JP2007017741A - Optical connector and optical fiber buffer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique which relaxes a force imparted to the end of an optical fiber. <P>SOLUTION: This optical connector 20 is attached to the end of an optical fiber 30, and is equipped with: a fiber end holding member 26 for holding the end of the optical fiber 30; and a fiber winding member 28 having an annular circumferential face 28a. The end of the optical fiber 30 is held at a specific position and attitude by means of the fiber end holding member 26, and is pulled out to outside by being wound on the annular circumferential face 28a of the fiber winding member 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a technology used as a component that bears a physical layer part of an in-vehicle optical communication system, mainly as a high-speed optical communication component.

  In general consumer equipment, there is already known a communication component for performing communication using a plastic optical fiber as a transmission medium by incorporating a photoelectric conversion unit in an optical connector (or a glowing plug). Such communication parts are only handled as accessories of consumer devices, and the communication set speed is a communication speed of several megabits per second.

  Recently, the use of a high-speed communication system capable of transmitting video in real time as a next-generation network system in automobiles and the like has been studied. Generally, in order to transmit real-time video, a communication speed of about several hundred megabits per second is required.

  In order to perform communication at a speed of several hundred megabits per second, use of an LD (laser diode) capable of high-speed response as a signal light source has been studied. An optical fiber including a glass-based core is excellent in transmittance in the infrared region, and is therefore suitable for use as a transmission medium using the LD as a signal light source.

  A technique for accommodating the extra length portion of the optical fiber in the extra length processing portion having an annular groove shape is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

JP 2003-75652 A

  By the way, for example, when an optical fiber is routed in an automobile, unlike an office or the like, the routing space is very narrow. For this reason, when an optical fiber is laid in a narrow space and the connector at the end of the optical fiber is connected to a predetermined device, an excessive force acts on the connection end of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber is pulled with an excessive force. Or the optical fiber may be bent sharply. As a result, optical coupling between the optical fiber and the optical component to be connected may become unstable. In particular, the glass optical fiber as described above is generally inferior in physical strength as compared with the plastic optical fiber, and thus the above-described problems are likely to occur.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the extra length portion of the optical fiber is accommodated in the extra length processing portion having an annular groove shape, so that the force acting on the intermediate path of the optical fiber is accommodated. May act on the end of the optical fiber as it is, and is insufficient as a solution to the above problem.

  Then, the subject of this invention is providing the technique which can relieve | moderate the force which acts on the edge part of an optical fiber.

  An optical connector according to the present invention is an optical connector attached to an end of an optical fiber, and is held by a fiber end holding member that holds the end of the optical fiber and the fiber end holding member of the optical fiber. And a fiber winding member having an annular peripheral surface around which a portion in front of the formed portion is wound.

  In this case, the fiber winding member may be disposed in a posture in which the central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber.

  The fiber winding member may be disposed in a posture in which the central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially parallel to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber.

  The optical fiber shock absorber according to the present invention is an optical fiber shock absorber provided in the middle of an optical fiber routing path, and includes a fiber winding member having an annular peripheral surface around which the optical fiber is wound. Is.

  According to the optical connector of the present invention, the optical fiber includes a fiber winding member having an annular circumferential surface around which a portion of the optical fiber that is in front of the portion held by the fiber end holding member is wound. Even if a tensile force is applied to the optical fiber, the tensile force is received by the frictional force between the optical fiber and the fiber winding member. For this reason, the force which acts on the edge part of an optical fiber can be relieved.

  Further, when the fiber winding member is disposed in a posture in which the central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber, the optical fiber is tangent to the annular peripheral surface. It can be pulled out without bending suddenly outward in the direction.

  Further, when the fiber winding member is disposed in a posture in which the central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber, the optical fiber is tangent to the annular peripheral surface. It can be pulled out without bending suddenly outward in the direction.

  Moreover, according to the optical fiber shock absorber of the present invention, the optical fiber shock absorber is provided in the middle of the optical fiber routing path, and includes a fiber winding member having an annular peripheral surface around which the optical fiber is wound. Therefore, even if a tensile force is applied to the optical fiber, the tensile force is received by the frictional force between the optical fiber and the fiber winding member. For this reason, the force which acts on an optical fiber can be relieved.

<First Embodiment>
The optical connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an optical connector and a device-side connector of an electric device.

  That is, the device-side connector 16 is provided in the electrical device 10 that is a terminal device that performs network communication in a vehicle or the like, and an optical connector 20 as an optical connector device is connected to the device-side connector 16.

