JP4205094B2 - Optical connector and assembly method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector used for connecting optical fibers, and particularly to an optical connector that can be assembled at the tip of an optical fiber at a connection site or the like and an assembling method thereof.

In recent years, as the spread of optical fiber networks has progressed, optical connectors have been provided that can be assembled at sites other than factories by connecting and assembling optical connectors to the tip of optical drop cables and optical indoor cables. An optical connector for on-site assembly includes an optical connector in which a ferrule polishing operation after connection is omitted by inserting and fixing an optical fiber to a ferrule whose tip surface has been polished in advance (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
As a technique for inserting and connecting an optical fiber to an optical connector, for example, there is one proposed in Patent Document 2.
Patent Document 2 is provided with a central base for placing the optical fiber connector on the base, a movable base that can be adjusted and moved in the horizontal direction, and a pair of holders for gripping the optical fiber. Both connected by being able to move in the vertical and lateral directions at the first position inclined low toward the central platform and moving from the first location to the horizontal second location toward the central platform. By connecting the connection ends of the optical fibers into the guide grooves of the optical fiber connector, the connection work is made more efficient.
JP-A-10-206688 JP-A-8-184725

  However, Patent Document 2 is a dedicated connection device equipped with an optical fiber connector. Bringing this into the field and performing the connection work (on-site) takes time because of poor workability and connection. There is a problem that it is difficult to make the butt state highly accurate. Under such circumstances, there has been a need for an appropriate on-site optical connector that can easily hold and attach a terminal in a drop cable or indoor cable in a short time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can easily hold the end of an optical fiber cable such as an optical drop cable or an optical indoor cable in a short time, thereby improving the mountability to an optical connector. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector and an assembly method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical connector according to the present invention is internally fixed by a ferrule having a joining end face disposed on the front end side, and a connector main body incorporating an internal optical fiber partially protruding from the rear end side of the ferrule The insertion optical fiber that is optically connected by abutting the front end against the rear end of the internal optical fiber and approaching the connector body, the front end of the insertion optical fiber is moved to the rear end of the internal optical fiber. An optical connector including a retaining member configured to be able to abut against the connector , wherein the connector body includes a clamp portion that abuts a rear end of the internal optical fiber and a front end of the insertion optical fiber, and the connector The main body is provided with a guide base portion for fixedly arranging the retaining member at a predetermined position, and movably provided on the inner side of the guide base portion. And a slide base for guiding the connector body to a predetermined position. The slide base is formed in a frame formed with an opening, and the tip is connected to the opening by being arranged inside the opening. A swing plate that allows the rear end side to swing up and down with the connecting portion as a fulcrum is formed, and the swing plate is inclined obliquely upward from the front end side toward the rear end side. A contact protrusion having a contact slope and a downward protrusion protruding downward from the swing plate, and the downward protrusion when the slide base protrudes to the rear end side from the guide base. Since the portion is hooked on the rear end portion of the guide base portion, the movement of the slide base in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber is restricted, and the retaining member is pushed in the insertion direction to contact the contact protrusion. The swing plate is moved upward with the connecting portion as a fulcrum. When moving, it is characterized by being configured to move the slide base in the insertion direction while being caught between the lower projections and the guide base portion is placed the anchoring member out.

  Further, in the optical connector according to the present invention, a locking projection protruding upward is provided at the rear end of the swing plate, and the contact portion of the retaining member contacts the contact protrusion. When being pushed in the insertion direction, the locking projection is preferably configured to move upward together with the swinging plate and engage with the retaining member.

  In the optical connector according to the present invention, when the retaining member is disposed on the guide base portion, a cover body that covers an upper portion of the guide base portion is provided. The cover body includes the retaining member. It is preferable to provide a locking projection that is pressed and fixed in the insertion direction.

  In the optical connector according to the present invention, it is preferable that a locking surface for locking the contact portion of the retaining member is formed below the contact slope on the contact protrusion.

  Further, the optical connector according to the present invention is provided with a latch portion protruding toward the rear end side on both sides of the slide base, and when the slide base is inserted into the guide base portion, It is preferable that the latch portion is engaged with the guide base portion at a movement stop position of the slide base.

  In the optical connector according to the present invention, it is preferable that the guide base portion is provided with a guide rail that guides the slide table so as to be movable in the insertion direction.

  An optical connector assembling method according to the present invention is the above-described optical connector assembling method, wherein a retaining member attached to the tip of a covered insertion optical fiber that is an optical fiber core or an optical fiber is attached. The state in which the lower protrusion of the slide base is released from the guide base portion by pushing in the insertion direction so as to contact the contact protrusion of the slide base, and the retaining member is placed Then, the slide table is pushed in the insertion direction, and by this pushing, the tip of the insertion optical fiber is inserted between the halved elements of the clamp part opened by the insertion member, and is brought into contact with the internal optical fiber. The insertion member is pulled out from between the elements, the cover body covering the upper part of the guide base portion is closed, and the holding member is held. There.

