JP2010197757A - Closure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a closure capable of improving the efficiency for splicing or desplicing work of an optical cable. <P>SOLUTION: The closure 100 houses a connector 21 provided at the distal end of the optical cable 20 and an adapter 40 to which the connector 21 is connected. The closure includes: a clamping part 1 provided opposite to the connector 21 to clamp the connector 21 in the direction right-angled to the axial direction of the optical cable 20; and a closure body 2 holding the clamping part 1 and the connector 21 in a sealed internal space and having an elastically deformable elastic part 7 in an area corresponding to the clamping part 1. The elastic part 7 is deformed as the connector 21 clamped through the clamping part 1 moves to be inserted and removed from the connections. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a closure, and is particularly useful when applied to connecting optical cables.

  In FTTH (Fiber To The Home), which installs optical fiber (optical cable) from a carrier base station (accommodation station) to a subscriber's facility, it is more A method of connecting one or two or more optical drop cables on the subscriber side through a closure having a cylindrical housing has become the mainstream. As such an optical cable and an optical drop cable used for such FTTH, there is known an optical cable and an optical drop cable configured by a cable main body portion for performing information communication and a support wire portion for suspending the cable main body portion. . In addition, as a closure, an optical cable and an optical drop cable are separated into a cable body part and a support line part, and a connector provided at the tip of the cable body part of both cables and an adapter to which both connectors are connected are formed in a cylindrical shape. What is accommodated in a housing | casing (refer patent document 1) etc. are disclosed.

  However, the closure of the conventional configuration as described above cannot connect / disconnect both optical cables unless the casing is opened, resulting in deterioration of the connecting / disconnecting operation of the optical cables.

JP 2007-212506 (FIG. 2 etc.)

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a closure capable of improving the workability of connecting / disconnecting optical cables.

  A first aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problem is a closure that accommodates a connector provided at the tip of an optical cable and a connecting portion to which the connector is connected, and is from the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical cable. A holding part provided opposite to the connector so that the connector can be held, the holding part and the connector are held in a sealed internal space, and can be elastically deformed into a region corresponding to the holding part A closure body having a flexible elastic part, wherein the elastic part is deformed as the connector is clamped via the clamping part as the connector is moved from the connecting part at the time of insertion / extraction. is there.

  In such a first aspect, the connector and the connecting portion can be moved without opening the closure body by holding the connector via the elastic portion and the sandwiching portion from the outside of the closure body by the sandwiching portion and the elastic portion. Can be connected and disconnected. Here, since the connector and the connection part are sealed in the closure main body, waterproofing and dustproofing of both the connection parts can be realized, and a stable optical connection can be maintained over a long period of time. Furthermore, since the closure body only needs to provide a minimum space for covering the connector and the connection portion, it is possible to contribute to miniaturization of the optical connection structure as much as possible.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the closure according to the first aspect further includes a lock mechanism that regulates a position of the connector in an axial direction of the optical cable in a state where the connector and the connection portion are connected. The closure is characterized by

  In the second aspect, the connection between the connector and the connection portion can be favorably maintained on the closure side.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the closure of the first or second aspect, the closure body is made of a transparent material.

  In the third aspect, it is possible to reliably connect / disconnect the connector and the connection portion while visually recognizing the connection portion and the connector in the closure body.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the closure according to any one of the first to third aspects, a bag body in which a gel is enclosed is accommodated in a space in which the clamping portion of the closure body moves. The closure is characterized by

  In the fourth aspect, since the gel in the bag flows along with the movement of the sandwiching portion, the sandwiching portion can be smoothly moved within the closure body, and the operation for connecting / disconnecting the connector and the connecting portion is performed. The feeling can be improved.

  In the closure of the present invention, the connector can be moved from the outside of the closure body via the elastic part and the sandwiching part by the sandwiching part and the elastic part, so that the connector can be moved without opening the closure body. Connection / disconnection to / from the connection part can be performed.

  Therefore, according to this invention, the workability | operativity regarding the connection / disconnection operation | work of an optical cable can be aimed at.

  Moreover, in the closure of this invention, since the connector and the connection part are accommodated in the sealed internal space, the contamination of the connector and the connection part can be avoided by the dustproof and waterproof function.

