JP2016139092A - Expansion member and pin insertion tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an expansion member and a pin insertion tool which can attach and remove a pin to and from a ferrule.SOLUTION: An expansion member 30 expands a holding hole 21 of a pin keeper 20 holding a guide pin inserted into a ferrule insertion hole of an optical connector. The pin keeper 20 includes: a pair of side parts 22 in which the holding hole 21 is formed; and a bottom 23 connecting between ends of the pair of side parts 22. The holding hole 21 has a shape obtained by cutting lateral faces of the side parts 22 opposite to each other. The optical connector includes an inner housing 3 for storing the pin keeper 20 therein. The expansion member 30 includes a first projection part 31 that is inserted through an opening 3g formed in the inner housing 3 to come into contact with each side part 22, thereby pushing and spreading the pair of side parts 22 to expand the holding hole 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an expansion member that expands a holding hole of a pin keeper into which a pin is inserted, and a pin insertion tool that inserts a pin into the holding hole.

  Patent Document 1 includes two alignment pins for connection to another connector, a ferrule through which the two alignment pins are inserted, and an inner casing and an outer casing provided so as to surround the ferrule. An MPO connector is described. The two alignment pins of this MPO connector are passed through an alignment pin cavity located in the ferrule. The inner housing includes a pin clamp that holds the alignment pin passed through the alignment pin cavity, and a tab that is provided in a portion continuous with the pin clamp and includes a hole portion into which a tool is inserted.

  The two alignment pins move in the alignment pin cavity by inserting a tool into the hole of the tab and moving the pin clamp in the direction perpendicular to the ferrule end face by the tool. Thus, by moving the two alignment pins in the alignment pin cavity, each alignment pin can protrude from the ferrule end face or be accommodated in the ferrule. Thus, in the MPO connector described above, switching between male and female is possible.

Special table 2013-540289

  In the optical connector, when switching to the female connector, it is only necessary to have an alignment pin cavity into which the alignment pin is inserted, and the alignment pin itself is not necessary. However, in the above optical connector, the alignment pins can be accommodated in the ferrule, but the alignment pins cannot be removed from the ferrule. Since the alignment pin cannot be detached from the ferrule in this way, the alignment pin must be mounted even when the alignment pin is not necessary, and the cost of manufacturing the alignment pin is excessive. There is.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a problem, and it aims at providing the expansion member and pin insertion tool which can perform attachment or detachment of the pin with respect to a ferrule.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an expansion member according to one aspect of the present invention is an expansion member that expands a holding hole of a pin keeper that holds a pin inserted into a through hole of a ferrule of an optical connector, and the pinky The par has a pair of side portions in which holding holes are formed, and a bottom portion that connects between the end portions of the pair of side portions, and the holding hole has a shape in which side surfaces of the side portions facing each other are cut out. The optical connector includes a housing that houses a pin keeper. The expansion member includes a first protrusion that is inserted through a first opening formed in the housing and abuts on each side portion to expand the pair of side portions to expand the holding hole.

  A pin insertion tool according to one aspect of the present invention is a pin insertion tool for inserting a pin into a holding hole expanded by the above-described expansion member, and a pin holding portion for holding the pin and a connection connected to the expansion member And the pin holding portion is pressed against the expansion member while being connected to the expansion member by the connection portion, whereby the pin is inserted into the retention hole.

  According to the present invention, the pin can be attached to and detached from the ferrule.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical connector. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical connector of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the pin keeper. FIG. 4A is a front view showing the pin keeper of FIG. FIG. 4B is a plan view showing the pin keeper of FIG. FIG. 4C is a bottom view showing the pin keeper of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the expansion member according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the expansion member as viewed from the opposite side of FIG. FIG. 7A is a plan view showing the expansion member. FIG. 7B is a side view showing the expansion member. Fig.8 (a) is a perspective view which shows a pin insertion tool. FIG.8 (b) is the perspective view which looked at the pin insertion tool from the direction different from Fig.8 (a). Fig.9 (a) is a side view which shows a pin insertion tool. FIG. 9B is a plan view showing the pin insertion tool. FIG.9 (c) is the side view which looked at the pin insertion tool from the opposite side of Fig.9 (a). FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inner housing is placed on the expansion member. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inner housing is surrounded by the expansion member. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the holding hole is expanded by the expansion member of FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pin is inserted by a pin insertion tool. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pin is inserted by a pin insertion tool.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
First, the contents of the embodiment of the present invention will be listed and described. (1) An expansion member according to one aspect of the present invention is an expansion member that expands a holding hole of a pin keeper that holds a pin inserted through a through hole of a ferrule of an optical connector. The pin keeper has a holding hole. An optical connector having a pair of formed side portions and a bottom portion for connecting between the end portions of the pair of side portions, and the holding hole having a shape in which side surfaces of the side portions facing each other are cut away Includes a housing for accommodating the pin keeper. The expansion member includes a first protrusion that is inserted through a first opening formed in the housing and abuts on each side portion to expand the pair of side portions to expand the holding hole.

