JP4658165B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector provided at the tip of an optical fiber with respect to an optical input / output end of an optical element or the like.

Currently, optical transceivers used in optical LAN systems and the like are mounted with light-emitting elements such as semiconductor lasers or optical chip modules such as photodiodes along the optical axis along the circuit board. In general, an optical connector is attached to the end of a circuit board or a lead frame and connected to an external optical fiber. As the optical connector used here, a surrounding single-core or multi-core optical ferrule is used (for example, see Patent Document 1).
By the way, as the demand for photoelectric composite circuits and opto-electric hybrid boards has increased recently, optical transceivers with a connection method in which the optical axis of the optical element is along the board have various restrictions on the mounting position of the optical connector. The degree of freedom in designing a circuit and a circuit board is limited, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size of the board.

Therefore, the present applicant has recently proposed an optical transceiver in which the optical axis of the optical element is perpendicular to the substrate surface and the optical connector is inserted and removed in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface.
In this optical transceiver, a connector holder having an elastic piece for holding an optical connector so as to be pressed down is mounted on the substrate, and the optical connector is pressed into the elastic piece by being pressed into the connector holder toward the substrate. It is supposed to be.
JP-A-6-273461

However, in the proposed optical transceiver, since a housing that can accommodate the optical connector is not provided around the connector holder, if the force for pushing the optical connector against the connector holder is biased, when the optical transceiver is inserted into the connector holder, There is a possibility that the optical axis direction of the optical connector is tilted, and it is pressed into the elastic piece in a tilted posture inappropriate for optical connection.
Since other components or the like may be mounted around the connector holder on the board, it is difficult to operate the optical connector with fingers to attach or detach the connector holder.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an optical connector that can be inserted into a connector holder disposed on a circuit board without being inclined and can be detached from the connector holder. Is an issue.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a circuit in which an optical fiber is fixed to a main body portion, the main body portion is gripped by an optical connector insertion / extraction tool from the joining surface side and the back side opposite to the joining surface. An optical connector that is inserted into and removed from a connector holder disposed on a board, wherein an optical element having an optical axis perpendicular to the circuit board is disposed on the circuit board, and the body portion facing the circuit board is joined The surface is provided with four recesses to which the optical connector insertion / removal tool can be locked, and the recesses are arranged at the four corners of the main body, respectively, and when the optical connector insertion / extraction tool is gripped, the main body An optical connector is provided in which four concave portions of the joint surface of the portion are locked and the back surface of the main body portion is pressed.
By providing the recess, the pressing force and the pulling force when the optical connector is inserted / removed are reliably transmitted to the optical connector, so that the insertion / removal operation can be performed more stably.

  According to the optical connector of the present invention, the optical connector does not tilt or wobble when the optical connector is inserted into or removed from the connector holder. Therefore, even if the optical connector fixing structure has no housing for accommodating the optical connector, the work of connecting the optical connector to the connector can be performed efficiently and reliably. In addition, when inserting / removing, the optical connector can be inserted into the connector holder by pushing from right above the board, and the optical connector insertion / extraction tool is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the board, so that it is mounted on the board. The optical connector can be inserted / removed without affecting other components, and it is possible to cope with a high mounting density of various electronic components on the board.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an orthographic projection showing an example of a tool suitable for inserting / removing the optical connector of the present invention into / from a connector holder, (a) a front view, (b) a plan view, and (c) a side view. . 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line A in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line B of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the optical connector of the present invention and a connector holder for fixing the optical connector. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where the optical connector of FIG. 4 is attached to the connector holder.
6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of a state in which the optical connector of the present invention is inserted into the connector holder using the optical connector insertion / extraction tool, and FIG. 6 is a diagram viewed from the optical fiber drawing side, FIG. 7 is a view seen from the side of the optical connector.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the optical connector is removed from the connector holder using the optical connector insertion / extraction tool.

