JP4566451B2 - Adapter for optical connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adapter for an optical connector used in a portion where optical connectors used in an optical fiber network system are connected to each other or an optical connector and an optical component are connected.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in an optical fiber network system, an optical connector adapter that allows an optical connector to be fitted to one end or both ends is used. The optical connectors are connected to each other by fitting the optical connectors from both ends, or the optical connectors are fitted to one end to connect the optical component and the optical connector on the other end side.
[0003]
In such an optical connector adapter, when the optical connector is connected to the optical connector adapter or when the fitted optical connector is removed from the optical connector adapter, the laser beam is already guided. May be radiated to the outside and injure the body of an operator or the like, in particular the eyes. In order to prevent such a risk, there has been proposed one in which a shutter plate that is transverse to the optical axis is attached to a fitting end for fitting an optical connector (for example, JP-A-10-148730). JP, 2000-347075, A, etc.).
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, also in this optical fiber network system, development of miniaturization technology is in progress (see NTT Technical Journal, pages 67-70, March 2001, “MU-type optical connector technology”). The current situation is progressing.
As such miniaturization progresses, it has become difficult to securely and easily attach the shutter plate to the fitting end of the optical connector adapter. For example, when the shutter plate is a very thin metal plate (for example, a Ni / Ti alloy plate having a thickness of 5/100 mm), it is almost impossible to form a mounting groove that matches the thickness of the metal plate on the adapter side. Is possible. In addition, it is difficult to adopt means such as adhesion and welding in a miniaturized structure, and even if it is possible to adopt a structure that can be adopted, the number of man-hours required for mounting the shutter plate is too large and it is contrary to simple mounting. become.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide an adapter for an optical connector having a structure in which a shutter plate provided at a fitting end of the optical connector can be firmly and easily attached. .
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention, which has been made for the purpose described above, allows the mounting piece portion of the shutter plate to be inserted into the receiving groove on the adapter side, and in the inserted state, the mounting piece portion is restrained in three directions orthogonal to each other. ing.
[0007]
That is, the present invention includes an adapter housing in which a fitting end of an optical connector is formed at least at one end, and a shutter member disposed in an optical connector receiving cavity formed in the adapter housing and traversing the optical axis. In the optical connector adapter, the shutter member includes a shutter plate portion that crosses the optical axis, and a mounting piece portion that extends in a fitting direction of the optical connector, and the adapter housing is connected to the optical connector from the fitting end. A receiving groove extending in the fitting direction, and the receiving groove is a bottom surface, a portion rising from the bottom surface, and a downward tapered wall continuous to the rising portion, and forming a groove opened inward together with the bottom surface and a guide side wall comprising a downwardly tapered wall, the mounting piece portion is inserted into the receiving groove from the mating end of said adapter housing Each of both side edges of the mounting piece portion is guided in contact with the guide side wall, and the mounting piece portion is guided by the receiving groove in the fitting direction and the left and right directions with respect to the fitting direction. An adapter for an optical connector, wherein the adapter is fixed at a fixed position in three directions orthogonal to each other in a direction orthogonal to a fitting direction and a right and left direction.
[0008]
[Action]
According to the optical connector adapter of the present invention configured as described above, the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 is determined by the receiving groove 17 at a fixed position in the X, Y, and Z directions orthogonal to each other. Since the shutter plate portion 14 is firmly fixed, the shutter plate portion 14 can be disposed at a position crossing the optical axis without rattling.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0010]
1 to 10 show a two-core optical connector adapter 1 according to the first embodiment. The square-tube-shaped first adapter housing 2 and second adapter housing 3 are coupled so that flanges 4 and 5 formed at the inner end are aligned. Each adapter housing 2, 3 is opened with the outer ends as fitting ends 6, 7, and optical connector receiving cavities 8, 9 are formed from the fitting ends 6, 7 toward the inside.
[0011]
The optical connector receiving cavities 8 and 9 are respectively formed to receive optical connectors (not shown) in two upper and lower stages, and are fitted to the first adapter housing 2 side and the second adapter housing 3 side. So that the optical connector fitted in the upper and lower stages can be connected through the guide tube 10 (FIGS. 2 and 5) installed so as to penetrate the joint portions of the first and second adapter housings 2 and 3, respectively. Has been. That is, the ferrule of each optical connector is inserted into the guide tube 10 so that the optical axes can be connected in a matched state.
