JP2635765B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector for connecting an optical fiber, and more particularly to an optical connector of the type in which an end face is mated with a mating optical connector and the optical fiber is aligned with a positioning pin. It is about connectors.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

An example of this type of conventional optical connector is shown in FIG. This optical connector 11 is placed in a plastic block 12,
A pair of parallel pin holes 13 are formed perpendicular to the front end face A, and a required number of optical fiber insertion holes 14 are formed between the pin holes 13 in parallel with the pin holes 13 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship. It was done.

This optical connector 11 is used for connecting a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core or the like. When connecting, remove the covering of the end of the core to expose the optical fiber, insert the optical fiber into the optical fiber insertion hole 14, and fix the end of the core to the optical connector 11 with an adhesive or the like. Then, the end face A is polished. In this state, the two optical connectors 11 are joined together as shown in FIG. 7 (16 is a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber).
If the positioning pin 15 is inserted so as to straddle the pin hole 13, the optical fibers of both optical connectors 11 are aligned and optically connected.

It is to be noted that an optical connector of this type in which the connection state of an optical fiber is switched is also known (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-92321, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-85522, etc.).

This type of optical connector can be mass-produced by plastic molding, so that it is inexpensive. Moreover, since the optical fiber can be positioned only by inserting the optical fiber into the optical fiber insertion hole, the work of attaching to the end of the optical fiber is also easy. . However, since the material is plastic, there is a problem in long-term reliability in terms of stability against temperature change, deterioration, and the like, and there is a problem that the accuracy of the pin hole is liable to decrease particularly.

For this reason, it is conceivable to manufacture an optical connector having a structure as shown in FIG. 6 using ceramic or metal. However, it is difficult to form an extremely thin optical fiber insertion hole with high accuracy using ceramic or metal.

On the other hand, a ceramic or metal optical connector having a structure as shown in FIG. 8 is known. The optical connector 21 includes a substrate 22 and a cover plate 23 put on the substrate 22. The substrate 22 has a pair of parallel positioning grooves (usually V-grooves) 24 formed on the surface facing the cover plate 23 perpendicular to the front end face A and between the positioning grooves 24 in parallel with the positioning grooves 24. A required number of optical fiber mounting grooves (usually V-grooves) 25 are formed in the structure.

For example, when connecting a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core with this optical connector 21, the optical fiber 17 exposed at the end of the core 16 is set in the optical fiber mounting groove 25 as shown in FIG. Then, after the covering portion 18 of the core wire 16 is set in the covering portion mounting groove 26, a cover plate 23 is placed on the covering portion 18 via an adhesive to integrate the whole, and the end surface is polished. In this state, the two optical connectors 21 are brought together by inserting the positioning pins 15 so as to straddle the positioning grooves 24 of the optical connectors 21 as shown in the figure.
The optical fibers 17 are centered and optically connected.

Since this optical connector is made of ceramic or metal and is manufactured by grinding the surface of the substrate, it has extremely high accuracy and excellent long-term reliability. However, it is difficult to set the optical fiber in the optical fiber mounting groove, and even if it is set, the optical fiber is easy to move until the cover plate is covered.
Difficulty in assembly workability. In addition, since the optical fiber mounting groove and the positioning groove are adjacent to each other, the adhesive may also enter the positioning groove, thereby lowering the positioning accuracy or
There is a disadvantage that the positioning pin cannot be removed. Further, since precision grinding is required, the productivity is low and the cost is extremely high (more than 10 times that of plastic).

[Means for solving the problem and its operation]

The present invention provides an optical connector that solves the above-described problems of the related art, and has a configuration including a substrate and a cover plate that covers the substrate, and the substrate is made of ceramic or metal. A parallel positioning groove for mounting a positioning pin is formed on a surface facing the lid plate, and a hole is formed inside the positioning groove in the same direction as the positioning groove. Is characterized in that a resin molded body is clogged and an optical fiber insertion hole is formed in the resin molded body while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship with the groove.

In this optical connector, a substrate is made of ceramic or metal, and a positioning groove is formed on the surface thereof, so that high accuracy and long-term reliability can be obtained. In addition, since the optical fiber is inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole for positioning, it can be easily attached to the end of the optical fiber, and there is no possibility that the adhesive may enter the positioning groove. Furthermore, since the optical fiber insertion hole is formed in the resin molded body filled in the hole by forming a hole in the substrate, it can be easily formed at the time of molding the resin molded body, and the cost can be reduced. is there.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. The optical connector 31 is made of a ceramic or metal substrate.
32, and a lid plate 33 to be put on it. Lid plate 33
Is a plate having a smooth surface, which is the same as that used in the conventional optical connector shown in FIG.

