JP2854765B2 - Light switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical switch, and more particularly to an optical switch of a type in which a movable plug which can move in a switch box is selectively connected to a plurality of fixed plugs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A matrix-type optical switch is often used to efficiently inspect or monitor disconnection of a large number of optical fiber lines for maintenance and management of an optical transmission line. That is, in this optical switch, the plugs connected to the ends of the optical fiber wires are arranged and fixed in a matrix along one side surface of the switch box, while the moving plugs that can move along the side surface in the switch box are fixed. It is moved to selectively connect the fixed plug (referred to as a fixed plug), and the disconnection of the optical fiber line is performed by checking an inspection signal or the like passing through the connected optical fiber line. And so on.

[0003]

In such an optical switch, it is important to accurately connect the fixed plug and the movable plug. For this reason, this optical switch has a drawback that it is extremely difficult to accurately mount and fix a large number of fixing plugs to respective predetermined matrix arrangement points, including the mounting angle.

Further, in this optical switch, a fixed plug cannot be easily added at any time according to the application, and when the number of fixed plugs is increased, a dedicated optical switch must be separately prepared. .

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and can surely connect to a moving plug without assembling a fixed plug with high precision. In addition, the present invention provides an optical switch in which the number of fixed plugs can be easily increased as needed. Specifically, a plurality of fixed plugs arranged in a matrix along one mounting side of the switch box are provided. An optical switch in which a moving plug moving in the switch box is selectively connected, wherein a series of fixed plugs arranged in one row or column of the plurality of fixed plugs collectively constitute one plug. The fixed plugs are accommodated in the holder unit, and each of the fixed plugs is perpendicular to the mounting side surface in both the vertical and horizontal directions (Y and X directions) of the mounting side surface in the plug holder unit. The movable in three directions of the direction (Z-direction), and an optical switch, characterized in that the rotatably mounted around a small angle of the Z-direction line.

According to the present invention, in the optical switch, the plug holder unit is provided on the front plate with an L-shaped cross section.
Each of the fixing plugs has a substantially hollow prismatic shape formed by fixing a pair of side plates, and each fixing plug is disposed with a margin in the axial direction of the hollow portion, and a gap formed between the both side plates is a connecting portion of the fixing plug. The fixed plug has a width greater than the width, and a wide portion of the fixed plug is pressed and supported between the front plate and the side plate by a pressing spring. Movably in three directions, vertical and horizontal directions (Y and X directions) and a direction (Z direction) perpendicular to the mounting side surface.
An optical switch characterized by being mounted so as to be rotatable at a small angle around a direction line.

According to the present invention, in the optical switch, the plug holder unit has a rectangular plate shape.
A series of a plurality of pairs of support pins implanted therein are loosely engaged with fitting holes having a diameter larger than the diameter of the support pins drilled in a wide portion of the fixed plug for each pair. A pressing spring disposed around the support pin presses the wide portion of the fixed plug against a cover provided behind the fixed plug. With these configurations, the fixed plug is attached to the plug side in the plug holder unit. About the Z-direction and movable in three directions, that is, the vertical and horizontal directions (Y and X directions) and the direction (Z-direction) perpendicular to the mounting side surface. It is an optical switch characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, the ends of a series of a plurality of pairs of fitting springs provided in the plug holder unit engage with fitting holes formed in the fixed plug for each pair. Thereby, in the plug holder unit, the fixing plug is moved in both the vertical and horizontal directions (Y,
X direction) and direction perpendicular to the mounting side (Z direction)
The optical switch is mounted so as to be movable in three directions and to be rotatable at a small angle around the Z-direction line.

[0009]

[Function] Each fixed plug has three dimensions, that is, X,
It is movable in three directions, Y and Z, and is rotatable around the Z-direction axis. Therefore, even if the positioning with the moving plug is not so precise, the position of the fixed plug can be finely adjusted and By changing the angle of the axis of the fixed plug, connection with a low connection loss with the movable plug can be made.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the plug holder unit 3, which is a main component, and the mounting state of the fixed plug 2 in the plug holder unit 3 will be described. The plug holder unit 3 is provided on the front plate 33 with a pair of side plates 3 having an L-shaped cross section.
The L-shaped horizontal sides are opposed to each other and are fixed to each other so as to define a gap 5 between the ends thereof, which is larger than the connection portion width of the fixed plug 2 by an appropriate small distance e. Side plate 3
End plates are attached to the longitudinal ends of the base plates 1 and 32 as needed, and both ends of the front plate 33 are extended from these end plates to form attachment extension portions 33A. Here, a screw hole 33C for fixing the plug holder unit 3 to the switch box 4 is formed. 3, a long hole 33B is formed in the front plate 33 at a position corresponding to the gap 5.

