JP2003227965A - Optical connector and structure for fixing part of optical fiber cord - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber connector that enables an optical fiber cord to be easily fixed while relaxing a lateral pressure imparted to the optical fiber. <P>SOLUTION: Grooved band holders 30a, 30b, 30c are formed on the outer periphery of the connector body 21 which is connected to the opposite optical connector while holding the end of the optical fiber cord 10. The grooved band holders 30a, 30b, 30c are designed to have recessed grooves 31a, 31b, 31c into which a belt-like bundled band body 50 can be fitted. The grooved band holders are wound on the outer periphery of the connector body 21 so that the bundled band body 50 is stored in the recessed grooves 31a, 31b, 31c, and are fixedly held on a target member 60 to be attached. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector and an optical fiber cord fixing portion structure used for connecting an optical fiber and an optical element or optical fibers in an automobile, a device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when laying an optical fiber cord in an automobile, conventionally, the optical fiber cord is provided separately from a normal wire harness route, and a special consideration is given to prevent excessive lateral pressure from being applied. I was laying on the route.

[0003]

In consideration of the wiring space and the like, it is preferable to lay the optical fiber cord and the ordinary wire harness in the same route.

As described above, the reason why the optical fiber cord is laid on a safe route with special consideration is that the optical fiber cord is bound with a binding band body as in a normal wire harness. However, if it is fixed to the body of an automobile or the like, a large lateral pressure is applied to the optical fiber cord at the binding portion, resulting in a large optical loss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connector and an optical fiber cord fixing portion structure which can easily fix the optical fiber cord while relaxing the lateral pressure applied to the optical fiber.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems,
The invention according to claim 1 is an optical connector which holds an end portion of an optical fiber cord and is connected to a mating optical connector, and which is provided with a band holding portion for holding a binding band body.

The band holding portion may be a grooved band holding portion having a concave groove into which a band-shaped binding band body can be fitted, as described in claim 2, and also as described in claim 3. Further, it may be a band holding part with a hole having a hole through which the binding band body can be inserted.

Further, as described in claim 4, the band holding portion may be formed on an outer peripheral portion of the connector main body portion in the vicinity of an end portion from which the optical fiber cord is pulled out. As described in the item 5, a plurality of the band holding portions may be provided.

When the optical fiber cord is fixed by using the optical connector, a holding hole through which the optical fiber cord can be inserted and held is formed as in the optical fiber cord fixing portion structure according to the sixth aspect. A cord holding portion and a mounting portion provided on the cord holding portion and fixed to a member to be mounted, and a portion of the optical fiber cord pulled out from the optical connector is inserted and held in the holding hole. It is preferable that the cord holder further be provided.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION {Embodiment} An optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A to 2D, the optical connector 20 holds the end portion of the optical fiber cord 10 and is connectable to the mating optical connector 40. It has a body portion 21. Then, the pair of optical connectors 20 and 40 are connected to optically connect the pair of optical fiber cords 10. That is, the both optical connectors 20 and 40 function as a relay connector that relay-connects the optical fiber cords 10 to each other.

Here, the optical connector 40 on the other side will be described. As shown in FIG.
Has a connector body 41.

The connector body 41 is formed of resin or the like into a substantially cylindrical shape, and the optical fiber cord 10 is provided therein.
Is formed with a cord accommodating hole portion 42 for inserting and accommodating the cord along the axial direction. In addition, the connector body 41
An approximately circular tubular ferrule portion 45 is formed at the distal end of the fiber housing hole portion 46 in the ferrule portion 45.
Are formed.

The cord accommodation hole 42 and the fiber accommodation hole 4
6 is formed continuously on the same straight line. And
An optical fiber 11 having a predetermined length is provided at the end of the optical fiber cord 10.
The exposed end portion of the optical fiber 11 is accommodated and arranged in the fiber accommodating hole portion 46 by inserting the optical fiber cord 10 into the cord accommodating hole portion 42 from the rear of the connector main body portion 41 in a state where the optical fiber 11 is exposed. In addition, the covering portion 12 of the optical fiber cord 10 is configured to be accommodated and arranged in the cord accommodating hole portion 42.

In the above state, the optical fiber cord 1
0 is held by the optical connector 40. Here, a stopper mounting opening 43 that communicates with the cord housing hole 42 is formed on the bottom surface that is one side of the connector body 41, and a stopper (not shown) is inserted through the stopper mounting opening 43 and a cord housing hole is provided. It is inserted and arranged in the portion 42, and the stopper is covered with the covering portion 1.
The optical fiber cord 10 is positioned and held in the axial direction by engaging with the optical fiber cord 2.

