JPS6377011A - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the stepwise rotary mutual positioning of optical fibers by employing a regular polygonal shape for the section of a male-side connector main body which crosses an optical fiber at right angles, and inhibiting a female-side connector main body and the male-size connector main body from turning around the mount hole of a housing. CONSTITUTION:The external wall section of the male-side connector main body 46 is formed in a regular hexagonal shape and fitted loosely and slidably on the internal wall surface of the housing 44. The internal wall of the housing 44 is almost in a regular hexagonal shape larger than the external wall section of the male-side connector main body 46, an anchor 60 is mounted on the end part of the housing 55, and a coil spring 58 is interposed between this anchor 60 and male-side connector main body 46. The male-side connector main body 46 is therefore energized to left all the time. The circularly sectioned insertion hole 46a where the projection part of the female-size connector main body is fitted is formed atop of the male-size connector main body 46 and a male-side ferrule 48 is fitted loosely in the male-side connector main body 46 so that it is positioned in the center of the insertion hole 46a. Consequently, the stepwise rotary positioning of the optical fibers is made possible.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Overview In order to prevent the optical connector main body from rotating relative to the housing, the cross-sectional shapes of the optical connector main body and the housing are made into regular polygons, and damage to the optical fiber end face due to the rotation is prevented. This enables stepwise rotational positioning of the optical fibers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of an optical connector, and particularly to a structure for attaching a connector body to a housing.

In recent years, with the increase in transmission capacity, optical fibers have come to be used as transmission paths in fields such as communications. Examples of methods for connecting optical fibers include a splicing method in which the joint end surfaces are permanently connected by gluing or fusion, and a removable optical connector method.

Connections using optical connectors require misalignment of about 1/1o or less of the core diameter and good adhesion between the joining end surfaces, and there is a demand for optical connectors with a simple configuration, excellent workability, and low connection loss. was.

Conventional optical connectors typically attach the joining end surfaces of optical fibers to be connected to a centered ferrule, and the ferrules are butted against each other within a cylindrical sleeve to optically connect the optical fibers. It looks like this. Figures 7 and 8
The figure shows a conventional example of this type of optical connector.

In this specification, the side with the sleeve is referred to as a female connector, and the side without a sleeve is referred to as a male connector.

In FIG. 7, 4 is a male connector main body attached to the housing 2, and this male connector main body 4 is connected to a cylindrical member 6 that is loosely fitted into the housing 2, (The cylindrical member 6 consists of a sliding member 8 that is slidably provided.The cylindrical member 6 has a large-diameter circular portion 6a formed on the end face thereof and a C-shaped member that is fitted into a substantially central portion of the cylindrical member 6. The ring 10 moves the left and right direction in the figure (hereinafter referred to as the axial direction).
The same applies to other drawings). A large-diameter circular portion 3a is provided on the outer circumference of the sliding member 8 at a predetermined distance and slides on the inner wall surface of the cylindrical member 6.

8b is formed, and the sliding member 8 has a large diameter circular portion 8a.

8b is movable in the axial direction within a range where it comes into contact with a protrusion 6b formed on the inner wall surface of the cylindrical member 6.

A coil spring 12 is installed between the protrusion 6b and the large diameter circular portion 8a.
is inserted, and the sliding member 8 is always biased toward the left in the figure, that is, toward the female connector body to be described later.

The optical fiber wire 14 to be connected is covered with an inner sheath 16 such as polyethylene, a tension member 18 such as Kevlar (trade name), and an outer sheath 20 such as PVC in order to form an optical fiber cord 22. . Optical fiber wire 1
4 is inserted into the center hole of the male side ferrule 24, and the inner sheath 1
6 and fixed with adhesive or the like. Male side ferrule 2
4 is fixed to the sliding member 8 by a screwing member 26 that is screwed into the inside of the sliding member 8. Tension member 18 is fixed to threaded member 26 by fastener 28 .

Therefore, the optical fiber cord 22 can be handled integrally with the sliding member 8 with sufficient strength.

Note that 30 is a rubber backing for sealing the gap between the sliding member 8 and the optical fiber cord 22.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the female connector main body 32 that is loosely fitted into the housing 3 has a first protrusion 32a having a concentric outer wall and an inner wall at its distal end, that is, the part facing the male connector. and a second protrusion 32b are formed. 34 is a C-shaped ring that is fitted into the approximate center of the female connector body 32;
2 does not move in the axial direction. A cylindrical sleeve 36 is inscribed in the inner wall of the second projection 32b toward the rear of the female connector body 32, and a female ferrule 38 is fitted into the sleeve 36. The female side ferrule 38 is connected to the eye side connector main body 3 by a screwing member 40.
The optical fiber cord 22 is fixed to the female ferrule 38 and the threaded member 40 in the same way as the male side.
There is C.