The substrate 32 has a pair of parallel positioning grooves 34 for mounting positioning pins on a surface facing the cover plate 33. The feature of this optical connector is that a hole 35 is formed in the same direction as the positioning groove 34 in the substrate 32 between the positioning grooves 34, and a resin molded body 36 is clogged in the hole 35, A required number of optical fiber insertion holes 37 are formed in the resin molded body 36 in parallel with the positioning groove 34 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship.

The resin molded body 36 has a portion 36a protruding from the rear end surface of the substrate 32, and a guide groove 38 for inserting an optical fiber into the optical fiber insertion hole 37 is provided on the upper surface of the protruding portion 36a.
And a coating portion mounting groove 39 for the optical fiber.

The resin molded body 36 is formed by injecting a resin into the hole 35 of the substrate 32 and solidifying the resin. That is, the substrate 32 is set at the front of the mold that forms the protrusion 36a of the resin molded body,
The molding is performed with the hole 35 of the substrate 32 as a part of the cavity. At this time, if the core pin for forming the optical fiber insertion hole 37 in the hole 35 is arranged so as to have a predetermined positional relationship with the positioning groove 34, the optical fiber insertion hole 37 can be formed with high precision. it can. Therefore, the dimensional accuracy of the hole 35 may be low.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the substrate 32 and the cover plate 33 are integrated by inserting the optical connector 31 having the above-described configuration into the frame 41 and tightening it with the screws 42. The positioning pin 43 is held by the inner surface of the positioning groove 34 and the lower surface of the lid 33, and the optical connector insertion hole
A predetermined positional relationship with the optical fiber inserted into 37 is maintained.

By the way, when the substrate and the cover plate are made of ceramic, the hardness of the end surface decreases in the order of the substrate and the cover plate> optical fiber> resin molded body.
As shown in (1), a slight dent is formed on the end face of the resin molded body 36, and the end face of the optical fiber 44 is slightly receded from the end faces of the substrate 32 and the cover plate 33. Therefore, when the end face of the optical connector 31 is brought into contact with the end face of the mating optical connector, the optical fiber 44
The end surface of the resin molded body 36 is hardly damaged because it does not directly hit the other end, and a matching oil pool is formed between the end surfaces of the resin molded body 36, so that the matching oil can be held for a long time, which is convenient.

When the optical connector of the present invention is used as a switchable optical connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-92321, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 63-85522, etc., one of the parallel positioning grooves or Both sides may be formed so as to have a large width so that the positioning pins can be moved laterally inside.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the positioning of the optical connectors is performed by using a ceramic or metal substrate and a cover plate, and an optical fiber insertion hole is formed in a resin molded body integrally provided in the substrate. Since the optical fiber is inserted and fixed, it is possible to obtain an optical connector that has good positioning accuracy, is excellent in long-term reliability, can be easily attached to the end of the optical fiber, and is relatively inexpensive.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an optical connector according to one embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the optical connector of FIG. 1 without a cover plate, and FIG.
Fig. 5 is a front view showing a state where the optical connector of Fig. 1 is incorporated in a frame, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after polishing the end face of the optical connector of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a conventional optical connector. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a connection state of the optical connector, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another example of the conventional optical connector, and FIG. 9 is a connection of the optical connector. It is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state. 31: optical connector, 32: board, 33: lid plate, 34: positioning groove, 3
5: hole, 36: resin molded body, 37: optical fiber insertion hole, 43: positioning pin.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Joh Takeuchi 6 Yawata Kaigandori, Ichihara-shi, Chiba Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Chiba Works (72) Inventor Hideyo Kawazoe 6 Yawata-kaigandori, Ichihara-shi, Chiba Furukawa Electric Chiba Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Yamada 6 Yawata Kaigandori, Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A substrate, and a cover plate placed on the substrate.
The substrate is made of ceramic or metal, has parallel positioning grooves for mounting positioning pins formed on a surface facing the lid plate, and has holes inside the positioning grooves in the same direction as the positioning grooves. An optical connector, wherein a resin molded body is filled in the hole, and an optical fiber insertion hole is formed in the resin molded body while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship with the groove. .