JPH04208904A - Waterproof type optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve crystal workability and to maintain the waterproofness stable over a long period of time by providing plane parts on the surface of a housing having the other ferrule of a ferrule pair, with which surfaces annular elastic members come into pressurized contact and pressing the annular elastic members with the flat parts at the time of fastening both housings. CONSTITUTION:A plug side housing 24 is pressed to a jack side housing 36 in such a manner that the ferrule 26 of a plug side optical connector 22 is inserted into an aligning sleeve 38 of a jack side optical connector 34. A lock nut 32 is then sufficiently tightened up. The joint end faces of the ferrule 26 and the ferrule 40 are centered and pressed to each other and the annular elastic members 27 are crushed and deformed by coming into pressurized contact with the plane parts 41 of the housing 36, by which the infiltration of water from the outside to the joint part of the respective ferrules is prevented. Since projecting level difference parts 42 are provided around the respective plane parts 41 at this time, the deformation of the annular elastic members 30 are controlled by the level difference parts 42 and the waterproof structure is maintained stably over a long period of time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Summary Regarding a waterproof optical connector, the present invention aims to provide a waterproof optical connector that improves fastening workability and maintains stable waterproof performance over a long period of time. A waterproof optical connector that is attached to the side housing, and the same number of jack side ferrules as the plug side ferrules are attached to the jack side housing via an alignment sleeve to prevent water from entering the ferrule part from the outside when both housings are connected. A ring-shaped elastic member is provided to surround the entire circumference of either one of the plug-side ferrule and the jack-side ferrule of each pair facing each other, and when both housings are fastened, the ring-shaped elastic member A flat part is provided on the surface that the ring-shaped elastic member comes into pressure contact with,
The ring-shaped elastic member is pressed down by the flat portion to prevent water from entering.

Industrial applications The present invention relates to a waterproof optical connector.

In recent years, with the increase in transmission capacity, optical fibers have come to be used as transmission paths in fields such as communications. Examples of methods for connecting optical fibers include a splicing method in which bonded end surfaces are permanently connected by gluing or fusion, and a detachable optical connector method. In connection using an optical connector, the joining end surfaces of the optical fibers to be connected are usually attached to a centered ferrule, and the ferrules are butted against each other in a cylindrical sleeve to form an optical connection between the optical fibers. 1 of the core system.
A misalignment of about /10 or less and good adhesion between the bonded end surfaces are required. In addition, since optical cables containing multiple optical fibers are often used outdoors, optical connectors for connecting these optical cables have good connection workability and are highly waterproof. structure is required.

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional waterproof optical connector will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. 2 is a plug side optical connector, and a ferrule 6 to which an optical fiber is connected is inserted into two ferrule insertion holes 5 provided in the housing 4,
By pressing the stepped portion of the ferrule 6 against the stepped portion of the housing 4 using the coil spring 8, each ferrule 6 can be attached to the housing 4 with a certain degree of freedom in the radial direction.
It is fixed inside. A ring-shaped elastic member 10 such as a gasket or a circle is placed around the two ferrules 6.
is half-embedded and fixed in the housing 4. 1
Reference numeral 2 designates a fastening nut having a threaded portion 12a formed at the tip of its inner periphery, and is attached to the housing 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a jack-side optical connector, in which alignment sleeves 18 are inserted into two ferrule insertion holes 17 formed in the housing 16, and ferrules 20 to which optical fibers are connected are inserted into the alignment sleeves 18. It is configured. The ferrule 20 is fixed to the housing 16 with a certain degree of freedom in the radial direction, and each ferrule 20 of the jack-side optical connector 14 is attached so as to exactly oppose each ferrule 6 of the plug-side optical connector 2. ing. The front end surface 16a of the housing 16 is formed into a flat surface, and a threaded portion 16b into which the threaded portion 12a of the fastening nut 12 is screwed is formed on the outer periphery of the front end thereof.

