JP5596634B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a field-assembled optical connector that is assembled to the optical fiber by connecting an optical fiber to the rear end of the built-in fiber inserted and fixed to the ferrule.

  In the operation of butt-connecting optical fiber core wires, it is widely performed to remove the coating at the tip of the core wire to expose the bare optical fibers and to butt-connect the bare optical fibers. Also, in recent years, for example, as shown in Non-Patent Document 1, a technique in which an optical connector is provided with a coating removal function of an optical fiber core by mounting an extremely small coating removal portion inside the optical connector with a tapered cylindrical shape. Is under consideration.

  As an optical connector, a short optical fiber (hereinafter simply referred to as “built-in fiber”) inserted and fixed in advance to a ferrule is inserted into an optical fiber (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “inserted fiber”). In order to maintain the butt-connected state, there is also known one in which a clamp portion is provided on the rear side of the ferrule so that the butt end portions of both optical fibers are sandwiched and fixed between halved members (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2005-208220 A

Ryo Koyama, Kazuhide Nakajima, Masaaki Takaya, Toshio Kurashima, “Study on Butt Connection of Coated Optical Fiber Core”, 2009 IEICE Communication Society, B-13-8

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and makes it a subject to provide the optical connector which can implement | achieve the coating removal of the insertion fiber by a coating removal part easily.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following configuration.
1st invention is provided with the ferrule which inserted and fixed the built-in fiber, and the coating removal member which is provided in the back of the said ferrule, and removes the coating of the insertion fiber inserted from the back for abutting with the said built-in fiber The coating removal member includes a coated optical fiber insertion hole that guides the insertion fiber to the coating removal blade on the rear side of the coating removal blade that removes the coating of the insertion fiber, and a front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole. more than three circumferential positions of the inner peripheral surface, wherein the inserting projection are projected for positioning the fiber, the protrusion is the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole toward from the rear end to the front A fiber abutment guide portion that is an inclined surface that approaches, wherein the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole is perpendicular to the front-rear direction in the fiber abutment guide portion And the shortest part continuously exists in the entire front-rear direction. In the protrusion, the maximum protrusion at the front end of each fiber contact guide part is coaxial with the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole. A portion of the fiber contact guide portion excluding the front end that is located on the virtual circumference is curved with a radius of curvature larger than the radius of the coated optical fiber insertion hole in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction. An optical connector having a concave curved surface is provided.
In the second invention, the outer diameter of the insertion fiber is typically 250 μm, and the inner diameter of the coated optical fiber insertion hole is larger by 10 to 20 μm than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber, The diameter of the virtual circumference provides the optical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, which is smaller by 5 to 10 μm than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber .

According to the present invention, when a coated optical fiber that does not lead a bare optical fiber is used as an insertion fiber, the insertion fiber tip is simply advanced toward the coating removal blade of the coating removal member. It is possible to easily realize the bare optical fiber lead-out and the butt connection of the bare optical fiber to the rear end of the built-in fiber.
Therefore, in the operation of assembling the optical connector at the distal end portion of the insertion fiber, it is not necessary to remove the coating from the distal end of the coated optical fiber to be inserted into the optical connector and lead out the bare optical fiber in advance, so that the optical connector can be easily assembled.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the optical connector of the Example which concerns on this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the optical connector of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector main body of the optical connector of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector main body of the optical connector of FIG. 1, and is shown from the direction different from FIG. It is (a) perspective view, (b) top view, and (c) sectional view showing an example of a covering removal member. It is a perspective view which shows an example of an insertion member. It is sectional drawing which shows the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the optical connector of FIG. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the movable guide with a restraint part of the optical connector of FIG. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the rear housing and securing cover of the optical connector of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pressing member receiving part of the rear housing rear end part of the optical connector of FIG. 1, and the movable guide of a movable guide rear end part with a restraint part, Comprising: It is sectional drawing seen from the connector rear side. It is a side view which shows the movable guide with a restraint part of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. (A) is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. 15, (b) is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the DD line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the EE line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state after the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state after the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is a figure which shows the communicating hole and window which open to the surrounding surface of the housing of the optical connector of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the optical fiber holding | grip part (fixing member for a press, outer jacket holding member) which can be used for the assembly of the optical connector of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the optical fiber holding part of FIG. 26, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows the state which open | released the press cover with respect to the holding base. It is a perspective view which shows the specific example of the protrusion for positioning which protrudes in the optical fiber insertion hole with a coating | cover of the coating removal member of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the structure of the front-end part of the optical fiber penetration hole with a coating | cover of the coating removal member which formed the protrusion for positioning of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the FF line of FIG. FIG. 29 is an enlarged view showing a structure viewed from the window hole side of the front end opening portion that opens to the inner wall surface on the rear side of the window hole of the coating removal member of the coated optical fiber insertion hole provided with the protruding protrusion for positioning in FIG. 28. It is a figure which shows an example of the insertion state of the insertion fiber in the front-end opening part of the optical fiber penetration hole with a coating of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the front-end part of the optical fiber penetration hole with a covering which provided the protrusion for positioning of the other specific example. It is a figure which shows an example of the insertion state of the insertion fiber in the front-end part of the optical fiber penetration hole with a covering of Drawing 33, and is a figure showing the state seen from the window hole side of a covering removal member. It is the (a) perspective view, (b) top view, and (c) sectional view showing the covering removal member of another mode. (A), (b) is a model figure which shows the example of the coating removal part of the coating removal member of the structure which has three or more plate-shaped blade parts. (A)-(d) is sectional drawing explaining the outline | summary of the optical connector of this invention, and its assembly method.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
First, an outline of one embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 37A to 37D, and then a more detailed embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIGS. 37A to 37D, the left side is assumed to be the front and the right side is assumed to be the rear.

First, the optical connector 100 of the Example shown to Fig.37 (a)-(d) is demonstrated.
The optical connector 100 has a ferrule 10 to which an optical fiber 12 is inserted and fixed. Hereinafter, the optical fiber 12 inserted and fixed to the ferrule 10 is also referred to as a built-in fiber.
The optical connector 100 has a coating 2 of a coated optical fiber 1 such as a single-core optical fiber or an optical fiber on the rear side opposite to the joining end surface 11 for butt-joining at the tip (front end) of the ferrule 10. It has the coating removal member 30 which removes. The coating removal member 30 has a coating removal unit 31 (coating removal blade) that removes the coating 2 of the coated optical fiber 1. The covering removal member 30 is fixed to a rear extension piece 27 that extends rearward from the rear end portion of the ferrule 10 and is provided so as to be spaced apart from the rear end of the ferrule 10.
Further, this optical connector 1 has a butted connection portion (FIG. 37 (c), FIG. Reference numeral P in (d), which includes a clamp portion 20 for gripping and fixing a butted portion (hereinafter also simply referred to as a connecting portion).

  The built-in fiber 12 is inserted and fixed in a minute hole 10 a that penetrates the ferrule 10, and the end surface (front end) of the built-in fiber 12 is provided so as to be aligned with the joining end surface 11 of the ferrule 10. The fine hole 10a is a through hole that penetrates the ferrule 10 in the front-rear direction with a straight central axis. The built-in fiber 12 has a rear protruding portion 12a that protrudes rearward from the rear end of the ferrule 10. The built-in fiber 12 has a short optical fiber (here, a bare optical fiber) whose rear end (rear end of the rear protrusion 12a) is located in front of the coating removal member 30, that is, between the ferrule 10 and the coating removal member 30. It is. The built-in fiber 12 is provided by inserting and fixing the front side portion from the rear side protruding portion 12 a into the fine hole 10 a of the ferrule 10.

The clamp portion 20 includes the rear extension piece 27 and lid members 22 and 23 disposed to face the grooves 25 and 26 formed in the rear extension piece 27 so as to extend in the connector front-rear direction. A clamp spring 24 for biasing the lid members 22 and 23 toward the rear extension piece 27 is provided.
Although there is no limitation in particular as the clamp spring 24, For example, a sleeve-like thing as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is employable. The sleeve-shaped clamp spring 24 has, for example, a cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the central axis) that is C-shaped (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Character-shaped ones can also be used. The clamp portion 20 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a rear extension piece 27 and two lid members 22 and 23 arranged in the front-rear direction of the connector are accommodated inside one clamp spring 24.

The clamp portion 20 is barely provided between a lid member 22 (second lid member; hereinafter also referred to as a front lid member) disposed between the ferrule 10 and the sheath removing member 30 and the rear extension piece 27. A first clamp portion that holds and fixes the connection portion P between the optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 is provided. In addition, the clamp unit 20 includes a coated optical fiber 1 (coated 2) between a cover member 23 (hereinafter also referred to as a rear cover member) disposed on the rear side of the coating removal member 30 and the rear extension piece 27. The second clamp portion for holding and fixing the covering portion) is provided.
An insertion member (not shown) that secures gaps 22a and 23a into which the coated optical fiber 1 and the bare optical fiber 3 are inserted can be removed between the rear extension piece 27 and the cover members 22 and 23. Is inserted.
In addition, as an optical connector, the structure which each assembled the 1st clamp part (clamp part) and the 2nd clamp part using the clamp springs which were separate from each other is also employable.

  The optical connector 100 has a movable guide 62 in which a through hole 63 into which the coated optical fiber 1 can be inserted is formed on the rear side of the rear extension piece 27. The movable guide 62 is provided so as to be able to advance toward the ferrule 10 from an initial position separated rearward from the rear extension piece 27 with the rear extension piece 27 as a guide member, for example. The guide member that guides the forward movement of the movable guide 62 from the initial position is not limited to the rear extension piece 27. For example, a guide member provided in a housing (not shown) may be used. good.

  The rear extension piece 27 has a guide base portion 51 (base member) extending rearward from a portion facing the rear lid member 23. In addition, the portion 21 on the front side from the guide base portion 51 of the rear extension piece 27 is hereinafter also referred to as a clamp base portion. The clamp base portion 21 is connected to the front lid member 22 of the clamp portion 20 between the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating of the coated optical fiber 1 is removed by the coating removing member 30 and the built-in fiber 12. It functions as a base member that holds and fixes P.

A portion of the rear extension piece 27 that extends rearward from the coating removing member 30 (hereinafter also referred to as a rear piece portion) is provided with a coated optical fiber 1 through a through hole 63 of the movable guide 62. Is inserted and formed extending in the front-rear direction of the connector. The housing groove 26 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the single-core coated optical fiber 1 is coaxial with the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 of the coating removal portion 31 of the coating removal member 30 described later. In view of the positioning, for example, a U groove, a semicircular groove, a V groove, or the like can be employed.
The coated optical fiber 1 that is inserted into the receiving groove 26 through the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 is also referred to as an insertion fiber hereinafter.

  The optical connector 100 includes a guide member 50 disposed so as to face the receiving groove 26 formed in the guide base portion 51. The guide base portion 51 and the guide member 50 that are overlapped with each other guide the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1 that is inserted into the housing groove 26 from the rear side of the guide base portion 51 and advanced toward the coating removal portion 31. (Rear guide part 110) is formed. The guide member 50 is provided so as to overlap the guide member 50, and the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the accommodation groove 26 from the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 and moving forward toward the ferrule 10 is pressed into the accommodation groove 26. The bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is restricted.

  In this optical connector, as described later, the guide member 50 accommodates the insertion fiber 1 after the end of the bare optical fiber 3 whose coating has been removed by pressing against the coating removing portion 31 is butted and connected to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12. The insertion fiber 1 is retracted from a closed position that is pressed into the groove 26 and restricts the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 to a position that permits the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 (see FIG. 37D). That is, the guide member 50 is a space in which the guide member 50 can be bent and deformed (bent) so as to be lifted from the receiving groove 26 of the guide base portion 51 from the closed position after abutment of the leading end of the bare optical fiber 3 against the rear end of the built-in fiber 12. Is moved to a position (hereinafter also referred to as an open position). Hereinafter, the guide member 50 is also referred to as an open guide.

However, the open guide 50 in the closed position does not press the insertion fiber 1 strongly against the fiber housing groove 26 and fix it to the guide base portion 51, but smoothly in the longitudinal direction of the connector with respect to the guide base portion 51 of the insertion fiber 1. The relative movement is suppressed as possible.
The open guide 50 functions to position the insertion fiber 1 on the central axis of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 that penetrates the coating removal portion 31 by pressing the insertion fiber 1 into the fiber housing groove 26.

The insertion fiber 1 passes through the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 in the fiber accommodation region FS secured between the open guide 50 and the inner surface of the accommodation groove 26 in the interval direction between the release guide 50 and the accommodation groove 26 groove bottom. Inserted.
As shown in FIG. 37A, an extending recess 50 a extending along the housing groove 26 is formed in a portion of the opening guide 50 in the illustrated example that faces the housing groove 26. The fiber accommodation region FS of the optical connector 100 of this embodiment includes an accommodation groove 26 (base member guide portion) of the rear extension piece 27 and an extension recess 50a (open guide guide portion) of the open guide 50. It is constituted by.

Next, the coating removal member 30 in the illustrated example will be described.
The coating removal part 31 of the coating removal member 30 of the present embodiment is a coating removal blade that removes the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 and brings out the bare optical fiber 3 by pressing the insertion fiber 1 from the rear side. . Hereinafter, the coating removal unit 31 is also referred to as a coating removal blade.
37A to 37D are formed in a cylindrical shape through which the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 passes, and the edge of the rear end opening of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 is a cutting edge. An annular blade portion 31a. The annular blade portion 31a (cover removal portion 31) illustrated in FIGS. 37A to 37D is formed in a tapered cylindrical shape that tapers from the front end side to the rear side.
As shown in FIG. 37 (c), the optical connector 100 presses the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the receiving groove 26 from the rear side against the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a, so that the insertion fiber 1 faces the ferrule 10. The coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 can be removed by the annular blade portion 31a. The coating removal member 30 has a configuration in which the bare optical fiber 3 led to the tip of the insertion fiber 1 by the coating removal is inserted into the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 as the coating removal progresses as the insertion fiber 1 advances. ing. The annular blade 31a separates the coating 2 around the bare optical fiber 3 of the insertion fiber 1 from the bare optical fiber 3 to the outer periphery of the annular blade 31a.

  Moreover, the coating removal member 30 of the example of illustration has the window hole 32 (refer FIG. 37 (a)) which penetrates this coating removal member 30 in the direction orthogonal to the front-back direction in the center part in the front-back direction. The annular blade portion 31 a is a tapered cylindrical protrusion projecting into the window hole 32 from a wall portion located on the front side of the window hole 32 of the sheath removing member 30. The coating removal member 30 in the illustrated example has a coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 that passes through the rear wall portion from the window hole 32 and opens at the rear end of the coating removal member 30. The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is formed coaxially with the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33. The front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is located slightly rearward from the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a. The separation distance between the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and the coating removal blade 31 in the longitudinal direction of the connector is to maintain the straightness of the insertion fiber 1 pressed against the rear end (blade edge) of the annular blade portion 31a during coating removal. In this respect, it is preferable to make it as small as possible. Further, the rear end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is positioned with respect to the accommodation groove 26 of the rear extension piece 27 so that the insertion fiber 1 can be inserted from the accommodation groove 26.