  Here, the device-side connector 16 includes a connector housing 17 and a plurality of connector terminals 18. The connector housing 17 is formed in a substantially bowl shape that opens on one side. Each connector terminal 18 is a long member formed of a conductive member such as metal, and is provided in a predetermined arrangement form such that it protrudes from the bottom of the connector housing 17 toward the opening side thereof. . Each of these connector terminals 18 is electrically connected to a predetermined circuit formed on a substrate or the like in the electrical device 10 via a lead terminal, a lead wire or the like (not shown).

  The optical connector 20 is attached to the end of the optical fiber 30, converts the electrical signal into an optical signal and outputs it to the outside through the optical fiber 30, and the optical signal input through the optical fiber 30 as an electrical signal. At least one of the functions to convert to In addition, as the optical fiber 30, an optical fiber including a plastic core may be used as well as an optical fiber including a glass-based core.

  Such an optical connector 20 is also called an optical active connector. In this embodiment, an example in which the optical connector 20 is an optical active connector will be described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this example. For example, holding the end of the optical fiber, such as a light emitting element, a light receiving element, an optical connector for optically coupling to the optical fiber, etc. In general, the present invention can be applied to optical connectors having members. The optical fiber 30 may be pulled out below the optical connector 20 depending on the wiring arrangement, or may be pulled out rearward in the connection direction of the optical connector 20 as shown in FIG. Etc.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the optical connector. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the optical connector 20 includes a connector housing 22, a plurality of connector terminals 23, a mounting substrate 24, a fiber end holding member 26, and a fiber winding member 28. .

  The connector housing 22 is formed of a resin or the like, and has a shape (here, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape) that can be fitted in the device-side connector 16.

  Each connector terminal 23 is a long member formed of a conductive material such as metal, and is formed so as to be fitted and connected to the corresponding connector terminal 18. Note that either the connector terminal 18 or the connector terminal 23 may have a female terminal shape or a male terminal shape. Each connector terminal 23 is held at one end of the connector housing 22 in a predetermined arrangement form. When the optical connector 20 is fitted and connected to the device-side connector 16, the connector terminals 18 and the corresponding connector terminals 23 are fitted and connected to be electrically connected.

  The mounting board 24 is mounted on a predetermined printed wiring board (PCB) with active elements such as an IC having processing functions such as signal amplification and element driving, and other mounting parts including elements such as resistors and capacitors. Is. A processing circuit that performs signal conversion relay processing such as electric signal amplification processing and optical element driving is formed on the mounting substrate 24. The mounting board 24 is accommodated in the connector housing 22, and the base end portion of each connector terminal 23 is electrically connected to the circuit of the mounting board 24 via a lead terminal, a lead wire, etc. (not shown). Connected.

  An optical element 25 that is a light emitting element or a light receiving element is mounted and fixed on the mounting substrate 24. The optical element 25 receives the signal light that has propagated through the optical fiber 30 or sends the signal light toward the optical fiber 30. As the optical element 25, in addition to a laser light emitting or receiving element, an infrared light emitting or receiving element such as a general light emitting diode can be used.

  A fiber end holding member 26 is disposed at a position on the optical coupling surface 25a (light emitting surface or light receiving surface) side of the optical element 25. The fiber end holding member 26 is a member that holds the end of the optical fiber 30 at a position and posture in which the end face of the optical fiber 30 faces the optical coupling surface 25a. Here, the fiber end holding member 26 is formed in a substantially plate shape having a groove 26g capable of holding the end of the optical fiber 30 on one main surface, and is fixed on the mounting substrate 24 with an adhesive or the like. Yes. Then, by holding the end of the optical fiber 30 in the groove 26g, the end face of the optical fiber 30 is disposed opposite to the optical coupling surface 25a, and the optical fiber 30 and the optical element 25 are optically coupled. It has become.

  In addition to the above configuration, the fiber end holding member 26 may be formed in a substantially cylindrical shape into which the end of the optical fiber 30 can be inserted, for example. Further, the fiber end holding member 26 may be integrally formed with the connector housing 22.

  Then, an electrical signal input through each connector terminal 23 is converted into an optical signal by the processing circuit on the mounting substrate 24 and the optical element 25 (light emitting element) and transmitted to another device through the optical fiber 30, or this In addition to this, an optical signal transmitted from another device via the optical fiber 30 is converted into an electrical signal by the optical element 25 (light receiving element) and a processing circuit on the mounting substrate 24, and is output via each connector terminal 23. It has come to be.

