JP2013011633A - Protection cap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protection cap capable of smoothly inserting to and extracting from a housing and preventing a fitting part from being abraded by the inner peripheral surface of the protection cap.SOLUTION: A protection cap comprises: a body part 30 having an external shape which approximately fits to a region of a housing 10 where a plug is inserted; and a lug 31 extending backwardly from the back end wall of the body part 30 in the insertion direction. The body part 30 has a front end wall 33 facing the back end wall 34 and both side walls 35, 36 connecting the front end wall 33 and the back end wall 34, with the inside surrounded by the front end wall 33, the back end wall 34 and the side walls 35, 36 being hollow. The side walls 35, 36 are elastically deformable so as to flex into the direction of the hollow inside, and at least one side wall 35 is provided with a projected fitting part 38 which fits to the housing 10. The side wall 35 to which the fitting part 38 is formed has a notch 39 in the back side of the fitting part 38 in the insertion direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a protective cap that is attached to an optical connector that couples an optical signal transmission / reception module and an optical fiber, and more particularly, to a protective cap that includes a fitting portion that fits into a housing constituting the optical connector upon insertion. .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when performing optical communication, an optical connector is used to connect a device that performs communication to an optical network. The optical connector has a housing to which a plug for holding an optical fiber is connected, and a receiving module for receiving an optical signal from the optical fiber and a transmission module for transmitting the optical signal to the optical fiber are mounted in the housing. In the housing, a holding unit for holding the optical fiber, a lens provided between the transmission / reception module and the optical fiber, and the like are provided.

  In the process of manufacturing and transportation, the optical connector is in a single state with no plugs connected thereto, so that the holding part and the lens are exposed as they are. At this time, if dust, dust or the like enters the inside of the housing, the optical performance may be hindered. For this reason, when the optical connector is transported alone, the protective cap is inserted and attached to the housing.

  The protective cap has a shape that substantially fits the inner peripheral surface of the housing, and in particular has a protective covering portion that covers the holding portion that holds the optical fiber in the housing on the front end surface in the insertion direction, and is inserted and removed on the rear end surface in the insertion direction. It has a knob part for performing. On the side surface of the protective cap, a fitting portion that fits with the inner peripheral surface of the housing is formed in a protruding shape. Examples of such a protective cap include those described in Patent Document 1.

JP 2005-99452 A

  The fitting part formed on the side surface of the protective cap is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the housing and temporarily deformed as it is inserted into the housing, and is fitted to the fitted part formed on the inner peripheral surface of the housing. By doing so, it can return to its original shape again, thereby preventing the protective cap from being easily removed from the housing.

  However, the conventional protective cap cannot be smoothly inserted into and removed from the housing because the fitting portion is not easily deformed. The inlet portion of the inner peripheral surface of the housing is formed with a wall surface that is substantially the same position as the outer peripheral surface position of the protective cap, and when the protective cap is inserted into the housing, the fitting portion of the protective cap is inserted by this wall surface. The surface it has is deformed in its internal direction. At this time, the force applied to the fitting portion is in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface of the housing, and this is the direction in which the protective cap is compressed. Therefore, a large force is required to deform the protective cap with the force in this direction. It was.

  Since a large force is required when fitting the protective cap, it is difficult to insert and remove the protective cap from the housing, and the fitting portion may be scraped by the inner peripheral surface of the housing during fitting. There was a possibility that the dust generated at this time would enter the housing and adversely affect the optical fiber holding part and the lens.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a protective cap that can be smoothly inserted into and removed from the housing, and that the fitting portion can be prevented from being scraped by the inner peripheral surface of the protective cap. And

In order to solve the above problems, a protective cap according to the present invention is a protective cap inserted in place of the plug for an optical connector having a housing into which a plug holding an optical fiber is inserted.
A main body having an outer shape substantially matching a region where the plug of the housing is inserted, and a knob portion extending rearward from the rear end surface in the insertion direction of the main body,
The main body has a protective covering for covering a fiber holding portion provided in the housing, has a front end face facing the rear end face, and side faces on both sides connecting the front end face and the rear end face, and the front end The interior surrounded by the surface, the rear end surface and the side surface is hollow, and the side surface is elastically deformable so as to bend in the hollow interior direction.
At least one of the side surfaces is formed with a protrusion-like fitting portion that fits into the housing, and the side surface on which the fitting portion is formed includes a notch at the rear of the fitting portion in the insertion direction. It is configured as a feature.