It is the schematic diagram of the ON state which shows the closure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with an optical cable, (a) is the state cut | disconnected by the horizontal surface, (b) is shown in the state cut | disconnected by the vertical surface. It is a schematic diagram of the OFF state which shows the closure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with an optical cable, (a) is the state cut | disconnected by the horizontal surface, (b) is shown in the state cut | disconnected by the vertical surface.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1A and 1B are schematic views showing a closure according to an embodiment of the present invention together with an optical cable. FIG. 1A shows a state cut along a horizontal surface, and FIG. 1B shows a state cut along a vertical surface. As shown in both figures, in the closure 100 according to the present embodiment, the connectors 21 and 31 provided at the tips of the two optical cables 20 and 30 respectively having optical cores 20A and 30A are connected to the connectors 21 and 31, respectively. An adapter 40 that is a connected portion is accommodated, and includes a sandwiching portion 1 and a closure body 2. Here, the optical cable 30 is always connected to the adapter 40.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the end faces of the optical core wires 20A and 30A are in contact with each other and the optical cables 20 and 30 are connected. That is, when the connector 21 is pushed into the adapter 40 along the axis of the optical cable 20 from the right side in the drawing, the distal end surface of the optical core 20A is attached to the distal end surface of the optical core 30A of the connector 31 that is inserted and attached in advance to the adapter 40. It is pressed and both are mirror-connected. Hereinafter, such a connection state is referred to as an on state. In this on-state, the physical structure is such that the connector 21 is locked to the adapter 40 so that the mirror surface contact portions of the optical cores 20A and 30A can be reliably set. For example, although not shown in the drawing, a lot of light that is already on the market such that the connector 21 is pushed into the latch part formed on the adapter 40 and the groove part formed on the tip part is engaged. It has a structure adopted in adapters and optical connectors.

  On the other hand, by slightly moving the connector 21 from the ON state to the right side in the figure with respect to the adapter 40, the mirror surface connection state between the optical cores 20A and 30A can be released and the tip surfaces of the optical cores 20A and 30A can be separated. . Hereinafter, such a disconnected state is referred to as an off state. This off state is realized by releasing the locking state of the connector 21 by the latch portion of the adapter 40 by pulling the connector 21 to the right in the drawing with a certain amount of operating force.

  As described above, the optical core wires 20A and 30A can be selected from the on state to the off state by moving the connector 21 with respect to the adapter 40 in the left-right direction along the axial direction of the optical core wire 20A. The predetermined stroke) is as small as 1 mm in the existing product.

  The sandwiching portion 1 is provided to face the connector 21 so that the connector 21 that is one of the connectors 21 and 31 can be sandwiched from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical cable 20. Further, the sandwiching portion 1 of the present embodiment is made of a member different from the closure main body 2, and is provided in two, one at a position different by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the optical cable 20. Here, the material constituting the sandwiching portion 1 is not particularly limited, but it is easily deformed by the force of the operator's fingers, such as silicon rubber, for example, when the connector 21 is sandwiched. Any material that can be brought into close contact with the pressing force of is acceptable. That is, if the material and the structure are such that the connector 21 can be restrained from above and below by the pressing force applied to the sandwiching portion 1 and can be moved in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the restraining force, there is no further limitation. Absent. In this embodiment, the clamping part 1 was comprised with silicon rubber.

  The closure main body 2 is made of a pair of half-cylindrical members, and holds the sandwiching portion 1 and the adapter 40 in the internal space thereof, and houses the connectors 21 and 31. Further, a bag body 4 in which a gel 3 is enclosed is accommodated in the inside of the closure body 2 on the right side in the figure. The gel 3 is sealed in an amount somewhat smaller than the limit that can be accommodated by the bag body 4, and is deformed when the clamping portion 1 moves to the right side in the drawing so as to contribute to smooth movement of the connector 21. It has become. In addition, the position of the sandwiching portion is regulated so that the left end surface of the sandwiching portion 1 is in contact with the end surface of the closure main body 2 at normal times. This can prevent erroneous operation of the clamping unit 1. Here, the material of the gel 3 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the material has a viscosity enough to immediately flow along with the movement of the sandwiching portion 1.

