JPH05298875A - Memory module for optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a memory module for an optical connector with high reliability for which an optical connection state is not affected and the changing work of memory contents is facilitated in a job site. CONSTITUTION:The module is the memoty module which is mounted on the optical connector of an optical cable terminal part and stores data being inherent in an optical cable. The memory module is constituted of a memory substrate 1 which packages chip resistors R1 and R2, etc., as a resistance memory for storing the above-mentioned data and has lead terminals 11e and 12e for connecting the resistance memory to an external part and a memory canister 2 which is fixed in the housing of the optical connector and houses a memory substrate 1. In the meantime, notched parts 11s and 12s are formed at a flank of the memory container 2 and the memory container 2 is constituted of a box-shape housing part 2b where the memory substrate 1 can be housed with some clearance at least in the inserting direction of the lead terminals 11e and 12e and a cap part 2a fitted on the housing part 2b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector memory module mounted on an optical connector at the end of an optical cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a real-time communication equipment management system for an optical fiber network, a memory for storing equipment information is provided in the optical fiber equipment itself, and a communication terminal device dedicated to the optical fiber equipment management and maintenance is provided by an optical cable. An advanced support system for line construction / maintenance has been proposed in which the equipment information in the memory can be transferred to the station via a dedicated communication line by dispersively arranging the terminals in a connection terminal box or the like. As a component of this system, a connector with a memory mounted with a memory has been realized, and with this connector with a memory, various unique data such as fiber type, accommodation unit number, cable number, etc. related to the connected optical cable can be made into an object. Is becoming

In this system, for example, the route information of the optical communication network can be grasped by the combination of the identification information of the memory modules attached to the end of the optical cable. It can be done quickly.

By the way, as the above memory, a semiconductor type and an analog type resistance memory are generally used. In particular, this resistance memory can reduce the number of input / output terminals as compared with the semiconductor memory, so that the connection reliability is improved. In addition, there is the merit of mass production that it can be mass-produced at low cost. The resistance memory is composed of, for example, a diode D and resistors R1 and R2 as shown in FIG. 3, and these resistance values are set in correspondence with optical line information, and the resistance value is read by the system side. With this, it is possible to extract data on various lines.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a mounting surface of a memory board mounted on the optical connector. In FIG. 4, 41e and 42e are two lead terminals for electrically connecting this memory substrate to the system side. Further, a diode D and chip resistors R1 and R2 corresponding to those shown in FIG. 3 are mounted on the mounting surface. This memory substrate is housed in a package (memory container) as shown in FIG. 1 and mounted and fixed on various optical connectors at the end of the optical cable. For example, FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a single-core SC connector 52 having a memory module 51 mounted thereon, in which the protruding directions of the lead terminals 51a and 51b of the memory board are relative to the optical cable direction (arrow x). It is parallel. In addition, the memory board 53 is the memory module 5.
It also serves as the upper lid of the package that constitutes the package 1, and is incorporated in the package body so that the mounting surface is housed toward the inside of the package.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows a printed board on the system side to which the lead terminals of the memory board are connected.
This printed circuit board 61 is provided at a cable connection point such as a connection terminal box. In this figure, a large number of optical connectors 62, ... One side area 63 of the board is a double-sided circuit area for mounting an EEPROM or the like which will be described later. For example, the above-mentioned single-fiber optical ferrule of the SC connector is connected to the optical connector 62, ... Connector terminal 63, ...
Connected to.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the printed circuit boards 21, ...
... and the electrical configuration of the peripheral system. In this figure, n memory modules M1, M2, ..., Mn are connected to a printed circuit board 21, and analog switches S1, S2, ..., Sn for selectively calling out resistance information of these memory modules are mounted and arranged. Has been done. Further, since this analog switch usually exhibits an on-resistance of about several hundreds of ohms, in order to correct this resistance value, the serial type EE in which the initial resistance value is factory written.
A PROM 22 is arranged. These analog switches are turned on / off and the corresponding EEPROM data is read out by communicating with a host computer in the maintenance station, which is a local controller (LCT) provided on site.
This is performed by a command from the CPU 23 in R). The line information such as the read cord-specific code is transferred from the LCTR to the host computer via a dedicated communication line. In this way, the unique code of the optical cable connected to the connector on the printed board is read through the LCTR, and the connection status of the optical cable from the station side to the subscriber side can be grasped in real time.

[0008]

By the way, the writing setting of the memory is usually performed at the factory when the optical fiber with a connector is shipped, but the connection relation of the optical cable is changed due to the renewal of the equipment of the optical communication network and the line construction. In this case, it may be necessary to change the memory information of the optical connector while keeping the optical connection state. When this happens
Conventionally, the stored information in the memory has been changed by replacing the chip resistor mounted on the memory substrate with one having a different resistance value on site. Therefore, the change of the stored information depends on the soldering work, which causes a problem of poor work efficiency. In addition, the parts such as chip resistors attached to the memory board are extremely small, and it requires a considerable amount of skill to perform soldering of these by hand, and sufficient reliability can be obtained without qualified technology. However, there is a problem in that it is very difficult to perform the work of changing the resistance without adversely affecting the optical connection state.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and it is easy to change the contents of memory at the site without affecting the optical connection state and has high reliability. It is intended to provide a memory module for use.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a memory module mounted on an optical connector at an end of an optical cable for storing data unique to the optical cable, the memory module comprising: A storage unit for storing the data, a memory substrate having a lead terminal for connecting the storage unit to the outside, and a memory container fixed on the housing of the optical connector and storing the memory substrate, The memory container has a notch formed on one side surface, and has a box-shaped storage part capable of storing the memory substrate with at least some clearance in the insertion direction of the lead terminals, and a storage part on the storage part. It is configured with a lid part to be fitted.

