JPH09275377A - Receptacle type optical coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain sure optical coupling by providing a coupler capable of a multi-core configuration to a single core receptacle optical coupler, providing a function to lock the coupler, and providing the receptacle optical coupler whose multi-core coupler is configured with a dovetail groove joint. SOLUTION: In the assembling of the receptacle optical coupler 1, an optical axis of an optical fiber 10 in a ferule 9 is aligned via a lens 7 with respect to an LD element 3 and respective metal contact parts a spot-welded by YAG laser welding or the like. After the assembled components are inserted to a sleeve 12, the contact parts a fitted to a main body 13a and fixed by welding or the like to assemble a transmitter side optical coupler 1a. This is applied similarly to a receiver side optical coupler 1b with a PD element 14. Then the optical couplers 1a, 1b are arranged closely side by side and a joint 32 is fitted to dovetail grooves 31 opposite to each other on both side faces. The couplers 1a, 1b are jointed by the coupling of the joint 32 to form the receptacle optical coupler 1 incorporating the transmitter and the receiver. Thus, sure optical coupling is conducted in the inside of the receptacle 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receptacle type optical coupler used for optical communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, receptacle type optical couplers used for this type of optical communication are mainly classified into a single-core type and a two-core type. The reason why it is divided into the single-core type and the double-core type is that an optical transmission module including an electric circuit separates transmission and reception from each other, and a reception separation type module and a transmission and reception integrated module into which transmission and reception are integrated. This is because they are divided. Also,
The necessity of the two-core type is because the mounting method to the optical transmission module is easy to simplify as compared with the single-core type two-unit, and the size and the work man-hour can be expected to be reduced.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional single-core type receptacle optical coupler, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the structure of a conventional two-core type receptacle optical coupler.
In FIG. 8, 2 is a receptacle. 3 is an LD element, 4 is a header (LD header), 5 is an electrode, and 6 is a cap. Reference numeral 7 is a lens, 8 is a lens holder, 9 is a ferrule holding an optical fiber 10, 11 is a flange, 12 is a sleeve, and 13 is a housing. The housing 13 is composed of a main body 13a and a cover 13b.

Reference numeral 20 is an optical connector plug. 21 is a plug housing, 22 is a ferrule, 23 is an optical fiber, 24 is a flange, 25 is a spring, and 26 is an optical fiber for transmission. The optical connector plug 20 is inserted from the housing 13 side as shown by the arrow and is coupled to the receptacle 2. Although not shown, on the receiving side of the single-core-type receptacle type optical coupler, the PD element (14) is mounted on the header (PD header) at the same position instead of the LD element 3 of FIG. The optical connector plug 20 having the same structure is also coupled to the receptacle 2 on the receiving side, and is connected to an external transmission line by an optical fiber 26. In this way, two single-core type optical couplers connected by the optical fiber 26 are reversely combined in a non-connected manner to form a transmission / reception separated type.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, a two-core type receptacle type optical coupler having a transmission and reception integrated structure is formed in a structure in which the above-mentioned transmission side and reception side are integrated in the same housing 13. ing. The internal structure of the header 4, the cap 6 and the like is almost the same as that of FIG. 8, and the upper half is a transmitting section provided with the LD element 3 and the lower half is a receiving section in which the PD element 14 is arranged. Then, a pair of receptacle type optical couplers having transmitting and receiving portions arranged in opposite directions are connected by two optical fibers 26 for transmission.

[0006]

The conventional receptacle type optical coupler is divided into two types, a single-core type and a two-core type, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, which hinders the implementation of standardization. However, it was difficult to achieve low prices. Further, even if one of the transmitting side and the receiving side of the two-core type is out of order, the whole has to be replaced, and there is a problem that it is easily wasted.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the conventional receptacle type optical coupler.
It is an object of the present invention to realize a receptacle type optical coupler in which standardization is easy and efficient, and a small number of models can be timely configured with a multi-core type corresponding to a desired number of cores.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a receptacle type optical coupler used for optical communication, in which a single-core type receptacle type optical coupler is provided with a connecting means capable of increasing the number of cores. Is configured. Also,
This is a structure of a receptacle type optical coupler having a lock function for locking the connecting means. Furthermore, a receptacle type optical coupler in which the connecting means is a dovetail joint is configured.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are explanatory views showing the configuration of Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and exemplify a two-core type receptacle optical coupler in which transmission and reception are integrated. Most of the first embodiment of the present invention is similar in configuration to the conventional device, and the corresponding members are designated by the same reference numerals, and although they partially overlap, they will be described in some detail.

