JP2015031867A - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical module which employs a configuration in which an optical fiber holding member for holding an optical fiber is elastically pressed against a light path modification member, and yet is not susceptible to limitation on a mountable area for electronic components on a substrate.SOLUTION: An optical module 11 includes; a connector case 22 for accommodating an end portion of an optical fiber 101; a substrate 3; an optical element 41 having a light path L in a direction that crosses the substrate 3; an MT ferrule 51 for holding the end portion of the optical fiber 101 parallel to the substrate 3; a lens member 52 for converting the light path L of the optical element 41 into a direction parallel to the substrate 3; an elastic body 53 which generates elastic force for elastically pressing the MT ferrule 51 toward the lens member 52 side; and a locking member 6 for keeping the elastic body 53 compressed between itself and the MT ferrule 51. The locking member 6 is supported in the connector case 22 without transferring reaction force from the elastic body 53 to the substrate 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical module that elastically presses and supports an optical fiber holding member that holds an optical fiber in a case member.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an optical fiber holding device includes: a substrate; an optical element having an optical path perpendicular to the substrate; an optical path conversion member that converts the optical path of the optical element in a direction parallel to the substrate; and an optical fiber holding member that holds the optical fiber. An optical module is known that elastically presses and fixes a member to the optical path conversion member side (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An optical module described in Patent Literature 1 includes an optical connector as an optical fiber holding member, two side ribs sandwiching both sides of the optical connector, and a rear rib that connects ends of the two side ribs. A frame and an elastic member disposed between the rear rib of the optical connector frame and the optical connector are provided, and the elastic member elastically presses the optical connector against a lens block side as an optical path conversion member. The optical connector frame is fixed to the substrate by fitting protrusions protruding downward from the two side ribs and the rear rib into fitting holes formed in the substrate.

  According to the optical module described in Patent Document 1, since the optical connector is not fixed to the substrate, the optical connector can be positioned and fixed in accordance with the position of the lens block. It is possible to suppress unnecessary force from being applied, and to suppress occurrence of deviation of the optical axis between the optical connector and the lens block.

JP 2011-141443 A

  However, since the optical module described in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a fitting hole is formed in the substrate and a protrusion is fitted into the fitting hole to directly fix the optical connector frame to the substrate, the optical connector Due to the fixing of the frame, the mountable area of the electronic component on the board is limited. For this reason, there is still room for improvement in that the size of the substrate is limited.

  Therefore, the present invention can suppress the restriction of the mountable region of the electronic component on the substrate while adopting a configuration in which the optical fiber holding member that holds the optical fiber is elastically pressed against the optical path conversion member. An object is to provide an optical module.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an optical module provided at an end portion of a cable incorporating an optical fiber, the case member accommodating the end portion of the optical fiber, and the case member accommodating the end portion of the optical fiber. An optical element having an optical path in a direction intersecting the substrate, an optical fiber holding member for holding an end of the optical fiber in parallel with the substrate, and an optical path of the optical element in parallel with the substrate An optical path changing member that converts the direction into the optical element and the optical fiber, an elastic body that generates elastic force that elastically presses the optical fiber holding member toward the optical path changing member, and the optical fiber holding member An elastic body holding member that holds the elastic body in a compressed state with the member, and the elastic body holding member transmits the reaction force received from the elastic body to the substrate without transmitting it to the substrate. It is supported in the casing member, to provide an optical module.

  According to the connector of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the restriction of the mountable area of the electronic component on the substrate while adopting a configuration in which the optical fiber holding member that holds the optical fiber is elastically pressed against the optical path conversion member. Is possible.

