JP2007316458A - Optical adaptor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical adaptor whose coupling is hard to come off even if an external force is imparted thereto orthogonally to the coupling direction between the first and the second housing (height direction), and orthogonally to these two directions (width direction). <P>SOLUTION: On both left and right sides and on the lower side in the front of the first housing 2 in the optical adaptor 1, there are formed respectively a first, a second, and a third guided section 2a, 2b, 2c. The first, the second, and the third guided section are respectively inserted into a first, a second, and a third guiding groove of the second housing, so that the first housing is attached to the second housing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical adapter that relays connection between one optical connector and the other optical connector.

  A conventional optical adapter will be described (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Referring to FIGS. 5 to 10, the optical adapter includes a first shell member 21 and a second shell member 22 that is fastened to the first shell member 21 so as to be coupled and separable. The second shell member 22 is attached to the device panel 23. A first optical connector plug 26 is connected to the first shell member 21 outside the panel 23 with respect to the panel 23 of the device. A second optical connector plug 27 is connected to the second shell member 22 inside the panel 23.

  The first shell member 21 has a cylindrical portion. A first flange 28 is formed on the cylindrical portion of the first shell member 21 on the radially outer side. The second shell member 22 has a cylindrical portion. A second flange 29 is formed on the cylindrical portion of the second shell member 22 so as to face the first flange 28 of the first shell member 21. Further, the cylindrical portion of the first shell member 21 is arranged coaxially with the first shell member 21.

  An alignment sleeve 31 is provided inside the second shell member 22. A ferrule 30 is held in alignment inside the alignment sleeve 31. When the first shell member 21 is fastened to the second shell member 22, the alignment sleeve 31 is covered and held by the holding member 32 in the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The holding member 32 is attached to the first shell member 21. Further, inside the first shell member 21, the alignment sleeve 31 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 34 extending in the axial direction on the side opposite to the holding member 32.

  The end face of the second flange 29 orthogonal to the axial direction is abutted against and connected to the end face of the first flange 28 so that the second shell member 22 covers the cylindrical portion 34. The second flange 29 fastens and fixes the second shell member 22 to the panel 23 with screws (not shown).

  By the way, in the optical adapter, in the alignment sleeve 31, one end surface 33 of the ferrule 30 is abutted against one end surface of the ferrule 35 of the first optical connector plug 26 for optical connection.

  Further, the first shell member 21 is provided with a lock lever 41. The lock lever 41 is provided with a pair of lock lever plates 41 a and 41 b on each of a pair of side walls 28 a facing each other in the first flange 28. These lock lever plates 41a and 41b are rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 42 provided on each of a pair of opposing side walls 28a of the first shell member 21. Therefore, the lock lever 41 is attached to the first shell member 21 so as to be rotatable along a circular path between the first and second shell members 21 and 22. Further, an operation member 44 for rotating the lock lever plates 41a and 41b about the rotation shaft 42 is connected between one ends of the lock lever plates 41a and 41b. In the lock lever plates 41 a and 41 b, a notch-like engagement portion 45 is formed on the side opposite to the operation member 44 when the rotation shaft 42 is the center. Further, the second shell member 22 has a projecting engagement receiving portion 46 that engages with the engagement portion 45 of the lock lever plates 41 a and 41 b on each of the pair of side walls 29 a facing each other in the second flange 29. Is provided.

  Further, the lock lever 41 is provided with an elastic member 47. The elastic member 47 is connected between the rotating shaft 42 and the operation member 44 and between the pair of lock lever plates 41a and 41b. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the first flange 28 is provided with an engaging projection 28 b that abuts against the elastic member 47 when the lock lever 41 is rotated along the circular path. When the lock lever 41 is engaged with the engagement receiving portion 46, the elastic member 47 gets over the engagement protrusion 28 b and holds the locked state of the lock lever 41. The elastic member 47 has a shape such as a pipe or a round bar, and uses an elastic member.

  Next, fastening of the optical adapter will be described below. When one end of the second shell member 22 is inserted and fitted into the first shell member 21 and the lock lever 41 is rotated clockwise on the paper surface as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 9, the engagement portion 45 of the lock lever 41 engages with the engagement receiving portion 46 of the second shell member 22, and the first shell member 21 and the second shell member 22 are fitted. Lock state. At this time, the elastic member 47 elastically climbs over the engaging protrusion 28b and the locked state is maintained. Thus, since the elastic member 47 gets over the engaging protrusion 28b, the free movement of the lock lever 41 on the circular orbit is limited, so that the lock can be held in a stable state.

