JPH05249345A - Method for coupling optical connector and optical adapter and structure for mounting the optical adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the attachment and detachment of an optical connector to be connected to an optical adapter which are packaged at, for example, a narrow point. CONSTITUTION:This coupling method for the optical connector 2 mounted in parallel with the surface of a circuit board 51 and the optical adapter 1 consists in mounting the optical adapter 1 to a mounting substrate 56 to be positioned in the direction orthogonal with the circuit board 51, supporting and fixing at least either of both ends of the mounting substrate to an engaging means 65 adapted to be freely attachable and detachable to and from the circuit board in such a manner that the mounting substrate can be parted from the circuit board and attaching and detaching the optical connector to and from the optical adapter in the state of aparting the mounting substrate 56 from the circuit board by the engaging means 65 at the time of attaching and detaching the optical connector to and from the optical adapter.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for connecting an optical connector and an optical adapter and a mounting structure for the optical adapter, and more particularly to facilitating attachment and detachment of an optical connector connected to the optical adapter.

[0002] In an optical communication system, an optical fiber is used, but it is necessary that the optical fiber can be freely detachably connected at a key place. For such connection, an optical connector is usually connected and fixed to the end portion of the optical fiber, and the optical connectors are connected to each other via an optical adapter.

That is, the optical adapter has a flange on the outside of a cylindrical body having a precise through hole, and the ferrule of the optical connector is inserted from both sides of the through hole to detachably couple the optical connector to the optical adapter. Then, the optical signal transmitted to the optical fiber is transmitted and received.

Thus, the optical connector coupled to the optical adapter is manually attached and detached, but the work is required to be easy. A schematic diagram of the optical adapter and the optical connector is shown in FIG. These are mainly made of stainless steel, and in some cases, the ferrule part is made of ceramics. In FIG.
The optical adapter 1 includes a cylindrical adapter body 11 having a plurality of precise through holes 12, external threads 13 on both sides, a flange 14 in the central portion, and a plurality of screw holes 15 for fixing the flanges to essential portions. It has one.

In the optical connector 2, the optical fiber 22 inside the optical fiber cord 21 is attached to the center of the optical connector body 23, and the end face of the ferrule 24 at the tip end is exposed and coincides with the optical fiber end face. Reference numeral 25 is a bag-shaped fastening nut. The nut 25 idles with respect to the connector body 23 and is immovable in the axial direction.

The ferrules 24 of the pair of optical connectors 2 and 2 are inserted into the through holes 12 of the optical adapter 1 from both sides, and the nuts 25 are screwed into the male threads 13 with the end faces abutted inside each other and fastened. Fix it. To remove, follow the reverse procedure.

All of such attaching and detaching work is performed manually.

[0008]

2. Description of the Related Art Although there are various modes of optical communication devices, a conventional plug-in connection type printed board unit 3 shown in FIG. 7 basically has a printed board 31 on which a signal processing circuit is mounted and a left end. Of the plug-in connector 32 and the surface plate 33 at the right end.

In FIG. 7, (a) is a side view of the unit 3, and (b) is a sectional view taken along the line AA of (a). The surface plate 33 is orthogonal to the paper surface, and is provided with the display of the printed board unit, operation parts and the like.

At the center of the printed board 31, a mounting plate 36, in which two optical adapters 1 are attached to the flange 14 of the printed board 31 with screws 35, is fixed to the printed board 31 with L-shaped legs at two upper and lower positions by screws 37. Has been done.

The adapter 1 and the optical connector 2 are the same as those shown in FIG. 6, but the optical connector 2 on the right side of the drawing is connected to the adapter 1, but the optical connector 2 on the left side is omitted in the drawing. There is. Reference numeral 38 is a lever lever for inserting and withdrawing the plug-in to and from the shelves on which the unit 3 is mounted.

The optical connector 2 on the right side is an optical fiber cord 2
1 is led out of the surface plate 33 through the cutout portion of the surface plate 33. Two optical fiber codes 21 are used, for example, one is for receiving an optical signal,
The other one is for outputting an optical signal. Therefore, a light receiving element and a light emitting element (not shown) are mounted on the unit 3 and are connected to the left side of the optical adapters 1 and 1 by an optical connector.