When attaching the male and female connectors having the above-described configurations, the first protrusion 32a of the female connector body 32 is fitted along the inner wall of the cylindrical member 6 of the male connector body 4. By doing this, the second
The protrusion 32b is fitted into the inner wall of the sliding member 8 of the male connector body 4, and the male ferrule 24 is introduced into the sleeve 36 attached to the female connector body 32, and the male ferrule 24 Due to the action of the spring 12, it is pressed against the female ferrule 38 with a predetermined contact pressure. In this case, the male side ferrule 24 of the optical fiber strand 14
The eccentricity with respect to the female ferrule 38 is extremely small. Therefore, by bringing the end faces of both ferrules into contact with each other, optical coupling between the optical fibers is achieved.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a plug-in type optical connector, the misalignment between the end faces of the optical fibers, that is, the misalignment accuracy of the abutting portion of the ferrule, is 1/10 of the core diameter of the fiber.
The male ferrule 24, the female ferrule 38, and the sleeve 36 are manufactured with the above precision. ing.

However, since it is virtually impossible to fit the mass-produced male connector body 4 and female connector body 32 with such high precision, the two bodies 4° 32 are connected to the housing 2.3. The structure is such that only the ferrules 24 and 38 are butted against each other with the above precision when the connector is attached. For this reason, the male connector body 4. The ti-side connector bodies 32 are free to rotate relative to the housing 2.3, respectively,
Both main bodies 4.32 sometimes rotated after installation.

When both main bodies 4.32 rotate relative to each other after being attached, both ferrules 24.38 also rotate relative to each other, which may cause scratches on the abutting portions of the optical fibers, making it impossible to achieve optical coupling.

On the other hand, when the optical fiber to be connected is a single mode fiber that requires highly accurate alignment, the ferrules 24 and 38 are usually rotated relative to each other to minimize the unavoidable misalignment. There is a need to adjust the eccentric position of the optical fiber with respect to both ferrules 24 and 38 so that they match, and there has been a desire for an optical connector structure suitable for such adjustment.

The present invention was created in view of these circumstances, and provides an optical connector that prevents damage to the end face of optical fibers due to rotation of the connector body and enables stepwise rotational positioning of optical fibers. The purpose is to

Means for Solving the Problems The problem with the prior art described above is that in the optical connectors shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the mounting hole of the old housing,
The female connector body, the male housing mounting hole, and the male connector body have regular polygonal cross-sectional shapes perpendicular to the optical fiber, and the female connector body and the male connector body are connected to the female housing mounting hole and the male connector body. This is solved by preventing rotation relative to the mounting hole of the male housing.

Function: In the optical connector of the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of each mating portion is a regular polygon, the male and female connector bodies are prevented from rotating relative to each other after the connector is attached, and the optical fiber Damage to the end face is prevented.

Furthermore, since the fitting state of both connector bodies can be selected depending on the number of angles of the regular polygon, stepwise rotational positioning of the optical fibers becomes possible.

Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. Parts that are substantially the same as those in FIGS. 7 and 8 showing the prior art are given the same numbers and Some explanations will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, a male optical connector 42 to which the present invention is applied! A cross section is shown, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show
They are a top view taken along the IT-1 line and a sectional view taken along the ■-■ line in FIG. 1, respectively. The male connector main body 46 has a regular hexagonal outer wall cross section, and is slidably fitted loosely into the inner wall surface of the housing 44 . The inner wall of the housing 44 has a regular hexagonal shape that is substantially larger than the cross section of the outer wall of the male connector body 46. A fastener 60 is fitted to the end of the housing 44, and between this fastener 60 and the male connector body 46,
A coil spring 58 is inserted.

Therefore, the male connector main body 46 is always biased toward the left in the figure. An insertion hole 46a with a circular cross section into which a protrusion of a female connector body (described later) fits is formed at the tip of the male connector body 46, and the male ferrule 48 is inserted into the male connector so that it is located at the center of the insertion hole 46a. Side connector body 4
6 is loosely fitted.

Approximately at the center of the male ferrule 48, there is a notch 48a,
A large diameter circular portion 48b having a cutout 48a is formed, and this large diameter circular portion 48b has a notch 48a.

The male ferrule 4 is engaged with protrusions 46b and 46b provided inside the male connector main body 46 corresponding to the
8 is prevented from rotating. The male ferrule 48 is always biased toward the left in the figure by the coil spring 52. The coil spring 52 has one end fixed to a threaded member 54 that threads onto the male connector body 46 via a locking member 50 .

The optical fiber (not shown) to be connected is attached to the male ferrule 48 together with its inner sheath 16, and the tension member 18 covering the inner sheath 16 is attached to the threaded member 5 by an appropriate method.
It is fixed at 4. Therefore, the optical fiber cord 22 can be handled integrally with the male connector body 46. Reference numeral 56 denotes a clamp that is screwed into the screwing member 54, and the male connector main body 46 is attached to the small diameter portion 44a at the tip of the housing 44.
It abuts against the fastener 60 when it is locked to the holder.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 4, a longitudinal section of the female optical connector 62 is shown, and FIGS.
They are a v-■ cross-sectional view and a Vf-Vl cross-sectional view in the figure. The female connector main body 66 has an outer wall having a regular hexagonal cross section, and is loosely fitted into a hole 64a formed in the housing 64 and having a regular hexagonal cross section. This female connector body 66
is prevented from moving in the axial direction with respect to the housing 64 by a C-shaped ring 68 that engages with the housing 64 and the female connector body 66 and is biased in the radial direction, and a clamp 76 to be described later. There is. Female connector body 66
A protrusion 66b having a circular outer diameter cross section is formed at the tip of the protrusion 66b, and a cylindrical sleeve 70 is fitted into a circular hole formed inside the protrusion 66b. sleeve 7
0 is set to be the same as the outer diameter of the tip of the female ferrule 72, and the female ferrule 72 has a W!
They are designed to fit and be fixed.