  According to the optical connector and the assembling method thereof according to the present invention, the retaining member that holds the inserted optical fiber such as the optical drop cable or the optical indoor cable is placed on a predetermined position of the slide base, and the state is maintained in the guide base portion. By a simple operation just by pushing in, the connector body can be easily fixed at a predetermined position in a short time. In addition, the insertion optical fiber of the retaining member guided by the slide base and fixed to the guide base portion and the internal optical fiber built in the connector body can be connected with high accuracy and abutted. Thus, by improving the mounting property of the retaining member to the connector main body, the insertion of the insertion optical fiber F into the optical connector becomes easy, and a suitable on-site optical connector can be realized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an optical connector and its assembling method according to the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is an overall perspective view of the optical connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the optical connector according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the optical connector of FIG. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the clamp portion, wherein FIG. 4A is an overall view thereof, FIG. 4B is an exploded side view thereof, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are a clamp housing portion and a guide base of a guide outer shell. FIG. 6 is a plan view and a side view of the guide outer shell shown in FIG. 5, FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of the cover body, and FIGS. 8A and 8B are views. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the slide table shown in FIG. 8, FIGS. 10A and 10B are a side view and a vertical sectional view of the slide table, and FIG. 11 is a view showing a retaining member. (A) and (b) are perspective views thereof, (c) is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, (d) is a front view thereof, and FIG. Front view, and FIG. 13 is a diagram of an assembly process of the optical connector.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicates an optical connector according to the present embodiment. The optical connector 1 is an optical connector that is mainly assembled at a connection site. This optical connector 1 has an insertion optical fiber (an optical fiber different from the internal optical fiber G) F at the rear end of the internal optical fiber G fixed internally by the ferrule 2 as shown in the sectional view of FIG. The optical connector 1 is formed by abutting and connecting the optical fibers G and F to each other. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the illustration of the clamp portion 20 (see FIG. 2) is omitted so that the internal optical fiber G and the insertion optical fiber F can be easily seen. Further, a butt point where the leading end of the insertion optical fiber F is abutted with the rear end of the internal optical fiber G is indicated by a reference symbol P.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 1 is a male optical connector that is inserted into another female optical connector (not shown) and optically connected. When this optical connector 1 is inserted into another optical connector, the joining end face 2A of the ferrule 2 disposed on the tip side of the optical connector 1, and the joining end face of the ferrule provided on the other optical connector, Are connected to each other and optically connected (see FIG. 3).

  In this optical connector 1, the front end side on the side where the joining end surface 2A (see FIG. 3) of the built-in ferrule 2 is arranged is indicated by the symbol T, and the rear end on the opposite side to the side on which this ferrule 2 is arranged The side is indicated by S. Also, in the description of each part below, no reference is given, but the “tip (end side)” is the direction of the reference sign T, which is the direction side of the optical connector 1 on the joining end face side of the ferrule 2. , “Rear (end side)” is used in a unified manner that it is the direction of the reference sign S which is the direction side opposite to the front end side of the optical connector 1. Furthermore, the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F inserted into the optical connector 1 is a direction indicated by a symbol T, and the axis thereof is indicated by a symbol H (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion optical fiber F to be inserted into the optical connector 1 is coated with an optical fiber core F2 having a resin coating on the outer periphery of the bare optical fiber F1, and an outer sheath F3 on the outer periphery. The optical fiber cable (indoor cable, drop cable, etc.) is used, but the meaning of the inserted optical fiber F used in the following is the bare optical fiber F1, the optical fiber core F2, the outer sheath. All of F3 are used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical connector 1 includes a connector main body 10 containing a ferrule 2 (see FIG. 3), an access optical fiber F configured to be accessible to the connector main body 10. The gripping member 70 is generally configured to include the gripping member 70.
As shown mainly in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2, the connector main body 10 accommodates the clamp portion 20 that is a location where the rear end of the internal optical fiber G and the front end of the insertion optical fiber F are abutted, and the clamp portion 20. In addition, the guide shell 30 is configured to guide and arrange the retaining member 70 to a predetermined position. Further, on the outside of the ferrule 2 and the clamp part 20, a housing 90 (two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 1), for example, in which the inside is formed in a substantially cylindrical cavity is packaged.
The guide outer shell 30 includes a clamp housing portion 40 that houses the clamp portion 20 inside, a guide base portion 50 that is arranged in the longitudinal direction in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F, and a retaining member 70. The slide base 60 is slidably provided on the inside of the guide base portion 50 so as to be guided to ten predetermined positions, and a cover body 80 that covers the top of the guide base portion 50 is covered.