  In this expansion member, the holding hole of the pin keeper is expanded by the first protrusions expanding the pair of side portions. Therefore, the pin can be held in the holding hole by inserting the pin into the holding hole of the expanded pin keeper. Therefore, the pin can be attached to the optical connector by inserting the pin into the insertion hole of the ferrule of the optical connector and holding the inserted pin in the holding hole. On the other hand, the pin held in the holding hole can be removed from the holding hole by extending the holding hole with the expansion member and pulling the pin from the holding hole. Therefore, the pin can be detached from the optical connector by pulling the pin with the holding hole expanded and removing the pin from the insertion hole of the ferrule. As described above, the pins can be attached to and detached from the ferrule of the optical connector.

  (2) The expansion member includes a second protrusion that is inserted from a second opening located on the opposite side of the first opening of the housing, and the second protrusion contacts the bottom portion so that the pin keeper is attached to the housing. It may be pressed inside. As described above, the second protrusion comes into contact with the bottom of the pin keeper and presses the pin keeper, whereby the movement of the pin keeper when the holding hole is expanded can be suppressed. Therefore, since the holding hole can be expanded with the position of the pin keeper stabilized, the pin can be easily attached to and detached from the holding hole.

  (3) The expansion member includes a mounting portion on which the housing is mounted so that the second protrusion is inserted into the second opening, and the mounting portion has a recess formed on the outer surface of the housing. A protruding portion may be provided. In this case, when the housing is placed on the placement portion, the convex portion of the placement portion enters the concave portion of the housing and the second protrusion is inserted into the second opening. Accordingly, the housing can be stabilized on the mounting portion, and the second protrusion can be inserted while the housing is stabilized. Accordingly, the pin keeper can be stably pressed by the second protrusion, and the pin can be attached to and detached from the holding hole more easily.

  (4) A pin insertion tool according to one aspect of the present invention is a pin insertion tool for inserting a pin into the holding hole expanded by the above-described expansion member, and is connected to the pin holding portion that holds the pin and the expansion member The pin holding portion is pressed against the expansion member in a state where the pin holding portion is connected to the expansion member by the connection portion, whereby the pin is inserted into the retention hole.

  In this pin insertion tool, the pin is inserted into the holding hole in a state where the holding hole of the pin keeper is expanded by the above-described expansion member. In addition, since the pin insertion tool is connected to the expansion member by the connecting portion, and the pin is inserted into the holding hole in this state, the pin can be stably inserted. Therefore, the pin can be smoothly inserted into the holding hole, and the pin can be easily attached to the optical connector.

  (5) In the pin insertion tool described above, the connection portion has a rod shape protruding in the extending direction of the pin, and may be connected to the expansion member by being inserted into a hole formed in the expansion member. . In this case, the pin insertion tool can be easily connected to the expansion member simply by inserting the rod-like connection portion into the hole. Therefore, the pin can be inserted into the holding hole more smoothly.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Specific examples of the expansion member and the pin insertion tool according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to these illustrations, is shown by the claim, and intends that all the changes within the range equivalent to a claim are included. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements in the description of the drawings, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical connector 1 capable of using an expansion member and a pin insertion tool according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the optical connector 1. The optical connector 1 is an MPO connector, for example, and is connected to an external optical adapter.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical connector 1 includes a rectangular ferrule 2 positioned at one end of the optical connector 1, an inner housing (housing) 3 that covers the ferrule 2, and a part of the inner housing 3. The first outer housing 4 and the second outer housing 5 to be covered, and the boot 6 connected to the inner housing 3 are provided as external configurations. Inside the optical connector 1, a coil spring 7, a rear housing 8, a caulking ring 9, a ferrule spring 10, and a pin keeper 20 are provided.