[0012]
The optical connector receiving cavities 8 and 9 are provided with a latch piece 11 that engages with the optical connector so that the fitted optical connector can be held.
[0013]
The first adapter housing 2 on the front side in FIG. 1 and on the left side in FIGS. 2 and 3 is set as a fitting end where the optical connector can be attached and detached, that is, fitted or removed at any time. A shutter member 12 is provided to prevent the laser light emitted through the optical connector fitted on the second adapter housing 3 side.
[0014]
The shutter member 12 has the shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 to 10, and a thin metal plate (thickness 5/100 mm) having superelastic characteristics such as a shape memory alloy (for example, Ni—Ti alloy) is formed. Is. In other words, the shutter plate portion 14 is formed in a shape in which the shutter plate portion 14 continues from the belt plate-shaped mounting piece portion 13 at an acute angle. When the mounting piece portion 13 is mounted and fixed to the mounting portion 15 formed on the outer surface of the side wall of the first adapter housing 2, the shutter plate portion 14 extends from the fitting end 6 into the optical connector receiving cavity 8, and the guide tube 10 is moved. The optical axis is extended across the extension of the central axis. Further, when the optical connector is fitted from the fitting end 6, the shutter plate portion 14 is pushed and elastically deformed by the optical connector, and can be retracted to the mounting piece portion 13 side in the optical connector receiving cavity 8.
[0015]
Since the optical connector adapter 1 of this embodiment has two cores, two shutter members 12 are provided. In FIG. 1, the lower shutter member 12 visible on the lower side is shown in a state where the attachment to the first adapter housing 2 is completed. The upper shutter member 12 visible on the upper side is shown in a state to be attached. The shutter plate portion 14 of the upper shutter member 12 crosses the upper optical axis, and the shutter plate portion 14 of the lower shutter member 12 crosses the lower optical axis. The two shutter members 12 are common and can be mounted upside down.
[0016]
The mounting structure of the shutter member 12 by the mounting portion 15 formed on the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 and the side wall outer surface of the first adapter housing 2 is devised so that the shutter member 12 can be mounted easily and securely. It has been subjected. That is, an engagement hole 16 is formed near the end portion of the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 which is formed in a band plate shape, while the mounting portion 15 of the first adapter housing 2 is formed from the fitting end 6 side. The receiving groove 17 is configured to allow the mounting piece portion 13 to be inserted, and the receiving groove 17 is provided with an engagement protrusion 18, an escape groove 19, a pressing protrusion 20, and a guide side wall 21.
[0017]
The engaging protrusion 18 is engaged with and engaged with an engaging hole 16 formed in the mounting piece portion 13, and is formed substantially at the center in the width direction on the bottom surface 17 a of the receiving groove 17. The surface of the engaging protrusion 18 on the fitting end 6 side is formed as a rising slope 18a, and when the mounting piece portion 13 is inserted along the receiving groove 17, the end of the mounting piece portion 13 is guided so as to rise up the rising slope 18a. After the engagement, the engagement holes 16 are engaged with each other where the engagement holes 16 coincide with the engagement protrusions 18.
[0018]
The escape grooves 19 are formed on both sides of the engaging protrusion 18 along the longitudinal direction of the receiving groove 17. The depth of the escape groove 19 is preferably larger than the thickness of the thin metal plate constituting the shutter member 12. The pressing protrusion 20 is provided via an arm 22 extending from both side walls of the receiving groove 17 so as to face the escape groove 19. The pressing projection 20 is formed in a polygonal shape (pentagonal in this embodiment) as best shown in FIG. 7, and one of the polygonal ridges 20 a is made to face the groove 19. The distance between the opposing ridge 20a and the bottom surface 17a of the receiving groove 17 is set to be narrower than the thickness of the thin metal plate constituting the shutter member 12, and the mounting piece portion 13 is pushed by the pressing projection 20. It is designed to be slightly deformed toward the escape groove 19 side.
