JP2006195227A - Lock releasing mechanism of optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a connector engaging lock mechanism from being damaged by making an optical cable plug come off from a connector when a tensile force more than prescribed is actuated in the inserting axis direction of the connector. <P>SOLUTION: The mechanism is equipped with a locking member 2 which is arranged inside an adapter body 1 in a slidable manner so as to be movable in the direction of pulling out a plug and which is formed with a pair of upper and lower locking arms 4a, 4b provided with a locking claw 5 oppositely faced at the tip end so as to be fitted to the engaging mechanism 7 of the plug, wherein the locking arms 4a, 4b are provided projectingly to the opening of the adapter 1. Oppositely from the position of the locking claw 5 at the tip end of the locking arms 4a, 4b, there are provided projections 6, for the purpose of engaging with the inner wall face on the opening of the adapter body 1 and imparting an angular moment to the locking arms 4a, 4b themselves in the direction of releasing the plug lock, when the locking member 2 is moved in the direction of pulling out the plug inside the adapter body 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to an optical connector unlocking mechanism capable of locking and releasing an adapter fitting state for an optical connector of an optical cable plug such as an SC type.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an SC type connector fitting lock mechanism widely used all over the world has a pair of upper and lower locking arms in a fitting hole of an adapter main body 1 for an optical connector as shown in FIGS. The pieces 4a and 4b are provided so as to project toward the hole opening side, and the locking claw portions 5 are provided at the tips so as to face each other, and the optical cable plug Q of the optical cable plug Q corresponds to the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b. Locking mechanisms 7 are provided on the upper and lower ends of the plug frame 10 fitted in the knob portion 8.

  Then, when connecting the optical cable plug Q to the optical connector, by holding the knob portion 8 of the optical cable plug Q in the hand and forcibly pushing it into the fitting hole of the adapter body 1, Both the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are bent slightly toward each other, and then the locking claw portion 5 is fitted into the locking mechanism 7 on the distal end side of the plug frame 10 so that the optical connector is connected to the optical connector. The plug Q is locked.

  On the other hand, when the optical cable plug Q is removed from the optical connector, once the knob portion 8 is moved in the pulling direction, both the locking arm pieces 4a are formed by the tapered recesses 9a provided on both sides of the opening 9 of the knob portion 8. 4b push up the locking projections 4c on both sides (shown in FIG. 8). As a result, the tips of the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are bent in the vertical direction, and the locking claw portions 5 at the tips of the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are provided at the tip of the plug frame 10. It will come off and will be unlocked. Therefore, the optical cable plug Q can be easily detached from the optical connector by pulling the knob portion 8 or the like as it is.

Thus, when the optical cable plug Q is forcibly pulled from the fitting hole of the adapter body 1, both the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are bent outward from each other while being locked from the locking mechanism 7. 5 is detached, and the optical cable plug Q is unlocked with respect to the connector. As described above, in the conventional connector fitting lock mechanism, the distal ends of the pair of upper and lower locking arm pieces 4a and 4b that are cantilevered in the adapter 1 fitting hole are both free ends.
nothing special

  By the way, as described above, in the conventional connector fitting lock mechanism, the distal ends of the pair of upper and lower locking arm pieces 4a and 4b that are cantilevered in the fitting hole of the adapter body 1 are both free ends. Therefore, if the optical cable plug Q is forcibly pulled out from the state where the locking claw portion 5 is engaged with the locking mechanism 7, the root portions of the upper and lower pair of locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are damaged. There is a possibility that the holding arm / restoring force of the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b itself may be considerably weakened due to the occurrence of plastic deformation accompanying the pulling force, even if they are not broken or damaged.

  In addition, since the SC type connector is mainly used for a communication line, it is general to have a structure that prevents the optical cable plug Q from being pulled out of the connector when contacted by mistake. However, with the development of the IT industry, personal computers, portable mobile terminals, etc. have spread widely all over the world. Therefore, SC type connectors are used as plugs for optical LAN lines, increasing the opportunities for ordinary people to handle them. It is the reality. In view of handling by ordinary people in this way, it is better to allow the optical cable plug Q to be pulled out without breaking when the optical fiber cord portion is accidentally pulled. That is, it is better to restore the LAN line immediately without charge than data created by an individual, and the idea that if broken, repair costs and repair time are required, which is not suitable for ordinary households.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the conventional circumstances as described above, and when an optical cable plug is subjected to a tensile force of a predetermined level or more with respect to the insertion axis direction of the connector, the optical cable plug It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector unlocking mechanism that can prevent a connector fitting lock mechanism from being damaged by allowing the connector to be removed from the connector, and can be easily incorporated into, for example, an adapter or a receptacle.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, the connector is slidably arranged inside the adapter for the connector so as to be movable toward the plug withdrawal side, and is locked at the tip so as to be engaged with the plug locking mechanism. It has a locking member formed by projecting a pair of upper and lower locking arm pieces with claw portions facing each other toward the adapter opening side, and is opposite to the position of the locking claw portion at the tip of the locking arm piece Has a protrusion to lock the locking member on the inner wall of the adapter opening when the locking member moves to the plug pull-out side inside the adapter to give the locking arm piece itself a rotational moment in the direction of plug lock release. It is a thing.

