JPH07174938A - Array type optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a connector in which the number of ferrules to be built into a ferrule housing can be decided at need and which can simultaneous con nect many optical fibers by providing this connector with the stepped ferrules, two pieces of guide pins and an adapter and connecting a pair of the ferrules with this adapter. CONSTITUTION:The guide pins 5 in a ferrule housing and a guide pin holding part 9A are formed in a pair on the right and left and are so formed as to be aligned on a straight line. These guide pins are fixed by means, such as adhering or force-fitting, in the guide pin holding part 9A. The thickness of the guide pin holding part 9A of the adapter 6 is formed slightly smaller than twice the size of the level difference in the ferrules 2. The structure that the ferrules 2 butting against each other come into contact with each other without fail, is, therefore, obtd., even if a pair of the ferrules 2 are connected by using the adapter 6 or even if the ferrules are connected by using the ferrule housing. As a result, the physical contact connection is realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector structure, and more particularly to an array type optical connector for collectively connecting multi-core optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional array type optical connector is MT (M
mechanically Transferable)
Optical connector and MPO (Mechanically Tr
It has been developed to collectively connect tape cores formed by tape-forming optical fibers of 2 cores, 4 cores, 8 cores, etc., such as an unfoldable push on optical connector. As an example of the structure of a conventional array type optical connector, 19
Paper C-presented at the 1992 Autumn Meeting of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers
294 "Development of 2MPO connector" and that described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-162304 "Connecting device for optical fiber cable" will be described.

FIG. 7 shows an MPO optical connector. Generally, when connecting a multi-core optical fiber with a conventional array type optical connector, an optical connector having the same number of optical fiber holes as the number of cores of the optical fiber is selected and used. Optical connector plug 3 in the MPO optical connector shown in FIG.
1, the multi-core MT optical connector 32 has a housing 33 attached thereto and is coupled via an adapter 35.
Further, since the guide pin 34 is fixed to one of the pair of optical connector plugs 31, the optical connector is classified into a male / female type.

The optical connector according to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-162304 shown in FIG. 8 has a structure in which a plurality of conventional MT optical connectors are arranged and collectively connected. Here, since the guide pin 41 is fixed to one of the pair of optical connector plugs 42, the optical connectors are classified into male and female types.

On the other hand, in the MT optical connector, as shown in FIG. 6, the MT connected by the clamp spring 22 is used.
The guide pin 23 of the optical connector is not fixed to the ferrule 21 of each optical connector.
It was a structure that can be pulled out from the.

[0006]

There are the following problems in using the above-mentioned conventional array type optical connector.

The MPO optical connector and the MT optical connector shown in FIG. 7 have various ferrules having different numbers of cores, such as 2 cores, 4 cores and 8 cores, depending on the number of cores of the optical fiber to be connected. Since it was used, it was necessary to manufacture several types of ferrules. Further, in the case of the MPO optical connector of FIG. 7 and the optical connector of FIG. 8, the male / female type is distinguished by the presence / absence of the guide pin, so that there is a drawback that males or females cannot be connected. Further, in the case of the optical connector of FIG. 8, since it is a screw fastening type, there is a drawback that plug-in connection cannot be made in a backboard such as a transmission device. Further, in the MT optical connector of FIG. 6, the guide pin comes off the ferrule of the optical connector,
There was a fear that it would disappear.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An array type optical connector of the present invention has a plurality of optical fibers which have a rectangular cross section and are arranged side by side in an array shape in the longitudinal direction thereof, and which are provided at both outer ends of the arranged optical fibers. It has two guide holes facing each other, and a first end face from which one end of each of the plurality of optical fibers is exposed protrudes from the second end face having the guide hole by a step of a certain size. A stepped ferrule; two guide pins having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the guide hole and tapered at both ends; and two holding pins having a wall thickness smaller than twice the step. An adapter is provided, in which the guide pins are centrally distributed and inserted and held at an interval equal to the interval between the two guide holes; and a pair of the ferrules is connected via the adapter.

