JP4728917B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector for optical communication that can be connected to a PC, and is particularly suitable as a plug-in type optical connector assembled to a board member.

One optical connector for connecting optical fibers to each other, FPC (F iber P hysical C ontact) connectors such as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 is known. The external appearance of this FPC connector is schematically shown in FIG. 7, and the connection state is shown in FIG. That is, the FPC connector 1 includes an optical jack 3 into which one optical fiber 2 is drawn and an optical plug 5 into which the other optical fiber 4 is drawn. The optical jack 3 has a microhole, that is, a connection hole 6a having an inner diameter (for example, 126 μm in the case of an optical fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μm) slightly larger than the outer diameter (usually 125 μm) of the optical fibers 2 and 4. A connection block 6 is incorporated. One optical fiber 2 is inserted into the base end side of the connection hole 6 a of the connection block 6. The optical fiber 4 on the optical plug 5 side that is inserted from the distal end side of the connection hole 6 a of the connection block 6 is held in a state of protruding in advance from the abutting surface 5 a of the optical plug 5 that abuts against the abutting surface 3 a of the optical jack 3. ing. When the abutting surfaces 5a of the optical jack 3 and the optical plug 5 are abutted and connected, the other optical fiber 4 held by the optical plug 5 is connected to the optical jack in the connection hole 6a of the connection block 6 of the optical jack 3. The other optical fiber 4 is bent in the optical plug 5 by the buckling stress generated at this time. The elastic force generated by the bending of the other optical fiber 4 brings about a PC state in which the end faces 2a and 4a of both optical fibers 2 and 4 come into contact with each other.

  Incidentally, in order to realize such a PC connection, the free length on the connection end portion side of the optical fiber 4 that can be bent and deformed on the optical plug 5 side is set to 8 mm, for example, and the extra length is set to 30 μm, for example. The buckling stress acting on the fiber 4 is set to be 50 grams, for example.

FIG. 9 shows the appearance of a multi-fiber optical connector using the FPC connector principle described above in a partially broken state. The optical connector 100, the 2 heart disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2 F14 (JIS C 5983) form, i.e. are those that MU the (M iniature U nit-coupling) fitting structure type optical connector based, The optical jack 200 and the optical plug 300 are coupled via the optical adapter 400. In the optical adapter 400 having a frame shape, a guide member 401 for defining the relative positions of the optical jack 200 and the optical plug 300 with respect to the optical adapter 400 is projected. Correspondingly, guide grooves 201 and 301 that engage with the guide member 401 are formed in the optical jack 200 and the optical plug 300, respectively. Thereby, the optical jack 200 and the optical plug 300 can be individually attached to and detached from the optical adapter 400.

16-fiber FPC connector with shutter using MU fitting structure / 2003 IEICE Electronics Society Conference C-3-120 Structure and characteristics of high-density multi-fiber plug-in optical connector with self-holding function / IEICE Technical Report EMC91-39 (1991)

  In an optical communication device, by moving a board member such as a package substrate relative to the backplane, the optical fiber attached to the backplane and the optical fiber attached to the board member are automatically inserted and removed. An optical connection system is desired.

  However, when an FPC connector is to be realized in such an optical connection system, the conventional optical adapter 400 of the MU type optical connector 100 shown in FIG. 9 cannot be directly applied to the backplane of the optical communication apparatus. For this reason, for example, it is necessary to divide the optical adapter 400 into two parts and attach one to the backplane and the other to the board member, but it has been found that there are many other problems to be overcome. .

  The present invention has been made on the basis of such knowledge, and enables PC connection and disconnection between optical fibers by an insertion / extraction operation between board members such as a backplane and a package substrate in an optical communication apparatus. An object is to provide an optical connector.

