JP2003311222A - Tool for cleaning optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical connector cleaning tool for efficiently cleaning the tip of an optical connector. <P>SOLUTION: This optical connector cleaning tool 1 is provided with a main body 6 having a cleaning member-attachable part 3 which is arranged at the tip and to which a cleaning member 2 is attached which abuts on the tip of the optical connector to clean the connector, at least two operating members 4A to 4D having different lengths and holding parts 5A to 5C for holding the members 4A to 4D so that the members 4A to 4D are aligned to be separately rotated freely. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,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 cleaning tool used for cleaning the tip of an optical connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A butt-jointing end face of an optical connector needs to be cleaned because dust or the like may cause damage during attachment / detachment and increase loss. Conventionally, as a method for cleaning the joint end surface (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "a method for cleaning the optical connector end surface"), air blowing or
Generally, a cotton swab or tape type cleaner impregnated with alcohol is directly grasped with a hand and wiped off.

[0003]

However, in the above-described optical connector end face cleaning method, a hand such as an optical connector arranged at the back of the housing of the plug-in unit of the backplane connector is used. There is a problem in that it is difficult to clean an optical connector that is difficult to reach. It is also possible to use a cleaning tool with a long handle to clean it, but in that case, it is difficult to see the cleaning location.Therefore, make sure that the cleaning tool is in contact with the end face of the optical connector, and check the cleaning progress. It was difficult to confirm such problems, and cleaning could not be done properly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector cleaning tool capable of efficiently and satisfactorily cleaning the tip of the optical connector.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical connector cleaning tool for cleaning the tip of an optical connector, which comprises a cleaning member for contacting the tip of the optical connector and cleaning the same. An optical device, characterized in that an attachment portion to be attached is provided at a tip end, and at least two operation members having different lengths are provided, and a cleaning tool main body having a holding portion for rotatably arranging and holding the operation members respectively. A connector cleaning tool is provided. In the optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention, it is preferable that the operating member is provided with an engaging member that engages the operating member with respect to the cleaning tool main body but cannot move backward. Also, to the cleaning tool body, while being connected to the optical connector to be cleaned,
It is preferable to provide a connecting member for stopping the movement of the operating member in the forward direction.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of an optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the optical connector cleaning tool 1, FIG. 2 is the same exploded perspective view, and FIG. 3 is the same optical connector. It is a perspective view which shows the state at the time of cleaning member exchange of the cleaning tool 1. Reference numeral 1 in these figures denotes an optical connector cleaning tool, and in the present embodiment, the optical connector cleaning tool 1 is provided with a mounting portion 3 at the tip thereof, to which a cleaning member 2 for contacting and cleaning the tip of the optical connector is mounted. The
Multiple lines with different lengths (4 lines in this example)
Operation members 4A to 4D and the plurality of operation members 4A to 4D.
A holding portion 5A for holding 4D rotatably side by side
The cleaning tool main body 6 having 5C is provided.

Operation members 4A to 4A housed in the cleaning tool body 6
4D is made up of a cylindrical pipe in the present example, and the mounting portion 3 into which the shaft of the cleaning member 2 is inserted and fixed is formed by vertically dividing a predetermined interval of the tip portion thereof. By inserting the shaft of the cleaning member 2 which is slightly thicker than the inner diameter of the vertically split portion, the mounting portion 3 is held by the elastic force of the vertically split portion so that the shaft cannot be easily pulled out and cannot be rotated. To be done.
Further, a pin hole 9 is bored at the end point of the mounting portion 3, and the pin hole 9 comes into contact with the shaft end of the cleaning member 2 to prevent the cleaning member 2 from retreating and engage with the holding portion 5A. Then, the pin 8 (engaging member) that prevents the operation members 4A to 4D from retreating with respect to the cleaning tool body 6 is fixed. As a result, the respective operation members 4A to 4D are held so that they can move forward with respect to the cleaning tool body 6 but cannot move backward. The means for fixing the pin 8 to the pin hole 9 is not particularly limited, and the pin hole 9
Can be used as a screw hole, and a method of screwing and fitting a pin 8 having a screw on the outer periphery, fixing with solder or an adhesive, and the like can be adopted. These operating members 4A to 4D can be formed of various materials such as metals and plastics, and are not limited to cylinders, and may be solid rods, and the cross-sectional shape is not limited to circular, for example, triangular in cross section or more. It may be rectangular, elliptical, or the like. The operation members 4A to 4D can be manually cleaned, that is, by grasping them with fingers and rotating them while appropriately pressing them, the optical connector can be cleaned with the tip of the swab contacting the cleaning member 2.
It is also possible to rotate A to 4D by a rotation driving means having a motor or the like.