As described above, when the optical fiber cord 10 is held, the end surface of the optical fiber 11 is exposed at the tip surface of the ferrule portion 45, and the end surface of the optical fiber 11 at the tip portion of the ferrule portion 45 is a mirror surface. Is being processed.

The connector body 41 is provided with a ferrule protection wall portion 44 in the shape of a rectangular tube which surrounds the ferrule portion 45 with an appropriate interval. The ferrule protection wall portion 44 extends toward the tip side of the ferrule portion 45 with respect to the tip portion thereof, and an external member, a human finger, or the like contacts the end surface of the optical fiber 11 exposed at the end portion of the ferrule portion 45. It has the role of preventing

On the upper part of the connector body 41, an engaging extension piece 47 is cantilevered from the rear end portion toward the tip side, and the tip end portion of the engaging extension piece 47 is provided. Engagement hole 29 (described later) formed on the optical connector 20 side
An engaging projection 48 is provided so as to be engageable with and disengageable from.
Then, at the time of connecting the both optical connectors 20 and 40, the engaging protrusion 4 is utilized by utilizing the downward elastic deformation of the engaging extension piece 47.
8 and the engagement hole 29 are engaged with each other.

Further, a releasing operation portion 49 is formed on the upper portion of the engaging extension piece 47, and when releasing the connection state of both optical connectors 20 and 40, the releasing operation portion 49 is pushed down. As a result, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 48 on the optical connector 40 side and the engagement hole 29 on the optical connector 20 side can be released.

Returning to the description of the optical connector 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) to 2 (d), the optical connector 20 is shown.
Is the connector body 21 and the band holding portions 30a, 30
b and 30c.

The connector body 21 is constructed so that it can hold the end of the optical fiber cord 10 and connect it to the mating optical connector 40 as described above.

Specifically, the connector body 21 is formed of resin or the like into a substantially cylindrical shape, and the cord housing hole 22 having the same structure as the cord housing hole 42 is formed therein.

On the connection end side of the connector body 21,
A substantially housing-like fitting portion 28 that opens toward the connection end side is formed, and the tip end portion of the connector body portion 41 of the optical connector 40 can be fitted into the fitting portion 28. . Further, a ferrule guide tube portion 23 that projects toward the connecting end side is formed in the inner part of the fitting portion 28 so as to project, and the ferrule guide tube portion 23 can guide the insertion of the ferrule portion 45. The hole 24 is formed.

Further, inside the connector body 21, between the cord receiving hole 22 and the ferrule guide hole 24, a fiber receiving hole 25 into which the optical fiber 11 can be inserted is formed. And the optical fiber cord 10
When the optical fiber cord 10 is inserted into the cord accommodation hole 22 with the optical fiber 11 exposed at the end of the optical fiber 11, the exposed end of the optical fiber 11 becomes the fiber accommodation hole 25.
The optical fiber cord 10 is housed and arranged in the cord housing hole 22.

Then, in the above state, the connector body 21
Stopper mounting opening 26 formed on the bottom surface which is one side
The optical fiber cord 10 is positioned and held in the axial direction by inserting and arranging a stopper (not shown) into the cord accommodating hole portion 22 and engaging the stopper with the covering portion 12. Needless to say, the optical fiber cord 10 may be positioned and held by using, for example, an adhesive agent.

As described above, in the state where the optical fiber cord 10 is held, the end surface of the optical fiber 11 is exposed in the inner part of the ferrule guide hole portion 24. When both the optical connectors 20 and 40 are connected, the ferrule part 45 is inserted into the ferrule guide hole part 24, and the end face of the optical fiber 11 exposed at the tip of the ferrule part 45 and the inner part of the ferrule guide hole part 24. The end face of the optical fiber 11 exposed in the section is disposed so as to face it, and both are optically connected.

An engagement hole 29 is formed in the upper portion of the connector body 21 so that the engagement protrusion 48 on the optical connector 40 side can be engaged and disengaged. Then, when the both optical connectors 20 and 40 are connected, the engaging projection 48 is engaged with the engaging hole 29.
And the connected state is maintained.

The band holders 30a, 30b, 30c are
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the connector main body 21 and can hold the binding band body 50.

In this embodiment, the band holding portions 30a,
30b, 30c are formed in grooved band holding portions 30a, 30b, 30c having concave grooves 31a, 31b, 31c into which band-shaped binding band bodies can be fitted.

