JP3527886B2 - Connector plug - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector plug of an optical connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various forms have been proposed for a local optical distribution system. Recently, due to the need for two-way communication and large-capacity communication, multi-fiber optical fiber wiring has been proposed on the premises. Among the promising optical connectors used in this, there is a connector using MT connector technology.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the MT connector.

The MT connector 10 comprises a ferrule 12 for positioning and fixing the optical fiber 11, a guide pin 13 and the like. The optical fiber 11 contains a plurality of fiber core wires, and its end is formed by the ferrule 12. By aligning the pair of ferrules 12 with the two guide pins 13,
The end faces of the optical fiber core wires mounted on the ferrules 12 are aligned with each other. By holding the pair of ferrules 12 by the clamp springs 14, the optical fibers 11 are connected to each other.

Based on the structure of the MT connector, the connection,
A typical example of an optical connector that can be easily disconnected is a modular jack type mini MT connector.

FIG. 9 shows the structure of a modular jack type mini MT connector. The modular jack type mini MT connector is an application of a housing structure used for an electrical connector to an optical connector.

This optical connector comprises a pair of RJ type connector plugs 20 (only one is shown) and an adapter 30. The above-mentioned MT connector plug 10 is incorporated in the connector plug 20. In this optical connector, the pair of connector plugs 20 are connected to the adapter 30 respectively.
, The end faces of the optical fiber core wires of the connector plugs 20 abut against each other, and the optical fibers of the connector plugs 20 are connected to each other. At that time, the connector plug 2
The engaging projection 21a of the elastic engaging piece 21 provided on one side surface of the connector 0 engages with the hole 41 of the adapter 30, whereby the connector plug 20 is locked to the adapter 30. Further, the connector plug 20 is detached from the adapter 30 by pulling out the connector plug 20 from the adapter 30 while pressing the elastic engagement piece 21 toward the plug body side.

[0008]

By the way, in such an optical connector, the end face of the optical fiber core wire is exposed at the connector end face, and when the connector plug 20 is detached from the adapter 30, this portion is removed. If dust or dirt adheres to the, connection loss will occur. Further, when such an optical connector is used in a local wiring system, when the connector plug 20 is removed from the adapter 30, it may be necessary to suppress the emission of light from the end face of the optical fiber core wire. This is because when light is emitted from the end face of the connector plug 20 in the state where the optical connector is disconnected (the state of the optical connector plug alone), depending on the system, the light may enter the human eyes and cause injury. Because there is a risk of

Of course, when the connector plug 20 is loaded in the adapter 30, it is necessary to emit light from the end surface of the connector plug 20.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents dust and dirt from adhering to the end face of the optical connector and emits light from the end face of the optical connector when the connector plug is removed from the adapter. It is a problem to be solved to provide a connector plug that prevents

[0011]

A connector plug according to the present invention holds an end portion of an optical fiber and a pair of guide pins.
A ferrule but which have a facet that protrudes, a housing for accommodating the ferrule with an end portion of said optical fiber,
Comprising a protection member for covering an end face of the ferrule is provided in the housing, a connector plug to be inserted in detachable vent to the adapter, the protective body, wherein
A main body part that is slidably attached to the housing along the insertion direction with respect to the adapter, and a rotary shaft
It is supported so as to open and close the double doors form via a pair of protective pieces covering is released against an end face of the ferrule in the open release state with the closing stopper-like <br/> state covers the end face of said ferrule, said It won't come off the housing
So that it can be locked in the locking hole formed in this housing.
Elastically displaceable hook pieces having lockable claws and the pair of protective pieces are integrally connected, and by an abutting portion provided on the adapter when the adapter is inserted. the vent Remove locking hole provided in the adapter with the operation from the adapter with shifting the pair of protective pieces to the open state before the pair of protective pieces
And a rotating piece for shifting to the closed state.

According to the present invention, since the protective member for covering the end face of the ferrule is provided, it is possible to prevent dust and dirt from adhering to the end face of the optical connector when the adapter is not loaded, and the optical connector is also provided. The emission of light from the end face can be blocked. Moreover, the connector plug is
Just insert or remove it from the connector to put a protective piece on the end face of the connector plug.
It can be positioned and retracted.