The operating members 4A to 4D have different lengths, and when the cleaning member 2 is attached to the mounting portion 3, the tip of the cleaning member 2 projects from the tip side of the cleaning tool body 6. The length is such that the rear ends of the operation members 4A to 4D project from the rear end of the cleaning tool body 6. From the rear end of the cleaning tool body 6, the operation members 4A to
The difference between the length of the rear end of 4D and the length of each of the operation members 4A to 4D protrudes from the rear end of the cleaning tool body 6 when the optical connector cleaning tool 1 cleans the optical connector. The operating members 4A to 4D are set to have a length such that they can be individually held by fingers and rotated.

The mounting portion 3 for each of the operating members 4A-4D
As the cleaning member 2 attached to, a cotton swab or the like in which cotton is wound around the tip end of the shaft rod can be used. The shaft portion of the cotton swab has a thickness that prevents it from accidentally slipping out when it is inserted into the mounting portion 3. As the cotton swab, for example, urethane foam swab manufactured by TEXWIPE, USA is preferably used. However, the cleaning member of the present invention is not limited to the one in which the fibrous body such as cotton is attached to the tip of the rod as described above, and various forms can be used, for example, a cloth impregnated with a cleaning liquid. Any material that can be wiped softly without damaging the end face of the optical connector, such as paper or other sponge-like foam resin, may be used. Further, instead of forming such a material only on the tip of the rod, the entire cleaning material may be formed by the same cleaning base material. Furthermore, for example, a tape-shaped cleaning member may be driven to run by a driving unit including rollers, thereby cleaning the tip of the optical connector. Further, when a cotton swab is used, the fibrous body forming the cotton part may be polyurethane, polyester, or the like that does not easily produce fiber scraps.

In the present embodiment, the cleaning tool main body 6 is formed of a metal plate or a plastic plate having a U-shaped cross section.
A plurality of (three in this example) holding portions 5A to 5C are fixed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The length of the cleaning tool body 6 is as shown in FIG.
When cleaning the backplane connector, the cleaning tool main body 6 is inserted into the housing of the connector and connected to the optical connector, and the rear end side of each of the operation members 4A to 4D is held with fingers and rotated. As long as it can be done, it is not particularly limited,
It can be appropriately set in consideration of the size of the optical connector to be cleaned, the storage structure, and the like. A fixing portion 10 for fixing a connecting member 7, which will be described later, is formed so as to extend from the tip of the cleaning tool body 6.

A holding portion 5A provided on the cleaning tool body 6
.About.5C are plate-shaped members in which a plurality of (four in this example) holes are inserted to insert the operation members 4A to 4D in a rotatable state in the axial direction. The number of holding units 5A to 5C is not limited to this example (three), and may be two or four or more. The holes for inserting the operation members of the holding portions 5A to 5C are
The hole diameter is slightly larger than the outer diameters of the operation portions 4A to 4D.

At the tip of the cleaning tool body 6, there is fixed a connecting member 7 which is detachably connected to the optical connector to be cleaned. The connecting member 7 is provided with a hole for guiding the cleaning member 2 so that the cleaning member 2 attached to each of the operation members 4A to 4D comes into contact with the optical connector in a state of being connected to the optical connector. The cleaning member 2 and the attachment portions 3 of the operation members 4A to 4D can be inserted into the holes of the connection member 7, but at least the head protrudes from the surface of the operation members 4A to 4D at the end point of the attachment portion 3. The provided pin 8 cannot be inserted. As a result, the cleaning tool body 6
Each of the operation members 4A to 4D housed in is capable of advancing its respective pin 8, but its movement is restricted so that its advancing is stopped at the position where the pin 8 engages with this connecting member 7. .

