JP4140509B2 - Connector coupling auxiliary member and optical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector coupling auxiliary member and an optical connector for fitting a connector plug to an adapter.

As a connector plug fitted to the adapter, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, a ferrule that holds an optical fiber, a housing that houses the ferrule, and a housing that is locked to the adapter when inserted into the adapter There is known an elastic engagement piece and a stopper that locks the movement of the elastic engagement piece.
JP 2000-147323 A

  When a connector plug is used as an on-site optical connector, it may be necessary to fit the connector plug to another type of adapter having a different structure from a regular adapter that directly fits the connector plug. However, a connector plug with a latch function such as an elastic engagement piece and a stopper as in the above prior art can be fitted to another type of adapter (for example, a normal SC connector adapter), but is difficult to remove. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector coupling auxiliary member and an optical connector that enable a connector plug to be detachably fitted to another type of adapter.

The connector coupling auxiliary member of the present invention accommodates a connector plug having a latch portion for fitting to and latching with a predetermined adapter, and is attached to and detached from another adapter having a structure different from that of the predetermined adapter. is freely, a housing for fitting the connector plug to the other adapters, when the connector plug accommodated in a housing fitted to the other adapters, engagement for locking the connector plug in other adapters And the housing has a stepped portion forming a space for accommodating the latch portion, and the locking means is formed on both sides of the stepped portion of the housing, and is a connector plug accommodated in the housing. It has the window part which exposes the latching | locking part.

When the connector plug is fitted to another type of adapter having a structure different from that of the adapter to be directly fitted, the connector plug is accommodated in the housing of the connector coupling auxiliary member. Then, fitting the front end side portion of the housing to the adapter, to lock the connector plug to the adapter by the locking means. On the other hand, when removing the connector plug from the adapter releases the locked state of the connector plug and the adapter by the locking means, pull out the connector plug from the adapter. Thus, by using the connector coupling auxiliary member, the connector plug can be detachably fitted to another type of adapter.

The housing has a stepped portion that forms a space for accommodating the latch portion. Thereby, in a state where the connector plug is fitted to another adapter, the latch portion is protected.

Moreover, locking means are formed on both sides of the stepped portion of the housing has a window portion for exposing the engagement portion of the connector plug accommodated in the housing. Thus, when the housing containing the connector plug is fitted into another adapter, for example, the locking portion of the adapter enters the housing from the window portion and engages with the locking portion of the connector plug. The housing is reliably prevented from coming out.

The optical connector of the present invention is fitted to a predetermined adapter, and a connector plug having a latch portion for latching relative to the adapter, and a connector coupling auxiliary member which is assembled to the connector plug, the connector coupling auxiliary member The connector plug is housed and detachable from another adapter having a structure different from that of the predetermined adapter. The housing for fitting the connector plug into the other adapter, and the connector plug housed in the housing to the other adapter. And a locking means for locking the connector plug to another adapter when fitted, and the housing has a stepped portion that forms a space for accommodating the latch portion. The means has a window portion formed on both sides of the stepped portion of the housing and exposing the locking portion of the connector plug accommodated in the housing. It is characterized in that that.

  By providing the above-described connector coupling auxiliary member in this manner, as described above, it can be detachably fitted to another type of adapter having a different structure from the regular adapter for directly fitting the connector plug.

  Preferably, the connector plug includes a ferrule that holds the optical fiber, and a mechanical splice that is fixed to the ferrule and mechanically connects the optical fiber and another optical fiber. In this case, the on-site assembly of the optical connector can be easily performed.

Preferably, the connector plug is provided with a ferrule for holding an optical fiber, a latch part and a locking part, a main connector housing for accommodating the ferrule, a rear connector housing integrated with the ferrule, and a rear connector housing And an optical cable fixed to the rear connector housing by the cable fixing member so as to move in conjunction with the ferrule. In this case, even when the ferrule is retracted when the connector plug and the adapter are coupled (connector coupling), the optical fiber exposed from the outer sheath of the optical cable does not bend. Therefore, the connector plug can be shortened without increasing the bending loss of the optical fiber.

