press the protrusion 36 on the inclined surface 35. As a result, the protrusion 36 moves in the circumferential direction along the inclined surface 35, so that the rotation shaft 26 rotates.

A holding portion 28 is provided on the rotating shaft 26. As the holding portion 28, for example, a cam portion 28 is used. In the embodiment, the cam portion 28 will be described as an example of the holding portion 28, but other members may be used as the holding portion 28.

As the cam portion 28, for example, a cam portion 28 having a pair of raised surfaces 28b and a pair of low surfaces 28c on the cam surface 28a is used. The raised surface 28b and the low surface 28c are formed at equal intervals, for example, alternately in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 26. The number and arrangement of the raised surface 28b and the low surface 28c can be appropriately selected.

A support portion 31 is provided behind the cam portion 28.
That is, the support portion 31 is provided on the opposite side of the push rod 25 with respect to the cam portion 28.
The support portion 31 is fixed to the cage 14 and supports the rotating shaft 26 so as to be rotatable and axially movable.
An elastic member 32 is interposed between the support portion 31 and the cam portion 28. As the elastic member 32, for example, the coil spring 32 is exemplified, but other elastic members can also be used.

By interposing the coil spring 32 between the support portion 31 and the cam portion 28, the cam portion 28 is pressed forward by the urging force of the coil spring 32. Therefore, the urging force of the coil spring 32 can bring the front end portion 26a of the rotating shaft 26 into contact with the rear end portion 25b of the pushing rod 25. As a result, the rotation mechanism 27 can be suitably operated.

A locking portion 21 is arranged above the cam portion 28. The locking portion 21 has a leg portion 41 movably supported by the cage 14 in the vertical direction and a contact portion 42 extending in a direction intersecting the leg portion 41. For example, the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 is in contact with the cam surface 28a of the cam portion 28 by the spring force of an elastic member (not shown). Therefore, the leg portion 41 moves in the vertical direction following the cam surface 28a of the cam portion 28.

The contact portion 42 extends rearward from the upper end portion 41b of the leg portion 41 toward the stopper 22. The locking portion 21 is formed in an L shape in a side view by the leg portion 41 and the contact portion 42. Therefore, the locking portion 21 can be formed in a simple shape.

The locking portion 21 is held at the locking position P1 in a state where the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 is in contact with the raised surface 28b of the cam surface 28a.
In this state, the tip portion 42a of the contact portion 42 comes into contact with the stopper 22 (described later).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the locking portion 21 is held at the unlocking position P2 in a state where the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 is in contact with the low surface 28c of the cam surface 28a. In this state, the tip end portion 42a of the contact portion 42 is located below the stopper 22 so as to avoid the stopper 22.
That is, the locking portion 21 is movably supported at the locking position P1 (see FIG. 2) and the unlocking position P2 following the cam surface 28a of the cam portion 28.
Further, by using the cam portion 28 as the holding portion 28, the locking portion 21 can be moved to the lock position P1 and the unlock position P2 by the cam portion 28 having a simple shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, a stopper 22 is provided behind the locking portion 21.
The stopper 22 is provided at the rear end portion (end portion) 45, which is the rear end of the pluggable optical interface module 10.
By providing the stopper 22 at the rear end portion 45 of the pluggable optical interface module 10, the stopper 22 can be firmly attached to the pluggable optical interface module 10 with a simple configuration.

Next, an example of inserting the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 of the locking portion 21 abuts on the lower surface 28c of the cam surface 28a, and the locking portion 21 moves from the locking position P1 to the unlocking position P2. It is held at the unlocked position P2. By holding the locking portion 21 at the unlocking position P2, the tip portion 42a of the contact portion 42 is located below the stopper 22 and is avoided from the stopper 22.
In this state, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is inserted rearward into the cage 14 as shown by arrow A.

By inserting the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14, the printed circuit board 12 of the pluggable optical interface module 10 is connected to the electrical connector 16. Further, in a state where the printed circuit board 12 is connected to the electric connector 16, the rear end portion 12a of the printed circuit board 12 comes into contact with the front end portion 25a of the push rod 25. Further, the stopper 22 is located above and behind the locking portion 21 beyond the locking portion 21.
In this state, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is continuously inserted rearward into the cage 14 as shown by arrow A.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the push rod 25 is pushed backward by the printed circuit board 12. When the pushing rod 25 is pushed backward, the rotating shaft 26 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 27. The cam portion 28 rotates as the rotation shaft 26 rotates. As the cam portion 28 rotates, the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 is held in contact with the raised surface 28b of the cam surface 28a.
Therefore, the locking portion 21 is held at the locking position P1, and the tip portion 42a of the contact portion 42 comes into contact with the stopper 22. As a result, the locking portion 21 can prevent the pluggable optical interface module 10 from coming out of the cage 14. In this state, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is attached in a state of being inserted into the cage 14.