The cross section of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 (cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34) substantially coincides with the cross section of the insertion fiber 1 (cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the insertion fiber 1). ing. The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 positions the insertion fiber 1 coaxially with the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33, and prevents buckling of the insertion fiber 1 pressed toward the rear end of the annular blade 31a for removal of the coating. This prevents the occurrence of removal unevenness and effectively contributes to the realization of smooth coating removal.
Further, in this optical connector 100, since the open guide 50 restricts the bending deformation during the coating removal of the insertion fiber 1, the coating removal work by pressing the insertion fiber 1 against the rear end of the coating removal portion 31 can be performed stably.
Further, at the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34, a protrusion 37 (FIGS. 6A to 6C) for positioning the insertion fiber 1 with high accuracy on the axis of the blade edge at the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a. , See FIG. 28). However, in FIG. 37, illustration of this protrusion is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 37 (d), the optical connector 100 advances the movable guide 62 from the initial position to an advance limit position (for example, a position that contacts the rear end of the rear extension piece 27), thereby opening the guide. 50 retracts (moves) from the closed position where the insertion fiber 1 is pressed into the accommodation groove 26 to restrict the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 to a position where a space allowing the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is formed in the optical connector. The optical connector 100 moves the movable guide 62 from the initial position to the advance limit position, so that the open guide 50 is retracted from the closed position to the open position with respect to the guide base 51 by the pressing force acting from the movable guide 62 ( A lid member moving mechanism to be moved).

  As the lid member moving mechanism, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 18, the slide guide 51 a (see FIG. 4) of the guide base portion 51 on which the release guide 50 slides moves diagonally forward of the release guide 50. The structure which protruded the rail part 52 which guides the movement to can be mentioned. In the lid member moving mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 18, the open guide 50 pressed from the rear side by the movable guide 62 is guided by the rail portion 52, and the slide surface 51a is moved from the closed position. Is slid in a direction shifted from the longitudinal direction of the receiving groove 26 in a plane parallel to the longitudinal direction. As a result, a space that allows the deformation deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is formed on the accommodation groove 26 of the guide base portion 51.

  As the lid member moving mechanism, the open guide 50 is moved by the pressing force acting from the movable guide 62 advanced from the initial position, and as a result, the bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is permitted on the accommodation groove 26 of the guide base portion 51. The opening guide 50 is not limited to the configuration in which the open guide 50 is slid in a plane parallel to the slide surface 51a by the rail portion 52. As the lid member moving mechanism, for example, a configuration in which the opening guide 50 is rotated from the closed position around an axis line along the connector front-rear direction and retracted to a position permitting bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 can be employed. .

  37A to 37D use the insertion fiber 1 in which a pressing fixing member 120 (an optical fiber gripping portion) that presses the movable guide 62 from its rear side to advance as described later is fixed near the tip. 1 illustrates an optical connector assembling method in which the optical connector 100 is assembled at the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1. More specifically, the present embodiment is a light in which the insertion fiber 1 and a flexible linear tensile strength body (not shown) are collectively covered with a synthetic resin jacket 6 so as to be parallel to each other. The case where the optical connector 100 is assembled at the end of the fiber cable 5 is shown.

Here, as the pressing fixing member 120, a jacket-type member that holds the optical fiber cable 5 from both sides and is fixed to the optical fiber cable 5 is used. That is, the pressing fixing member 120 serves not only as an optical fiber gripping part for gripping the coating of the insertion fiber 1 (covered optical fiber 1) from which the jacket of the optical fiber cable 5 is removed, but also as the outer periphery of the optical fiber cable 5. It also functions as an outer gripping part for gripping the target 6.
At the end of the optical fiber cable 5, an insertion fiber 1 that is exposed by removing the outer sheath 6 at the tip of the optical fiber cable 5 is projected. The insertion fiber 1 protrudes from the pressing fixing member 120 fixed to the end of the optical fiber cable 5.

In order to assemble the optical connector 100 at the end of the optical fiber cable 5, a portion (protrusion) that protrudes from the pressing fixing member 120 of the insertion fiber 1 passes through the movable guide 62 from the rear side of the optical connector 100. It is inserted into the fiber accommodating region FS of the rear guide part 110 through the hole 63 and pushed toward the ferrule 10.
At this time, the insertion fiber 1 does not penetrate the bare optical fiber 3 by removing the coating at the tip of the protruding portion, and penetrates the movable guide 62 while keeping the entire length of the protruding portion covered with the coating 2. It is inserted from the hole 63.

FIG. 37B shows a state in which the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 is brought into contact with the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a.
As shown in FIG. 37B, the movable guide 62 of the optical connector 100 is seated while the insertion fiber 1 is being removed from the rear end of the accommodation groove 26 (more specifically, the rear end of the fiber accommodation region FS) while the coating is being removed. It is possible to advance from an initial position separated by a distance L1 that does not yield. The rear end of the accommodation groove 26 and the fiber accommodation region FS means the front end (back end) of the tapered recess 111 that is recessed from the rear surface of the rear guide portion 110 in a tapered shape.

As shown in FIG. 37 (b), the fixing position of the pressing fixing member 120 with respect to the insertion fiber 1 is after the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 when the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 comes into contact with the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a. From the end to the rear side, the insertion fiber 1 is positioned at a distance L2 that does not buckle during removal of the coating.
The rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 opens to the front end (back end) of a tapered recess 64 that is recessed from the rear surface of the movable guide 62 in a tapered shape. The rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 means the front end (back end) of the tapered recess 64 that is recessed from the rear surface of the movable guide 62 in a tapered shape.

Note that both the distance L1 and the distance L2 need to be set in a range (length) in which the insertion fiber 1 does not buckle during coating removal in consideration of the deflection width of the insertion fiber 1 described later. The deflection width also depends on the material and outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1, but in the case of a general coated optical fiber having a resin-coated diameter of 0.25 mm using a silica-based optical fiber as the bare optical fiber, the distance L1 and The distance L2 is suitably 2.5 mm or less or 2.1 mm or less.
Further, the arrangement position of the open guide 50 at the closed position in the connector front-rear direction is, for example, in a range (length) in which the insertion fiber 1 does not buckle during removal of the coating from the rear cover member 23 to the rear of the clamp portion 20. The position is separated by distance.
Depending on the configuration of the lid member moving mechanism, the arrangement position of the opening guide 50 in the connector front-rear direction can be a position where it abuts against the rear lid member 23 when in the closed position. That is, when the movement of the open guide 50 from the closed position to the open position is not accompanied by a forward movement with respect to the guide base portion 51, the open guide 50 in the closed position contacts the rear lid member 23 of the clamp portion 20 from the rear side. The configuration can be taken.

  The through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 positions the insertion fiber 1 coaxially with the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 of the coating removal blade 31 of the coating removal member 30, and accommodates the rear guide part 110 from the rear side of the movable guide 62. It functions as a guide for smooth insertion of the insertion fiber 1 into the groove 26 (more specifically, the fiber housing region FS).

As shown in FIGS. 37B and 37C, the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 is inserted into the fiber housing region FS of the optical connector 100, and the pressing fixing member 120 is advanced toward the ferrule 10 of the optical connector 100. As the insertion fiber 1 abuts against the rear end of the annular blade 31a of the coating removal portion 31, the coating 2 at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 is removed by the annular blade 31a. As a result, the bare optical fiber 3 with the coating 2 removed at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 is led out.
The bare optical fiber 3 that is led out at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 and inserted into the bare optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the sheath removing member 30 is projected forward from the sheath removing member 30 as the sheath removal proceeds, and the clamp base portion 21 It is inserted into the alignment groove 25 formed in the portion located on the front side of the coating removal member 30. The bare optical fiber 3 inserted into the aligning groove 25 is positioned and aligned by the aligning groove 25 so as to be butt-connected to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12. The alignment groove 25 is, for example, a V-groove, but is not limited to this, and a U-groove, a semicircular groove, or the like can also be used.

As shown in FIGS. 37 (c) and (d), the pressing fixing member 120 abuts on the movable guide 62 by advancing, and the movable guide 62 presses the movable guide 62 from the rear side while the movable guide 62 is in its forward limit position (see FIG. 37). In the illustrated example, the head is advanced until it reaches a position (a position where it abuts against the rear end of the guide base portion 51) (see FIG. 37D).
The protruding length of the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 from the pressing fixing member 120 is slightly longer than the separation distance from the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 to the pressing fixing member 120 that contacts the movable guide 62 positioned at the advance limit position. Set. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 37 (c), the covering 2 is removed by the covering removing portion 31 before the movable guide 62 that moves forward while being pressed from the rear side by the pressing fixing member 120 reaches the advance limit position. Butt connection of the optical fiber 3 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 is achieved. When the bare optical fiber 3 at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 hits the built-in fiber 12, the advance of the bare optical fiber 3 is restricted by the built-in fiber 12, and the coating removal of the insertion fiber 1 by the coating removing unit 31 is stopped (completed).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 37 (d), after the abutting of the bare optical fiber 3 at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 against the rear end of the built-in fiber 12, the movable guide 62 pressed by the pressing fixing member 120 further advances. The open guide 50 opens with respect to the guide base portion 51 to allow the insertion fiber 1 to bend and deform. The opening of the opening guide 50 with respect to the guide base portion 51 (movement to the opening position) is achieved when the movable guide 62 reaches the advance limit position after the abutment of the bare optical fiber 3 at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 against the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 is achieved. Realized when the front or forward limit position is reached. When the open guide 50 moved from the closed position reaches the open position, the insertion fiber 1 undergoes a bending deformation 4 so as to float from the accommodation groove 26. In FIG. 37 (d), reference numeral 4 is added to a portion (flexible portion) of the insertion fiber 1 which has undergone deflection deformation.

  Next, while maintaining the state where the movable guide 62 is positioned at the forward limit position, the front lid member 22 and the insertion member (not shown) inserted between the rear lid member 23 and the clamp base portion 27c are optically irradiated. Remove from the clamp part 20 of the connector 100. Accordingly, the connection portion P between the bare optical fiber 3 at the tip of the insertion fiber 1 and the built-in fiber 12 is gripped and fixed by the first clamp portion of the clamp portion 20, and the insertion fiber 1 (coated optical fiber 1 is covered by the second clamp portion. ) Is held and fixed. Thereby, the assembly of the optical connector 100 to the end of the optical fiber cable 5 (the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1) is completed.

In addition, after the insertion member inserted between the front lid member 22 and the rear lid member 23 and the clamp base portion 27c is removed from the clamp portion 20, the holding member 120 is used to fix the pressing fixing member 120. A retaining operation for restricting the backward movement of the ferrule 10 and the rear extension piece 27 may be performed.
For example, the pressing fixing member 120 regulates the backward movement by the holding work while maintaining the position when the movable guide 62 reaches the forward limit position. However, the holding position of the pressing fixing member 120 with respect to the ferrule 10 and the rear extension piece 27 is not limited to this. For example, the movable guide 62 is moved to the forward limit position so as to reduce or eliminate the bending deformation 4 of the insertion fiber 1. It may be retained at a position slightly shifted to the rear side from the position when the position is reached.

  According to this optical connector 100, while the coating 2 is removed by the coating removal unit 31, the bending deformation 4 of the insertion fiber 1 is caused by the open guide 50 disposed at the closed position with respect to the accommodation groove 26 of the rear extension piece 27. Can be regulated. For this reason, the optical connector 100 can reliably transmit a strong pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 to the coating removal unit 31 by suppressing the bending of the insertion fiber 1 during the coating removal.

As shown in FIG. 1 of Non-Patent Document 1 (relationship between deflection width and maximum insertion force), the pressing force of the insertion fiber 1 necessary for removing the coating 2 is, for example, 5 to 6 N. (500 to 600 g).
Further, due to the presence of the open guide 50, the deflection width of the insertion fiber 1 becomes 2.5 mm or less or 2.1 mm or less, and a pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 can be generated.
In addition, the said deflection width means the length of the part which may be bent by the pressing force in an insertion fiber.

In this case, a strong load corresponding to the pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 continues to be applied between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 is removed and the built-in fiber 12.
If there is an abutting failure such as “axial misalignment” between the optical fibers 3 and 12, the bare light is applied so that the optical axes of the optical fibers 3 and 12 coincide with each other by the urging force of the clamp spring 24. It is desirable to displace the fiber 3.

Therefore, after the covering 2 is removed, the opening guide 50 is retracted from the closed position with respect to the housing groove 26. As a result, since the bending deformation 4 (flexure portion) is spontaneously formed by the elasticity of the insertion fiber 1 itself, the load between the end faces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 is reduced from the coating removal portion 31. It can be relaxed to an appropriate level to the extent that the butt considering the reaction force is maintained.
Thereby, the front cover member 22 of the clamp part 20 can be closed with an appropriate load between the end faces, and the butt connection state between the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 after being sandwiched by the clamp part 20 is improved. be able to. As a result, it becomes easy to assemble an optical connector with good optical characteristics.

  Further, as described above, in the movable guide 62 of the optical connector 100 of this embodiment, the insertion fiber 1 is being removed from the rear end of the accommodation groove 26 (more specifically, the rear end of the fiber accommodation region FS). It is possible to advance from an initial position separated by a distance L1 that does not buckle. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 37 (b), when the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the receiving groove 26 comes into contact with the coating removal blade 31, the movable guide 62 and the pressing fixing member 120 separated from the rear side thereof. (However, the distance from the rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 to the pressing fixing member 120 is a distance L2 at which the insertion fiber 1 does not buckle during coating removal), and the insertion fiber 1 The length of the coating removal at the tip (the length of the bare optical fiber 3) can be secured.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the examples illustrated in FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical connector 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connector 100.
The optical connector 100 will be described with the left side as the front and the right side as the rear in FIGS. 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, and 25.
As shown in FIG. 1, this optical connector 100 has a schematic configuration in which a connector main body 101 assembled by providing a coating removing member 30 (described later) and the like on the rear side of a ferrule 10 is housed in a sleeve-shaped housing 100H. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 100H includes a front housing 14 in which the ferrule 10 is accommodated, a coupling 13 assembled to the outer periphery of the front housing 14, and a rear side assembled to the front housing 14 from the rear. The housing 15 is constituted.
In the present embodiment, as an example, the basic structure of the ferrule 10, the coupling 13, and the front housing 14 is in accordance with an SC type optical connector (SC: Single fiber Coupling, as defined in JIS C 5973). The front housing 14 is an SC type optical connector plug frame.
However, the housing is not limited to the above-described configuration. As the housing, for example, a structure in which the coupling 13 is omitted from the above-described housing can be adopted.

Next, the connector main body 101 will be described.
The ferrule 10 of the connector main body 101 of this embodiment is a single-core ferrule formed in a capillary shape from a hard material such as ceramics such as zirconia or glass. Examples of the ferrule 10 include those used for SC type optical connectors and those used for MU type optical connectors (F14 type optical connectors established in JIS C 5983; MU: Miniature-Unit coupling optical fiber connector). Can be adopted.
Further, as the ferrule 10, a part or the whole of which is molded with a synthetic resin can be adopted.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a built-in fiber 12 is inserted and fixed to the ferrule 10.
The built-in fiber 12 is inserted into a fine hole penetrating the capillary-like ferrule 10 in the axial direction thereof, and is fixed to the ferrule 10 by adhesive fixing with an adhesive or the like.
The built-in fiber 12 is provided so that the end face (front end) of the built-in fiber 12 is aligned with the joining end face 11 for butt joining of the front end (front end) of the ferrule 10. The built-in fiber 12 has a rear protrusion 12 a that protrudes rearward from the ferrule 10. The rear end of the built-in fiber 12 (rear end of the rear protrusion 12a) is located between the ferrule 10 and the coating removing member 30 disposed on the rear side.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 8, and 9, the connector main body 101 includes a sheath removing member 30 having a sheath removing portion 31 that removes the sheath 2 of the insertion fiber 1 on the rear side of the ferrule 10, and And a clamp portion 20 for holding and fixing the butt connection portion in which the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed by the coating removal portion 31 is butt-connected to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the connector main body 101 has a rear side extension that extends rearward from the rear end portion opposite to the joining end surface 11 for butt joining at the front end (front end) of the ferrule 10. It has a piece 27. The rear extension piece 27 is formed in an elongated shape having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction along the central axis (and its extension) of the ferrule 10. The coating removal member 30 is provided on the rear extension piece 27.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the clamp portion 20 is opposed to the rear extension piece 27 and grooves 25 and 26 formed in the rear extension piece 27 extending in the front-rear direction of the connector. The lid members 22 and 23 are disposed, and a clamp spring 24 that biases the lid members 22 and 23 toward the rear extension piece 27 in a closing direction.
Although there is no limitation in particular as the clamp spring 24, For example, a sleeve-like thing as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is employable. The sleeve-shaped clamp spring 24 has, for example, a cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the central axis) that is C-shaped (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Character-shaped ones can also be used. The clamp portion 20 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a rear extension piece 27 and two lid members 22 and 23 arranged in the front-rear direction of the connector are accommodated inside one clamp spring 24.

