JPS5918415Y2 - Optical fiber connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector, and more particularly to a detachable optical fiber connector used to connect the end of an optical fiber to another optical fiber or to an optical transmitting/receiving device.

As the performance of optical communication semiconductor devices and optical fibers improves, optical fiber communication systems using these devices are also entering the stage of practical use.

What is essential for the practical application of this optical fiber communication system is a detachable optical fiber connector used to connect optical fibers to each other or to connect optical fibers to optical transmitting/receiving equipment.

Optical fiber connectors are characterized by low optical fiber connection loss, good connection stability through repeated connection and disconnection, small size and light weight, compatibility, and ease of operation and quick and easy connection and disconnection. It is necessary to meet the requirements such as:

Normally, optical fiber connectors are manufactured by manufacturing a plug with the end of the optical fiber in the center using a so-called peripheral cutting method or double eccentric method, and then manufacturing this plug using a precision sleeve method or a chucking sleeve method. It is constructed by inserting the adapter into the adapter and removably fixing the two using suitable fixing means.

In the previous application, the applicant has disclosed that as the fixing means,
An optical fiber connector has been disclosed in which a cap nut is locked to the plug so that the cap nut and the adapter are screwed together, and further provided with a mechanism to prevent rotation of the plug.

As mentioned above, plugs manufactured by the outer circumferential cutting method, the double eccentric method, or the like have limitations in terms of processing accuracy, and the optical fiber may not necessarily be located on the central axis of the plug.

This positional shift causes a decrease in coupling efficiency between the optical fibers to be connected.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned application, the stopper of the plug rotation prevention mechanism adjusts the relative position of the plug with the optical fiber to be connected in the rotational direction around the central axis, and maximizes the coupling efficiency between the optical fibers. The rotation of the plugs is stopped at a point where the plugs are rotated, thereby positioning the plugs with respect to each other in the rotational direction to prevent a decrease in coupling efficiency between the optical fibers to be connected.

However, when a plug having a stopper mechanism as described above is fixed to an adapter using a cap nut, the threaded portion of the cap nut extends longer toward the end of the optical fiber than the tip of the stopper, so that the stopper does not fit into the adapter. There was a problem in that the plug was often fixed to the adapter at a position that was not inserted into the slot of the adapter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate such problems and to provide an optical fiber connector that has a structure in which the plug is fixed in the correct position relative to the adapter and has particularly excellent operability.

The optical fiber connector according to the present invention includes a connector in which an end portion of an optical fiber is disposed in the center, an adapter having a threaded portion on the outer periphery and into which the connector is inserted, and an adapter provided in the connector and attached to the adapter. a stopper rod capable of engaging with a groove formed in an end surface, and a nut that engages with a threaded portion of the adapter to fix the adapter and the connector, the threaded portion of the nut and the threaded portion of the adapter The lengths of the two portions are such that when the stopper rod is in contact with the end face of the adapter removed from the groove, the threaded engagement thereof is not achieved. It is something.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The illustrated embodiment shows a case in which a pair of plugs 10 and 10' each having an optical fiber 40 disposed at its center are connected.

A stopper holding member 11 is fixed to the outer periphery of the plug 10 (the same applies to the plug 10') at an appropriate distance from the end (tip) of the plug, and a stopper extending in the axial direction is fixed to the stopper holding member 11. 12 is installed.

Note that reference numeral 41 is a shrink tube for protecting the optical fiber 40 inside.

A bag-shaped nut 30 with a hole in the center is attached to the outer periphery of the plug 10.
is loosely fitted.

As shown in the figure, this nut 30 is arranged such that the stopper holding member 11 is located inside thereof and comes into contact with the bottom of the nut.

The adapter 20 has a through hole 21 formed in its center for inserting the plug 10.10', and groove holes 22 extending in the axial direction on both end surfaces (in the figure, one end surface is indicated by reference numeral 20a). A male threaded portion 23 that can be screwed into the female threaded portion 31 of the nut 30 is formed on the outer periphery near the end face.