  In the following, for the sake of convenience, the description will be made with the directions defined as “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, and “right”. The connecting direction of the inner housing 3 and the boot 6 is the front-rear direction, that is, the direction in which the inner housing 3 is viewed from the boot 6 is the front, and the opposite direction is the rear. The longitudinal direction of the front surface of the ferrule 2 is the left-right direction, and the short direction of the front surface of the ferrule 2 is the vertical direction. These directions are merely for convenience of explanation and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

  The ferrule 2 has a box shape with an extended portion 2a on the rear side. A plurality of fiber holes extending in the front-rear direction are formed inside the ferrule 2, and each of the optical fibers constituting the fiber cord inserted from the rear of the boot 6 is inserted into each fiber hole. A front surface 2 b of the extended portion 2 a of the ferrule 2 is a contact surface that contacts the inner housing 3.

  The ferrule 2 includes a connection surface 2c that comes into contact when a ferrule of another connector (hereinafter referred to as a counterpart ferrule) is connected to the optical connector 1, and a guide pin P (see FIG. 8) for positioning the counterpart ferrule. Two insertion holes 2d to be inserted are provided. The guide pin P and the insertion hole 2d function as a positioning portion that positions the counterpart ferrule. The two insertion holes 2d are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

  Between the ferrule 2 and the rear housing 8, a ferrule spring 10 that biases the ferrule 2 forward, and a pin keeper 20 that holds a guide pin P (pin) inserted from the front through the insertion hole 2d of the ferrule 2; Is provided. The pin keeper 20 is housed in the inner housing 3 and is provided behind the ferrule 2 and in front of the ferrule spring 10. The pin keeper 20 includes two holding holes 21 that hold the guide pins P, and the two holding holes 21 are arranged in the left-right direction. The configuration of the pin keeper 20 will be described in detail later.

  The inner housing 3 has a stepped square tube shape having an extended portion 3a on the rear side. The outer surface of the inner housing 3 is provided with a pair of left and right engagement holes 3b that engage with a latch of an external optical adapter, and a groove 3c that houses a coil spring 7 that biases the first outer housing 4 forward. Yes. When the latch of the optical adapter is engaged with each engagement hole 3b, the optical connector 1 is engaged and attached to the optical adapter. The groove 3c houses a coil spring 7 that can be expanded and contracted in the front-rear direction.

  Inside the inner housing 3, the ferrule 2 and the front side portion of the rear housing 8 are accommodated. On the inner side of the inner housing 3, a contact surface 3d with which the ferrule 2 contacts is provided. A front surface 2b of the extended portion 2a of the ferrule 2 biased forward by the ferrule spring 10 is in contact with the contact surface 3d.

  The first outer housing 4 has a cylindrical shape, and is attached to the outside of the inner housing 3 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Four claw portions 4 a that are engaged with the second outer housing 5 are provided at the rear portion of the first outer housing 4. Each nail | claw part 4a becomes a shape extended only predetermined length back. The first outer housing 4 includes a pair of upper and lower claw portions 4a on the left side, and also includes a pair of upper and lower claw portions 4a on the right side.

  The second outer housing 5 has a cylindrical shape and is movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the first outer housing 4 behind the first outer housing 4. The second outer housing 5 accommodates the front end portion of the boot 6 and the rear housing 8. The second outer housing 5 includes four slits 5a with which the claw portions 4a of the first outer housing 4 are engaged. Each slit 5a extends rearward from the front end of the second outer housing 5 by a predetermined length. Exist. The second outer housing 5 includes a pair of upper and lower slits 5a on the left side thereof, and also includes a pair of upper and lower slits 5a on the right side.

  The second outer housing 5 includes a notch 5 c into which the front end of the boot 6 enters. The cutout 5c is formed by cutting forward from the rear end surface 5f of the second outer housing 5, and the flat side surface 5d on which the cutout 5c of the second outer housing 5 is provided is angular on the outside. C-shaped. Further, a stepped portion 5e with which the rear end 3f of the inner housing 3 abuts from the front is provided inside the second outer housing 5. The second outer housing 5 and the inner housing 3 move forward by moving the second outer housing 5 forward so that the front surface of the stepped portion 5e contacts the rear end 3f of the inner housing 3 from the rear.

  The rear housing 8 includes a cylindrical insertion portion 8a that is inserted on the rear side of the inner housing 3, and a cylindrical portion 8b that is engaged with the caulking ring 9 on the rear side of the insertion portion 8a. The rear housing 8 is engaged with the inner housing 3 with the front end of the insertion portion 8 a in contact with the inner housing 3. An uneven portion 8 c is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 8 b of the rear housing 8.