The ferrule 2 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with fine holes 22 communicating with the front end side and the rear end side. The fine hole 22 is configured to be arranged coaxially with the axis H of the insertion optical fiber F described above. Further, the front end surface of the ferrule 2 is formed as a joining end surface 2A that joins the ferrule 2 to another optical connector, and is exposed at the front end side of the connector main body 10. Further, the rear end portion of the ferrule 2 is fitted into the clamp housing portion 40 so as to be inserted from an opening 40 a of a cylindrical clamp housing portion 40 (which will be described in detail later) that houses the clamp portion 20. The rear end surface 2B of the ferrule 2 is in contact with the front end surface of the clamp portion 20 that is elastically supported in the clamp housing portion 40.
The ferrule 2 is made of a ceramic material such as zirconia, or a hard material such as glass.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the clamp portion 20 is elastically formed by halving elements 21 and 22 clamped by a C-shaped spring 23 having a substantially cylindrical shape having a C-shaped cross section. It is supported by. The half elements 21 and 22 are provided with appropriate inner grooves 21a and 22a as shown in the figure. Specifically, a large-diameter inner groove 21a extending along an axis in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F is provided on only one side of the mating surface 21b of one half-divided element 21. The mating surface 22b of the other half-divided element 22 is provided with a large-diameter inner groove 22a1 and a small-diameter inner groove 22a2 that extend along the axis of the insertion optical fiber F in the insertion direction.
The internal optical fiber G and the insertion optical fiber F shown in FIG. 3 are inserted into the inner grooves 21a and 22a. More specifically, the inner optical fiber G and the insertion optical fiber F, which are bare optical fibers, are inserted into the small-diameter inner groove 22a2, and the optical fiber core wire F2 is inserted into the large-diameter inner grooves 21a, 22a1. An optical fiber F is inserted.

  Further, in the clamp portion 20 configured in this way, the gap portion 23a of the C-shaped spring 23 and the crack 23b formed by combining the half elements 21 and 22 are combined with the light shown in FIG. An insertion member 105 of an insertion unit 100 (details will be described later) constituting a connection tool for the connector 1 is inserted. Thus, when the insertion member 105 of the insertion unit 100 is inserted into the crack 23b of the halved elements 21 and 22, the crack 23b is enlarged. As a result, the bare optical fiber F1 of the insertion optical fiber F can be inserted into the small-diameter inner groove 22a2. The internal optical fiber G is inserted into the small-diameter inner groove 22a2 described above from the beginning.

Next, the clamp accommodating part 40 in which the clamp part 20 is inserted is demonstrated based on FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the clamp housing portion 40 is disposed coaxially with the axis H of the insertion optical fiber F and has a substantially cylindrical shape with a hollow inside. An engagement protrusion 41 that protrudes outward along the circumferential direction is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end side. The engagement protrusion 41 can be engaged with an engagement portion (not shown) formed inside the housing 90, for example. In addition, through holes 40a and 40a into which the insertion member 105 provided in the insertion unit 100 shown in FIG. Two positions are provided at positions extending on the axis in the insertion direction.

  Further, in the clamp housing portion 40, an appropriate gap is provided between the rear end of the stored clamp portion 20 and the guide base portion 50, and an appropriate biasing spring (illustrated in the figure) is provided. Is omitted). One end of the biasing spring comes into contact with the guide base portion 50 (specifically, an inside 51 a of a guide housing 51 described later), and the other end comes into contact with the rear end of the clamp portion 20. That is, the clamp portion 20 is urged toward the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F by the urging spring, and the front end thereof is preferably in contact with the rear end of the ferrule 2. Moreover, the ferrule 2 and the clamp part 20 as a whole are also biased toward the tip side. Thereby, for example, when connecting the optical connector 1 to another optical connector, the ferrule 2 can be appropriately moved to the front end side or the rear end side to exhibit an appropriate buffer function.

