JPH11305075A - Optical receptacle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform miniaturization and weight reduction, to lower the price and to improve assemblabling properties by respectively providing a second locking pawl on the tip part of a locking member and an opening part for allowing the outward elastic deformation of the second locking pawl on a housing. SOLUTION: By fitting a locking member 13 to a housing 12, the housing 12 and the locking member 13 are integrally assembled by a locking flange and a first locking pawl 19. The need for separate connection components such as screws or the like as in the connectional cases is eliminated, the number of components is reduced, and the assemblebling properties are improved. Also, a pair of second locking pawls 20 are elastically deformed outward and locked to the locking recessed part 57a of a plug frame 57. The outward elastic deformation of the second locking pawls 20 is allowed by the opening part 16 of the housing 12. Thus, the clearance in a diameter direction of the inner surface of the housing 12 and the outer surface of the second locking pawls 20 can be almost eliminated, a device is miniaturized and, made light in weight, and the price is lowered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical receptacle for coupling with an optical connector plug.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an optical connector used for connection between optical fibers, for example, there is an optical connector generally called an SC type optical connector, which is widely used in optical transmission systems and the like. The SC type optical connector includes an optical receptacle as a component for detachably connecting an optical element and an optical fiber at an input portion or an output portion of an optical signal.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional optical receptacle, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in a conventional optical receptacle 101, a housing 102 includes a main body 103 of a rectangular cylinder and a flange portion 104, and a locking member 10 having a pair of locking claws 105 therein.
6 is mounted. The sleeve 107 is located at the center.
Is fixed to the flange portion 104 of the housing 102 by the countersunk screw 109 to prevent the locking member 106 from falling off.

[0004] A ferrule (not shown) is mounted on the sleeve 107 from the distal end side of the optical receptacle 101, and an optical connector (not shown) is inserted into the distal end side. And is connected by being locked by the locking claw 105.

[0005]

The above-described conventional optical receptacle 101 is composed of a housing 102, a locking member 106, and a substrate 108, and has a small number of parts despite being a simple functional member. There are many. In addition, the fixing member 106 is locked by fixing the substrate 108 to the flange portion 104 of the housing 102 with the flathead screw 109, and there is a problem that the assembling property is not good. Further, when the optical connector is connected to the optical receptacle 101, the inner peripheral portion of the plug is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve 107, and the outer surface of the plug is locked by the locking claw 105. In this case, since the locking claw 105 needs to elastically deform outward when the outer surface of the plug is locked, a gap S must be provided between the locking claw 105 and the housing 102 in advance. This leads to an increase in the size of the device.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical receptacle which can reduce the size and weight of the apparatus, reduce the cost, and improve the assemblability.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical receptacle mounted on one of the optical transmission components for connecting the optical transmission components to each other. -Shaped housing, a locking member fitted to the inside of the housing by a first locking claw, and a light formed substantially at the center of the locking member and internally connected to the distal end of the housing. A sleeve to which a ferrule of the connector plug is fitted; a second locking claw formed at a distal end of the locking member to hold the optical connector plug at a connection position; and a second locking claw formed in the housing. An opening that allows the nail to elastically deform outward is provided.

Therefore, the optical receptacle is composed of the housing and the locking member, so that the device can be simplified, and the housing and the locking member can be easily fitted by the first locking claw. When the optical connector plug is connected to the optical receptacle, the ferrule of the optical connector plug is fitted to the sleeve, and the second locking claw is locked to the optical connector plug. The connection position is held at this time, and at this time, the outward elastic deformation of the second locking claw is allowed by the opening, and the optical receptacle and the optical connector plug are easily and accurately connected. It becomes possible.

In the optical receptacle according to a second aspect of the present invention, the locking member has a locking flange formed on a base end portion side and the first locking claw formed on a distal end portion side. The locking flange and the first locking claw lock the locking member in the axial direction with respect to the housing. Therefore, when the locking member is inserted into the housing when assembling the optical receptacle, the locking flange abuts and the first locking claw is locked, so that the locking flange and the first locking claw engage the housing with respect to the housing. Since the stop member is locked, the assembling property is improved.