  The protective cap according to the present invention is characterized in that the fitting portion is formed at a lower end portion of the side surface, and the notch portion is formed so as to be related to a lower end portion of the side surface.

  Furthermore, the protective cap according to the present invention is characterized in that the notch is formed continuously from the side surface to the rear end surface.

  Furthermore, in the protective cap according to the present invention, the region located in the horizontal direction of the cutout portion of the side surface having the fitting portion is formed on the protrusion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing at the time of insertion. Is pressed, and is deformed in the hollow inner direction of the main body while being supported by the upper side and the front side of the region.

  In the protective cap according to the present invention, the cutout portion has a width in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the main body portion, and the insertion direction of the main body portion of the fitted portion of the housing into which the fitting portion is fitted. The width is substantially the same as the direction perpendicular to the direction.

  According to the protective cap of the present invention, the inside surrounded by the front end surface, the rear end surface and the side surface of the main body is hollow, and the side surface is elastically deformable so as to bend toward the hollow inner direction, and at least on one side surface. Is formed with a protruding fitting portion that fits into the housing, and the side surface on which the fitting portion is formed has a notch portion on the rear side in the insertion direction of the fitting portion. Since deformation on the rear side in the insertion direction can be prevented, the side surface can be easily deformed inward and smoothly inserted into and removed from the housing. It can also be prevented.

  Further, according to the protective cap according to the present invention, the fitting portion is formed at the lower end portion of the side surface, and the notch portion is formed so as to be related to the lower end of the side surface, so that the region of the side surface having the fitting portion is further increased. It can be easily deformed and can be inserted and removed with a smaller force.

  Furthermore, according to the protective cap which concerns on this invention, formation of a notch part can be made easy by forming a notch part continuously from a side surface to a rear-end surface.

  Furthermore, according to the protective cap of the present invention, the region located in the horizontal direction of the cutout portion of the side surface having the fitting portion is pressed by the protrusion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing during insertion. By being deformed in the hollow interior direction of the main body while being supported by the upper side and the front side of the region, the region located in the horizontal direction of the cutout portion of the side surface having the fitting portion is Since the deformation of the side and the rear side is not restricted, it can be easily deformed in the inner direction of the main body by pressing, and can be more reliably inserted / removed with a small force.

  And according to the protective cap which concerns on this invention, the notch part has the width | variety of the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of a main-body part orthogonal to the insertion direction of the main-body part of the to-be-fitted part of the housing which a fitting part fits. Since the width is approximately the same as the width in the direction in which the fitting is performed, the entire side surface region to be fitted can be deformed with a smaller force.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the optical connector and protective cap in this embodiment. It is a perspective view of the state where the protective cap was attached to the optical connector. It is the perspective view which looked at the protective cap from the front end surface side. It is a cross-sectional view in the state in the middle of attaching a protective cap to an optical connector. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of a cross-sectional view in a state in which a protective cap is inserted into the optical connector from the state of FIG. 3. It is the elements on larger scale of the cross-sectional view in the state where the protective cap was attached to the optical connector.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the optical connector and the protective cap in the present embodiment. The optical connector 1 of this embodiment is used as a receptacle, and a fiber holding portion 11 that holds an optical fiber held by a plug is formed inside a non-conductive housing 10 formed of a synthetic resin. ing. Although not shown, a coupling element and a transmission / reception module that are optically coupled to the optical fiber are provided inside the housing 10 and behind the fiber holder 11.