More specifically, the grooved band holding portions 30a and 30b are formed on the rear end side (the pull-out end side of the optical fiber cord 10) and the central portion of the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the connector body 21, respectively. , Grooved band holder 30c
Is formed on the rear end side (lower end side of the optical fiber cord 10) of the lower surface of the outer peripheral portion of the connector body 21.

Each grooved band holding portion 30a, 30b, 30
c is a configuration in which concave grooves 31a, 31b, 31c extending along the circumferential direction (here, the width direction of the connector body portion 21) of the outer peripheral portion of the connector body portion 21 are formed along the same direction. Has been done.

Each of the concave grooves 31a, 31b, 31c has a groove width dimension slightly larger than the width dimension of the binding band body 50 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).
Can be accommodated in a state of being positioned in the width direction.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, a procedure for fixing and holding the optical fiber cord 10 to a predetermined member 60 to be attached using the optical connector 20 will be described.

The optical fiber cord 10 is fixedly held in advance in the optical connector 20 by the above-described structure. Further, here, the plate-shaped portion of the vehicle body is assumed as the mounted member 60, and two pairs of mounting holes 60h are formed in the mounted member 60. As the member 60 to be attached, a wire harness or the like made of a general electric wire bundle can be assumed.

First, as the binding band body 50, a binding band in which a band stopper portion 52 which can engage the band portion 51 at an arbitrary position along the longitudinal direction is formed at one end of a long band portion 51. A well-known binding band body used for bundling a body, for example, an ordinary electric wire or cable is used.

3 and 4 show the grooved band holding portion 3 described above.
The structure of the fixed part of the optical fiber cord 10 using 0a and 30b is shown.

In this case, first, the two binding band members 50 are
, And attach each band 51 to the connector body 2
They are arranged in the rear end portion and the intermediate portion of the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 1 along the width direction, and are housed in the concave grooves 31a and 32b, respectively. Then, while winding the band portion 51 around the outer peripheral portion of the connector main body portion 21, the end portion of the band portion 51 is
One mounting hole 60h from one surface side of the mounting target member 60
To the other surface side, and further to the one surface side of the mounted object member 60 from the other surface side of the mounted object member 60 through the other mounting hole 60h. Then, the band portion 51 is pulled and fixed to the band stopper portion 52 at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction thereof.

As a result, the optical connector 20 is fixed to the member 60 to be attached, and as a result, the optical fiber cord 10 is also fixedly held to the member 60 to be attached.

When the optical connector 20 is fixed by disposing the upper surface of the connector main body 21 on the member 60 to be mounted, as shown in FIG. 5, the band portion 51 is attached to the outer periphery of the connector main body 21. The optical connector 20 is arranged in the middle portion of the lower surface of the portion along the width direction and is housed in each of the concave grooves 31c, and the optical connector 20 is fixedly held by using the binding band body 50 in the same manner as described above. As a result, the optical fiber cord 10 is also fixedly held by the member 60 to be attached.

According to the optical connector 20 configured as described above, the band holding portions 30a, 30b, 30c for holding the binding band body 50 are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the connector body 21.
Since the optical connector 20 is formed, the optical fiber cord 10 can be easily fixed and held by fixing and holding the optical connector 20 to the attachment target member 60 using the binding band body 50. At this time, the binding band body 50 is attached to the optical fiber cord 10.
Is not directly tightened and fixed, the side pressure applied to the optical fiber 11 can be relaxed.

In particular, the band holders 30a, 30b, 30
c is a concave groove 3 into which the band-shaped binding band body 50 can be fitted.
Grooved band holding portion 30 having 1a, 31b, 31c
Since they are a, 30b, and 30c, the binding band 5
The optical connector 20 can be easily fixed and held by fitting 0 into the concave grooves 31a, 31b, 31c.

The grooved band holding portions 30a, 30b,
The formation position and shape of 30c are not limited to those described above.
For example, the groove may be formed directly on the outer peripheral portion of the connector body 21. Further, it may be provided on the front or side of the connector body 21.

By the way, when vibration is applied to the member 60 to be attached, the optical connector 20 and the optical fiber cord 10 are vibrated and shaken around the portion to be attached to the member 60 to be attached. At the portion where the fiber cord 10 is pulled out from the optical connector 20, the optical fiber cord 10
Is easily damaged. Therefore, this optical connector 20
Then, the band holding portions 30a and 31c are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the connector main body portion 21 in the vicinity of the end portion where the optical fiber cord 10 is pulled out, and the band holding portions 30a and 31c are formed.
The optical connector 20 can be fixedly held. As a result, the width of vibration and sway is reduced in the pulled-out portion of the optical fiber cord 10, and the influence of the vibration and shaking of the optical connector 20 is less likely to reach the pulled-out portion of the optical fiber cord 10, and the deformation of the optical fiber cord 10 is caused. And damage can be prevented.