The optical receptacle according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a radial gap between an inner surface of the housing and an outer surface of the second engaging claw is substantially eliminated. Therefore, when the second locking claw is locked to the optical connector plug and the fitting position is maintained, the outward elastic deformation of the second locking claw is allowed by the opening, so that the second locking claw and the inner surface of the housing can be connected to each other. By substantially eliminating the radial gap between the locking claw and the outer surface, it is possible to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the device.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows an optical receptacle and an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the optical receptacle, FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along line IV-IV of FIG. FIG. 5 shows an exploded plan view of the optical connector.

The optical receptacle of the present embodiment is attached to one of the optical transmission components for connecting the optical transmission components to each other, and as shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the optical receptacle 11 of the present embodiment. An optical connector 51 can be connected to the unit side. The optical connector 51 includes a ferrule 54 including a tubular body 52 fixed to an end of the optical fiber and a collar member 53 fixed to a rear end of the tubular body 52;
Stop ring 55 for holding the rear end of collar member 53
And a spring 56 held between the collar member 53 and the stop ring 55, and the ferrule 54 and the spring 56
The stop ring 55 is fitted to a plug frame 57 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the. That is, the wedge portion 55 protruding in the middle of the stop ring 55
By fitting a into the plug frame 57, the ferrule 54 and the spring 56 are held between the plug frame 57 and the stop ring 55. In this state, the ferrule 54 Thus, the stop ring 55 is held in a floating state. Further, by fitting the plug frame 57 into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped plug housing 58, an SC type plug is obtained.

Here, a locking recess 57a for engaging with the optical receptacle 11 is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the plug frame 57, and a guide projection 58a is formed on one side surface of the plug housing 58. The tubular body 52 is made of, for example, ceramic such as zirconia or stainless steel, and has a through hole for an optical fiber into which a bare optical fiber can be inserted. The collar member 53 is made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel or plastics, and has a through-hole that communicates with the cylindrical optical fiber through-hole and into which the optical fiber core wire can be inserted. The stop ring 55 is formed with a through hole into which an optical cord for holding an optical fiber core wire can be inserted, and a tensile member of the optical cord is caulked at a rear end thereof. Further, a boot 59 is mounted on the rear end of the plug frame 57 so as to cover the connecting portion of the optical cord.

On the other hand, the optical receptacle 11 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 12 and the locking member 13 are provided. The housing 12 is made of metal such as stainless steel or plastic, and has a rectangular tube main body 14 and a disc-shaped flange portion 15 integrally formed. And the opening part 16 is formed in the upper and lower sides of the main body 14,
The plug housing 5 of the optical connector 51 is provided on the side of the main body 14.
A guide groove 17 is formed in which the guide protrusion 58a formed on the guide groove 8 is engaged.

The locking member 13 is made of plastics,
A substantially U-shaped cross section including a fitting portion 18 that can be fitted to the base end portion of the housing 12 and a pair of second locking claws 20 that extend integrally from the upper and lower portions of the fitting portion 18 to the distal end side. Without
The second locking claw 20 is a plug frame 57 of the optical connector 51.
Can be locked in the locking recess 57a formed in the groove.
First and second locking claws 19 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the locking member 13 to lock the flange 15 of the housing 12 through the opening 16. Is formed with a locking flange 22 that abuts against the concave portion 21 on the base end side of the base.

An inner cylinder 23 is provided at the center of the locking member 13.
Are integrally formed, and a metal sleeve 24 is fitted therein. The plug frame 57 of the optical connector 51 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 23, and the ferrule 54 can be fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 24. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the inner surface of the housing 12 and the outer surface of the second locking claw 20 are located with almost no gap,
The position of the opening 16 of the housing 12 matches that of the second locking claw 20 and is slightly larger.

Accordingly, the optical receptacle 11 of the present embodiment
2, when the locking member 13 is inserted from the base end side of the housing 12, as shown in FIGS.
9 engages with the flange 15 through the opening 16, and the engaging flange 22 abuts against the recess 21 of the flange 15. Therefore, the locking member 13 is connected to the locking flange 2.
The optical receptacle 11 is assembled by being locked to the housing 12 by the second locking claw 19 and the first locking claw 19.