  The optical connector 1 is formed in a substantially box shape whose front side surface shown in FIG. 1 is open, and has a top surface 20, a bottom surface 21 facing the top surface 20, and a top surface 20 and a bottom surface 21. It has a first side surface 22 and a second side surface 23. The entire front surface shown in FIG. 1 is open to form an opening 24, and the plug or protective cap 2 can be inserted into the housing 10 from the opening 24. The housing 10 is covered with a shield member 12 made of a metal material.

  The protective cap 2 is inserted into the housing 10 from the opening 24 and attached to the optical connector 1 in a single state to which the plug is not attached. As shown in FIG. 1, the protective cap 2 includes a main body portion 30 having an outer shape substantially matching the inner shape of the housing 10, and a knob portion formed so as to protrude from the rear end surface 34 in the insertion direction of the main body portion 30. 31.

  FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a state in which the protective cap 2 is inserted and attached to the optical connector 1. As shown in this figure, when the protective cap 2 is inserted into the housing 10 through the opening 24, the main body 30 of the protective cap 2 is substantially contained in the housing 10, and only the knob portion 31 protrudes from the housing 10. It becomes. By inserting the protective cap 2 into the housing 10, the main body 30 can be fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 10 at the side as described later, and the protective cap 2 can be prevented from falling off naturally. When the protective cap 2 is attached, the fitting portion between the main body 30 and the housing 10 is released by pulling the knob portion 31 with a predetermined force or more, and the protective cap 2 can be detached from the optical connector 1.

  FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the protective cap 2 as viewed from the front end face 33 side. The protective cap 2 is formed of a resin material. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 30 of the protective cap 2 includes a front end surface 33 with respect to the insertion direction, a rear end surface 34 facing the front end surface 33 and having a knob portion 31, a front end surface 33 and a rear end surface. The first side surface 35 and the second side surface 36 that are connected to each other and have a first side surface 35 and a second side surface 36 that form a generally outer shape, and each surface is formed thin so that the interior is hollow.

  Two inner wall surfaces 37 are formed in the hollow interior of the main body portion 30 so as to be parallel to the first side surface 35 and the second side surface 36 so as to connect the front end surface 33 and the rear end surface 34. It is divided into three areas. These inner wall surfaces 37 are provided to ensure the strength of the main body 30.

  As described above, each surface constituting the main body portion 30 can be elastically deformed in a direction in which the main body portion 30 is compressed by being formed thin with a resin material. Among these, the front end surface 33 and the rear end surface 34 are connected by an inner wall surface 37 extending in a direction orthogonal to these surface directions, and therefore hardly deform even when receiving a force. On the other hand, since the first side surface 35 and the second side surface 36 extend in a direction parallel to the inner wall surface 37, the first side surface 35 and the second side surface 36 can be elastically deformed in the inner direction of the main body 30 without being influenced by these.

  A protective covering portion 32 is formed on the front end surface 33 of the main body portion 30 so as to protrude in the insertion direction. The protective covering portion 32 is formed so as to have a hollow elliptical shape. When the protective cap 2 is inserted into the housing 10, the protective covering portion 32 covers the fiber holding portion 11 in the housing 10, and the coupling element or the transmission / reception module. Protect the side from dust and dirt. In addition, the first side surface 35 and the second side surface 36 of the main body 30 are both formed to extend further forward in the insertion direction than the front end surface 33.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first side surface 35 constituting the main body portion 30 of the protective cap 2 is formed with a protruding fitting portion 38 at the lower end portion at the rear in the insertion direction. The fitting portion 38 includes a rising surface 38b that rises at an angle with respect to the first side surface 35, and a protruding surface 38a that extends in a direction parallel to the first side surface 35 from the tip of the rising surface 38b. It is formed at the lower end of the side surface 35.