The clamp portion 20 is barely provided between a lid member 22 (second lid member; hereinafter also referred to as a front lid member) disposed between the ferrule 10 and the sheath removing member 30 and the rear extension piece 27. A first clamp portion that holds and fixes the connection portion P between the optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 is provided. In addition, the clamp portion 20 includes an insertion fiber 1 (the coating 2 is removed) between a lid member 23 (hereinafter also referred to as a rear lid member) disposed on the rear side of the coating removal member 30 and the rear extension piece 27. A second clamp portion that holds and fixes the covering portion) is provided.
An insertion piece 41 that secures gaps 22a and 23a (see FIG. 37A) for inserting the insertion fiber 1 and the bare optical fiber 3 between the rear extension piece 27 and the lid members 22 and 23. Is inserted so that it can be removed. The insertion piece 41 is a plate-like protrusion (first protrusion) provided on the assembly member 40.
In addition, as the connector main body 101, the structure which each assembled the 1st clamp part (clamp part) and the 2nd clamp part using the clamp springs which were separate from each other is also employable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rear extension piece 27 has a guide base portion 51 extending rearward from a portion facing the rear lid member 23. Hereinafter, the portion 21 on the front side from the guide base portion 51 of the rear extension piece 27 is also referred to as a clamp base portion. The clamp base portion 21 holds and fixes the connection portion P between the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 that is led to the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1 by the coating removal member 30 between the front lid member 22 of the clamp portion 20. Functions as a second base member. The second clamp portion grips and fixes the insertion fiber 1 between the rear lid member 23 and the clamp base 21.

  A fiber receiving groove 26 into which the insertion fiber 1 is inserted from the rear side is formed in the front-rear direction of the connector at a portion (rear side piece portion) extending rearward from the sheath removing member 30 of the rearward extension piece 27. It is formed to extend. The housing groove 26 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the insertion fiber 1 that is a single-core coated optical fiber is connected to the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 of the coating removal portion 31 of the coating removal member 30. In view of positioning on the same axis, for example, a U-groove, semicircular groove, V-groove, or the like can be employed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the connector body 101 includes a first lid member 58 that regulates the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the receiving groove 26 behind the lid members 22 and 23 of the clamp portion 20. have.
The first lid member 58 is deformed upwardly of the insertion fiber 1 behind the clamp portion 20 so that the insertion fiber 1 does not bend and deform while the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 is removed by the coating removal unit 30. The opening guide 50 to be controlled, and a predetermined distance G (so that the bending deformation 4 of the first bending width 4a (see FIG. 19) of the insertion fiber 1 is possible when the opening guide 50 is retracted from the closed position to the open position. 19 (hereinafter also referred to as “interval”), and includes an optical fiber pressing portion 59 which is the other part of the guide structure of the first lid member 58 that is spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 16 (b), the open guide 50 is an elongated member, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the receiving groove 26 so as to face the receiving groove 26 formed in the guide base portion 51. It is located. The release guide 50 presses the insertion fiber 1 inserted from the rear side into the accommodation groove 26 and advances toward the ferrule 10 into the accommodation groove 26, and restricts the deformation of the insertion fiber 1.
The release guide 50 is disposed at the closed position shown in FIG. 16B while the sheath 2 is removed by the sheath removing portion 31 of the sheath removing member 30, and restricts the deformation of the insertion fiber 1.

  The elongated guide base 51 and the open guide 50 having the longitudinal direction of the connector in the longitudinal direction are the rear part for guiding the advancement of the insertion fiber 1 from the movable guide 62 of the movable guide 60 with a restraint described later to the ferrule 10. The guide part 110 (guide structure) is comprised. The connector main body 101 has the rear guide portion 110 including the guide base portion 51 and the release guide 50 on the rear side of the clamp portion 20.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the connector main body 101 has a movable guide 60 with a restraining portion on the rear side of the rear guide portion 110. The movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is integrated with a movable guide 62 in which a through hole 63 into which the insertion fiber 1 can be inserted is formed at the rear end of the restraining sleeve portion 61 that houses the guide base portion 51 and the opening guide 50. It has become the composition.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is provided inside the rear housing 15 so as to be slidable back and forth. Further, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is disposed at an initial position (the position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) where the movable guide 62 is spaced apart from the rear guide portion 110 to the rear side. It is possible to move forward from the position toward the ferrule 10.

As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 (a) and 10 (b), the movable guide 62 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion has a rectangular block-shaped guide main body 65 in which the through hole 63 is formed. . The guide body 65 has a generally rectangular outer peripheral shape in a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the through hole 63.
A tapered recess 64 is formed in the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62 in order to facilitate the insertion of the insertion fiber 1 from the rear side into the through hole 63. The through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 extends from the rear end that opens to the front end (back end) of the tapered recess 64 to the front side, and opens to the front surface of the guide main body 65. The restraining sleeve portion 61 projects forward from the front surface of the guide body 65.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and the like, the optical connector 100 exemplified here is a synthetic resin outer cover 6 in which the insertion fiber 1 and a flexible linear tensile strength body are parallel to each other. Is assembled to the end of the optical fiber cable 5 covered in a lump. Examples of the tensile body include those made of tensile fibers such as aramid fibers, steel wires, and the like. Examples of the optical fiber cable 5 include an indoor cable and a drop cable. The insertion fiber 1 is used for insertion into the connector main body 101 at the end of the optical fiber cable 5.

  The insertion fiber 1 is a coated optical fiber having a configuration in which the outer peripheral surface (side surface) of the bare optical fiber 3 is covered with a coating 2, and examples thereof include an optical fiber core and an optical fiber. The bare optical fiber 3 is, for example, a quartz optical fiber. The coating 2 is a resin coating in which, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or a polyamide resin is coated in one layer or a plurality of layers in a substantially concentric shape.

The movable guide 62 can be connected to a pressing fixing member 120 fixed to the end of the optical fiber cable 5.
As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the pressing fixing member 120 is a jacket holding member that holds the end of the optical fiber cable 5 and is fixedly attached to the optical fiber cable 5. The pressing fixing member 120 includes a grip base 123 having a U-shaped cross section formed with a cable fitting groove 122 into which the optical fiber cable 5 is fitted, and side walls on both sides in the groove width direction of the cable fitting groove 122 of the grip base 123. A holding lid 127 pivotally attached to one of the portions 125.

The pressing fixing member 120 includes a sheath 6 of the optical fiber cable 5 in which a plurality of gripping protrusions 125 a that protrude from a pair of side walls 125 of the grip base 123 are fitted in the cable fitting groove 122. The optical fiber cable 5 can be gripped and fixed between the pair of side wall portions 125. The grip base 123 is a member having a U-shaped cross section in which the cable fitting groove 122 is secured between a pair of side wall portions 125 protruding from one side of the bottom wall portion 126. The groove width direction of the cable fitting groove 122 refers to the interval direction of the side wall portions 125 on both sides via the cable fitting groove 122. Note that the holding protrusions 125a of the pressing fixing member 120 in the illustrated example are formed in a triangular cross-section extending in the depth direction of the cable fitting groove 122 (upper and lower in FIG. 27).
Then, the pressing fixing member 120 fixes the holding base 123 by fitting the holding base 123 to the end of the optical fiber cable 5 in an open state in which the holding cover 127 is separated from the other side wall 125. The pair of side walls 125 of the pair 123 are rotated to a closed position for closing the opening of the cable fitting groove 122 between the ends opposite to the bottom wall 126 of the pair of side walls 125, and the holding lid 127 is engaged with the other side wall 125. It is stopped and attached to the end of the optical fiber cable 5.

  The pressing fixing member 120 has a pair of elastic members extending in parallel with each other along the virtual extension of the cable fitting groove 122 from one end in the extending direction along the longitudinal direction of the cable fitting groove 122 of the grip base 123. It has a stop piece 124. The pair of elastic locking pieces 124 project from the side wall portions 125 on both sides of the cable fitting groove 122 of the grip base 123 in the groove width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 11 (a) and 11 (b), the movable guide 62 at the rear end of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion of the connector main body 101 has a U-shaped cross-section (connector) It is housed inside a pressing member receiving portion 16 having a U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction so as to be movable back and forth.
As shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 12, the pressing member receiving portion 16 is formed in a U-shaped cross section in which a pair of side plate portions 16b are erected on one side of the bottom plate portion 16a. A locking piece guide groove 16c into which the pair of elastic locking pieces 124 of the pressing fixing member 120 is inserted extends in the front-rear direction on the mutually opposing surfaces of the pair of side plate portions 16b of the pressing member receiving portion 16. Has been.
As shown in FIGS. 9, 11 (a), 11 (b), and 12, the fixing member 120 for pressing includes a pair of elastic locking pieces 124 from the rear side of the guide body 65 of the movable guide 62. It can be inserted into the locking piece guide groove 16 c and passed between the side plate portions 16 b on both sides of the pressing member receiving portion 16 and the movable guide 62, and the tip of each elastic locking piece 124 can be sent to the front side of the movable guide 62. . Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the pressing fixing member 120 includes a locking claw 128 that protrudes on the side facing the opposing elastic locking piece 124 at the tip of the pair of elastic locking pieces 124. The movable guide 62 is connected to the movable guide 62 by engaging with the front surface of the guide body 65.

  As shown in FIGS. 9, 10A, 10B, and 12, in this embodiment, the pair of side plate portions 16b of the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the guide body 65 of the movable guide 62 is provided. A locking piece guide groove 66 is also formed on the side surface facing the. The locking piece guide groove 66 of the guide body 65 is formed at a position facing the locking piece guide groove 16 c of the side plate portion 16 b of the pressing member receiving portion 16. In the pressing fixing member 120, the elastic locking piece 124 is inserted into the locking piece guide grooves 16 c and 66 formed in the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62 and the side plate portion 16 b of the pressing member receiving portion 16 to guide the main body 65. Can be engaged.

The connector main body 101 includes a forward restricting means 67 (see FIG. 9) for switching between forward restriction and restriction release from the initial position of the movable guide 60 with the restricting portion, and from the initial position of the movable guide 60 with the restricting portion to the rear side. And a guide retraction restricting means for restricting movement.
The forward restricting means is in a state where the forward restriction is canceled from the state where the forward movement from the initial position of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is restricted by being pressed from the rear side by the pressing fixing member 120.

As shown in FIG. 9, the movable guide 60 with a restraining portion of the connector main body 101 in the illustrated example has a forward restricting protrusion 67 protruding from the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62 as the forward restricting means. Yes. The forward restricting protrusion 67 protrudes obliquely forward from one of the opposite sides of the guide main body 65 facing the pair of side plate portions 16b of the pressing member receiving portion 16. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the front end (front end) of the forward restricting protrusion 67 is formed at the groove bottom of one of the locking piece guide grooves 16 c of the pair of side plate portions 16 b of the pressing member receiving portion 16. It is inserted into the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d, and is abutted against the front end 16e (see FIGS. 9 and 11A) of the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d from the rear side. The forward restricting protrusion 67 protrudes from the side of the guide main body 65 facing the pair of side plate portions 16b of the pressing member receiving portion 16 and facing the protrusion tip insertion groove 16d. . In the illustrated movable guide 62, the forward restricting protrusion 67 protrudes from the groove bottom of the locking piece guide groove 66 facing the protrusion tip insertion groove 16d.
The forward restricting protrusion 67 is inclined with respect to the axis of the through hole 63 so as to move away from the guide body 65 and approach the groove bottom of the protrusion tip insertion groove 16d as it goes to the front side.

The projecting piece tip insertion groove 16d has a narrower groove width than the locking piece guide groove 16c and extends in the connector front-rear direction. Further, the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16 d is formed only in the pressing member receiving portion 16 constituting the rear end portion of the rear housing 15.
In the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion, the initial position is the position where the forward movement restricting protrusion 67 is abutted against the front end 16e of the protruding piece distal end insertion groove 16d and the forward movement is restricted.

As shown in FIGS. 9, 10 (a), and 10 (b), the movable guide 60 with the restraint portion is a latch that protrudes from the peripheral surface of the rear extension piece 27 opposite to the open guide 50 in the closed position. The protrusion 27a (see FIGS. 5 and 9) enters the locking window hole 61b formed in the front end portion of the restraining sleeve portion 61, and movement from the initial position to the rear side is restricted.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion at the initial position, the portion of the restraining sleeve portion 61 located on the front side of the locking window hole 61b is formed perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the connector at the front end of the locking projection 27a. The movement from the initial position to the rear side is restricted by contacting the front end surface.
The locking protrusion 27a functions as a guide retraction restricting means for restricting the movement of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion from the initial position to the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 15, the forward restricting protrusion 67 of the movable guide 62 is inserted into the locking piece guide grooves 16 c and 66 when the pressing fixing member 120 is connected to the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62. It is pressed by the tip of the elastic locking piece 124 that has been advanced. The forward restricting protruding piece 67 pressed from the rear side by the elastic locking piece 124 is moved forward from the protruding end leading insertion groove 16d to the inside of the pressing member receiving part 16 by the advance of the elastic locking piece 124. It is moved and the butting against the front end 16e of the projecting piece tip insertion groove 16d is released.
The movable guide 62 is an integrally molded product made of plastic. When the forward restricting protrusion 67 is pressed from the rear side by the distal end of the elastic locking piece 124 of the pressing fixing member 120, the forward restricting protrusion 67 is elastically deformed at the boundary between the forward restricting protrusion 67 and the guide main body 65. Using the boundary portion as a hinge portion, the direction of the through hole 63 with respect to the axis changes so that the tip of the boundary portion approaches the side surface 68 of the guide body 65. It should be noted that the forward restricting protrusion 67 and the guide body 65 of the movable guide 62 in the illustrated example have a thin part 69 formed thinner than the plate thickness of the plate-like advance restricting protrusion 67 as a hinge part (boundary). And is connected via the thin-walled portion 69.

The distal end portion including the locking claw 128 of the elastic locking piece 124 of the pressing fixing member 120 is formed in a size that can be accommodated in almost the entire groove width of the locking piece guide grooves 16c and 66, and It does not enter the insertion groove 16d. The elastic locking piece 124 pushes forward the position shifted from the tip of the forward restricting projection 67 to the base side of the forward restricting projection 67 located in the vicinity of the guide main body 65 by its tip, and the forward restricting projection The tip of the piece 67 moves from the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d toward the inside of the pressing member receiving portion 16 to release the abutting of the tip of the forward restricting protruding piece 67 against the front end 16e of the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d. Further, the elastic locking piece 124 releases the abutting of the tip of the forward restricting protruding piece 67 against the front end 16e of the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d, and the locking claw 128 at the tip is engaged with the guide body 65.
The movable guide 60 with the restraint portion can be advanced from the initial position by releasing the abutting of the tip of the forward restricting protruding piece 67 against the front end 16e of the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16d.
In addition, as an optical connector, the structure which abbreviate | omitted the latching piece guide groove 66 of the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62 is also employable.