  In such an optical adapter, first and second optical connector plugs 26 and 27 are fitted from the inside and the outside of the device, respectively, and the coupling nuts 26a and 27a are connected to the first shell member 21 and the first shell. When the two shell members 22 are screwed into the outer peripheral screws, the ferrule 30 is abutted in the alignment sleeve 31 and optical connection is performed. From such a state, when the coupling nut 26a of the optical connector plug 26 is rotated counterclockwise to remove the optical connector plug 26, and the lock lever 41 is rotated counterclockwise to release the lock, The second shell member 22 can be detached from the first shell member 21. At this time, since the end face 33 of the ferrule 30 is exposed, the end face 33 can be easily cleaned.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-7302 (page 2, column 4, line 41 to page 3, column 6, line 38, FIGS. 1 to 9)

  In the conventional optical adapter, when the operation member 44 is rotated when the first shell member 21 and the second shell member 22 are coupled, the first flange 28 is engaged with the second flange 29. It can be canceled. Therefore, the first shell member 21 can be separated from the second shell member 22.

  Therefore, it is possible to clean the wear powder and dust adhering to one end surface 33 of the ferrule 30 of the second optical connector plug 27 and one end surface of the ferrule 35 of the first optical connector plug 26, respectively.

  However, in the conventional optical adapter, an external force is applied from a direction (height direction) orthogonal to the coupling / separation direction of the first shell member 21 and the second shell member 22 and a direction orthogonal to the both directions (width direction). When added, the bond is likely to come off.

  Therefore, the present invention improves the drawbacks of the conventional optical adapter, and is a direction orthogonal to the engagement direction of the first housing (first shell member 21 and the like) and the second housing (second shell member 22 and the like). The present invention intends to provide an optical adapter that is difficult to be disconnected even when an external force is applied from (the height direction) and a direction (width direction) perpendicular to both directions.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.

  In the optical adapter 1 that relays the connection between the optical connectors, the optical adapter 1 includes a sleeve holder 4 into which a connection portion of each optical connector is inserted, and a housing having a substantially quadrangular cross section. The first housing 2 and the second housing 5, the first housing 2 and the second housing 5 are detachably engaged with each other, and the first housing 2 is disposed on opposite sides. A first guided portion 2a and a second guided portion 2b provided on each, a lock portion 2d provided on a side adjacent to the side on which the first guided portion 2a is provided, And a third guided portion 2c provided on a side opposite to the side on which the lock portion 2d is provided, and the second housing 5 includes the first guided portion 2a and the second guided portion. Part 2 The first guide portion 5c, the second guide portion 5d, the third guide portion 5e provided corresponding to each of the third guided portions 2c, and the cover provided corresponding to the lock portion 2d. An optical adapter having a lock portion 5b.

  As is apparent from the description of the specification, the present invention has the following effects.

  1. Even if external force is applied from the direction (height direction) perpendicular to the coupling direction of the first housing and the second housing and the direction (width direction) perpendicular to both the directions, the coupling is difficult to be removed, so the stability of the optical adapter is improved. To do.

  2. Since the optical adapter includes the first housing, the second housing, and the sleeve holder, the number of components is small, the structure is simple, and the cost is low.

  An optical adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The optical adapter according to the first embodiment of the present invention is fixed to a panel of a device and relays connection between one optical connector and the other optical connector, and will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a state in which the optical adapter 1 is fixed to the panel 11 of the device. One optical connector 12 to be attached to the optical adapter 1 is disposed inside the panel 11, and the other optical connector to be attached to the optical adapter 1 is still attached on the front side of the panel 11. Not.

  The optical adapter 1 has a first housing 2 and a second housing 5, and FIG. 2 shows that the sleeve holder 4 (see FIG. 3) housed in the first housing 2 and the first housing 2 is the first housing 2. 2 is a perspective view of a state where it is removed from the housing 5. FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a state in which the sleeve holder 4 is held and fixed to the first housing 2. The first housing 2 is formed in a substantially quadrangular cylindrical shape. A pair of first guided portion 2a and second guided portion 2b are formed on both sides of the front surface of the first housing 2 so as to protrude from positions having different heights. The first guided portion 2 a is formed at the lower left portion of the first housing 2, and the second guided portion 2 b is formed at the right center portion of the first housing 2. A third guided portion 2c is formed below the front surface of the first housing 2 so as to protrude in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to the first guided portion 2a and the second guided portion 2b. ing.

By forming the first guided portion 2a, the second guided portion 2b, and the third guided portion 2c in the first housing 2, the direction A (which is orthogonal to the coupling direction of the first housing 2 and the second housing 5) Even if an external force is applied from the height direction) and the direction B (width direction) orthogonal to the two directions, it is difficult to disconnect.