  The optical connector 14 and the optical connector fixing structure 10 to which the optical connector 14 is applied will be described. 4 and 5, reference numeral 11 is a circuit board, reference numeral 12 is a photoelectric conversion module, reference numeral 13 is a connector holder, reference numeral 14 is an optical connector, and reference numeral 15 is an optical fiber.

  The optical connector 14 is obtained by fixing the optical fiber 15 to a connector main body 14b made of plastic or the like, and the configuration thereof is not particularly limited. However, the optical connector 14 is installed so as to overlap the photoelectric conversion module 12. Then, the end face (not shown) of the optical fiber 15 is disposed to face the joining surface 12 a that is the upper surface of the photoelectric conversion module 12, and the optical path between the end face of the optical fiber 15 and the light input / output end 16 a of the optical element 16. Are used, and are configured to be optically connected. Since the optical connector 14 is positioned and optically connected to the optical element 16, an appropriate positioning means (not shown) can be provided.

  The optical fiber 15 fixed to the connector main body 14b of the optical connector 14 exposes individual optical fibers (single-core optical fiber core, optical fiber strand, or bare optical fiber) by removing the collective resin coating at the tip. This is a multi-core optical fiber ribbon that has been (spoken). Further, the optical fiber 15 is not limited to a multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber, and various configurations such as a single-core optical fiber can be employed.

The photoelectric conversion module 12 is, for example, a chip-shaped or array-shaped module in which a light-emitting element such as a semiconductor laser such as a laser diode (LD) or a light-receiving element such as a photodiode (PD) is mounted or incorporated. It is. The photoelectric conversion module 12 is placed on the circuit board 11 with the bottom surface facing the circuit board 11. Here, the optical element 16 is mounted on the upper surface 12a of the photoelectric conversion module 12, and the light input / output end 16a is directed upward (upward in FIG. 4) opposite to the circuit board 11 of the photoelectric conversion module 12. . The light input / output end 16a of the optical element 16 is, for example, a light emitting surface (outgoing end) in a light emitting element and a light receiving surface (incident end) in a light receiving element.
The light input / output end 16a is not limited to the light emitting surface or the light receiving surface of the optical element. In general, it may be an incident end face or an exit end face of light, and may be, for example, an end face of an optical fiber arranged perpendicular to a circuit board.

An upper surface 12 a of the photoelectric conversion module 12 is a bonding surface (hereinafter, the upper surface 12 a is referred to as a bonding surface 12 a) bonded to the optical connector 14, and extends in a direction along the circuit board 11.
The optical axis of the optical element 16 is perpendicular to the circuit board 11.
The optical element 16 is electrically connected to a circuit on the circuit board 11 and the like. Although not particularly illustrated, the circuit board 11 on which the photoelectric conversion module 12 is mounted includes a photoelectric conversion circuit, a control processing unit, an optical signal processing circuit, an optical element driving circuit, and other electronic components on the circuit board 11. Various circuits for performing control and the like are mounted.