  In such a configuration, the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side is formed so as to be inclined so that the moment force with respect to the locking arm piece can be appropriately changed corresponding to the movement stroke of the locking member inside the adapter. Can be.

  In the unlocking mechanism of the optical connector according to the present invention configured as described above, each protrusion at the tip of the pair of upper and lower locking arm pieces includes the locking arm piece when the optical cord is pulled. The entire locking member moves to the plug pull-out side and hits the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side. A rotation moment acts on the locking arm piece itself in the plug lock release direction, and the locking claw is removed from the plug locking mechanism. Let

  The inclined inner wall surface provided on the adapter opening side enables adjustment of the moment force with respect to the locking arm piece.

  According to the present invention, when an optical cable plug is subjected to a predetermined tensile force at least with respect to the insertion axis direction of the connector, the optical cable plug is detached from the connector so that the connector fitting lock mechanism is damaged. Can be prevented, and can be easily incorporated into an adapter or a receptacle, for example.

  That is, this is arranged so that the present invention is slidable inside the adapter for the connector so that it can be moved to the plug withdrawal side, and the locking claws are opposed to each other at the tip so as to be engaged with the locking mechanism of the plug. It includes a locking member formed by projecting a pair of upper and lower locking arm pieces provided toward the adapter opening side, and is connected to the opposite side of the locking arm portion at the tip of the locking arm piece inside the adapter. This is because when the stopper member moves to the plug pulling side, it is provided with a protrusion to be locked to the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side and to give a rotational moment in the plug lock releasing direction to the locking arm piece itself. When a tensile force of a predetermined level or more is applied to the optical cable plug, the entire locking member including the locking arm piece moves to the plug pulling side and hits the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side. Work rotational moment in the unlocking direction, the locking claw portion from the locking mechanism of the plug can be easily removed.

  Further, the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side is formed in an inclined shape so that the moment force with respect to the locking arm piece can be appropriately changed corresponding to the moving stroke of the locking member inside the adapter. It is possible to adjust the moment force with respect to the arm piece.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 shown in the drawing indicates, for example, a locking state of an optical cable plug Q of an SC type or the like with respect to an optical connector. It is the adapter main body for optical connectors provided with the lock release mechanism P which can be released.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the optical cable plug Q includes a substantially rectangular housing-like plug frame 10 in which a ferrule R connected to the tip of an optical fiber cord is accommodated and held forward through a spring S, and the plug A knob portion 8 slidably fitted on the frame 10 is used as a main member.

  Locking mechanisms 7 each having a locking protrusion 7a on the front side and a locking recess 7b on the rear side are formed at the vertically symmetrical position of the plug frame 10 tip. Further, a substantially rectangular opening 9 for exposing the locking mechanism 7 of the plug frame 10 is formed at the top and bottom of the knob portion 8. The locking projections 4c provided on both sides of the both locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are pushed up on both sides of each opening 9 by sliding the knob portion 8 in the pulling direction, and a lock release mechanism to be described later Tapered recesses 9a for releasing the locking of the P locking arm pieces 4a, 4b with respect to the locking mechanism 7 of the plug frame 10 are formed at symmetrical positions. Therefore, also in the present invention, a known pulling mechanism by operating the knob portion 8 is added separately from the lock releasing mechanism P.

  Thus, as the lock release mechanism P of the adapter main body 1 constituting the main part of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the adapter main body having a substantially rectangular housing shape so as to be movable toward the plug pulling side. 1 includes a substantially rectangular frame-shaped locking member 2 that is slidably disposed by a gap L that regulates the amount of movement.

  A guide tube 3 for slidably fitting a ferrule R provided at the center of the distal end of the plug frame 10 of the optical cable plug Q is formed at the center of the locking member 2, and a strip plate is provided at the upper and lower positions. A pair of locking arm pieces 4a, 4b project toward the opening side of the adapter body 1, and the locking arm pieces 4a, 4b are respectively engaged with the locking mechanism 7 of the plug frame 10 at their respective ends. The substantially wedge-shaped locking claw portions 5 for stopping are provided so as to face each other inwardly. That is, both the locking claws 5 are fitted into the locking recesses 7b in the locking mechanism 7 of the plug frame 10 and maintain a state in which the locking protrusions 7a are prevented from being detached. .

  Further, on the side opposite to the position of the locking claw portion 5 at the tips of the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b, a substantially rectangular rod-shaped projection 6 is attached to each, and the substantially outer half of these projections 6 is connected to the adapter body. 1 is arranged so as to face the inner wall surface 1A of the opening having a thick structure. In this way, when the locking member 2 moves to the side of pulling out the plug inside the adapter body 1, the protrusion 6 of the locking member 2 abuts against and is locked against the inner wall surface 1 </ b> A of the opening of the adapter body 1. The arm pieces 4a and 4b themselves are given a rotational moment in the plug lock releasing direction, whereby the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are bent and deformed in the expanding direction, and the locking claw portion 5 is locked in the locking mechanism 7. It is made to detach | leave from the recessed part 7b for projections, and the protrusion part 7a.