The mounting portion 3 for each of the operating members 4A-4D
When replacing the cleaning member 2 attached to the, first, as shown in FIG. 3, a desired operation member (4 in FIG.
B) Push the rear end forward. As described above, the operation members 4A to 4D can be moved forward with respect to the cleaning tool body 6 until the pin 8 is engaged with the connecting member 7 side.
Then, the cleaning member 2 is moved from the mounting portion 3 of the operation member 4B that has moved forward.
It is possible to easily replace the cleaning member 2 by pulling it out and inserting and fixing a new cleaning member 2. The operation members 4A to 4D can be extracted from the cleaning tool body 6 by removing the pin 8 from the pin hole 9 and extracting the operation members 4A to 4D from the front or the rear.

A vertical position holding mechanism 70 is provided at a predetermined position (on the tip end side in this example) of the cleaning tool body 6. The vertical position holding mechanism 70 is provided on a side surface on one side of the cleaning tool body 6 at a plurality of positions having different positions in the front-rear direction. In this example, the vertical position holding mechanism 70 is provided at two different positions of the cleaning tool body 6 in the front-rear direction. The vertical position holding mechanism 70 may be described with reference numeral 70B.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are views showing the vertical position holding mechanism 70. FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view (a plan view showing an upper pressing mechanism 77 described later) and FIG. 4 (b) is a side view. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the vertical position holding mechanism 7
0 is a tubular body 71 attached to the side portion of the cleaning tool body 6 in a vertically extending direction, and a guide piece 72 (hereinafter, referred to as a guide piece 72 inserted in an upper end portion 71a of the tubular body 71 so as to be vertically movable).
"Upper guide piece" may be referred to) and the cylindrical main body 71
Guide piece 73 inserted in the lower end portion 71b of the rail so as to be able to move up and down
(Hereinafter, also referred to as “lower guide piece”), a spring receiving portion 74 fixed in the tubular main body 71, and an elastic member interposed between the upper guide piece 72 and the spring receiving portion 74. 75 (here, a coil spring), and an elastic member 76 (here, a coil spring) interposed between the lower guide piece 73 and the spring receiving portion 74.

The upper end portion 71a of the tubular body 71, the upper guide piece 72, the elastic member 75, and the spring receiving portion 74 constitute an upper pressing mechanism 77, and the lower guide piece 73 and the elastic member 76 are provided. The spring receiving portion 74 is the lower pressing mechanism 7
Make up eight. The upper pressing mechanism 77 and the lower pressing mechanism 78 have the same structure. Upper pressing mechanism 7
In FIG. 7, a part of the upper guide piece 72 is the upper end portion 71a of the cylindrical main body.
The upper guide piece 72 is pushed downward while elastically deforming the elastic member 75, so that the protruding size of the upper guide piece 72 from the upper end portion 71a of the cylindrical body to the upper side can be reduced. It is like this. In the lower pressing mechanism 78, a part of the lower guide piece 73 is provided at the lower end portion 7 of the tubular body.
1b is projected downward and the lower guide piece 73 is pushed upward while elastically deforming the elastic member 76, so that the projecting dimension of the lower guide piece 73 downward from the lower end portion 71b of the tubular body is reduced. You can do it.

The elastic member 75 is connected to the upper guide piece 72 and the spring receiving portion 74, respectively, and the elastic member 76 is connected to the lower guide piece 73 and the spring receiving portion 74, respectively. Under such a structure, the upper guide piece 72 and the lower guide piece 73 are respectively provided with the elastic member 7
It is connected to the spring receiving portion 74 through 5, 76, so that it does not come out from the end portion (upper end portion 71a or lower end portion 71b) of the cylindrical main body 71.