  Furthermore, a lock portion 2d is formed on the upper surface of the first housing 2 so as to be elastically deformable. An engaging portion 2d1 is formed at the tip of the lock portion 2d so as to protrude from the front surface of the first housing 2, and a pressing portion 2d2 by a finger is formed at the center so as to protrude from the upper surface of the first housing 2. ing. Further, on the front surface of the first housing 2, a pair of engaging portions 2e are formed on both the left and right sides where the sleeve holder 4 enters and exits.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a design change example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, on both sides of the front surface of the first housing 2, a pair of first guided portions 2 a and second guided portions 2 b are formed so as to protrude from the same height. Even if comprised in this way, it can prevent attaching the 1st housing 2 to the 1st housing 5 upside down.

  The 2nd housing 5 is comprised by the rectangular parallelepiped shape as FIG. 2 shows. At the center of the second housing 5, a split sleeve (not shown), a holder (not shown), and a hole 5a for accommodating the ferrule 13 of one optical connector 12 are formed. In addition, a locked portion 5b that engages with the engaging portion 2d1 of the locking portion 2d is formed above the hole 5a in the second housing 5. Further, a pair of first guide grooves 5 c and a second guide groove 5 d for guiding the pair of first guided portions 2 a and the second guided portions 2 b of the first housing 2 are formed on both left and right side surfaces of the second housing 5. They are formed at different heights. A third guide groove 5e for guiding the third guided portion 2c is formed in the lower portion of the hole a in the second housing 5.

  Furthermore, screw holes 5 f are formed at two locations on the upper and lower sides of the second housing 5. A screw 6 is inserted into each screw hole 5 f and the second housing 5 is fixed to the panel 11 by screwing each screw 6 into the panel 11.

  Each method of attachment and detachment with respect to the 2nd housing 5 of the 1st housing 2 is demonstrated.

  First, in FIG. 3, a pair of engaged portions (not shown) of the sleeve holder 4 are engaged with a pair of engaging portions 2e of the first housing 2, and the sleeve holder 4 is moved into the first housing 2 in FIG. Store in.

  Next, in FIG. 2, the first guided portion 2a, the second guided portion 2b, and the third guided portion 2c of the first housing 2 are replaced with the first guide groove 5c and the second guide groove of the second housing 5, respectively. 5d, when inserted into the third guide groove 5e, the first housing 2 is attached to the second housing 5, as shown in FIG. An engaging portion 2 d 1 of the elastically deformable lock portion 2 d engages with the engaged portion 5 b of the second housing 5. At this time, if the other optical connector is attached to the first housing 2, one end face of the ferrule of the other optical connector is connected to one end face of the ferrule 13 of the one optical connector 12.

  In FIG. 1, when the pressing portion 2d2 of the lock portion 2d is pressed downward with a finger in FIG. 1, the lock portion 2d is elastically deformed, so that the engaging portion 2d1 is released from the locked portion 5b of the second housing 5. When the first housing 2 is separated from the second housing 5 in this released state, the first housing 2 reaches the position shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 2, since the one end surface of the ferrule of both optical connectors is exposed, the abrasion powder and dust adhering to the one end surface of both ferrules can be cleaned.

It is a perspective view of the state where the optical adapter of Example 1 of the present invention was fixed to the panel. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which the first housing and the sleeve holder assembly are detached from the second housing in the state of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the state where the sleeve holder is held and fixed to the first housing. It is a perspective view in the state where the sleeve holder in one design change example of the optical adapter of Example 1 of the present invention was held and fixed to the first housing. It is a perspective view in the state where the conventional optical adapter was disassembled. It is a perspective view of the state where the same optical adapter shown in Drawing 5 was fastened. It is sectional drawing of the same optical adapter shown by FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the optical adapter shown in FIG. 6 with both optical connector plugs removed. It is a side view of the same optical adapter shown by FIG. It is sectional drawing of the state by which the lock lever of the same optical adapter shown by FIG. 8 was cancelled | released.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical adapter 2 1st housing 2a 1st to-be-guided part 2b 2nd to-be-guided part 2c 3rd to-be-guided part 2d Lock part 2d1 Engagement part 2d2 Press part 2e Engagement part 4 Sleeve holder 5 2nd housing 5a Hole 5b Lock portion 5c First guide groove 5d Second guide groove 5e Third guide groove 5f Screw hole 6 Screw 11 Panel 12 Optical connector 13 Ferrule

Claims (1)

In an optical adapter that relays connections between optical connectors,
The optical adapter is composed of a sleeve holder into which a connection portion of each optical connector is inserted, and a housing having a substantially square cross section.
The housing includes a first housing and a second housing, and the first housing and the second housing are detachably engaged with each other,
The first housing is provided on a side adjacent to the first guided portion and the second guided portion provided on each of the opposing sides, and the side on which the first guided portion is provided. And a third guided portion provided on a side opposite to the side on which the lock unit is provided,
The second housing includes a first guide portion, a second guide portion, and a third guide portion that are provided corresponding to the first guided portion, the second guided portion, and the third guided portion, respectively. And a locked part provided corresponding to the locking part.

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