JPH10123368A - Multi-fiber optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the multi-fiber optical connector convenient to carry, to shorten the assembling time of a ferrule and an optical fiber, and to improve the operation efficiency by handling an assembly, which has the ferrule and a clamp member fixed with a spring, as one unit. SOLUTION: A clamp window 50 is formed by boring a fiber hole 46 and part of the ceiling of a fiber chamber 48, and 56A of a clamp member 56 for an optical fiber and 56B for a clad part are fitted in a ferrule main body 42 having the fiber hole 46 left only at the tip part and pressed against the ferrule main body 42 with a spring 58. The clamp member 56 is forcibly lifted by putting a tool in the cut 564, and then put back after a ribbon of coated optical fibers is inserted. Then the optical fibers never float and the tip is held accurately in the fiber hole at its position, so there is no increase in connection loss.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-core optical connector, and more particularly, to a simple assembly type multi-core optical connector described below.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the methods for connecting a multi-core optical fiber is a resin-molded F12 multi-core optical connector (JIS9).
5981), which has been put to practical use. [Conventional F12-type connector] Since it is well known, it will not be described in detail, but in FIGS. 23 is a guide groove (leads the optical fiber to the fiber hole 22) 24 is a fiber chamber, which passes through a window 26. 28 is a guide pin hole (a guide pin for positioning is inserted).

[0003] As shown in FIG. 4 (c), the tape core 10 is fed into the ferrule 20, the optical fiber 12 is inserted into the fiber hole 22, and an adhesive is injected into the fiber chamber 24 from the window 26. Fix it. Then, the connection end face is polished by a polishing machine.

[Non-polished connector] By the way, a non-polished assembly method for shortening the assembling time, which is one of the problems of the above-mentioned optical connector, that is, an optical fiber is cut and light is applied to the end surface of the ferrule whose end is polished. An assembly method has been proposed in which an optical fiber is inserted and fixed at a position where the fiber end faces are aligned, so that a polishing step including the optical fiber is not required.

[0005]

In order to assemble such a non-polishing type connector, first, an optical fiber is inserted into a fiber hole of a ferrule, and after confirming that the tip of the optical fiber has reached the ferrule end face, The clamp member was pushed in from the upper window to fix the ferrule and the optical fiber. Screws or springs were used as the fixing means, but these members were minute and easily lost, and were inconvenient to transport, and the work efficiency outside the factory was poor.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a part of a ceiling of a fiber hole 46 and a fiber chamber 48 is opened to form a clamp window 50. FIG. A ferrule main body 42 in which a fiber hole 46 is left only at the distal end, and a clamp member 56 insertable into the clamp window 50, and the distal end of the tape core 10 inserted into the ferrule main body. Is inserted into the fiber hole 46, and the other portions are pressed by the clamp member 56, and the clamp member 56 is always pressed against the ferrule body 42 by a cantilever spring 58. It is characterized by.

In the case of such a structure, the clamp member 56 is lifted by an appropriate method, the tape core 10 is inserted from the rear of the ferrule main body 42, and the tip is aligned with the front surface of the ferrule main body 42. By returning the clamp member 56, the optical fiber 12
Is inserted into the fiber hole 46, and the other portions can be assembled by being held down by the clamp member 56.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the optical fiber portion 12 and the covering portion 14 of the tape core 10 are connected to the optical fiber 56A of the clamp member 56.
And the covering portion 56B are individually pressed, and the optical fiber 56A and the covering portion 56B of the clamp member are individually and constantly pressed against the ferrule main body 42 by the spring 58. Features.

By doing so, the difference in thickness between the optical fiber 12 and the covering portion 14 in the ferrule main body 42 can be coped with, and the clamping of the tape core wire 10 becomes more reliable.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a notch 564 into which a tool can be inserted is provided on a side surface of the optical connector. The tool 60 is inserted into the notch 564. By operating the clamp member 56, the clamp member 56 can be lifted against the force of the spring 58.

In this manner, the tape core 10 can be easily inserted into the ferrule main body 42.

[0012]

FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional side view of a ferrule main body 42. FIG. The ferrule main body 42 and the spring 58 shown in (a) show a state looking down from diagonally above, but only the clamp member 56 shows a state looking up from diagonally below. The ferrule 40 includes a ferrule main body 42 and a clamp member 56. 44 is a guide pin hole for positioning, 46 is a fiber hole, and 48 is a fiber chamber.
The clamp window 50 is formed by removing the fiber hole 46 and a part of the ceiling of the fiber chamber 48. The fiber hole 46 remains only at the tip of the ferrule main body 42. The fiber hole 46 where the ceiling is removed remains as the semi-circular groove 52. The exposed semi-circular groove 52 is a guide groove that is somewhat wider than the diameter of the bare optical fiber for guiding the optical fiber to the distal end, and the portion where the guide groove is formed corresponds to the thickness of the coating. A step 420 having a height is formed. Reference numeral 54 denotes a rear opening.