[0011]

According to the above structure, the memory substrate can be stored in the storage portion of the memory container with at least some clearance with respect to the insertion direction of the lead terminals. Even when the lead terminal is inserted into and removed from the printed board, the side edge of the memory board does not come into contact with the inner wall of the housing, and the influence on the optical connection end is reduced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an optical connector memory module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a memory board for storing unique data such as identification information of an optical fiber or an optical cable, on which a diode D and chip resistors R1 and R2 are mounted. This memory board 1
All the components mounted in are factory mounted, and the mounting surfaces of the components are all protectively coated with epoxy, silicon, or the like. Reference numeral 2 is a memory container that houses the memory substrate 1.
Reference numerals a and 2b respectively denote a lid portion of the memory container 2 and a hollow box-shaped storage portion into which the lid portion is fitted. Inside the lid portion 2a, a pair of convex claws 11n and 12n are provided, while on the other hand, the connection side of the storage portion 2b (the protruding side of the lead terminal).
On one side surface, a pair of notches 11s and 12s having a complementary shape with the claws 11n and 12n are formed from the upper edge portion. Then, the claws 11n and 12n and the notches 11s and 12s
By combining the above, the fitting state of the storage portion 2b and the lid portion 2a is secured.

The cutouts 11s and 12s are provided with claws 11n,
It is formed to be slightly longer than 12n, and the lead terminals 11e, 1 of the memory board 1 are assembled when the memory module is assembled.
2e passes through the windows between the tips of the claws 11n and 12n and the notches 11s and 12s, respectively. Next, at the time of connecting the optical connector, the memory substrate 1 is housed in the memory container 2b with a certain clearance so that the memory substrate can be replaced without adversely affecting the optical connection state. ing. That is, in the case of the SC connector shown in FIG. 5, since the connection direction of the optical connector (direction of the optical fiber) and the connection direction of the electrical connector (insertion direction of the lead terminal) are the same, when the substrate is replaced, In order to prevent the optical connection state from being delicately affected by the connection vibration or the like, the memory substrate 1 can move at least in the insertion direction of the lead terminals without hitting the inner wall of the storage portion 2b. Clearance is required.

Further, although not shown, in the other types of optical / electrical connectors in which the connection directions of the electric connector and the optical connector are different, the above-mentioned clearance is provided in order to avoid the influence on the optical connection end as much as possible. Needed. Furthermore,
If this clearance is provided not only in one direction but over the entire circumference of the memory substrate, a more stable replacement operation of the memory substrate becomes possible.

With such a configuration, the site worker separates the lid portion 2a and the storage portion 2b, which form the memory container 2, from each other when changing the connection relationship between the optical connector and the optical cable. Stored memory board 1
Can be freely and easily exchanged by exchanging with another memory board having different stored information prepared in advance in the factory. In addition, since the memory board 1 is housed and arranged inside the memory container 2 with some clearance, when the connector is connected, the system-side printed circuit board or the like is removed from the memory board and replaced with another memory board. However, the optical connection state is not adversely affected.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, the storage means for storing the data peculiar to the optical cable, which is mounted on the optical connector at the end of the optical cable, and the lead terminal for connecting the storage means to the outside are provided. A memory module comprising a memory board having the same and a memory container fixed on the housing of the optical connector for accommodating the memory board, the memory container having a cutout formed on one side surface and at least a lead terminal. The optical connection consists of a hollow box-shaped storage part that can store the memory substrate with some clearance in the insertion direction and a lid part that is fitted into this storage part. It is possible to easily and freely replace the memory substrate housed inside the memory container with another memory substrate having different stored information while maintaining the state. Therefore, it is possible to replace the memory without adversely affecting the optical communication in the field work such as line construction, and the work efficiency in the field is significantly improved as compared with the conventional one, and the reliability of the optical communication line is improved. The effect of increasing is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an optical connector memory module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a printed circuit board to which an optical connector is connected and its peripheral system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of an optical connector.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a mounting surface of a memory board mounted on the optical connector.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a cross section of an SC connector having a memory module mounted therein.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a printed circuit board on the system side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Memory Board 2 Memory Container 2a Lid 2b Storage 11e, 12e Lead Terminal 11n, 12n Claw 11s, 12s Notch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location H04B 10/12 (72) Inventor Fumio Otsuki 1-6 Uchiyukicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph Phone Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory module mounted on an optical connector at an end of an optical cable for storing data unique to the optical cable, wherein the memory module has storage means for storing the data, and the storage means is externally connected. And a memory container fixed on the housing of the optical connector and housing the memory substrate. On the other hand, the memory container has a notch formed on one side surface. At the same time, the memory substrate is composed of a box-shaped storage part capable of storing at least a clearance in the insertion direction of the lead terminal and a lid part fitted on the storage part. A memory module for an optical connector, which is characterized in that