  The inner wall surface 1A of the opening of the adapter main body 1 is formed in an inclined shape so as to gradually approach the locking claw 5 as it goes inward, and the movement stroke of the locking member 2 inside the adapter main body 1 is increased. Correspondingly, the moment force with respect to the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b can be appropriately changed.

  In this embodiment, the locking claw 5 is pressed along the inclined opening inner wall surface 1A of the adapter main body 1 so that the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b are expanded and bent. When the locking claw portion 5 is pressed along the inner wall surface 1A of the opening by increasing the amount of deviation from the coaxial line of the position where the locking claw portion 5 is pressed with respect to the root position of the arm pieces 4a, 4b. Since the rotational moment in the plug lock releasing direction automatically acts on the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b, it is not always necessary to make the inclined shape, and the inner wall surface 1A of the opening may be formed vertically.

  Next, the use and operation in this configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, when connecting the optical cable plug Q to the adapter main body 1 of the optical connector, hold the knob portion 8 of the optical cable plug Q in the hand. By forcibly pushing this into the adapter main body 1, both the locking arm pieces 4 a and 4 b are bent in the expanding direction by the pressing force, and then the locking mechanism 7 has the locking recess 7 b. When the locking claw portion 5 is fitted, the locking claw portion 5 is locked to the protrusion 7 a and the optical cable plug Q is locked to the adapter body 1. At this time, the locking member 2 is spaced apart by the gap L in the adapter body 1.

  When the optical cable plug Q is inadvertently pulled from this state, as shown in FIG. 10, the entire locking member 2 including the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b moves to the plug pulling side, and the locking arm The protrusions 6 at the tips of the pieces 4a and 4b come into contact with the opening inner wall surface 1A of the adapter main body 1 to bend both the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b in the expanding direction.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, a rotation moment in the plug lock releasing direction acts on the locking arm pieces 4a and 4b themselves, and the locking mechanism 7 provided in the plug frame 10 of the optical cable plug Q is used for locking. The locking claw portion 5 is detached from the recess 7b and the locking projection 7a, and the optical cable plug Q is extracted from the adapter body 1 as shown in FIG.

  In this way, when a tensile force of a predetermined level or more is applied to the optical cable plug Q, the optical cable plug Q comes out of the adapter body 1, thereby preventing the lock release mechanism P itself from being damaged.

It is sectional drawing of the adapter fitting state for optical connectors which shows the lock release mechanism in the best form for implementing this invention. It is sectional drawing which pulled the knob part of the plug for optical cables and released the connector lock in the same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the state in the middle in which a plug remove | deviates from a locking arm piece and is extracted in the same as the above. It is a front view by the side of the plug insertion opening of the adapter for connectors. It is XX sectional drawing in FIG. It is YY sectional drawing in FIG. It is a perspective view of the plug for optical cables. It is a perspective view of the adapter for optical connectors. It is sectional drawing of the adapter adapter fitting state for a connector explaining operation | movement of a lock release mechanism. It is sectional drawing of the state in the middle of pulling the knob part of the plug for optical cables in the same as above, and a protrusion part contacting an inner wall surface, and releasing a connector lock | rock by moment force. It is sectional drawing of the state which released the connector lock by moment force in the same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the state in the middle in which a plug remove | deviates from a locking arm piece and is extracted in the same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the adapter adapter fitting state which shows the lock release mechanism in a prior art example. It is sectional drawing of the state which pulled the knob part of the plug for optical cables in the same as the above, and the connector lock was cancelled | released. It is sectional drawing of the state in the middle in which a plug remove | deviates from a locking arm piece and is extracted in the same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

P Unlocking mechanism Q Optical cable plug R Ferrule S Spring L Clearance 1 Adapter body 1A Opening inner wall surface 2 Locking member 3 Guide tube 4a, 4b Locking arm piece 4c Locking protrusion 5 Locking claw part 6 Projecting part 7 Locking Mechanism 7a Locking projection 7b Locking recess 8 Knob portion 9 Opening 9a Tapered recess 10 Plug frame

Claims (2)

  A pair of upper and lower locking arms that are slidable inside the adapter for the connector so that they can be moved to the plug pull-out side, and that have locking claws at their tips facing each other to engage with the plug locking mechanism A locking member formed by projecting a piece toward the adapter opening side is provided, and the locking member moves to the plug pull-out side inside the adapter on the side opposite to the locking claw position at the tip of the locking arm piece. An unlocking mechanism for an optical connector, characterized in that a protrusion is provided so as to be engaged with the inner wall surface on the adapter opening side and to give a rotational moment in the plug unlocking direction to the locking arm piece itself. The inner wall surface on the adapter opening side is formed in an inclined shape so that the moment force with respect to the locking arm piece can be appropriately changed corresponding to the moving stroke of the locking member inside the adapter. Optical connector lock release mechanism.

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