JP2011095387A - Optical fiber connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber connector which firmly and stably clamps optical fibers and excellently keeps the connected state. <P>SOLUTION: The optical fiber connector includes: a base member 22 on which a fiber housing groove 26a is formed for housing a portion of a glass fiber 1; a pressing member 23 disposed at the position opposite to the base member 22; and a leaf spring member 24 which biases the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 toward approaching direction and presses and fixes the glass fiber 1 housed in the fiber housing groove 26a. Projections 41 are each formed on the pressing member 23 along the fiber axis direction in a fiber pressing and fixing region A in which the glass fiber 1 is pressed and fixed, the projections 41 projecting in the pressing direction on both sides in the direction perpendicularly crossing the direction of the fiber axis, and the pressing force of the leaf spring member 24 is supported by the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the projections 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector that mechanically fixes and connects optical fibers.

As a connector for connecting optical fibers, there is a mechanical splicing mechanism that mechanically fixes an optical fiber by sandwiching the optical fiber butting portion and the vicinity thereof.
In a connector using a mechanical splice mechanism, a clamp member for holding an optical fiber is provided with a protrusion only on one side of the optical fiber holding portion, and a clamping force is applied only to the optical fiber and the protrusion to clamp the optical fiber. Some improve the power (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, in a connector having a substrate and a holding plate as a clamp member, a gap is formed when an optical fiber is inserted by a convex portion formed on one of the substrate and the holding plate, and is formed on the other of the substrate or the holding plate. In some cases, the optical fiber is sandwiched between the substrate and the pressing plate by accommodating the convex portion in the concave portion (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  Further, in a connector having a V-groove substrate and a pressing substrate as a clamp member, a recess extending in the optical axis direction is formed around the butted portion of the optical fibers, and the pressing substrate is held by the clamp spring in the recess by the optical fiber. There is also known one that bends toward an abutting portion of the optical fiber and holds down the abutting portion of the optical fiber (for example, see Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-20139 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-191302 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-22998

By the way, in the connector, in order to maintain a stable connection state of the optical fiber and to obtain high alignment accuracy, it is necessary to apply a clamping force evenly to the entire portion to be aligned and aligned. .
In the technique of Patent Literature 1, the clamping force of the optical fiber can be applied only to a part of the optical fiber and the clamping member, so that the clamping force of the optical fiber can be improved without increasing the spring force for applying the clamping force.

However, since the optical fiber accommodated in the alignment groove of one clamp member is located in the approximate center of the other clamp member, two locations of the protrusion and the optical fiber provided only on one side of the alignment groove When the other clamp member is supported only by this, the other clamp member is inclined to the side where the protrusion does not exist and hits one side, and it is difficult to maintain a good connection state of the optical fiber due to a decrease in alignment accuracy. There is.
In addition, even if the amount of protrusion from the alignment groove of the optical fiber and the protrusion are set to be the same height, the other clamping member is inclined due to dimensional tolerance, and the clamping force does not act equally on the optical fiber and the protrusion, Variations in the clamping force will result in unstable gripping of the optical fiber.

  Also, in the case of the connectors described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, when clamping an optical fiber, a clamp plate or a presser that is the other clamp member with respect to a substrate that is one clamp member or a V-groove substrate. The substrate tilts with the optical fiber disposed at the approximate center in the width direction as a fulcrum, and the gripping of the optical fiber becomes unstable.

  The objective of this invention is providing the optical fiber connector which can clamp an optical fiber reliably and stably and can maintain a favorable connection state.

The optical fiber connector of the present invention capable of solving the above-mentioned problems is an optical fiber connector for connecting the glass fibers of the optical fiber core wires in which the glass fibers are exposed from the coating.
A base member in which an accommodation groove for accommodating the glass fiber is formed;
A pressing member disposed at a position facing the base member;
An urging member that presses and fixes the glass fiber accommodated in the accommodation groove by urging the base member and the pressing member in a proximity direction;
Either or both of the base member and the pressing member protrude in the pressing direction at both side portions in a direction orthogonal to the fiber axis direction along the fiber axis direction in the pressing fixing region where the glass fiber is pressed and fixed. And a pressing force by the biasing member is supported by the pressing fixing region and the protruding portion.

  In the optical fiber connector of the present invention, the protrusion is disposed with a gap between the protrusion and the opposing surface in a state where the urging force by the urging member is released, and the urging force by the urging member acts. Then, it is preferable that the glass fiber is pressed and fixed so that the base member and the pressing member come close to each other and come into contact with the facing surface.

