JPH09197194A - Connector and method for discriminating connector function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector function discriminating method capable of discriminating various information such as the connecting direction of coated optical fiber and grading them. SOLUTION: In the discriminating method, a core (fa) is connected to a connector body 11, a protection member 30 is put on to cover the connection base part of the core (fa), or/and a protection cap 40 is put on the butting tip part 11b of the body 11, and the discrimination property such as a color, a code and a shape is applied to the protection member 30 and/or the protection cap 40. Thereby the information such as a function and a characteristic is immediately discriminated by the color, symbol or shape of the member 30 and/or the cap 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector and a connector function identifying method capable of identifying (identifying) various information such as a connecting direction of a core wire and classification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in order to connect an optical fiber tape having a large number of core wires using a connector, a multi-core optical connector (hereinafter referred to as MT connector) as shown in FIG. 8 is used. There is.

This MT connector is provided with a normally black connector body (ferrule) 1 made of a small resin molded product formed by transfer molding with epoxy resin or the like. Two fitting pin holes 2 and 2 into which the fitting pins 10 and 10 are inserted are formed, and an optical fiber core fa of the optical fiber tape F is provided between the fitting pin holes 2 and 2. ... (more specifically, the core wire small holes 3 into which the coating is removed, the core wire small holes 3 ... Are arranged, and the optical fiber tape F is connected to the rear end. In the part (flange) 1b,
A fitting hole 4 having an expanded diameter is opened in which a protection member 20 such as a rubber boot is inserted.

To connect the optical fiber tape F to the MT connector, as is apparent from FIG. 8, first, a protective member 20 such as a rubber boot is fitted in advance on the connection end side of the optical fiber tape F, and In the state, the connector body 1
The optical fiber cable F is inserted into the fitting hole 4 of the optical fiber cable F, and the optical fiber cable fa.
·········· to the small hole 3 for the core wire, and the protective members 20, 20 are connected to the optical fiber cables F, F and the fitting holes 4, 4.
Push into the gap of No. 4 to fill the gap. The end faces of the optical fiber core lines fa ... are made flush with the abutting tip 1a of the connector body 1 by polishing or the like. In order to connect the optical fiber cables F and F to which the MT connector is mounted, the abutting tip portions 1a and 1a of the two connector bodies 1 and 1 face each other, and the corresponding fitting pin holes 2 and While inserting the precision fitting pins 10 and 2 between the two and guiding them, they are butted and the connector bodies 1 and 1 are fixed to each other by a fixing means such as an appropriate clip fitting.

In the connection of the optical fiber cable F using such an MT connector, information such as various functions and characteristics such as the connecting direction of the core and the grade of the connector itself is discriminated (identified). There is a need. Therefore, conventionally, when identifying such connectors and cores,
The following methods were used. (1) A method of positively applying a marking (marking) indicating the function and characteristics of the connector or the core wire to a part of the connector body 1, for example, the upper surface side of the rear end portion. (2) A method in which a specific marking is made in the mold of the connector and the marking is transferred (transferred) to a specific portion of the connector body 1.

[0006]

However, the above (1)
In the marking method described above, since post-processing is required after the completion of the connector, extra man-hours are required, and workability is unavoidably deteriorated. On the other hand, in the transfer method using the marking (2), the manufacturing cost of the mold is increased by the amount of the formation of the marking, and at the same time, such a mold cannot be used for manufacturing other connectors. It was Further, even if any of the above methods is adopted, a connector that has been once marked or engraved has a problem that it is difficult to divert it to another, and it is not suitable for mass production.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and imparts distinctiveness to a protective member such as a rubber boot or a protective cap without any special marking or marking on the connector body. Accordingly, the present invention provides a connector and a method for identifying a connector function, which solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

[0008]

One of the aspects of the present invention is to provide a connector body to which a core wire is connected, a protective member coated on a connection base portion of the core wire, and / or a butt end portion of the connector body. The connector is characterized in that the connector comprises a protective cap which is covered with the protective member and / or the protective cap is provided with distinctiveness.

Another aspect of the present invention is to connect a core wire to the connector body, cover a connection member of the core wire with a protective member, and / or cover a butt end of the connector body with a protective cap. A connector function identification method is characterized in that the protection member and / or the protection cap are provided with distinctiveness.

[0010]

1 is a block diagram of a connector according to the present invention.
And one form for carrying out the connector function identification method. In the figure, 11 is a connector body (heller) which forms an MT connector having substantially the same structure as in FIG.
Reference numeral 11a is a butt end portion thereof, 11b is a rear end portion (collar portion), 12 and 12 are two fitting pin holes into which precision fitting pins are inserted, 13 ... The optical fiber cores fa of the optical fiber tape F are arranged in between.
The small hole 30 for the core wire into which the ... Is inserted is pre-fitted on the connection base side of the optical fiber tape F, and the connector body 1
1 is a protective member such as a rubber boot or a sponge boot that is pushed into the fitting hole of the rear end portion 11b of the connector, or a resin boot such as a highly elastic elastomer. The protective cap is made of a highly flexible vinyl chloride resin, rubber, or the like, which is covered through the fitting hole 41. The protective cap 40 is put on when not connected to the mating connector body.