Alternatively, the array type optical connector of the present invention comprises:
The plurality of optical fibers having a rectangular cross section and having a plurality of optical fibers arranged in an array in the longitudinal direction thereof are built in, and having two guide holes facing the outer ends of the optical fibers arranged in parallel. A stepped ferrule in which a first end face of which one end is exposed protrudes from the second end face having the guide hole by a step of a certain size; and a little from the outer circumference of the first end face of the ferrule. Rectangular holes for inserting a plurality of ferrules that are large and that are smaller than the maximum outer circumference of the rectangular shape of the ferrule including the second end surface,
A plurality of pairs of guide pin holding portions having a thickness smaller than the step of the ferrule on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the plurality of rectangular holes, and an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the guide hole. And both ends are tapered, and the pair of guide pins held by the guide pin holding portion and the ferrule are rectangular so that the distance between them is equal to the distance between the two guide holes of the ferrule. A first ferrule housing including a spring holding mechanism having a plurality of springs that apply a constant pressing force to the ferrule when inserted from the rear of the hole. A first optical connector plug in which at least one ferrule corresponding to a plurality of the rectangular holes is incorporated in one ferrule housing; and the first ferrule of the ferrule. A plurality of rectangular holes for ferrule insertion, which are slightly larger than the outer periphery of the surface and smaller than the maximum outer periphery of the rectangular shape of the ferrule including the second end face, and both of the plurality of rectangular holes in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of pairs of guide pin holding portions on the side and having a wall thickness smaller than the step of the ferrule, and a plurality of guide pin holding portions formed in the guide pin holding portions with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the guide pin and between them. A plurality of pairs of guide pin passage holes provided such that the distance between them is equal to the distance between the two guide holes of the ferrule, and when the ferrule is inserted from the rear portion of the rectangular hole, the ferrule moves forward with respect to the ferrule. A second ferrule housing composed of a spring holding mechanism having a plurality of springs that apply a constant pressing force toward
A second optical connector plug having at least one ferrule corresponding to the rectangular holes in the second ferrule housing; the first optical connector plug and the second optical connector plug; It is configured to connect with an optical connector plug.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a ferrule according to the present invention. (A) is a front view, (b) is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which the ferrule is connected by an adapter. FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, showing an example when the ferrules are connected by a ferrule housing, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the connection of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 includes a partial cross section of the case where the array type optical connector of the present invention is incorporated as a plug-in optical connector. A front view and (b) are side views.

The ferrule 2 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of optical fibers 1 which are rectangular in cross section and arranged in an array in the longitudinal direction so as to be arranged in a line near the center. On both outer sides of the row of optical fiber 1 of
Two guide pin holes 4 are provided, one for each. In order to connect such ferrules 2 to each other, the adapter 6 shown in FIG. 2 as the first embodiment is used, and the ferrule housings 7A and 7B shown in FIG. 3 as the second embodiment are used. . Also,
The tip of the ferrule 2 has a certain step 3 for escaping the guide pin holding portions 9A and 9B used for the adapter 6 and the ferrule housings 7A and 7B, and the surface on which one end of the optical fiber 1 is exposed is closer to the surface. It projects more than the surface with the guide pin hole 4.

Guide pin holding portion 9 in the first embodiment
In the guide pin holding portion 9B of A and the second embodiment, guide pins 5 are provided in left and right positions at positions facing the guide pin holes 4 of the ferrule 2, respectively. It is slightly thinner than the inner diameter of and has both ends tapered. The guide pins 5 in the ferrule housing 7A and the guide pin holding portion 9A are integrally formed on the left and right sides and are formed in a straight line, and are fixed in the guide pin holding portions 9A and 9B by means such as adhesion and press fitting. Has become.

The thickness of the guide pin holding portion 9A of the adapter 6 is slightly smaller than twice the size of the step 3 in the ferrule 2. Furthermore, the thickness of the guide pin holding portion 9B of the ferrule housings 7A and 7B is equal to the step 3
It is constructed slightly smaller than the size of. Therefore, 1
Even when the pair of ferrules 2 are connected to each other by using the adapter 6, or even when the ferrule housings 7A and 7B are connected to each other, the ferrules 2 facing each other are always in contact with each other. This allows the PC
(Physical contact) connection is realized.

In the ferrule housings 7A and 7B of the array type optical connector of the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of rectangular holes 10 for accommodating a plurality of ferrules 2 and corresponding thereto. A plurality of pairs of guide pins 5 or a plurality of pairs of guide pin passage holes 11 are provided, and the ferrule 2 can be attached or detached as necessary. Each ferrule 2
For example, if you have made a 4-fiber connector as shown in Fig. 1, and you need an 8-fiber optical connector, use two 4-fiber ferrules, and if you need a 10-fiber optical connector. Is a ferrule 2 built in the ferrule housings 7A and 7B, such as using three ferrules for four cores.
By changing the number of, you can use them anytime and in any way. Furthermore, the ferrule housing 7
In order to stably hold the ferrule 2 in the A and 7B and push the ferrule 2 forward with a constant pressing force, as shown in FIG. 3, the spring 8 is attached to the spring holding mechanism 12 at the rear of the ferrule housings 7A and 7B. Is provided. Due to this pressing force, the tip of the ferrule 2 is configured to slightly project from the front surface of the ferrule housings 7A and 7B when the ferrule housings 7A and 7B are not connected to each other. Such ferrule housings 7A, 7B
The PC connection as described above can be realized by connecting the above.

In addition, the optical connector according to the above-mentioned embodiment has the ferrule housings 7A and 7A, 7A as shown in FIG.
Since B can be respectively incorporated as a plug-in type and can be used as the backboard side plug-in optical connector 13 and the panel side plug-in optical connector 14, a plug-in connection can be made between the backboard 16 and the rear part of the printed board 15. It is possible. Further, as described above, the ferrule 2 of this embodiment uses the adapter 6 with the guide pin 5 as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and can be connected independently without using the ferrule housing. Has become.