The protruding tip of the upper guide piece 72 protruding from the upper end of the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70 (the upper end portion 71a of the cylindrical body) is located on the lower surface side of the upper wall portion 21a of the plug-in unit 21 (see FIG. 5) described later. It is formed in a shape that can be inserted into the formed guide groove 28a and slide along the extending direction of the guide groove 28a, and is projected from the lower end of the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70 (the lower end portion 71b of the cylindrical main body). The protruding tip of the lower guide piece 73 is formed in a shape that can be inserted into a guide groove 28b formed on the upper surface side of the lower wall portion 21b and can slide along the extending direction of the guide groove 28b. With such a configuration, the cleaning tool body 6 is
With the upper guide piece 72 inserted in the guide groove 28a of the upper wall portion 21a and the lower guide piece 73 inserted in the guide groove 28b of the lower wall portion 21b, the optical connector to be cleaned can be smoothly moved back and forth. It is like this.

Next, an example of an optical connector to be cleaned by the optical connector cleaning tool 1 having such a configuration will be described. 5 and 6 are views showing an example of an optical connector to be cleaned by the optical connector cleaning tool 1, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view.
FIG. 6 is a side sectional view. Optical connector 2 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6
0 is a backplane connector. In this backplane connector, the opening 22 of the plug-in unit 21
The printed board 24 (printed circuit board) is inserted toward the back plane 23 located on the back side of the plug-in unit 21 from the printed board housing 25 attached to the printed board 24 (hereinafter referred to as “printed board housing 25”). The “PH housing” may be referred to as “PH housing”), and the backplane housing 26 attached to the backplane 23 (hereinafter also referred to as “BH housing”) is fitted and connected to the PH housing 25. The optical connector plug 27 (optical connector plug) and the optical connector 18 (optical connector plug) connected to the BH housing 26 are connected.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 23a is a backplane 23.
A window 29 is a clip that attaches the BH housing 26 to the backplane 23. Although the window 23a and the clip 29 are shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 8, they are omitted in FIG. The BH housing 26 is attached by a clip 29 to the back plane 23 while allowing a slight swing. In addition, the BH housing 26 has the window 2 of the backplane 23.
Corresponding to 3a, the internal space S of the plug-in unit 21
Is attached to the inner surface side of the backplane 23 facing the. A plurality of (four in this example) optical connectors 18 are detachably attached to the BH housing 26 via the windows 23a. Although not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the backplane 23 has a plurality of windows 23a formed side by side. Therefore, the backplane 23 has the BH housings 26 in the respective windows 23a. It can be installed.

The printed board 24 has guide grooves 28 formed on the inner surfaces of the upper wall portion 21a and the lower wall portion 21b of the plug-in unit 21 facing the inner space S side.
These guide grooves 2 are inserted into a and 28b.
It moves along 8a and 28b. Guide groove 2
8a and 28b have a shape that extends straight between the vicinity of the backplane 23 and the opening 22 of the plug-in unit 21 and opens into the opening 22. B installed
Corresponding to the H housing 26 (not shown in the side-by-side arrangement state), a plurality of plug-in units 21 are formed side by side in parallel on the upper wall portion 21a and the lower wall portion 21b.

With this structure, the PH housing 25 is connected by inserting the printed board 24 into the pair of upper and lower guide grooves 28a, 28b corresponding to the BH housing 26 to be connected with the PH housing 25. Positioned in BH housing 26 and BH housing 26
You can move forward and backward. Then, the printed board 24 inserted into the plug-in unit 21 through the opening 22 is
Backplane 23 along the guide grooves 28a and 28b
The PH housing 25 can be fitted into the BH housing 26 by pushing in toward. Also,
By pulling out the printed board 24 to the opening 22 side of the plug-in unit 21, the PH housing 25 is detached from the BH housing 26, and the optical connectors 18 and 27 can be disconnected from each other.