  In the optical fiber connector of the present invention, it is preferable that a pressing protrusion that protrudes toward the base member side is formed at a position facing the receiving groove in the pressing fixing region of the pressing member.

  In the optical fiber connector of the present invention, it is preferable that the pressing protrusion has a larger protruding dimension than the protruding portion.

  In the optical fiber connector of the present invention, at least one of the base member and the pressing member is formed with a beam portion that contacts the urging member at a position corresponding to the pressing and fixing region of the glass fiber. It is preferable.

  In the optical fiber connector according to the present invention, at least one of the base member and the pressing member is engaged with the protrusion to position the base member and the pressing member in a direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction. It is preferable that a positioning part is provided.

  In the optical fiber connector of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the housing grooves are arranged in parallel with each other on the base member, and the glass fibers housed in the housing grooves are collectively pressed and fixed.

According to the optical fiber connector of the present invention, when the base member and the pressing member are urged in the proximity direction by the urging member, the glass fibers that are abutted to each other are pressed by the base member and the pressing member in the pressing and fixing region. Pressed and fixed. Further, at this time, the base member and the pressing member are stably arranged without being tilted by the projecting portion coming into contact with the opposing surface.
As a result, the base member and the pressing member are not inclined relative to either the direction along the fiber axis direction or the direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction. The problem of becoming unstable can be eliminated. That is, since the clamping force can be concentrated in the pressing and fixing region, the glass fibers can be stably pressed and fixed in a good alignment state, and a good connection state between the glass fibers can be maintained.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of one Embodiment of the optical fiber connector which concerns on this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the optical fiber connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the fiber press fixed area | region of the optical fiber connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the fiber press fixation area | region which shows the modification of an optical fiber connector. It is sectional drawing of the fiber press fixed area | region in the clamped state of the optical fiber connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the fiber press fixation area | region which shows the other example of an optical fiber connector. It is sectional drawing of the fiber press fixation area | region which shows the optical fiber connector of the structure which connects several glass fibers.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an optical fiber connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical fiber connector 11 is a mechanical splice connector, which fixes the optical fiber cores 3 that are inserted from both ends by exposing the glass fiber 1 from the coating 2. And connect.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical fiber connector 11 includes a base member 22, a pressing member 23 disposed at a position facing the base member 22, and the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 in the proximity direction. And a leaf spring member (biasing member) 24 for urging the spring.
The end of the optical fiber core 3 inserted between the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 is pressed and fixed between the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 by the urging force of the leaf spring member 24. It is like that.

  In one side of the optical fiber connector 11, a plurality of insertion ports 16 are formed between the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 (see FIG. 1). A plurality of wedge portions 13a formed in 13 can be inserted and removed. By inserting the wedge portion 13 a into these insertion openings 16, the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 constituting the optical fiber connector 11 are separated from each other against the urging force of the leaf spring member 24. Accordingly, the end portion of the optical fiber core wire 3 can be inserted and removed in an unclamped state where the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are separated from each other.

  The base member 22 is integrally molded with, for example, a resin, and the clamp surface 22a formed from the upper surface of the base member 22 has a central position in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction) in the longitudinal direction. A receiving groove 26 is formed along the same. The housing groove 26 is formed in a V shape in a sectional view, and includes a fiber housing groove 26a on the center side and a core wire housing groove 26b on both ends.

The glass fiber 1 exposed by removing the coating 2 of the optical fiber core wires 3 connected to each other is housed in the fiber housing groove 26a on the center side.
The core wire housing groove 26b is a V-shaped groove larger than the fiber housing groove 26a, and each of the optical fiber core wires 3 having the coating 2 is housed in the core wire housing groove 26b.

  The housing groove 26 has a guide groove 26c between the core wire housing groove 26b and the fiber housing groove 26a. The guide groove 26c is formed such that the size of the groove gradually decreases from the end of the core wire accommodation groove 26b toward the fiber accommodation groove 26a. By this guide groove 26c, the glass fiber 1 of each optical fiber core wire 3 inserted from both ends of the optical fiber connector 11 is smoothly guided to the fiber accommodation groove 26a. Thus, the glass fibers 1 guided and accommodated in the fiber accommodation groove 26a have their end faces 1a butted together at the fiber accommodation groove 26a.