The above-described structure of the plug holder unit 3 has a configuration in which both ends of one side 33 of a long and thin hollow rectangular parallelepiped are extended in the longitudinal direction to form a mounting extension 33A, and the side 33 is opposed to this side. Long holes 33B and 5 extending in the longitudinal direction may be considered to be formed at positions corresponding to each other with respect to the side surfaces to be formed, and these are recognized to be substantially identical to each other.

Next, the mounting state of the fixed plug 2 in the plug holder unit 3 will be described.
Is protruded from the gap 5 described above, and the wide portion 21 following this is disposed in a prism-shaped space formed between the side plates 32 and 33. Thus, it is understood that the fixed plug 2 has a degree of freedom to move by the amount e in the X-axis direction shown in FIG.
The surface of the wide portion 21 of the fixing plug 2 on the side of the tape core 1 is shown in FIG.
As is clearly shown in FIG.
It is pressed and fixed to 1, 32 L-shaped sides. Reference numeral 61 in FIG.
Reference numeral 62 denotes a spring seat recess formed in a cylindrical shape, and reference numeral 62 denotes a spring support pin coaxially implanted at the bottom of the spring seat recess 61. With this configuration, it can be seen that the fixed plug 2 has a degree of freedom to move in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 2 by the compressible amount of the coil spring 6. Also, in order to limit the amount of movement in the longitudinal direction between the fixed plugs 2 provided in the longitudinal direction of the space between the side plates 31, 32, the pins 7 are planted with an allowance of a margin f of size f. Is established. With this configuration, the fixed plug 2 has a degree of freedom of movement having a length f also in the Y-axis direction. In view of the above-mentioned margin e in the X-axis direction at the connecting portion of the fixed plug 2 and the method of pressing and fixing by the coil spring 6, the fixed plug 2 has a small angle of freedom about the Z-axis. Can understand. In summary, in the plug holder unit 3, the fixed plug 2
It can be seen that is capable of moving in each of the X, Y, and Z directions and rotating to some extent about the Z axis, and has a considerably large degree of freedom in mounting.

The manner in which the plug holder unit 3 described above is attached to the switch box 4 is apparent in FIG. That is, a mounting hole 41A having a size corresponding to the mounting side surface 41 of the switch box 4 is formed.
A simple operation of inserting the plug holder unit 3 into A with the front plate 31 protruding from the front side and screwing and fixing using the screw hole 33C may be performed. As a result, the fixing plugs 2 (not shown in FIG. 1, which are hidden behind the front plate 33) attached to the ends of the tape core wires 1 can be arranged in a matrix along the mounting side surface 41. As is apparent from FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a series of fixed plugs included in one row (a direction extending vertically) of the fixed plugs arranged in a matrix are housed in the plug holder unit 3. However, if the plug holder unit 3 is formed so as to extend in the lateral direction of FIG. 1, the fixed plug group included in one row of the fixed plugs arranged in a matrix along the mounting side surface 41 is changed. That is, it can be attached to and detached from the switch box 4 at a time.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the plug holder unit 8 has a substantially rectangular plate shape,
In the axial direction) at appropriate intervals, a series of pairs of diameters d
Support pins 12 are implanted. Each pair of support pins 12,12 is shown in a pair of mating holes 22,22 having a diameter D which is substantially larger than the aforementioned diameter d, drilled in the wide portion 21 of the fixed plug 2, as shown in FIG. 5 engages loosely as also clearly shown. On the other hand, these support pins 12
In this configuration, a coil-shaped pressing spring 13 is inserted and arranged, and the fixing plug 2 is pressed against a holding cover 9 disposed behind the fixing plug 2. With this configuration, it can be seen that each fixed plug 2 has considerable freedom of movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions shown in FIG. Pressing spring 13
It can be understood that by compressing, the movable portion can be moved in the Z-axis direction by an amount that can be compressed, and a small angle rotation about the Z-axis is also possible. Reference numeral 10 denotes an alignment pin between the plug holder unit 8 and the cover 9,
Reference numeral 11 denotes a plug holder unit 8 and a switch box 4
2 shows an alignment pin for mounting with the mounting side surface 41.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a fitting spring 15 having the functions of the support pin 12 and the pressing spring 13 in the embodiment shown in FIG. The feature is that it is used. That is, the fitting spring 15 has a fitting pin portion 15A having a shape in which one end of the coil spring is raised at the center axis position of the coil spring as clearly shown in FIG. 7, and the spring seat 15B is relatively formed. The fitting spring 15 is deeply drilled to more stably seat the fitting spring 15. The fitting pin portion 15 is used as the fitting hole 22A.
The diameter can be set to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of A, and in this regard, quite precise positioning is possible. In the case of this embodiment having the above configuration, even when an unexpected external force is applied, such as when the head on the moving side malfunctions and does not fit well on the fixed plug 2, the head is fitted due to the flexibility of the coil spring. There is no fear that the mating pin portion 15A is bent or bent, and conversely, a high positioning accuracy with the mating hole 22A is obtained because of the rigidity of the mating pin portion 15A formed of a material such as spring steel. There are advantages. Although not particularly shown, a conical fitting spring in which the coil diameter is reduced to a conical shape, or a spring having a smaller outer diameter than the fitting hole even when the coil diameter of the fitting spring itself is unchanged in the axial direction. Variations are also considered similar to this embodiment.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the fixed plugs of the switch box can be assembled and detached together in the plug holder unit, so that there is an advantage that the handling of the fixed plugs is extremely easy including the addition and reduction of the fixed plugs. Further, in the optical switch of the present invention, since each fixed plug is mounted with a high degree of freedom, various connection losses are almost caused to the moving plug even if the positional accuracy of the matrix-shaped arrangement points is not so high. There is an effect that can be connected as if not.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a partially broken plug holder unit used in the optical switch of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the plug holder unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a fitting spring used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tape core wire 2 Fixing plug 21 Wide part 22 and 22A Fitting hole 3,8 Plug holder unit 31,32 Side plate 33 Front plate 4 Switch box 41 Mounting side face 5 Void 6,13 Press spring 9 Press cover 15 Fitting spring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yokosuka 1440 Mutsuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Fujikura Sakura Plant (72) Inventor Naoyuki Atobe 1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Stock Corporation In-company (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G02B 26/08 G02B 6/40