Mainly in FIG. 3 of FIGS. 1 to 5, 1
Is a receptacle type optical coupler, and 2 is a receptacle of the receptacle type optical coupler 1. Receptacle type optical coupler 1
Are made in a symmetrical structure consisting of upper and lower optical couplers 1a and 1b. Reference numeral 3 is a semiconductor light emitting element (LD element) such as a laser diode, 4 is a header provided with a plurality of electrodes 5, and 6 is a cap. A cap 6 provided with a light transmission window is attached to the header 4 by resistance welding or the like, and the LD element 3 mounted on the internal mounting surface is sealed in an inert gas atmosphere. Reference numeral 7 is a lens, and 8 is a lens holder. The lens 7 is held by the lens holder 8 and collects the LD light emitted from the LD element 3.

Reference numeral 9 is a short ferrule, 10 is an optical fiber, 11 is a flange made of a weldable metal disk, 12
Is a sleeve, and 13 is a housing. An optical fiber 10 is held inside the ferrule 9 with an adhesive or the like, and the input and output ends are end-face treated by mirror polishing to enhance the light transmission characteristics. One end of the ferrule 9 is press-fitted into the flange 11, and the sleeve 12 is for aligning and aligning the optical fiber 10 and the optical fiber 23 (FIG. 8) on the side of the two-dot chain line optical connector plug.

The housing 13 is composed of a metal housing body 13a and a cover 13b formed of resin and having a stopper function. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the lower optical coupler 1b side, in which all the reference numerals are omitted, is also configured by the above-described members such as the header 4 and the cap 6. Reference numeral 14 denotes a semiconductor light receiving element (PD element) such as a photodiode arranged in the optical coupler 1b. PD
As shown in the figure, the element 14 is mounted on the header 4 on the receiving side similarly to the LD element 3 described above.

Reference numeral 30 is a joint mechanism. The joint mechanism 30 is
It is composed of a dovetail groove 31 and a joint 32 fitted in a wedge shape. The dovetail grooves 31 are formed on both sides of the cover 13b,
The joint 32 is fitted in the dovetail grooves 31 facing each other, and the optical coupler 1a on the transmitting side and the optical coupler 1b on the receiving side are connected in parallel. An optical connector plug 20 shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1 is coupled to each of the coupled optical couplers 1a and 1b.

The assembling operation of the optical coupler of the first embodiment having such a configuration will be described below. Receptacle type optical coupler 1
In assembling, the optical axis of the optical fiber 10 in the ferrule 9 is adjusted with respect to the LD element 3 via the lens 7. After the adjustment, the respective metal contact portions are spot-welded by YAG laser welding or the like to join them in the state shown in FIG. The PD element 14 is also coupled by the same operation. After inserting the parts assembled in the state of FIG. 6 into the sleeve 12, the housing 13
The optical coupler 1a on the transmission side is assembled by fitting it to the main body 13a and fixing the contact portion by welding or the like. The optical coupler 1b on the receiving side in which the PD element 14 is arranged is also assembled by the same operation.

After that, the optical coupler 1a assembled to each other
And 1b are arranged close to each other. The joint 32 is fitted into the dovetail grooves 31 facing each other on both sides. The fitting of the joint 32 connects the optical coupler 1a and the optical coupler 1b to each other, and the receptacle-type optical coupler 1 in which the transmission and the reception are integrated is integrated. The optical connector plug 20 of FIG. 8 is coupled to the assembled receptacle type optical coupler 1 as indicated by the chain double-dashed line of FIG. In the coupled state of the optical connector plug 20, the flexible projecting piece 15 of the resin cover 13b falls into the constricted portion 27 of the optical connector plug 20 to lock the optical connector plug 20.

