JP2009251603A - Optical fiber connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber connector in which a crack hardly occurs. <P>SOLUTION: The optical fiber connector includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing includes a hollow stripe-like body, a latch arm formed so as to be extended from one end of the stripe-like body and a first engagement part formed on the other end of the stripe-like body. At least one engagement hole is formed on the first engagement part and a welding line is formed on a position adjacent to the engagement hole of the stripe-like body. The extending direction of the welding line is rectangular to the longitudinal direction of the first housing. A second engagement part to be engaged with the first engagement part is formed on one end of the second housing and an engaging projection to be engaged with the engagement hole is formed on the second engagement part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector.

  An optical fiber connector is an optical connection component indispensable for an optical communication system. With the rapid development of optical communication technology, optical fiber connectors are used in large quantities for connecting optical fibers and optical fibers or optical fibers and other optical components.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional optical fiber connector 100. The optical fiber connector 100 includes a first housing 10, a ferrule 11, a flange 12, a spring 13, and a second housing 14.

  The first housing 10 includes a hollow strip-shaped main body 101 having a protruding portion (not shown) formed on an inner wall. A latch arm 103 extending from an outer wall of the main body 101 is formed at one end, and an engagement hole 1071 is provided at the other end and can be engaged with the second housing 14. One engaging portion 107 is formed.

  The second housing 14 includes a hollow strip-shaped body 141. A second engagement portion 142 having an engagement protrusion 1423 that can engage with the engagement hole 1071 is formed at one end of the main body 141, and an optical fiber insertion portion 143 is formed at the other end. The The second housing 14 is fixed to the first housing 10 by engaging the second engaging portion 142 with the first engaging portion 107.

  When mounting, the ferrule 11 is fixed by the flange 12, and an optical fiber (not shown) inserted from the optical fiber insertion portion 143 passes through the main body 141 and the spring 13 of the second housing 14. The flange 12 and the ferrule 11 are inserted and fixed.

  When the second engagement portion 142 is inserted into the first engagement portion 107 and the engagement protrusion 1423 is engaged with the engagement hole 1071, one end of the spring 13 is connected to the second housing 14. The other end of the spring 13 presses the flange 12, and the flange 12 presses the protruding portion of the inner wall of the main body 101. Thus, the spring 13, the flange 12 and The ferrule 11 is accommodated in a space formed by the first housing 10 and the second housing 14.

  The first housing 10 is generally manufactured by plastic injection molding. Since the first housing 10 includes the main body 101 and the latch arm 103, the gate is generally installed at one end close to the latch arm 103 in order to make the molten resin material flow more easily in the injection molding. Therefore, the flow distance of the molten resin material is shortened, the molding speed is improved, and the size that shrinks when molding is reduced.

  Thus, the molten resin material flows from one end away from the engagement hole 1071 to one end of the engagement hole 1071. Since a protrusion is provided at a position corresponding to the engagement hole 1071 of the molding die, when the molten resin material passes through the protrusion, the protrusion is divided into two split flows. The two shunts roll up the protrusions and merge again to form a weld line 108 at the edge of the engagement hole 1071. The weld line 108 extends from the engagement hole 1071 to the end surface of the first housing 10 along the longitudinal direction of the first housing 10.

  During assembly, in the process of inserting the second engaging portion 142 into the first engaging portion 107, the second engaging portion 142 applies pressure to the first engaging portion 107, and the first engaging portion A tensile stress is generated in the side wall 107. Since the extending direction of the weld line 108 is orthogonal to the direction of the tensile stress, the first housing 10 is easily cracked along the weld line 108 and the product is easily broken.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connector in which cracks are unlikely to occur.

  The optical fiber connector of the present invention includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing includes a hollow strip-shaped main body, a latch arm formed extending from one end of the strip-shaped main body, and a first engagement portion formed at the other end of the strip-shaped main body. In addition, at least one engagement hole is formed in the first engagement portion, and a weld line is formed at a position adjacent to the engagement hole of the strip-shaped main body. The extending direction of the weld line is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the first housing. A second engagement portion that engages with the first engagement portion is formed at one end of the second housing, and an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement hole is formed at the second engagement portion. ing.