Next, the guide base part 50 is demonstrated based on FIG.5 and FIG.6. As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) and FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the guide base portion 50 is connected to the rear end 40b and has a thin plate-shaped guide housing 51 communicated with the inside. A bottom plate part 52 extending from the lower side of the guide housing 51 toward the rear (S direction), and side wall parts 53 and 53 connected to both sides of the bottom plate part 52 and arranged in parallel to face each other. It has.
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the guide housing 51 has an inner portion 51 a that is coaxially connected to the axis H (see FIG. 3) of the insertion optical fiber F and is inserted into the clamp housing portion 40. ing. A circular opening 51 b that is coaxial with the axis H of the insertion optical fiber F is formed at the rear end of the guide housing 51. And in the lower board | plate part located back from the opening part 51b, it forms in the shape of a mortar whose diameter is expanded toward the rear end side from the opening part 51b. Thus, when the insertion optical fiber F (refer FIG. 3) is inserted in the inside of this guide housing | casing 51 and the clamp accommodating part 40, it becomes the axis line H of an insertion direction by becoming mortar shape. Guided (see FIG. 3).
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6B, a circular rotation hole 51c is provided on the outer wall in the width direction of the guide housing 51. The rotation hole 51c is a portion that is fitted into a rotation shaft portion 81 (details will be described later) provided in the cover body 80.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the bottom plate portion 52 is formed with a concave groove 54 having a concave cross section from a predetermined position to the rear end on the upper surface thereof. The concave groove 54 guides a swing plate 65 of the slide base 60 described later.
Each of the side wall parts 53, 53 is formed by bending the upper part from the predetermined height inward in the width direction of the guide base part 50, and is formed between the upper side wall 55 and the bottom plate part 52 and the upper side wall 55 that form the upper side. A guide rail 56 having a substantially groove-shaped cross section is formed. A protruding convex portion 55 a that protrudes in the axial direction of the insertion optical fiber F is formed at the approximate center of the outer wall surface of each upper side wall 55, 55.
The guide rail 56 is formed from the front end of the bottom plate portion 52 to the bottom plate rear end portion 52a. In addition, on the rear end sides of both guide rails 56, 56 are formed through holes 57, 57 penetrating in the thickness direction.

  In addition, on each of the opposing upper side walls 55, 55, two steps are formed that project inward in the width direction of the guide base portion 50 toward the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F. The first step is referred to as a locking portion 58, and the second step located further on the tip side than the locking portion 58 is referred to as a contact portion 59.

Next, the cover body 80 pivotally supported by the rotation hole 51c provided in the above-described guide housing 51 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the cover body 80 includes an upper wall portion 80a and side wall portions 80b and 80b that are connected to the upper wall portion 80a and arranged in parallel to face each other. And has a substantially U-shaped cross section.
On the front end side (T side) of the side wall portions 80b and 80b of the cover body 80, there are provided rotating shaft portions 81 and 81 protruding inward in the width direction. The rotary shaft portions 81 and 81 are fitted into the rotation holes 51c and 51c provided in the guide housing 51 described above. As a result, the cover body 80 is rotatable about the axis of the rotation shaft portion 81 as a rotation axis.
Further, locking elongated holes 82 and 82 penetrating in the width direction are provided at substantially intermediate portions of the side wall portions 80b and 80b of the cover body 80. The locking elongated holes 82 are formed in a substantially rectangular shape extending in the front end side (T direction) and the rear end side (S direction), and are provided in the guide base portion 50 described above. This is a place to be fitted into the protruding protrusion 55a (see FIG. 5). In addition, a locking protrusion that protrudes in the vertical direction with respect to the upper wall portion 80a toward the inside of the cover body 80 at the corner portion of the upper wall portion 80a on the rear end side (S side) of the side wall portions 80b and 80b. Portions 83 and 83 are formed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B and FIG. 9, the slide base 60 has a substantially thin plate shape in which the longitudinal direction is arranged in the axial direction of the insertion optical fiber F. The slide base 60 includes a base 61 on which the retaining member 70 is disposed at a predetermined position on the upper surface thereof, side guide parts 62 and 62 projecting upward from the side portions of the base 61, The first latch portion 63, 63 projecting outward from the distal end side portion is roughly configured.
Side guide portions 62 and 62 of the slide base 60 are provided so as to be movable in the axial direction of the insertion optical fiber F while being guided by guide rails 56 and 56 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the base 61 forms a frame body 61a having an opening 64 in a substantially central region. A plate-shaped swing plate 65 having one end (connecting portion 65 a) fixed to the distal end side of the opening 64 is connected to the inside of the opening 64. The swing plate 65 can be pivoted in the substantially vertical direction on the rear end portion 65b side of the swing plate 65 with the connecting portion 65a as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, the rocking plate 65 has a locking projection 66 protruding upward from the rear end portion 65 b, and a predetermined end side (T direction) from the locking projection 66. At the position, an abutting protrusion 67 is formed which protrudes from the swing plate 65 toward the upper rear end in a substantially bowl shape.
As shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), the abutting protrusion 67 is an abutting portion in which the rear end side (S side) of the upper portion of the protrusion is inclined toward the rear end side from the bottom to the top. A slope 67a and a locking surface 67b are formed continuously below the contact slope 67a and perpendicular to the upper surface of the swing plate 65. In addition, a lower protrusion 68 that protrudes downward is formed on the lower wall surface between the connecting portion 65 a and the contact protrusion 67 in the swing plate 65. The lower protrusion 68 has a substantially triangular cross section whose tip side is substantially perpendicular to the lower surface of the swing plate 65, but may have a rectangular cross section, for example.