In this way, reliable optical coupling is performed within the receptacle 2 of the receptacle type optical coupler 1 within the optical signal transmission path. Then, a pair of two-core-type receptacle type optical couplers 1 in which the transmitting and receiving portions are arranged in reverse are connected by two optical fibers 26 for transmission, and an optical coupler for transmitting and receiving is formed to transmit. , Optical signals are transmitted and received during reception. As described above, the joint fitted into the dovetail groove 31 of the joint mechanism 30 of the present invention is extremely convenient because the two-core receptacle type optical coupler 1 can be configured arbitrarily and at any time.

Embodiment 2 The configuration of Embodiment 2 of the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, 33 is a dovetail-shaped protrusion formed on the cover 13b. The dovetail-shaped protrusions 33 are formed in a male-female relationship that can be fitted into the dovetail grooves 31 formed on the other side surface of the cover 13b. The other structure is similar to that of the first embodiment. The optical couplers 1a and 1b shown in FIG.
The ridge 33 is directly fitted and connected to. Embodiment 2
According to this, there is an advantage that the joint 32 of the first embodiment is omitted, the number of parts is reduced, and no inconvenience due to loss occurs.

In each of the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the joint mechanism having the dovetail groove has been described as an example, but the joint having the same shape as the circular or square holes provided in the alternately superposed portions. The present invention can be applied to the case of a connecting means in which a shaft is inserted. In this case, if a locking pin is provided on the joint shaft to lock the connected state, it is possible to prevent separation between the transmitter and the receiver. Further, the stopper structure and shape of the housing are not necessarily limited to the embodiment.

[0019]

According to the present invention, in a receptacle type optical coupler used for optical communication, a receptacle type optical coupler is provided in which a single-core type receptacle type optical coupler is provided with connecting means capable of increasing the number of cores. Further, a receptacle type optical coupler having a lock function for locking the connecting means is constructed. Furthermore, a receptacle type optical coupler having a dovetail joint as the connecting means was constructed.

As a result, according to the present invention, the LD element and the PD
In principle, all other mechanical structural members can be used in common, only the elements are different. Therefore,
The standardization becomes easier as compared with the conventional receptacle type optical coupler. Further, for example, in the case of a two-core type where the transmitting side has a failure, the receiving side is not wasted because only the failed transmitting side needs to be replaced. In addition, 2
When there is a demand for a multi-core type that is more than the number of cores, a multi-core type receptacle type optical coupler can be quickly and easily constructed according to the demand by using the joint mechanism.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a receptacle type optical coupler in which standardization can be easily performed without waste and a multi-core type can be configured at a proper time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a right side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional single-core type receptacle-type optical coupler.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view showing a configuration of a conventional two-core type receptacle type optical coupler.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Receptacle Type Optical Coupler, 1a Optical Coupler, 1b Optical Coupler, 2 Receptacle, 3 Light Emitting Element (LD Element), 4 Header, 5 Electrodes, 6 Cap, 7 Lens, 8 Lens Holder, 9 Ferrule, 10 Optical Fiber , 11 flange, 12 sleeve, 13 housing, 13a main body, 13b cover, 14 light receiving element (PD element), 15 protruding piece, 20 optical connector plug, 21 plug housing, 22 ferrule, 23 optical fiber, 24 flange, 25 spring, 26 optical fiber (for transmission), 27 constricted portion, 30 joint mechanism (coupling means), 31 dovetail groove, 32 joint, 33 ridge.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A receptacle-type optical coupler used for optical communication, wherein a single-core type receptacle-type optical coupler is provided with a connecting means capable of increasing the number of cores. 2. The receptacle type optical coupler according to claim 1, further comprising a lock function for locking the connecting means. 3. The receptacle-type optical coupler according to claim 1, wherein the connecting means is a dovetail joint.