JP2011027876A - Multiple-connection optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiple-connection optical connector which can form a multiple-core connector plug by a simple structure, achieving high-density mounting of a plug to an adapter, and allowing quick attachment/detachment to/from the adapter in a single operation. <P>SOLUTION: The multiple-connection connector includes a plug body P which can house a plurality of ferrules 2a, which are connected to a plurality of optical cables K led out from the stop ring 2e side, via respective springs 2d in parallel arrangement inside a single case 1. The case 1 is constructed of a front side case part 1a having a plurality of insertion holes 3 to which the front end sides of the respective ferrules 2a are inserted, and a rear side case part 1b having a plurality of insertion holes 3 to which the rear end sides of the respective ferrules 2a are inserted via the respective springs 2d. Both the case parts 1a and 1b can be assembled together to be fixed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-connection type optical connector that can be used as a multi-fiber connector plug by connecting a plurality of optical connector plugs in parallel.

  Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if an excessive pulling force is applied to the optical connector plugs connected to each other via the optical connector clip from the outside, the optical connector can be separated from each other. There is an optical connector coupling structure that can always maintain a stable holding state without detaching each optical connector plug from the clip.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 10, this optical connector connecting structure is configured to connect a plurality of optical connector plugs in a side-by-side state so that it can be used as a multi-core connector plug. A boot 100 formed with a protruding fitting portion, and a plurality of boots provided with a ring-shaped protruding or annular groove fitting portion on the inner periphery so as to be fitted to the fitting portion of the boot 100 And a clip body 101 having an insertion portion arranged in parallel.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the clip body 101 is formed of an elastic material, and the protruding plate 102 protrudes obliquely from the outer surface across the plurality of boot insertion portions so as to engage with the adapter 103. Latch pieces 105a and 105b provided obliquely from the front end to the rear side of the plug bodies 104a and 104b are respectively engaged with the projecting plate 102, and each projecting plate 102 is pressed toward the clip body 101 side to cause each plug body 104a and 104b. The latch pieces 105a and 105b are displaced in a direction approaching the plug bodies 104a and 104b.

  In this way, the latch pieces 105a and 105b of the plug bodies 104a and 104b are engaged with the protruding plate 102 of the clip body 101 at their tips, and the pair of boots 100 are in a double parallel state together with the plug bodies 104a and 104b. The clip body 101 is held and fixed.

JP 2008-122506 A

  However, in the conventional connector connecting structure, the pair of boots are inserted into the plurality of boot insertion portions of the clip body together with the plug body, and are held and fixed in a double parallel state with the clip body. Since the latch plate provided obliquely from the front end of each plug body to the rear is engaged with the projecting plate that is obliquely projected from the outer surface across the plurality of boot insertion portions. , Formation of a pair of boot insertion parts corresponding to a pair of boots, formation of latch pieces of each plug body, formation of a protruding plate to be engaged with the latch pieces, etc. There is a problem that the operability in the area is not so good.

  Therefore, the present invention has been devised in view of the conventional circumstances as described above, and a multi-fiber connector plug can be formed with a simple configuration, enabling high-density mounting of the plug to the adapter. In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-connection type optical connector that can be quickly attached to and detached from the adapter with one touch.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a plurality of ferrules connected to two or more optical cables drawn from the stop ring (boot) side are provided in a single case via each spring. And a plug body that can be accommodated in parallel, and the case is provided with a latch piece that engages with the outer wall of the adapter to form a retaining mechanism for the adapter.

  The case is composed of a front case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the front end side of each ferrule is inserted, and a rear case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the rear end side of each ferrule is inserted through each spring, Both case portions are formed so as to be fixed in combination with each other.

  The latch piece of the retaining mechanism is formed of a metal elastic plate.

  The latch piece of the retaining mechanism is held at the tip of an operating tool that can swing up and down.