  The caulking ring 9 has a stepped cylindrical shape whose front side is enlarged in diameter. The caulking ring 9 includes a large diameter portion 9a located on the front side and a small diameter portion 9b located on the rear side of the large diameter portion 9a. The caulking ring 9 is engaged with the rear housing 8 in the front-rear direction, and a tensile fiber, a jacket, or the like constituting an optical fiber cord is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 8 b and the inner peripheral surface of the caulking ring 9. Fixed. Each optical fiber constituting the optical fiber cord is held inside the caulking ring 9.

  The boot 6 has a cylindrical shape, and is attached to the caulking ring 9 in a state where the cylindrical portion 8b of the rear housing 8 and the caulking ring 9 are accommodated. The boot 6 protects the optical fiber cord so that sudden bending does not occur in the optical fiber cord. The front end of the boot 6 is abutted against the rear end of the insertion portion 8a of the rear housing 8, and the boot 6 extends rearward from the abutted portion. The rear side of the boot 6 with respect to the portion that accommodates the caulking ring 9 is gradually reduced in diameter toward the rear. Further, a plurality of elongated through holes 6 a extending in the circumferential direction of the boot 6 are formed in the reduced diameter portion on the rear side of the boot 6.

  By the way, in the optical connector, the transmission rate exceeds 10 Gbps due to an increase in communication demand, and transmission speeds of 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps are realized. An upgrade from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps or 100 Gbps is desired. Here, in the optical connector, the state where the guide pin protrudes from the connection surface of the ferrule is a male, and the state where the insertion hole is exposed to the connection surface is a female. There are some cases that must be done

  Therefore, in the optical connector 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to switch between a state in which the guide pin P protrudes from the connection surface 2c and a state in which the insertion hole 2d is exposed to the connection surface 2c. Can be freely switched without disassembling the optical connector or removing it from the optical fiber cord. This switching is realized by attaching / detaching the guide pin P to / from the ferrule 2 and the pin keeper 20. Below, the structure of the ferrule 2 and the pin keeper 20, and those periphery is demonstrated in detail.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pin keeper 20 is formed in a U-shape, and a pair of side portions 22 arranged in parallel to each other and a bottom portion 23 that connects between the end portions of the pair of side portions 22. And. Further, the holding hole 21 described above has a shape in which the side surfaces 22a of the side portions 22 facing each other are cut out. A tapered surface 21 a is formed at the inlet side end of the holding hole 21, and the guide pin P can be smoothly inserted into the holding hole 21 by the tapered surface 21 a. Further, on the inner surface of the holding hole 21, a convex portion 21 b that fits into the concave portion P <b> 1 formed on the surface of the guide pin P is formed.

  The pair of side portions 22 of the pin keeper 20 can be opened by being bent in a direction D away from each other by an expansion member 30 described later. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the first outer housing 4 is formed with a notch 4 b into which the first protrusion 31 of the expansion member 30 can be inserted, and the inner housing 3 has a first notch 4 b. Two openings (first openings) 3g into which the protrusions 31 can be inserted are formed. On the opposite side of the notch 4b in the first outer housing 4, a notch 4c (see FIG. 12) similar to the notch 4b is formed. In addition, two openings (second openings) 3 h into which the second protrusions 34 of the expansion member 30 can be inserted are formed on the opposite side of the opening 3 g in the inner housing 3.

  Refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 again. The pin keeper 20 has a symmetrical shape, and when mounted on the optical connector 1, the shape of the pin keeper 20 viewed from the front side and the shape of the pin keeper 20 viewed from the rear side are the same. . The side portion 22 of the pin keeper 20 includes a protruding portion 22b that protrudes to the inside of the pin keeper 20 at the end opposite to the bottom portion 23, and a notch 22c formed in the side surface 22a.

  The protrusion 22b includes a tapered surface 22g that is inclined from the upper end 22f of the side portion 22 to the inside of the pin keeper 20, and the first protrusion 31 of the expansion member 30 abuts the tapered surface 22g from above. A pair of side portions 22 are spread in the direction D. The aforementioned holding hole 21 is formed inside the cutout 22c of the side portion 22. When the pair of side portions 22 are expanded in the direction D, the upper side of the side portion 22 is bent and the notch 22c is expanded, so that the holding hole 21 is also expanded.

  The outer portion 22 d located outside the holding hole 21 in the side portion 22 is curved in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the holding hole 21. A thickness T1 of the outer portion 22d is thinner than a thickness T2 of the bottom portion 23. Accordingly, when the pair of side portions 22 are expanded, the outer side portion 22d outside the holding hole 21 can be easily bent, and the holding hole 21 can be easily expanded.