As shown in FIG. 9, the locking protrusion 27a that functions as a guide retraction restricting means is formed in a taper shape in which the projecting dimension from the peripheral surface of the rear extension piece 27 increases from the rear side of the connector to the front side. ing.
A long hole 61c extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the rear side of the locking window hole 61b of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion.
As shown in FIG. 15, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is pressed forward from the initial position in a state where the abutting of the tip of the forward restricting protrusion 67 against the front end 16 e of the protruding piece tip insertion groove 16 d is released. And the inter-hole wall portion 61d, which is a portion between the locking window hole 61b and the long hole 61c in the restraining sleeve portion 61, gets over the locking projection 27a by a slight elastic deformation of the restraining sleeve portion 61, As shown in FIG. 19, the locking protrusion 27a can be stored in the long hole 61c.
When the locking projection 27a enters the elongated hole 61c, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion moves relative to the rear side with respect to the rear extension piece 27 from the position where the inter-hole wall portion 61d contacts the locking projection 27a. Is regulated. Further, in this optical connector 100, when the movable guide 62 reaches the advance limit position, the locking projection 27a enters the elongated hole 61c, and the connector extends in the longitudinal direction of the connector with respect to the rear extension piece 27 of the movable guide 60 with the restraint portion. Displacement is regulated.

As will be described in detail later, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion restrains the open guide 50 in the closed position that restricts the deformation deformation of the insertion fiber 1 with respect to the accommodation groove 26. Further, the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion advances from the initial position by pushing the pressing fixing member 120, and drives the release guide 50 forward to move out of the fiber accommodation groove 26 (retract from the closed position). It has a function. The restraining sleeve portion 61 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion presses the release guide 50 so as not to be separated from the guide base portion 51 during the sheath removal of the insertion fiber 1 by the sheath removal portion 31 of the sheath removal member 30 and the release guide. Before 50 is separated from the guide base portion 51, it functions as a pressing portion that releases the pressing based on the advancement of the pressing fixing member 120.
The movable guide 60 with the restraint portion can be advanced from the initial position while maintaining the state in which the guide base portion 51 and the release guide 50 are housed inside the restraint sleeve portion 61. When the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion advances from the initial position, the restraining sleeve portion 61 slides relative to the rear extension piece 27.

Here, the lid member moving mechanism of the optical connector of this embodiment will be specifically described.
As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 8, and FIG. Projected. The rail portion 52 is a ridge that is inclined with respect to the housing groove 26 and protrudes on the slide surface 51a so as to be separated from the housing groove 26 from the end on the housing groove 26 side toward the front side. .
Further, in the illustrated optical connector, a plurality of the rail portions 52 are provided on the slide surface 51a at intervals in the front-rear direction. The plurality of rail portions 52 are all aligned in the same inclination direction and inclination angle with respect to the accommodation groove 26.
As shown in FIG. 4, the slide surface 51a of the rear extension piece 27 of the optical connector of the illustrated example is a groove forming surface on which the alignment groove 25 and the accommodation groove 26 of the rear extension piece 27 are formed. 51 b is formed on only one side of the housing groove 26 in the groove width direction through the housing groove 26. On the side opposite to the slide surface 51 a via the housing groove 26, a ridge portion 54 and a notch portion 55 (described later) projecting to the side of the fiber housing groove 26 are formed.

When the movable guide 62 is in the initial position, the opening guide 50 is in the closed position with respect to the receiving groove 26. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 9, the open guide 50 has a rail portion 52 of the guide base portion 51 in a rail storage groove 50 c formed on a facing surface 50 b facing the slide surface 51 a of the guide base portion 51. 16b, and the opposed surface 50b is placed on the slide surface 51a in the closed position as shown in FIG. 16 (b).
As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 8, the rail receiving groove 50 c is inclined with respect to the receiving groove 26 at the same angle as the inclination angle of the rail portion 52 of the guide base portion 51 with respect to the receiving groove 26. Has been.

When the release guide 50 is pressed in the forward direction against the rear extension piece 27, the inner surface of the rear side of the rail storage groove 50 c slides on the rail portion 52 stored in the rail storage groove 26. However, it moves obliquely forward from the closed position.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, a gap 53 (space) that forms the deflection deformation 4 is formed between the protrusion 54 and the opening guide 50. As shown in FIG. 16B, when the movable guide 62 is in the initial position, the release guide 50 is closed (overlapped) with respect to the protruding portion 54. In the present embodiment, the position where the opening guide 50 abuts on the protrusion 54 is the closing position of the opening guide 50.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the movable guide 62 is in the initial position, the movable guide 60 with the restraint portion is a restraint projection 50 d (FIG. 4, FIG. 8) is abutted to restrain the release guide 50 in the closed position. Accordingly, the restraining sleeve portion 61 does not move the release guide 50 so as to form a space in which the insertion fiber can bend and deform on the accommodation groove 26 (that is, the release guide 60 from the closed position to the open position). Do not cause movement of the
As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the restricting protrusion 50d is provided so as to protrude from the end of the open guide 50 opposite to the end facing the protrusion 54.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rear end portion 50 e of the release guide 50 protrudes rearward from the rear end of the guide base portion 51.
When the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion is advanced from the initial position, the movable guide 60 with respect to the rear extension piece 27 and the opening guide 50 is maintained while keeping the opening guide 50 in the closed position with respect to the guide base portion 51. After the sliding movement, the restraining protrusion 50d of the opening guide 50 is stored in the opening 61e formed in the restraining sleeve 61 (see FIG. 18). Thereby, the restriction | limiting to the closed position with respect to the guide base part 51 of the open guide 50 is cancelled | released. Further, when the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion reaches the position in which the restraining protrusion 50d of the opening guide 50 is stored in the opening 61e for opening or after reaching the position, the movable guide 62 is located behind the opening guide 50. The forward pushing of the end is started and the forward limit position is reached.

As the movable guide 62 advances after the restraint is released to the closed position, the opening guide 50 is guided forward by the rail portion 52 and slides forward on the slide surface 51a of the guide base portion 51. Move to slide.
In this optical connector, when the movable guide 62 comes into contact with the rear end of the rear extension piece 27, the open guide 50 is disposed at a position where the bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is allowed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, a gap 53 that forms the deflection deformation 4 is formed between the protrusion 54 and the open guide 50.

With this configuration of the optical connector, the restriction of the open guide 50 to the closed position by the movable guide 60 with the restraint portion can be released only by the forward movement of the movable guide 60 with the restraint portion. According to this configuration, since the structure for realizing the switching between the restrained state and the restraint released state is simple and can be easily downsized, it is advantageous for downsizing the optical connector.
The rail portion 52 functions as a separation structure that separates the release guide from the base member when the release guide advances based on the advance of the optical fiber gripping portion.
As the separation structure, the arrangement of the rail part and the rail storage groove is reversed, that is, the rail part protruding from the open guide is stored in the rail storage groove formed in the guide base part, and the optical fiber gripping part It is good also as a structure which guides the movement of the said open guide diagonally forward, when the said open guide advances based on advance of this.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 13, a window 61 a into which the optical fiber pressing piece 42 of the assembly member 40 is inserted is formed in the restraining sleeve portion 61 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion. The window 61 a is an opening that penetrates the thickness of the restraining sleeve portion 61 and opens to the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the restraining sleeve portion 61.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a plurality of optical fiber pressing pieces 42 and 42 are interposed between the guide base portion 51 of the connector main body 101 and the open guide 50. Each optical fiber pressing piece 42 can press the insertion fiber 1 into the receiving groove 26 by the optical fiber pressing portion 59 at the tip.
The plurality of optical fiber holding pieces 42 and 42 are kept in contact with each other between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 when the open guide 50 is moved (retracted) from the closed position to the open position. The insertion fiber 1 is arranged with a predetermined gap G (see FIG. 19) in the front-rear direction so that the insertion fiber 1 can be flexibly deformed with a certain load.

As shown in FIG. 3, the clamp part 20 is accommodated in the cylindrical part 15a which comprises a front side part from the press member receiving part 16 of the rear side housing 15. As shown in FIG. The cylindrical portion 15a is formed with a window 15b into which an insertion piece 41 of an assembly member 40 (described later in detail) is inserted, and a window 15c into which an optical fiber pressing piece 42 is inserted. These windows 15b and 15c are formed through the thickness of the cylindrical portion 15a.
As shown in FIGS. 17, 22, and 25, the housing 100H penetrates the thickness of the sleeve-like coupling 13 and the thickness of the sleeve-like front housing 14 so as to pass through the inside of the front housing 14. A communication hole 15d is formed through which the insertion piece 41 is inserted and communicates with the window 15b of the tubular portion 15a that is inserted and fitted.
In addition, the window 15c into which the optical fiber pressing piece 42 is inserted in the cylindrical portion 15a of the rear housing 15 is located on the rear side of the coupling 13 and the front housing 14. It opens to the surrounding surface of the cylindrical part 15a, without being covered.

  As shown in FIG. 4, on the mating surface on which the front lid member 22 of the clamp base portion 21 is overlapped, as an alignment mechanism, the alignment groove 25 that positions and aligns the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 is provided. Is formed. The alignment groove 25 extends in the longitudinal direction of the clamp base portion 21 along the axis of the minute hole of the ferrule 10 (virtual extension of the axis toward the rear side of the ferrule). The cross-sectional shape of the aligning groove 25 is, for example, a V groove, but may be a U groove, a round groove (a groove having a semicircular cross section), or the like. The alignment groove 25 is provided for each pair of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 to be connected (for the number of cores: one here).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the optical connector 100 includes a spring 18 that elastically biases the ferrule 10 toward the front side of the connector and applies a butting force at the time of butt connection with another optical connector.
The spring 18 is specifically a coil spring, and is externally inserted into the connector main body 101 at the rear side of the flange portion 10b projecting from the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the ferrule 10, and the flange portion 10b and the rear housing. 15 is inserted between the front end.
The ferrule 10 is elastically biased to the front side of the connector by the spring 18, and the flange portion 10b is formed on a stopper wall portion 14a that protrudes inside the front end portion of the housing 100H (specifically, inside the front housing 14). It arrange | positions in the front side movement limit position contact | abutted from the rear side. The connector main body 101 can be pushed toward the rear side of the connector with respect to the housing 100H while pushing and shrinking the spring 18 when a pressing force (pushing force) from the front to the rear is applied to the ferrule 10.

The housing groove 26 is provided on the extension of the alignment groove 25. The fiber accommodation groove 26 is formed in a portion where the rear cover member 23 of the clamp base portion 21 is overlapped, and further extends rearward from the portion. The fiber accommodation groove 26 is configured to accommodate the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1 and to firmly clamp the insertion fiber 1 when the rear lid member 23 is clamped by the clamp spring 24.
When the insertion fiber 1 is inserted into the clamp portion 20 along the fiber accommodation groove 26, it is guided to the coating removing member 30 through the fiber accommodation groove 26. As shown in FIG. 37 (b), the coating 2 can be removed by the coating removing portion 31 of the coating removing member 30, and the bare optical fiber 3 can be abutted against the built-in fiber 12.

FIGS. 6A to 6C show specific examples of the coating removal member 30 illustrated in FIGS. 37A to 37D. 6B and 6C, the coating removal member 30 is disposed in the optical connector 100 so that the left side is the front and the right side is the rear.
As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the coating removing member 30 has a bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 on the front side and a coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 on the rear side. The bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 are circular holes formed coaxially along the longitudinal direction of the connector. Between the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34, a window hole that penetrates the coating removal member 30 in a direction intersecting with the axes of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. 32 is formed. The coating removal portion 31 (coating removal blade) is formed on the wall portion on the side where the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 is formed, in the front-rear direction wall portion forming the window hole 32 of the coating removal member 30. .

The coating removal member 30 has a configuration in which a bare optical fiber insertion hole 33, a coated optical fiber insertion hole 34, a window hole 32, and a coating removal blade 31 are formed in a body 30a made of a hard material such as metal or resin. ing. Further, the coating removing member 30 (specifically, the body 30a) is formed in a rectangular plate shape. More specifically, the body 30a of the sheath removal member 30 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and the sheath removal member 30 is attached to the clamp base portion 21 with the longitudinal direction of the body 30a aligned with the connector longitudinal direction. ing.
The window hole 32 is a through hole that penetrates the plate thickness of the body 30a. The bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 are formed with an axis in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the window hole 32. The body 30a has a front end surface 35a where the front end of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 opens, and a rear end surface 35b where the rear end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 opens. The front end surface 35a is one of the four outer peripheral surfaces of the body 30a. The rear end surface 35b is one of the four outer peripheral surfaces of the body 30a located on the opposite side of the front end surface 35a.

The coating removal blade 31 of the coating removal member 30 in the illustrated example includes the aforementioned annular blade portion 31a having a tapered cylindrical shape through which the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 passes, and the outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31a perpendicular to the axis thereof. It has the plate-shaped blade part 31b which protrudes in a direction (radial direction of the annular blade part 31a).
The annular blade portion 31a is a cylindrical shape that protrudes into the window hole 32 from the wall portion (front wall portion) where the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 is formed in the front-rear direction of the sheath removing member 30 toward the rear side. It is formed in the shape of a protrusion. The annular blade portion 31a protrudes rearward from a surface (window hole front inner wall surface 32a) facing the window hole 32 of the front wall portion. The outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31a is formed in a tapered cylindrical shape that tapers from the front end side to the rear side. The bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 passes through the annular blade portion 31 a and the front wall portion, and the front end thereof opens to the front end surface 35 a of the body 30 a of the coating removal member 30. In the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33, the bare optical fiber 3 led to the tip of the inserted fiber 1 by removing the coating is inserted. The bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 is a fine hole that guides the bare optical fiber 3 to the alignment groove 25 of the clamp portion 20.

  In the coating removing member 30 of the illustrated example, the plate-like blade portion 31b is formed in a plate shape perpendicular to the forming direction of the window hole 32 (the axial direction of the window hole 32). Moreover, in the coating removal member 30 of the example of illustration, the said plate-shaped blade part 31b protrudes in the radial direction both sides from the annular blade part 31a.

  In the coating removing member 30 in the illustrated example, the plate-like blade portion 31b includes an annular blade portion 31a and wall portions 36 (hereinafter also referred to as horizontal wall portions) located on both sides of the body 30a in the width direction with the window hole 32 interposed therebetween. It is a bridge. The lateral wall portions 36 on both sides of the window hole 32 are spaced apart from the annular blade portion 31a on both sides via the annular blade portion 31a.

The body 30a of the sheath removing member 30 in the illustrated example is an integrally molded product made of metal or resin, and the plate-like blade portion 31b is formed integrally with the lateral wall portion 36 and the annular blade portion 31a of the sheath removing member 30. . The plate-like blade portion 31b is formed between the annular blade portion 31a and the lateral wall portion 36 over the entire protruding dimension from the window hole front side inner wall surface 32a of the annular blade portion 31a.
It should be noted that the body 30a of the sheath removing member 30 does not necessarily have to be an integrally molded product, and may have a structure assembled by a plurality of members.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, the plate-like blade portion 31b is formed in a taper shape (taper plate shape) in which the plate thickness gradually decreases from the window hole front inner wall surface 32a toward the rear side. . The plate-like blade portion 31b in the illustrated example has a ridge line at the rear end of the blade edge extending straight from the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a (the ridge line at the rear end) perpendicular to the axis of the annular blade portion 31a. The ridge lines at the rear ends of the plate-like blade portions 31b on both sides via the annular blade portion 31a are located on the same straight line perpendicular to the axis of the annular blade portion 31a.
The blade edge angle θ between the surfaces on both sides in the plate thickness direction of the plate-like blade portion 31b can be set to 20 to 40 degrees, for example. However, the cutting edge angle θ is determined in consideration of the pushing force of the insertion fiber 1 pushed forward from the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 into the coating removing member 30 (pushing force by the operator's manual work). The angle may be any angle that can achieve removal, and is not limited to the range of 20 to 40 degrees.

  As shown in FIGS. 37 (a) and 37 (b), the optical connector 100 is configured such that when the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the receiving groove 26 is moved forward with respect to the optical connector 100, the insertion fiber is inserted. One end is inserted into the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is formed to extend straight along the axial line in the connector front-rear direction. The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 penetrates the rear wall portion on the rear side from the window hole 32 in the coating removal member 30 in the front-rear direction. The front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 opens to the surface of the rear wall facing the window hole 32, that is, the window hole rear inner wall surface 32 b facing the window hole front inner wall surface 32 a of the window hole 32. The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 can position the insertion fiber 1 so as to extend straight on the axis of the annular blade 31a.