Incidentally, the upper wall portion 21a and the lower wall portion 21b.
Serves as a guide member for guiding the printed board 24 and the cleaning tool body 6 of the optical connector cleaning tool 1. The guide grooves 28a and 28b of the plug-in unit 21 are formed side by side in parallel with each other so as to correspond to the window 23a of the backplane 23, and the printed board 24 is inserted into the pair of guide grooves 28a and 28a corresponding to the window 23a. As a result, the PH housing 25 can be fitted into the BH housing 26.

Next, a method of cleaning the optical connector 18 having such a structure with the optical connector cleaning tool 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the optical connector cleaning tool 1 of this example is arranged near the opening 22 of the plug-in unit 21, and FIG. 8 is a cleaning member of the optical connector cleaning tool 1 inserted in the plug-in unit 21. 2 is a side sectional view showing the vicinity of FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a state at the time of cleaning. 7 and 8, the cleaning member 2
The connecting member 7 at the tip of the cleaning tool body 6 is omitted in order to make it easier to see the position. Further, in this example, the connection member 7 has a structure that can be connected to the BH housing 26, like the PH housing 25.

In order to clean using the optical connector cleaning tool 1, first, the cleaning member 2 made of a cotton swab is previously attached to each operating member 4.
It is inserted into the mounting portions 3 of A to 4D and fixed there. The tip of the cotton swab may be impregnated with alcohol or the like, if necessary. Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cleaning tool main body 6 is inserted from the opening 22 of the plug-in unit 21 into the internal space S (the area between the upper wall portion 21a and the lower wall portion 21b) thereof. .

At this time, the upper guide piece 72 protruding from the upper ends of the vertical position maintaining mechanisms 70A and 70B attached to the head body 4 is attached to the upper wall portion 21 of the plug-in unit 21.
The vertical position maintaining mechanism 70 is inserted into the guide groove 28a on the a side.
A lower guide piece 73 protruding from the lower end of A, 70B
Guide groove 2 on the lower wall portion 21b side of the plug-in unit 21
Insert in 8b. In FIG. 7, the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70
The distance between the upper end of the upper guide piece 72 and the lower end of the lower guide piece 73 is determined by the guide groove formed on the bottom surface (upper bottom surface) of the guide groove 28a of the upper wall portion 21a of the plug-in unit 21 and the lower wall portion 21b. It is set to be slightly larger than the distance from the bottom surface of 28b (hereinafter, this distance may be referred to as "the distance between the upper and lower guide grooves 28a and 28b").

For this reason, as shown in FIG.
Is inserted into the plug-in unit 21, the upper guide piece 72 is urged by the urging force of the elastic members 75 and 76 that are compressed as the space between the upper guide piece 72 and the lower guide piece 73 is reduced. 21a, and the lower guide piece 73 is pressed against the lower wall portion 21b. This allows
The connecting member 7 at the tip of the cleaning tool body 6 is connected to the BH housing 26, and the respective cleaning members 2 are positioned at positions (vertical positions) where they can be pressed against the BH housing 26. It Moreover, in this optical connector cleaning tool 1, the vertical position maintaining mechanisms 70A, 70B provided at a plurality of positions in the front-back direction of the cleaning tool body 6 are different.
Thus, the connection member 7 of the cleaning tool body 6 inserted into the plug-in unit 21 maintains a position where it can be connected to the BH housing 26.

By pushing the cleaning tool main body 6 toward the back plane 23 with the upper guide piece 72 and the lower guide piece 73 inserted in the guide grooves 28a and 28b, the connecting member 7 becomes BH as shown in FIG. Connected to the housing 26,
Each cleaning member 2 can be pressed against the tip of the optical connector 18 connected to the BH housing 26. Each cleaning member 2 is a joining end surface 1 of the ferrule 19 of the optical connector 18.
By holding the rear end side of each of the operation members 4A to 4D with fingers while rotating the contact end face 19a of the ferrule 19, the joint end face 19a of the ferrule 19 can be easily and efficiently cleaned. After cleaning the joint end surface 19a of the ferrule 19 by sequentially rotating the operation members 4A to 4D, the connection of the connection member 7 is released by pulling the cleaning tool body 6 away from the optical connector 18, and the connection of the connection member 7 is released. The cleaning tool 1 is taken out from the internal space S, and the cleaning is completed.