It is a perspective view which shows the HDMI cable containing the connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention with the HDMI socket as a counterpart connector. It is the perspective view of the optical module which removed the 2nd case member of the connector case from the 1st case member, and showed the inside of a connector case. It is a disassembled perspective view of an optical module. FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a substrate and an electronic component, wherein FIG. 1A is a first main surface side on which an optical element is mounted, and FIG. 2B is a second main surface side. A frame is shown, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a front view, (d) is a side view, and (e) is a perspective view. The lens member is shown, (a), (b), (c) is a perspective view seen from different directions, respectively, (d) is a sectional view taken along line AA of (b). An MT ferrule is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is the BB sectional drawing of (a). The locking member is shown, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a front view, (d) is a side view, and (e) is a perspective view. (A) is the top view of the optical module which removed the 2nd case member, (b) is CC sectional view taken on the line of (a), (c) expands and shows the DD sectional view of (a). It is an expanded sectional view. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows a 1st case member. It is a perspective view which shows the latching structure of the shield case by a latching member.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an HDMI cable 1 including a connector 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with an HDMI socket 9 as a counterpart connector. “HDMI” (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a registered trademark of HDMI Licensing, LLC.

  The HDMI cable 1 includes a communication cable 10 incorporating an optical fiber and a pair of optical modules 11, and the optical modules 11 are provided at both ends of the communication cable 10. The optical module 11 has a photoelectric conversion function for converting an optical signal into an electrical signal or converting an electrical signal into an optical signal. In FIG. 1, an optical module 11 provided at one end of the communication cable 10 is illustrated.

  The optical module 11 includes a shield case 21, a connector case 22 as a case member that accommodates and supports a part of the shield case 21, and a locking member (described later) that locks the shield case 21 in the connector case 22. A connector unit 20 is accommodated in the shield case 21. The connector case 22 accommodates components described later for realizing the photoelectric conversion function.

The connector unit 20 includes a terminal holding member 200 made of resin and a plurality of connection terminals 201 held by the terminal holding member 200. The connector unit 20 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 211 of the shield case 21 protruding from the connector case 22, and the plurality of connection terminals 201 are arranged in two rows along the width direction _DW of the connector 2. The housing part 211 and the connector unit 20 of the shield case 21 constitute a plug 2 a that is inserted into and removed from the HDMI socket 9. That is, the connector 2 is a plug connector having the plug 2a.

  The HDMI socket 9 is provided in an external device such as an AV device, and has a cylindrical socket shell 90 that can accommodate the shield case 21, and a plurality of device-side terminals 91 as counterpart connection terminals held in the socket shell 90. And have. When the plug 2 a of the connector 2 is fitted into the HDMI socket 9, the plurality of connection terminals 201 are connected to the plurality of device side terminals 91, respectively.

The connector case 22 includes a first case member 23 and a second case member 24 that are separable in the thickness direction _DT of the connector 2, and there are a plurality of (four) first case members 23 and second case members 24. The bolt 25 is fastened. The thickness direction _{D T} is a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction _{D P} and the width direction _{D W} of the HDMI socket 9.

  The first case member 23 and the second case member 24 of the shield case 21 and the connector case 22 are made of a conductive metal. The shield case 21 is formed, for example, by plating a bent nickel plate material with tin. The first case member 23 and the second case member 24 of the connector case 22 are formed by, for example, aluminum die casting.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the optical module 11 in which the second case member 24 is removed from the first case member 23 and the inside of the connector case 22 is shown. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the optical module 11. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the HDMI socket 9 side (plug 2a side) in the fitting direction D _P (see FIG. 1) is referred to as the front, and the communication cable 10 side in the opposite direction is referred to as the rear.

  The communication cable 10 houses a plurality of optical fibers 101 and a plurality of electric wires 102 inside a tubular sheath 100 made of resin. The optical fiber 101 is, for example, a multimode optical fiber, has a core through which an optical signal propagates at the center of the cladding, and the outer periphery of the cladding is covered with a resin. The electric wire 102 is an insulated wire in which the central conductor is covered with an insulator. The connector case 22 accommodates end portions of the plurality of optical fibers 101 and the plurality of electric wires 102.

  The sheath 100 is terminated by a flexible boot 103. The boot 103 is fixed to the connector case 22 by a stop ring 104.