In the connector plug according to the present invention ,
The ferrule has a pair of guide pins protruding from its end face.
And a pair of protective pieces in the closed state.
It may accommodate the tip of the guide pin .

[0014]

Further , a plurality of light beams are provided between the pair of guide pins.
It may be a shall have the ends of the fibers are disposed.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an optical connector.

The optical connector comprises a pair of connector plugs 20.
(Only one is shown) and an adapter 30. Optical connection is made by inserting each connector plug 20 from both ends of the adapter 30.

The connector plug 20 has a housing 22 having a substantially rectangular cross section, a ferrule 12 housed in the housing 22, a protective body 40 provided at the tip of the connector, and the like. An optical fiber 25 whose end face is formed by the ferrule 12 is incorporated into the housing 22 of the connector plug 20 via a boot 23.

On one side surface of the housing 22, a cantilevered elastic engaging piece 21 having an engaging projection 21a is formed integrally with the housing 22. The elastic engagement piece 21 is elastically deformable in a groove space (not shown) formed inside the housing 22. Elastic engagement piece 21
A push button 21b protruding outward is formed at the end of the elastic engagement piece 2 by pushing the push button 21b.
By elastically deforming 1, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 21a and the hole 31 of the adapter 30 is released.

The ferrule 12 is a so-called MT type ferrule that holds a plurality of optical fiber core wires (not shown). Two guide pins 13 are projected from the end surface 12b of the ferrule 12. These guide pins 13 are inserted into guide pin insertion holes (not shown) formed in the ferrule end surface of the other connector plug 20. On the end face 12b of the ferrule 12, the end faces of the plurality of optical fiber core wires are exposed.

The ferrule 12 is slidably supported in the housing 22 in the optical axis direction. A spring (not shown) that biases the ferrule 12 forward is provided in the housing 22.

The adapter 30 has a tubular housing 32 having a rectangular cross section, and a cavity 33 into which the connector plug 20 is fitted is formed therein. Housing 3
2 is provided with a hole 31 that engages with the engagement protrusion 21a of the elastic engagement piece 21.

In this optical connector, when a pair of connector plugs 20 are respectively inserted from both sides of the adapter 30, the ferrule end faces 12b of the connector plugs 20 come into contact with each other, thereby terminating the optical fiber core wires of the connector plugs 20. The surfaces come into contact with each other, and the connector plugs 20 are optically connected.

At this time, since the end faces of the optical fiber core wires of the respective connector plugs 20 are aligned with each other by the guide pins 13, low loss connection characteristics can be obtained.

Next, the protective body 40, which is an essential part of the present invention, will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protective body 40 is provided at the end (light emitting portion) of the connector plug 20. The protective body 40 prevents dust and dirt from adhering to the end surface of the connector plug 20, and
It is possible to block the light emitted from the end face of the optical connector when is removed from the adapter 30. Further, the protection member 40 so also has the role of protecting the end surfaces of the co Nekutapuragu 20, there is an advantage in handling manner.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the protective body 40. Further, FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the connector plug 20 and the adapter 30 at the time of disconnection.

As shown in these figures, the protective body 40 is
A pair of main body portions 41 locked and fixed to the side surface of the housing 22 of the connector plug 20, a pair of protective pieces 42 for protecting the connector plug end surface (ferrule end surface 12b) and blocking outgoing light, and a pair of main bodies. It has the connection body 44 which connects the part 41.

A cantilevered elastically displaceable hook piece 46 is formed on the base end side of each body 41, and an inwardly projecting locking claw 46a is formed at the tip of the hook piece 46. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 3, by engaging these locking claws 46a with the locking holes 24 formed in the housing side surface of the connector plug 20, the protective body 40 is moved in the front-back direction (arrow A) with respect to the connector plug 20. It is fixed so that it can be moved. That is, the locking claws 46a and the locking holes 24 have tapered surfaces 46b and 24a, respectively,
As shown in FIG. 5, the connector plug 20 (housing 22) can be moved relative to the protective body 40.