The connector plug includes a ferrule that holds the optical fiber, a latch portion and a locking portion, a main connector housing that accommodates the ferrule, a rear connector housing that is fixed to a rear end portion of the main connector housing, A cable fixing member for fixing the optical cable to the connector housing, and the rear connector housing has an inner wall that forms a space for deflecting the optical fiber exposed from the outer sheath of the optical cable when the ferrule is retracted. The length from the front end of the outer sheath of the optical cable fixed to the rear connector housing by the fixing member to the inner wall on the front end side of the rear connector housing may be 15 mm or more . In this case, the bending loss of the optical fiber can be suppressed by setting the fiber length of the optical fiber exposed from the outer sheath of the optical cable to a certain value or more. Further, even when the optical cable is pulled, no tensile force is applied to the ferrule, so that it is possible to prevent instantaneous disconnection of the connector plug and the connector adapter (connector connection).

  According to the present invention, the connector plug can be detachably fitted to another type of adapter having a structure different from that of the adapter that can be directly fitted. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Preferred embodiments of a connector coupling auxiliary member and an optical connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a vertical sectional view showing a connector plug which is a part of an embodiment of an optical connector according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the connector plug shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the connector plug shown in FIG. 1.

  In each figure, the optical connector 1 of this embodiment is an on-site assembly type single-core optical connector to which an optical cable such as an outdoor cable (drop cable) or an indoor cable (indoor cable) is connected.

  A connector plug 2 which is a part of the optical connector 1 is an SC-RJ male plug having a latch function for preventing disconnection. The connector plug 2 has a cylindrical ferrule 3 and a mechanical splice 4 disposed on the rear side of the ferrule 3.

  The ferrule 3 holds a short optical fiber (bare fiber) 5 in advance. The short optical fiber 5 is fixed to the ferrule 3 with an adhesive or the like. The front end surface (connector coupling surface) 3a of the ferrule 3 is polished. A part of the short optical fiber 5 extends rearward from the ferrule 3.

  The mechanical splice 4 includes a base portion 6 fixed to the rear end surface 3 b of the ferrule 3, a pressing portion 7 provided on the base portion 6, and two clamping members 8 that clamp the base portion 6 and the pressing portion 7. And have.

  A fiber groove 9 is formed on the base portion 6. The extended portion of the short optical fiber 5 from the ferrule 3 is disposed in the fiber groove 9. An optical fiber 12 exposed from the outer sheath 11 of the optical cable 10 is also disposed in the fiber groove 9. The front end portion of the optical fiber 12 is in a state where the bare fiber 12 a is exposed, and the front end face of the bare fiber 12 a is abutted against the rear end face of the short optical fiber 5.

  The pressing part 7 is disposed so as to cover the optical fiber 12 and the short optical fiber 5. The clamp member 8 is a U-shaped elastic body. The optical fiber 12 and the short optical fiber 5 are fixed by sandwiching the base portion 6 and the pressing portion 7 with the clamp member 8.

  The base portion 6 and the pressing portion 7 are provided with a groove portion 15 that forms two slits 14 into which a wedge 13 for pushing open between the base portion 6 and the pressing portion 7 is inserted (see FIG. 3). .

  By mechanically connecting the optical fiber 12 and the short optical fiber 5 with such a mechanical splice 4, the assembly of the optical connector at the site can be easily performed.

  The ferrule 3 and the mechanical splice 4 are accommodated in a main connector housing 16 having a substantially rectangular cross section. The front end portion of the ferrule 3 protrudes from the front end surface 16a of the main connector housing 16 by a predetermined length. Two elongated holes 17 for exposing the slits 14 of the mechanical splice 4 are formed in the lower surface portion of the main connector housing 16. Between the main connector housing 16 and the mechanical splice 4, a spring 18 that is biased toward the front side of the main connector housing 16 is disposed.

  A front protrusion 19 and a rear protrusion 20 are respectively provided on both side surfaces of the main connector housing 16. Further, between the front protrusion 19 and the rear protrusion 20 on both side surfaces of the main connector housing 16, locking receiving groove portions 21 are respectively formed.

  A locking piece 22 extending to the rear side of the main connector housing 16 is fixed to the upper surface portion of the main connector housing 16. A claw portion 23 is provided at the center of the locking piece 22, and a pressing portion 24 is provided at the tip of the locking piece 22. Further, a stopper 25 for restricting the movement of the locking piece 22 is provided on the upper surface portion of the main connector housing 16. The stopper 25 is slidable in the front-rear direction of the main connector housing 16. Then, the restricting body 25 a provided at the tip of the stopper 25 enters the space below the pressing portion 24 of the locking piece 22, so that the locking piece 22 is locked. The locking piece 22 and the stopper 25 constitute a latch portion 26 for latching with respect to an adapter 29 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) for directly fitting the connector plug 2.

  A rear connector housing 27 is fixed to the rear end surface of the mechanical splice 4. The rear end of the optical cable 10 is accommodated in the rear connector housing 27. The optical cable 10 is fixed to the rear connector housing 27 by two cable fixing members 28. The cable fixing member 28 has a demon wedge (not shown), and the optical cable 10 is fixed by biting the demon wedge into the outer sheath 11 of the optical cable 10.

  The connector plug 2 configured as described above can be fitted with an adapter 29 as shown in FIGS. The adapter 29 is an SC-RJ female plug with an integrated adapter portion.

  The adapter 29 is arranged on the rear side of the ferrule 31 that holds a short optical fiber (bare fiber) 30 and mechanically connects the short optical fiber 30 and the optical fiber 33 of the optical cable 32. And a mechanical splice 34. The structure of the mechanical splice 34 is substantially the same as the mechanical splice 4 of the connector plug 2 described above.

  The ferrule 31 and the mechanical splice 34 are accommodated in a main connector housing 35 having a substantially rectangular cross section. An adapter portion 36 is provided on the front end side portion of the main connector housing 35. The adapter part 36 has a sleeve 37 into which the ferrule 3 of the connector plug 2 described above is inserted. A locking hole 38 that engages with the claw portion 23 of the locking piece 22 of the connector plug 2 described above is formed on the upper surface of the adapter portion 36.

  A rear connector housing 39 is fixed to the rear end surface of the main connector housing 35. An optical cable 32 is accommodated in the rear connector housing 39. The optical cable 32 is fixed to the rear connector housing 39 by two cable fixing members 40 having demon wedges.

  When connecting the connector plug 2 to such an adapter 29, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the distal end portion of the connector plug 2 is inserted into the adapter portion 36 of the adapter 29 and the ferrule 3 of the connector plug 2 is inserted. Is inserted into the sleeve 37 and the front end surfaces of the ferrule 3 and the ferrule 30 are brought into contact with each other. Thereby, the optical fiber 12 of the connector plug 2 and the optical fiber 33 of the adapter 29 are connected. At this time, the claw portion 23 of the locking piece 22 of the connector plug 2 enters the locking hole 38 of the adapter portion 36, and the connector plug 2 and the adapter 29 are locked.

  On the other hand, when removing the connector plug 2 from the adapter 29, first, the pressing portion 24 of the locking piece 22 is pushed in, the locking by the claw portion 23 is released, and the connector plug 2 is pulled out from the adapter 29 in this state.

  The above is the one in which the connector plug 2 is coupled to the adapter 29 that is directly fitted thereto, and the connector plug 2 uses the connector coupling auxiliary member 41 as shown in FIGS. The adapter 29 can be combined with another type of adapter 49 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) having a different structure. The optical connector 1 according to this embodiment includes a connector plug 2 and a connector coupling auxiliary member 41.