  According to the present invention, a multi-connector plug can be formed with a simple configuration, enables high-density mounting of the plug to the adapter, and can be quickly detached from the adapter with a single touch. A type optical connector can be provided.

  That is, the present invention is a plug body that can store a plurality of ferrules connected to two or more optical cables drawn from the stop ring (boot) side in a single case in parallel via each spring. Therefore, a multi-core connector plug having a simple configuration can be easily manufactured.

  For example, a four-core optical connector plug can be formed with the mounting dimensions of the LC two-core slim pack adapter. This doubles the number of core wires that can be attached to a communication device of the same area, and enables high-density mounting of plugs on the multiple optical adapter.

  The case includes a front case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the front end side of each ferrule is inserted, and a rear case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the rear end side of each ferrule is inserted through each spring. Thus, since both case portions are formed so as to be fixed in combination with each other, a plurality of ferrules can be easily housed in parallel with each spring via both insertion holes of each case portion.

  Since the case is provided with a latch piece that engages the outer wall of the adapter, a retaining mechanism for the adapter is formed. Therefore, a simple retaining mechanism is formed only by the engaging recess of the adapter and the latch piece on the case side. can do.

  Since the latch piece of the retaining mechanism is formed of a metal elastic plate, the latch piece can be securely and securely held in the engagement concave portion of the adapter.

  Since the latch piece of the retaining mechanism is held at the tip of the operation tool that can swing up and down, the plug main body can be quickly attached to and detached from the adapter only by pressing the operation tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an exploded perspective view of the state which shows an example of the assembly | attachment procedure of the multiple connection type optical connector plug in one form for implementing this invention, and assembles each of several ferrules and a spring in a case body. Similarly, it is a perspective view of the case body in a state after assembling a plurality of ferrules and springs. It is a perspective view of the state which fits a pair of holder on the outside of a case body similarly. It is a perspective view of the assembly completion state of the plug. Similarly, it shows an example of a multi-connection type optical connector plug, (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a plan view. FIG. 2 also shows an example of a multi-connection type optical connector plug, wherein (d) is a bottom view, (e) is a right side view, and (f) is a left side view. Similarly, it shows an example of a multi-connection type optical connector plug, (a) is an AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 5.2 (e), (b) is a BB cross-sectional view of FIG. 5.1 (a), (C) is sectional drawing of the state which connected the plug to the adapter. Similarly, an example of a four-core adapter is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is an XX sectional view of (a), and (c) is a YY sectional view of (a). It is a front view which similarly shows an example of an 8-core adapter. It is a perspective view which similarly shows an example of use of the multi-connection type optical connector plug with respect to a 4-core adapter. It is a perspective view which shows an example of use of the double connector plug with respect to the 2-core adapter in a prior art example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a multi-connecting optical connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (f) and FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c), the plug body P constituting the multi-connection type optical connector according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In a single case 1 having a substantially rectangular housing shape composed of a front case portion 1a and a rear case portion 1b that can be fitted and connected to each other, for example, two ferrules 2a, a ferrule holder 2b, a tube 2c, A spring 2d is built in, and a boot V is connected to the rear via a stop ring 2e and a caulking ring 2f.

  That is, in the front case portion 1a of the case 1, two insertion holes 3 and 3 into which the distal end side of each ferrule 2a is inserted are formed. Corresponding to this, the rear case portion 1b of the case 1 is formed with two insertion holes 3 ', 3' into which the tubes 2c on the rear end side of the ferrules 2a are inserted through the springs 2d. ing.

  When the case portions 1a and 1b are combined with each other, the insertion holes 3 and 3 of the front case portion 1a and the insertion holes 3 ′ and 3 ′ of the rear case portion 1b communicate with each other, A ferrule 2a, a ferrule holder 2b integral with the ferrule 2a, a tube 2c, and a spring 2d are accommodated in each interior. A pair of left and right engaging holes 5b, 5b, which are provided with a pair of left and right cross-sections having a substantially right triangle projecting at a vertically symmetrical position of the rear case portion 1b, are formed at a vertically symmetrical position of the front case portion 1a. 6a and 6b are engaged and fixed to each other.

  In addition, at the left and right symmetrical positions of the rear case portion 1b, the leading ends of the L-shaped bent portions of the latch pieces 7a and 7b formed by metal elastic plates are fixed, and the middle of the latch pieces 7a and 7b is fixed. The portion extends along the side surface of the rear case portion 1b, and the front end side thereof is locking end portions 7c and 7d that are slightly bent inward from each other.

And each latch piece 7a, 7b is hold | maintained by the front-end | tip part of a pair of flexible left and right operation tools 8a, 8b, and each latch piece 7a, The locking end portions of 7b are slightly bent outward and expanded. The latch pieces 7a and 7b are engaged with the engaging recesses 21 formed in the left and right symmetrical positions of the outer wall of the adapter 20 by the pressing operation of the operation tools 8a and 8b. (See FIG. 6C, FIG. 7C, and FIG. 9).
In FIG. 9, the plug body P and the adapter 20 are arranged vertically.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c), and FIG. 9, the case 1 has a substantially rectangular housing shape that is fitted and fixed to each other from the outside. A pair of upper and lower holder parts 11a and 11b are provided.

  That is, the upper holder portion 11a is formed by projecting locking claws 12 having hook-shaped claw portions at the tips at the four corners of the rectangular flat plate, and the upper half of the outer periphery of the rear end of the case 1 on the front side. In addition, a rectangular groove 13a and an arc groove 13b that are stretched and held over the upper half of the outer periphery of the stop ring 2e on the boot V side are respectively recessed. A cylindrical fitting protrusion 14 is formed at a substantially intermediate position inside the upper holder portion 11a.

  On the other hand, the lower holder portion 11b is formed by forming locking recesses 15 for locking the locking claws 12 at the four corners of the rectangular flat plate, and on the front side, below the outer periphery of the rear end of the case 1. A rectangular groove portion 13a and an arc groove portion 13b that are stretched and held across the half and the lower half of the outer periphery of the stop ring 2e on the boot V side are respectively recessed in the same manner as the upper holder portion 11a. A fitting hole 16 into which the cylindrical fitting projection 14 is fitted is formed at a substantially intermediate position inside the lower holder portion 11b.

  The pair of holder portions 11a and 11b protects the plurality of optical cables K exposed between the case 1 and the stop ring 2e corresponding to each ferrule 2a from the outside (FIG. 3). FIG. 6 (a) to FIG. 6 (c)).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (c), the adapter 20 is connected to one of a pair of left and right joining end walls arranged so as to partition the central portion of the upper and lower housings 22 in the front and rear directions. A cylinder protrudes toward one connection opening end, and the other cylinder is formed on the other connection end wall toward the other connection opening end. Both cylinders coincide with the central axis on the optical axis. In this way, the joint end walls are engaged and fixed with each other through the fitting claws, so that a total of four pairs of sleeve holders 23 are formed. At this time, a cylindrical split sleeve 24 is mounted and held inside each sleeve holder 23.

  A pair of upper and lower engaging recesses 21 are formed in the left and right symmetrical positions of the outer wall of the adapter 20 so that the latching end portions of the latch pieces 7a and 7b of the retaining mechanism Q are engaged with each other. .

  Thus, a two-core plug main body P is formed, and two plug main bodies P can be connected to the four-core adapter 20 as shown in FIG.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, you may connect four of the 2-core plug main bodies P to the 8-core adapter 20 by the housing 22 of the upper and lower 4 steps | paragraphs. Alternatively, in addition to the plug body P itself having a two-core structure as described above, the adapter body 20 has a structure of three cores or four cores or more to cope with three or four or more ferrules, and the adapter 20 corresponds to this. It is good also as a structure of a core or 8 cores or more. Of course, the number of cores of these adapters, the number of plug bodies P having two cores, the number of cores of the plug body P, and the like do not restrict the present invention.