An optical connector according to the present invention includes an optical plug having a frame to which a first optical fiber is connected and holding the connection end of the first optical fiber so as to surround the first optical fiber ;
A plug housing to which the optical plug is detachably mounted;
A second optical fiber that is connected to the first optical fiber in a butted state is coupled , and a frame that holds the second optical fiber so as to surround the connection end of the second optical fiber; An optical jack having a connection block for accommodating and holding the connection end portion of the second optical fiber and having a connection hole into which the first optical fiber is inserted from the distal end side ;
Comprising a jack housing which is removably coupled to the plug housing with the light jack is capable mounted off vent, prior Symbol when connected to the first optical fiber and said second optical fiber An optical connector in which the first optical fiber is bent in a frame of the optical plug,
A housing position correcting means which is formed in the plug housing and the jack housing, and corrects a shift between the relative positions;
The plug housing and the jack housing are formed on the plug housing and the jack housing, and are engaged with each other so as to maintain a connection state between the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber. Housing connecting means capable of connecting
A connection release means provided on at least one of the plug housing and the jack housing and capable of releasing the connection state by the housing connection means;
A positioning guide member formed integrally with the jack housing, and a member formed on the outer side of the optical plug frame and the outer side of the optical jack frame so that the positioning guide members are slidably engaged with each other. and a coupling groove, further comprising a frame position correcting means for correcting the relative positional deviation of the optical plug and the light jack, equipped with the optical jack and the plug housing equipped with the optical plug wherein When the jack housing is opposed, the facing distance between the housing position correcting means formed in the plug housing and the housing position correcting means formed in the jack housing is formed in the optical plug. A pair of an engaging groove and the positioning guide member formed in the jack housing The housing position correcting means functions before the frame position correcting means when the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are connected. It is.

  In the present invention, when the plug housing to which the optical plug is attached and the jack housing to which the optical jack is attached are connected, the relative position shift is corrected by the housing position correcting means. Also, the relative position shift between the optical plug frame and the optical jack connection block is corrected by the frame position correcting means. As a result, the connection end portion of the first optical fiber held in the frame of the optical plug is inserted into the connection hole from the distal end side of the connection hole of the connection block of the optical jack and accommodated on the proximal end side of the connection hole. The PC is brought into contact with the second optical fiber. This state is maintained by the housing connecting means, but by operating the connection releasing means, the plug housing and the jack housing can be separated, and the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are disconnected. It becomes a state.

  In the optical connector according to the present invention, when the optical plug and the optical jack are connected, the connection block is accommodated in the frame of the optical plug so that the first optical fiber is inserted from the distal end side of the connection hole. Good.

  The housing position correcting means extends along a first direction orthogonal to the attaching / detaching direction of the plug housing and the jack housing, the first inclined surface positioned on the outer side toward the distal end side, and the plug housing A plug housing and a jack housing are provided with a second inclined surface extending along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and a mounting / detaching direction between the plug housing and the jack housing. Any one of the above, corresponding to the first inclined surface, the third inclined surface located on the inner side toward the distal end side, and the fourth inclined surface corresponding to the second inclined surface and located on the inner side toward the distal end side. The other of the plug housing and the jack housing may have an inclined surface.

It is effective that form a tapered portion which tapers with respect to the opposing direction of the inner wall surface of the optical plug frame of the plug housing at the distal end of the positioning guide member.

  Either the plug housing or the jack housing can be fixed to the backplane and the other can be fixed to the board member. In particular, the plug housing is fixed to the backplane and the jack housing is fixed to the board member. Is preferred.

According to the optical connector of the present invention, it is possible to accurately define the relative position of the optical jack with respect to the jack housing, thereby accurately defining the relative position of the frame position correcting means with respect to the housing position correcting means of the optical jack. be able to. That is, after the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are connected, the relative position between the plug housing and the jack housing is roughly corrected by the housing position correcting means , and then the optical plug frame and the optical jack connection block. Can be more accurately aligned by the frame position correcting means. As a result, the optical fiber can be reliably inserted into the connection hole of the connection block of the optical jack, and a highly reliable and stable PC connection state can be realized.

  When one of the plug housing and the jack housing is fixed to the backplane and the other is fixed to the board member, plug-in connection of the optical connector is realized between the backplane side and the board member side such as a package substrate. can do. In particular, when the plug housing is fixed to the backplane and the jack housing is fixed to the board member, the board member can be carried out to a place with good workability, so that the second optical fiber attached to the optical jack can be removed. Maintenance of the connection end face can be easily performed.