A pair of shaft support portions 47 for rotatably supporting the rotary shaft 45 are formed on the tip end side of the main body portion 41. The protection piece 42 and the pair of rotation pieces 43 are fixed to the rotation shaft 45. Each of the protective pieces 42 rotates (opens and closes) in a double-door manner with respect to the main body 41 in a range of approximately 90 degrees between the state shown in FIG. 2 (when light is blocked) and the state shown in FIG. 3 (when light is blocked). . Similarly, the rotating piece 43 also rotates within a range of approximately 90 degrees between the state shown in FIG. 2 and the state shown in FIG. As will be described later, the rotating piece 43 acts on the locking hole 36 of the adapter 30 so that it can rotate.
A curved surface is formed.

A groove 48 for accommodating the tip of the guide pin 13 provided on the end face portion of the connector plug 20 is provided on the inner wall side of each protective piece 42. Further, at the tip of each protective piece 42, a convex portion 49a and a concave portion 49b that fit with the distal end side of the other protective piece 42 are formed.

When the protective piece 42 is in the closed state,
As shown in FIG. 3, the dimensions of the protective piece 42 or the mounting position of the rotary shaft 45 are set so that the base end portion 50 projects from the outer surface of the main body portion 41. 50 acts on the inner wall of the adapter 30, as will be described later, to rotate each protection piece 42 from the closed state to the open state.

As shown in FIG. 3, inside the housing 32 of the adapter 30, guide grooves 34 for guiding the base end portion 50 of each protection piece 42 are formed on both sides. An abutting portion 35 that prevents the base end portion 50 from further entering is formed at a predetermined position on the inner side of the guide groove 34. Further, locking holes 36 for locking the rotating piece 43 of the connector plug 20 are formed on both sides at the inner side thereof. Locking hole 3
6 has a curvature surface corresponding to the shape of the rotating piece 43. Since there are two rotating pieces 43 on one side, two locking holes 36 are formed on one side of the adapter 30.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the movement of each part of the above optical connector during optical connection will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the connector plug 20 is inserted into the cavity 33 of the adapter 30, the base end portion 50 of the protective piece 42 of the protective body 40 attached to the tip of the connector plug 20 becomes the adapter 30. By being guided along the guide groove 34, the connector plug 20 enters the back of the adapter 30.

When the connector plug 20 is further advanced, the base end portion 50 of the protective piece 42 interferes with the abutting portion 35 of the guide groove 34, and the protective piece 42 receives a reaction force from the abutting portion 35. As a result, each protection piece 42 rotates about the rotation axis 45 in the direction of arrow B. As a result, each protection piece 42
5, as shown in FIG. 5, is in a state of being opened on both sides and forming substantially the same surface as the main body portion 41. At this time, since the rotating piece 43 is locked in the locking hole 36, the protective piece 42 and the main body 41 are attached to the wall surface of the cavity 33 of the adapter 30 and integrated with the adapter 30 side. It becomes independent from the connector plug 20.

When the connector plug 20 is further inserted, the hook piece 46 is elastically deformed, as shown in FIG.
The engagement between the engagement claw 46a and the engagement hole 24 is released.

Thereafter, when the connector plug 20 is further inserted, the connector plug 20 further slides in the inner wall of the main body 41 and further into the inside of the adapter 5, and comes into contact with the other end surface of the connector plug. As a result, a pair of connector plugs are optically connected.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the movement of each part of the optical connector when the optical connection is released will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, at the first stage of pulling out the connector plug 20 from the adapter 30, the rotating piece 43 is used.
Is locked in the locking hole 36, and the protection piece 42 and the main body 41 are attached to the wall surface of the cavity 33 of the adapter 30 and integrated with the adapter 30 side.
The hook piece 46 is elastically deformed, and the locking claw 46a and the locking hole 24 are disengaged. Therefore, as the connector plug 20 retracts, the housing side surface of the connector plug 20 slides along the body portion 41 of the protective body 40.

Thereafter, the connector plug 20 is replaced by the adapter 3
When the connector plug 20 is further retracted from 0, the locking hole 24 of the connector plug 20 has the locking claw 46 of the hook piece 46 as shown in FIG.
It is retracted to the position where it engages with a. As a result, the locking claw 46a of the hook piece 46 fits into the locking hole 24, and the housing 22 of the connector plug 20 and the protective body 40 are integrated.

As a result, the protective body 40 also has the connector plug 2
Since the rotating piece 43 interferes with the locking hole 36 and receives a reaction force from the wall surface of the locking hole 36, the protective piece 42 moves in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIG. It rotates and becomes a closed state.