As is clear from the figure, the printed board 31 which is a circuit board and the optical adapter are mounted so that their axial directions are parallel to each other, and the optical adapter 1 is a mounting board which is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the printed board 31. A certain mounting plate 3
It is attached to 6.

Since a large number of such units 3 are inserted and mounted in parallel in a sheerf (not shown), they are mounted at a high density with a narrow parallel spacing. Therefore, the two optical connectors 2 and 2 are close to each other, and the optical connector 2 and the printed board 31 are also close to each other.

[0015]

Due to the above-mentioned state, when it is necessary to pull out the unit 3 from the shelves and remove the optical connector 2 from the optical adapter, the nut 25 of the optical connector 2 is rotated by fingers. There is a problem that it is difficult to loosen and remove. This is more difficult and troublesome since many other electronic circuit components are mounted on the surface of the printed board 31 at high density.
Not only is the connection work the same.

For this reason, the screw 37 is loosened, the mounting plate 36 is once removed, and then the optical connector 2 is attached and detached in that state. Therefore, the work is troublesome and the screws 37 may be lost.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. One-touch type optical adapters and optical connectors can be attached / detached together with a mounting plate in a coupled state, and a detachable part such as screws is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for coupling an optical connector and an optical adapter, and a mounting structure for the optical adapter.

[0018]

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for solving the above problems is a method of coupling an optical connector and an optical adapter which are mounted in parallel with a circuit board, wherein the optical adapter is in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board. Mounted on the mounting board, and at least one of both ends of the mounting board is supported and fixed to an engaging means that is freely detachable so as to be separated from the circuit board. A method of coupling an optical connector and an optical adapter, wherein the mounting board is detached from the circuit board by the engaging means when the optical connector is detached.

The first means of the mounting structure of the optical adapter applied to the above-mentioned coupling method is to mount the optical adapter on a mounting board positioned in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board, and to mount one of the mounting boards on the circuit board. And a first supporting and engaging means for rotatably supporting the circuit board in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board, and the other of the mounting boards is separated from the circuit board and held and fixed on the circuit board so as to be opened. An optical adapter attachment structure comprising a second support engagement means.

The second means of the mounting structure of the optical adapter applied to the coupling method is to mount the optical adapter on a mounting board which is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board,
A holding engagement member is provided on the circuit board, the holding board having insertion grooves for guiding and engaging both ends of the mounting board so that the mounting board can be separated from and inserted into the circuit board. Optical adapter mounting structure.

By the above, the above-mentioned object is achieved.

[0022]

According to the above coupling method, the optical adapter mounted on the mounting board can be removed together with the mounting board from the engaging means of the circuit board, and the optical connector can be removed in a wide space in that state, so that the optical connector can be easily mounted. Can be attached and detached. As the engaging means, one of the mounting boards is rotatably supported and the other is held in a disengageable manner, so that a detachable component such as a screw is not required. Further, the mounting substrate is inserted and removed, and the whole can be positioned in the free space.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method for connecting an optical connector and an optical adapter according to the present invention and a mounting structure for the optical adapter will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a first embodiment of a method of connecting an optical connector and an optical adapter and an optical adapter mounting structure according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plug-in type printed board unit of an optical communication apparatus. 5 is a side view of FIG. 5, and FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

The printed board unit 5 comprises a printed board 51 which is a circuit board on which a signal processing circuit is mounted, a plug-in connector 52 at the left end and a surface plate 53 at the right end. The surface plate 53 is orthogonal to the plane of the drawing, and is provided with the display of the printed board unit, operation parts and the like.

At the center of the printed board 51, there is arranged a mounting board 56 in which the two optical adapters 1 are mounted on the flange 14 with screws 55. This mounting board 56
Is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the printed board 51, one of which is a first support engagement means for rotatably supporting the printed board 51 in an orthogonal direction, and the other is spaced from the printed board 51. It is supported by the second support engagement means which is held and fixed on the printed board 51 so that it can be opened. With this configuration, the lower side is rotatable around the upper first support engaging means as shown in FIG.

The adapter 1 and the optical connector 2 are the same as those shown in FIG. 6, but the optical connector 2 on the right side of the drawing is connected to the adapter 1, but the optical connector 2 on the left side is omitted in the drawing. There is. Reference numeral 58 is a lever lever for inserting and withdrawing the plug-in to and from the shell that the unit 5 is mounted.