In FIG. 1a, the stopper 12 is located at the end surface 20a of the adapter 20.
As shown in Figure 1, the stopper 12 has entered the slot 22 and the adapter 2 is not inserted into the slot 22.
0 male threaded portion 23 and tightened,
As a result, the pair of plugs 10 and 10' are connected to the adapter 20.
fully connected via.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the female threaded part 31 of the nut 30 is formed at a certain depth from the end of the nut, and a threaded part is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the end. Therefore, this portion (indicated by reference numeral 30a) is shaped so that it does not engage with the male threaded portion 23 of the adapter 20 and can freely move in and out.

However, the stopper 12
When the slot 22 is not occupied by the stopper 12, the stopper 30 cannot be moved any further toward the adapter, and therefore the adapter 2
It will not be screwed together with the male thread part of 0.

From this state, rotate the plug 10 slightly and stopper 12.
When the plug 10 is further pushed into the adapter 20, the stopper 12 enters the slot 22 as shown in FIG. The plug 10 can be screwed into the male threaded portion 23 of the adapter 20, and by tightening the nut, the plug 10 can be connected to the adapter 20 via the stopper holding member 11.

In this case, the engagement between the stopper 12 and the slot 22 of the adapter has the function of stopping the adapter 20 and the plug 10 from rotating (preventing them from rotating together with the nut) when tightening with the nut 30, but also The position of the stopper and its slot for each plug is determined so that the optical fibers to be connected are connected at the position with the highest coupling efficiency, that is, the optical fibers at the ends of the pair of plugs are aligned with each other. Therefore, in this case, the stopper and the slot of the adapter also serve the function of positioning the plug.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention,
In this case, Natsu) 30 is the female threaded part 31 up to its tip.
However, the adapter 20 has a male threaded portion 23 at a certain distance from its end.

Therefore, when the stopper 12 is in contact with the end surface 20a of the adapter 20 and not in the slot 22 as shown in the figure, that is, when the plug 10 is not in the correct positional relationship with respect to the adapter 20, the nut 30 and the adapter 20 are Threaded engagement is not achieved.

The nut 30 can only be tightened when the stopper 12 and the slot 22 of the adapter 20 are aligned.

FIG. 3 shows yet another embodiment of the invention, with the plug 10 shown fitted into the adapter 20 in the correct position.

In this embodiment, when the bottom of the cap nut 30 is brought into contact with the stopper holding member 11, the stopper 12 is formed to be longer than the tip of the nut 30, so that the stopper 12 is longer than the adapter 20. The nut 30 cannot be screwed onto the adapter 20 unless it is inserted into the slot 22 of the adapter.

Further, in this embodiment, since the stopper 12 protrudes outward from the nut 30, it is easy to confirm the position of the stopper 12 when tightening the nut, and the adapter 2
This has the advantage that the stopper 12 can be easily inserted into the slot 22 of No. 0.

As described above, with this invention, the plug cannot be fixed to the adapter unless it is positioned correctly relative to the adapter, and there is no need to worry about accidentally fixing the plug in the wrong position relative to the adapter, unlike in the past. .

Therefore, it is possible to obtain an optical fiber connector that is very easy to use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1a is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the optical fiber connector according to the embodiment of the present invention before it is completely assembled, and Fig. 1a shows the optical fiber connector assembled in the correct positional relationship. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A connector in which an end portion of an optical fiber is disposed in the center, an adapter having a threaded portion on the outer periphery and into which the connector is inserted, and a groove provided in the connector and engaged with a groove formed in an end surface of the adapter. and a nut that engages with a threaded portion of the adapter to fix the adapter and the connector, and the lengths of the threaded portion of the nut and the threaded portion of the adapter are mutually An optical fiber connector characterized in that the length of the stopper rod is such that when the stopper rod is in contact with the end face of the adapter that is out of the groove, the screw engagement is not performed.