The optical receptacle 11 of the present embodiment
In order to connect the optical connector 51 to the optical connector 51, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the distal end of the plug housing 58 is engaged so that the guide projection 58a of the optical connector 51 is engaged with the guide groove 17 of the optical receptacle 11. Body 14 of housing 12
Penetrate inside. Then, the plug frame 57 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 23, the ferrule 54 is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 24, and the pair of second locking claws 20 are engaged with the locking recesses 57 a of the plug frame 57. By stopping, the optical connector 51 is held at the connection position with respect to the optical receptacle 11. At this time, the pair of second locking claws 20 are elastically deformed outward, and the elastic deformation outward is allowed by the opening 16.

As described above, the optical receptacle 1 of the present embodiment
1, a cylindrical housing 1 having an opening 16
2 and a locking member 13 having respective locking claws 19, 20 and a sleeve 24. By fitting the locking member 13 to the housing 12, the locking flange 22 and the first locking claw 19 are formed. As a result, the two parts are integrally assembled, so that another connecting part such as a screw is not required unlike the related art, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the assembling property can be improved. When the optical connector 51 is connected to the optical receptacle 11, the pair of second locking claws 20 are elastically deformed outward and the plug frame 57
Can be connected to each other by locking in the locking recess 57a of the housing 12, but the outward elastic deformation of the second locking claw 20 is allowed by the opening 16 of the housing 12, so that the By substantially eliminating the radial gap between the inner surface of the second locking claw 20 and the outer surface of the second locking claw 20, the size, weight, and cost of the device can be reduced.

The optical receptacle 11 and the optical connector 5
1 is determined by the sleeve 24, and positioning at the time of connection between the optical receptacle 11 and other optical components can be performed by the outer periphery of the rear end of the sleeve 24. Even if the positioning accuracy with respect to the housing 12 is somewhat poor, the accuracy of the optical connection can be sufficiently ensured.

Although an example of the SC type plug has been shown, it is needless to say that the SC type plug is not limited to this. Optical connectors can be used.

[0022]

As described in detail in the above embodiments, according to the optical receptacle of the present invention, the optical receptacle comprises a cylindrical housing and a locking member fitted inside the housing. A first locking claw fitted to the housing, a sleeve into which a ferrule of an optical connector plug connected to the distal end side of the housing is fitted, and a second member holding the optical connector plug at a connection position. The optical receptacle is formed of the housing and the locking member so that the optical receptacle can be simplified by forming an opening in the housing that allows elastic deformation of the second locking claw outward. In addition, the housing and the locking member can be easily fitted by the first locking claw, so that the assemblability can be improved, and the optical connector plug can be connected to the optical receptacle. At the time of connection, the ferrule of the optical connector plug is fitted to the sleeve, and the locking claw is locked to this optical connector plug, so that the connection position is maintained. The elastic deformation is allowed by the opening, so that the optical receptacle and the optical connector plug can be easily and accurately connected, and the device can be reduced in size, weight, and cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an optical receptacle and an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the optical receptacle.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view of the optical connector.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional optical receptacle.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Optical receptacle 12 Housing 13 Locking member 16 Opening 17 Guide groove 18 Fitting part 19 First locking claw 20 Second locking claw 22 Locking flange 23 Inner cylinder 24 Sleeve 51 Optical connector 52 Cylindrical body 53 Collar member 54 Ferrule 55 Stop ring 56 Spring 57 Plug frame 57a Locking recess 58 Plug housing 58a Guide protrusion

Claims (3)

[Claims] An optical receptacle attached to one of the optical transmission components for connecting the optical transmission components to each other,
A cylindrical housing, a locking member fitted to the inside of the housing by a first locking claw, formed substantially in the center of the locking member, and connected internally to the distal end of the housing; A sleeve to which a ferrule of the optical connector plug is fitted; a second locking claw formed at a distal end of the locking member to hold the optical connector plug at a connection position; and a second locking claw formed in the housing. An optical receptacle comprising an opening for allowing outward elastic deformation of the pawl. 2. The optical receptacle according to claim 1, wherein the locking member has a locking flange formed on a base end side and the first locking claw formed on a distal end side. The optical receptacle, wherein the locking member is locked to the housing in the axial direction by the locking flange and the first locking claw. 3. The optical receptacle according to claim 1, wherein a radial gap between an inner surface of the housing and an outer surface of the second locking claw is substantially eliminated.