The optical connector 2 on the right side is an optical fiber cord 2
1 is led out of the surface plate 53 through the notch of the surface plate 53. Two optical fiber codes 21 are used, for example, one is for receiving an optical signal,
The other one is for outputting an optical signal. Therefore, although not shown, the unit 5 has a light receiving element and a light emitting element mounted thereon, and is connected to the left side of the optical adapter 1, 1 by an optical connector.

As is clear from the figure, the printed board 51, which is a circuit board, and the optical adapter are mounted so that their axial directions are parallel to each other, and the optical adapter 1 is mounted on the printed board 51 in a direction orthogonal to the mounting board 56. Is attached to.

Since a large number of such units 3 are inserted and mounted in parallel in a sheerf (not shown), the intervals between the parallel units are small and the units 3 are mounted in high density. Therefore, the two optical connectors 2 and 2 are close to each other, and the optical connector 2 and the printed board 51 are also close to each other.

Details of the mounting board and the first and second supporting and engaging means will be described with reference to the perspective view of FIG. In FIG. 2, the optical adapter and the optical connector are not shown and only the mounting holes are shown. In the figure, an upper part of the mounting board 56 is rotatably supported by an L-shaped support fitting 61 around a screw 62, and a lower part thereof is bent into an L-shape and has a notch 63 and a tip end side at a corner portion thereof. A protrusion 64 is formed on the surface.

The lower L-shaped locking fitting 65 further has a bottom plate 66, and a notch 67 is formed in the corner between the L-shape and the bottom plate and a hole 68 is formed in the surface of the bottom plate 66. With such a configuration, the support fitting 61 and the locking fitting 65 are screwed and fixed to the printed board 51. By rotating the mounting board 56 as shown by the arrow to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line, the L-shaped portion of the mounting board 56 and the cutout portions 63 and 67 of the locking metal fitting 65 are inserted and positioned. Is defined, and L is inserted in the hole 68 of the bottom plate 66.
The protrusion 64 of the character portion is fitted and the position is fixed.

When attaching or detaching the optical connector, the hole 68 and the protrusion 64 are provided.
The mounting substrate 56 is separated from the printed board 51 in the illustrated state by pulling it out against the engaging force with the optical connector 2, so that the optical connector 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the optical adapter 1.

The supporting metal fitting 61 and the locking metal fitting 65 are connected by a two-dot chain line 6
As shown in FIG. 9, if they are connected and integrated, the mutual positional relationship is determined, and the assembly can be easily performed. Figure 3
FIG. 3A is a side view of a plug-in connection type printed board unit 7 of an optical communication device according to a second embodiment of a method of coupling an optical connector and an optical adapter and an optical adapter mounting structure according to the present invention. Yes, (b) figure is C- of (a) figure
It is a C sectional view.

In this embodiment, the printed board 7 is the same as in FIG.
1, a plug-in connector 72, a surface plate 73, a lever lever 74, and the like, and a mounting board 76 in which two optical adapters 1 are attached to the flange 14 of the printed board 71 with a screw 75 at the center thereof. There is. The surface of the mounting substrate 76 is arranged in the direction orthogonal to the surface of the printed board 71.

The adapter 1 and the optical connector 2 are the same as those shown in FIG. 6, but the optical connector 2 on the right side of the drawing is connected to the adapter 1, but the optical connector 2 on the left side is omitted. There is.

The mounting board 76 can be inserted into and removed from the holding and engaging member 8 mounted on the printed board 71. This will be described with reference to the perspective view of FIG. Figure 4
In FIG. 2, the optical adapter and the optical connector are not shown and only the mounting holes are shown. Reference numeral 77 is a locking projection formed on the front side of the upper and lower ends of the mounting substrate 76.

The holding and engaging member 8 is a pair of vertically symmetrical holding members 81 and 82, and since they have the same structure, only one of them will be described. Both sides of the plate material are bent inward toward each other, and a gap corresponding to the thickness of the mounting board 76 is formed in the central portion to form the insertion groove 83 of the mounting board 76. A hole 84 is formed on the front side of the insertion groove 83.