  It is not always necessary to store the bag 4 for storing the gel 3 in the closure body 2. It may be simply left as a space.

  Moreover, the male screw is provided in the edge part 5 in the axial direction of the optical cable 20 of the closure main body 2, respectively. The end portion 5 is screwed with a sealing member 6 having an internal thread cut therein. As the sealing member 6 is screwed in this way, the pair of half-cylinder-shaped closure main bodies 2 are sufficiently in close contact with the optical cables 20 and 30. Thereby, the internal space of the closure body 2 becomes a sealed space having a dustproof and waterproof function.

  The elastic part 7 is provided in a region corresponding to the clamping part 1 of the closure body 2. More specifically, the elastic part 7 is formed by making the thickness of the outer wall of the closure body 2 in the region corresponding to the sandwiching part 1 thinner than the other part, and presses the sandwiching part 1 from above, The connector 21 is deformed as it moves in the horizontal direction for a predetermined stroke at the time of insertion / removal from the adapter 40 of the connector 21 held via the holding part 1.

  Here, although the material which comprises the closure main body 2 is not specifically limited, For example, hard rubber etc. are provided with the intensity | strength which can endure external force by forming in a certain amount of thickness, and by forming thinly A material capable of easily forming the elastically deformable elastic portion 7 is desirable. The closure body 2 is preferably made of a transparent member. This is because the connection state of the connector 21 to the adapter 40 can be visually recognized. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a line 21 </ b> A is attached to the surface of the connector 21, and in an on state where the connector 21 is well connected to the adapter 40 in a predetermined manner, the line 21 </ b> A is hidden by the adapter 40. When it is not visible from the outside of the main body 2 and is visible from the outside of the closure main body 2 without being hidden by the adapter 40 in the off state, it is in an on state as determined depending on whether or not the line 21A is visible. It can be easily determined whether it is in the OFF state as specified. Since the case shown in FIG. 1 is a case where the line 21A is hidden by the adapter 40, this line 21A is shown by a dotted line.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the end faces of the optical core wires 20A and 30A are separated from each other and the connection between the optical cables 20 and 30 is released, and (a) is a cut state on a horizontal surface. ) Is shown cut in a vertical plane. That is, FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) correspond to FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), respectively. A mode of switching from the on state to the off state by adding FIG. 2 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the connector 21 is clamped via the elastic part 7 and the clamping part 1 in the ON state in which the adapter 40 and the connector 21 are connected. In this case, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1B, a force is applied so as to sandwich a region corresponding to the connector 21 of the elastic portion 7 of the closure body 2 from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical cable 20. Thereby, the elastic part 7 and the clamping part 1 are elastically deformed and brought into close contact with the connector 21 with a predetermined pressing force. Thus, according to the closure 100 of this embodiment, the connector 21 can be clamped via the elastic part 7 and the clamping part 1 without opening the closure main body 2.

  Next, the latching state of the connector 21 by the adapter 40 is released by moving the clamping portion 1 to the right in the figure via the elastic portion 7, and the OFF state shown in FIG. More specifically, the connector 21 is moved in a direction away from the adapter 40 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. At this time, the elastic portion 7 is elastically deformed in the axial direction of the optical cable 20. Thereby, the mirror surface contact state of the optical cores 20A and 30A is released. In addition, since the predetermined stroke which is the moving distance of the connector 21 at this time is as small as about 1 mm, the fixed state of the optical cable 20 by the sealing member 6 at the end portion 5 is not affected.

  Here, it is confirmed that the line 21A of the connector 21 hidden in the adapter 40 appears from the end of the adapter 40 and is visually confirmed from the outside of the closure body 2 which is a transparent member. be able to.

  As described above, in the closure 100 of the present embodiment, the connector 21 is moved by holding the connector 21 from the outside of the closure body 2 via the elastic portion 7 and the holding portion 1 by the elastic portion 7 and the holding portion 1. Therefore, it is possible to switch between the on state and the off state of the connector 21 and the adapter 40 without opening the closure body 2.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the structure of this invention is not limited to what was mentioned above. It has a very wide versatility as a closure of a part having an optical switch function. For example, the present invention can be applied to an input terminal of an optical transmission device or a media converter. In this case, the shape of the closure itself is the right half of FIGS. 1 and 2, but the mirror surface contact between the optical cores 20A and 30A can be turned on and off from the outside of the closure body as in the above embodiment. In addition, since the front end surfaces of the optical cores 20A and 30A are accommodated in the sealed space of the closure body, the dustproof and waterproof effect of this portion is exhibited well.