[0019]
The guide side walls 21 are formed on both side walls of the receiving groove 17 on the side closer to the fitting end 6 than the arm 22, and the short vertical wall portion 21a and the vertical wall portion 21a rising from the bottom surface 17a of the receiving groove 17 are formed. And a downward tapered wall portion 21b inclined in the center direction of the receiving groove 17 in succession. The interval between the vertical wall portions 21a on both sides facing each other is wider than the width of the mounting piece portion 13, but the height of the vertical wall portion 21a is made shorter than the thickness of the thin metal plate constituting the shutter member 12. Yes. When the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 is inserted into the receiving groove 17, both side edges of the mounting piece portion 13 are in contact with the opposing tapered wall portions 21 b to guide the insertion.
[0020]
As a result of the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 and the receiving groove 17 constituting the mounting portion 15 being configured in this way, the shutter member 12 is inserted into the receiving groove 17 from the fitting end 6. 12 can be attached easily and securely. First, when the mounting piece portion 13 is inserted into the receiving groove 17 from the fitting end 6 side, both side edges of the mounting piece portion 13 are in contact with the tapered wall portion 21b, and the left and right directions with respect to the insertion direction X (in the insertion direction X). On the other hand, the mounting piece portion 13 is set at a certain position in the direction perpendicular to the plane parallel to the bottom surface 17a, that is, the Y direction in FIG.
[0021]
When the mounting piece portion 13 is further inserted, the mounting piece portion 13 is pressed by the pressing protrusion 20 and passes under the pressing protrusion 20 toward the engaging protrusion 18, and the engaging protrusion 18 and the engaging hole 16 are formed. The insertion and fixation can be completed by fitting. In this state, in addition to the mounting piece portion 13 being set at a fixed position in the Y direction as described above, the engagement protrusion 18 is also engaged in the insertion direction, that is, the X direction orthogonal to the Y direction. The hole 16 is fixed and fixed at a certain position by pressing with the pressing protrusion 20.
[0022]
In addition, the mounting piece portion 13 is also the bottom surface of the receiving groove 17 in the Z direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the outer surface of the side wall of the first adapter housing 2 in which the receiving groove 17 is formed. In the state supported by 17a, it is determined at a fixed position by pressing by the pressing protrusion 20 and contact between the tapered wall 21b and the side edge of the mounting piece portion 13.
[0023]
As described above, the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 is fixed in the receiving groove 17 of the mounting portion 15 at a fixed position in each of the X, Y, and Z directions orthogonal to each other. The portion 14 can also be arranged at a position crossing the optical axis without rattling.
[0024]
Also, the groove-like portion into which the mounting piece portion 13 of the shutter member 12 is inserted is not a narrow width groove corresponding to the thickness of the mounting piece portion 13, but the downward tapered wall portion 21 b and the receiving groove 17. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first adapter housing 2 from being difficult to be formed. In addition, the Z-direction position where the pressing protrusion 20 is disposed also eliminates the need for high accuracy by making the ridge 20a and the escape groove 19 face each other, thereby facilitating molding. Since the first adapter housing 2 and the second adapter housing 3 are usually formed of a plastic molded product, the structure of the receiving groove 17 contributes to facilitating the molding of the adapter housing. The optical connector adapter can be downsized in response to the downsizing of the optical connector.
[0025]
FIGS. 11-13 is the adapter 30 for optical connectors of 2nd Embodiment. This optical connector adapter 30 has a single-core structure, and can be connected by fitting one optical connector to each fitting end 6, 7. The shutter member 12 is attached to one fitting end 6 as in the first embodiment. Since the configuration of the mounting piece portion 13 and the receiving groove 17 of the shutter member 12 is the same as described above, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0026]
Furthermore, FIGS. 14-16 is the adapter 50 for optical connectors of 3rd Embodiment. The optical connector adapter 50 has an eight-core structure, and can be connected to eight fitting connectors 6 and 7 by fitting eight optical connectors. In this embodiment as well, a shutter member 12 similar to that of the first embodiment is attached to one fitting end 6 so that each shutter member 12 traverses eight optical axes.