  The bottom 23 of the pin keeper 20 is formed with a recess 23 a into which the second protrusion 34 of the expansion member 30 is fitted. Four concave portions 23 a are formed on the bottom surface of the bottom portion 23, and each concave portion 23 a has a shape cut out from the front surface or the back surface of the bottom portion 23. The two recesses 23a are arranged in a pair in the thickness direction (front and back direction) of the pin keeper 20, and a set of the two recesses 23a is arranged in the left-right direction.

  Next, the expansion member 30 that widens the pair of side portions 22 in the direction D will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the expansion member 30 connects the first protrusion 31 that extends the holding hole 21, the pair of sandwiching portions 32 that sandwich the inner housing 3 from above and below, and the pair of sandwiching portions 32. And a second projection 34 that contacts the bottom 23 of the pin keeper 20.

  The first protrusion 31 is inserted from the opening 3 g of the inner housing 3 and abuts on the side part 22 of the pin keeper 20, thereby expanding the pair of side parts 22 and expanding the holding hole 21. The first protrusion 31 is provided on one of the two sandwiching portions 32. The first protruding portion 31 protrudes upward from a protruding portion 32e protruding to the rear side of the sandwiching portion 32, and two first protruding portions 31 are provided symmetrically in the protruding portion 32e. The pin keeper 20 may be installed upside down (left and right in FIG. 12) with respect to the inner housing 3. In this case, the first protrusion 31 is inserted from the opening 3 h of the inner housing 3.

  One of the two sandwiching portions 32 includes a pair of left and right recesses 32a cut out in a semicircular shape, a pair of left and right projections 32j projecting forward from the periphery, and a pair of projections 32j. The recessed part 32g located in the above and the above-mentioned protruding part 32e protruding backward from the recessed part 32g are provided. The recessed part 32a is formed in the protrusion part 32j, and is extended in the front-back direction from the one end of the clamping part 32 to the other end.

  Between the pair of left and right protrusions 32b, a pair of left and right protrusions 32h protruding forward from the periphery, and a pair of protrusions 32h are provided on the other of the two sandwiching parts 32. A mounting portion 32k for mounting the inner housing 3 and a protruding portion 32f extending rearward from the mounting portion 32k are provided.

  The concave portion 32b of the sandwiching portion 32 is formed in the projecting portion 32h, and extends in the front-rear direction from one end of the sandwiching portion 32 to the other end. The mounting portion 32k has a concave shape that is recessed between the pair of protruding portions 32h. The mounting portion 32k is provided with a convex portion 32p that enters the concave portion 3k (see FIG. 1) formed on the outer surface of the inner housing 3. The convex portions 32p are provided in a pair, and the two convex portions 32p protrude from both side surfaces of the placement portion 32k. In addition, a convex portion 32q similar to the convex portion 32p is provided in the concave portion 32g of the sandwiching portion 32. By thus providing the convex portions 32p and 32q, the convex portions 32p and 32q of the expansion member 30 can be fitted into the concave portion 3k of the inner housing 3. Therefore, in the state where the inner housing 3 is sandwiched from above and below by the sandwiching portion 32, it is possible to remove the hand from the expansion member 30.

  In addition, the back surface 32c of the sandwiching portion 32 where the second projection portion 34 is provided is a flat surface, and the back surface 32d of the sandwiching portion 32 where the first projection portion 31 is provided is recessed in a curved shape. With this back surface 32d, the expansion member 30 has a shape that makes it easy to push the first protrusion 31 into the inner housing 3.

  The connecting portion 33 connects the pair of sandwiching portions 32. The connecting portion 33 is narrower than the sandwiching portion 32 and extends linearly between the two sandwiching portions 32. The connecting portion 33 is thinner than the sandwiching portion 32. Therefore, the connecting portion 33 can be bent so that the pair of sandwiching portions 32 face each other. Further, when the pair of sandwiching portions 32 face each other, the concave portion 32a and the concave portion 32b are combined. In this manner, the concave portion 32a of one sandwiching portion 32 and the concave portion 32b of the other sandwiching portion 32 are combined to form a hole portion H (see FIG. 11) into which a positioning pin 42 described later is inserted.

  The second projecting portion 34 is provided on the other of the two sandwiching portions 32 (the sandwiching portion 32 where the first projecting portion 31 is not provided). The second protrusion 34 is inserted from the opening 3 h of the inner housing 3 and presses the pin keeper 20 inside the inner housing 3 by coming into contact with the bottom 23 of the pin keeper 20. The second projecting portion 34 projects upward from the projecting portion 32f of the sandwiching portion 32, and the two second projecting portions 34 are provided symmetrically in the projecting portion 32f.