  6 and 7, the connector coupling auxiliary member 41 includes a housing 42 having a substantially rectangular cross section for housing the connector plug 2. The housing 42 has a stepped portion 43 on the upper surface side in order to secure a space for accommodating the latch portion 26 (the locking piece 22 and the stopper 25) of the connector plug 2 (see FIG. 8).

  On both side surfaces of the housing 42, window portions 44 for exposing the locking receiving groove portions 21 of the connector plug 2 accommodated in the housing 42 are provided. Moreover, the window part 44 forms the protrusion receiving parts 45 and 46 engaged with the protrusions 19 and 20 of the connector plug 2 (see FIG. 9).

  On both side surface portions of the housing 42, tapered portions 47 that are tapered with respect to the front end side of the housing 42 are provided vertically. Further, taper portions 48 that taper toward the rear end side of the housing 42 are provided behind the respective taper portions 47 on both side surface portions of the housing 42 with the window portion 44 interposed therebetween (see FIG. 9). .

  8 to 10 show a state in which the connector plug 2 is assembled to such a connector coupling auxiliary member 41. In this state, even if the connector plug 2 moves to the rear side of the housing 42 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41, the rear protrusion 20 of the connector plug 2 hits the projection receiving portion 46 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41. 42 does not escape from the rear end. Even if the connector plug 2 moves to the front side of the housing 42, the front projection 19 of the connector plug 2 hits the projection receiving portion 45, so that the front end portion of the connector plug 2 (ferrule 3) is more than necessary than the front end surface of the housing 42. It does not protrude.

  Thus, the optical connector 1 in a state where the connector plug 2 is assembled to the connector coupling auxiliary member 41 can be fitted with an adapter 49 as shown in FIGS. The adapter 49 is an SC connector adapter. The adapter 49 includes a housing 50 and a partition portion 52 that divides the interior of the housing 50 into two plug storage areas 51 a and 51 b, and a sleeve 53 is coupled to the partition portion 52. Further, a pair of locking pieces 54a and 54b are coupled to one surface of the partition 52 so as to face each other with the sleeve 53 interposed therebetween, and a pair of engagement pieces are disposed on the other surface of the partition 52. The stop pieces 55a and 55b are coupled so as to face each other with the sleeve 53 interposed therebetween.

  A male connector plug 56 is fitted in the plug storage area 51 a in the housing 50. The male connector plug 56 is an SC connector plug. The male connector plug 56 includes a ferrule 58 that holds an optical fiber 57 and a housing 59 that accommodates the ferrule 58. The ferrule 58 is inserted into one side of the sleeve 53. The housing 59 is locked by the locking pieces 54 a and 54 b of the adapter 49.

  When the connector plug 2 of the optical connector 1 is fitted into the adapter 49 having such a male connector plug 56, the front end side portion of the connector plug 2 is connected to the housing 50 of the adapter 49 as shown in FIGS. It is inserted into the plug storage area 51b. Then, the ferrule 3 of the connector plug 2 is inserted into the sleeve 53 of the adapter 49, and the front end surface of the ferrule 3 is abutted against the front end surface of the ferrule 58 of the male connector plug 56. Thereby, the optical fiber 5 of the connector plug 2 and the optical fiber 57 of the male connector plug 56 are connected.

  At this time, the ferrule 3 enters the sleeve 53 while the pair of locking pieces 55 a and 55 b are pushed outward by the respective taper portions 47 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41. Then, the claw portion 60 provided at the tip of each locking piece 55a, 55b enters the locking receiving groove 21 of the connector plug 2, and the optical connector 1 (connector plug 2) and the adapter 49 are locked. .