The clamp member 56 is divided into two parts, an optical fiber 56A and a coating part 56B. These have an insertion portion 560 and a collar 562 that fit into the clamp window 50.
A notch 564 is formed on the lower surface of the collar 562, and a groove 566 is formed on the upper surface.

A spring 58 is a cantilever type spring having a U-shaped or U-shaped cross section, for example.
Are divided into 58A for the optical fiber and 58B for the covering portion by slits 584 and 586, and the tip 580 is curved inward and has a semi-circular shape (the slit may be provided on only one side).

[Assembly] The clamp member 56 is fitted into the clamp window 50 of the ferrule main body 42 and pressed by a spring 58 to form a connector. The distal end 580 of the spring 58 that temporarily acts to fit the groove 566 of the clamp member 56 to prevent the spring 58 from coming off. This state is shown in FIG.
Shown in (A) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a C section of (b), and (d) is a D section of (a).

[How to Use] As shown in FIG. 3A, a tool 60 (a member having a wedge-shaped tip) is inserted into a notch 564 by an arrow A.
Insert in the direction. When the tool 60 is inserted, the clamp member 56 is lifted in the direction of arrow B against the force of the spring 58 by the thickness of the tool, and a gap is formed between the clamp member and the ferrule main body. Then, the tape core wire 10 whose end coating has been removed to become a bare optical fiber is inserted through the rear opening 54, and the optical fiber 12 is inserted into the fiber hole 46.
The tip of the optical fiber 12 is aligned with the front surface of the ferrule main body 42, and the tool 60 is removed (FIG. 2B). Then, the force of the spring 58 causes the optical fiber 5
6A clamps the optical fiber 12, and the covering portion 56B clamps the covering portion 14 (FIG. 3 (c)).

Here, the optical fiber 12 is, for example, a bare optical fiber, and the covering portion 14 is, for example, a tape covering portion of a tape core. The coating is removed from the end of the tape coating to obtain a bare optical fiber.

Further, the optical fiber portion (bare optical fiber in this embodiment) and the covering portion (tape portion in this embodiment) of the tape core are individually separated by the optical fiber 58A and the covering portion 58B of the clamp member. The meaning of being held down is
The places where the clamping pressures of these portions 58A and 58B are applied are not limited to the optical fiber portion and the covering portion, but include a case where some clamping pressure is applied to the adjacent portions.

Furthermore, the position of the slit 584 and the width of each part 58A, 58B are not adjusted to the center of the step 420 of the ferrule main body 42 as shown in FIG. Each part 58A, 58
This means that the width of any part of B extends beyond the step position and straddles the step. That is, each of the portions 58A and 58B mainly clamps the optical fiber portion and the coating portion.

The notch 564 is provided in the clamp member 56.
It may be provided on the ferrule main body 42 side instead of the side.

[0021]

The assembly in which the ferrule and the clamp member are fixed by a spring can be handled as one unit.
It is convenient for transportation, shortens the assembly time of ferrule and optical fiber, and enhances work efficiency. In addition, the clamping member can be divided into a tape covering portion and a bare portion to apply a pressing force, so that the positioning holding force between the optical fiber and the ferrule is improved, and the positioning accuracy is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view of an example of a multi-core optical connector of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional side view of a ferrule main body 42.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an assembled state of an example of the multi-core optical connector of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a method of using an example of the multi-core optical connector of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional F12 type connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Tape core wire 12 Optical fiber 14 Coated part 16 Guide pin 20 Ferrule 22 Fiber hole 23 Guide groove 24 Fiber chamber 26 Window 28 Guide pin hole 30 Base 32, 34 V groove 36 Clamp member 38 Holding frame 40 Ferrule 42 Ferrule main body 44 Guide Pin hole 46 Fiber hole 48 Fiber chamber 50 Clamp window 52 Semi-circular groove 54 Rear opening 56 Clamp member 56A For optical fiber 56B For covering part 560 Insertion part 562 Collar 564 Notch 566 Groove 58 Spring 58A For optical fiber 58B For covering part 580 Tip 60 Tool

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A ferrule main body in which a part of a ceiling is opened to form a clamp window and a fiber hole is left only at a tip portion, and a clamp member insertable into the clamp window. Only the tip of the tape core wire inserted into the ferrule body is inserted into the fiber hole, and the other portion is configured to be pressed by the clamp member, and the clamp member is a cantilevered spring. A multi-core optical connector characterized by being pressed against a ferrule body. 2. An optical fiber portion and a coating portion of a tape ribbon are individually pressed by an optical fiber portion and a coating portion of a clamp member, and the optical fiber portion and the coating portion of the clamp member are covered by an optical fiber portion. 2. The multi-fiber optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the partial connector is individually pressed against the ferrule body by a spring. 3. A notch into which a tool can be inserted is provided on a side surface of the optical connector, and the clamp member can be lifted against a force of a spring by inserting and operating the tool in the notch. Characterized by the fact that
3. The multi-core optical connector according to claim 1 or 2.