Next, an example of pulling out the pluggable optical interface module 10 from the cage 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 to 5.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is attached in a cage 14 inserted state. In this state, the pluggable optical interface module 10 is pushed backward with respect to the cage 14 as shown by arrow A. Therefore, the printed circuit board 12 is pushed backward, and the pushing rod 25 is pushed backward by the printed circuit board 12.
When the pushing rod 25 is pushed backward, the rotating shaft 26 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 27. The cam portion 28 rotates as the rotation shaft 26 rotates.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotation of the cam portion 28 keeps the lower end portion 41a of the leg portion 41 in contact with the low surface 28c of the cam surface 28a. Therefore, the locking portion 21 moves from the locking position P1 (see FIG. 1) to the unlocking position P2 and is held at the unlocking position P2.
That is, the tip end portion 42a of the contact portion 42 is arranged at a position avoiding the stopper 22 below the stopper 22. As a result, the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be removed from the cage 14.

As described above, according to the lock mechanism 20 of the present embodiment, the locking portion 21 can be held at the lock position P1 by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 when it is inserted into the cage 14. In this state, the locking portion 21 comes into contact with the stopper 22, and the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be held (locked) in a state of being inserted into the cage 14.
Further, in the state where the pluggable optical interface module 10 is held (locked) in the cage 14, the locking portion 21 can be held in the unlocked position P2 by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14. In this state, the locking portion 21 can be avoided from the stopper 22 and the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be removed from the cage 14.

Therefore, the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be held (locked) in a state of being inserted into the cage 14 without removing the optical fiber from the pluggable optical interface module 10, and the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be removed from the cage 14. Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from adhering to the optical connector by removing the optical fiber.

Further, by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14, the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be held (locked) in a state of being inserted into the cage 14 without operating a bail or a pull tab, and can be removed from the cage 14. Therefore, when the pluggable optical interface module 10 is held (locked) in the cage 14 in the inserted state or removed from the cage 14, there is no possibility that the bail or pull tab will hit an object located in the movable range, which is a defect in operability. Can be resolved.
As described above, according to the lock mechanism 20 of the present embodiment, the difficulty in the insertion / removal operation can be reduced.

<Second embodiment of the minimum configuration of the lock mechanism 20>
A second embodiment of the minimum configuration of the lock mechanism 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
The lock mechanism 20 includes a stopper 22, a locking portion 21, and an operating mechanism 23.
The stopper 22 is provided on the pluggable optical interface module 10 that can be inserted into the cage 14.
The locking portion 21 is supported for movement at a lock position P1 that abuts on the stopper 22 and a lock release position P2 that avoids the stopper 22.
The actuating mechanism 23 holds the locking portion 21 at the locking position P1 and the unlocking position P2 by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14.

Therefore, by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 into the cage 14, the locking portion 21 can be brought into contact with the stopper 22. Therefore, the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be held (locked) in a state of being inserted into the cage 14.
Further, by pushing the pluggable optical interface module 10 held (locked) in the cage 14 into the cage 14, the locking portion 21 can be avoided from the stopper 22. Therefore, the pluggable optical interface module 10 can be removed from the cage 14. As a result, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from adhering to the optical connector by removing the optical fiber, and it is possible to eliminate problems in operability.
As described above, according to the lock mechanism 20 of the present embodiment, the difficulty in the insertion / removal operation can be reduced.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention as well as in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

10 Pluggable optical interface module 12 Printed circuit board 14 Cage 20 Lock mechanism 21 Locking part 22 Stopper 23 Acting mechanism 25 Pushing rod 26 Rotating shaft 27 Rotating mechanism 28 Holding part (cam part)
31 Support 32 Elastic member (coil spring)
41 Leg 42 Contact 45 Rear end (end)
P1 lock position P2 unlock position

Claims (8)

A stopper provided on the pluggable optical interface module that can be inserted into the cage,
A locking portion that can be moved to a locking position that abuts on the stopper and an unlocking position that avoids the stopper.
Equipped with an operating mechanism,
The operating mechanism is
Provided in the cage
When pushing the pluggable optical interface module into the cage, a pushing rod that can move in the pushing direction by the pushing force of the pluggable optical interface module
A rotating shaft that rotates in a direction intersecting the pushing direction by being pushed by the pushing rod.
A cam portion provided on the rotating shaft and capable of holding the locking portion at the locking position and the unlocking position,
Carlo click mechanism equipped with. The pluggable optical interface module is
By contacting the push rod, the push force of the pluggable optical interface module, the locking mechanism of claim 1, comprising a printed circuit board capable of moving the push rod to push direction. The operating mechanism is
The lock mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a rotating mechanism that rotates the rotating shaft in a direction intersecting the pushing direction by the pushing force of the pushing rod. The operating mechanism is
The locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a support portion that rotatably supports the rotating shaft. The operating mechanism is
A support portion provided on the opposite side of the push rod with respect to the cam portion and rotatably supporting the rotation shaft, and a support portion.
An elastic member that is interposed between the support portion and the cam portion and that abuts the rotating shaft on the pushing rod.
The locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The locking mechanism according to claim 5 , wherein the elastic member is a coil spring. The locking portion is
Provided in the cage
The legs extending in the direction of movement by the cam portion and
An abutting portion that extends in a direction intersecting the leg portion and has a tip portion that can come into contact with the stopper.
The locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . The lock mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the stopper is provided at an end portion of the pluggable optical interface module.

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