Thus, the rear surface side is bent at a right angle in the facing direction to form a mounting surface 85, and a mounting hole 86 is formed. With the above configuration, the pair of holding members 81, 8
2 are mounted on the printed board 71 at predetermined intervals using screws 78 as shown in FIG. The predetermined interval is an interval in which the upper and lower ends of the mounting substrate 76 are just fitted in the opposing insertion grooves 83, 83.

As shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, the mounting board 76 is inserted into the insertion grooves 83, 83 of the pair of holding members 81, 82.
When it is pushed in as it is, the locking projections 77, 77 at the upper and lower ends elastically deform and pass through the holding member, are fitted in the holes 84 and are locked so as not to come out naturally. This state is the state shown in FIG.

When the optical connector is attached or detached, the hole 84 and the protrusion 77 are attached.
When the mounting board 76 is separated from the printed board 71 in the state shown in FIG. 4 by pulling it out against the engaging force with the optical connector 2, the optical connector 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the optical adapter 1.

If the holding members 81 and 82 are connected and integrated as shown by a chain double-dashed line 87, the positional relationship between them is determined and the assembly can be facilitated. According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to easily replace the optical adapter with the different type and the optical connector. That is, the one shown in FIG. 6A is applied to the optical adapter 1A and the optical connector 2A similar to the optical adapter 1 and the optical connector 2 in FIG. 6, but the one shown in FIG. Optical adapter 1B different from the coupling type, for example, bayonet coupling type
And the optical connector 2B. in this way,
By matching the outer shapes of the mounting boards, it is possible to easily meet the request for changing the model of the connector.

[0043]

As described above, according to the method of coupling the optical connector and the optical adapter and the structure for mounting the optical adapter according to the present invention, it is possible to easily attach and detach the optical connector of the electronic circuit unit mounted with high density. Since there are no parts to be removed due to the work, there is no need to attach or remove the parts, and there is no risk of losing the parts.

Further, it is possible to respond to the change request of the optical connectors of different types immediately, very easily. Since the work can be done with a one-touch method, the working time can be greatly shortened, and the practical effects are remarkable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a printed board unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mounting substrate of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a printed board unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of the holding and engaging member of FIG.

5A and 5B are a mounting board (a) diagram on which the optical adapter of FIG. 6 is mounted and a mounting board (b) diagram on which an optical adapter of a different type from FIG. 6 is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the optical adapter and the optical connector before combination and coupling.

FIG. 7 is a conventional printed board unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Adapter 2 Optical Connector 14 Flange 21 Optical Fiber Code 22 Optical Fiber 5,7 Printed Board Unit 51,71 Printed Board 61 Supporting Metal Fitting 65 Locking Metal Fitting 63,67 Notch 8 Holding Engaging Metal Fitting 81,82 Holding Member 83 Groove

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Tsutomu Takahashi 1015 Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor, Riichi Magome 1015, Kamedotachu, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Limited

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical connector (2) and an optical adapter (1) which are mounted parallel to a surface of a circuit board (51) (71).
The optical adapter (1) includes the circuit board (51) (71)
Mounting boards (56) (76) positioned orthogonal to
And at least one of both ends of the mounting board is supported and fixed to engaging means (8) (65) which can be freely detached so as to be separated from the circuit board. When attaching and detaching the optical connector by attaching the mounting substrate (56) (76) to the engaging means (8)
(65) A method of coupling an optical connector and an optical adapter, wherein the optical connector and the optical adapter are attached and detached while being separated from the circuit board. 2. A mounting structure for an optical adapter (1) mounted in parallel with a circuit board (51), wherein the optical adapter (1) is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board (51). And a first support engaging means (61) for mounting one of the mounting boards (56) so as to be rotatable in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board.
And the other side of the mounting board (56) is separated from the circuit board so that the circuit board (5) can be opened.
1) A mounting structure for an optical adapter, comprising: a second supporting and engaging means (65) which is held and fixed on the upper part. 3. A mounting structure for an optical adapter (1) mounted in parallel with a circuit board (71), wherein the optical adapter (1) is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board (71). And the insertion groove (8) for guiding and engaging both ends of the mounting board (76).
3) A holding engagement member (81) (82) which has 3) and which insertably engages with the mounting board so that the mounting board can be separated from the circuit board, is provided on the circuit board (71). An optical adapter mounting structure characterized in that