[0027]
The receiving grooves 17 into which the mounting piece portions 13 of the respective shutter members 12 are inserted are formed on the outer surface of the side wall of the first adapter housing 2 for the uppermost shutter member 12, but the receiving grooves 17 for the other shutter members are provided. Is configured in a portion of a partition wall 51 that partitions the optical connector receiving cavity 8 formed in eight stages. Since the structure of the receiving groove 17 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0028]
In the attached drawings, in FIGS. 3, 4, 11, 12, 14, and 15, the shutter member 12 is indicated by a chain line. This is to prevent the configuration of the portion hidden by the shutter member 12 from becoming unclear. 2, 13, and 16, a part of the guide tube 10 into which the ferrule of the optical connector is inserted is omitted. This is to make the shape of the latch piece 11 clear.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the mounting piece portion of the shutter member is configured to be inserted into the receiving groove of the adapter housing, and in the inserted state, is configured to be fixed at a fixed position in three directions orthogonal to each other. Therefore, it is possible to provide an adapter for an optical connector that can fix the shutter member easily and firmly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical connector adapter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view with a part omitted.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.
FIG. 4 is a left side view of the same.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view with a part omitted.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a shutter plate mounting groove.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a shutter plate mounting groove.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the shutter plate.
FIG. 9 is a front view of the shutter plate.
FIG. 10 is a left side view of the shutter plate.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of an optical connector adapter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is also a right side view.
FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view similarly showing a part thereof omitted.
FIG. 14 is a front view of an optical connector adapter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is also a plan view.
FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view similarly.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 30, 50 Optical connector adapter 2 1st adapter housing 3 2nd adapter housing 6 and 7 Fitting end 8 and 9 Optical connector receiving cavity 12 Shutter member 13 Mounting piece part 14 Shutter plate part 16 Engagement hole 17 Receiving groove 17a Bottom surface 18 of receiving groove Engaging projection 18a Ascending slope 19 Relief groove 20 Holding projection 20a Ling 21 Guide side wall 21a Vertical wall portion 21b Taper wall portion 22 Arm

Claims (3)

An optical connector comprising: an adapter housing having a fitting end of an optical connector formed at least at one end; and a shutter member disposed in an optical connector receiving cavity formed in the adapter housing so as to cross the optical axis In the adapter
The shutter member includes a shutter plate portion that crosses the optical axis, and a mounting piece portion that extends in the fitting direction of the optical connector,
The adapter housing includes a receiving groove extending from the fitting end in the fitting direction of the optical connector,
The receiving groove includes a bottom surface, a portion rising from the bottom surface, and a guide side wall including a downward tapered wall continuous with the rising portion and forming a groove opened inward with the bottom surface. Prepared,
The mounting piece portion is inserted into the receiving groove from the fitting end of the adapter housing,
Each of both side edges of the mounting piece portion is guided in contact with the guide side wall,
The mounting piece portion is fixed by the receiving groove in each of three directions orthogonal to the fitting direction, the left and right directions with respect to the fitting direction, and the direction perpendicular to the fitting direction and the left and right directions. An optical connector adapter, wherein the adapter is fixed at a position. The shutter member is constituted by a thin metal plate having superelastic properties, the strip-shaped mounting piece portion, according to claim 1 which is composed of a shutter plate portions continuous acute angle from the mounting piece portion Adapter for optical connectors. An optical connector comprising: an adapter housing having a fitting end of an optical connector formed at least at one end; and a shutter member disposed in an optical connector receiving cavity formed in the adapter housing so as to cross the optical axis In the adapter
The shutter member includes a shutter plate portion that crosses the optical axis, and a mounting piece portion that extends in the fitting direction of the optical connector,
The adapter housing is provided with a receiving groove for receiving the mounting piece portion,
The receiving groove includes a bottom surface and a guide side wall, an engagement protrusion is provided at the center of the bottom surface in the width direction, relief grooves are provided on both sides of the engagement protrusion, and an arm extending inward from the guide side wall. A pressing projection facing the escape groove is provided on the fitting end side from the engagement projection, and a downward tapered wall portion is formed on the guide side wall on the fitting end side from the arm. It is configured to have a groove formed inside,
The mounting piece portion is inserted into a receiving groove extending in the fitting direction of the optical connector from the fitting end of the adapter housing, both side edges are in contact with the taper wall portion, and the engagement holes are engaged with the engagement protrusions to be engaged. In addition, the holding protrusion is pressed against the bottom surface side of the receiving groove by the pressing protrusion, and the mounting piece part is in the receiving direction in the fitting direction, the right and left direction with respect to the fitting direction, and the fitting direction and the left and right direction. An adapter for an optical connector, wherein the adapter is fixed at a fixed position in each of three orthogonal directions.

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