  The fiber winding member 28 is formed of a resin or the like into a member having an annular peripheral surface 28a. Here, the fiber winding member 28 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The radius of curvature of the annular peripheral surface 28 a is preferably as large as possible within a range that can be accommodated in the connector housing 22, and is preferably equal to or greater than the minimum bending radius of the optical fiber 30. The minimum bending radius (also referred to as an allowable bending radius) of the optical fiber 30 is a value defined from the viewpoint of physical strength, bending loss, and the like.

  The fiber wrapping member 28 has a posture in which the central axis O1 of the annular peripheral surface 28a is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber 30, and is a peripheral portion of the fiber end holding member 26. 30 is disposed at a position opposite to the end portion directing direction (that is, opposite to the optical element 25). Then, a portion of the optical fiber 30 that is in front of the portion held by the fiber end holding member 26 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 28a (preferably wound in close contact), and is attached to the connector housing 22. It passes through the formed outlet (not shown) and is drawn out of the optical connector 20 (below the optical connector 20 in FIG. 3). It is preferable that the optical fiber 30 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 28a by a number of times that can receive the tensile force acting on the optical fiber 30. For example, the optical fiber 30 is one or more times wrapped around the annular peripheral surface. It is preferably wound around 28a.

  Note that the optical fiber 30 may be pulled out above the optical connector 20 (see A1 in FIG. 3), or the optical fiber 30 may be connected to the back surface of the optical connector 20, depending on the arrangement of the optical fiber 30. You may make it pull out to the side (opposite side of the connector connection direction of the optical connector 20) (refer A2 of FIG. 3). That is, it is suitable for drawing out the optical fiber 30 in an arbitrary tangential direction of the annular peripheral surface 28a.

  According to the optical connector 20 configured in this way, the optical fiber 30 (here, the portion before the portion held by the fiber end holding member 26) is at least on the annular peripheral surface 28a of the fiber winding member 28. Since it is wound once, even if a tensile force is applied to the optical fiber 30, the tensile force is gently received by the frictional force between the optical fiber 30 and the annular peripheral surface 28 a of the fiber winding member 28. For this reason, the force acting on the end of the optical fiber 30 can be relaxed. For example, the end surface of the optical fiber 30 and the optical coupling surface 25a are separated by an excessive tensile force, or the optical fiber 30 is abruptly separated. It is possible to prevent such a situation that it will be bent.

  In addition, when the optical fiber 30 is pulled out to the side of the optical connector 20 (in FIG. 3, the optical connector 20 is upward, obliquely upward, downward, or obliquely downward), the optical fiber 30 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 28a. In addition, it is good to pull it out in a predetermined tangential direction. As a result, even when an excessive force is applied to pull the optical fiber 30 outward in the drawn state, the optical fiber 30 can be gently received by the frictional force between the optical fiber 30 and the annular peripheral surface 28a. Can be pulled out to the side of the optical connector 20 while preventing the light from being bent sharply.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of an optical connector according to a modification. In this optical connector 20B, the fiber winding member 28B having the same configuration as the fiber winding member 28 is in a posture in which the central axis O2 of the annular peripheral surface 28Ba is substantially parallel to the axial direction of the end portion of the optical fiber 30. The fiber end holding member 26 is disposed at a position on the side opposite to the direction of the end of the optical fiber 30 (that is, on the side opposite to the optical element 25). A portion of the optical fiber 30 that is in front of the portion held by the fiber end holding member 26 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 28Ba and passes through a lead-out port (not shown) formed in the connector housing 22. Thus, the optical connector 20B is pulled out (below the optical connector 20B in FIG. 4). It is preferable that the optical fiber 30 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 28Ba by a number of times that can receive the tensile force acting on the optical fiber 30. For example, the optical fiber 30 is one or more times wrapped around the annular peripheral surface. It is preferably wound around 28Ba.

  The optical fiber 30 may be pulled out to the left or right side of the optical connector 20B according to the arrangement of the optical fiber 30 (see B1 in FIG. 4), or the optical fiber 30 may be pulled out of the optical connector. You may make it pull out above 20B. The optical fiber 30 is drawn behind the fiber end holding member 26 and wound around the annular circumferential surface 28Ba so as to be gradually inclined. This modification is suitable for drawing out the optical fiber 30 in an arbitrary tangential direction of the annular peripheral surface 28Ba, that is, toward the outer periphery and outer direction of the optical connector 20B.

  In addition, it can be said that these optical connectors 20 and 20B are optical connectors incorporating the optical fiber shock absorber described in the second embodiment.

Second Embodiment
Next explained is an optical fiber shock absorber according to the second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an application example of the optical fiber shock absorber, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the shock absorber.