[0017]

As described above, according to the array type optical connector of the present invention, the following various effects can be obtained.

First, the number of ferrules to be incorporated in the ferrule housing can be determined as required,
There is an effect that a large number of optical fibers can be collectively connected. In addition, anyone can change the number of built-in ferrules at any time, making it easy to attach and detach. Secondly, since the number of cores of the ferrule can be made constant (for example, 4 cores, 8 cores, etc.), standardization of ferrule parts can be achieved. Third
In addition, since the ferrule is constantly pressed by the spring holding mechanism and the step is provided on the front surface of the ferrule, there is an effect that the PC can be stably connected when the ferrules are connected to each other. Fourthly, since the guide pin is fixed to the adapter or the ferrule housing, there is no fear that the guide pin will be lost, and the guide pin can be held accurately and inclination and rattling can be reduced. .
Fifthly, since the plug-in type optical connector can be incorporated and used as a plug-in type connector, there is an effect that a plug-in connection can be made between the back board and the rear part of the printed board.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view and FIG. 1B is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a ferrule according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of an array type optical connector of the present invention and showing an example when a ferrule is connected by an adapter.

3A and 3B show a second embodiment of an array type optical connector of the present invention, showing an example of connecting a ferrule with a ferrule housing, FIG. 3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a longitudinal sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a connection state of the second embodiment of the array type optical connector of the present invention.

5A and 5B show an example in which the array type optical connector of the present invention is incorporated as a plug-in optical connector, FIG. 5A is a plan view including a partial cross section, and FIG. 5B is a side view including a partial cross section.

6A shows a conventional example of an MT optical connector, FIG. 6A is a plan view including a partial cross-section, FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 6A, and FIG. It is a side view which shows the example when it hits.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional MPO optical connector.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view and FIG. 8B is a front view showing an example in which a plurality of conventional MT optical connectors are arranged.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Fiber 2 Ferrule 3 Step 4 Guide Pin Hole 5 Guide Pin 6 Adapter 7A Ferrule Housing 7B Ferrule Housing 8 Spring 9A Guide Pin Holding Part 9B Guide Pin Holding Part 10 Rectangular Hole 11 Guide Pin Passing Hole 12 Spring Holding Mechanism 13 Backboard Side plug-in optical connector 14 Panel side plug-in optical connector 15 Printed board 16 Backboard

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of optical fibers having a rectangular cross section and arranged in an array in a longitudinal direction thereof are built in, and two guide holes are provided at opposite ends of the optical fibers arranged in parallel to each other. A stepped ferrule in which a first end surface from which one end of each of the plurality of optical fibers is exposed protrudes from the second end surface having the guide hole by a step of a certain size; Two guide pins having a slightly smaller outer diameter and tapered at both ends, and two of the steps
A holding part having a thickness smaller than twice is provided with an adapter in which the two guide pins are centrally distributed and inserted and held at an interval equal to an interval between the two guide holes; and a pair of the ferrules via the adapter. Array type optical connector, which is characterized in that it can be connected. 2. A plurality of optical fibers having a rectangular cross section and arranged in an array in a longitudinal direction thereof are built in, and two guide holes are provided at opposite ends of the optical fibers arranged in parallel. A stepped ferrule in which a first end face from which one end of each of the plurality of optical fibers is exposed protrudes from the second end face having the guide hole by a step of a certain size; and the first ferrule of the ferrule. A plurality of rectangular holes for ferrule insertion, which are slightly larger than the outer circumference of the end surface and smaller than the maximum outer circumference of the rectangular shape of the ferrule including the second end surface, and both of the rectangular holes in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of pairs of guide pin holding portions on the side having a thickness smaller than the step of the ferrule, and an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the guide hole, and both tips are tapered. Between one another A plurality of pairs of guide pins held by the guide pin holding portion so that the distance is equal to the distance between the two guide holes of the ferrule, and the ferrule when the ferrule is inserted from the rear portion of the rectangular hole. A first ferrule housing composed of a spring holding mechanism having a plurality of springs that apply a constant pressing force toward the front is provided, and the plurality of rectangular holes are accommodated in the first ferrule housing. A first optical connector plug containing at least one ferrule therein; a maximum outer periphery of the rectangular shape of the ferrule which is slightly larger than the outer periphery of the first end face of the ferrule and includes the second end face. Rectangular holes for inserting a plurality of ferrules, which are formed in a smaller shape, and the ferrules on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular holes. A plurality of pairs of guide pin holding portions having a thickness smaller than the difference, and the guide pin holding portions are bored with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the guide pin, and the distance between them is two of the ferrules. A plurality of pairs of guide pin passage holes provided at equal intervals to the guide holes and a constant pressing force applied to the ferrule forward when the ferrule is inserted from the rear portion of the rectangular hole. A second ferrule housing composed of a spring holding mechanism having a plurality of springs, and at least one ferrule corresponding to the plurality of rectangular holes is built in the second ferrule housing. And a second optical connector plug, which is configured to connect the first optical connector plug and the second optical connector plug. Laser type optical connector.