Further, in this optical connector 20, since the plurality of band holding portions 30a and 30b are provided at the two positions of the rear portion and the intermediate portion of the connector main body portion 21, the band holding portions 30a and 30b can be fixed and held at a plurality of portions, and the optical connector 20 can be held. Can be fixed more firmly.

As shown in FIG. 6, a portion of the optical fiber cord 10 that is pulled out from the rear end portion of the connector body 21 may be inserted and held by the cord holder 70.

In order to hold the drawn end of the optical fiber cord 10 more firmly, as shown in FIGS.
The pulled-out portion of the optical fiber cord 10 may be fixedly held by using the cord holder 70.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, as the cord holder 70, a cord holding portion 71 having a holding hole 71h through which the optical fiber cord 10 can be inserted and held is formed.
And a mounting portion 72 provided on the cord holding portion 71 and capable of being mounted and fixed to the member 60 to be mounted is used.

The cord holding portion 71 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape,
A holding hole 71h through which the optical fiber cord 10 can be inserted and held is formed inside thereof along the axial direction.

The holding hole 71h has an inner peripheral shape and an inner diameter corresponding to the outer peripheral shape and outer diameter of the optical fiber cord 10, and the optical fiber cord 10 is opened from the one end side opening to the other end side opening of the holding hole 71h. By inserting the optical fiber cord 10 in such a manner that the optical fiber cord 10 is press-fitted, the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber cord 10 is inserted and held for a predetermined length.

Further, the length dimension of the holding hole 71h is larger than the width dimension of the extension band body 73 described later.
Then, the force applied from the extension band body 73 side is dispersed over the entire length direction of the holding hole 71h to act on the optical fiber cord 10, and the optical fiber cord 10
Is designed to be fixedly held.

The mounting portion 72 is constructed so that it can be mounted and fixed to the member 60 to be mounted.

Here, the mounting portion 72 is the extension band body 7
3 and a band stopper portion 74.

The extension band body 73 is provided so as to extend outward from the outer peripheral portion of the cord holding portion 71, and the band stopper portion 74 is provided in the cord holding portion 71 and extends. The body 73 is formed so that it can be fixed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction.

That is, the extension band body 73 is formed in a band shape extending from the outer peripheral portion of the cord holding portion 71 and the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction thereof. On one side surface side of the extension band body 73, the ridge portions 73 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction thereof.
a is formed.

Further, the band stopper portion 74 is formed with an insertion hole 74a through which the extension band body 73 can be inserted. Inside the insertion hole 74a, each protrusion of the extension band body 73 is formed. A locking piece 74b that can be locked to 73a is formed.

Then, the extension band 73 is inserted into the insertion hole 7
When inserted into 4a, each protruding portion 73a is locked by the locking piece 74b, and the extending band body 73 is fixed to the band stopper portion 74.

The optical fiber cord 10 pulled out from the rear of the optical connector 20 is inserted and held in the cord holder 70. Then, in the same manner as the band portion 51, the extending band body 73 is passed through each attachment hole 60h of the attachment target member 60 and fixed to the band stopper portion 74, so that the cord holder 70 is attached to the attachment target object. Since it is fixed to the member 60, as a result, the end of the optical fiber cord 10 that is pulled out from the optical connector 20 is also fixedly held to the member 60 to be attached.

In this case, since the part of the optical fiber cord 10 that is pulled out from the optical connector 20 is also inserted and held in the holding hole 71h of the cord holder 70, the optical fiber cord is affected by vibrations and shaking. It becomes difficult to reach the pull-out portion of the optical fiber cord 10, and the optical fiber cord 10 can be more reliably
It is possible to prevent deformation and damage of the.

Incidentally, FIGS. 9 and 10 (a) to 10
Like the optical connector 20B shown in (e), instead of the grooved band holding portions 30a, 30b, 30c, the binding band body 50 can be inserted with holes 31Ba, 31Bb, 31B.
band holding part 30Ba, 30Bb, 30 having c
Bc may be provided.

In this case, the binding band 50 is attached to the hole 31B.
a, 31Bb, 31Bc are inserted into the member 6 to be attached.
The optical connector 20 can be fixedly held on the attachment target member 60 in the same manner as described above by winding the optical connector 20 around 0.