  From the first side surface 35 to the rear end surface 34 of the main body 30, a notch 39 is formed by notching the lower end. The cutout portion 39 is formed continuously from the rear side in the insertion direction of the first side surface 35 to the rear end surface 34 adjacent to the first side surface 35 from the fitting portion 38. Moreover, since the lower end part is notched, the notch part 39 has the form which concerns on the lower end of the 1st side surface 35 and the rear-end surface 34. FIG. Thereby, the lower end surface of the region other than the notch 39 including the fitting portion 38 of the first side surface 35 is located below the lower end surface of the region of the notch 39. For this reason, when the first side surface 35 receives a force in a direction perpendicular to the surface direction, the lower end region of the first side surface 35 positioned in the horizontal direction of the notch 39 is supported by the upper side and the front side of the region. On the other hand, the lower side and the rear side of the region are deformed in the hollow inner direction of the main body 30 in a state where the deformation is not restricted.

  FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view in a state where the protective cap 2 is being attached to the optical connector 1. This figure shows a cross-sectional view of the protective cap 2 as viewed from the bottom side by cutting along a plane including the fitting portion 38 and the cutout portion 39. As shown in FIG. 4, inner wall surfaces 27 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 10 constituting the optical connector 1 so as to have substantially the same width as the main body portion 30 of the protective cap 2 on both sides.

  Of the inner wall surface 27 of the housing 10, a fitted portion 25 to which the fitting portion 38 of the first side surface 35 is fitted is formed on the surface on the side where the first side surface 35 of the protective cap 2 is inserted. Yes. The fitted portion 25 is formed so as to be concave from at least the inner wall surface 27, and is formed so as to penetrate the housing 10 in this embodiment. An opening wall surface portion 26 that forms an inner wall surface 27 is formed on the opening 24 side of the fitted portion 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the opening wall surface portion 26 is formed on the upper and lower portions of the first side surface 22 of the housing 10, and these form the first side surface 35 of the protective cap 2 at the inlet portion of the housing 10. To guide. The fitting portion 38 of the main body 30 is formed so that the width in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction is larger than the width of the opening wall surface portion 26. Since they have the same width, the area that has the same width as the width in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the opening wall surface portion 26 is fulfilled from the lower end.

  Of the first side surface 35 of the main body 30, the region including the fitting portion 38 positioned in the horizontal direction of the notch 39 can be elastically deformed while being supported by the upper side and the front side of the region. The width of this region in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction corresponds to the width of the cutout portion 39, which is substantially the same width as the opening wall surface portion 26 of the housing 10. That is, the notch 39 is formed so as to have a width of a region pressed against the opening wall surface portion 26 as the main body 30 is inserted into the housing 10.

  FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the fitting portion 38 and the fitted portion 25 in FIG. As shown in this figure, the first side surface 35 constituting the main body portion 30 is inserted in a state where the first side surface 35 is in contact with or very close to the opening wall surface portion 26 of the housing 10. Further, the height of the protruding surface 38 a of the fitting portion 38 from the first side surface 35 is larger than the gap between the first side surface 35 and the opening wall surface portion 26.

  6 shows an enlarged view of the state in which the main body 30 is inserted into the housing 10 as compared with FIG. As shown in this figure, when the main body portion 30 is inserted into the housing 10, the fitting portion 38 is pressed toward the inside of the main body portion 30 by the opening wall surface portion 26. A rising surface 38b on the front end side in the insertion direction that constitutes the fitting portion 38 is formed so as to be inclined rearward in the insertion direction, while an inclined surface portion 26a is formed at the opening end of the opening wall surface portion 26. Therefore, the fitting portion 38 moves so as to ride on the opening wall surface portion 26, and the region of the first side surface 35 located in the horizontal direction of the cutout portion 39 is deformed toward the inner direction of the main body portion 30.

  When the first side surface 35 is deformed by the opening wall surface portion 26, the rear side in the insertion direction of the region to be deformed has a notch 39 and the deformation is not restricted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The cross section is cantilevered and is greatly deformed toward the inner side of the main body 30 toward the rear in the insertion direction. Thereby, the force required to deform the first side surface 35 can be made relatively small.

  Since the first side surface 35 is configured to be elastically deformable as described above, the first side surface 35 can be deformed by pressing the opening wall surface portion 26 even without the notch portion 39. is necessary. On the other hand, by providing the notch 39, the force required to deform the first side surface 35 can be reduced.

  FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the state in which the main body 30 has been inserted into the housing 10. As shown in this figure, in a state where the main body 30 is inserted to the deepest part of the housing 10, the fitting part 38 is accommodated in the fitted part 25 of the housing 10, and the rising surface 38b on the rear end side in the insertion direction is opened. It will be in the state contact | abutted to the edge part of the wall surface part 26. FIG. Along with this, the deformation of the first side surface 35 is also restored.

  When the main body 30 is pulled out of the housing 10 from the state of FIG. 7, the rising surface 38b on the rear end side in the insertion direction of the fitting portion 38 is formed so as to be inclined forward in the insertion direction. The joining portion 38 moves so as to ride on the opening wall surface portion 26, and the region located in the horizontal direction of the cutout portion 39 in the first side surface 35 is deformed toward the inner direction of the main body portion 30 and is again in the state of FIG. When it is further pulled out, the state shown in FIG. 5 is obtained.

  Thus, each surface constituting the main body portion 30 of the protective cap 2 is made elastically deformable, and the first side surface 35 is formed with a notch 39 on the rear side in the insertion direction of the fitting portion 38, Since the deformation is not restricted on the rear side in the insertion direction of the region to be fitted to the fitted portion 25 of the housing 10, the first side surface 35 can be easily deformed at the time of fitting. Insertion and extraction can be made smooth. Moreover, since the force applied to the fitting portion 38 can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the fitting portion 38 from being scraped and generating dust.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the application of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be applied in various ways within the scope of its technical idea. For example, in this embodiment, the fitting portion 38 is provided only on the first side surface 35 constituting the main body portion 30, but the fitting portion 38 may be provided on the second side surface 36, and in this case, the housing Corresponding to this, it is necessary to form the fitted portions 25 on both sides.

  In this embodiment, the notch 39 is formed from the first side surface 35 to the rear end surface 34. However, the notch 39 restricts deformation on one side of at least the region having the fitting portion 38 of the first side surface 35. Therefore, the first side surface 35 may be provided in a slit shape or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical connector 2 Protective cap 10 Housing 11 Fiber holding part 12 Shield member 20 Top surface 21 Bottom face 22 1st side surface 23 2nd side surface 24 Opening part 25 Fit part 26 Opening wall surface part 27 Inner wall surface 30 Main body part 31 Knob part 32 Protective coating portion 33 Front end surface 34 Rear end surface 35 First side surface 36 Second side surface 37 Inner wall surface 38 Fitting portion 39 Notch portion

Claims (5)

For an optical connector having a housing into which a plug holding an optical fiber is inserted, in a protective cap inserted instead of the plug,
A main body having an outer shape substantially matching a region where the plug of the housing is inserted, and a knob portion extending rearward from the rear end surface in the insertion direction of the main body,
The main body has a protective covering for covering a fiber holding portion provided in the housing, has a front end face facing the rear end face, and side faces on both sides connecting the front end face and the rear end face, and the front end The interior surrounded by the surface, the rear end surface and the side surface is hollow, and the side surface is elastically deformable so as to bend in the hollow interior direction.
At least one of the side surfaces is formed with a protrusion-like fitting portion that fits into the housing, and the side surface on which the fitting portion is formed includes a notch at the rear of the fitting portion in the insertion direction. Protective cap characterized by that.   The protective cap according to claim 1, wherein the fitting portion is formed at a lower end portion of the side surface, and the notch portion is formed so as to be related to a lower end of the side surface.   The protective cap according to claim 2, wherein the notch is formed continuously from the side surface to the rear end surface.   Of the side surface having the fitting portion, the region located in the horizontal direction of the notch portion is located above the region when the fitting portion is pressed by a protrusion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing at the time of insertion. 4. The protective cap according to claim 2, wherein the protective cap is deformed in a hollow inner direction of the main body while being supported by the side and the front side.   The width of the cutout portion in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the main body portion is substantially the same as a width in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the main body portion of the fitted portion of the housing to which the fitting portion is fitted. The protective cap according to claim 1, wherein the protective cap is provided.

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