The insertion fiber 1 can press the tip protruding forward from the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 against the coating removal blade 31 by advancing with respect to the optical connector 100 (see FIG. 37B). Then, the tip of the insertion fiber 1 is pressed toward the coating removal blade 31 so that the coating 2 is removed, and the bare optical fiber 3 is inserted into the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33.
At this time, the coating removing blade 31 can easily peel the coating 2 from the bare optical fiber 3 by inserting the annular blade 31 a between the bare optical fiber 3 and the coating 2. Further, the coating removing blade 31 divides the coating 2 around the bare optical fiber 3 into two by the plate-like blade portion 31b, so that the annular blade portion 31a of the unnecessary coating 2 separated from the bare optical fiber 3 is obtained. Separation and removal from the can proceed smoothly.

The diameter of the circular ridge line (blade edge) at the rear end of the annular blade portion 31 a is equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bare optical fiber 3 of the insertion fiber 1. The diameter of the ridgeline (blade edge) at the rear end of the annular blade 31a is, for example, less than half the thickness (coating thickness) of the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 on the outer diameter of the bare optical fiber 3 or 3 minutes. The size can be obtained by adding a dimension of 1 or less.
Further, the inlet (fiber inlet) of the rear end portion of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 is formed in a tapered shape having a diameter (inner diameter) that increases toward the rear side, and a circular cutting edge at the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a. The diameter may be slightly larger than the inner diameter of the front side of the fiber inlet.

A tapered hole 34a whose diameter decreases from the outside to the inside is provided at the inlet (fiber inlet) at the rear end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. By guiding the tip of the coated optical fiber 1 into the tapered hole 34a, the insertion into the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 becomes more reliable.
A tapered hole 33a whose diameter increases from the inside to the outside is provided at the outlet of the front end of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33. The bare optical fiber 3 can be smoothly guided from the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 to the alignment groove 25 by having a slight margin in the direction in which the bare optical fiber 3 exits from the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33.

The plate-like blade portion 31b of the sheath removing member 30 has a configuration in which the ridge line of the blade edge at the rear end extends straight from the ridge line of the rear edge of the annular blade portion 31a perpendicularly to the axis of the annular blade portion 31a (FIG. 6A). To (c)). As the plate-like blade portion 31b, the ridgeline of the blade edge at the rear end extends straight and perpendicular to the axis of the annular blade portion 31a at a position slightly shifted to the front side from the ridgeline of the rear edge of the annular blade portion 31a. Can also be adopted. However, the blade edge (ridge line) at the rear end of the plate-like blade portion 31b in this case divides the coating 2 peeled cylindrically from the bare optical fiber 3 by the annular blade portion 31a into two, and the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a It is preferable that the position in the front-rear direction of the connector is a position close to the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a in order to smoothly separate and remove the coating 2 from the connector.
Moreover, the plate-shaped blade part 31b is good also as a shape where the distance from the annular blade part 31a outer peripheral surface of the blade edge increases as it goes to the connector front-back direction front side from the annular blade part 31a rear end.

As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C and FIG. 28, the insertion fiber 1 is inserted into the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33. A projecting portion 37 for projecting with high accuracy is provided on the axis. Hereinafter, the protrusion 37 is also referred to as a positioning protrusion.
In the coating removing member 30 illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the positioning projections 37 are projected at four equal locations in the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface 34 b of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. Yes.

The positioning protrusion 37 is formed in a tapered shape (slope shape) in which the protruding dimension from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b gradually increases from the rear end to the front side.
Positioning projections 37 projecting at four locations in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface 34b of the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 are in contact with the outer periphery of the insertion fiber 1 (outer periphery of the coating 2). The part 31a is positioned with high accuracy coaxially with the axis of the cutting edge at the rear end.
In the coating removing member 30 in the illustrated example, the axis of the blade edge at the rear end of the annular blade 31a and the axis of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 are aligned with each other.

The positioning protrusions 37 only have to be provided at three or more locations that are even in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner circumferential surface 34b, and the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner circumferential surface 34b. It is not limited to the structure equally arrange | positioned in these four places.
The three or more positioning projections 37 projecting from the inner peripheral surface 34b of the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 come into contact with the outer periphery of the insertion fiber 1 (outer periphery of the coating 2) to place the insertion fiber 1 behind the annular blade 31a. Position with high precision coaxially with the axis of the edge of the edge.
Positioning the insertion fiber 1 at the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 with high accuracy with respect to the axis of the blade edge at the rear end of the annular blade 31a means that the insertion fiber 1 required to remove the coating is pressed against the coating removal blade 31. It contributes effectively to reducing pressure (pushing force from the rear side of the connector) and suppressing occurrence of uneven removal.

  The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is a round hole whose inner diameter is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1. The coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 can be formed with an inner diameter that is, for example, about 10 to 20 μm larger than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1 when an insertion fiber 1 having an outer diameter of 250 μm is used.

Strictly speaking, there are variations in the diameter (outer diameter) of coated optical fibers such as optical fiber strands. The variation of the outer diameter can be grasped as a distribution with respect to a standard outer diameter (also referred to as a standard outer diameter in the present specification). In the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34, an inner diameter larger than the standard outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1 is adopted, so that an insertion fiber larger than the standard outer diameter can be inserted within a range of variation. .
In the present specification, unless otherwise specified, the diameter (outer diameter) of the insertion fiber 1 refers to a standard outer diameter.

Each positioning projection 37 has an inclined surface that gradually approaches the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 from the rear end to the front side (see, for example, the inclined surface 371a in FIGS. 28 to 32), or a ridgeline A fiber contact guide portion 37a (see, for example, the ridge line 372a in FIG. 33) extends.
The positioning protrusion 37 has, at the front end of the fiber contact guide part 37a, a maximum protrusion part 37b having a maximum protrusion dimension from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. In other words, the maximum protrusion 37b at the front end of the fiber contact guide portion 37a is the portion of the positioning protrusion 37 that has the shortest distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34.

Further, the portion of the positioning projection 37 on the rear side from the maximum projecting portion 37b has a portion with the shortest distance from the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction. It exists in the contact guide part 37a. In the fiber abutment guide portion 37a, there is a continuous portion having the shortest distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction over the entire front-rear direction.
The distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 with respect to the fiber contact guide portion 37a is the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. Refers to distance.

As the inclined surface of the positioning projection 37, for example, a flat surface (hereinafter also referred to as an inclined flat surface) that is inclined at an inclination angle of 60 degrees or less or 45 degrees or less with respect to the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. Can be mentioned. In addition, as the inclined surface, for example, it is possible to adopt a concave curved surface (hereinafter also referred to as a concave inclined surface) whose entire length or substantially the entire length is a circular arc whose section perpendicular to the extending direction is an arc. Hereinafter, this inclined surface is also referred to as a groove guiding inclined surface (see, for example, the inclined surface 371a (groove guiding inclined surface) in FIGS. 28 to 32).
The concave curved inclined surface of the groove-guided inclined surface forms a concave groove in the positioning protrusion 37, for example, as a concave groove 371d illustrated in FIGS.

Specifically, the positioning projection 37 of the sheath removing member 30 illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C is a positioning projection 37 in which a groove guide type inclined surface 371a is formed as the fiber contact guide 37a. It is an example. Reference numeral 371 in the figure is added to the positioning protrusion 37.
Here, with reference to FIGS. 28 to 32, the positioning protrusion 371 and the coating removing member 30 on which the positioning protrusion 371 is formed will be described.
6 (a) to 6 (c), the protruding dimension of the positioning projection 371 from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b is exaggerated and greatly illustrated as compared with FIGS. 28 to 32. Yes.

The groove guiding inclined surface 371a of the positioning protrusion 371 illustrated in FIGS. 28 to 32 approaches the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and gradually increases in curvature radius from the rear end to the front side. A concave curved surface 371e is provided. The groove-guided inclined surface 371a has a front end (straight line portion 371f) that extends in the groove width direction of the recessed groove 371d formed by the recessed inclined surface 371e on the front side of the recessed inclined surface 371e. ).
A maximum protrusion 37b (described later) of the positioning protrusion 371 exists in the straight line portion 371f. As shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the positioning protrusion 371 is formed such that its front end coincides with the window hole rear side inner wall surface 32 b of the sheath removing member 30. The linear portion 371f is located at the front end of the positioning projection 371, and forms a boundary line between the rear inner wall surface 32b of the window hole and the groove guide type inclined surface 371a.

  As shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, the rear end of the groove-guiding inclined surface 371 a of the positioning protrusion 371 in the illustrated example is formed by the rear end of the concavely curved inclined surface 371 e. The rear end of the concave curved inclined surface 371e is a coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b in order to avoid the occurrence of a step between the rear end of the groove guide type inclined surface 371a and the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. The curve 371g is curved with a curvature radius that coincides with. The curved line 371g is a boundary line between the rear end portion of the groove guiding inclined surface 371a and the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. This configuration makes it easy to ride on the positioning projection 37 (specifically, the groove guiding inclined surface 371a) at the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 that is inserted and advanced from the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 from the rear side. Is advantageous.

As shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, the portion of the concave inclined surface 371 e on the front side from the curved line 371 g at the rear end thereof has a gentle curve radius larger than the distance from the axis 34 </ b> P in the cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction. It is a concave curved surface.
The concave curved inclined surface 371e forms a concave groove 371d having a groove bottom surface recessed in an arc shape in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction on the side of the positioning projection 37 facing the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. To do. The concave groove 371d has a concave curved inclined surface 371e as a groove bottom surface. The concave groove 371d has a groove bottom at the shortest distance from the axis 34P in the cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction in the groove bottom surface formed by the concave curved inclined surface 371e.
In the concave groove 371d, there is a linear main guide portion 371c in which a portion having the shortest distance from the axis 34P in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction is continuously linear throughout the extending direction. The concave groove 371d has a configuration in which the linear main guide portion 371c is the groove bottom over the entire length in the extending direction.

As shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, the concave curved inclined surface 371e of the groove guiding inclined surface 371a is the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the linear main guide portion 371c as it goes from the rear end to the front side. It is formed so that the distance from 34P becomes short. The positioning projection 371 has a maximum protrusion at the front end of the linear main guide portion 371c with the shortest distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 (maximum projection dimension from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b). This is a point 371b. The maximum protrusion point 371b functions as the maximum protrusion 37b of the positioning protrusion 371.
Further, in the positioning protrusion 371 in the illustrated example, the maximum protrusion point 371b is located at the intersection of the linear portion 371f at the front end of the concave curved inclined surface 371e and the linear main guide portion 371c. In this respect, the groove-guided inclined surface 371a substantially extends as the linear main guide portion 371c extending over the entire length in the extending direction moves forward from the rear end of the groove-guided inclined surface 371a. It is configured to gradually approach the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34.

As shown in FIGS. 28 to 32, the positioning protrusion 371 in the illustrated example has the concave groove 371d extending over the entire length in the extending direction by adjusting the curvature radius of the concave curved inclined surface 371e of the groove guiding inclined surface 371a. The structure extends with a constant groove width. On both sides in the groove width direction of the concave groove 371d of the positioning protrusion 371, a boundary line 371h between the concave curved inclined surface 371e and the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b is an axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. It extends parallel to.
The straight portion 371f at the front end of the groove-guided inclined surface 371a is formed in a direction that matches the groove width direction of the recessed groove 371d and has a length that matches the distance between the boundary lines 371h on both sides of the groove width direction of the recessed groove 371d. Yes.

In addition, as the groove-guided inclined surface of the positioning projection, for example, a configuration in which the entire length in the extending direction including the front end is a concavely inclined surface whose curvature radius increases from the rear end toward the front side can be adopted. It is. Moreover, as a groove guide type inclined surface, the structure made into the concave curved inclined surface where a curvature radius becomes small gradually as the extending direction full length goes to a front side from a rear end is also employable.
However, the concavely curved inclined surface described in this embodiment ensures a radius of curvature equal to or greater than the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole even at the front end thereof. Further, the concave curved inclined surface is covered in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction, except for the entire length in the extending direction or the rear end where the curvature radius coincides with the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. The optical fiber insertion hole 34 is configured to be gently curved with a larger radius than the distance from the axis.
The concavely curved inclined surface forms a concave groove having the linear main guide portion as the groove bottom in the positioning projection over the entire length in the extending direction. Further, the positioning projection formed with the concavely curved surface has a configuration in which the front end of the linear main guide portion is the maximum projection point (maximum projection portion).

  The above-described inclined flat surface formed on the positioning projection also has a linear main guide portion in which the portion with the shortest distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 continues along the extending direction. It is an existing configuration. The positioning projection formed with the inclined flat surface has a configuration in which the front end of the linear main guide portion is the maximum projection point (maximum projection portion).

  33 has a triangular cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the front-rear direction and has a front-rear inner peripheral surface 34b of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 at the front and rear of the connector. This is a protrusion that extends in the direction. The positioning protrusion 372 has a taper shape that approaches the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 (the protruding dimension from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b increases) from the rear end to the front side. Is formed. The positioning protrusion 372 is formed with a ridge line 372a that approaches the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 from the rear end of the positioning protrusion 372 to the front as the fiber contact guide 37a. Yes.

The ridge line 372a is a linearly continuous portion in the front-rear direction where the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the cross-section perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the positioning protrusion 372 (line Main guide part).
The positioning protrusion 372 has a maximum protrusion point 372b at the front end of the ridge line 372a and having the shortest distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 (maximum protruding dimension from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b). (Vertex). In the positioning protrusion 372, the maximum protrusion point 372b at the front end of the ridge line 372a functions as the maximum protrusion 37b.

In the positioning projection 372 illustrated in FIGS. 33 and 34, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is an isosceles triangle having the ridge line 372b as a vertex. A cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the positioning projection 372 has a shape that is symmetrical on both sides via a virtual straight line that passes through the ridge line 372b and is perpendicular to the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. It has a line-symmetric shape with the center.
The slopes 372c on both sides extending between the ridge line 372b of the positioning projection 372 and the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b are virtual planes that overlap the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and the ridge line 372b. It is formed in the same shape and dimension on both sides via.

  In the embodiment described here, the three or more positioning projections 37 projecting from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner circumferential surface 34b are shaped and dimensioned from the rear end to the front end of the fiber contact guide portion 37a. Furthermore, the formation positions in the front-rear direction on the inner peripheral surface 34b of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the portion are aligned with each other. Accordingly, the linear main guide portion of the fiber contact guide portion 37a of each positioning projection 37 has a virtual taper whose diameter gradually decreases from the rear side toward the front side with the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 as the center. It is in a position that overlaps the cylindrical surface.

The maximum protrusions (maximum protrusion points) of the positioning protrusions 37 are at positions that overlap the same virtual circumference centered on the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 (coaxial with the axis 34P). However, the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the maximum protrusion of each positioning protrusion 37 is slightly smaller than the radius of the insertion fiber 1 (half the outer diameter). That is, the maximum protrusion (maximum protrusion point) of each positioning protrusion 37 is coaxial with the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and overlaps the virtual circumference slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1. In position.
The diameter of the virtual circumference (hereinafter also referred to as the maximum protrusion virtual circumference) where the maximum protrusions of the positioning protrusions 37 overlap is as follows. When using a coating outer diameter (standard outer diameter) of 250 μm, the outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1 is made smaller by, for example, about 5 to 10 μm.
An example of the maximum projecting portion virtual circumference is illustrated with reference C1 in FIG. 31 and reference C2 in FIG.

The extension dimension (extending length in the front-rear direction) from the rear end of the positioning projection 37 in the connector front-rear direction to the maximum protrusion can be set to 0.1 to 0.3 mm, for example. However, the dimension extending in the front-rear direction is not limited to the above range, and can be set as appropriate.
The fiber contact guide portion 37 a of the positioning projection 37 is formed in the range of the dimension extending in the front-rear direction of the positioning connector 37.

The distal end of the insertion fiber 1 inserted from the rear side into the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the coating removal member and advanced toward the front of the connector is guided by the fiber contact guide 37a of the positioning projection 37, The coating projection 37 is pressed by the coating removal blade 31 through the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 from which the positioning projection 37 is projected. The tip of the insertion fiber 1 has high accuracy with respect to the axis of the cutting edge of the rear end of the coating removal blade 31 by abutting with the positioning projection 37 in the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the insertion optical fiber 1. The sheath removing blade 31 is pressed in a state where the sheath is removed.
The fiber abutment guide portion 37a of the positioning projection 37 is positioned relative to the axis 34P so as to gradually approach the axis 34P of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 from the rear end of the positioning projection 37 to the front side. Inclined. For this reason, the fiber abutment guide portion 37a of each positioning projection 37 is used for positioning the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 with the tip of the insertion fiber 1 advanced from the rear end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. It is possible to smoothly guide the region where the maximum protrusion (maximum protrusion point) of the protrusion 37 is located.

As described above, the diameter of the maximum protrusion virtual circumference is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber 1. For this reason, the insertion fiber 1 inserted inside the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 has its outer periphery covered with the inner peripheral surface 34b of the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. The maximum protrusion point of the protrusion 37 can be reliably pressed.
In addition, the insertion fiber 1 inserted inside the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 has three or more equal portions in the circumferential direction on the positioning protrusion 37 inside the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. Pressed. Positioning projections 37 projecting at three or more locations that are equal in the circumferential direction of the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 are arranged on the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 and after the annular blade 31a. It can be positioned with high accuracy coaxially with the axis of the edge of the edge.

  As shown in FIG. 34, the positioning protrusion 372 illustrated in FIG. 33 has a maximum protruding point 372b (maximum point where the outer periphery of the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is pressed. The protruding portion) locally elastically deforms the outer peripheral portion of the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1. Thereby, the outer periphery of the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 is reliably brought into contact with the maximum protrusion point 372 of each positioning protrusion 372. As a result, the coating removing member 30 is configured so that the insertion fiber 1 is covered with the coated optical fiber insertion hole by the positioning projections 372 projecting at three or more locations in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the circumferential direction. It can be positioned with high accuracy coaxially with the axis of 34 and the axis of the blade edge of the rear end of the annular blade 31a.

  Further, portions of the outer peripheral portion of the sheath 2 of the insertion fiber 1 other than the portion that is locally elastically deformed by being pressed by the maximum protrusion point 372b of the positioning protrusion 372 are mutually connected in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. It enters into the space secured between the positioning projections 372 that are spaced apart. As a result, the portion of the outer periphery of the sheath 2 of the insertion fiber 1 other than the portion pressed by the maximum protrusion point 372b of the positioning protrusion 372 is positioned by the maximum protrusion point 372b of the positioning protrusion 372. The influence on the accuracy can be suppressed. Further, since the space is secured, the portion pressed by the positioning projection 372 on the outer peripheral portion of the coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 is smoothly deformed, and the insertion fiber 1 is pressed by the pressing to the positioning projection 372. The influence on the positioning accuracy can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to stably ensure the positioning accuracy of the insertion fiber 1 with respect to the axis of the blade edge at the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 28 to 32, in the case of a configuration in which a positioning projection having an inclined surface such as a groove guide type inclined surface 371a is employed as the positioning projection 37, a coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 As a result of the outer periphery of the sheath 2 of the insertion fiber 1 inserted into the front end portion being pressed against the maximum protruding point at the front end of the inclined surface, the insertion fiber 1 is positioned with high accuracy with respect to the axis of the blade edge at the rear end of the annular blade portion 31a. it can.
The front end of the groove-guided inclined surface 371a is separated from the maximum protrusion point (maximum protrusion) in the width direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the groove-guided inclined surface 371a. The distance from the axis 34P increases. The width direction of the groove-guided inclined surface 371a coincides with the groove width direction of the groove formed by the groove-guided inclined surface 371a.
For this reason, in the outer periphery of the covering 2 of the insertion fiber 1, the portion other than the portion pressed by the maximum protrusion point (maximum protrusion) of the positioning protrusion is the insertion fiber by the maximum protrusion point 37 b of the positioning protrusion 37. 1 can be prevented from affecting the positioning accuracy, and the positioning accuracy of the insertion fiber 1 can be stably secured.
In addition, the positioning projection 37 formed with an inclined surface as the fiber contact guide portion has a coating 2 of the insertion fiber 1 even if the insertion fiber 1 that advances in the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 comes into contact with the inclined surface. There is an advantage that it is hard to be damaged (it is difficult to cause scratches).

As shown in FIG. 7, the assembly member 40 includes wedge-shaped insertion pieces 41 and 41 that secure gaps 22 a and 23 a between the clamp base portion 21 and the lid members 22 and 23. In the assembly member 40, the plurality of optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 described above are protrusions (second protrusions, third protrusions) formed in parallel with the insertion pieces 41, 41. Can do. As a result, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 that are not required after the optical connector is assembled can be integrated with the assembly member 40, the number of wastes can be reduced, and workability is improved.
Needless to say, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 can be configured separately from the assembly member 40.

As shown in FIG. 14, gaps 22 a, 23 a (between the clamp base portion 21 and the lid members 22, 23 are provided on one side edge portion of the mating surface where the clamp base portion 21 and the lid members 22, 23 are overlapped. Insertion pieces 41 and 41 for securing (see FIG. 37A) are inserted. FIG. 17 shows a state in which the gap 22 a between the clamp base portion 21 and the front lid member 22 is secured by the insertion piece 41. When the insertion pieces 41 and 41 are removed, the space between the clamp base portion 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 can be closed, and a closed state can be obtained by the clamping force of the clamp spring 24.
In addition, the optical connector 100 is in a state where the assembly member 40 is attached to the connector main body 101 (state of the optical connector with the assembly member) by inserting the insertion piece 41 of the assembly member 40 into the clamp portion 20 in advance. It is possible to sell, carry, etc. In this case, it is possible to omit the trouble of preparing a wedge suitable for the optical connector or interrupting the insertion piece 41 into the clamp portion 20 during work in the wiring site.

As shown in FIG. 26, the assembly method of the optical connector 100 of the present embodiment is as follows. First, the pressing fixing member 120 (gripping) Prepare the one with the members attached.
14 and 15, the pressing fixing member 120 attached to the insertion fiber 1 is moved from the rear side toward the pressing member receiving portion 16 at the rear end of the rear housing 15 of the housing 100H of the optical connector 100. Move forward. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 that protrudes to the front side (the side from which the elastic locking piece 124 protrudes) of the pressing fixing member 120 is inserted from the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 into the receiving groove. 26 is inserted. Then, as the pressing fixing member 120 continues to advance, the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 reaches the coating removal member 30 to remove the coating 2 (starts removal), and abuts the bare optical fiber 3 to the built-in fiber 12. Can do.
The pressing fixing member 120 can be connected to the movable guide 62 at the rear end of the connector main body 101 at the rear end of the connector main body 101 by being pushed forward into the pressing member receiving portion 16 at the rear end of the rear housing 15.

The insertion fiber 1 is inserted from the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 into the fiber accommodation region FS secured between the release guide 50 and the inner surface of the accommodation groove 26 in the direction of the distance between the release guide 50 and the accommodation groove 26 bottom. The
The open guide 50 does not press the insertion fiber 1 strongly against the fiber housing groove 26 and fix it to the guide base portion 51, but presses the insertion fiber 1 with respect to the guide base portion 51 so as to enable smooth relative movement in the longitudinal direction of the connector. The bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is regulated.
The open guide 50 functions to position the insertion fiber 1 on the central axis of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 of the coating removal portion 31 by pressing the insertion fiber 1 into the fiber housing groove 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 16B and 20, an extension recess 50 a extending along the accommodation groove 26 is formed in a portion of the open guide 50 in the closed position facing the accommodation groove 26. Yes. The fiber housing region FS of the connector main body 101 according to the present embodiment is configured by the housing groove 26 of the rear extending piece 27 and the extending recess 50a of the open guide 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 100 can be detachably attached with a guide rail 130 for guiding a pressing fixing member 120 to be pushed into the pressing member receiving portion 16 at the rear end of the rear housing 15.
The guide rail 130 is attached to the rear end portion (specifically, the pressing member receiving portion 16) of the housing 100H of the optical connector 100 by attaching the attachment portion 132 at one end in the longitudinal direction of the elongated rail portion 131 to the rail portion 131. Is attached to the rear side of the bottom plate portion 16a of the pressing member receiving portion 16 so as to extend the bottom plate portion 16a. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mounting portion 132 of the guide rail 130 in the illustrated example is brought into contact with a contact plate 133 that is in contact with the bottom plate portion 16 a of the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100 from below. Rail engagement projecting from the projecting claws 135 at the projecting ends of the pair of projecting elastic engagement claws 134 on the outer surface side opposite to the inner surfaces facing each other of the pair of side plate portions 16b in the pressing member receiving portion 16 By engaging the upper end of the wall 16f (see FIGS. 2, 11 (a) and 11 (b)), the abutting plate 133 is pressed against the bottom plate portion 16a of the pressing member receiving portion 16, and the pressing member receiving portion 16 is pressed. It can be attached securely.
The mounting portion 132 may be any configuration as long as the guide rail 130 can be detachably attached to the rear end portion of the housing 100H of the optical connector 100, and is not limited to the structure of the illustrated example.

When the guide rail 130 is attached to the optical connector 100, the pressing member guide surface 136 on the rail portion 131 on which the pressing fixing member 120 is placed has the bottom plate portion 16 a of the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100. It arrange | positions in the position which continues on the back side of an upper surface (surface of the baseplate part 16a upper side in FIGS. 1-3). When the guide rail 130 is attached to the optical connector 100, the pressing fixing member 120 slides from a position separated on the pressing member guide surface 136 of the rail portion 131 to the rear side of the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100. By making it advance, it can be moved from the pressing member guide surface 132 onto the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 16a and pushed into the pressing member receiving portion 16 inside.
At this time, in the pressing fixing member 120, the protruding portion that protrudes straight forward from the pressing fixing member 120 due to the rigidity of the insertion fiber 1 itself is along the central axis of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 of the optical connector 100. The rail portion 131 of the guide rail 130 can be moved forward with the orientation being on the rear extension of the through hole 63. As a result, it is possible to smoothly perform the operation of inserting the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 from the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 into the receiving groove 26 by the advancement of the pressing fixing member 120. This effectively contributes to preventing buckling.

The guide rail 130 attached to the pressing member receiving portion 16 elastically deforms the elastic engaging claw 134 of the attaching portion 132 to engage the upper end of the rail engaging wall 16f of the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the protruding claw 135. Can be removed from the optical connector 100. The guide rail 130 attached to the pressing member receiving portion 16 allows the optical connector at an appropriate timing when the pressing fixing member 120 enters the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100 and guide of the pressing fixing member 120 becomes unnecessary. Remove from 100.
Further, the pressing of the pressing fixing member 120 into the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100 is not necessarily performed using the guide rail 130, and may be performed without using the guide rail 130.

  As described with reference to FIG. 37B and the like, the movable guide 62 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion of the optical connector 100 is from the rear end of the accommodation groove 26 (more specifically, the rear end of the fiber accommodation region FS). On the rear side, the insertion fiber 1 can be advanced from an initial position separated by a distance L1 that does not buckle during coating removal. The protruding length of the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 is such that the pressing fixing member 120 is inserted from the rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 to the rear side when the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 comes into contact with the rear end of the coating removal portion 31. The length is set such that the fiber 1 can be spaced apart by a distance L2 that does not buckle during coating removal.

  In this embodiment, the movable guide 62 reaches the advance limit position by the advancement of the pressing fixing member 120. The length of the protrusion of the insertion fiber 1 (protrusion length) is the distance from the pressing fixing member 120 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 when the movable guide 62 is moved to the advance limit position (specifically, the optical fiber support 129). To the rear end of the built-in fiber 12). Thus, after the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed by the coating removing member 30 hits the rear end of the built-in fiber 12, the accommodation groove 26 is opened by the movement of the opening guide 50 (the bending deformation 4 of the insertion fiber 1 is formed). Securing of the gap 53 to be performed) is completed, and the bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1 is permitted.

The length of the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 is, for example, when the movable guide 62 that moves forward while being pressed by the pressing fixing member 120 comes into contact with the rear end of the open guide 50 (rear end protruding portion 50a) from the rear side. The distance from the pressing fixing member 120 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 (specifically, the distance from the optical fiber support portion 129 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12) can be set. In this case, when the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed hits the rear end of the built-in fiber 12, the movable guide 62 that moves forward while being pressed by the pressing fixing member 120 moves the rear end of the open guide 50 (the rear end protruding). The pressing of the opening guide 50 is started by contacting the part 50a) from the rear side.
The length of the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 is determined when the movable guide 62 that moves forward while being pressed by the pressing fixing member 120 abuts the rear end (rear end protruding portion 50a) of the open guide 50 from the rear side. It may be set slightly longer than the distance from the pressing fixing member 120 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12 (specifically, the distance from the optical fiber support 129 to the rear end of the built-in fiber 12). In this case, after the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed hits the rear end of the built-in fiber 12, the movable guide 62 that advances while being pressed by the pressing fixing member 120 is the rear end of the open guide 50 (rear end protruding portion). 50a) from the rear side.

  In addition, the length of the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 is in a butt condition when the movable guide 62 reaches the advance limit position by advancing the pressing fixing member 120 in view of the material, outer diameter, and the like of the insertion fiber 1. The length is set so as to be able to form a flexural deformation between the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 so as to secure an intended butting force (butting force).

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 26 and the like, in this embodiment, the protruding portion of the insertion fiber 1 protrudes from the tapered front fiber support portion 129 which is provided on the front side of the pressing fixing member 120. Refers to the part. The distance L1 between the rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 and the pressing fixing member 120 when the distal end of the insertion fiber 1 abuts against the coating removal blade 31 is the rear end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 and the front fiber. The distance between the front end of the support portion 129 is indicated.
The front fiber support portion 129 has a tapered outer peripheral surface that can come into surface contact with the inner surface of the tapered concave portion 64 on the rear side of the movable guide 62. When the pressing fixing member 120 is connected to the movable guide 62, the outer peripheral surface of the front fiber support portion 129 housed in the tapered recess 64 of the movable guide 62 comes into surface contact with the tapered recess 64.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the front-side fiber support portion 129 has a halved structure including a pair of support portion halves 129a and 129b. The front-side fiber support portion 129 closes the support portion half body 129b protruding from the front end of the holding lid 127 to the support portion half body 129a protruding from the front end of the holding base 123, thereby supporting the support portion half of the holding base 123. The insertion fiber 1 disposed in the fiber groove 129c formed to extend in the front-rear direction in the body 129a is pressed into the fiber groove 129c by the support half 129b of the pressing lid 127.

  FIG. 15 is the same time point corresponding to FIG. 37C, that is, the time point when the end of the bare optical fiber 3 with the coating removed hits the rear end of the built-in fiber 12, and is opened to the closed position on the fiber accommodation groove 26. The guide 50 exists, and the open guide 50 shows the state which controls the bending deformation of the insertion fiber 1. During the coating removal of the insertion fiber 1 by the coating removal blade 31, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42 and the release guides 50 alternate along the longitudinal direction of the insertion fiber 1 as shown in FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b). In this case, the deformation of the insertion fiber 1 can be restricted by covering the insertion fiber 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, in the open guide 50, a portion (guide side fiber pressing portion 50 f) that covers the insertion fiber 1 is formed on a portion facing the protrusion 54 (hereinafter referred to as a pressing side portion). Yes. The optical fiber pressing portion 59 at the tip of the optical fiber pressing piece 42 is accommodated in a pressing portion receiving recess 50g formed in a notch shape in the pressing side portion extending in the connector front-rear direction of the opening guide 50.

