JPH0336509A - Connector for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the easy on-site execution of connection and reconnection of optical fibers by forming a connector of an assembly of a pair of plugs and an adapter to butt the respective plugs face to face from both sides and providing the plugs with fastening means for fixing the optical fibers inserted into the insertion holes and locking means for detaining and locking the fibers in the insertion position. CONSTITUTION:This connector for the optical fibers 3 to be connected to each other is formed of the assembly of a pair of the plugs 2 mounted to the top ends of the respective optical fibers 3 and the adapter 1 in common use as a pedestal to insert and butt the respective plugs 2 face to face from both sides. The plugs 2 are provided with the fastening means 25 for fixing the optical fibers 3 fixed into the optical fiber insertion holes and the locking means 28 for detaining and fixing the plugs 2 to the adapter 1 in the insertion positions to the adapter 1. The optical fibers are connected and reconnected by the easy operations on the job site in this way without requiring special tools and without depending on specialized engineers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector for removably butt-connecting optical fibers to each other.

[Conventional technology]

In optical fiber core systems that transmit signals using optical fibers, optical fiber connectors are used for relay connections between optical fibers.

On the other hand, in addition to conventional connectors that connect each other via optical elements such as lenses, there are also sleeve-type connectors in which a sleeve is attached across the interconnected optical fibers, and Various types of optical fibers are known, such as a fitting type in which a female plug attached to the tip is connected to a male plug, and a mechanical connection in which two optical fibers are butted against each other in a straight line.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, with the conventional connectors described above, the work is troublesome, as special tools are required for connection, and at present, work on site is carried out exclusively by specialized engineers. In addition, with the sleeve type, the optical fiber attachment cannot be reused when replacing it, and with the mating method that pairs female and male plugs, it is not possible to share the plug, and when reconfiguring the wiring, etc., the plug must be reattached. There are inconveniences such as the need to reconnect optical fibers.

On the other hand, with the spread and expansion of optical fiber application systems, users can easily connect, attach, and replace optical fibers without relying on specialized engineers or special tools. The emergence of connectors is desired.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connector configured so that the connection, attachment and replacement of optical fibers can be easily carried out on site.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, the connector of the present invention has a pair of plugs attached to the tips of each optical fiber to be interconnected, and each plug is inserted facing each other from both sides and abuts each other. The plug is designed as a combination with an adapter that also serves as a base, and the plug includes a fastening means for fixing the optical fiber inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole, and a lock for locking and fixing the plug to the adapter at the position where it is inserted into the adapter. The device is configured to include means.

[Effect]

In the above tl, the optical fiber fastening means has, for example, a tapered part with a slit formed at the end of the plug body on the optical fiber insertion side, and a tooth shape is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the optical fiber insertion hole at that part. The optical fiber is provided in advance, and the teeth of the tapered portion are pressed against the circumferential surface of the optical fiber by screwing in a fastening nut. In addition, as a locking means, for example, a plate spring with an engaging protrusion is attached to the plug body, and when the plug is inserted into the adapter, the hook provided with the protrusion on the adapter side is locked to the right side. A one-touch operation mechanism is used.

In order to connect optical fibers with this configuration, first insert the tip of each optical fiber into the optical fiber insertion hole of the plug for each optical fiber to be interconnected, and operate the fastening means to connect the optical fiber to the plug. Insert the plug into the adapter from the left and right while still connected to the optical fiber to be fixed.This causes the plug to collide with the mating plug in the center of the adapter, locking it in that position, and ensuring that the optical fibers are aligned with each other. They will be butt-connected on the line.

In addition, by releasing the aforementioned locking means, pulling out the plug from the adapter, and loosening the fastening means, it is easy to attach or replace the optical fiber.Furthermore, since the plug can be shared with the adapter, the optical fiber It is also possible to rearrange the wiring by leaving the plug attached to the adapter and plugging it into another adapter.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, in FIG. 1, l is an adapter, 2 is a pair of left and right plugs, 3 is an optical fiber, and each plug 2 is individually coupled with an optical fiber 3 to be interconnected.
are inserted into the adapter L from the left and right, and the optical fibers are butt-connected in a straight line.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the plug 2 has a cylindrical portion 21.
Square column part 22. Male thread part 23. A plug body that has a tapered part 25 with a slit 24 cut in the IIk direction and has an optical fiber insertion hole 26 that penetrates in the axial direction at the center thereof, and a cap nut that is screwed into the male threaded part 23. It consists of an assembly of a fastening nut 27 and a locking piece 28 fitted and attached to the cylindrical portion 21. The locking piece 28 is made of a plate spring material, and has a conical engagement protrusion 28a and a release handle 28b formed on its tongue. Square column part 2
It fits into the recess formed on the top surface of 2. In addition, as for the tapered portion 25, as shown in FIG.
a is formed.