  Each second protrusion 34 includes a surface 34b positioned at the upper end of the second protrusion 34, and a protrusion 34a further protruding from the surface 34b at a position sandwiching the surface 34b from the front and rear. The protrusion 34 a fits into the recess 23 a (see FIG. 4C) of the bottom 23 when the second protrusion 34 abuts against the bottom 23. Thus, since the 2nd projection part 34 and the bottom part 23 become a fitting structure, it becomes possible to contact | abut the 2nd projection part 34 to the bottom part 23 stably.

  Next, a pin insertion tool 40 for inserting the guide pin P into the holding hole 21 of the pin keeper 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. The pin insertion tool 40 is arranged in the same direction as the positioning pin 42 from the main body 41 between the main body 41, the two positioning pins (connecting portions) 42 connected to the expansion member 30, and the two positioning pins 42. The pin holding part 43 which protrudes is provided.

  The shape of the main body 41 when viewed from the front-rear direction is a butterfly shape. The main body 41 has a concave portion 41a located at the center in the left-right direction, and convex portions 41b projecting on both sides in the left-right direction of the concave portion 41a. The positioning pin 42 has a function of connecting the pin insertion tool 40 to the expansion member 30 and determining the position of the pin insertion tool 40 with respect to the expansion member 30. The two positioning pins 42 are both rod-shaped and protrude from the main body 41 in the same direction.

  The pin holding portion 43 includes a hole 43a into which the guide pin P is inserted in advance, a plate-like portion 43b provided in a pair above and below the hole 43a, and a connection portion 43d that vertically connects the hole 43a and the plate-like portion 43b. It has. Since the hole 43a is recessed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the positioning pin 42 extends, the guide pin P extends in the same direction as the positioning pin 42 when the guide pin P is inserted into the hole 43a. Further, the connecting portion 43d has a concave central portion toward the back side of the drawing, and a hole 43a is provided in the central portion of the connecting portion 43d.

  A method of attaching the guide pin P to the optical connector 1 using the pin insertion tool 40 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 10, the convex portion 32 p of the sandwiching portion 32 is fitted into the concave portion 3 k of the inner housing 3, and the inner housing 3 is placed on the placement portion 32 k of the expansion member 30. At this time, the second protrusion 34 is inserted into the opening 3 h formed in the lower surface of the inner housing 3. By inserting the second protrusion 34 into the inner housing 3 in this way, the pin keeper 20 is pressed inside the inner housing 3.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the ferrule 2 and the inner housing 3 are sandwiched from above and below by covering the upper surface 3 j of the inner housing 3 with the other sandwiching portion 32. At this time, the projecting portions 32 e and 32 f of the sandwiching portion 32 are fitted into the notches 4 b and 4 c of the first outer housing 4, respectively. In this state, the concave portion 32a and the concave portion 32b of the sandwiching portion 32 are combined to form a hole portion H into which the positioning pin 42 is inserted.

  Further, in this state, as shown in FIG. 12, the first protrusion 31 is inserted into the inner housing 3 from the opening 3 g of the inner housing 3. The inserted first protrusion 31 first comes into contact with the tapered surface 22g of the side portion 22 of the pin keeper 20. And if the 1st projection part 31 is further inserted, while the 1st projection part 31 gets over the taper surface 22g, each side part 22 bends and is spread. In this way, the holding hole 21 is expanded by bending and pushing the side portion 22. As shown in FIG. 12, the guide pin P is inserted into the extended holding hole 21 using the pin insertion tool 40.

  As shown in FIG. 13, before the guide pin P is inserted, the guide pin P is inserted into the hole 43 a of the pin holding portion 43 of the pin insertion tool 40, and the guide pin P is held by the pin holding portion 43. And the pin insertion tool 40 is connected to the expansion member 30 by inserting the positioning pin 42 into the hole H of the expansion member 30 from the front. In this state, the pin holding portion 43 is pushed into the expansion member 30, thereby pushing the guide pin P into the insertion hole 2 d of the ferrule 2.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 14, when the pin holding portion 43 is pushed into the expansion member 30, the guide pin P enters the holding hole 21 of the pin keeper 20. Thus, the first protrusion 31 is detached from the inner housing 3 by removing the expansion member 30 from the inner housing 3 in a state where the guide pin P enters the holding hole 21. Accordingly, the bending of the side portion 22 and the expansion of the holding hole 21 are released, so that the holding hole 21 holds the guide pin P. Thus, the guide pin P can be held in the holding hole 21. When the pin insertion tool 40 is removed, the attachment of the guide pin P to the optical connector 1 is completed.