To couple the plug-side optical connector 2 to the jack-side optical connector 14, the ferrule 6 of the plug-side optical connector 2 is inserted into the alignment sleeve 18 of the jack-side optical connector 14, and the fastening nut 12 is sufficiently tightened. In this way, the end faces of the ferrule 6 and the ferrule 14 are centered and joined together, and the ring-shaped elastic member 10 is pressed against the flat end face 16a of the housing 16 of the jack-side optical connector 14, so that the ferrule joint is not exposed to the outside. Water ingress is prevented.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The conventional waterproof optical connector described above has a gasket and a
Since the structure includes a ring-shaped elastic member such as a ring, the contact area of the elastic member that comes into contact with the flat end surface of the jack side housing is inevitably large, and therefore a large torque is required to tighten the fastening nut. , there was a problem of poor workability. Further, when the ring-shaped elastic member is a gasket, there are disadvantages such as deformation of the gasket because the deformation control section is not provided, and there is a problem that the gasket is easily removed because there is no mechanical fixation to the gasket.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and its purpose is to provide a waterproof optical connector that can improve fastening workability and maintain stable waterproof properties over a long period of time. .

Means for Solving the Problem: A plurality of plug-side ferrules are attached to a plug-side housing, and the same number of jack-side ferrules as the plug-side ferrules are attached to the jack-side housing via alignment sleeves, and when both housings are connected, the ferrule portion is In a waterproof optical connector designed to prevent water from entering, a ring-shaped elastic member is provided so as to surround the entire periphery of each pair of mutually opposing plug-side ferrules and jack-side ferrules. When both housings are fastened together, a flat part is provided on the surface of the housing having seven ferrules, which is in pressure contact with the ring-shaped elastic member of the other pair of ferrules, and the flat part presses down the ring-shaped elastic member to prevent water from entering. Configure it to do so.

Desirably, a convex step portion is provided on the outer periphery of the flat portion, and the ring-shaped elastic member is configured to be suppressed from deformation by the convex step portion.

Function: To connect this optical connector, insert the plug side ferrule into the alignment sleeve and fasten both housings together. As a result, the joining end surfaces of the plug-side ferrule and the jack-side ferrule are aligned and abut against each other. At the same time, the ring-shaped elastic member provided on one housing comes into pressure contact with the flat surface of the other housing, effectively preventing water from entering each optical connector section from the outside.

According to the present invention, a ring-shaped elastic member is provided for each ferrule pair, instead of providing one ring-shaped elastic member so as to surround the entire plurality of ferrules as in the conventional case. Only a small amount of torque is required when fastening the connector, which improves fastening workability.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 22 denotes a plug-side optical connector, which has two ferrule insertion holes 25 defined in a housing 24 made of, for example, stainless steel copper. By press-fitting a sleeve-shaped pressing member having a flange 27a into the sleeve-shaped pressing member 27, and pressing down the step 30a provided on the inner circumference of a ring-shaped elastic member 30 made of rubber or the like with the flange 27a of the sleeve-shaped pressing member 27. , a ring-shaped elastic member 30 is fixed to the housing 24. By inserting the ferrule 26 into the sleeve-shaped holding member 27 press-fitted into the ferrule insertion hole 25 and pressing the collar of the ferrule 26 against the step formed in the housing 24 with the coil spring 28, a certain degree of freedom is achieved in the radial direction. Ferrule 26 with precision
is fixed to the housing 24. Numeral 32 is a fastening nut having a threaded portion 32a at its inner peripheral end, and is attached to the housing 24 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

34 is a jack side optical connector, which is connected to the plug side optical connector 2 of a housing 36 made of stainless steel or the like.
Two ferrule insertion holes 37 are defined at positions facing the two ferrules 26, and a half-shaped alignment sleeve 38 made of, for example, phosphor bronze is provided in each ferrule insertion hole 37.
A ferrule 40 connected to an optical fiber is inserted into each alignment sleeve 38. That is, as shown in the enlarged sectional view of FIG. 3, the alignment sleeve 38 is inserted into the ferrule insertion hole 37, and the ferrule holder 4 is inserted into the bore defined in the housing 36.
The ferrule 40 is attached to the housing 36 with a certain degree of freedom in the radial direction by pressing the collar 40a of the ferrule 40 against the stepped portion of the ferrule holder 460 using the coil spring 44.