On the other hand, the adapter 1 has a cylindrical portion 21. Plug insertion holes corresponding to the external shape of the prismatic portion 22 are opened symmetrically, and a regular-sized hook 11 is opened on the side surface of the hole to engage with the engagement protrusion 28a of the locking piece 28 provided on the plug side. It is.

The outer shape of the adapter 1 is box-shaped as shown in Fig. 5, and in addition to the above-mentioned plug insertion hole 12, there is a groove 13 on the outer wall for insertion of an optical fiber wiring display board, and for external mounting, there is a hole 13 for insertion of an optical fiber wiring display board. The rail groove 14 and the external mounting are provided with bolt holes 15 into which bolts are inserted.

Next, a procedure for connecting optical fibers using the connector configured as described above will be described. To connect the optical fibers 3 to each other, first pull out the plug 2 from the adapter I, and then connect the optical fibers 3 to each other.
Insert the tip of the optical fiber 3 into the optical fiber insertion hole 26 of the plug 2, and then screw in the fastening nut 27 from the rear end side. In this case, the core surface of the tip of the optical fiber 3 is aligned with the tip of the cylindrical part 21 relative to the plug 2. Set it so that it is flush with the As a result, the tapered portion 25 with the slit is attached to the fastening nut 2.
7 and is crimped onto the circumferential surface of the optical fiber 3.
The tooth profile 25a shown in the figure bites into the coating layer of the optical fiber 3 and is firmly fastened in a predetermined position.

Next, insert the plug 2 coupled with the optical fiber 3 into the insertion hole 12 of the adapter 1 from both left and right sides, and push it all the way until the end face of the prismatic part 22 of the plug 2 hits the stepped surface on the adapter side. 1 lugs 2 as shown in figure 1
The engaging protrusion 28a of the locking piece 28 provided on the adapter side fits into the main body 12, and the plug 2 is locked and fixed to the adapter 1 at that position. At the same time, the plug 2 is brought into contact with the mating plug 2 at the center of the interior of the adapter 1, and the optical fibers 3 are butt-connected in a straight line. In addition, by providing the cylindrical portion 21 and the prismatic portion 22 on the plug 2, it is easy to center the plug 2 when inserting it into the adapter 1.

In addition, positioning of the insertion position can be easily achieved.

Also, in order to attach or replace the optical fiber 3, first use the adapter L.
The handle portion 2 of the locking piece 28 protrudes outward from the end surface of the
When 8b is pressed down with a hand, the engagement protrusion 28a disengages the adapter 1 from the correct size 11, releasing the locked state. Therefore, the plug 2 can be freely pulled out from the adapter l. By further loosening the fastening nut 27, the fastening state of the optical fiber 3 to the plug 2 is released.
The optical fiber 3 can be pulled out from the plug 2.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an applied example in which the connector has waterproof and dustproof functions. In addition to the structure described in FIG.
When the song is installed and plug 2 is inserted, Q17
The plug 4 is in close contact with the end surface of the prismatic portion 22 to prevent dust, N water, etc. from entering the butt connection of the optical fiber 3, and the plug 2 and the optical fiber 3 are A bellows-shaped gasket 5 is fitted over the gap between the plug 2 and the optical fiber 3 to seal the gap between the plug 2 and the optical fiber 3. The plug 2 is provided with a flange 29 to prevent the end of the gasket 5 from being hooked onto the plug 2.

In addition, Figures 6 and 7 respectively show the installation state of the connector at the site. In Figure 6, the rail groove 14 shown in Figure 5 is fitted into the rail 6 for external installation, and the adapter l 7 shows an example in which the 5th
This shows an example in which the adapter l is directly fixed to the fuselage by inserting the bolt 6 into the bolt hole 15 shown in the figure.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The optical fiber connector according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and has the following effects.

(1) Optical fibers can be easily connected and attached at the site of use, without requiring special tools or requiring the assistance of specialized engineers.

(2) In addition to being able to share the left and right plugs that pair with the adapter, it is also possible to easily rearrange the optical fiber wiring on site by replacing the adapter with a completely different adapter that connects the plug to the optical fiber. .

(3) Each plug is provided with a means for fastening the optical fiber and a locking means between it and the adapter, so even if an external force is applied while connected, the optical fiber will not accidentally shift from the connected position. , minimizes optical loss, stabilizes performance, and provides high reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 7 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the structure in an assembled state, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the plug in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the plug. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of an applied example different from that in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the adapter, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are views of the installed state of the connector. 1: Adapter, 2 Nib Lug, 3: Optical Fiber, Fig. 5 1 Fig. 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A connector that connects two optical fibers removably butt-connected, with a pair of plugs attached to the tip of each optical fiber, and a base that also serves as a base for inserting each plug face-to-face from both sides and mating them. The plug is configured as a combination body with an adapter, and the plug is provided with a fastening means for fixing the optical fiber inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole, and a locking means for locking and fixing the plug to the adapter at a position where the plug is inserted into the adapter. An optical fiber connector characterized by: