JP2528129Y2 - Optical connector and plug and receptacle used for it - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an optical connector, particularly to an optical connector which is connected to one end of an optical fiber and is connected to another optical fiber or an optical component.

(Prior art)

Since light is not affected by electromagnetic noise, optical fibers are widely used as information transmission means inside automobiles and the like that handle various electric signals. An optical connector is used as a means for connecting the optical fiber.

In information transmission by light, it is necessary to transmit the optical signal while minimizing the loss of the optical signal. Scratches on the tip of the optical fiber,
Dirt causes loss of optical signals, so the optical connector has a structure in which fingers and the like do not accidentally touch the tip of the optical fiber during handling such as transport of the plug that composes it, fitting work with the receptacle, etc. There is a need. An optical connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 63-128511 has been proposed as such an optical connector (FIGS. 5A and 5B). In this optical connector, in the plug 120, the front end face A of the optical fiber 121 is retracted from the front end face B of the plug by the length of D, and in the receptacle 110, a receiving tube for receiving the optical fiber 121 is provided.
A photoconductive member 118 is provided at a position retracted from the front end surface of the receiving cylinder 117, so that a finger or the like does not touch the tip of the optical fiber 121 and the tip of the photoconductive member 118. Has become.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above-described optical connector, the tip of the optical fiber 121 is retracted from the front end face B of the plug. Therefore, if the photoconductive member 118 is not present, the optical fiber 121 and the light emitting / receiving module 113 are connected when the plug 120 and the receptacle 110 are fitted. There are gaps between them. Since this gap causes a large loss of an optical signal due to the difference between the refractive index of the material of the optical fiber and that of air, in the above-described optical connector, the photoconductive member 11 is used instead of the gap.
8 are provided. However, since the photoconductive member 118 is interposed between the optical fiber 121 and the light emitting / receiving module 113, the coupling portion is formed between the optical fiber 121 and the photoconductive member 118, and with the photoconductive member 118. There are a total of two locations between the light emitting and receiving modules 113, and the loss of the optical signal is not negligible as compared with the case where the optical fiber and the light emitting and receiving module are directly coupled.

Accordingly, the present invention has a structure in which a finger or the like does not inadvertently touch the tip of an optical fiber when a plug and a receptacle are fitted together, and an optical connector which minimizes loss of an optical signal, and a plug and a receptacle used therefor. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object, an optical connector of the present invention includes a ferrule fixed to one end of an optical fiber, and the ferrule slidably accommodated along the axial direction of the optical fiber. An optical connector comprising a plug having a plug housing and a urging means for urging the ferrule in a tip direction thereof, and a receptacle having a plug accommodating chamber into which the plug is fitted. A ferrule locking means having a surface and engaging the ferrule to prevent the ferrule from moving in the distal direction; the receptacle having a second cam surface in the plug accommodating chamber; And when the receptacle is fitted, the first and second cam surfaces are cam-engaged to move the ferrule locking means toward the distal end of the ferrule. And moving the ferrule in the direction of the tip by allowing the ferrule to move in the crossing direction.

Further, the plug of the present invention is a ferrule fixed to one end of the optical fiber, a plug housing that accommodates the ferrule slidably along the axial direction of the optical fiber,
And a biasing means for biasing the ferrule in a tip direction thereof, wherein the plug is inserted and fitted into the receptacle, wherein the plug has a cam surface for cam-engaging the receptacle and engages with the ferrule. The ferrule includes a ferrule locking means for preventing the ferrule from moving in the distal direction, and the ferrule locking means is movable in a direction intersecting the distal direction of the ferrule.

Further, the receptacle of the present invention is a receptacle having a plug accommodating chamber into which a plug having an optical fiber is inserted and fitted, wherein the plug accommodating chamber is provided with a cam surface which engages with a ferrule engaging means of the plug. Features.

[Action]

In a state where the plug and the receptacle are not fitted, the tip of the optical fiber stays inside the plug housing because the ferrule locking means engages with the ferrule to prevent the ferrule from projecting. When the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the engagement with the ferrule is released by the upward movement of the ferrule locking means in cooperation with the receptacle inside the plug, and the biasing means biases the ferrule toward the receptacle. The tip of the optical fiber is coupled to an optical component such as a light emitting / receiving element or an optical fiber in the receptacle.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plug constituting an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view of a receptacle, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are cross-sectional views showing a fitting process of the plug and the receptacle of FIG. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 2 of the present invention is a plug.
10 and a receptacle 70. The plug 10 includes an optical fiber 30. The optical fiber 30 is covered with an inner jacket (not shown), and a reinforcing fiber (not shown) is provided along the surface of the inner jacket. Supplied by fiber manufacturer. The optical fiber 30 supplied in such a form has a cylindrical portion 38 of a ferrule 36 in which the outer cover 32 and inner cover near the distal end thereof are peeled off.
The ferrule 36 is accommodated in the box part 40 of the ferrule 36 by the metal retainer 42 in a state where the tip is exposed.
Is held within. The tip of the optical fiber 30 is finished to a substantially mirror-finished state by a known heating process in order to reduce the loss of the optical signal.

At a position adjacent to the ferrule 36, the reinforcing fiber is folded back, and the reinforcing fiber and the jacket 32 are crimped and fixed by crimping 50. The optical fiber 30 held by the ferrule 36 is inserted into the opening 28 (see FIG. 2) from the rear end of the plug housing 12, and the spring holder 54 engages with the plug housing 12 via a spring 52 (biasing means). This prevents the plug housing 12 from falling off. The spring 52 is located between the crimp ring 50 and the spring holder 54 and urges the ferrule 36 holding the optical fiber 30 toward the distal end of the optical fiber 30. A rubber boot 56 is mounted around the spring holder 54 and around the outer casing 32 adjacent to the spring holder 54,
The optical fiber is prevented from being extremely bent at this position, and the workability of fitting the plug 10 to the receptacle 70 is improved by fitting the surface of the boot 56 to the fingertip.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plug housing 12 has a ferrule stopper accommodating chamber 14 opening substantially to the center toward the bottom surface.
And a ferrule stopper 60 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
(Ferrule locking means) is inserted. The ferrule stop 60 has a locking projection 62 protruding outward at an upper portion thereof, and locks with the hole 16 on the side surface of the plug housing 12 to prevent the ferrule stopper 60 from dropping out of the plug housing 12. Since the hole 16 is formed vertically long, the ferrule stopper 60 can move up and down. The ferrule stopper 60 further includes a pair of stopper portions protruding inward near the locking protrusion 62.
64, 64 and a pair of cam surfaces (first cam surface) inclined at the lower end 6
With 6,66. Stopper part 64 is box part 40 of ferrule 36
2 to prevent the ferrule 36 holding the optical fiber 30 from projecting, as shown in FIG. Also,
The cam surfaces 66, 66 are connected to the cam surfaces 8 of the receptacle 70 as described later.
By sliding on 0,80, the ferrule stopper 60 moves upward. When the front surface 44 of the box portion 40 of the ferrule 36 is engaged with the stopper portions 64, 64 of the ferrule stopper 60, the tip of the optical fiber 30 is located at a position retracted from the front end surface 18 of the plug housing 12, so that the finger Is protected from contact with elongated objects, such as scratches and dirt. Further, from the front end face 18 of the plug housing 12, an upper wall 20, a side wall
Since the bottom surface 24 and the bottom surface 24 project forward, it is possible to more reliably prevent a finger or the like from contacting the tip of the optical fiber 30 and damaging it.

The receptacle 70 includes a receptacle housing 72 and a light receiving element or a light emitting element (hereinafter, referred to as a “light receiving and emitting element”) 74.
It is composed of The receptacle housing 72 has a plug accommodating chamber 76 for receiving the plug 10 from the front end thereof, and a light emitting / receiving element 74 is inserted into an opening near the rear end of the bottom surface. A passage 78 through which the cylindrical portion 38 of the ferrule 36 is inserted is provided between the plug housing chamber 76 and the light emitting / receiving element 74. The light emitting / receiving element 74 includes a terminal 90 for electrically connecting to an external circuit, and is held in the receptacle housing 72 by a holding member 96 having an element supporting piece 92 and a locking piece 94.