Here, the swing plate 65 is provided with the rear end portion 65b lowered so that the locking convex portion 66 does not protrude at least above the upper surface of the base 61 in a state before the retaining member 70 is disposed. Yes. That is, the lower surface of the swing plate 65 is provided so as to be positioned below the lower surface of the frame body 61a. Further, when the lower projection 68 is pulled out from the guide base part 50 to the rear end side (S side) and is positioned rearward (S direction side) from the bottom plate rear end part 52 a of the guide base part 50, the slide base 60. Since the lower projection 68 is caught by the bottom plate rear end 52a, it cannot be pushed and moved to the front end side (T direction).
Further, the both side guide portions 62 and 62 are provided with second latch portions 69 and 69 projecting outward in the width direction of the slide base 60 on the outer surfaces, and slide bases at the rear end portions of the both side guide portions 62 and 62. The fixing release portions 62a and 62a are formed so as to protrude outward in the width direction. The second latch portions 69 and 69 are portions that can be fitted into the through holes 57 and 57 of the guide base portion 50 (see FIG. 5). In addition, the latch part of this invention is the 2nd latch part 69 by this Embodiment. Further, the both latch release parts 62a and 62a are pushed from both sides toward the center in the width direction, whereby the second latch parts 69 and 69 are detached from the through holes 57 and 57, and the slide base 60 is pulled out from the guide base part 50. Can be moved to the rear end side.

Next, the retaining member 70 that holds the inserted optical fiber F will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (d), the retaining member 70 has a retaining member support portion 71 having an open surface and a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a substantially U-shaped cross section. A lid portion 72 having a substantially L-shaped cross section that is thin-walled and hinged to one edge of the opening is configured. The retaining member support portion 71 includes a bottom wall portion 71a and side wall portions 71b and 71c that are coupled to the bottom wall portion 71a and arranged in parallel to face each other. On the other hand, the lid portion 72 includes a first wall portion 72a hinged to one side wall portion 71b and a second wall portion 72b connected to the first wall portion 72a.
A latch portion 71 d that protrudes outward is formed on the outer surface of the other side wall portion 71 c of the retaining member support portion 71. When the second wall portion 72b of the lid portion 72 is closed so that the second wall portion 72b is overlapped on the outer side of the other side wall portion 71c of the retaining member support portion 71 with the hinge coupling point as a fulcrum. An opening 72e that is engaged with the latch portion 71d is formed.
A recess 71e is formed on the outer surface of one side wall 71b of the retaining member support 71 at a position symmetrical to the opening 72e formed in the second wall 72b. Further, cutout portions 73 and 73 that are cut out in a rectangular shape are formed on the outer surfaces on the front end side of the bottom wall portion 71a and the first wall portion 72a. Further, groove portions 74, 74 extending in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F are formed on the outer surfaces of the one side wall portion 71 b of the retaining member support portion 71 and the second wall portion 71 b of the lid portion 72.
The recess 71 or the opening 72e, the notch 73, and the groove 74 are all provided for fixing or aligning the slide base 60 or the guide base 50 and the retaining member 70. This will be described in the assembly procedure described later.

As shown in FIGS. 11 (c) and 11 (d), the retaining member 70 that is in the holding state with the lid portion 72 closed is, among the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 71 b and 71 c of the retaining member support portion 71, From the middle part to the rear end, a concavo-convex gripping part 75 formed in a concavo-convex perpendicular to the axial direction of the insertion optical fiber F is provided. The concavo-convex gripping portion 75 bites into the outer skin F3 of the insertion optical fiber F (a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11C) and serves as a portion for gripping the insertion optical fiber F. Then, the inner surface on the tip side of the uneven gripping portion 75 is formed smoothly toward the tip, and a step is formed in the vicinity of the tip to reduce the wall thickness. The step portions formed on the inside are referred to as step portions 76 and 76. In addition, as shown in FIG.11 (c), let the front end wall surface of the securing member 70 be the contact part 77, and let the rear-end part (S side) be the rear-end wall surface 78. As shown in FIG.
As described above, the retaining member 70 is opened on the front end side and the rear end side thereof. Accordingly, the insertion optical fiber F can be arranged to extend toward the front end side and the rear end side.

  Next, the insertion unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the insertion unit 100 includes an extrusion ring portion 101 formed in a substantially ring shape and an insertion member provided so as to protrude inward from the upper wall portion 102 of the extrusion ring portion 101. 105. The extrusion ring portion 101 is configured to be able to bend and stretch in the vertical direction. That is, when the upper wall portion 102 of the pushing ring portion 101 is pressed toward the lower wall portion 103, the side wall portion 104 expands in the width direction, and the upper wall portion 102 approaches the lower wall portion 103. . Thereby, the insertion member 105 provided on the upper wall portion 102 moves so as to protrude downward. Conversely, when the side wall portions 104 and 104 are pressed together so as to approach each other, the insertion member 105 moves so as to be pulled out.