  In addition, grasping of the on state and the off state can also be realized by providing a lock mechanism that regulates the position of the connector 21 in the axial direction of the optical cable 20 in a state where the connector and the adapter are connected. In this locking mechanism, for example, two sets of recesses are provided on the surface of the connector 21, and two sets of spheres respectively corresponding to the recesses biased by springs from the closure body 2 side are selectively fitted into the recesses. Such a configuration can be considered. That is, the ball for the on state is fitted into the corresponding recess for the on state at the predetermined position in the on state and the state is released in the off state, while the ball for the off state is off at the predetermined position in the off state. It is configured so as to be fitted into the state recess and to be released in the on state.

  In this case, it is possible to easily and reliably hold the on state or the off state as well as grasp the on state or the off state.

  Further, a color difference can be used instead of the line 21A for checking the on state or the off state. That is, the same effect can of course be obtained even if a specific color portion hidden in the on state appears in the off state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the clamping unit 1 is provided one by one at a position that differs by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the optical cable 20, but a total of three holding parts 1 are provided at positions that differ by 120 degrees in the circumferential direction of the optical cable 20. It may be. Further, the sandwiching portion 1 may have a ring shape that fits into the connector 21.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the clamping part 1 was comprised by the member different from the closure main body 2, you may be provided integrally with the closure main body 2. FIG. By providing it integrally with the closure main body 2, it is possible to save the labor of housing the clamping part 1 in the closure main body 2 and to reduce the manufacturing cost. Similarly, in the above embodiment, the closure main body 2 and the elastic portion 7 are integrally provided. For example, a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) which is a light material having high corrosion resistance and other than the elastic portion 7 is manufactured. The closure body 2 and the elastic portion 7 may be formed separately, such that the elastic portion 7 is made of an elastic material such as rubber.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, in order to improve the operation feeling in the insertion / extraction operation from the adapter 40 of the connector 21, the bag body 4 with which the gel 3 was enclosed in the space where the clamping part 1 moves was accommodated. However, although the operational feeling is somewhat reduced, nothing may be accommodated in the space other than the sandwiching portion 1.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the clamping part 1 was provided only in the connector 21, you may be provided in both the connectors 21 and 31. FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the sealing space is formed by screwing the sealing member 6 into the end portions 5 of the pair of halved closure main bodies 2, but the closure main body 2 is not provided without providing the sealing member 6. It is good also as a sealed space by forming the inner diameter of the part which opposes the optical cables 20 and 30 slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the optical cables 20 and 30, and forming a firm contact state between the optical cables 20 and 30.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in an industrial field in which a closure that holds a connection portion of an optical cable is manufactured, sold, or used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Clamping part 2 Closure main body 3 Gel 4 Bag body 7 Elastic part 20, 30 Optical cable 20A, 30A Optical core wire 21, 31 Connector 21A Wire 40 Adapter 100 Closure

Claims (4)

A closure that accommodates a connector provided at the tip of the optical cable and a connecting portion to which the connector is connected,
A clamping part provided facing the connector so that the connector can be clamped from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical cable;
Holding the clamping part and the connector in a sealed internal space, and comprising a closure body having an elastic part that can be elastically deformed in a region corresponding to the clamping part,
The said elastic part deform | transforms with the movement at the time of insertion / extraction from the said connection part of the said connector clamped via the said clamping part, The closure characterized by the above-mentioned. The closure according to claim 1,
A closure further comprising a lock mechanism for restricting a position of the connector in an axial direction of the optical cable in a state where the connector and the connection portion are connected. In the closure according to claim 1 or claim 2,
A closure characterized in that the closure body is made of a transparent material. In the closure as described in any one of Claims 1-3,
A closure in which a bag body in which a gel is enclosed is accommodated in a space in which the clamping portion of the closure body moves.

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