In this case, the binding band body 50 is attached to the hole 31B.
Since it is inserted through a, 31Bb, and 31Bc, the binding band body 50 has the band holding portions 30Ba, 30Bb, and 3 with holes.
The optical connector 2 without getting out of 0Bc
OB can be more reliably positioned and fixedly held.

In the present embodiment and its modification,
The form in which the grooved band holding portions 30a, 30b, 30c or the holed band holding portions 30Ba, 30Bb, 30Bc are formed in the connector body 21 has been described.
When a boot body that holds the optical fiber cord 10 led out to the outside is integrally formed with the connector main body portion 21, they may be provided on the boot body.

Further, in the present embodiment and its modification,
Although the optical connector which relay-connects a pair of optical fibers has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in addition to a general optical connector connected to an optical connector holding an optical element or the like, it can be applied to a two-pole type optical connector, an optical / electrical composite type connector, and the like.

[0064]

As described above, according to the optical connector of claim 1 of the present invention, since the band holding portion for holding the binding band body is formed, this optical connector is used with the binding band body. By fixing and holding the member to be attached, the optical fiber cord can be easily fixed and held. At this time, since the binding band does not directly tighten the optical fiber cord, the lateral pressure applied to the optical fiber can be relaxed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the band holding portion is a grooved band holding portion having a groove into which the band-shaped binding band body can be fitted. By fitting in the groove, the optical connector can be more easily fixed and held.

According to the optical connector of the third aspect, the optical connector can be more reliably positioned, fixed and held by inserting the binding band into the hole.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the band holding portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the connector main body portion in the vicinity of the end portion from which the optical fiber cord is drawn out, the band holding portion of the optical connector is It is difficult for the pulling out portion of the optical fiber cord to be affected by vibration or shaking, and the optical fiber cord can be prevented from being deformed or damaged.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the plurality of band holding portions are provided, the optical connector can be fixed more firmly.

According to the optical fiber cord fixing portion structure of the sixth aspect, the optical fiber cord can be easily fixed and held by fixing and holding the optical connector to the member to be attached using the binding band. At this time, since the binding band does not directly tighten the optical fiber cord, the lateral pressure applied to the optical fiber can be relaxed.

Moreover, since the part of the optical fiber cord that is pulled out from the optical connector is also inserted and held in the holding hole of the cord holder and is fixed, the influence of vibration, shaking, etc. This makes it difficult for the optical fiber cord to be deformed or damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state between an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a mating optical connector.

2 (a) is a plan view of the optical connector shown in FIG.
2B is a side view of the optical connector, FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the optical connector, and FIG. 2E is a front view of the optical connector.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which the optical connector is attached to a member to be attached.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a state in which the optical connector is attached to a member to be attached.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which the optical connector is attached to the attachment target member in another mode.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which an optical connector is attached to an attachment target member in still another mode.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cord holder.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line IIX-IIX of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an optical connector according to a modification.

FIG. 10 (a) is a plan view of the optical connector of the above,
10B is a side view of the optical connector, FIG. 10C is a bottom view of the optical connector, and FIG. 10E is a front view of the optical connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 optical fiber cord 20,20B optical connector 21 Connector body 22 Cord receiving hole 25 Fiber accommodation hole 30a, 30b, 30c grooved band holder 30Ba, 30Bb, 30Bc Band holding part with hole 31a, 31b, 31c concave groove 31Ba, 31Bb, 31Bc Holes 40 optical connector 50 unity band 51 band section 52 band stopper 60 Attached target member 60h mounting hole 70 Cord holder

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Asada             1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi             Auto Network Technical Laboratory Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2H036 QA03                 2H038 CA52

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An optical connector which holds an end portion of an optical fiber cord and is connected to a mating optical connector, the optical connector including a band holding portion for holding a binding band body. 2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the band holding portion is a grooved band holding portion having a groove into which a band-shaped binding band body can be fitted. 3. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the band holding portion is a holed band holding portion having a hole portion through which the binding band body can be inserted. 4. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the band holding portion is an outer peripheral portion of a connector main body portion and near an end portion from which the optical fiber cord is pulled out. An optical connector formed on. 5. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the band holding portion is provided in plural. 6. A fixing part structure for an optical fiber cord using the optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector is held by the band holding part and the optical connector is attached to the object. It has a binding band member fixedly held by a member, a cord holding portion having a holding hole through which an optical fiber cord can be inserted and held, and an attaching portion provided on the cord holding portion and attached and fixed to a member to be attached. The optical fiber cord fixing portion structure, further comprising: a cord holder in which a portion of the optical fiber cord that is pulled out from the optical connector is held in the holding hole.