The optical connector cleaning tool 1 of the present embodiment is a cleaning member 2 that contacts the tip of the optical connector 18 to clean it.
A plurality of operation members 4A to 4D each having a different length are provided in a cleaning tool body 6 which is rotatably arranged side by side, and each cleaning member 2 is attached to the optical connector. The optical connector 18 can be reliably cleaned by abutting against 18 and manually rotating the respective operation members 4A to 4D, and the inexpensive optical connector cleaning tool 1 can be provided. In particular, since the lengths of the operation members 4A to 4D are different, the operation members 4A to 4D can be reliably held by fingers and rotated.

Further, since the operating members 4A to 4D are provided with the pins 8 which can be moved forward with respect to the cleaning tool body 6 but cannot be moved backward, when the cleaning member 2 contacts the optical connector 18. When the cleaning member 2 is not replaced, and when the cleaning member 2 is to be replaced, the rear ends of the operation members 4A to 4D can be pushed forward to advance the mounting portion 3 and the cleaning member 2 can be replaced. It will be possible. Further, the cleaning tool body 6
In addition, by providing the connection member 7 that is connected to the optical connector 18 to be cleaned and that stops the movement of the operation members 4A to 4D in the forward direction, the cleaning member 2 is reliably applied to a predetermined position of the optical connector 18. In addition to being able to contact, the operation members 4A to 4D do not unnecessarily move forward and come out of the cleaning tool main body 6, and the operation members 4A to 4D can be prevented from being lost.

Further, the BH housing 26 attached to the back plane 23 at the back of the plug-in unit 21.
Although it is difficult to directly put the hand into cleaning, the optical connector cleaning tool 1 of the present example does not allow cleaning of the upper guide piece 7
2 and the lower guide piece 73 are inserted into the guide grooves 28a and 28b, and the cleaning tool main body 6 is pushed into the back side of the plug-in unit 21 (backplane 23 side).
Optical connector 18 connected to the BH housing 26
The tip end can be reliably pressed against the tip, and therefore the joining end surface 19a of the ferrule 19 of the optical connector 18 can be efficiently cleaned. Further, the cleaning tool body 6 of the optical connector cleaning tool 1 has a flat shape, so that the optical connector cleaning tool 1 can be easily inserted even in a narrow working place, and the cleaning work can be performed efficiently. It has become.

Further, the guide pieces 72 and 73 are made of the elastic member 7.
It is possible to push the cleaning tool body 6 side by the elastic deformation range of 5, 76, whereby the plug-in unit 21
Even if the height of the BH housing 26 changes or the position of the BH housing 26 changes a little, the position (height) can be changed by the action of the upper and lower guide pieces 72, 73 by the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70, so that it can be fitted. Therefore, one set of cleaning tools can be applied to units of various shapes (heights). In addition, even if the height is slightly different, the insertion can be performed smoothly. For example, the plug-in unit 21 is distorted such that the distance between the upper and lower guide grooves 28a and 28b varies due to deterioration over time (local variation in the extending direction of the guide grooves 28a and 28b, distance across the extending direction). (Including any of the fluctuations), the fluctuations in this distance can be absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70, that is, the fluctuations in the amount of protrusion of each guide piece 72, 73 from the cleaning tool body 6. The cleaning tool body 6 can be smoothly moved back and forth with respect to the BH housing 26.

Further, even if the distance between the upper and lower guide grooves 28a and 28b is locally widened or narrowed,
The amount of protrusion of each guide piece 72, 73 from the cleaning tool body 6 is changed by the urging force of the elastic members 75, 76, so that each guide piece 72, 73 is guided into the guide groove 28a, 28b.
(Specifically, the upper wall portion 21a of the plug-in unit 21
In order to follow the guide groove 28a bottom surface (upper bottom surface) and the guide groove 28b bottom surface formed on the lower wall portion 21b) of the cleaning tool main body 6 with respect to the BH housing 26. It is possible to reliably prevent the inconvenience that 72 and 73 are separated from the guide groove 28a or the guide groove 28b.