  An embodiment in which an optical connector according to the present invention is applied to a plug-in type that can be assembled to a board member will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment but can be applied to any other technique belonging to the spirit of the present invention.

  The external appearance of the optical connector in this embodiment is shown in FIG. 1, the main part is disassembled and the external appearance is enlarged and shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional structure in the unconnected state is shown in FIG. 3, and the cross-sectional structure in the connected state Is shown in FIG. In the optical connector 10 according to the present embodiment, an optical plug 12 to which a first optical fiber 11 is connected, a plug housing 13 to which the optical plug 12 is detachably mounted, and a second optical fiber 14 are connected. And a jack housing 16 into which the optical jack 15 is detachably mounted. The plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are detachably connected to each other, and the first optical fiber 11 of the optical plug 12 and the second optical jack 15 are connected via the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16. The optical fiber 14 and the optical fiber 14 are connected to each other in a PC state. In the present embodiment, the plug housing 13 is attached to the backplane 17 and the jack housing 16 is fixed to the package substrate 18. However, if necessary, these attachment relations can be reversed. By moving the package substrate 18 relative to the backplane 17, the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 can be connected or disconnected. For this reason, a rack (not shown) on which the above-described optical communication device having the backplane 17 is mounted is a pair of upper and lower portions extending in the direction facing the package substrate 18, that is, along the direction in which the optical jack 15 is attached to or detached from the optical plug 12. Rails are attached. The package substrate 18 is movable along the pair of upper and lower guide rails in a direction facing the back plane 17 so that the package substrate 18 can be fixed to the back plane 17 by a locking means (not shown). It has become. In this state, the first optical fiber 11 and the second optical fiber 14 described above are in a connected state.

  Note that 16 optical fibers 11 and 14 are connected to the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 in the present embodiment, respectively, and their connection ends are arranged in parallel with each other at a constant interval. .

  In order to achieve the connection and disconnection between the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 as described above, the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 include the first optical fiber 11 and the second optical fiber 14. In order to maintain the PC connection state, housing connecting means for engaging each other and holding them in a connected state is formed. Further, a connection release means capable of releasing the connection state by the housing connection means is formed in at least one of the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16.

  The housing connecting means in this embodiment is provided on a frame 19 of the optical jack 15 and a pair of upper and lower locking claws 20 whose tip portions are elastically deformable in the vertical direction in FIG. And a pair of upper and lower claw locking portions 22 that are formed so that the tip ends of the pair of locking claws 20 can be locked. These claw locking portions 22 are made of a frame-like slider 23 that is slidably fitted in the longitudinal direction of the plug housing 13 (a direction parallel to the attaching / detaching direction of the optical plug 12 with respect to the plug housing 13). It is formed on the tip side. The slider 23 engages with a part of the sliding contact surface between the slider 23 and the plug housing 13 so as to be snapped to the plug housing 13 at the forward end thereof. The part is formed. Further, in order to release the engaged state of these engaging portions, a pair of claw portions 24 for releasing the engagement project from the left and right sides of the front end portion of the slider 23, respectively. The claw portion 24 has an inclined surface 24 a that is farther from the inner wall surface of the plug housing 13 toward the tip side, and can be elastically deformed in the left-right direction, that is, in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the plug housing 13. . Cutout portions 25 are formed in the left and right side walls of the jack housing 16 so as to abut against the inclined surfaces 24a to elastically deform the claw portions 24 inward, thereby releasing the engaged state of the engaging portions.

  That is, when the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are connected to each other so as to be connected to each other, the claw portion 24 comes into contact with the notch portion 25 and the claw portion 24 of the slider 23 is connected to the plug housing 13. The inner wall of the plug housing 13 and the slider 23 are disengaged from the inner wall so that the engagement state of the plug housing 13 and the slider 23 is released. The slider 23 is pushed by the jack housing 16 to move inside the plug housing 13. It is possible to retreat.