  The protrusion 54 protruding from the groove forming surface 51b of the rear extension piece 27 and extending along the receiving groove 26 has a notch through which the optical fiber pressing pieces 42 can be inserted at two locations in the front-rear direction. A portion 55 is formed. The pressing portion receiving recesses 50g of the opening guide 50 are formed at two locations that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the pressing side portion, corresponding to the two notches 55 of the protruding portion 54. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 14, the optical fiber pressing piece 42 passes through the window 15 c of the rear housing 15, the window 61 a of the restraining sleeve portion 61 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion, and the cutout portion 55. Is provided. Two windows 15 c of the rear housing 15 and two windows 61 a of the restraining sleeve portion 61 of the movable guide 60 with the restraining portion are formed at positions corresponding to the two cutout portions 55 of the protrusion 54.

  The optical connector of the illustrated example is provided with two optical fiber pressing pieces 42 corresponding to the two pressing portion receiving recesses 50 g and the two notches 55 of the opening guide 50. When the opening guide 50 is in the closed position, the optical connector 100 includes, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 14, and 15, an optical fiber pressing portion 59 housed in each pressing portion housing recess 50g, The guide side fiber pressing portions 50f, which are portions where the pressing portion receiving recesses 50g on the pressing side portion of the open guide 50 are not formed, are alternately arranged in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of the receiving groove 26). .

  In this optical connector, since the opening guide 50 exists at the closed position with respect to the fiber accommodation groove 26, the gap 56 between the front end of the opening guide 50 and the rear cover member 23 of the clamp portion 20, the rear end of the accommodation groove 26, and The gap 57 between the movable guide 62 (the distance between the rear end of the accommodation groove 26 and the front end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62) is limited to a distance where the optical fiber 1 is not buckled (for example, 2.1 mm or less). Has been.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show a state corresponding to FIG. 37D, that is, a state in which the deflection restriction of the insertion fiber 1 by the open guide 50 is released after the removal of the coating 2 is completed.
As shown in FIG. 20, in this embodiment, the open guide 50 moves to the side of the fiber accommodation groove 26, so that it is above the fiber accommodation groove 26 (with respect to the groove forming surface 51 b of the rear extension piece 27). A gap 53 in which the insertion fiber 1 forms the bending deformation 4 in a direction (separate from the accommodation groove 26 vertically) is secured.
As shown in FIG. 4, the guide base portion 51 for the open guide 50 has a ridge portion 54 that protrudes to the side of the fiber accommodation groove 26 in a range where the optical fiber pressing piece 42 is not provided in the longitudinal direction of the insertion fiber 1. The gap 53 that forms the deflection deformation 4 is formed between the protrusion 54 and the opening guide 50.

The load acting between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 after the bending deformation 4 also depends on the reaction force from the coating removal portion to the coating, the strength of the biasing force of the clamp spring 24, and the like. For example, it may be within a range of 0.3N to 1N (30 g to 100 g).
The interval G (first deflection width) between the plurality of optical fiber holding pieces 42, 42 depends on the material of the insertion fiber 1, the outer diameter, etc., but a general silica-based optical fiber having a resin coating diameter of 0.25 mm. In this case, about 5 to 10 mm is mentioned. The distance G at which the bending deformation 4 occurs with respect to the pressing force applied to the end face of the insertion fiber 1 depends on parameters such as elastic modulus determined depending on the material, outer diameter, etc. of the insertion fiber 1. It can also be estimated. Also, a suitable interval G can be determined experimentally.

Of the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 that are arranged apart from each other in the front-rear direction, the distance H ( 19) is smaller than the gap G between the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42, and therefore the optical fiber does not buckle or bend at the gap H. Further, since the separation distance between the rear fiber pressing piece 42 and the front end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62 is also smaller than the gap G between the front and rear optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42, buckling and deflection of the optical fiber. Does not occur. That is, bending of the optical fiber occurs only between the front and rear optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 between the rear lid member 23 of the clamp portion 20 and the front end of the through hole 63 of the movable guide 62.
It is preferable that the guide base portion 51 having the receiving groove 26 be integrated with the clamp base portion 21 of the clamp portion 20 because the receiving groove 26 can be formed without interruption.

FIG. 21 shows a state in which the insertion fiber 1 and the built-in fiber 12 are sandwiched between the clamp base portion 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 and the butt connection is maintained. As shown in FIG. 7, the assembly member 40 extends from the base member 45 and a main unit portion 40 </ b> A in which optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 project from an assembly member base member 45 (hereinafter simply referred to as a base member 45). And a movable unit 40 </ b> B in which an insertion piece 41 protrudes from the protrusion support 43. An optical fiber pressing portion 59 is provided at the protruding end of each optical fiber pressing piece 42.
The main unit portion 40 </ b> A has a pair of elastic operation pieces 44, 44 that extend from the base member 45 and are disposed on both sides of the protrusion support portion 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the assembly member 40 is a thin-walled portion formed at the end on the base member 45 side of the protrusion support portion 43 by operating the elastic operation pieces 44 and 44 in a direction in which they approach each other. 46 can be elastically deformed to displace the movable unit portion 40B in the direction away from the clamp portion 20. Accordingly, the insertion piece 41 can be extracted by operating the elastic operation piece 44 integrally provided in the assembly member 40 without preparing another tool.

In other words, on both sides of the projection support portion 43 facing the elastic operation piece 44, the elastic operation piece 44 extends from the projection side where the insertion piece 41 of the projection support portion 43 projects to the opposite back side. An inclined surface 43a projecting to the side is formed. Therefore, the movable unit 40B can be displaced in a direction away from the clamp part 20 by pressing the projection support part 43 from both sides by the pair of elastic operation pieces 44, 44 brought close to each other.
Further, in the elastic operation piece 44 of the assembly member 40 in the illustrated example, a portion facing the inclined surface 43a of the protrusion support portion 43 is an inclined surface 44a extending in parallel to the inclined surface 43a. When pressing 43, the movable unit part 40B can be reliably displaced in the direction away from the clamp part 20 by the contact of the inclined surfaces 43a and 44a.

The assembly member 40 in the illustrated example is an integrally molded product made of plastic. The protrusion support portion 43 of the assembly member 40 in the illustrated example is formed in a plate shape perpendicular to the flat plate-like base member 45. The thin portion 46 indicates a portion where the protrusion support portion 43 is locally thinned by a groove 47 formed at an end portion on the base member 45 side.
The protrusion support portion 43 extends from one end in the longitudinal direction of the elongated plate-like base member 45 along a virtual extension in the longitudinal direction of the base member 45. The insertion piece 41 and the optical fiber pressing piece 42 protrude in the same direction from a plurality of portions in the longitudinal direction of the elongated member body formed by the protrusion support portion 43 and the base member 45.

Further, the assembly member 40 has a thin wall formed at the end on the base member 45 side of the projection support portion 43 when the projection support portion 43 is pressed from both sides by a pair of elastic operation pieces 44, 44 brought close to each other. The protrusion 46 becomes a hinge part and the protrusion support part 43 tilts with respect to the base member 45, and the movable unit part 40 </ b> B can be displaced in a direction away from the clamp part 20.
As a result, the assembly member 40 can close the rear lid member 23 that sandwiches the coated optical fiber 1 after a slight time difference after the front lid member 22 that sandwiches the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 is closed. Thereby, the butt connection of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in fiber 12 can be improved.
The operation of the elastic operation piece 44 is a simple operation such as “pinch” with one hand, and is excellent in workability.

FIGS. 23 and 24 show a state where the optical fiber holding pieces 42 and 42 are removed from the accommodation groove 26 after the insertion fiber 1 is fixed. As a result, a large bending curve 7 having a bending radius R of about 10 mm is formed in the insertion fiber 1 accommodated in the fiber accommodation groove 26, so that the loss due to the deflection of the insertion fiber 1 is reduced. Can do. The bending deformation 7 at this time is determined by the bending width (the bending distance (specifically, the rear cover member 23 of the second clamp portion holding and fixing the insertion fiber 1) and the movable guide 62 in the optical connector. The bending (bending) deformation is the second deflection width 7a). When the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 are removed from the top of the receiving groove 26, the insertion fiber 1 is bent with a much larger deflection width than the gap G (first deflection width 4a) of the optical fiber holding pieces 42, 42. Deformation can be moderated.
The optical connector 100 of the present embodiment can be assembled by the above procedure.

As described above, the deflection width refers to the length of a portion that may be bent by applying a pressing force to the insertion fiber.
In the illustrated examples of FIGS. 19 and 24, the first deflection width 4a is the same as the gap G, and the second deflection width 7a is the rear cover member 23 of the clamp portion 20 and the movable guide 62 (in detail, the through hole 63). It is the same as the separation distance between the front end).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the illustrated optical connector 100 includes a retaining cover 17 pivotally attached to the rear housing 15 as a retaining means for the pressing fixing member 120. As shown in FIGS. 1, 11 (a), 11 (b), the retaining cover 17 is positioned above the pressing fixing member 120 housed in the pressing member receiving portion 16 at the rear end portion of the rear housing 15 (FIG. 1). 3 and FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, a cover body 17H having a configuration in which elongated rotary arms 17e are provided in parallel to each other on both sides of a cover plate 17d to be covered from above. The retaining cover 17 has a pair of rotating arms 17e protruding from the front end of the cover plate 17d to the rear housing 15 by a rotating shaft 17a (see FIG. 3). The housing 100 </ b> H is pivotally attached to the housing 100 </ b> H so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis in the interval direction of the pair of side plate portions 16 b of the receiving portion 16.

  The retaining cover 17 can cover the cover plate 17d on the pressing fixing member 120 accommodated in the pressing member receiving portion 16 by rotating around the rotating shaft 17a (FIGS. 23 and 23). 24). The position with respect to the pressing member receiving portion 16 at this time is also referred to as a covering position. In addition, when the retaining cover 17 is disposed at the covering position with respect to the pressing member receiving portion 16, the cover plate 17 d is oriented along the bottom plate portion 16 a of the pressing member receiving portion 16. In addition, the retaining cover 17 is a pair of pivots that project in a rib shape on the side of the cover plate 17d facing the bottom plate portion 16a of the pressing member receiving portion 16 (hereinafter also referred to as the back side) when the cover plate 17d is disposed at the covering position. The protruding end portions (upper end portions) of the pair of side plate portions 16b protruding from the bottom plate portion 16a of the pressing member receiving portion 16 are accommodated between the arms 17e.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, a latch body 17H of the retaining cover 17 is provided with a latch 17f that keeps the retaining cover 17 in the covered position by engaging with the pressing member receiving portion 16. . As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the pressing member receiving portion 16 of the optical connector 100 in the illustrated example is provided on the left and right side surfaces of the pressing member receiving portion 16 below the rear end portions of the pair of side plate portions 16b. It has an engagement recess 16g that is recessed from. The retaining cover 17 is configured such that the protrusion 17g of the front end of the latch 17f projecting from the both sides of the cover main body 17H to the back side from the left and right sides coincident with the left and right direction of the pressing member receiving part 16 is provided on the pressing member receiving part 16. By opening the engaging recess 16g from both the left and right sides and engaging with the pressing member receiving portion 16, the opening to the pressing member receiving portion 16 is restricted, and the state of being placed at the covering position can be kept stable.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, when the retaining cover 17 is disposed at the cover position, the retraction restricting piece protrudes from the end opposite to the rotating shaft 17a of the cover body 17H to the back surface side. 17b can be arranged on the rear side of the pressing fixing member 120.
The retreat restricting piece 17b avoids the optical fiber cable 5 extending rearward from the pressing fixing member 120, and the rear side of the left and right wall portions of the pressing fixing member 120 that coincides with the horizontal direction of the pressing member receiving portion 16. Arranged. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the flange portion 10b at the rear end portion of the ferrule 10 of the connector body 101 is in contact with the stopper wall portion 14a inside the front end portion of the housing 100H from the rear side as shown in FIG. When the connector main body 101 is at the front movement limit position with respect to the housing 100H), the connector main body 101 is disposed at a position separated rearward from the pressing fixing member 120.
When the connector main body 101 is at the front side movement limit position with respect to the housing 100H, the rearward separation distance of the retraction restricting piece 17b from the pressing fixing member 120 is, for example, from the front side movement limit position of the connector main body 101 to the housing 100H to the rear side. Is set equal to or shorter than the movable distance (the amount that can be pushed into the rear side of the housing 100H). Thereby, the position where the pressing fixing member 120 abuts against the retreat restricting piece 17b is set as the rear side movement limit position with respect to the housing 100H.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 24, the retaining cover 17 has an elastic locking piece 124 of the pressing fixing member 120 engaged with the guide main body 65 of the movable guide 62 when disposed at the cover position, The elastic locking piece 124 is inserted into the gap between the side wall portion 16b of the pressing member receiving portion 16 opposite to the guide main body 65 via the elastic locking piece 124, and the elastic locking piece 124 is disengaged from the guide main body 65. It has the engagement lock piece 17c which prevents this. The engagement lock piece 17c protrudes from the left and right sides of the cover main body 17H to the back surface side, and is inserted into the gap to elastically deform the elastic locking piece 124 in a direction away from the guide main body 65. And the engagement state of the elastic locking piece 124 with the guide body 65 is kept stable.

  The retaining cover 17 can be disposed at the cover position any time after the movable guide 62 has reached the advance limit position by the advancement of the pressing fixing member 120.

The plate-shaped blade portion of the coating removal blade of the coating removal member is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIGS.
For example, the coating removing member 30 shown in FIGS. 35A to 35C (denoted with reference numeral 30A in the drawing) is a plate-shaped blade portion of the coating removing member 30 illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C. Is a change. 31c in the figure is added to the plate-like blade part of the coating removal blade 31 (indicated by reference numeral 31A in the figure) of the coating removal member 30A. The plate-shaped blade portion 31c of the coating removal blade 31A of the coating removal member 30A has a protruding dimension from the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a of the plate-shaped blade portion 31b of the coating removal member 30 illustrated in FIGS. Is made small and is separated from the lateral wall portion 36 over almost the entire length in the extending direction (front-rear direction). A clearance is secured between the protruding end of the plate-like blade portion 31 c protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31 a and the lateral wall portion 36.
The plate-shaped blade portion 31c is a rib-shaped projecting piece that projects on the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a over the entire length in the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the annular blade portion 31a with a projecting dimension constant from the outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31a. It is said that.

The plate-like blade portion 31c of the coating removing member 30A in the illustrated example has only the front end portion located in the vicinity of the window wall front side inner wall surface 32a connected to the lateral wall portion 36 (formed integrally). The plate-like blade portion 31c is substantially separated from the lateral wall portion 36 in the extending direction except for the front end portion.
The covering removal blade 31 </ b> A may be configured such that the entire length in the extending direction of the plate-like blade portion 31 c is separated from the lateral wall portion 36.

  The coating removing member 30A is formed by separating the coating 2 separated into a cylindrical shape from the bare optical fiber 3 of the insertion fiber 1 by the annular blade 31a and divided into two by the plate-shaped blade 31c. It is possible to move the clearance secured between the two. For this reason, this covering removal member 30A can smoothly move the covering 2 divided by the plate-like blade portion 31c from the vicinity of the annular blade portion 31a, and the divided covering 2 stays in the vicinity of the annular blade portion 31a. Can be prevented.

On the other hand, the plate-like blade portion 31b of the sheath removing member 30 illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C is integrally formed with the lateral wall portion 36 and the annular blade portion 31a of the sheath removing member 30 as described above. ing. The plate-like blade portion 31b is configured such that the entire front-rear direction of the protruding end protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31a is integrated with the lateral wall portion.
With this configuration, the plate-like blade portion 31b has an advantage that the mechanical strength against the pressing force of the insertion fiber 1 pressed against the coating removal blade 31 from behind can be easily secured. As described above, the configuration in which the mechanical strength of the plate-like blade portion 31b is easily secured is particularly advantageous for reducing the plate thickness of the plate-like blade portion 31b, in other words, reducing the blade edge angle θ shown in FIG. It is.