An annular flat portion 41 is formed on the end surface of the housing 36 corresponding to each alignment sleeve 38, and a convex stepped portion 42 is formed around these annular flat portions 41.

Therefore, in order to connect the plug side optical connector 22 to the jack side optical connector 34, the plug side housing 24 is jacked so that the ferrule 26 of the plug side optical connector 22 is inserted into the alignment sleeve 38 of the jack side optical connector 34. Push it into the side housing 36 and fully tighten the fastening nut 32. As a result, the joining end surfaces of the ferrule 26 and the ferrule 40 are aligned and abutted against each other, and the ring-shaped elastic member 27 is pressed against the flat part 41 of the housing 36 and is crushed and deformed, thereby joining each ferrule. This prevents water from entering the area from the outside. At this time, since the convex step portion 42 is provided around each flat portion 41, the deformation of the ring-shaped elastic member 30 is controlled by the step portion 42, and the waterproof structure is stably maintained for a long period of time. .

As described above, in this embodiment, a ring-shaped elastic member is provided on one side of the housing to which each ferrule pair to be joined is attached so as to surround each ferrule, and a ring-shaped elastic member is provided at the tip of the housing to which the other ferrule is attached. Since the flat portion to which the elastic member is pressed is provided, the pressing area of the ring-shaped elastic member can be reduced. This sleeve,
Optical connectors can be fastened with a smaller torque than conventional structures.

Effects of the Invention Since the waterproof optical connector of the present invention is configured as detailed above, the tightening torque can be reduced when the connector is fastened, and as a result, the workability of fastening the connector can be greatly improved. play.

Further, since the convex stepped portion provided at the tip of the housing can suppress deformation of the ring-shaped elastic member, stable waterproof properties can be maintained over a long period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the ferrule mounting part on the plug side. Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the jack side ferrule mounting part. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment; Figure 5 is a sectional view of the conventional example. FIG. 6 is a view taken in the direction of the ■ arrow in FIG. 22...Plug side optical connector, 24...Plug side housing, 26...Plug side ferrule, 30...ring-shaped elastic member, 32... tightening nut, 34... Jack side optical connector, 36... Shack side housing, 38...alignment sleeve, 40... Jack side ferrule, 41...Plane part, 42... Convex step portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of plug side ferrules (26) are attached to the plug side housing (24), and the plug side ferrules (26) are attached to the plug side ferrules (26).
A waterproof type in which the same number of jack-side ferrules (40) as in 6) are attached to the jack-side housing (36) via the alignment sleeve (38) to prevent water from entering the ferrule portion from the outside when both housings are fastened. In the optical connector, a ring-shaped elastic member (30) is provided to surround the entire circumference of either one of the plug-side ferrule (26) and jack-side ferrule (40) of each pair facing each other, and when both housings are fastened, the ring-shaped elastic member (30) The other ferrule of the ferrule pair (
A flat part (41) is provided on the surface of the housing (36) having a housing (36) having a ring-shaped elastic member (30) in pressure contact with the ring-shaped elastic member (30), and the flat part (41) presses down the ring-shaped elastic member (30) to prevent water from entering. A waterproof optical connector designed to prevent 2. A convex step portion (42) is provided on the outer periphery of the flat portion (41), and the deformation of the ring-shaped elastic member (30) is suppressed by the convex step portion (42). The waterproof optical connector according to claim 1. 3. A step (3) is formed on the inner circumference of the ring-shaped elastic member (30)
0a) and press-fitting the sleeve-shaped holding member (27) having the flange (27a) into the ferrule insertion hole (25) of the housing (24), the flange (27a)
2. The waterproof optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the ring-shaped elastic member (30) is fixed by pressing the step (30a) with a pad.