Next, an example of use and assembly (two-line type) of the multi-connection type optical connector according to the present invention configured as described above will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear end side of the tube 2c is inserted into the two insertion holes 3 ′ and 3 ′ of the rear case portion 1b via the springs 2d. Then, the front case portion 1a is placed on the rear case portion 1b, and the case portions 1a and 1b are fixed to each other by fitting the locking projections 5a and 5b into the locking hole portions 6a and 6b.

  In this way, as shown in FIG. 2, a ferrule 2a and a ferrule holder 2b are placed inside each of the insertion holes 3 and 3 of the front case portion 1a and the insertion holes 3 'and 3' of the rear case portion 1b. The tube 2c and the spring 2d are housed, and the case 1 is assembled.

  At this time, the optical cable K is inserted into each of the boot 6, the stop ring 2e, and the caulking ring 2f, and the core wire peeled off at the tip of the optical cable K is centered on the ferrule 2a via each tube 2c assembled to the case 1. It is inserted into the provided fiber hole.

  And as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of holder part 11a, 11b is mutually matched over the case 1 and the stop ring 2e, the latching claw 12 and the latching recessed part 15 are engaged, and a fitting protrusion By fitting 14 and the fitting hole 16, the holder parts 11 a and 11 b are fixed to each other.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 (c) to FIG. 5 (f), and FIG. 6 (a) to FIG. 6 (c), between the case 1 and the stop ring 2e corresponding to each ferrule 2a. The plurality of exposed optical cables K are protected by being covered with the pair of holder portions 11a and 11b.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6C and 9, two of the plug bodies P are connected to the four-core adapter 20. At this time, by pressing the rear end portions of the pair of left and right operation tools 8a and 8b with the thumb and forefinger, the locking end portions 7c of the latch pieces 7a and 7b forming the retaining mechanism Q are formed. 7d bends slightly outward and expands. Then, the plug main body P is inserted into the adapter 20, and the latching end portions 7c and 7d of the latch pieces 7a and 7b are engaged with the engagement recess 21 on the outer wall of the adapter 20.

  The plug main body P can be quickly attached to and detached from the adapter 20 only by pressing the operating tools 8a and 8b having such a simple configuration.

P Plug body K Optical cable Q Retaining mechanism V Boot 1 Case 1a Front case 1b Rear case 2a Ferrule 2b Ferrule holder 2c Tube 2d Spring 2e Stop ring 2f Caulking ring 3, 3 'Insertion hole 5a, 5b Locking protrusion 6a , 6b Locking hole portion 7a, 7b Latch piece 7c, 7d Locking end portion 8a, 8b Operating tool 11a, 11b Holder portion 12 Locking claw 13a Rectangular groove portion 13b Arc groove portion 14 Fitting protrusion 15 Locking recess portion 16 Fitting hole 20 Adapter 21 Engaging recess 22 Housing 23 Sleeve holder 24 Cylindrical split sleeve 100 Boot 101 Clip body 102 Projecting plate 103 Adapter 104a, 104b Plug body 105a, 105b Latch piece

Claims (4)

  In a single case, provided with a plug body capable of storing a plurality of ferrules connected to two or more optical cables drawn from the stop ring side in parallel via respective springs, and the case, A multi-connection type optical connector characterized in that a latching piece for engaging with an outer wall of the adapter is provided to form a retaining mechanism for the adapter.   The case is composed of a front case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the front end side of each ferrule is inserted, and a rear case portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which the rear end side of each ferrule is inserted through each spring, 2. The multi-connecting optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the two case portions are formed so as to be fixed in combination with each other.   The multi-connection type optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the latch piece of the retaining mechanism is formed of a metal elastic plate.   4. The multi-connection type optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the latch piece of the retaining mechanism is held at the tip of an operation tool that can swing up and down.

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