  Further, the connection release means in the present embodiment includes a cam block 26 protruding from both left and right ends of the locking claw 20 and a trapezoidal cam follower 27 with which the cam block 26 abuts. These cam followers 27 are formed at side end portions of the plug housing 13. The cam block 26 moves along the cam follower 27 as the jack housing 16 is attached to and detached from the plug housing 13 and is separated from the plug housing 13 in the vertical direction with elastic deformation of the locking claws 20. The pawl 20 can be displaced. When the jack housing 16 is fitted to the plug housing 13 to connect the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16, the cam block 26 rides on the cam follower 27 and the latching claw 20 is elastically deformed. First, when the cam block 26 passes through the cam follower, the elastic deformation of the locking claw 20 is released, and the locking claw 20 is locked to the claw locking portion 22 of the slider 23 described above. At this time, although the stress generated during fitting is instantaneously transmitted to the backplane 17 side, the slider 23 on which the claw locking portion 22 is formed is in a floating state with respect to the plug housing 13. It is possible to prevent the stress generated during the fitting from being continuously applied to the backplane 17 side.

  When a pulling force exceeding a predetermined value does not act on the package substrate 18 side, the locking claw 20 and the claw locking portion 22 are kept locked, and the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are integrally connected. It becomes a state. However, when a pulling force exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the package substrate 18 side, the cam block 26 rides on the cam follower 27 again and elastically deforms outward so that the locking claw 20 is disengaged from the claw locking portion 22. As a result, the jack housing 16 can be removed from the plug housing 13. Further, in this drawing process, the slider 23 is returned to the initial position, and the engaging portion of the slider 23 and the engaging portion of the plug housing 13 are engaged with each other.

  In addition, it is also possible to reversely set the structure of the housing connecting means and the connection releasing means in the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 described above.

  When the package substrate 18 is operated to connect the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16, it is common that the relative positions of the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are not exactly matched. For this reason, the housing 13 for the plug and the housing 16 for the jack are formed with a housing position correcting means for correcting the shift of the relative positions. The housing position correcting means in this embodiment is configured so that the jack housing 16 can be reliably connected to the plug housing 13 even if the jack housing 16 is displaced up and down, left and right, for example, about 2 mm or slightly tilted. It is. Specifically, a first inclined surface 28 that extends along a first direction orthogonal to the attaching / detaching direction of the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 and is located on the outer side toward the distal end side, and the plug The second inclined surface 29 that extends along the attaching / detaching direction of the housing 13 and the jack housing 16 and the second direction orthogonal to the first direction and is located on the outer side toward the distal end side is used for the plug. The opening end of the housing 13 has. In the present embodiment, the first inclined surface 28 is formed on a pair of upper and lower opening edges of the plug housing 13 having a rectangular frame shape, and the second inclined surface 29 is formed on a pair of left and right opening edges of the plug housing 13. Has been. Also, the third inclined surface 30 corresponding to the first inclined surface 28 is located on the inner side toward the distal end side, and the fourth inclined surface 31 corresponding to the second inclined surface 29 and located on the inner side toward the distal end side. Are provided at the open end of the jack housing 16. The third and fourth inclined surfaces 30 and 31 in the present embodiment are respectively formed at the front end portions of the guide blocks 32 protruding from the four corners of the jack housing 16 having a rectangular frame shape. The guide block 32 is fitted into the inner wall of the plug housing 13 in a sliding contact state, whereby the jack housing 16 is accurately positioned with respect to the plug housing 13.

  As described above, the optical plug 12 has the frame-shaped frame 21 that accommodates the connection end portion of the first optical fiber 11, and the frame 21 extends along the longitudinal direction in the optical plug 12. And is slidably held. The optical plug 12 also incorporates a spring mechanism 33 that urges the frame 21 forward.