The shield case 21 integrally includes an accommodating portion 211 that accommodates the connection terminal 201 and a supported portion 212 that extends rearward from the accommodating portion 211 along the fitting direction D _P (see FIG. 1) with the HDMI socket 9. Have. The accommodating portion 211 is disposed on the front end side (front side) of the shield case 21 with respect to the supported portion 212, and the supported portion 212 is supported by the connector case 22. The shield case 21 has protrusions 213 protruding in a direction crossing the fitting direction _{D P} (see FIG. 3) in the supported portion 212. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 213 is provided at the rear end of the supported portion 212.

  The optical module 11 includes, as components for realizing a photoelectric conversion function, a substrate 3 accommodated in a connector case 22, an optical element 41 having an optical path in a direction intersecting the substrate 3, and an end portion of the optical fiber 101 as a substrate. MT (Multi Termination) ferrule 51 as an optical fiber holding member that holds the optical element 41 in a direction parallel to 3 and the optical path of the optical element 41 in a direction parallel to the substrate 3 to optically connect the optical element 41 and the optical fiber 101. And a lens member 52 as an optical path changing member to be coupled to the lens.

  In addition, the optical module 11 has a locking member 6 that locks the shield case 21 from moving forward (accommodating portion 211 side) with respect to the connector case 22, and an elastic force that elastically presses the MT ferrule 51 toward the lens member 52 side. And a U-shaped or U-shaped frame body 54 that is fixed to the substrate 3 and surrounds the lens member 52 from three directions.

The locking member 6 functions as an elastic body holding member that holds the elastic body 53 in a compressed state with the MT ferrule 51. In the present embodiment, is a coil spring elastic member 53, one end thereof is in contact with the rear end face of the MT ferrule 51, is compressed in the fitting direction D _P. Details of the locking member 6 will be described later.

  4A and 4B show the substrate 3 and the electronic components mounted on the substrate 3. FIG. 4A shows the first main surface 3a side on which the optical element 41 is mounted, and FIG. 4B shows the first main surface 3a. It is a top view which shows the 2nd main surface 3b side which is a back surface, respectively.

  The substrate 3 is a glass epoxy substrate in which a wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on a plate-like base material obtained by, for example, impregnating an epoxy resin into glass fiber and performing a thermosetting process. The substrate 3 is formed with a plurality of through holes 31 for fixing the frame body 54 and a recessed portion 32 that is recessed in the thickness direction in the first main surface 3a.

  The substrate 3 has a plurality of electrode pads 33 to which lead portions 201a formed at the rear end portions of the connection terminals 201 of the connector unit 20 are connected to front end portions of the first and second main surfaces 3a and 3b. Is provided. The second main surface 3b of the substrate 3 is provided with a plurality of electrode pads 34 to which the central conductors of the plurality of electric wires 102 are connected, for example, by soldering.

  On the first main surface 3a of the substrate 3, an optical element 41, a semiconductor circuit element 42 electrically connected to the optical element 41, and other electronic components 43 are mounted. The electronic component 43 is, for example, an active element such as a semiconductor circuit element or a transistor, or a passive element such as a resistor, a capacitor, or a diode.

  The optical element 41 is an element that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal or converts an optical signal into an electrical signal. Examples of the former element include light emitting elements such as a laser diode and a VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting LASER). Further, as the latter element, for example, a light receiving element such as a photodiode can be cited.

  When the optical element 41 is a light emitting element, the semiconductor circuit element 42 is a driver IC that drives the optical element 41 based on an electrical signal supplied from an external device having the HDMI socket 9 via the connector unit 20, for example. When the optical element 41 is a light receiving element, the semiconductor circuit element 42 is a receiving IC that amplifies an electric signal input from the optical element 41 and outputs the amplified signal to the external device side.