Further, since the urging force of the elastic members 75 and 76 acts on the upper and lower guide pieces 72 and 73 substantially uniformly, even if the distance between the upper and lower guide grooves 28a and 28b changes. , Cleaning tool body 6, BH housing 2
The cleaning member 2 can be stably held at a position where the cleaning member 2 can be pressed against 6. The upper and lower guide pieces 72, 73
Does not need to be constantly pressed against the upper wall portion 21a and the lower wall portion 21b by the urging force of the elastic members 75 and 76, as long as it does not separate from the guide groove.

Further, the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70 as described above.
The optical connector cleaning tool 1 having the cleaning tool body 6 has an advantage that excellent versatility can be secured in accordance with the size of the plug-in unit 21 and the like. That is, in this optical connector cleaning tool 1, the difference in the distance between the upper and lower guide grooves of the plug-in unit is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastic members 75 and 76 (here, the expansion and contraction of the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70). Guide pieces 7 on opposite sides of the head body 4
The head main body 4 can be inserted into the upper and lower guide grooves so as to be slidably movable, and the head body 4 can be inserted into the plug-in unit. In this case as well, the guide pieces 72 and 73 along the upper and lower guide grooves can be inserted. By the sliding movement, the cleaning tool main body 6 moves back and forth with respect to the BH housing 26, and the cleaning tool main body 6 moves.
The tip of the optical connector 18 can be cleaned by the cleaning member 11.

The optical connector 18 is
It is an MPO type optical connector (MPO: Multifiber Push On) established in JIS C 5982. This optical connector 18 is an MT type optical connector (optical connector established in JIS C 5981. MT: Mechanically Transferab
le) is a ferrule 19 (optical connector ferrule) incorporated in a plastic housing 18a to form an optical connector plug. In this optical connector 18, the rear end side of the ferrule 19 is the coil spring 18b.
The cleaning tool main body 6 is moved to the B
The cleaning member 11 can be brought into contact with the joining end surface 19a at the tip of the ferrule 19 simply by pressing it toward the H housing 26 side. Also, as the optical connector to be cleaned,
The optical connector 18 is not limited to the above, and various structures can be applied. For example, the ferrule 19 can be applied to one in which the tip of the ferrule 19 does not project from the tip of the housing 18a of the optical connector but slightly goes into the rear side of the housing 18a. Even for such an optical connector, the optical connector cleaning tool 1 of the present invention can perform good cleaning. That is, since the cleaning member 11 made of a cotton swab is rotated for cleaning, the cleaning member 11 is inserted into the housing 18a, so that the optical connector 18 has a tip protruding from the housing as in the case of the optical connector 18. , The tip of the optical connector can be cleaned.
Further, the optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention can be used as an optical connector other than the one provided on the BH housing 26 attached to the backplane 23 at the back of the plug-in unit 21. Further, the connecting member 7 in the cleaning tool body 6 is not limited to the MPO type optical connector described above, but may be one corresponding to various types.

Further, in the optical connector cleaning tool 1, the cleaning tool body 6 is provided with the vertical position maintaining mechanism 70, but it is shown in FIG. Alternatively, the cleaning tool body 6 may be directly attached to the printed board 24. As still another example of attachment to the print board 24, if the cleaning tool body 6 is attached to the print board 21 via the elastic members 75 and 76 so as to be displaceable to some extent, even a slight rattling can be absorbed. , The cleaning tool main body 6 can be easily inserted into the BH housing, and as a result, the position (height) of the connecting portion 7 in the plug-in unit 21 can be determined.