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of fixed plugs (2) arranged in a matrix along one mounting side surface (41) of a switch box (4) are moved in the switch box (4). In an optical switch in which a moving plug is selectively connected, a series of fixed plugs arranged in one row or column among the plurality of fixed plugs are collectively combined into one plug holder unit (3, 8). Each of the fixed plugs (2) is attached to the plug holder unit (3, 8) in both the vertical and horizontal directions (Y, X directions) with respect to the mounting side surface (41) and the direction (Z) perpendicular to the mounting side surface.
The optical switch is mounted so as to be movable in three directions (i.e., directions) and to be rotatable at a small angle around the Z-direction line. 2. The plug holder unit (3) has a substantially hollow prism shape formed by fixing a pair of side plates (31, 32) having an L-shaped cross section to a front plate (33). )
Are arranged with a margin in the axial direction of this hollow part,
The gap portion (5) formed between the both side plates has a width larger than the connection portion width of the fixed plug, and the wide portion (21) of the fixed plug has a pressing spring between the front plate and the side plate. The fixing plug is pressed and supported by (6), so that the fixing plug is perpendicular to both the vertical and horizontal directions (Y, X directions) of the mounting side surface (41) and the mounting side surface in the plug holder unit (3). Direction (Z
The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch is mounted so as to be movable in three directions (i.e., directions) and to be rotatable at a small angle around the Z-direction line. 3. The plug holder unit (8) has a rectangular plate shape, and a series of a plurality of pairs of support pins (12) implanted in the plug holder unit (8) has a wide width of the fixing plug (2) for each pair. A pressure spring (22) loosely engaged with a fitting hole (22) having a diameter (D) larger than the diameter (d) of the support pin formed in the portion (21), and disposed around the support pin. 13)
Presses the wide portion of the fixing plug against the holding cover (9) disposed behind the fixing plug, whereby the fixing plug is fixed to the plug holder unit (8) with respect to the mounting side surface (41). Both vertical and horizontal directions (Y and X directions) and a direction perpendicular to the mounting side (Z
The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch is mounted so as to be movable in three directions (i.e., directions) and to be rotatable at a small angle around the Z-direction line. 4. An end of a series of a plurality of pairs of fitting springs (15) disposed on the plug holder unit (8) is provided with a pair of fitting springs drilled in the fixing plug (2) for each pair. Hole (22
A), whereby the fixed plug is mounted in the plug holder unit (8) on the mounting side surface (4).
1) movable in three directions of both vertical and horizontal directions (Y and X directions) and a direction perpendicular to the mounting side (Z direction),
The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch is attached so as to be rotatable at a small angle around the Z-direction line.