  The optical element 41 has an optical path in a direction orthogonal to the first main surface 3 a of the substrate 3. That is, the light emitted from the optical element 41 or the light incident on the optical element 41 is incident on the plurality of incident / exit ports 411 of the optical element 41 along the direction orthogonal to the first main surface 3 a of the substrate 3. Or is incident on the entrance / exit port 411. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the case where the optical element 41 is a light emitting element and light is emitted from the incident / exit port 411 will be mainly described.

  Electronic components such as a plurality of semiconductor circuit elements 44, passive elements 45, and active elements 46 are mounted on the second main surface 3 b of the substrate 3. Some of these electronic components are electrically connected to the semiconductor circuit element 42 on the first main surface 3a side by an unillustrated wiring pattern.

  5A and 5B show the frame body 54, where FIG. 5A is a rear view, FIG. 5B is a plan view, FIG. 5C is a front view, FIG. 5D is a side view, and FIG.

The frame body 54 integrally includes a rod-shaped connecting portion 540 extending along the width direction _DW and a pair of wall portions 541 provided at both ends of the connecting portion 540 and sandwiching the lens member 52. . The wall portion 541 is formed with a leg portion 542 that is inserted into the through hole 31 and engages with the substrate 3.

  The lens member 52 is bonded and fixed to the frame body 54 with an adhesive (not shown) between the pair of wall portions 541.

  FIG. 6 shows the lens member 52, (a), (b), and (c) are perspective views as seen from different directions, and (d) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of (b).

Lens member 52 includes a rectangular shaped base 520, and has a side surface opposed to the MT ferrule 51 of the base portion 520 and a pair of projections 521 that protrude along the fitting direction D _P together. A groove 522 having a triangular cross section is formed on the base 520, and a reflection surface 52 a that reflects light emitted from the optical element 41 is formed as the inner surface of the groove 522. The groove 522 extends along the width direction _DW , and the angle formed by the reflective surface 52a and the first main surface 3a of the substrate 3 is 45 °.

  The base 520 is translucent at the wavelength of the light emitted from the optical element 41 and has a refractive index higher than that of air. In the reflecting surface 52a, the light emitted from the optical element 41 is internally reflected toward the MT ferrule 51 side due to the difference in refractive index between the lens member 52 and air.

A plurality of (12 in the present embodiment) first lens portions 523 are formed on a surface 520a of the base portion 520 that faces the first main surface 3a of the substrate 3. In addition, the same number of second lens portions 524 as the first lens portions 523 are formed on the surface 520 b of the base portion 520 facing the MT ferrule 51. Each of the plurality of first lens portions 523 and the plurality of second lens portions 524 is a convex lens, and is arranged linearly along the width direction _DW .

  The light emitted from the entrance / exit port 411 of the optical element 41 enters the lens member 52 from the first lens portion 523 along the optical path L indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 6D, and is reflected by the reflecting surface 52a. And emitted from the second lens portion 524.

  7A and 7B show the MT ferrule 51, where FIG. 7A is a perspective view and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

The MT ferrule 51 integrally includes a thick portion 511 and a thin portion 512 having different thicknesses in the thickness direction _DT . The thick portion 511 is formed with an accommodation space 510 that opens rearward. The thin portion 512 is formed with a small-diameter insertion hole 512a through which the core and cladding of the optical fiber 101 from which the coating has been removed are inserted. Further, the thin portion 512 is formed with a pair of fitting holes 512b into which the pair of protrusions 521 of the lens member 52 are fitted.

Insertion holes 512a and the fitting hole 512b extends in parallel to the fitting direction _{D P,} one end open to the front end surface 51a of the MT ferrule 51. The other end of the insertion hole 512 a opens into the accommodation space 510, and the other end of the fitting hole 512 b opens into the rear end surface 51 b of the MT ferrule 51. The elastic body 53 contacts the rear end surface 51 b of the MT ferrule 51.

  8A and 8B show the locking member 6, wherein FIG. 8A is a rear view, FIG. 8B is a plan view, FIG. 8C is a front view, FIG. 8D is a side view, and FIG.