  The connector holder 13 includes a frame-shaped main body 13f fixed on the circuit board 11 so as to surround the photoelectric conversion module 12 from the outside, and a contact portion 13a on which the frame-shaped main body 13f contacts the circuit board 11. It has a pair of elastic protruding pieces 13c which are protruding portions protruding from the upper edge portion 13b of the frame-like main body 13f on the opposite side (upper side in FIG. 5). Specifically, the connector holder 13 is formed by bending a metal plate such as stainless steel. The elastic protruding piece 13c is bent inward of the frame-shaped main body 13f so that the distal end portions 13d of the tongue-like protruding portions are curved and the distal end portions 13d of the pair of elastic protruding pieces 13c are close to each other. This is a leaf spring-shaped part.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the optical connector 14 has an inclined surface 14n inclined from the side surface 14m to the back surface 14h. The optical connector 14 has an inclined surface 14u having a shape that gradually cuts into the connector main body 14b from the side surface 14m toward the joint surface 14a.
When the optical connector 14 is pushed toward the connector holder 13, the space between the elastic protruding pieces 13c is expanded by the inclined surface 14u on the lower side of the optical connector 14, and the optical connector 14 is inserted between the elastic protruding pieces 13c. The When the optical connector 14 is further pushed in, the tip 13d of the elastic protruding piece 13c is spread outward (outward in the left-right direction in FIG. 5) along the side surface 14m of the optical connector 14, and further, the inclined surface 14n. The elastic protrusion 13c bends inward and the optical connector 14 is held. In such a connector holder 13, the optical connector 14 is pressed toward the photoelectric conversion module 12 by the pressing force of the elastic protruding piece 13c, and is held so as not to wobble.
That is, the connector holder 13 positions the optical connector 14 attached to the tip of the optical fiber 15 to be optically connected to the optical element 16 on the photoelectric conversion module 12, and It functions to hold down and hold so as not to be displaced.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “insertion / extraction tool”) suitable for the optical connector fixing structure 10 has one end of a pair of arm portions 3, 4 connected to each other. It is a tweezer-like tool connected via the part 2, and the tip part which is the other end opposite to the connecting part 2 of the arm parts 3 and 4 is a grip part 5 for gripping the optical connector 14. The optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 can be manufactured, for example, by cutting and bending a metal plate such as stainless steel into a predetermined shape, and in this case, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The connecting portion 2 is bent in an arc shape and has elasticity, and the grip portion 5 side of the arm portions 3 and 4 is opened in a state where no external force is applied. For this reason, in order to close the grip part 5, the arm parts 3, 4 may be clamped so that the arm parts 3, 4 approach each other against the elastic force of the connecting part 2. It is sufficient to loosen the gripping force on 4.
The arm portions 3 and 4 are such that side edge portions 3b and 4b of the intermediate portions 3a and 4a between the connecting portion 2 and the grip portion 5 are bent toward the other arm portion, and the intermediate portions 3a and 4a are bent. It is easier to hold when you hold it in your hand.

  Further, the arm portions 3 and 4 are formed with a pair of sliding contact portions 3c and 4c so as to protrude from the side edge portions 3b and 4b on both sides toward the other arm portion. The sliding contact portions 3c and 4c are overlapped with each other, and the sliding contact portions 3c and 3c of one arm portion 3 are disposed inside the sliding contact portions 4c and 4c of the other arm portion 4. . An elongated hole 3d is formed in the sliding contact portion 3c of the one arm portion 3 along the direction in which the one arm portion 3 and the other arm portion 4 face each other (vertical direction in FIG. 1A). Yes. Further, a slidable contact portion 4 c of the other arm portion 4 is formed with a collar piece 4 d that is bent toward the slidable contact portion 3 c of the one arm portion 3. The collar piece 4d is inserted into the elongated hole 3d, and the collar piece 4d slides in the extending direction of the elongated hole 3d as the arms 3 and 4 are opened and closed. For this reason, the arm parts 3 and 4 do not shift in different directions in the longitudinal direction, and the optical connectors 14 can be stably held while preventing the gripping parts 5 from being misaligned.

The grip portion 5 is formed wide so as to be able to contact the side surface 14m of the optical connector 14, and on both sides of the grip portion 5 in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1B), the arm portion 3, 4, a protruding piece 5c protruding in the extending direction is formed. A hook-like locking piece 5a that is bent at a substantially right angle toward the other gripping portion 5 is formed at the tip of the protruding piece 5c. In addition, a pressing piece 5b is formed at the base of the protruding piece 5c. The pressing piece 5b protrudes in an oblique direction toward the inner side in the width direction of the gripping part 5 (the left-right direction in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 6, in the pressing piece 5 b, the side edge portion 5 y on the distal end side of the protruding piece 5 c is a pressing portion for contacting and pressing the pressure receiving surface 14 y of the concave portion 14 x of the optical connector 14.
For each gripping part 5, a tongue-like tongue piece 5d is formed between the two protruding pieces 5c. Between the protruding piece 5c and the tongue piece 5d, there is a cutout portion 5e cut out in a substantially square shape.