  That is, the insertion member 105 that has entered from the through hole 40 a provided in the clamp housing portion 40 shown in FIG. 4 resists the elasticity of the C-type spring 23, and the split 23 b of the half elements 21 and 22. In this state, the insertion optical fiber F can be inserted into the crack 23b. When the side wall portions 104 and 104 are pressed so as to approach each other, the insertion member 105 can be extracted from the split 23b of the half elements 21 and 22.

Next, a procedure for assembling the optical connector 1 by inserting the insertion optical fiber F will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the insertion optical fiber F removes an appropriate resin film to expose the bare optical fiber F1. Then, as described above, the insertion optical fiber F is gripped by the concave / convex gripping portion 75, the lid portion 72 is closed, and the fastening member 70 is fastened (see FIG. 11C).
Further, as shown in FIG. 13A, the guiding outer shell 30 (see FIG. 2) keeps the slide base 60 protruding from the bottom end 52a of the bottom base 52 toward the S side in the figure. At this time, the swing plate 65 of the slide base 60 is connected to the frame body 61a so that the rear end portion 65b protrudes downward from the lower surface of the frame body 61a in advance. For this reason, the downward projection 68 is positioned below the upper surface of the bottom plate rear end 52a. At this time, even if the slide base 60 is pushed in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber F, the lower protrusion 68 is caught on the bottom plate rear end 52a and serves as a stopper, so that it cannot move to the front end side (T direction). It is in a regulated state. Further, the cover body 80 (see FIG. 2) is set in a standby position in an open state without covering the upper portion of the guide base 50.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13A, the holding member 70 holding the insertion optical fiber F is placed on the frame body 61a at the rear end of the slide base 60 in the insertion direction (T In the direction). At this time, the retaining member 70 is arranged so that the surface having the stepped portions 76 and 76 is directed in the vertical direction, and the groove portion 74 (see FIG. 11C) formed in the retaining member 70 is inserted into the slide base 60. The rail portion 61b (see FIG. 8) is engaged. In addition, as long as the direction of the securing member 70 is a surface in which both the groove parts 74 and 74 are formed, whichever may be arrange | positioned in an up-down direction.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 13B, the lower contact portion 77 of the retaining member 70 contacts the contact inclined surface 67 a of the contact protrusion 67 of the swing plate 65, and the retaining member 70 is further moved. By being pushed in, the swinging plate 65 starts to rotate upward with the connecting portion 65a as a fulcrum. In this way, as the abutting portion 77 is pushed toward the tip side (T direction), the abutting projection 67 moves upward, so that the abutting position of the abutting portion 77 is in contact with the abutting projection 67. It moves relatively downward from the contact start position along the contact slope 67a.
Then, as shown in FIG. 13C, the contact portion 77 contacts and locks with the locking surface 67 b of the contact projection 67, and further, the recessed portion 71 e (or the locking member) of the holding member 70. When the member 70 is upside down, the retaining projection 66 of the swing plate 65 is fitted into the opening 72e), so that the retaining member 70 is fixed at a predetermined position of the slide base 60 and the backward movement is restricted. The Accordingly, the retaining member 70 cannot be pushed further into the slide table 60.
The position of the swing plate 65 is substantially horizontal and is substantially flush with the frame 61a. For this reason, the lower protrusion 68 is less likely to catch the bottom plate rear end 52a, and when the retaining member 70 is further pushed toward the front end (T side), the slide base 60 is placed with the retaining member 70 on the guide base. It moves in the insertion direction (T direction) of the insertion optical fiber F along both guide rails 56, 56 (see FIG. 5) of the section 50.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 5, 8, and 13 (d), the slide base 60 moves to the distal end side (T side) until the second latch portions 69 and 69 engage with the through holes 57 and 57. The engagement position becomes the stop position at the movement limit. When the second latch portion 69 is engaged with the through hole 57, a latch sound, that is, a click sound is generated so that the limit of pushing of the slide base 60 can be known. In addition, at the same position as this engagement position, the retaining member 70 abuts against the abutment portions 59, 59 formed on the upper side walls 55, 55 of the guide base portion 50 at the abutment portion 77, and The notches 73 and 73 positioned in the width direction of the retaining member 70 are securely fixed at predetermined positions by fitting into the engaging portions 58 and 58 formed on the upper side walls 55 and 55.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the cover body 80 is rotated so as to cover the upper part of the guide base part 50 with the rotary shaft part 81 as the rotary axis, and the locking long hole 82 is shown in FIG. By engaging with the protruding convex portion 55a of the portion 50, the holding position as shown in FIG. At this time, since the retaining protrusions 83 and 83 of the cover body 80 are disposed on the rear end wall surface 78 side, the retaining member 70 is reliably fixed by being restricted from moving backward (S direction). As a result, the connection between the connector main body 10 and the retaining member 70 is completed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the retaining member 70 is moved into the guide outer shell 30, the inserted optical fiber F gripped by the retaining member 70 is also moved into the guide housing 51. The inserted optical fiber F (bare optical fiber F1) eventually enters the small-diameter inner groove 21a2 in the elements 21 and 22 of the clamp portion 20. In this case, the crack 23 b of the clamped elements 21 and 22 is enlarged by the insertion member 105.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the front end of the insertion optical fiber F (bare optical fiber F <b> 1) is abutted against the rear end of the internal optical fiber G in the clamp unit 20. Further, as the insertion optical fiber F is inserted, the insertion optical fiber F (bare optical fiber F1) begins to bend, and the insertion optical fiber F bends when the retaining member 70 is fixed at a predetermined position. Can be a predetermined amount. The bending of the insertion optical fiber F gives a butt force of the insertion optical fiber F to the internal optical fiber G, and the butt connection between the optical fibers F and G is ensured. Needless to say, the bending is set to a size that does not affect the optical durability of the insertion optical fiber F.