Approximately at the center of the female ferrule 72, there is a notch 72a,
A large-diameter circular portion 72b having a diameter of 72a is formed, and the notches 72a, 72a correspond to the protrusion 66a of the female connector body 66.
, 66a.

Therefore, the female ferrule 72 does not rotate relative to the female connector body 66. The female ferrule 72 is fixed to the female connector body 66 by being pressed through the bushing 74 by a clamp 76 that is threaded onto the female connector body 66 . An optical fiber (not shown) to be connected is attached to the female ferrule 72 together with its inner sheath 16, and the inner sheath 16 is attached to the female ferrule 72.
Tension member 18 covering female ferrule 6 is fixed to the outer wall of female ferrule 72 by a suitable method.

Connect the optical fiber to the male ferrule 48 and the female ferrule 7.
2, the outer cover 20, tension member 1
8, and the optical fiber 14 from which the inner sheath 16 has been removed,
This is done by inserting it into the center hole formed along the axis of each ferrule and fixing it together with the inner sheath 16 using an appropriate adhesive. However, in the case of a fiber with a small diameter such as a single mode fiber, the ferrule It is difficult to form the center hole so that it is in close contact with the fiber, and there is usually a certain amount of gap between the fiber and the center hole of the ferrule. For this reason, in general, after attaching the fiber to the ferrule, an appropriate mark is placed on the part of the ferrule in the direction in which the fiber is eccentric, so that when the male ferrule 48 is brought into contact with the female ferrule 72, both ferrules 48
By making the above-mentioned marks of 8.72 match, that is, by making the eccentric directions of both fibers match, good optical coupling of the optical fibers is achieved. In this embodiment, each member is set so that the eccentric direction is, for example, upward in FIGS. 1 to 6.

When attaching the male optical connector 42 to the female optical connector 62, the protrusion 66b of the female connector body 66 is fitted into the insertion hole 46a of the male connector body 46. With this operation, the male ferrule 48, which is floating with respect to the male connector main body 46 and can move minutely in the axial direction, slides into the sleeve along the tapered portion 66C formed at the tip of the female connector main body protrusion 66b. 70 and abuts against the female ferrule 72 under a predetermined pressure to achieve optical coupling of the optical fibers.

In this way, in the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of the fitting part between each connector body and the housing is made into a regular polygon, rotation of each connector body with respect to the housing is prevented, and the eccentric direction of the optical fiber with respect to the ferrule is prevented. It becomes possible to easily match the male side and the female side.

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, the present invention provides an optical connector that prevents damage to the end face of optical fibers due to rotation of the connector body and also enables stepwise rotational positioning of optical fibers. It has the effect of being able to do something.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a male optical connector that does not show a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-n in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a female optical connector showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line v-v in FIG. Figure 6 is
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Vl-Vl, FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a male optical connector showing an example of a conventional optical connector, and FIG. 8 is a female optical connector showing an example of a conventional optical connector. FIG. 22... Optical fiber cord, 44... Male side housing, 46... Male side connector body, 46a... Insertion hole, 4
8...Male side ferrule, 64...Female side housing, 66...Female side connector body, 66b...Protrusion, 7
2... Female side ferrule. 46: End of the first rule Kokikuta Honito 48: Ei direct i koi ferrule λ (袢shirogetsugugengaurai row 1: ?l-1) visit・Qing 1 yokookutame I sashizugomenme ml 1st Figure 1 shows the force ゛ (suru n-n Sanskrit - one view Figure 2 46 2nd birth IJ Koki Taoito 48: 潽い到7erule) gourd 1); Face diagram Figure 3 Reto ν Tsukitora) Seveni! Figure 4 64a 64 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A sleeve (
70) and a protrusion (66b) having a female ferrule (72) that is closely fitted to the sleeve (70), and a male connector body (66b) that is loosely fitted into the mounting hole of the male housing (44). 46) is provided with an insertion hole (46a) of the protrusion (66b) and a male ferrule (48) disposed in the insertion hole (46a), and a male ferrule (48) is provided in the female connector body (66). By fitting the protrusion (66b) into the insertion hole (46a) of the male connector body (46), the male ferrule (48) introduced into the sleeve (70) is inserted into the sleeve (70). In this optical connector, the female ferrule (72) is abutted against the female ferrule (72) to optically couple the optical fibers.
), the mounting hole of the male side housing (44) and the cross section perpendicular to the optical fiber of the male side connector body (46) are regular polygons, and the female side connector body (66) and the male side connector body (46) An optical connector characterized in that the connector does not rotate relative to the mounting hole of the female housing (64) and the mounting hole of the male housing (44).