JPH0220811A - Optical connector lock - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and securely prevent a plug form coming out erroneously by providing a mechanism part for fixing an optical connector to a hood behind the plug and a structure part which covers a frame while the optical connector is fixed to the hood. CONSTITUTION:The optical connector lock 1 is set having lock claws 4 opposite the plug 10 and an optical fiber cord 13 is passed through a slit 5 and run through a through hole 2. Then the upper and lower flanks of the optical connector lock 1 are held and put close to the plug 10 from behind and the hood 12 is run between the lock claws 4 and through the through hole 2 to press the hood 12 by the upper and lower lock claws 4 and the internal flank of the through hole 2, so that the hood 12 deforms elastically. Further, the optical connector lock 1 is moved forth to before the plug 10 and the lock claws are inserted into the gap between the frame 11 and hood 12 under the guidance of a chamfered part 4'', thereby locking the optical connector while bringing the rear end of the frame 11 into contact with the internal bottom part of the lock 1. Consequently, the optical connector lock 1 locks the plug 10 to an adapter 15 to prevent the plug 10 from coming out erroneously.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an optical connector locking tool used to prevent accidental disconnection of a plug in an optical connector that connects a plug and an adapter using a non-rotating fastening method. .

(Prior Art) An optical connector using a non-rotating fastening method does not use a fastening mechanism such as a screw, and therefore has the advantage that there is less risk of loosening.

As an example of an optical connector using the above-mentioned fastening method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-78507 discloses a non-rotating fastening mechanism using a locking claw of an adapter and four parts of a plug, and a fastening mechanism provided on the outer surface of the housing of the plug. and a slidable frame that releases the previously fastened state, which improves the packaging density of optical fiber cords, improves operability when attaching and detaching plugs,
Also disclosed is an optical connector that makes it possible to improve the economic efficiency of the optical connector.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) The optical connector described above can improve the packaging density of optical fiber cords.
Although the operability during plug insertion/removal and the economic efficiency of optical connectors have been greatly improved, there is a possibility of touching not only the frame of the target connector but also the frame of a nearby connector during plug insertion/removal work in a high-density mounting state. There is a problem in that the fastening state is released and the plug is accidentally removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector locking tool for use with the above-mentioned optical connector, which can easily and reliably prevent accidental removal of the plug.

(Means for Solving the Problem) Claim 1 provides an optical connector in which a plug and an adapter are connected by a non-rotating fastening method, and the fastening is released by sliding a frame of the outer shell of the plug. The plug has a mechanical part fixed to the hood at the rear of the plug, and a structural part that covers the frame while fixed to the hood.

In claim 2, the entire structure is cylindrical, and the inside of the cylinder consists of a portion having a through hole with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hood, and an outer part of a polygonal hole larger than the frame size of the plug, At least a pair of opposing cantilever-shaped locking claws are provided inside the outer shell and near the opening of the through hole, and a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord extends over the entire length of the cylindrical structure, and the locking The distance between the opposing surfaces of the pair of claws is smaller than the diameter of the hood, the distance between the back surfaces of the opposing surfaces of the pair of locking claws is smaller than the distance between the inner surfaces of the frame, and the width of the locking claw is smaller than the diameter of the hood. The distance between the inner surfaces of

In claim 3, the outer parts are separable, and a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord is provided over the entire length of each part.

(Function) According to the present invention, the mechanical part for fixing the optical connector to the hood at the rear of the plug includes a through hole having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hood, and at least one pair of opposing holes near the opening of the through hole. It is equipped with a cantilever-shaped locking claw. That is, the distance between the opposing sides of the pair of locking claws is smaller than the diameter of the hood, and the distance between the sides facing the inner surface of the outer shell is smaller than the distance between the inner sides of the frame of the plug. When the pair of locking claws is inserted into the gap between the frame and the hood and the hood is passed through the through hole, the opposing surfaces of the pair of locking claws and the inner surface of the through hole are aligned with the outer surface of the hood. Since the optical connector locking tool is gripped, the optical connector locking tool can be fixed to the plug.

Since there is an outer shell of a polygonal hole as a structural part covering the frame, the frame cannot be directly touched after it is fixed to the plug.

Therefore, the optical connector locking tool can prevent the plug from accidentally coming off from the adapter of the optical connector.

Furthermore, since the optical connector locking tool has a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord over its entire length, it can be freely attached to and detached from the optical fiber cord connected to the plug.

Further, the same effect can be obtained by making the outer part separable and providing a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord along the entire length of each part.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a state in which the optical connector locking tool according to the present invention is installed in the optical connector shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the first embodiment of the optical connector locking device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a partially sectional side view of FIG. 1(a). . Further, FIG. 3 is a partially vertical side view of an existing non-rotating fastening type optical connector to which the optical connector locking device according to the present invention is installed. In addition, in FIGS. 1 and 3, the plug 10 and the adapter 15 are in a state of being connected in advance.

In FIG. 2, the optical connector locking tool 1 has a through hole 2 having an inner diameter of LL, and a pair of holes provided near the opening of the through hole 2, with an inner interval of Ll, an outer interval of L2, and a width of L3. It consists of a cantilever-shaped locking pawl 4 and a polygonal hole outer shell 3 surrounding the locking claw 4. The inner dimensions of the opening of this outer shell 3 are based on the frame 11 of the plug 10 in FIG. The outer dimension is smaller than the opening outer dimension of the adapter 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 2(a), a slit 5 having a width that allows the optical fiber cord to pass through is provided on the side surface. Further, the side portion of the locking pawl 4 is provided with a reinforcing portion 4', and the tip portion is chamfered 4'.

On the other hand, in FIG. 2, the existing non-rotating fastening type optical connector consists of a plug 10 and an adapter 15. The housing 14 of the plug 10 has a polygonal cylindrical frame 11.
By sliding this frame 11 backward, the connection between the plug 10 and the adapter 15 is released. A hood 12 made of an elastic body (usually made of rubber) is attached to the rear of the housing 14 to cover the first fiber cord 13. Here, frame 11 is used for the following explanation.
The width of one of the inner surfaces of the hood 12 is L4, and the maximum diameter of the hood 12 is L5.
Let's define it as Also, in Figures 2 and 3, Ll <
The relationship L5, L2 < L4, L3 < [width of the inner surface of the frame 11 (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 3)] holds true.

Below, the optical connector locking tool 1 shown in Figure 2 and the plug 1 shown in Figure 3 are shown below.
0 will be explained below.

First, the optical connector locking tool 1 is set so that the locking claw 4 faces the plug 10, and the optical fiber cord 13 is passed through the slit 5 and into the through hole 2. Next, hold the upper and lower sides of the optical connector locking tool 1 (the outer side surfaces in the vertical direction in FIGS. 2(a) and (b)), approach the plug 10 from the rear (FIGS. 1 and 3), and hold the locking claw. 4 and through the through hole 2. At this time, since the interval Ll between the locking pawls 4, the through hole diameter L1 and the maximum hood diameter L5 have the above-mentioned relationship, the hood 12 is pressed by the upper and lower locking pawls 4 and the inner surface of the through hole 2 and is elastically deformed. Furthermore, move the optical connector locking tool 1 forward to the plug 10,
Insert the locking pawl into the gap between the frame 11 and the hood 12 using the chamfered portion 4' as a guide, and when the rear end of the frame 11 comes into contact with the inner bottom 16 of the locking tool 1 as shown in the figure, the installation work on the plug 10 is completed. This completes the optical connector locking.

As described above, the optical connector locking tool 1 in the first embodiment
is attached to the plug 10, and when the optical connector is locked, the hood 12 is closed by the upper and lower locking claws 4 and the inner surface of the through hole 2.
In addition, since the frame 11 is covered by the outer shell 3, even if an external force is applied to the locking tool 1, it does not act directly on the frame 11. Also, when the optical connector is unlocked (the locking claw 4 is removed from the gap between the frame 11 and the hood 12), no force is applied to move the frame 11 backward because L2<L4. Therefore, the optical connector locking tool 1 can lock the plug 10 to the adapter 15, and
It is possible to prevent accidental removal of the parts.

The optical connector locking device according to the first embodiment described above has the following characteristics.

The first point is the frame 11 and the hood 1.
The optical connector can be easily and securely locked by simply inserting the locking claw 4 into the gap between the two.

The second point is that the locking operation can be performed at the rear of the plug 10 which is in a state of engagement with the adapter 15, and the operability is good.

The third point is that since the slit 5 is provided, it can be removed from the optical fiber cord 13.
Replacement of the locking tool 1 is simple and easy to operate.

The fourth point is that because of the simple shape and mechanism, it is possible to lock the optical connector without exceeding dimensions important for mounting the optical connector, and the mounting density of the optical connector is not reduced.

The fifth point is that the shape is simple and does not require special precision, so it can be manufactured by resin molding, and since the number of parts is small, it is highly mass-producible and economical.

It goes without saying that in the first embodiment, the upper and lower locking claws 4 may be divided into two or more parts.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the optical connector locking device according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, the optical connector locking tool 20 has a structure in which an outer shell part 20b, which corresponds to the outer shell part 3 of the fastening tool 1 in the first embodiment, can be separated from the main body 20a. Furthermore, the main body 20a and the outer part 20b
each has a slit 21 through which an optical fiber cord can pass.
A slit 22 is made at an angle of 90° to the other.

Therefore, the main body 20a and the outer part 20b are separately connected to the plug 10.
After passing the optical fiber cord through the optical fiber cord and assembling the two, the slits 21 and 22 are closed, and the optical connector can be locked in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

As described above, the optical connector locking tool 2 in the second embodiment
0, there is no slit on the surface that directly connects to the through hole (not shown in FIG. 4) after the outer part 20b of the main body 20a is assembled, so it does not come off from the optical fiber cord, so it is easy to operate. In addition, it is superior in strength to the locking tool 1 shown in the first embodiment. The other operations of the configuration 1 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the slit 21 and the slit 22 may be formed at an angle of 180@, and the feature described in the section of the optical connector locking tool in the first embodiment is also provided. It goes without saying that we are doing this.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the optical connector locking tool according to the present invention has the following features:
When applied to a non-rotating fastening type optical connector, the plug can be easily and securely locked to the adapter, and can be easily removed from the plug. Furthermore, since it has a simple shape, the optical connector can be locked without exceeding dimensions important for mounting the optical connector, and the mounting density of the optical connector is not reduced. And since the locking work can be done at the rear of the plug, it is easy to operate.

Furthermore, since the shape is simple and does not require special precision, it can be manufactured by resin molding, and the number of parts is small.

As described above, the present invention can realize a compact and economical optical connector locking tool that can easily and reliably prevent the plug from being accidentally removed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a state in which an optical connector locking device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is installed in an existing non-rotating type optical connector, and FIG. This shows the first embodiment of the optical connector locking device, in which Fig. 2(a) is a front view, Fig. 2(b) is a vertical cross-sectional side view, and Fig. 3 is an existing non-rotating fastening method. Partial longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the optical connector, No. 4
The figure is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the optical connector locking tool according to the present invention. In the figure, 1... optical connector locking tool of the first embodiment, 2...
...Through hole, 3...Outer part, 4...Latching claw, 5, 2
1゜22...Slit, 10...Plug, 11...
・Frame, 12...Hood, 13...Optical fiber cord, 14...Housing, 15...Adapter,
20... Optical connector locking tool of second embodiment, 20a.
...Main body, 20b...Outer part. Patent applicant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an optical connector locking device used for an optical connector that connects a plug and an adapter using a non-rotating fastening method and releases the fastening by sliding a frame around the plug, the plug An optical connector locking tool comprising: a mechanical part that is fixed to a rear hood; and a structural part that covers the frame while being fixed to the hood. (2) The entire structure is cylindrical, and the inside of the cylinder consists of a part with a through hole with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hood at the rear of the plug, and an outer part of a polygonal hole larger than the frame size of the plug. At least a pair of opposing cantilever-shaped locking claws are provided inside the outer shell and near the opening of the through hole, and a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord extends over the entire length of the cylindrical structure, and the locking The distance between the opposing surfaces of the pair of claws is smaller than the diameter of the hood, the distance between the back surfaces of the opposing surfaces of the pair of locking claws is smaller than the distance between the inner surfaces of the frame, and the width of the locking claw is smaller than the diameter of the hood. 2. The optical connector locking tool according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the inner surfaces of the optical connector is equal to or less than the distance between the inner surfaces of the optical connector. (3) The optical connector locking device according to claim 2, wherein the outer shell portion is separable and a slit having a width comparable to that of the optical fiber cord is provided along the entire length of each portion.