JP2938273B2 - Optical connector - 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 fiber connector used for optical communication and the like, and more particularly, to optically connect two optical fiber connecting plugs by bringing their ends into contact with each other. It relates to an optical connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a conventional plug and adapter for connecting an optical fiber, an FC (Fiber Conn.)
FIG. 5 shows the structure of the plug D and the single-core adapter E of the (ector) optical connector.

A plug D to which an optical fiber cord 30 is connected
Are the ferrule 31, the plug frame 32, the pressing spring 3
3. The optical fiber cord 30 includes an optical fiber cord 37 and a Kevlar 38. The optical fiber cord 30 includes a rotation stopper fitting 34, a tightening nut 35, and a hood 36. Further, the ferrule 31 is composed of a sleeve (not shown) and a flange (not shown), and an optical fiber (not shown) obtained by removing the coating from the fiber core 37 is fixed in the ferrule 31. I have.

The single-core adapter E is a ferrule 3
It is composed of a split sleeve 38 for holding the sleeve 1, a sleeve holder 39, and a housing 40.

When plugs D are inserted from both ends of the single-core adapter E, a pressing force is applied to the end faces of the ferrules 31 that abut against each other by a pressing spring 33, so that a physical contact is formed between the end faces of the optical fiber.

[0006]

The FC type optical connector of the screw fastening type and the SC (Single Coupling) type optical connector of the push-on type not shown are both provided with a ferrule and a ferrule pressing spring inside the plug.
Since the spring fixing portion, the caulking mechanism for fixing the Kevlar, and the like are accommodated, there is a limit to downsizing of the plug.

Further, when connecting an FC type optical connector, it is necessary to fasten a screw. Further, when connecting an SC type optical connector, since the plug shape is rectangular, the plug position is determined in a specific direction and the plug is inserted there. It had to be inserted towards the adapter. Therefore, when these connections are to be automated by a robot or the like, there is a problem that a mechanism with multiple degrees of freedom is required for the robot hand, and the robot mechanism and its control are complicated and huge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector in which the size of a plug is reduced and the application of simple automation of connection work is applied.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an optical connector comprising a plug for connecting an optical fiber and an adapter into which the plug is fitted. A cylindrical flange having a plurality of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction of the side surface and holding the sleeve at the distal end, and one end fixed to the sleeve side of the flange in the groove. A leaf spring whose other end is a free end, a middle portion has a triangular bent portion whose free end side is stepped, and the bent portion is pushed into the groove when pressed. The adapter comprises: a cylindrical plug insertion hole that penetrates linearly from one side to the other; and a cylindrical spring movable space formed in a stepped shape with a large diameter inside both ends of the plug insertion hole, 2 plugs above By inserting the lead from the plug insertion hole on both sides of the adapter with the tip as the tip, the bent portion of the leaf spring is locked to the step-shaped portion of the spring movable space and pressed by the wall surface of the spring movable space. Is configured so that the tip of the sleeve is pressed coaxially.

[0010]

According to the present invention, since the pressing leaf spring is arranged in the groove of the flange of the plug, the size of the plug can be significantly reduced. In addition, since only a small spring movable space for pressing and locking the leaf spring is required on the adapter side, high-density mounting is possible. Further, since the plug flange and the spring movable space are formed in a cylindrical shape, there is no directivity with respect to the central axis, and the mechanism and control when the plug and the adapter are automatically connected by the robot can be simplified.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a single-fiber connector comprising a plug A and a single-fiber adapter B of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view before fitting thereof. The plug A includes a plug sleeve 1, a flange 2 holding the sleeve 1 at the front end, a Kevlar caulking portion 3 at the rear end of the flange 2, a hood 4 for covering the Kevlar caulking portion 3, and the like. 5 is an optical fiber cord, 6 is an optical fiber core, 7 is an optical fiber, and 8 is a Kevlar.

When the plug A is attached to the optical fiber cord 5, the optical fiber 7 is connected to the plug sleeve 1.
The Kevlar 8 is fixed to the rear end of the flange 2 at the Kevlar caulking part 3 in the hole of the above.

The flange 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a plurality of (upper and lower in FIG. 1) grooves 9 on the side surface in the longitudinal direction, and a leaf spring 10 is mounted in each of the grooves 9.
The fixed end 11 of the leaf spring 10 is on the side of the sleeve 1 and the free end 12 is on the side of the Kevlar caulking portion 3, and a triangular bent portion 13 is formed in the middle thereof so that the free end 12 is a step. ing. And this leaf spring 10 has a free end 1
2 is pressed against the bottom side of the groove 9 to form the bent portion 13.
Have dimensions and a structure that can be accommodated in the groove 9.

The free end 12 of the leaf spring 10 has a substantially cylindrical shape whose side surface follows the outer shape of the flange 2 as shown in FIG. When holding the plug A, or when holding the plug A with an insertion / extraction tool at the time of a connection operation by hand, directionality with respect to the central axis is lost. The free end 12
The shape shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is not the only shape, and may be a shape that matches the shape of the robot hand or the shape of the insertion / extraction tool.