After that, the protective body 40, as shown in FIG.
The adapter 3 is integrated with the connector plug 20.
Removed from 0. At this time, the base end portion 50 of the protective piece 42 is guided along the guide groove 34 of the adapter 30, so that the connector plug 20 is pulled out from the adapter 30.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the connector plug 20 is inserted into or removed from the adapter 30, the end portions (the base end portion 50 and the rotating piece 43) of the pair of double-sided protective pieces 42 and the adapter 30 are separated. Since the pair of protective pieces 42 are opened and closed by utilizing the interference with the inner wall, only by inserting / removing the connector plug 20 into / from the adapter 30,
End face of connector plug 20, that is, ferrule end face 1
A protective piece 42 having a light shielding function can be attached to and detached from 2b.

Although the preferred embodiments have been described above, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the appended claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the pair of rotating pieces 43 have the shaft support portion 47 interposed therebetween, so that the protective piece 42 is provided.
However, the rotating piece 43 and the protective piece 42 may be integrated and rotatably supported by the shaft support portion 47.

The structure for opening and closing the protective piece 42 is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment. In short, when the adapter is not loaded, cover the end surface of the ferrule,
Any other mechanism as long as it can open and close the protective body 42 so that the cover is released at the time of loading on the adapter,
You may make it employ | adopt a structure.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the end face of the ferrule is covered when the adapter is not loaded, and the cover is removed when the ferrule is loaded into the adapter, a protective body is provided at the tip of the connector plug. It is possible to prevent the attachment of dust and dirt and the emission of light from the end face of the optical connector. Therefore, the optical connection failure is reduced, and the risk of the emitted light entering the eyes of the person and causing injury is eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical connector using a connector plug according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a protective body mounted on a connector plug.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state of a connector plug and an adapter before coupling.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a connector plug and an adapter during insertion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a connector plug and an adapter during insertion.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a connector plug and an adapter during withdrawal.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a connector plug and an adapter during withdrawal.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional MT connector.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional modular jack type mini MT connector plug.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 ferrules 12b Ferrule end face 13 Guide pin 20 connector plug 21 Elastic engagement piece 21a engagement protrusion 21b push button 22 housing 23 boots 24 Locking hole 24a Tapered surface 25 optical fiber 30 adapter 31 holes 32 Adapter housing 33 cavities 34 Guide groove 35 Abutting part 36 Locking hole 40 protective body 41 Body 42 Protective piece 44 connected body 45 rotation axis 46 hook pieces 46a locking claw 46b Tapered surface 47 Shaft support 48 grooves 49a convex part 49b recess 50 base end

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-281055 (JP, A) JP-A-11-242137 (JP, A) JP-A-3-9308 (JP, A) JP-A-11-258461 (JP , A) JP 10-300985 (JP, A) JP 8-320424 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/38

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of guides for holding an end portion of an optical fiber.
A ferrule Dopin to have a end face which protrudes, a housing for accommodating the ferrule with an end portion of said optical fiber, comprising a protective member covering an end face of the ferrule is provided in the housing, disconnect disconnect the adapter A connector plug that can be inserted, wherein the protective body is slidable in the insertion direction with respect to the adapter , is attached to the housing, and a main body is attached to the main body via a rotary shaft to open and close in a double-door manner. is supported so as to, engage against open and a pair of protective pieces covering is released in released state for the end face of the ferrule, locking hole formed in the housing covers the end face of the ferrule in the closed locked state Stop, prevent
A member that can regulate the retracted position of the housing with respect to the protective body
And elastically displaceable hook piece with a claw, is integrally connected to the pair of protective pieces, the said pair of protective pieces by abutting portion provided on the adapter with the insertion operation with respect to the adapter A connector plug comprising: a rotating piece that is moved to an open state, and a pair of protective pieces is moved to the closed state by a locking hole provided in the adapter when the adapter is pulled out from the adapter. . 2. A front Symbol pair of protective pieces connector plug according to claim 1, characterized in that to accommodate the tips of the pair of guide pins in its closed state. 3. A plurality of front parts are provided between the pair of guide pins.
Connector plug according that you have the end of the serial optical fiber is arranged in 請 <br/> Motomeko 2 shall be the features.