  The optical jack 15 in this embodiment includes a frame-shaped frame 19 that houses the second optical fiber 14 so as to surround the connection end portion thereof, and the frame 19 in the longitudinal direction (parallel to the insertion / removal direction of the optical jack 15). A main body 35 that is slidably held in any direction), a spring mechanism 36 that is incorporated between the main body 35 and the frame 19 and biases the frame 19 forward, and first and second optical fibers from both sides. And a connection block 34 in which a connection hole 37 for inserting 11 and 14 is formed. The connection block 34 is fitted to the tip of the frame 19. The connection end portion of the second optical fiber 14 is accommodated and held in advance on the proximal end side of the connection hole 37 formed in the connection block 34, and the connection block 34 is connected when the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 are connected. The first optical fiber 11 is accommodated in the frame 21 of the optical plug 12, whereby the first optical fiber 11 is inserted from the distal end side of the connection hole 37, and the first and second optical fibers 11 and 14 are connected inside the connection hole 37. It comes to be faced. In the connection state between the first optical fiber 11 and the second optical fiber 14, the first optical fiber 11 bends within the frame 21 of the optical plug 12, thereby achieving the PC state. This connected state is maintained by the spring force of the spring mechanisms 33 and 36. More specifically, when the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are connected, the opening end surface of the frame 21 of the optical plug 12 and the opening end surface of the frame 19 of the optical jack 15 compress the spring mechanisms 33 and 36. Push in the state. The spring force of the spring mechanisms 33 and 36 generated as the frames 21 and 19 are retracted holds the opening end surfaces of the frames 21 and 19 in close contact with each other.

  Even if the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 are accurately connected by the housing position correcting means described above, the connection hole 37 of the connection block 34 of the optical jack 15 that can be attached to and detached from the jack housing 16 It is difficult to accurately fit the first optical fiber 11 of the detachable optical plug 12 to the plug housing 13. Therefore, the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 are formed with frame position correcting means for correcting a shift in their relative positions by engaging with a positioning guide member 38 formed in the jack housing 16. Has been. The positioning guide member 38 constituting a part of the frame position correcting means in the present invention has a pair of plates extending along the insertion / removal direction of the optical connector 10, and is between the connection block 34 and the locking claw 20. It is formed integrally with the jack housing 16 so as to be positioned. The frame position correcting means in the present embodiment formed on the optical plug 12 includes a pair of engaging grooves 39 formed on the outer side of the frame 21, and the distal end side of the positioning guide member 38 is in relation to the engaging grooves 39. It is adapted to be slidably engaged. The frame position correcting means in this embodiment formed on the optical jack 15 includes a pair of engaging grooves 40 formed on the outside of the frame 19, and when the optical jack 15 is inserted into the jack housing 16. The proximal end side of the positioning guide member 38 is slidably engaged with these engaging grooves 40. That is, the position of the optical jack 15 relative to the jack housing 16 is defined by the positioning guide member 38 and the optical jack engaging groove 40.

  Tapered tapered portions 41 are formed at the tips of the positioning guide members 38. When the relative positions of the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 are shifted when the optical connector 10 is connected, the frame of the optical plug 12 is used. The taper portion 41 is slidably brought into contact with the opening edge of the engaging groove 39 formed on the outer surface of the member 21 so that the relative position can be corrected without difficulty.

  In this embodiment, since the rigidity of the positioning guide member 38 is increased by increasing the cross-sectional area thereof, a pair of escape grooves 42 for avoiding interference with the positioning guide member 38 is provided on the inner wall of the plug housing 13. Is formed.

  Therefore, when the first optical fiber 11 and the second optical fiber 14 are connected, even if the relative positions of the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 are slightly shifted, the tapered portion 41 of the positioning guide member 38 is not connected to the optical plug 12. The positioning guide member 38 is automatically guided to the engaging groove 39 of the optical plug 12 in accordance with the pushing force of the jack housing 16, and is brought into contact with the opening edge of the engaging groove 39 of the frame 21. The member 38 engages with the engagement grooves 39 so as to sandwich the frame 21 of the optical plug 12. Thereby, exact alignment with the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 is achieved.

  The interval between the housing position correcting means of the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 described above is set to be shorter than the interval between the frame position correcting means of the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15. As a result, when the package substrate 18 is moved to the backplane 17 side, the rough displacement of the relative position between the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16 is first corrected, and then the frame 21 of the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 are corrected. A slight shift in the relative position with respect to the connection block 34 can be corrected.

  Note that the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15 described above incorporate a protective shutter mechanism (not shown) that covers the tip portions of the optical plug 12 and the optical jack 15. The shutter is opened and closed.