The locking member 6 integrally includes a pair of arm portions 61 that sandwich the shield case 21 in the width direction _DW and a bridging portion 62 that connects the pair of arm portions 61 along the width direction _DW . Further, the locking member 6, the arm portion 61 extends along a fitting direction D _P, the distal end portion 611 of the arm portion 61 is curved in the thickness direction D _T. A proximal end portion 612 of the arm portion 61 opposite to the distal end portion 611 is connected to the bridging portion 62. The distal end portion 611 is disposed in front of the proximal end portion 612 (the distal end side of the shield case 21).

The bridging portion 62 is formed with an elastic body accommodating portion 620 that accommodates the rear end portion of the elastic body 53. A bottom surface 620 a of the elastic body housing portion 620 is formed behind the base end portions 612 of the pair of arm portions 61. The bottom surface 620 a contacts the elastic body 53 and receives a reaction force from the elastic body 53. That is, the elastic body 53 contacts a part of the bridging portion 62 in the width direction _DW and presses the locking member 6 backward. The movement of the elastic body 53 in the width direction _DW with respect to the locking member 6 is restricted by a pair of side surfaces 620b facing each other.

Further, the bridging portion 62 is formed with a pair of leg portions 621 that protrude in the thickness direction _DT across the elastic body accommodating portion 620. The front end surface 621a of the leg portion 621 is in contact with the first main surface 3a of the substrate 3, and there is no electronic component between the bridging portion 62 other than the leg portion 621 and the first main surface 3a of the substrate 3. A gap capable of mounting is formed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an electronic component 43 is mounted between the bridging portion 62 and the substrate 3.

Furthermore, the bridging portion 62 is provided with a locking portion 63 that locks the projection 213 of the shield case 21. In the present embodiment, the locking portion 63 is provided at one end portion of the bridging portion 62 in the width direction _DW , and is positioned on the extension line of the arm portion 61 in the extending direction. The locking structure of the shield case 21 by the locking part 63 will be described later.

  FIG. 9A is a plan view of the optical module 11 with the second case member 24 removed. FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. FIG.9 (c) is an expanded sectional view which expands and shows the DD line cross section of Fig.9 (a). FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views showing the first case member 23. In FIG. 9C, the second case member 24 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

As shown in FIG. 9, the MT ferrule 51 is pressed to the lens member 52 side by the elastic body 53 in a state where the protrusion 521 of the lens member 52 is fitted in the fitting hole 512b. That is, the MT ferrule 51 is positioned in the width direction D _W and the thickness direction _DT by fitting the protrusion 521 of the lens member 52 into the fitting hole 512b and pressed by the elastic body 53, thereby fitting. positioning the slip direction D _P have been made.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the first case member 23 is formed with a recess 23 a that engages with the distal end portion 611 of the arm portion 61 of the locking member 6. More specifically, the first case member 23 integrally includes a bottom wall portion 231 and a pair of side wall portions 232 facing the width direction _DW via the bottom wall portion 231, and each of the pair of side wall portions 232. A recess 23a is formed on the surface. The side wall part 232 has a reduced thickness in the width direction _DW in the recess 23a. Moreover, the recessed part 23a is opened to the second case member 24 side. In addition, although the recessed part 23a is formed in each symmetrical shape of a pair of side wall part 232, in FIG.10 (a), only the recessed part 23a formed in one side wall part 232 among a pair of side wall parts 232 is shown. It is shown.

Further, in the first case member 23, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the opposing surface 23b which faces the rear end portion 21a of the shield case 21 along the fitting direction D _P is formed. Facing surface 23b is the inner surface of the holding portion 230 receiving and holding the supported portion 212 of the shield case 21 is formed as a plane perpendicular to the fitting direction D _P. When the shield case 21 moves rearward with respect to the connector case 22, the rear end 21a abuts against the opposing surface 23b, and thus rearward movement is restricted.