Here, the number of the locking pieces 5a and the pressing pieces 5b is two for each gripping part 5, and the total number of the gripping parts 5 and 5 is four.
In order to stably hold and remove the optical connector 14, the number of the locking pieces 5 a is preferably 3 or more in total of the both gripping portions 5, 5. It is preferable to use a plurality of each (four or more in total).
Further, in order to stably hold and press the optical connector 14, the number of the pressing pieces 5b is preferably 3 or more in total of both the holding parts 5, 5, and in particular, the holding parts 5, 5 It is preferable to use a plurality of each (4 or more in total).

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, when the optical connector 14 is gripped by the grip portion 5, the locking pieces 5 a are inserted into the recesses 14 v formed at the four corners on the joining surface 14 a side of the optical connector 14. The pressing pieces 5b are inserted into the recesses 14x formed at the four corners on the back surface 14h side of the optical connector 14.
As shown in FIG. 6, the gap D between the locking piece 5 a and the pressing piece 5 b formed on the same protruding piece 5 c is a recess 14 v and a back surface 14 h on the joining surface 14 a side formed at the same corner of the optical connector 14. Since the clearance is slightly larger than the distance d from the side recess 14x, insertion into the recesses 14v and 14x into the locking piece 5a and the pressing piece 5b can be performed without difficulty.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the optical connector 14 is inserted into the connector holder 13, the cutout portion 5 e is inserted with a protruding portion 13 c (elastic protruding piece in the above example) of the connector holder 13. Here, a total of two pairs of notches 5e are formed at symmetrical positions in the width direction of the grip portion 5 (the left-right direction in FIG. 7). Although this is not particularly essential, the protrusion 13c is inserted into the other notch 5e even when the direction of the optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 with respect to the optical connector 14 is reversed left and right. The optical connector 14 can be inserted without any problem.

For example, an example in which the optical connector 14 of the present invention is inserted into and removed from the connector holder using the optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the grip portion 5 is brought close to the optical connector 14, and the arms 3 and 4 are clamped against the elastic force of the connecting portion 2, thereby closing the grip portion 5 and holding the optical connector 14. It can be gripped. At this time, the protruding piece 5c sandwiches the side surface 14m of the optical connector 14, the locking piece 5a is inserted into the concave portion 14v on the joining surface 14a side of the optical connector 14, and the pressing piece 5b is on the back surface 14h side of the optical connector 14. Is inserted into the recess 14x. Thereby, since the optical connector 14 is held so as to be held from the four corners, the optical connector 14 is hardly tilted or wobbled and is stably held.

When the gripped optical connector 14 is pushed into the connector holder 13, the interval between the elastic protruding pieces 13c is expanded by the inclined surface 14u of the optical connector 14, and the optical connector 14 is inserted and held between the elastic protruding pieces 13c. be able to.
When inserting the optical connector 14 into the connector holder 13, the pressing pieces 5b engaged with the recesses 14x at the four corners on the back surface 14h side of the optical connector 14 are pressed evenly onto the optical connector 14 via the pressure receiving surfaces 14y of the recesses 14x. Since pressure can be applied, there is no possibility that the optical connector 14 is tilted or wobbled.

The notch part 5e of the insertion / extraction tool 1 receives the elastic protrusion 13c (protrusion part) of the connector holder 13, whereby the insertion path of the insertion / extraction tool 1 is guided and positional deviation is prevented.
The optical connector 14 is firmly held by the connector holder 13 by the tip portion 13d of the elastic protruding piece 13c sandwiching the pressing inclined surface 14n of the optical connector 14 exposed from the notch 5e. There is no possibility that the elastic protruding piece 13c will be pressed in an inclined posture inappropriate for optical connection.
After the optical connector 14 is held by the connector holder 13, the gripping portion 5 can be opened to remove the optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 by loosening the gripping force on the arm portions 3 and 4. Since the interference with the elastic projection piece 13c can be avoided by the cutout portion 5e when opening the holding portion 5, the removal of the optical connector insertion / extraction tool 1 is maintained while the elastic projection piece 13c holds the optical connector 14 ,It can be carried out.