  Similar to the base member 22, the pressing member 23 is integrally molded with resin, for example, and is pressed against the base member 22 by the urging force of the leaf spring member 24, thereby accommodating the glass fiber accommodated in the accommodation groove 26. 1 and the optical fiber core wire 3 are clamped and fixed.

  A pressing projection 31 is formed on the clamping surface 23a formed of the lower surface of the pressing member 23 at the center in the width direction facing the housing groove 26 along the longitudinal direction (direction along the fiber axis direction). 1 and the optical fiber core wire 3 are pressed against the base member 22 by the pressing protrusion 31 of the pressing member 23. Grooves 32 are formed on both sides of the pressing protrusion 31 so that the urging force of the leaf spring member 24 is concentrated on the pressing protrusion 31.

  In the optical fiber connector 11, a region for pressing and fixing the glass fiber 1 including the butting point T between the glass fibers 1 is a fiber pressing and fixing region A, and a region for clamping each optical fiber core wire 3 is a core pressing and fixing. Region B.

  Thereby, in the optical fiber connector 11, the glass fibers 1 which are abutted to each other can be securely gripped by a large clamping force in the fiber pressing and fixing region A, the connection state is stabilized with high accuracy, and the transmission characteristics are stabilized. Can also be planned. Since the glass fiber 1 and the optical fiber core 3 are pressed and fixed in a sufficiently long region, even if tension is applied to the optical fiber core 3 in the portion extending from the optical fiber connector 11, the optical fiber connection The escape from the vessel 11 is prevented.

  In the pressing member 23, an escape recess 38 is formed at the boundary between the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing and fixing region B. The escape recess 38 is formed by a pair of tapered surfaces 38a that are gradually separated from the base member 22 side. By forming these relief recesses 38, there is no step corner formed at the boundary between the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing and fixing region B, so that the corner of the step contacts the glass fiber 1. There is no stress concentration due to.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing member 23 is formed with protruding portions 41 that protrude toward the base member 22 in the pressing direction at both side portions in the width direction. The protrusions 41 are formed on both sides orthogonal to the fiber axis direction along the longitudinal direction that is the fiber axis direction in the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing region B of the pressing member 23.
Note that these protrusions 41 may be formed over the entire length of the pressing member 23 in the longitudinal direction.

  The pressing protrusion 31 formed on the pressing member 23 has a projecting dimension larger than the protruding portions 41 on both sides. Further, the protruding portion 41 is arranged in a unclamped state where the urging force by the leaf spring member 24 is released with a gap between the protruding portion 41 and the clamping surface 22a of the base member 22 which is the opposing surface (FIG. 3). reference).

A beam portion 42 is formed on the contact surface 22b formed of the lower surface of the base member 22 along the longitudinal direction at the center in the width direction. The beam portion 42 is formed so as to protrude toward the leaf spring member 24, and the beam portion 42 is in contact with the leaf spring member 24.
Similarly to the base member 22, a beam portion 43 is formed on the contact surface 23 b formed on the upper surface of the pressing member 23 at the center in the width direction along the longitudinal direction. The beam portion 43 is formed so as to protrude toward the plate spring member 24, and the beam portion 43 is in contact with the plate spring member 24.

  The beam portions 42 and 43 of the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 may be formed at least at positions corresponding to the fiber pressing and fixing region A. By forming the beam portions 42 and 43, the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are pressed. The clamping force by the member 23 is concentratedly applied to the center in the width direction. The beam portions 42 and 43 may be formed on either the base member 22 or the pressing member 23. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, these beam portions 42 and 43 may have shapes having skirt portions 42a and 43a which are gently inclined toward the sides as shown in FIG. The deformation (sink) of the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 can be suppressed.

  The leaf spring member 24 that sandwiches the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 includes a connecting piece portion 51 and a pair of pressing piece portions 52 that extend in the same direction from the upper and lower ends of the connecting piece portion 51. It is formed in a letter shape or a U-shape. The pressing piece 52 of the leaf spring member 24 is in contact with the base member 22 and the pressing member 23. The pressing piece 52 is divided into a fiber-side pressing piece 52 a corresponding to the fiber pressing and fixing region A and a core side pressing piece 52 b corresponding to the core pressing and fixing region B.