  Compared to the prior art, in the optical fiber connector according to the present invention, since the extending direction of the weld line of the first housing is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the first housing, the second engaging portion of the second housing In the process of inserting the first engagement portion of the first housing into the first engagement portion, the direction of the tensile stress generated when the second engagement portion applies pressure to the outer wall of the first engagement portion is It coincides with the stretching direction, and cracks are hardly generated.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the conventional optical fiber connector. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber connector shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which looked at the optical fiber connector shown in FIG. 2 from another angle.

  Hereinafter, an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the optical fiber connector 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a first housing 20, a ferrule 21, a flange 22, a spring 23 and a second housing 24.

  Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first housing 20 includes a hollow strip body 201 having four side walls connected to each other and having a square cross section. A latch arm 203 extending from one side wall of the main body 201 along the longitudinal direction of the main body 201 is formed at one end, and a first engagement portion 205 is formed at the other end. When the protrusions 2031 are formed on the latch arm 203 and the optical fiber connector 200 is inserted into an adapter (not shown), the protrusions 2031 are engaged with the concave grooves of the adapter, thereby the optical fiber connector 200. Is fixed to the adapter. The first engagement portion 205 is provided with an engagement hole 2051 and a groove 2053 for engaging the second housing 24. The engagement hole 2051 is rectangular and is formed in a side wall adjacent to the side wall of the main body 201 where the latch arm 203 is installed. The groove 2053 is formed on the side wall where the latch arm 203 is installed, and its extending direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the main body 201. A protruding portion 207 is formed on the inner wall of the main body 201.

  The ferrule 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a first through hole 211 that accommodates an optical fiber.

  The flange 22 includes a base 221 and a collar member 223 formed to extend from one end of the base 221, and an opening (not shown) for fixing the ferrule 21 is provided in the base 221. The collar member 223 is provided with a second through hole 227 for accommodating an optical fiber, and the second through hole 227 communicates with the opening of the ferrule 21.

  The second housing 24 includes a hollow strip body 241. A second engagement portion 242 is formed at one end of the main body 241 and an optical fiber insertion portion 243 is formed at the other end. The second housing 24 is fixed to the first housing 20 by engaging the second engaging portion 242 with the first engaging portion 205. An opening 2425 for fixing the spring 23 is provided inside the second engagement portion 242, and two engagement protrusions 2423 that can engage with the engagement hole 2051 are provided oppositely on the outside. The optical fiber insertion portion 243 is a cylindrical body having one end communicating with the main body 241. In the second housing 24, an optical fiber insertion hole 245 that is used to receive an optical fiber and passes through the optical fiber insertion portion 243 and the main body 241 and communicates with the opening 2425 is opened. The In the second housing 24, a shoulder portion 247 is formed at a connecting portion between the optical fiber insertion hole 245 and the opening 2425. In addition, since the holder 2411 is formed to extend from the outer wall of the main body 241, when the optical fiber connector 200 is attached to an adapter (not shown), the holder 2411 is operated by grasping and operating. Becomes convenient.

  When mounting, the ferrule 21 is fixed by the flange 22, and an optical fiber (not shown) includes an optical fiber insertion hole 245 of the second housing 24, the spring 23, and a second through hole of the flange 22. 227 and the first through hole 211 of the ferrule 21 are sequentially passed through and fixed to the first through hole 211. The spring 23 is attached to the flange member 223 of the flange 22 and is accommodated in the opening 2425 of the second engagement portion 242 together with the flange member 223. When the second engagement portion 242 of the second housing 24 is inserted into the hollow portion of the first housing 20, the groove portion 2053 is elastically deformed so that the engagement protrusion 2423 is engaged with the corresponding engagement hole 2051. Combine. At this time, one end of the spring 23 presses the base 221 of the flange 22, and the base 221 presses the protruding portion 207 inside the first housing 20 by the pressing force, and the other end of the spring 23 is pressed. Presses the shoulder 247 so that the ferrule 21 can slide along the longitudinal direction of the first housing 20.