In order to remove the optical connector 14 from the connector holder 13, similarly, the optical connector 14 held by the connector holder 13 is gripped and the locking piece 5 a is engaged with the recess 14 v on the joining surface 14 a side of the optical connector 14. Let In this state, by pulling the insertion / extraction tool 1 in a direction away from the circuit board 11 (upper side in FIG. 8), a pulling force is equally applied to the optical connector 14 from the locking piece 5a through the pressure receiving surface 14w of the recess 14v. Thus, the optical connector 14 can be removed from the connector holder 13 without tilting or wobbling.
For this reason, there is no fear of inconvenience such as the optical connector 14 hitting the optical element 16 and damaging it, and the work is ensured.

In this embodiment, since the optical connector can be gripped by being held by the locking piece and the pressing piece, the inclination and wobbling of the optical connector at the time of insertion / removal are suppressed, and the operation of pressing or pulling is performed. The force can be applied evenly to the optical connector, and even if the optical connector is small, the insertion / extraction operation can be performed stably and reliably.
In addition, since the optical connector is operated in the vertical direction with respect to the substrate, even when the mounting density of the electronic components on the substrate is high, the insertion / extraction operation can be performed without interfering with the electronic components.

Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, the protruding portion of the connector holder does not need to be a holding spring (elastic protruding piece) that presses down the optical connector, and may be any one that protrudes above the circuit board so that the optical connector insertion / extraction tool can be guided appropriately. .

It is an orthographic projection figure which shows an example of a tool suitable when inserting / extracting the optical connector of this invention, Comprising: (a) Front view, (b) Plan view, (c) Side view. It is sectional drawing which follows the cutting line AA of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the cutting line BB of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the optical connector and connector holder of this invention. It is a side view which shows the state which mounted | wore the connector holder with the optical connector of FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of a mode that the said optical connector is inserted in a connector holder using the said optical connector insertion / extraction tool, and was seen from the drawer side of the optical fiber. It is the figure which showed an example of a mode that the said optical connector was inserted in a connector holder using the said optical connector insertion / extraction tool, and it looked toward the side part of the optical connector. It is a figure which shows an example of a mode that the said optical connector is extracted from a connector holder using the said optical connector insertion / extraction tool.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector insertion / extraction tool (insertion / extraction tool), 5 ... Holding part, 5a ... Locking piece, 5b ... Pressing piece, 5e ... Notch part, 13 ... Connector holder, 13c ... Protrusion part (elastic protrusion piece), 14 ... Light Connector, 14a: Bonding surface (bottom surface) of optical connector, 14h: Back surface of optical connector, 14v, 14x: Recess, 15 ... Optical fiber, 16a: Light input / output end.

Claims (1)

The optical fiber (15) is fixed to the main body (14b), and the main body (14b) is gripped by the optical connector insertion / extraction tool from the joining surface side and the back side opposite to the joining surface, and the circuit board ( 11) An optical connector that is inserted into and removed from a connector holder (13) disposed above,
An optical element having an optical axis perpendicular to the circuit board is disposed on the circuit board,
The joint surface (14a) of the main body (14b) facing the circuit board (11) is provided with four recesses (14v) that can be engaged with an optical connector insertion / extraction tool,
The recesses (14v) are respectively arranged at the four corners of the main body (14b) , and when held by the optical connector insertion / extraction tool, the four recesses on the joint surface of the main body are locked. An optical connector (14), wherein a back surface of the main body is pressed.

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