  The length in the longitudinal direction of the fiber side pressing piece portion 52a is equal to or longer than the length in the longitudinal direction of the fiber pressing and fixing region A, and the length in the longitudinal direction of the core side pressing piece portion 52b is the core wire. The length is longer than the length of the pressing and fixing region B in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the urging force is reliably applied to the entire area of the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing and fixing region B by the fiber side pressing piece 52a and the core wire pressing piece 52b of the leaf spring member 24. Can be done.

  In addition, a plurality of convex portions 54 projecting toward the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are formed at intervals in the longitudinal direction at the center position in the width direction of the pressing piece portion 52 of the leaf spring member 24, respectively. These convex portions 54 are in contact with the beam portions 42 and 43 of the base member 22 and the pressing member 23. Then, by forming these convex portions 54, the urging force of the leaf spring member 24 is concentrated on the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 via the pressing piece portion 52. In particular, in the fiber side pressing piece portion 52a, it is preferable to increase the protruding amount of the convex portion 54a at a position corresponding to the abutting portion T between the glass fibers 1. If it does in this way, the urging | biasing force provided to the butt | matching location T can be raised, and the butt | matching location T can be hold | gripped with a bigger clamping force.

In the optical fiber connector 11 configured as described above, the urging force of the leaf spring member 24 is released, that is, the wedge portion 13a of the wedge member 13 is inserted into the insertion port 16, and the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are connected. As shown in FIG. 3, in the separated unclamped state, each protrusion 41 is disposed with a gap between the opposing surfaces.
In this state, the optical fiber core wire 3 is inserted into the housing groove 26 from both sides in the longitudinal direction, and the glass fibers 1 are abutted with each other. Then, by pulling out the wedge portion 13a from the insertion port 16, when the urging force of the leaf spring member 24 acts and the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are brought into a clamped state, the glass fiber 1 and the optical fiber core 3 Is pressed and fixed.

  At this time, in the fiber pressing and fixing region A, as shown in FIG. 5, the portion of the fiber housing groove 26 a of the base member 22 and the pressing protrusion 31 of the pressing member 23 that is in contact with the glass fiber 1 is the urging force of the leaf spring member 24. Due to elastic deformation. Thereby, in the fiber pressing and fixing area A, the glass fiber 1 accommodated in the fiber accommodating groove 26 a is firmly held by the base member 22 and the pressing member 23. Accordingly, the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 come close to each other.

  When the pressing protrusion 31 and the fiber accommodation groove 26a are elastically deformed, each protrusion 41 comes into contact with the clamping surface 22a of the base member 22 that is the opposing surface thereof, whereby the clamping force by the leaf spring member 24 is The glass fiber 1 is supported by a fiber pressing and fixing region A in which the glass fiber 1 is pressed and fixed and the respective protrusions 41.

  Further, a strong pressing force acts between the pressing protrusion 31 of the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the fiber housing groove 26a, and a small pressing force acts between the protruding portion 41 and the clamp surface 22a. Therefore, most of the urging force of the leaf spring member 24 is efficiently used for pressing and fixing the glass fiber 1, and the remaining urging force is used for preventing the inclination of the base member 22 and the pressing member 23.

  As described above, in the optical fiber connector 11 according to the embodiment, when the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are sandwiched by the leaf spring member 24, the glass fiber 1 is connected to the base member 22 in the fiber pressing and fixing region A. The optical fiber core wire 3 is pressed and fixed by the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 in the core wire pressing and fixing region B. At this time, the protrusion 41 of the pressing member 23 comes into contact with the base member 22, so that the pressing member 23 is stably arranged without being inclined with respect to the base member 22.

  As a result, the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are not relatively inclined in any of the longitudinal direction along the fiber axis direction and the width direction orthogonal to the fiber axis direction. The trouble that the clamp of 1 becomes unstable can be eliminated.

  That is, according to the optical fiber connector 11 according to the present embodiment, the clamping force is concentrated on the fiber pressing and fixing region A by eliminating the relative inclination between the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 and maintaining the parallel state. Therefore, the glass fibers 1 connected to each other can be stably clamped in a good alignment state, and a good connection state between the glass fibers 1 can be maintained.