On the other hand, the single-core adapter B has an adapter housing 14 having the same shape on both sides, a plug insertion hole 15 formed so as to penetrate the housing 14, and a split member arranged at the center of the plug insertion hole 15. A sleeve 16 is provided, and a spring movable space 17 having an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the plug insertion hole 15 is formed at both ends of the plug insertion hole 15 in a cylindrical and stepped shape. Step portion 1 outside this spring movable space 17
Reference numeral 8 denotes a locking portion for locking the bent portion 13 of the leaf spring 10 of the plug A. Further, the split sleeve 16 is held undetachably by a step 19 inside the plug insertion hole 15. Reference numeral 20 denotes a mounting portion, and reference numeral 21 denotes a mounting screw hole. These shapes are not unique, and can be changed according to use conditions.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional shape when the plug A and the single-core adapter B are fitted. When the plug A is inserted through the plug insertion hole 15 of the single-core adapter B, the leaf spring 10 of the plug A bends along the bottom surface of the groove 9 of the plug A. When the insertion of the plug A is further advanced, the bent portion 13 of the leaf spring 10 is moved to the spring movable space 17 of the adapter B.
, The leaf spring 10 opens there. Leaf spring 1
After opening 0, even if the plug A is pulled out, the bent portion 13 is locked by the step 18 of the spring movable space 17, so that the free end 12 of the leaf spring 10 is pushed in the direction of the groove 9. The plug A cannot be removed unless the plug A is subsequently pulled.

Regarding the dimensions of the leaf spring 10 and the spring movable space 17, when the plugs A are inserted into the single-core adapter B from both sides and a pressing force is applied to the distal end surfaces of the sleeve 1, both plugs A The leaf spring 10 is set to have such a size that the bent leaf spring 13 is locked to the stepped portion 18.

As described above, since the bent portion 13 of the leaf spring 10 is locked to the stepped portion 18, a pressing force is applied to the front end surfaces of the sleeves 1 of the plugs A and the plugs A
Are connected by the single-core adapter B. When the plug A is fitted into the single-core adapter B, the free end 12 is opened by pushing the free end 12 of the leaf spring in advance and inserting the plug A until the bent portion 13 reaches the spring movable space 17. The bent portion 13 may be locked to the step portion 18. When the plug A is to be removed from the adapter B, if the free end 12 of the leaf spring 10 is pushed in, the bent portion 13 is removed from the stepped portion 18.

FIG. 4 shows the appearance of a multi-core optical connector in which a multi-core adapter C in which a plurality of single-core adapters B are combined and a plug A which can be shared for single-core and multi-core are combined. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the four-fiber optical connector which arranged the plug insertion hole in a line here. The multi-core adapter C includes an adapter box 22, four penetrating plug insertion holes 23, and four split sleeves (not shown) set at the center of each plug insertion hole 23. Reference numeral 24 denotes a mounting portion of the multi-core adapter, and reference numeral 25 denotes a screw hole for mounting. However, these are not the only ones, and can be changed according to use conditions. Although FIG. 4 shows an example of a four-core adapter, adapters other than four-core adapters can be similarly configured.

[0020]

As described above, the optical connector according to the present invention is provided with a leaf spring disposed in the groove on the side surface of the flange.
The plug is pressed in the adapter in the distal direction, and at the same time, the plug is locked to the adapter. The adapter may be provided with a small spring movable space for pressing and locking the leaf spring. , And high-density mounting becomes possible. Also, since the plug flange is cylindrical and the plug insertion hole and spring movable space of the adapter are also cylindrical, the plug can be inserted simply without considering the direction of the plug when connecting the plug. During automatic connector connection, the robot mechanism and its control can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plug and a single-core adapter of an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the plug and the single-core adapter of the optical connector separated from each other.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the plug of the optical connector and a single-core adapter in a fitted state.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a plug and a multicore adapter of an optical connector according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional single-core optical connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

A: Plug, 1: Plug sleeve, 2: Flange, 3:
Kevlar caulking part, 4: Hood, 5: Optical fiber cord,
6: Optical fiber core, 7: Optical fiber, 8: Kevlar, 9: Groove, 10: Leaf spring, 11: Fixed end, 12: Free end, 13: Bent, B: Single core adapter, 14 : Adapter box, 15: Plug insertion hole, 16: Split sleeve, 1
7: Spring movable space, 18: step, 19: step, 20: adapter mounting part, 21: screw hole for mounting, C: multi-core adapter, 22: adapter box, 23: plug insertion hole, 24:
Adapter mounting part, 25: screw hole for mounting.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G02B 6/36 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An optical connector comprising: a plug for connecting an optical fiber; and an adapter into which the plug is fitted, wherein the plug exposes and holds an optical fiber at a distal end, and the sleeve. And a cylindrical flange having a plurality of grooves along the longitudinal direction of the side surface, one end fixed to the sleeve side in the groove of the flange, the other end being a free end, and an intermediate portion A flat spring having a triangular bent portion having a stepped shape on the free end side, wherein the bent portion is pushed into the groove when pressed, and the adapter linearly penetrates from one side to the other side. A cylindrical plug insertion hole to be formed, and a cylindrical spring movable space formed in a stepped shape with a large diameter inside both ends of the plug insertion hole. Adapter By being inserted from the plug insertion holes on both sides, the bent portion of the leaf spring is engaged with the step-shaped portion of the spring movable space and pressed by the wall surface of the spring movable space,
An optical connector characterized in that both sleeve tips are coaxially pressed. 2. The light according to claim 1, wherein the adapter has a plurality of the plug insertion holes, and the spring movable space is formed inside both ends of each of the plug insertion holes. Connector.