  When such an optical connector 10 is connected, when the package substrate 18 is moved along a rail (not shown) so that the package substrate 18 approaches the backplane 17 from the state shown in FIG. When the position of the jack housing 16 is shifted with respect to the first, the third and / or fourth inclined surfaces 30, 31 of the jack housing 16 are first and / or second inclined of the plug housing 13. The relative position of the jack housing 16 with respect to the plug housing 13 is corrected by utilizing the slip generated between the inclined surfaces 28 to 31 in contact with the surfaces 28 and 29, and the side wall portion of the jack housing 16 is used for the plug. It goes inside the side wall portion of the housing 13.

  In the middle of this, the positioning guide member 38 of the optical jack 15 enters the engaging groove 39 formed on the outside of the frame 21 of the optical plug 12. When these positions are shifted, the positioning guide member A tapered portion 41 at the tip of 38 abuts against the opening edge of the engaging groove 39 of the optical plug 12, and a positioning guide member 38 of the optical jack 15 with respect to the frame 21 of the optical plug 12 by utilizing a slip generated between them. The connecting block enters the frame 21 while the positioning guide member 38 is in sliding contact with the engagement groove 39.

  Further, before the tip end surface of the connection block 34 reaches the first optical fiber 11 of the optical plug 12, the cam blocks 26 on both sides of the locking claws 20 provided in the jack housing 16 are attached to the plug housing 13. It abuts on the formed cam follower 27 (see FIG. 5). Then, the cam follower 27 elastically deforms the tip end portion of the locking claw 20 in the state where it is opened up and down, and then the notch portion 25 formed in the side wall portion of the jack housing 16 contacts the claw portion 24 of the slider 23. Then, the opening end of the slider 23 is elastically deformed inward in the left-right direction, and the engagement state of the engagement portions formed on the slider 23 and the plug housing 13 is released. Thereafter, the slider 23 is pushed into the plug housing 13 together with the jack housing 16. That is, it should be noted that the pushing force from the package substrate 18 side does not act directly on the plug housing 13 connected to the backplane 17.

  From this midway, the first optical fiber 11 of the optical plug 12 is guided into the connection hole 37 of the connection block 34 and comes into contact with the tip of the second optical fiber 14 to connect the connection block 34 and the frame of the first optical fiber 11. When the cam block 26 gets over the cam follower 27, the locking claw 20 engages with the claw locking portion 22 of the slider 23, and the connection of the optical connector 10 is completed. .

  In this state, the relative positions of the backplane 17 and the package substrate 18 are fixed by a lock means (not shown). Regardless of the presence or absence of such locking means, the front end surface of the frame 21 of the optical plug 12 presses against the front end surface of the frame 19 of the optical jack 15, and the frame 21 of the optical plug 12 springs by the spring mechanism 33. Therefore, the engagement force of the latching claw 20 with respect to the claw latching portion 22 of the slider 23 is maintained by the reaction force, so that it is not necessary to keep pushing the package substrate 18 toward the backplane 17 side.

  When the connection state shown in FIG. 4 is released, the above-described procedure may be reversed. In this case, it is necessary to apply a force to the package substrate 18 so that the engagement state of the locking claw 20 with respect to the claw locking portion 22 of the slider 23 is released. That is, after the coupling state between the back plane 17 and the package substrate 18 by the locking means is released, the package substrate 18 is pulled so that the package substrate 18 is separated from the back plane 17. The cam block 26 rides on the cam follower 27 again, pulls back the slider 23 to the initial position, and the distal end side of the locking claw 20 is elastically deformed outward, and the locked state with respect to the claw locking portion 22 is released.

  In the embodiment described above, one optical plug 12 and one optical jack 15 can be connected to one plug housing 13 and one jack housing 16, but one plug housing 13 and one jack housing 16 are connected. It is also possible to connect a plurality of optical plugs 12 and optical jacks 15. The appearance of such another embodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, it is possible to attach four optical plugs 12 and optical jacks 15 to the plug housing 13 and the jack housing 16, respectively, and the optical plug 12 and the optical jack to which 16 optical fibers are attached. When 15 is used, a high density PC optical fiber connection of 64 cores can be achieved.