When the plug 10 is inserted into the plug accommodating chamber 76 as shown in FIG. 3, the cam surfaces 66, 66 of the ferrule stopper 60 and the cam surfaces (second cam surfaces) 80, provided on the inner wall of the receptacle housing 72. 80 slides. Due to this sliding, the ferrule stopper 60 moves upward, and the engagement between the stopper portions 64, 64 and the front surface 44 of the ferrule 36 is released. As a result, the cylindrical portion 38 of the ferrule 36 is opened by the bias of the spring 52.
Move forward in 28. When the plug 10 is further inserted, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the optical fiber 30 comes into contact with the light receiving / emitting element 74 to be in a connected state, and the lock portion 26 of the plug housing 12 is engaged with the locking hole 82 of the receptacle housing 72. And the plug 10 is mechanically locked to the receptacle 70. At this time, since the spring 52 presses the ferrule 36 toward the receptacle 70 with an appropriate pressure, an action of preventing the coupling between the tip of the optical fiber 30 and the light receiving / emitting element 74 from becoming unstable due to external vibration or the like. Also have.

In the above-described embodiment, the stopper portion 64 of the ferrule stopper 60, the cam surface 66, and the cam surface 80 of the receptacle housing 72 are provided in one pair. However, two pairs (one pair) are not necessarily required. May be. Further, the receptacle 70 may hold another optical component or another optical fiber instead of the light receiving / emitting element 74.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the optical connector of the present invention, when the plug and the receptacle are not fitted, the tip of the optical fiber is located inside the plug housing, so that it is protected from inadvertent contact with a finger or the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent scratches and dirt on the tip of the optical fiber, which may occur when handling the plug. On the other hand, when the plug and the receptacle are fitted together, the tip of the optical fiber is automatically and directly connected to an optical component such as a light emitting / receiving element or an optical fiber, so that the connecting portion is minimized, and thus the loss of the optical signal is reduced. It has a practically significant effect of minimizing it. In addition, since the protection function of the tip of the optical fiber can be obtained by adding a ferrule locking means in the plug and forming a cam surface in the receptacle, the protection function can be obtained without a significant increase in the number of parts and assembly steps. Is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plug constituting an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view of a receptacle, FIGS. 2 to 4 are cross-sectional views showing a fitting process of the plug and the receptacle of FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B show conventional examples of a receptacle and a plug, respectively. 1 Optical connector 10 Plug 12 Plug housing 30 Optical fiber 36 Ferrule 52 Spring (biasing means) 60 Ferrule stopper (ferrule locking means) 66 Cam surface (No. 1 cam surface) 70 receptacle 76 plug housing chamber 80 cam surface (second cam surface)

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A ferrule fixed to one end of an optical fiber, a plug housing accommodating the ferrule slidably along an axial direction of the optical fiber, and an urging means for urging the ferrule toward a tip end thereof. A plug having
An optical connector comprising a receptacle having a plug accommodating chamber into which the plug is inserted and fitted, wherein the plug has a first cam surface and engages with the ferrule to prevent the ferrule from moving in the tip direction. The receptacle has a second cam surface in the plug accommodating chamber, and the first and second cam surfaces are engaged with each other when the plug and the receptacle are fitted to each other. And moving the ferrule in a direction intersecting the tip direction of the ferrule to permit the ferrule to move in the tip direction. 2. A ferrule fixed to one end of an optical fiber, a plug housing accommodating the ferrule slidably along an axial direction of the optical fiber, and an urging device for urging the ferrule toward a tip end thereof. Means, said plug having a cam surface for cam-engaging with said receptacle and engaging with said ferrule to prevent movement of said ferrule in said distal direction. A plug having ferrule locking means, wherein the ferrule locking means is movable in a direction intersecting the tip direction of the ferrule. 3. A receptacle having a plug accommodating chamber into which a plug having an optical fiber is inserted and fitted, wherein the plug accommodating chamber is provided with a cam surface which engages with a ferrule locking means of the plug. Receptacle.