As yet another modification, the operation member 4A is used.
The cleaning member 2 may be attached to the attachment portion 3 in a state where the central axis of the cleaning member 2 is eccentric with respect to the central axis of 4D. In this way, the cleaning member 2 is moved to the operation members 4A to 4A.
With the configuration in which the operation members 4A to 4D are attached in an eccentric state with respect to D, the contact range (that is, the cleaning range) of the tip of the cleaning member 2 that abuts the optical connector can be expanded when the operation members 4A to 4D are rotated. As still another modification, the forms, positions, and numbers of the holders 5A to 5C in the cleaning tool body 6 are not limited to the examples shown in FIG. For example, among the holders 5A to 5C, the central member 5B is omitted and only the two holders 5A and 5C can hold the operation members 4A to 4D in parallel. Further, the number of holes in the holders 5A to 5C and the operation members 4A to 4D do not have to match,
Depending on the number of optical connectors, the operation member may be inserted into a necessary hole from the holes of the holder. For example, in the illustrated example, if the number of the optical connectors is two, the holders 5A to 5C have four holes, respectively. Of these, two operation members may be inserted into the holes corresponding to the positions of the optical connector.

[0039]

As described above, the optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention is provided with a mounting portion for mounting a cleaning member that abuts on the tip of the optical connector and cleans the optical connector. The operation members of the book are housed in a cleaning tool body that is rotatably arranged side by side, and each cleaning member is brought into contact with the optical connector to manually rotate each operation member to reliably clean the optical connector. It is possible to provide an inexpensive optical connector cleaning tool. In particular, since the operating members have different lengths, the operating members can be reliably held and rotated by fingers.

Further, since the operating member is provided with the engaging member that can move forward with respect to the cleaning tool body but cannot move backward, the cleaning member retracts when the cleaning member comes into contact with the optical connector. In addition, when replacing the cleaning member, only by pushing the rear end of the operating member toward the front end to move the cleaning member forward, the mounting portion projects and the cleaning member can be replaced. Further, the cleaning tool body is provided with the connecting member that is connected to the optical connector to be cleaned and that stops the movement of the operating member in the forward direction, so that the cleaning member can be reliably brought into contact with the predetermined position of the optical connector. At the same time, the operating member does not need to move forward unnecessarily to come out of the cleaning tool body,
Loss of operating members can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an optical connector cleaning tool of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same optical connector cleaning tool.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of the optical connector cleaning tool shown in FIG. 1 when a cleaning member is replaced.

4 is a diagram showing an up-and-down position holding mechanism provided in a cleaning head of the optical connector cleaning tool shown in FIG.
(A) is a plan view (a plan view showing an upper pressing mechanism), and (b) is a sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an optical connector (backplane connector) to be cleaned by the optical connector cleaning tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the connector (backplane connector) shown in FIG. 5, and is a cross-sectional view of the plug-in unit.

7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cleaning head of the optical connector cleaning tool shown in FIG. 1 is arranged near the opening of the plug-in unit.

8 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the cleaning head of the optical connector cleaning tool shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into a plug-in unit.

9 is a sectional side view showing a state in which the cleaning member of the optical connector cleaning tool shown in FIG. 1 is pressed against the joint end surface of the optical connector.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example in which a head body is directly attached to a print board.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical connector cleaning tool, 2 ... Cleaning member, 3 ... Mounting part, 4
A-4D ... Operation member, 5A-5C ... Holding part, 6 ... Cleaning tool main body, 7 ... Connection part, 8 ... Pin (engaging member), 18 ... Optical connector.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Takizawa             Fuji Co., Ltd. 1440 Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture             Kura Sakura Office F-term (reference) 2H036 QA31                 3B074 AA02 AA03 AA04 AA07 AB00                 3B116 AA47 AB01 AB42 BA08 BA13

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical connector cleaning tool for cleaning the tip of an optical connector (18), the tip of which is a mounting portion (3) to which a cleaning member (2) for contacting and cleaning the tip of the optical connector is attached. And at least two operation members (4A to 4) having different lengths.
An optical connector cleaning tool (1) comprising: D) and a cleaning tool main body (6) having holding portions (5A to 5C) that rotatably arrange and hold the operation members. 2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the operating member is provided with an engaging member (8) which engages the operating member with respect to the cleaning tool body so as to be able to move forward but not to move backward. Cleaning tool. 3. The optical connector cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning tool body is provided with a connecting member that is connected to an optical connector to be cleaned and that stops the movement of the operating member in the forward direction. .