  As described above, in the optical connector and the assembling method thereof according to the embodiment, the retaining member 70 that holds the insertion optical fiber F such as an optical drop cable or an optical indoor cable is placed on a predetermined position of the slide base 60, The connector body 10 provided integrally with the clamp part 20 can be easily fixed in a short time in a short time by a simple operation of simply pushing it into the guide base part 50. In addition, the insertion optical fiber F of the retaining member 70 guided and fixed by the slide base 60 and the internal optical fiber G built in the connector main body 10 can be connected with high accuracy and abutted. Thus, by improving the mounting property of the retaining member 70 to the connector main body 10, the insertion of the insertion optical fiber F into the optical connector becomes easy, and a suitable on-site optical connector can be realized. .

Next, a modified example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 14, but the same or similar members and parts as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. A configuration different from the above will be described.
FIG. 14 is a side view schematically showing a cover body of an optical connector according to a modification of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 14, in this modification, a guide protrusion 84 is provided on the inner surface side (hereinafter referred to as an inner surface) of the side wall portions 80 b and 80 b (see FIG. 7) of the cover body 80. In FIG. 14, only one side is shown.
Specifically, the guide protrusion 84 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis H (see FIG. 3) of the insertion optical fiber F at a substantially central portion of the lower surface of the upper wall portion 80a. It protrudes toward the inward side. In addition, the guide protrusion 85 is formed with a guide surface 85 that is brought into contact with and guided by the contact portion 77 on the distal end side of the retaining member 70. Specifically, the guide surface 85 is formed so as to be inclined in the insertion direction (T direction) of the insertion optical fiber F from the intermediate portion toward the lower end portion thereof. And an abutment holding surface 85b formed so as to be orthogonal to the insertion direction (T direction) of the insertion optical fiber from the intermediate portion to the upper base end portion thereof.
When the cover body 80 is in the holding state, the contact holding surface 85 b of the guide protrusion 84 is in contact with the contact portion 77 of the retaining member 70. That is, the contact holding surface 85b of the guide protrusion 84 formed so as to be orthogonal to the insertion direction (T direction) of the insertion optical fiber F restricts the movement of the retaining member 70 toward the distal end side.
When the cover body 80 is closed when the optical connector 1 is assembled, the retaining member 70 is slightly retracted to the rear end side (S side) while being pushed by the contact start surface 85a of the guide protrusion 84. At that time, the bending that has occurred in the insertion optical fiber F is extended. However, this bending does not become zero. And the position of the latching protrusion part 83 when the cover body 80 is closed is adjusted so that it may become the position which gave the clearance gap to the rear-end side of the securing member 70. FIG. With such a configuration, the retaining member 70 is held between the guide protrusion 84 and the locking protrusion 83.

The embodiments of the optical connector and the method of assembling the optical connector according to the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the locking convex portion 66 is provided at the rear end portion 65b of the swing plate 65 in the slide base 60, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the retaining member 70 is guided into the guide base portion 50 in a state of being placed on the slide base 60, and is not retracted by the locking protrusions 83 and 83 of the cover body 80 when the cover body 80 is held. Thus, since the locking projection 66 shown in the embodiment is temporarily fixed, it may be a swinging plate not provided with this.
Further, in the embodiment, the retaining member 70 includes the retaining member support portion 71 and the lid portion 72, but is not limited to such a shape. In short, it is sufficient that at least a part of the retaining member 70 is brought into contact with the contact slope 67a (contact protrusion 67).

1 is an overall perspective view of an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view of the optical connector by this Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the optical connector of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of a clamp part, (a) is the whole figure, and (b) is the exploded side view. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows the clamp accommodating part and guide base | substrate part of a guide outer shell. It is the top view and side view of a guidance outer shell shown in FIG. (A) And (b) is a perspective view of a cover body. (A) And (b) is a perspective view of a slide stand. It is a top view of the slide stand shown in FIG. (A) And (b) is the side view and vertical direction sectional drawing of a slide stand. It is a figure which shows a securing member, Comprising: (a) And (b) is the perspective view, (c) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 2, (d) is the front view. It is a front view of an insertion unit. It is a figure of the assembly process of an optical connector. It is a side view which shows the outline of the cover body of the optical connector by the modification of this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector, 2 ... Ferrule, 2A ... Joining end surface, 10 ... Connector main body, 20 ... Clamp part, 30 ... Guide outer shell, 40 ... Clamp accommodating part, 50 ... Guide base part, 51 ... Guide housing, 52a ... rear end of bottom plate, 60 ... slide base, 61a ... frame, 64 ... opening, 65 ... swing plate, 65a ... coupling portion, 66 ... locking projection, 67 ... contact projection, 67a ... contact Slope, 67b ... locking surface, 68 ... downward projection, 69 ... second latch part, 70 ... retaining member, 76 ... step part, 77 ... abutting part, 78 ... rear end wall surface, 80 ... cover body, 83 ... Locking protrusion, 90 ... Housing, 105 ... Insertion member, F ... Insertion optical fiber, G ... Internal optical fiber, T ... Front end side, S ... Rear end side

Claims (7)

A connector main body that is internally fixed by a ferrule (2) having a joining end face (2A) disposed on the front end side (T) and has an internal optical fiber (G) partially protruding from the rear end side (S) of the ferrule. (10) and when the insertion optical fiber (F) optically connected by abutting the distal end against the rear end of the internal optical fiber is grasped and approached to the connector main body, the distal end of the insertion optical fiber is An optical connector comprising a retaining member (70) configured to be able to abut against the rear end of the internal optical fiber,
The connector body includes a clamp portion (20) that abuts the rear end of the internal optical fiber and the front end of the insertion optical fiber,
The connector body is provided with a guide base portion (50) for fixedly arranging the retaining member at a predetermined position, and movably provided inside the guide base portion, so that the retaining member is placed at a predetermined position of the connector body. And a slide base (60) for guiding,
The slide base has a frame (61a) formed with an opening (64), and a rear end portion with a connecting portion arranged inside the opening and connecting a tip portion to the opening as a fulcrum. A swing plate (65) that can swing the side up and down,
The swing plate includes a contact protrusion (67) having a contact slope inclined obliquely upward from the front end side toward the rear end side, and a lower protrusion portion protruding downward from the swing plate. (68) is provided,
When the slide base protrudes to the rear end side from the guide base portion, the lower protrusion is caught by the rear end portion of the guide base portion, so that the slide base moves in the insertion direction of the insertion optical fiber. Regulated,
When the retaining member is pushed in the insertion direction so as to abut on the abutting protrusion, and the swing plate swings upward with the connecting portion as a fulcrum, the lower protrusion and the guide base are caught. The optical connector (1) is configured to move the slide base in the insertion direction in a state in which the slide base is detached and the retaining member is placed. A locking projection (66) protruding upward is provided at the rear end of the swing plate,
When the abutting portion (77) of the retaining member abuts on the abutting protrusion and is pushed in the insertion direction, the locking convex portion moves upward together with the swing plate to move the retaining member The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector is configured to engage with the optical connector. A cover body (80) is provided for covering the upper portion of the guide base portion when the retaining member is disposed on the guide base portion;
The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the cover body is provided with a locking protrusion (83) that presses and fixes the retaining member in the insertion direction.   4. A locking surface (67b) for locking the abutting portion of the retaining member is formed on the abutting projection portion below the abutting slope. The optical connector in any one. Latch portions (69) projecting toward the rear end side are provided on both sides of the slide base,
The latch unit is engaged with the guide base part at a movement stop position of the slide base when the slide base is inserted into the guide base part. An optical connector according to claim 1.   The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the guide base portion is provided with a guide rail (56) for guiding the slide base so as to be movable in the insertion direction. An optical connector assembling method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The holding member (70) attached to the tip of the coated optical fiber (F) with a coating, which is an optical fiber core or an optical fiber, is brought into contact with the contact protrusion (67) of the slide base (60). Thus, by pushing in the insertion direction, the lower projection (68) of the slide base is released from the guide base portion (50), and the slide base is placed in a state where the retaining member is placed. Push in the insertion direction,
By the pushing, the tip of the insertion optical fiber is inserted between the half elements (21, 22) of the clamp part (20) opened by the insertion member (105), and the internal optical fiber (G )
Pull out the insertion member from between the elements,
An optical connector assembling method characterized in that a cover body (80) covering the upper part of the guide base portion is closed to hold the retaining member.

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