  The optical fiber buffer 120 is provided in the middle of the routing path of the optical fiber 130. For example, in a vehicle, electric devices 110a, 110b, and 110c such as an electric control unit (ECU) are appropriately dispersed around a front engine room, a driver's seat, a rear luggage room, and the like. An optical fiber 130 is routed between the electric devices 110a, 110b, and 110c, and the electric devices 110a, 110b, and 110c communicate with each other through the optical fiber 130. The present optical fiber shock absorber 120 is provided in the middle of such an optical fiber 130 routing path.

  The optical fiber shock absorber 120 has an optical fiber winding member 128. The optical fiber winding member 128 is a member formed of a resin or the like, and is formed into a member having an annular peripheral surface 128a around which the optical fiber 130 is wound. Here, the optical fiber winding member 128 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The radius of curvature of the annular peripheral surface 128a is preferably as large as possible within the range that can be accommodated in the accommodation space, and is preferably equal to or larger than the minimum bending radius of the optical fiber 130, as in the above embodiment.

  The optical fiber winding member 128 is installed in a fixed state in the middle of the routing path of the optical fiber 130. Usually, the optical fiber 138 is installed in a state in which the optical fiber 138 is housed and fixed in the case 122 and fixed in a fixed position in the middle of the routing path. A plurality of outlets for leading the optical fiber 130 in different directions are formed in the case 122, and the optical fiber 130 is drawn to the outside through the respective outlets to be connected to the electric devices 110a, 110b, and 110c. Routed towards.

  The optical fiber 130 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 128a in the middle of the routing route (preferably wound in close contact), and the arrangement positions of the electrical devices 110a, 110b, and 110c as communication destinations. Accordingly, it is drawn along the tangential direction of the annular peripheral surface 128a, and is routed toward each of the electric devices 110a, 110b, and 110c. As in the first embodiment, the optical fiber 130 is preferably wound around the annular peripheral surface 128a with a number of times that allows the tensile force acting on the optical fiber 130 to be received. 130 is preferably wound around the annular peripheral surface 128a at least once.

  In addition, as for this optical fiber winding member 128, it is preferable that the optical fiber 130 is wired linearly between the optical fiber winding member 128 and the electric equipment 110a, 110b, 110c.

  According to the optical fiber shock absorber 120 configured in this way, since the optical fiber 130 is wound around the annular peripheral surface 128a of the fiber winding member 128, even if a tensile force is applied to the optical fiber 130, the tensile force Is gently received by the frictional force between the optical fiber 130 and the annular peripheral surface 128a of the fiber winding member 128. For this reason, the force acting on the optical fiber 130 beyond the optical fiber buffer 120 can be relaxed. For example, the end face of the optical fiber 130 and the optical coupling portion on the other side are separated by an excessive tensile force. In addition, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the optical fiber 130 is bent suddenly in the middle or at the end of the routing path.

  Moreover, when the routing path of the optical fiber 130 is bent, the optical fiber 130 may be wound around the annular peripheral surface 128a and drawn out in a predetermined tangential direction. Accordingly, the optical fiber 130 can be bent and routed while the force acting on the optical fiber 130 is reduced and the optical fiber 130 is prevented from being bent suddenly.

It is a figure which shows the optical connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and the apparatus side connector of an electric equipment. It is a figure which shows the other example of the drawing-out direction of an optical fiber. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of an optical connector. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the optical connector which concerns on a modification. It is explanatory drawing which shows the application example of the optical fiber shock absorber which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows a buffer apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

20, 20B optical connector 24 mounting substrate 25 optical element 25a optical coupling surface 26 fiber end holding member 26g groove 28, 28B fiber winding member 28a, 28Ba annular peripheral surface 30 optical fiber 120 optical fiber buffer 128 fiber winding member 128a Annular circumferential surface 130 Optical fiber

Claims (4)

An optical connector attached to the end of an optical fiber,
A fiber end holding member for holding the end of the optical fiber;
A fiber winding member having an annular peripheral surface around which the optical fiber is wound;
With optical connector. The optical connector according to claim 1,
An optical connector in which the fiber winding member is disposed in a posture in which a central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially orthogonal to an axial direction of an end portion of the optical fiber. The optical connector according to claim 1,
An optical connector in which the fiber winding member is disposed in a posture in which a central axis of the annular peripheral surface is substantially parallel to an axial direction of an end portion of the optical fiber. An optical fiber shock absorber provided in the middle of an optical fiber routing path,
An optical fiber shock absorber provided with a fiber winding member having an annular peripheral surface around which the optical fiber is wound.

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