  Further, as a method of removing the guide pin P from the optical connector 1, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inner housing 3 is sandwiched from above and below by the sandwiching portion 32 of the expansion member 30, so that the first of the expansion member 30 is removed. The holding hole 21 is expanded by the protrusion 31. Thus, the guide pin P can be easily detached from the optical connector 1 by expanding the holding hole 21 and pulling out the guide pin P from the insertion hole 2d.

  Next, the effect obtained by the expansion member 30 and the pin insertion tool 40 of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The expansion member 30 according to the present embodiment expands the holding hole 21 of the pin keeper 20 by the first protrusion 31 expanding the pair of side portions 22. Therefore, the guide pin P can be held in the holding hole 21 by inserting the guide pin P into the holding hole 21 of the expanded pin keeper 20. Therefore, the guide pin P can be attached to the optical connector 1 by inserting the guide pin P into the insertion hole 2 d of the ferrule 2 of the optical connector 1 and holding the inserted guide pin P in the holding hole 21. On the other hand, the guide pin P held in the holding hole 21 is removed from the holding hole 21 and the insertion hole 2d of the ferrule 2 by expanding the holding hole 21 with the expansion member 30 and pulling the guide pin P from the holding hole 21. Can do. Therefore, the guide pin P can be removed from the optical connector 1 by pulling the guide pin P with the holding hole 21 expanded and removing the guide pin P from the insertion hole 2 d of the ferrule 2. As described above, the guide pin P can be attached to and detached from the ferrule 2 of the optical connector 1.

  Further, the expansion member 30 includes a second protrusion 34 that is inserted from an opening 3 h that is located on the opposite side of the opening 3 g of the inner housing 3, and the second protrusion 34 abuts against the bottom 23 to cause the pin keeper 20. Is pressed inside the inner housing 3. In this way, the second protrusion 34 abuts against the bottom 23 of the pin keeper 20 and presses the pin keeper 20, whereby the movement of the pin keeper 20 when the holding hole 21 is expanded can be suppressed. Therefore, since the holding hole 21 can be expanded while the position of the pin keeper 20 is stabilized, the guide pin P can be easily attached to and detached from the holding hole 21.

  The expansion member 30 includes a mounting portion 32k for mounting the inner housing 3 so that the second projecting portion 34 is inserted into the opening 3h. The mounting portion 32k is formed on the outer surface of the inner housing 3. A convex portion 32p that enters the concave portion 3k is provided. When the inner housing 3 is placed on the placement portion 32k, the convex portion 32p of the placement portion 32k enters the concave portion 3k of the inner housing 3, and the second protrusion 34 is inserted into the opening 3h. Accordingly, the inner housing 3 can be stabilized on the mounting portion 32k, and the second protrusion 34 can be inserted while the inner housing 3 is stabilized. Therefore, the pin keeper 20 can be stably pressed by the second protrusion 34, and the guide pin P can be attached to and detached from the holding hole 21 more easily.

  Further, in the second protrusion 34 of the expansion member 30, the protrusions 34 a that fit into the recesses 23 a of the bottom 23 are arranged in the front-rear direction, so that the front and rear of the pin keeper 20 when the second protrusion 34 abuts the bottom 23. Movement in the direction is restricted. Therefore, when the guide pin P is inserted into the holding hole 21, it is possible to avoid an event in which the pin keeper 20 moves backward together with the guide pin P. That is, since the pin keeper 20 does not move when the guide pin P is inserted, the guide pin P can be inserted more smoothly.

  The pin insertion tool 40 according to the present embodiment inserts the guide pin P into the holding hole 21 in a state where the holding hole 21 is expanded by the expansion member 30. In addition, since the pin insertion tool 40 is connected to the expansion member 30 by the positioning pins 42 and the guide pins P are inserted into the holding holes 21 in this state, the guide pins P can be stably inserted. Therefore, the guide pin P can be smoothly inserted into the holding hole 21, and the guide pin P can be easily attached to the optical connector 1. Further, since the two positioning pins 42 are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the guide pin P, the guide pin P can be inserted in a balanced manner by pressing the pin insertion tool 40.

  Further, in the pin insertion tool 40, the positioning pin 42 has a rod shape protruding in the extending direction of the guide pin P and is connected to the expansion member 30 by being inserted into the hole H formed in the expansion member 30. Is done. Therefore, the pin insertion tool 40 can be easily connected to the expansion member 30 simply by inserting the rod-shaped positioning pin 42 into the hole H. Therefore, the guide pin P can be inserted into the holding hole 21 more smoothly.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention. The expansion member and the pin insertion tool according to the present invention can be applied to various optical connectors other than the optical connector 1.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the optical connector 1 including the inner housing 3, the first outer housing 4, and the second outer housing 5 has been described. However, the configuration of the housing that houses the ferrule 2 and the pin keeper 20 is not limited to the inner housing 3, the first outer housing 4, and the second outer housing 5, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, instead of the first outer housing 4 and the second outer housing 5, one outer housing may be provided. Alternatively, only the inner housing 3 may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the expansion member 30 including the pair of sandwiching portions 32 has been described. However, the expansion member which does not have a clamping part may be sufficient. Thus, the shape of the expansion member is not limited and can be changed as appropriate. Further, the shapes of the pin keeper and the pin insertion tool are not limited and can be appropriately changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector, 2 ... Ferrule, 2a ... Expansion part, 2b ... Front surface, 2c ... Connection surface, 2d ... Insertion hole, 3 ... Inner housing (housing), 3a ... Expansion part, 3b ... Engagement hole, 3c ... Groove 3d ... abutting surface, 3f ... rear end, 3g ... opening (first opening), 3h ... opening (second opening), 3j ... upper surface, 3k ... concave portion, 4 ... first outer housing, 4a ... claw portion, 5 ... second outer housing, 5a ... slit, 5c ... notch, 5d ... side surface, 5e ... stepped portion, 5f ... rear end surface, 6 ... boot, 6a ... through hole, 7 ... coil spring, 8 ... rear housing, 8a ... Insertion portion, 8b ... cylindrical portion, 8c ... concave portion, 9 ... caulking, 9a ... large diameter portion, 9b ... small diameter portion, 10 ... ferrule spring, 20 ... pin keeper, 21 ... holding hole, 21a ... tapered surface, 21b ... convex part, 22 ... side part, 22a ... side face, 2 b ... projecting portion, 22c ... notch, 22d ... outer side portion, 22f ... upper end portion, 22g ... tapered surface, 23 ... bottom portion, 23a ... recessed portion, 30 ... expansion member, 31 ... first projection portion, 32 ... sandwiching portion, 32a, 32b ... concave portion, 32e, 32f ... projecting portion, 32g ... concave portion, 32h, 32j ... projecting portion, 32k ... mounting portion, 32p ... convex portion, 33 ... connecting portion, 34 ... second projecting portion, 34a ... projecting portion , 34b ... surface, 40 ... pin insertion tool, 41 ... main body part, 41a ... concave part, 41b ... convex part, 42 ... positioning pin (connection part), 43 ... pin holding part, 43a ... hole, 43b ... plate-like part, 43d ... Connection part, D ... Direction, H ... Hole, P ... Guide pin (pin), P1 ... Recessed part.

Claims (5)

An expansion member that expands the holding hole of the pin keeper that holds the pin inserted into the insertion hole of the ferrule of the optical connector,
The pin keeper has a pair of side portions in which the holding holes are formed, and a bottom portion that connects between end portions of the pair of side portions,
The holding hole has a shape in which side surfaces of the side portions facing each other are cut out,
The optical connector includes a housing that houses the pin keeper,
A first protrusion that is inserted from a first opening formed in the housing and abuts on each of the side portions to expand the pair of the side portions to expand the holding hole;
Expansion member. A second protrusion inserted from a second opening located on the opposite side of the first opening of the housing;
The second protrusion presses the pin keeper inside the housing by contacting the bottom.
The expansion member according to claim 1. The mounting portion on which the housing is mounted so that the second protrusion is inserted into the second opening, and the mounting portion has a convex portion that enters a recess formed on the outer surface of the housing. Provided,
The expansion member according to claim 2. A pin insertion tool for inserting a pin into the holding hole expanded by the expansion member according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A pin holding portion for holding the pin;
A connecting portion connected to the expansion member,
The pin is inserted into the holding hole by pressing the pin holding portion against the expansion member in a state of being connected to the expansion member by the connecting portion.
Pin insertion tool. The connection portion has a rod shape protruding in the extending direction of the pin, and is connected to the expansion member by being inserted into a hole formed in the expansion member.
The pin insertion tool according to claim 4.

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