JPS59125707A - Connecting structure between optical device and optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the variation of connection loss of connecting structure between an optical device and an optical cable and to fix the optical device on an optional position in a junction box by coupling an optical cable constituting a part of a wire harness with the optical device stored in the junction box through an optical fiber. CONSTITUTION:The optical devices 12 are arranged in the junction box 11 storing electronic apparatus and receptacles 14 are fixed on a wall 13 dividing between the inside and outside of the junction box 11. A plug 16 for an optical fiber 15 of which one end is fixed to each optical device 12 is tightly engaged with each receptacle 14 arranged inside the junction box 11 and a plug 18 fitted to the terminal of an optical cable 17 constituting a part of a wire harness is tightly engaged with each receptacle 14 arranged outside the junction box 11 attachably/detachably. Since these optical devices 12 are coupled with highly flexible optical fibers 15 engaged with the receptacles 14, they can be fixed on optional positions in the junction box 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable that can prevent fluctuations in connection loss and always achieve a connection loss below a certain level, and is particularly suitable for application to automobile wire harnesses. It is something.

In automobiles, there are a large number of devices to be controlled such as motors and display devices, and information transmitting devices such as detectors and switches that provide the information necessary for controlling these devices. A wiring harness that neatly bundles signal cables and power cables for sending and receiving power is wired to the car body. By the way, in the past, most of the above-mentioned signals and power were exchanged electrically,
The signal cable and power cable of the wiring harness are made of copper cables, and as a result, the diameter of the thickest part of the wiring harness is approximately 50 mm.
Overall, it was extremely heavy and had extremely low flexibility. Therefore, conventional wire harnesses need to be bent in advance using a molded protector or the like to match the shape of the car body, and then transported to the car body assembly line and assembled to the car body, which is extremely difficult. Due to its bulk, it has been difficult to transport and assemble it easily and smoothly.

Therefore, the terminal part of the wire harness that connects to the controlled equipment and the information transmitting device has a structure that can be separated from the main body of the wire harness, and these are connected via a junction box], which reduces the size and weight of the wire harness. Products have been developed to make the assembly process easier.

In recent years, attention has been paid to the characteristics of optical fiber cables, which are lightweight, highly flexible, extremely thin, and have no electromagnetic induction.The use of these cables in wire harnesses has been announced, and a remarkable reduction in the weight and diameter of wire harnesses has been achieved. When optical cables are used as wire harnesses, optical devices such as electro-optical conversion elements such as light-emitting diodes or photo-electric conversion elements such as photodiodes are installed between the copper cables that connect to controlled equipment and information transmission equipment. Generally speaking, this optical device is housed in a junction box.In addition, this junction box is used to control equipment to be controlled, information transmitting equipment, etc. Electronic devices are also built in, and the optical cable and junction box are designed to be detachable so that the junction box can be removed from the wire harness in the event of a malfunction.

As shown in FIG. 1, which shows the connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable in such a junction box, a connector 4 to which an optical device 3 is fixed is attached to a wall 2 that partitions the inside and outside of the junction box 1. A socket 5 that detachably fits into the connector 4 is provided at the terminal of the optical cable 6 of the wire harness. However, since the conventional connector 4 has low machining accuracy, the optical device 3 is damaged every time the optical cable 6 is connected or disconnected.
There is a drawback that the relative displacement between the optical cable 6 and the optical cable 6 is large, and the connection loss varies greatly each time, resulting in a large amount of time being spent on alignment adjustment work. Moreover, since it is necessary to attach the optical device 3 to the connector 4 fixed to the wall 2, it is not possible to place it at an arbitrary position within the junction box 1, which inevitably places restrictions on the position of other electronic devices. It was.

In view of the problems with the conventional connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure in which fluctuations in connection loss are extremely small and an optical device can be fixed at any position within a junction box. purpose.

The configuration of the connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable of the present invention that achieves this object is a non-yank connector that connects a connector to which a connection terminal of an optical cable for signal transmission is detachably connected to a controlled device or an information transmitting device. It is attached to a wall that partitions the inside and outside of the semiconductor box, one end of a connecting optical fiber housed in the junction box is connected to the connector, and the optical fiber is connected to the optical cable via this optical fiber, and the junction box The other end of the optical fiber is connected to an optical device installed inside the optical fiber.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2, which schematically shows the structure.

A junction in which control target devices and information transmitting devices (not shown) are connected via electric cables (not shown) such as copper wires, and electronic devices (not shown) that control the operations of these devices and process signals are housed inside. An optical device 12 is installed inside the box 11, and a receptacle 14 is fixed to a wall 13 that partitions the inside and outside of the no-yenction box 11. An optical fiber 15 knob plug 16, one end of which is fixed to the optical device 12, is tightly positioned in the receptacle 14 inside the junction box 11, and the junction box? A plug 18 attached to the terminal of an optical cable 17 constituting a part of the wire harness is tightly and removably fitted into the receptacle 14 of the Tx 11 outside ljl.

The above-mentioned receptacle 14 and plugs 16 and 18 can be those developed for optical fiber interconnection and can be used as they are, and generally when such connectors for optical fiber connection are used, connection loss can be kept extremely low. Furthermore, since the fitting precision is very high, there is no risk that the connection loss will vary greatly each time the connector is attached or detached.

In addition, since the optical device 12 is connected to the highly flexible optical fiber 15 that is completely fitted into the receptacle 14, it can be installed at any position within the junction box 11, and the positional There are no restrictions whatsoever.

As described above, according to the connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable of the present invention, since the optical cable forming part of the wire harness and the optical device housed in the junction box are connected via the original fiber,
The connection f%j i"ir becomes like optical fibers, and the optical device and the optical fiber can be bonded and integrated so as to achieve the best possible connection state. As a result,
By using conventional optical fiber connectors, it is possible to minimize connection loss and fluctuations in connection loss due to repeated attachment and detachment. Also, since the optical device is connected via an optical fiber to a Q-shaped connector installed on the wall of the junction box, it can be fixed to any digit in the junction box.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a lever diagram showing a conventional connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the connection structure between an optical device and an optical cable according to the present invention.
In the figure, 11 is a junction box, 12 is an optical device, 13 is a wall, 14 is a receptacle, 15 is an optical fiber, 16 and 18 are plugs, and 17 is an optical cable. Condolences

Claims (1)

[Claims] A connector to which a connection terminal of an optical cable for signal transmission is removably connected is attached to a wall that partitions the inside and outside of a junction box for connecting to controlled equipment or information transmission equipment, and the connection is housed within the junction box. One end of an optical fiber for use is connected to the connector, the optical fiber is connected to the optical cable via the optical fiber, and the other end of the optical fiber is connected to an optical device installed in the junction box. Connection structure between optical devices and optical cables.