According to the present invention, the connector body 11 includes
The protective member 30 and the protective cap 40 are provided with a specific color (white, red, blue, yellow, etc.) without any special marking or engraving to give distinctiveness. That is, several types of protective members 30 and protective caps 40 are prepared in advance in correspondence with specific colors and meanings such as specific functions and characteristics (eg, connecting direction of core wires and classification of connectors themselves).
Therefore, when the optical fiber tape F is attached to the connector main body 11, if the protective member 30 having a color corresponding to the function such as the connection direction of the core wire is used, the operator immediately sees this color by seeing this color. You can know. Further, the protective member 30 of a specific color is temporarily fixed to the connector body 11 at the time of shipment, or the butting tip 11a thereof is joined.
If a protective cap 40 of a specific color is put on the connector, the worker can immediately know the function of grading the connector itself by observing the color, such as the grading of the connector itself, similarly to the above. You can Further, in the case of the protective cap 40, the attached connector body 11 can be provided with another function before connecting to the mating connector body or before connecting to the mating connector body. In any case, by combining the protective cap 40 and the protective member 30, it becomes possible to display more information.

Further, the distinguishability of the protection member 30 is not limited to the above-mentioned color, and for example, as shown in FIG. It may be 31a. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a specific shape such as a recess 31b may be formed, or further, as shown in FIG.
It may be 1c. The same applies to the identification of the protective cap 40, and the color is not limited to the above-described color. For example, as shown in FIG.
The reference numeral 42a may be a mark or marking such as a star mark), or as shown in FIG.
2b or the like, or a texture color 42c made of a specific material, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, it is possible to appropriately combine the above-mentioned colors, signs, shapes, materials, etc., whereby more complicated functions and characteristics can be displayed.

In the above embodiment, the connector is
The case of the MT connector which is a multi-core optical connector has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a connector having another structure, a connector for one core, or a connector other than an optical fiber cable is also applicable. It can be applied. Therefore, the optical fiber tape F is also connected to the connected side.
The present invention is not limited to the above, but can be applied to a single-core optical fiber core wire or a core wire other than the optical fiber, for example, a metal core wire.
Further, in the present invention, the connector body 11 can also be provided with the distinguishability of the color, the code, the shape, the material, etc., like the protective member 30 and the protective cap 40. In this case, several types of connector main bodies 11 need to be prepared, which causes a slight cost increase, but it is possible to display more information by combining these three parts.

[0014]

According to the connector and the connector function identifying method of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) First, since no special marking or engraving is applied to the main body of the connector, connector main body parts of the same standard are mass-produced and diverted to connectors or cores having various functions and characteristics ( It can be done). Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of the connector body parts. Of course, unlike the conventional marking, a post-process is not necessary, and the problem such as the cost increase of the mold as in the case of engraving is completely solved. (2) In addition, protective members such as rubber boots and protective caps that give distinctiveness are low-cost parts with a simple structure from the beginning, and several types with different colors, signs, shapes, materials, etc. are prepared in advance. Even so, the cost does not increase so much, and it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of the entire connector by standardizing the connector main body parts which are the main parts. (3) Furthermore, by preparing in advance several kinds of different protective members such as rubber boots and protective caps having different colors, signs, shapes, materials, etc. It is possible to display information such as the functions and characteristics of the connector and the core wire. (4) In addition, these protective members and protective caps can be easily replaced before and after use, so that they can be easily replaced at the time of shipment, on-site use, or when changed during use. The functions and characteristics of the connector and the core wire can be changed as appropriate, which enables a wide range of applications.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a connector and a connector function identifying method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another example of the protection member used in the connector and the connector function identification method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing still another example of the protection member used in the connector and the connector function identification method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing still another example of the protection member used in the connector and the connector function identification method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of the protective cap used in the connector and the connector function identifying method according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing still another example of the protective cap used in the connector and the connector function identifying method according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing still another example of the protective cap used in the connector and the connector function identifying method according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional connector and a connecting method thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Connector Main Body 11a Butt Front End 11b Rear End 12 Fitting Pin Hole 13 Core Wire Small Hole 30 Protective Member 40 Protection Cap F Optical Fiber Tape fa Core Wire (Optical Fiber Core Wire)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector main body to which a core wire is connected, a protective member covering a connection base portion of the core wire, and / or a protection cap put on a butting end portion of the connector main body. A connector characterized in that a member or / and a protective cap are provided with distinctiveness. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the protection member or the protection cap is identified by a color, a code, a shape, a material, or a combination thereof. 3. A core wire is connected to the connector body, and
A connector function, characterized in that a connection member of the core wire is covered with a protective member, and / or a butt end of the connector body is covered with a protective cap, while the protective member and / or the protective cap is provided with distinctiveness. Identification method.