The coating removal blade of the coating removal member is not limited to a configuration in which a total of two plate-like blade portions are provided so as to protrude one on each of the radial sides of the annular blade portion 31a. There may be three or more plate-like blade portions protruding from the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a.
As the coating removal blade, for example, as shown in FIG. 36 (a), a plate-like blade portion 31c is projected at three locations on the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a, or as shown in FIG. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which plate-like blade portions 31c are protruded at four locations on the outer periphery of the portion 31a.
In the illustrated example, a configuration in which the plate-like blade portion 31c that protrudes in a rib shape from the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a is exemplified over the entire length in the axial direction of the annular blade portion 31a. Further, the plate-like blade portion 31b may be changed to a configuration in which the lateral wall portion 36 and the annular blade portion 31a are bridged.

In the coating removal blade, the plurality of plate-like blade portions are equally arranged in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a.
When there are two plate-like blade portions, the plate-like blade portions are arranged one by one on both sides in the radial direction of the annular blade portion 31a as described above. Three or more plate-like blade portions are equally arranged in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the annular blade portion 31a. If it is the structure which has arrange | positioned several plate-shaped blade parts uniformly in the circumferential direction of the annular blade part 31a outer periphery, the insertion fiber 1 is advanced and pressed toward the coating removal blade of a coating removal member, and coating removal of the tip of the insertion fiber 1 is carried out. , The coating removal can be made to proceed uniformly in the circumferential direction (outer circumferential direction) of the inserted fiber.

  A plate-shaped blade part is good also as a shape where the protrusion dimension from the annular blade part 31a increases as it goes to the connector front-back direction front side from the rear end of the annular blade part 31a. Also in this case, the plate-like blade portion is formed in a taper shape (taper plate shape) in which the plate thickness gradually decreases from the front end side to the rear end side. The plate-like blade portion has a configuration in which the range or the entire length from the rear end of the plate-like blade portion to the vicinity of the inner wall surface 32a on the front side of the window hole is a blade edge (ridge line) on the protruding side opposite to the annular blade portion 31a. To do.

Although the present invention has been described based on the best mode, the present invention is not limited to the above-described best mode, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, the specific configuration of the optical connector is not limited as long as it conforms to the technical idea of the present invention. The specific procedure for assembling the optical connector can also be modified according to the specific configuration of the optical connector.

As an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, a coating removing member that removes the coating of an insertion fiber inserted from the rear for abutting with the built-in fiber behind the ferrule in which the built-in fiber is inserted and fixed (the present invention) It is sufficient if it is provided with the coating removing member), and the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned best mode.
As the coating removal member, a coated optical fiber insertion hole for guiding the insertion fiber from the coating removal member rear side to the coating removal blade is formed on the rear side of the coating removal blade for removing the coating of the insertion fiber, The coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface is located at three or more locations that are equal in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the front end portion of the attached optical fiber insertion hole, from the rear end toward the front side. As long as it protrudes in a taper shape in which the projecting dimension from the surface increases, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the positioning projection is present only at the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 of the coating removal member is exemplified. However, the positioning projection that projects from the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b is illustrated. The protrusion is not limited to this configuration. As the positioning protrusion, the portion of the fiber contact guide portion on the rear side from the front end located at the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 is the central portion or the rear end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 in the axial direction. In other words, the positioning protrusion itself may be a protrusion that extends from the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 to the center portion or the rear end portion in the axial direction.

Further, as the coating removal member, the insertion fiber guiding protrusions (hereinafter also referred to as fiber guiding protrusions) are coated at three or more locations in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. A configuration in which a projection is provided with a certain projecting dimension along the axial direction of the attached optical fiber insertion hole 34, and a positioning projection is provided at the front end of the fiber guiding protrusion located at the front end of the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. It can be adopted.
The number of protrusions of the fiber guiding protrusions in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b is the same as the number of protrusions of positioning protrusions in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. More than that. Among the fiber guiding protrusions, the fiber guiding protrusions having the positioning protrusions protruding from the front end portion are evenly provided in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b. The positioning protrusion protrudes in a tapered shape in which the protruding dimension increases from the rear side to the front side on the side facing the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole of the fiber guiding protrusion.

The structure in which the fiber guide protrusions are provided at three or more locations in the circumferential direction of the coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface 34b is the insertion fiber set by the fiber guide protrusions in the coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. One storage range (fiber storage range) can be regarded as a coated optical fiber insertion hole, and the outer periphery of the storage range can be regarded as a coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface. The fiber accommodation range (covered optical fiber insertion hole) set by the fiber guiding protrusion protruding from the inner peripheral surface 34b of the coated optical fiber insertion hole has a virtual diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the inserted fiber 1. The range of the cylindrical surface. In the fiber storage range, the virtual cylindrical surface functions as an inner peripheral surface (virtual inner peripheral surface) of the fiber storage range, and the inner peripheral surface can be regarded as a coated optical fiber insertion hole inner peripheral surface. The inner peripheral surface of the coated optical fiber insertion hole for projecting the fiber guiding protrusion is made larger in diameter than the virtual inner peripheral surface of the fiber storage range.
The fiber storage range set by the fiber guide protrusion protruding from the inner peripheral surface 34b of the coated optical fiber insertion hole is such that only the fiber guide protrusion contacts the outer periphery of the insertion fiber 1 inserted from the rear side. It is the structure which guides 1 advance. The fiber accommodation range is less in contact with the outer periphery of the insertion fiber 1 than the round hole-shaped coated optical fiber insertion hole 34. Therefore, the forward resistance of the insertion fiber 1 can be reduced, and the insertion fiber 1 from the rear side of the connector. This effectively contributes to the reduction of the pushing force.

The structure of the clamp part is not particularly limited as long as it is a structure that aligns the optical fiber and clamps and holds the butt connection between the end faces. For example, the number of lid members that sandwich the optical fiber between the base portion (the clamp base portion of the rear extension piece in the illustrated example) is not limited to two, and may be one or more than three.
The present invention can also be applied to an optical connector in which a plurality of built-in fibers are inserted and fixed to a ferrule. In this case, if the alignment mechanism such as the positioning groove provided in the clamp portion is provided at least for the number of the built-in fibers, each of the optical fibers terminated by the optical connector is connected to the built-in fiber by the aligning mechanism. Optical connection is possible.
The pressing fixing member to be fixed to the insertion fiber is not limited to the outer gripping member that holds the optical fiber cable terminal and is attached to the optical fiber cable terminal. As the pressing fixing member, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a coated optical fiber used as an insertion fiber can be directly gripped and attached to the coated optical fiber.
An optical connector that does not have a housing for storing a ferrule can also be used. For example, the connector body 101 itself of the optical connector 100 of the above-described embodiment can be used as an optical connector.

Moreover, although the optical connector of the structure which comprises a movable guide was illustrated in the above-mentioned embodiment, what does not comprise the movable guide is employable as an optical connector which concerns on this invention.
That is, as an optical connector to which the assembling method according to the present invention is applied, an open guide, for example, a base member (in the above embodiment) is used in a state where the bare optical fiber whose coating has been removed by the coating removal unit and the built-in fiber are in contact with each other. Any structure that can be moved so as to form a space on the guide portion of the base member by slide movement with respect to the guide base portion), separation from the base member, or the like may be used.
With this configuration, the optical connector allows the flexible deformation of the insertion fiber after smoothly removing the sheath with the open guide disposed at the closed position before being separated from the base member, and allows the insertion fiber tip to bend. The butt connection between the bare optical fiber and the built-in fiber can be made better.

The advancement of the open guide may be directly performed by the optical fiber gripping part (in the above embodiment, the pressing fixing member) without using the movable guide. As a structure for separating the release guide from the base member based on the advancement of the optical fiber gripping portion, the release guide is pushed obliquely forward, for example, by pressing the release guide with a movable guide that is pushed forward by the optical fiber gripping portion. The present invention is not limited to a configuration in which the base member is separated (separated) by movement or the like. As this structure, for example, a configuration in which the open guide can be separated (separated) from the base member by directly pressing the open guide with the optical fiber gripping portion may be employed.
In addition, the insertion fiber does not necessarily have to be an optical fiber gripping part fixed, and an insertion fiber without an optical fiber gripping part may be used.
As the optical fiber gripping part, a structure that can be detachably fixed to the optical fiber can be adopted. In this regard, as an optical connector assembled at the distal end portion of the insertion fiber, in addition to a configuration having an optical fiber gripping portion, a configuration without an optical fiber gripping portion can be adopted. That is, the optical fiber gripping part may or may not be included in the constituent requirements of the optical connector assembled at the distal end of the insertion fiber.

In the above-described embodiment, the movable guide is pushed from the rear side by the optical fiber gripping portion, and the structure is advanced while shortening the gap between the base member (the guide base portion 51 in the above-described embodiment) and the open guide. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can adopt a configuration in which a space (deflection forming space) is formed on the guide portion of the base member by moving the base member and / or the open guide based on the advance of the optical fiber gripping portion. Here, the movable guide is pushed by the optical fiber gripping portion from the initial position set to a position where it abuts the rear end of the base member and / or the rear end of the open guide, thereby shortening the gap between the base member and / or the open guide. While moving forward.
In the assembly work of the optical connector 100 to the distal end portion of the insertion fiber 1, the open guide moved from the closed position that restricts the deformation of the insertion fiber is arranged at the open position. It is only necessary to realize the abutting (butting) of the removed bare optical fiber 3 with respect to the rear end of the built-in fiber. It may be before.

The optical connector illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 27 is a pair that secures a first deflection width when the release guide is retracted from a closed position that restricts the deflection deformation of the insertion fiber to a position (open position) that permits the deflection deformation. Optical fiber holding pieces 42, 42. In the above-described embodiment, when the optical fiber connector is pushed into the optical fiber from the rear side, the bare optical fiber opened by removing the coating is butt-connected to the built-in fiber, and the open guide is retracted from the closed position to the open position. After the insertion fiber is bent with a first deflection width secured between the pair of optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 are pressed into the receiving groove (the fiber pressing position). ), The configuration in which the insertion fiber is bent with the second deflection width is illustrated. However, as the optical connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, a configuration that does not include the pair of optical fiber pressing pieces 42 and 42 can be employed. In this case, when the bare optical fiber led out by removing the coating at the tip of the insertion fiber is connected to the built-in fiber and the open guide is retracted from the closed position to the open position, the insertion fiber is bent by the first deflection width. Without passing, it can be deformed with the second deflection width.
In this case, for example, between the bare optical fiber at the distal end of the insertion fiber and the built-in fiber which is bent and deformed with the second deflection width by adjusting the protruding dimension of the insertion fiber inserted from the rear side of the optical connector into the optical connector. A load (abutting force) acting between the end faces may be within a range of 0.3N to 1N, for example.

The insertion fiber is not limited to the coated optical fiber exposed at the end of the optical fiber cable, but is a coated optical fiber such as an optical fiber core or an optical fiber in which the outer peripheral surface of the coating is exposed over its entire length. Also good.
As the pressing fixing member (optical fiber gripping part), it is also possible to adopt a structure that can be fixed directly to the coated optical fiber that is the insertion fiber without going through the jacket of the optical fiber cable. It is.

Further, as the pressing fixing member, it is possible to use a member having a structure that can be attached to and detached from the insertion fiber. In this case, for example, the protruding portion of the insertion fiber to which the fixing member for pressing is fixed is inserted into the optical connector from the rear side, the bare optical fiber at the tip is butted and connected to the built-in fiber, and the insertion fiber is connected with the second deflection width. In the deformed state, the insertion piece inserted between the base part of the clamp part (the clamp base part of the rear extension piece in the illustrated example) and the lid member is removed (extracted) from the clamp part. After the insertion fiber is gripped and fixed to the clamp portion, the bending deformation of the insertion fiber may be eliminated by releasing the fixing of the pressing fixing member to the insertion fiber. The pressing fixing member need not be secured to the housing of the optical connector. For this reason, the fixing member for pressing may be removed from the insertion fiber after releasing the fixing to the insertion fiber.
The pressing fixing member configured to be detachable from the insertion fiber is an insertion fiber in which a bare optical fiber led to the tip is butt-connected to a built-in fiber (for example, a butt connection is made with a butt force in the range of 0.3 N to 1 N). In addition to the case where the optical fiber is bent with the first bending width and then with the second bending width, the insertion fiber undergoes bending deformation with the first bending width without using the pair of optical fiber holding pieces 42 and 42. However, the present invention can also be suitably applied to the case of deforming with the second deflection width.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coated optical fiber (insertion fiber), 2 ... Coated, 3 ... Bare optical fiber, 4 ... Deflection, 10 ... Ferrule, 12 ... Built-in fiber, 20 ... Clamp part, 21 ... 2nd base member (clamp base part) ), 25... Alignment groove (V groove), 26... (Base fiber) guide part (optical fiber housing groove), 30, 30 A... Coating removal member, 31, 31 A. ... annular blade part, 31b, 31c ... plate-like blade part, 32 ... window hole, 32a ... inner wall surface on the front side of window hole (window hole front side inner wall surface), 32b ... window hole rear side inner wall surface, 33 ... bare optical fiber Insertion hole 34... Optical fiber insertion hole with coating, 34 b... Inner peripheral surface of coated optical fiber insertion hole 34 P... Axis of coated optical fiber insertion hole 36. Wall part (lateral wall part) located on both sides, 37 ... Determination protrusion (positioning protrusion), 37b ... maximum protrusion (maximum protrusion point), 371 ... positioning protrusion (positioning protrusion), 371b ... maximum protrusion (maximum protrusion point), 371e ... Inclined surface, concave curved surface (concave curved inclined surface), 372... Projection for positioning (projection for positioning), 372a... Ridge line, 372b... Maximum projection (maximum projection point), 50. (Guide base part), 52 ... separation structure (rail part), 53 ... space (gap), 60 ... pressing part, movable guide (movable guide with restraint part), 61 ... pressing part (restraint sleeve), 62 ... movable guide , 63 ... (movable guide) guide structure (through hole), 100 ... optical connector, 101 ... optical connector (connector body), 110 ... guide structure (rear guide part), 120 ... optical fiber gripping part (fixing member for pressing) , P ... butt portion (butt connection portion).

Claims (2)

A ferrule in which the built-in fiber is inserted and fixed, and a coating removing member that is provided behind the ferrule and removes the coating of the insertion fiber inserted from the rear for abutting against the built-in fiber,
The coating removal member includes a coated optical fiber insertion hole that guides the insertion fiber to the coating removal blade on the rear side of the coating removal blade that removes the coating of the insertion fiber,
Protrusions for positioning of the insertion fibers are projected at three or more locations in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the front end portion of the coated optical fiber insertion hole,
The protrusion has a fiber contact guide portion that is an inclined surface that approaches the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole as it goes from the rear end to the front side ,
In the fiber abutment guide part, the shortest part in the cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction is the distance from the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole, and continuously exists throughout the front-rear direction,
In the protrusion, the maximum protrusion at the front end of each fiber contact guide is located on a virtual circumference coaxial with the axis of the coated optical fiber insertion hole,
An optical connector in which a portion excluding the front end in the fiber contact guide portion is a concave curved surface that is curved with a radius of curvature larger than the radius of the coated optical fiber insertion hole in a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction . The outer diameter of the insertion fiber is typically 250 μm,
The inner diameter of the coated optical fiber insertion hole is larger by 10 to 20 μm than the outer diameter of the insertion fiber,
The optical connector according to claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the virtual circumference is smaller by 5 to 10 μm than an outer diameter of the insertion fiber .

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