As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the locking member 6, the tip portion 611 of the arm portion 61 is engaged with the recess 23a, the relative movement between the connector case 22 in the fitting direction D _P is restricted . In other words, the distal end portion 611 of the arm portion 61 is curved in an arc shape so as to engage with the concave portion 23a opened on the second case member 24 side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, the locking member 6 is restricted from moving in the direction away from the first case member 23 by contact with the second case member 24. That is, when the locking member 6 moves in a direction in which the upper surface 62 a of the bridging portion 62 faces the inner surface 24 a of the second case member 24 and the locking member 6 moves away from the first case member 23, the upper surface of the bridging portion 62. The movement of the second casing member 24 is restricted by contacting the inner surface 24a of the second case member 24.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a locking structure of the shield case 21 by the locking member 6.

The locking member 6 has a locking portion 63 that is disposed in front of the protrusion 213 provided on the rear end 21 a of the shield case 21 (on the tip side of the shield case 21) and locks the protrusion 213. . In the present embodiment, the locking portion 63 is formed in the bridging portion 62. That is, a part of the bridging portion 62 in the width direction _DW functions as the locking portion 63.

  Thereby, for example, when the plug 2a of the connector 2 is pulled out from the HDMI socket 9, if the shield case 21 receives a force in the direction of moving forward with respect to the connector case 22, the protrusion 213 is locked to the locking portion 63. As a result, the forward movement of the shield case 21 is restricted by the locking member 6. For this reason, the support rigidity of the shield case 21 is increased, and the play of the shield case 21 at the time of extraction from the HDMI socket 9 is suppressed.

  Further, the shield member 21 regulates the movement of the locking member 6 in the direction of the reaction force received from the elastic body 53 in the connector case 22. That is, as described above, the rearward movement of the shield case 21 is restricted by the rear end portion 21a coming into contact with the opposing surface 23b, so that the reaction force that the locking member 6 receives from the elastic body 53 is It is transmitted from the portion 63 to the protrusion 213 of the shield case 21 and is received by the facing surface 23b of the first case member 23 facing the rear end portion 21a of the shield case 21.

  Accordingly, the locking member 6 that functions as an elastic body holding member is supported in the connector case 22 without transmitting the reaction force received from the elastic body 53 to the substrate 3.

(Operation of optical module 11)
Next, the operation of the optical module 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The semiconductor circuit element 42 drives the optical element 41 based on an electrical signal transmitted from the device side terminal 91 of the HDMI socket 9 via the connector unit 20. The optical element 41 emits light to the optical path L in accordance with this electrical signal. That is, the optical element 41 converts an electrical signal into an optical signal.

  The light emitted from the incident / exit port 411 of the optical element 41 enters the lens member 52 from the first lens unit 523 along the optical path L orthogonal to the substrate 3, is reflected by the reflecting surface 52 a, and is reflected by the second lens unit 524. It is emitted from.

  On the other hand, the MT ferrule 51 holds the core and the clad of the optical fiber 101 inserted through the insertion hole 512 a and is elastically pressed against the lens member 52 by the elastic body 53. The light emitted from the second lens unit 524 enters the core of the optical fiber 101 and propagates to the optical module 11 provided at the other end of the communication cable 10.

  In the optical module 11 provided at the other end of the communication cable 10, light enters the input / output port 411 of the optical element 41 from the optical fiber 101 through a path opposite to the above and is converted into an electrical signal in the optical element 41. The electric signal is amplified by the semiconductor circuit element 42 and output to the external device side. Thereby, optical communication via the HDMI cable 1 is performed.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
According to the embodiment described above, the following operations and effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the locking member 6 is supported in the connector case 22 without transmitting the reaction force received from the elastic body 53 to the board 3, for example, a hole is formed in the board 3 to fix the locking member 6. Compared to the case where the locking member 6 is fitted and fixed in this hole, the area where the electronic component can be mounted on the substrate 3 can be expanded.

(2) Since the locking member 6 is restricted from moving in the direction of the reaction force received from the elastic body 53 by the protrusion 213 of the shield case 21, for example, a configuration for supporting the locking member 6 on the connector case 22 is provided. Compared to the case, the structure of the connector case 22 can be simplified.