  The first housing 20 is integrally molded by injecting plastic material from two gates. The two gates are installed on a side surface of the first housing 20 facing the latch arm 203 at a specific interval, and at least one gate is installed near the engagement hole 2051. Thereafter, when molten plastic material is injected from the gate into the mold cavity, the molten plastic material flows from the position of the gate to the position of the engagement hole 2051. Since a protrusion is provided at a position corresponding to the engagement hole 2051 in the cavity, when the molten plastic material passes through the protrusion, the protrusion is divided into two divided flows and the protrusion is involved. When the merged position is cooled, the weld line 208 is formed. The weld line 208 extends from the engagement hole 2051 along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the main body 201 of the first housing 20.

  When the second engaging portion 242 is inserted into the hollow portion of the first housing 20, the second engaging portion 242 applies pressure to the outer wall of the first engaging portion 205, and generates a tensile stress there. Let Since the weld line 208 extends in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the first housing 20 from the vicinity of the engagement hole 2051, the tensile stress generated on the outer wall of the first engagement portion 205. Since the welding line 208 and the end surface of the first engagement portion 205 do not intersect with each other, the average strength of the end surface of the first engagement portion 205 is increased. Less likely to crack.

  Since two gates are used during injection molding, the amount of material injected per gate is much less than the amount injected when a single gate is used, so the product sprue formed after molding becomes smaller and the product is removed. Since the sprue is automatically removed by the slider, another sprue pulling operation can be omitted, productivity can be improved, and cost can be reduced. Of course, even if two or more gates are employed, the same effect can be obtained.

  Further, the first engagement portion 205 can be installed in the second housing 24 and the second engagement portion 242 can be installed in the first housing 20.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications or corrections are possible within the scope of the present invention. Needless to say, it is also included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 Optical fiber connector 20 1st housing 201 1st housing main body 203 Latch arm 2031 Protrusion 205 1st engagement part 2051 Engagement hole 2053 Groove part 207 Protrusion part 208 Weld line 21 Ferrule 211 1st through-hole 22 Flange 221 Base 223 Collar member 227 Second through hole 23 Spring 24 Second housing 241 Main body 2411 Holder 242 Second engagement portion 2423 Engagement protrusion 2425 Opening portion 243 Optical fiber insertion portion 245 Optical fiber insertion hole 247 Shoulder portion

Claims (9)

A hollow strip-shaped main body, a latch arm formed extending from one end of the strip-shaped main body, and a first engaging portion formed at the other end of the strip-shaped main body. A first housing in which at least one engagement hole is formed in the joint, and a weld line is formed at a position adjacent to the engagement hole of the strip-shaped body;
A second housing formed at one end with a second engagement portion that engages with the first engagement portion, and an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement hole at the second engagement portion;
And an extending direction of the weld line is orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the first housing.   The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the weld line extends from the engagement hole.   2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed in the first engagement portion, and an extending direction of the groove coincides with a longitudinal direction of the first housing.   The hollow strip-shaped body has a square cross section and includes four side walls connected to each other, and the latch arm and the engagement hole are separately installed on adjacent side walls of the hollow strip-shaped body. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1.   2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein an extending direction of the latch arm coincides with a longitudinal direction of the hollow strip-shaped main body.   The optical fiber connector has a ferrule and a flange, the ferrule is fixed to one end of the flange, and the ferrule and the flange are accommodated in a space formed by the first housing and the second housing. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1.   The optical fiber connector according to claim 6, wherein the optical fiber connector includes an elastic member, and one end of the elastic member presses the flange and the other end presses the second housing.   The optical fiber connector according to claim 7, wherein the elastic member is a spring.   The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is made of a plastic material.

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