  On the other hand, when removing the optical connector 1 from the adapter 49, the optical connector 1 is pulled and pulled out from the adapter 49. Here, when the optical connector 1 is pulled, the pair of locking pieces 55a and 55b are pushed outward by the respective taper portions 48 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41. The locked state can be easily released.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by using the connector coupling auxiliary member 41, the connector plug 2 can be attached to and detached from another type of adapter 49 having a structure different from that of the regular adapter 21 to be directly fitted. Can be fitted. That is, without changing the structure of the connector plug 2, it is possible to match the interface by combining with a necessary local assembly adapter by adding only one part. Thereby, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Further, since the housing 42 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41 is provided with a stepped portion 43 that forms a space for accommodating the latch portion 26 of the connector plug 2, the latch portion 26 is protected. . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the latch portion 26 from being erroneously moved when the connector is coupled as shown in FIGS.

  Further, since the optical cable 10 is fixed to the rear connector housing 27 of the connector plug 2 by the cable fixing member 28 and the rear connector housing 27 and the ferrule 3 are integrated, the optical cable 10 moves in conjunction with the operation of the ferrule 3. It becomes like this. Therefore, even when the ferrule 3 is retracted (ferrule back) when the connector plug 2 and the adapter 49 are coupled, the optical fiber 12 exposed from the outer sheath 11 of the optical cable 10 does not bend. Thereby, even if the longitudinal dimension of the connector plug 2 is reduced for miniaturization, there is no particular problem.

  13 is a vertical sectional view showing a connector plug which is a part of another embodiment of the optical connector according to the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a horizontal sectional view of the connector plug shown in FIG. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent members as those of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In each figure, a connector plug 70 which is a part of the optical connector 1 of the present embodiment has a rear connector housing 71 instead of the rear connector housing 27 in the above-described embodiment. The rear connector housing 71 is fixed to the rear end portion of the main connector housing 16 unlike the embodiment described above. The optical cable 10 accommodated in the rear connector housing 71 is fixed to the rear connector housing 71 by a cable fixing member 28.

  In such a connector plug 70, when a ferrule back is generated at the time of coupling with the adapter 49, the optical fiber 12 exposed from the outer sheath 11 of the optical cable 10 is bent as shown in FIG. At this time, if the rear connector housing 71 is short, bending loss generated in the optical fiber 12 increases. For this reason, the rear connector housing 71 has a length dimension that reduces the bending of the optical fiber 12 when the optical fiber 12 is bent. For example, the length L from the time when the optical fiber 12 is peeled off (the tip of the outer skin 11) to the inner wall on the front end side of the rear connector housing 71 is preferably 15 mm or more. Thereby, the bending loss of the optical fiber 12 generated when the optical fiber 12 is bent by the ferrule back can be reliably suppressed.

  Further, since the rear connector housing 71 is not fixed to the ferrule 3, even if the optical cable 10 is inadvertently pulled, no tensile force is applied to the ferrule 3. Therefore, the instantaneous disconnection of the connection between the connector plug 70 and the adapter 49 can be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the connector plug 2; 70 and the adapter 49 are locked when the connector plug 2; 70 is fitted to the adapter 49 using the connector coupling auxiliary member 41. It is good also as a structure which latches the auxiliary member 41 and the adapter 49. FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the latch portion 26 for latching the connector plug 2; 70 with respect to the regular adapter 29 is provided only on the upper surface side of the main connector housing 16. You may provide also in the lower surface side. In this case, the stepped portion 43 is also provided on the lower surface side of the housing 42 of the connector coupling auxiliary member 41.

  Furthermore, although the optical connector 1 of the said embodiment is a single core connector, this invention is applicable also to the multi-core connector which has the ferrule holding several optical fibers.

It is a vertical direction sectional view showing a connector plug which is a part of one embodiment of an optical connector concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the connector plug shown in FIG. 1. It is a reverse view of the connector plug shown in FIG. It is a vertical direction sectional view which shows a mode that the connector plug shown in FIG. 1 is fitted to a regular adapter. It is horizontal direction sectional drawing which shows a mode that the connector plug shown in FIG. 1 is fitted to a regular adapter. It is a side view which shows the connector coupling | bonding auxiliary member which is another part of one Embodiment of the optical connector concerning this invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the connector coupling auxiliary member shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view showing the optical connector in a state where the connector plug shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated in the connector coupling auxiliary member shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the optical connector shown in FIG. 8. It is a front view of the optical connector shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view showing how the connector plug of the optical connector shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 is fitted to another type of adapter. It is horizontal direction sectional drawing which shows a mode that the connector plug of the optical connector shown in FIGS. 8-10 is fitted to another type of adapter. It is a vertical direction sectional view showing the connector plug which is a part of other embodiments of the optical connector concerning the present invention. FIG. 14 is a horizontal sectional view of the connector plug shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which the ferrule of the connector plug shown in FIG. 13 is retracted.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector, 2 ... Connector plug, 3 ... Ferrule, 4 ... Mechanical splice, 5 ... Short optical fiber, 10 ... Optical cable, 11 ... Outer sheath, 12 ... Optical fiber, 16 ... Main connector housing, 21 ... For latching reception Groove (locking part), 22 ... locking piece, 25 ... stopper, 26 ... latch part, 27 ... rear connector housing, 28 ... cable fixing member, 29 ... adapter, 41 ... connector coupling auxiliary member, 42 ... housing, 43 ... Stepped portion, 44 ... Window portion (locking means), 49 ... Adapter, 70 ... Connector plug, 71 ... Rear connector housing.

Claims (5)

A connector plug that fits into a predetermined adapter and has a latch portion for latching with respect to the adapter is accommodated, and is detachable from another adapter having a different structure from the predetermined adapter. A housing fitted to the other adapter;
Said connector plug which is accommodated in the housing when fitted to the other adapter, and a locking means for locking the connector plug to the other adapter,
The housing has a stepped portion that forms a space for accommodating the latch portion;
The connector engaging auxiliary member, wherein the locking means has window portions formed on both sides of the stepped portion of the housing and exposing the locking portions of the connector plugs accommodated in the housing. A connector plug having a latch portion for fitting with a predetermined adapter and latching the adapter;
A connector coupling auxiliary member assembled to the connector plug ,
The connector coupling auxiliary member is
A housing that accommodates the connector plug, is detachable from another adapter having a different structure from the predetermined adapter, and fits the connector plug into the other adapter;
Locking means for locking the connector plug to the other adapter when the connector plug accommodated in the housing is fitted to the other adapter;
The housing has a stepped portion that forms a space for accommodating the latch portion;
The optical connector is characterized in that the locking means has window portions that are formed on both sides of the stepped portion of the housing and expose the locking portions of the connector plug accommodated in the housing . 3. The light according to claim 2 , wherein the connector plug includes a ferrule that holds an optical fiber, and a mechanical splice that is fixed to the ferrule and mechanically connects the optical fiber and another optical fiber. connector. The connector plug includes a ferrule that holds an optical fiber, a main connector housing that is provided with the latch portion and the locking portion, and that houses the ferrule, a rear connector housing integrated with the ferrule, and the rear connector A cable fixing member for fixing an optical cable to the housing, and the optical cable fixed to the rear connector housing by the cable fixing member is configured to move in conjunction with the ferrule. 2. The optical connector according to 2 . The connector plug includes a ferrule that holds an optical fiber, a main connector housing that includes the latch portion and the locking portion, and that houses the ferrule, and a rear connector housing that is fixed to a rear end portion of the main connector housing. And a cable fixing member for fixing the optical cable to the rear connector housing,
The rear connector housing has an inner wall that forms a space for bending the optical fiber exposed from the outer sheath of the optical cable when the ferrule is retracted ;
3. The optical connector according to claim 2, wherein a length from a front end of the outer sheath of the optical cable fixed to the rear connector housing by the cable fixing member to an inner wall on the front end side of the rear connector housing is 15 mm or more. .

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