(3) Since the forward movement of the shield case 21 is restricted by the locking of the protrusion 213 by the locking portion 63 of the locking member 6, the shield case 21 when the plug 2a of the connector 2 is pulled out from the HDMI socket 9 is used. The support rigidity of 21 increases, and rattling is suppressed. Thereby, the reliability of the connector 2 increases.

(4) Since the locking member 6 is in contact with the inner surface 24a of the second case member 24 of the connector case 22, movement in the direction away from the first case member 23 is restricted. It is not necessary to fix a dedicated component for restricting the movement of the connector 2 in the thickness direction _DT to the first case member 23, and the optical module 11 can be reduced in cost and weight.

(5) Since the MT ferrule 51 is pressed and fixed to the lens member 52 side by the elastic body 53 in a state where the protrusion 521 of the lens member 52 is fitted in the fitting hole 512b, the MT ferrule 51 is held by the MT ferrule 51. Thus, the optical axis of the optical fiber 101 and the optical axis of the second lens portion 524 of the lens member 52 can be accurately aligned.

(Summary of embodiment)
Next, the technical idea grasped from the embodiment described above will be described with reference to the reference numerals in the embodiment. However, each reference numeral in the following description does not limit the constituent elements in the claims to members or the like specifically shown in the embodiment.

[1] An optical module (11) provided at an end portion of a cable (10) incorporating an optical fiber (101), the case member (22) accommodating the end portion of the optical fiber (10), A substrate (3) housed in a case member (22), an optical element (41) having an optical path (L) in a direction intersecting the substrate (3), and an end of the optical fiber (101) are connected to the substrate The optical fiber holding member (51) held in parallel with (3) and the optical path (L) of the optical element (41) are converted into a direction parallel to the substrate (3), and the optical element (41) and the optical element (41) An optical path changing member (52) for coupling the optical fiber (101), and an elastic body (53) for generating an elastic force for elastically pressing the optical fiber holding member (51) against the optical path changing member (52). Between the optical fiber holding member (51) An elastic body holding member (6) that holds the elastic body (53) in a compressed state, and the elastic body holding member (6) receives a reaction force received from the elastic body (53) in the substrate (3). The optical module (11) is supported in the case member (22) without being transmitted to the case.

[2] A shield case (21) made of a conductive metal that is supported by the case member (22) and accommodates the connection terminal (201) connected to the counterpart connection terminal (91) of the counterpart connector (9). The light according to [1], further comprising: the elastic body holding member (6), wherein movement in the reaction force direction in the case member (22) is restricted by the shield case (21). Module (11).

[3] The elastic body holding member (6) has a pair of arms (61) that sandwich the shield case (22) in a width direction (D _W ) orthogonal to a fitting direction with the mating connector (9). And a bridging portion (62) for connecting the pair of arm portions (61) along the width direction (D _W ), and the tip end portion (611) of the arm portion (61) is the case member ( 22) is engaged with a concave portion (23a) formed in 22) to restrict relative movement with respect to the case member (22), and the elastic portion is partly in the width direction (D _W ) of the bridging portion (62). The body (53) abuts, and the shield case (21) has a protrusion (213) protruding in a direction intersecting the fitting direction with the mating connector (9), and the protrusion (213) Is secured to the case member (22) by being locked to the bridging portion (62). The relative movement of the mating connector (9) side is restricted, the optical module according to [2] that (11).

[4] The case member (22) is separable in a thickness direction (D _T ) perpendicular to the fitting direction (D _P ) with the mating connector (9) and the width direction (D _W ). The elastic body holding member (6) includes a case member (23) and a second case member (24), and the movement of the elastic body holding member (6) in a direction away from the first case member (23) is the second case member (24). The optical module (11) according to [3], which is regulated by contact with the optical module.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments described above do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, it should be noted that not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the locking member 6 is a cross section 62 has been described for the case where a pair of arms 61 extending forward from both ends of the bridge portion 62 along the fitting direction D _P, is not limited to this, the arm portion 61 may not extend in the fitting direction D _P.