  It should be noted that the present invention should be construed only from the contents described in the scope of the claims, and in the above-described embodiment, all the changes and modifications included in the concept of the present invention are other than those described. Is possible. That is, all the descriptions in the above-described embodiment are not intended to limit the present invention, and include any configuration that is not directly related to the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed according to its use and purpose. It is possible.

It is the three-dimensional projection figure showing the external appearance of one Embodiment of the optical connector by this invention, and has shown the state isolate | separated. It is the three-dimensional projection figure which expanded the external appearance of the principal part of the optical connector shown in FIG. 1 in the decomposition | disassembly state. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the internal structure of the optical connector shown in FIG. 1, and has shown the non-connecting state. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the internal structure of the optical connector shown in FIG. 1, and has shown the connection state. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the internal structure of the optical connector shown in FIG. 1, and has shown the state in the middle of a connection or disconnection. It is the three-dimensional projection figure showing the external appearance of other embodiment of the optical connector by this invention, and has shown the state isolate | separated. It is the stereographic projection figure showing the principle of the FPC connector used as the object of the present invention typically, and has shown the separated state. FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional projection diagram illustrating a connection state of the FPC connector illustrated in FIG. 7. It is the three-dimensional projection figure showing the external appearance of an example of the conventional multi-core optical connector in a partially broken state, and has shown the separated state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical connector 11 1st optical fiber 12 Optical plug 13 Plug housing 14 2nd optical fiber 15 Optical jack 16 Jack housing 17 Back plane 18 Package board 19 Frame 20 Locking claw 21 Frame 22 Claw locking part 23 Slider 24 claw portion 24a inclined surface 25 notched portion 26 cam block 27 cam follower 28 first inclined surface 29 second inclined surface 30 third inclined surface 31 fourth inclined surface 32 guide block 33 spring mechanism 34 connection block 35 main body 36 Spring mechanism 37 Connection hole 38 Positioning guide member 39 Engagement groove 40 Engagement groove 41 Taper part 42 Escape groove

Claims (3)

An optical plug having a frame to which a first optical fiber is coupled and holding the connection end of the first optical fiber so as to surround the first optical fiber ;
A plug housing to which the optical plug is detachably mounted;
A second optical fiber that is connected to the first optical fiber in a butted state is coupled , and a frame that holds the second optical fiber so as to surround the connection end of the second optical fiber; An optical jack having a connection block for accommodating and holding the connection end portion of the second optical fiber and having a connection hole into which the first optical fiber is inserted from the distal end side ;
Comprising a jack housing which is removably coupled to the plug housing with the light jack is capable mounted off vent, prior Symbol when connected to the first optical fiber and said second optical fiber An optical connector in which the first optical fiber is bent in a frame of the optical plug,
A housing position correcting means which is formed in the plug housing and the jack housing, and corrects a shift between the relative positions;
The plug housing and the jack housing are formed on the plug housing and the jack housing, and are engaged with each other so as to maintain a connection state between the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber. Housing connecting means capable of connecting
A connection release means provided on at least one of the plug housing and the jack housing and capable of releasing the connection state by the housing connection means;
A positioning guide member formed integrally with the jack housing, and a member formed on the outer side of the optical plug frame and the outer side of the optical jack frame so that the positioning guide members are slidably engaged with each other. and a coupling groove, further comprising a frame position correcting means for correcting the relative positional deviation of the optical plug and the light jack, equipped with the optical jack and the plug housing equipped with the optical plug wherein When the jack housing is opposed, the facing distance between the housing position correcting means formed in the plug housing and the housing position correcting means formed in the jack housing is formed in the optical plug. A pair of an engaging groove and the positioning guide member formed in the jack housing The light is characterized in that the housing position correcting means functions before the frame position correcting means when the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are connected. connector. 2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein one of the plug housing and the jack housing is fixed to a backplane, and the other is fixed to a board member. The optical connector according to claim 2 , wherein the plug housing is fixed to a backplane, and the jack housing is fixed to a board member.

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