  In the above embodiment, the protruding portion 41 is formed on the pressing member 23. However, the protruding portion 41 may be formed on the base member 22, or may be formed on both the pressing member 23 and the base member 22. Also good.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, positioning portions 61 projecting toward the pressing member 23 are formed on both side portions of the base member 22 in the width direction, and the positioning portions 61 are engaged with the protruding portions 41 of the pressing member 23. You may do it. In this way, the base member 22 and the pressing protrusion 23 can be positioned in the width direction, and the glass fiber 1 and the optical fiber core wire 3 can be stably pressed and fixed in a better aligned state.
When the protrusion 41 is formed on the base member 22, the positioning part 61 is formed on the pressing member 23.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment illustrated and demonstrated the structure which has arrange | positioned the integral pressing member 23 over the fiber press fixing area | region A and the core wire press fixing area | region B, as this pressing member 23, a fiber press fixing area | region is demonstrated. You may divide | segment into the part which presses A, and the part which presses the core wire press area | region B. In this way, the urging force by the leaf spring member 24 can be adjusted independently between the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing and fixing region B. For example, by making the clamping force of the fiber pressing and fixing region A larger than that of the core pressing and fixing region B, the glass fiber 1 having the butt portion T can be gripped with a strong force. In addition, if the integral pressing member 23 is used over the fiber pressing and fixing region A and the core pressing and fixing region B as in the above-described embodiment, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of components, and the positional deviation between components can be reduced. Can be eliminated.

  FIG. 7 shows an optical fiber connector 11 having a structure for connecting glass fibers 1 of a plurality of optical fiber core wires 3. As shown in FIG. 7, in the optical fiber connector 11, a plurality of accommodation grooves 26 (fiber accommodation grooves 26 a in the drawing) are arranged in parallel with each other in the base member 22, and optical fiber connections are made in these accommodation grooves 26. The glass fiber 1 and the optical fiber core wire 3 inserted from both ends of the container 11 are accommodated. According to this optical fiber connector 11, a plurality of glass fibers 1 and optical fiber core wires 3 housed in the respective housing grooves 26 are collectively pressed and fixed by the pressing protrusions 31 of the pressing member 23, and facing glass. The fibers 1 can be butted together and connected. In particular, in the clamped state, the base member 22 and the pressing member 23 are arranged in parallel without relatively tilting, so that the plurality of glass fibers 1 and the optical fiber core wires 3 can be satisfactorily aligned by an equal clamping force. It can be stably pressed and fixed in the state.

1: glass fiber, 2: coating, 3: optical fiber core wire, 11: optical fiber connector, 22: base member, 23: pressing member, 24: leaf spring member (biasing member), 26: receiving groove, 26a : Fiber receiving groove, 31: Pressing protrusion, 41: Protruding part, 42, 43: Beam part, 61: Positioning part, A: Fiber pressing fixing area (pressing fixing area)

Claims (7)

An optical fiber connector for connecting the glass fibers of the optical fiber core wire exposed from the coating to each other, and connecting them.
A base member in which an accommodation groove for accommodating the glass fiber is formed;
A pressing member disposed at a position facing the base member;
An urging member that presses and fixes the glass fiber accommodated in the accommodation groove by urging the base member and the pressing member in a proximity direction;
Either or both of the base member and the pressing member protrude in the pressing direction at both side portions in a direction orthogonal to the fiber axis direction along the fiber axis direction in the pressing fixing region where the glass fiber is pressed and fixed. The optical fiber connector is characterized in that a protruding portion is formed, and the pressing force by the biasing member is supported by the pressing fixing region and the protruding portion. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1,
The protrusion is disposed with a gap between the protrusion and the opposing surface in a state where the biasing force by the biasing member is released, and the glass fiber is pressed and fixed by the biasing force by the biasing member. Then, the base member and the pressing member come in contact with each other and come into contact with the opposing surface. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1 or 2,
An optical fiber connector, wherein a pressing protrusion that protrudes toward the base member is formed at a position facing the housing groove in the pressing fixing region of the pressing member. The optical fiber connector according to claim 3,
The optical fiber connector, wherein the pressing protrusion has a protrusion dimension larger than that of the protrusion. An optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An optical fiber characterized in that at least one or both of the base member and the pressing member is formed with a beam portion that contacts the biasing member at a position corresponding to the pressing and fixing region of the glass fiber. Connector. An optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
At least one of the base member or the pressing member is provided with a positioning portion that engages with the protrusion and positions the base member and the pressing member in a direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction. An optical fiber connector. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A plurality of the receiving grooves are arranged in parallel to each other on the base member, and the glass fibers received in the receiving grooves are collectively pressed and fixed.

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