  The elastic body 53 is not limited to a coil spring, and may be a leaf spring, a rubber material, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... HDMI cable, 2 ... Connector, 2a ... Plug, 3 ... Board | substrate, 3a ... 1st main surface, 3b ... 2nd main surface, 6 ... Locking member (elastic body holding member), 9 ... HDMI socket, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Communication cable, 11 ... Optical module, 20 ... Connector unit, 21 ... Shield case, 21a ... Back end part, 22 ... Connector case (case member), 23 ... 1st case member, 23a ... Recessed part, 23b ... Opposite surface 24 ... second case member, 24a ... inner surface, 25 ... bolt, 31 ... through hole, 32 ... depression, 33,34 ... electrode pad, 41 ... optical element, 42 ... semiconductor circuit element, 43 ... electronic component, 44 ... Semiconductor circuit element, 45 ... Passive element, 46 ... Active element, 51 ... MT ferrule, 51a ... Front end face, 51b ... Rear end face, 52 ... Lens member, 52a ... Reflective face, 53 ... Elastic body, 54 ... Frame DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 61 ... Arm part, 62 ... Bridging part, 62a ... Upper surface, 63 ... Locking part, 90 ... Socket shell, 91 ... Equipment side terminal, 100 ... Sheath, 101 ... Optical fiber, 102 ... Electric wire, 103 ... Boot, 104 ... Stop ring, 200 ... Terminal holding member, 201 ... Connection terminal, 201a ... Lead part, 211 ... Housing part, 212 ... Supported part, 213 ... Projection, 230 ... Holding part, 231 ... Bottom wall part, 232 ... Side wall part, 411... Entrance / exit port, 510. Accommodating space, 511... Thick part, 512. Thin part, 512 a. ,..., Groove portion, 523... First lens portion, 524... Second lens portion, 540... Connection portion, 541. Containment section, 20a ... bottom, 620b ... side, 621 ... leg portion, 621a ... distal end face, D P _... fitting direction, D T _... direction, D W _... width direction, L ... light path

Claims (4)

An optical module provided at the end of a cable containing an optical fiber,
A case member for accommodating an end of the optical fiber;
A substrate housed in the case member;
An optical element having an optical path in a direction intersecting the substrate;
An optical fiber holding member that holds the end of the optical fiber parallel to the substrate;
An optical path conversion member that converts the optical path of the optical element into a direction parallel to the substrate, and couples the optical element and the optical fiber;
An elastic body that generates an elastic force that elastically presses the optical fiber holding member toward the optical path conversion member;
An elastic body holding member that holds the elastic body in a compressed state with the optical fiber holding member;
The elastic body holding member is supported in the case member without transmitting a reaction force received from the elastic body to the substrate.
Optical module. A shield case made of a conductive metal that is supported by the case member and accommodates a connection terminal connected to a counterpart connection terminal of a counterpart connector;
The elastic body holding member is restricted by the shield case from moving in the direction of the reaction force in the case member.
The optical module according to claim 1. The elastic body holding member includes a pair of arm portions that sandwich the shield case in a width direction orthogonal to a fitting direction with the mating connector, and a bridging portion that connects the pair of arm portions along the width direction. The arm portion is engaged with a recess formed in the case member to restrict relative movement with the case member, and the elastic body is partly in the width direction of the bridging portion. Abut,
The shield case has a protrusion protruding in a direction intersecting with a fitting direction with the mating connector, and the protrusion is locked to the bridging portion, whereby the mating connector with respect to the case member Relative movement to the side is restricted,
The optical module according to claim 2. The case member includes a first case member and a second case member that are separable in a thickness direction perpendicular to the fitting direction and the width direction with the mating connector,
The elastic body holding member is restricted from moving in a direction away from the first case member by contact with the second case member,
The optical module according to claim 3.

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