TWI632407B - Optical fiber adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

The fiber optic adapter of the present invention comprises an outer casing and an inner casing. A first alignment cylinder is formed in the outer casing for receiving a first optical fiber. The inner casing is integrally formed and disposed within the outer casing, and the inner casing includes a bottom plate, a pair of fixing clips, and a second alignment cylinder. The fixing clip extends from the front surface of the bottom plate, and the second alignment cylinder is disposed between the two fixing clips and extends from the front surface of the bottom plate toward a longitudinal direction. Two oppositely disposed slots are formed in the second alignment cylinder, the two slots extending from the outer surface of the second alignment cylinder to the inner surface and extending in the longitudinal direction to the back surface of the bottom plate.

Description

Fiber optic adapter

This invention relates to an optical fiber adapter, and more particularly to a one-piece fiber optic adapter.

In recent years, the amount of fiber used for communication purposes has been very large, and data, voice, and other communication networks are increasingly using optical fibers to transmit information. Optical fibers are typically configured as fiberglass for carrying light. Individual fibers can be grouped to carry large amounts of data at the same time.

When building a fabric, each fiber is typically connected to the source and destination devices. Additionally, along the fiber path between the source and destination, various connections or couplings can be formed on the fiber to adjust the fiber length. Each connection or coupling requires a connector and an adapter to align the fibers so that light can be transmitted without interruption. A typical connector includes two symmetrical housings, each housing having a connector latch. An aligned sleeve is placed inside the connector latch to ensure precise alignment of the fibers. The two housings are then attached to each other by welding (ie, by ultrasonic welding), riveting or other means to form a joint. A single fiber is then placed in each connector latch, aligning the sleeves and thus aligning the fibers.

This exemplary connector is costly to produce because multiple components are required (each component may need to be manufactured separately) and must be welded, riveted or otherwise joined to join the two symmetrical housings. Furthermore, since two symmetrical shell parts may be displaced during the welding process, the alignment problem may be caused by the joining process.

A method of reducing the number of components required is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,317,663, issued to A.S. Pat. In the aforementioned patent, an optical fiber adapter is disclosed that includes a one-piece housing with two connector latches and an aligned sleeve. However, in order to place the component within the housing, a window is provided in the housing and an outer cover is welded to the housing to cover the window. While the design of the aforementioned U.S. patent can eliminate any alignment problems caused by joining the two housing components, many components and multiple assembly steps are still required, including welding the housing cover to the window.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber adapter.

In one embodiment, the fiber optic adapter of the present invention includes an outer casing and an inner casing. A first alignment cylinder is formed in the outer casing for receiving a first optical fiber. The inner casing is integrally formed and disposed within the outer casing, and the inner casing includes a bottom plate, a pair of fixing clips, and a second alignment cylinder. The fixing clip extends from the front surface of the bottom plate, and the second alignment cylinder is disposed between the two fixing clips and extends from the front surface of the bottom plate toward a longitudinal direction. Two oppositely disposed slots are formed in the second alignment cylinder, the two slots extending from the outer surface of the second alignment cylinder to the inner surface and extending in the longitudinal direction to the back surface of the bottom plate.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, the two slots on the alignment cylinder can reduce the stress when the fixing clip is buckled on the optical fiber connector, thereby effectively reducing the creep strain and achieving the inner casing structure for a long time. The state that will be deformed.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the fiber optic adapter of the present invention, such as an SC-type fiber optic adapter, includes an outer casing 100, an aligned sleeve 190, and an inner casing 200. Referring to Fig. 2, the outer casing 100 is formed by plastic molding by injection molding, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The outer casing 100 is internally provided with an alignment cylinder 130 which extends in a longitudinal direction and which can be formed together with the outer casing 100 during a single injection molding process. One half of the aligned sleeve tube 190 can be inserted into the alignment cylinder 130 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 130. The inside of the outer casing 100 is further provided with one or more stoppers 140, and each of the stoppers 140 is further formed with a slope 141.

Referring to FIGS. 3a to 3e, the inner casing 200 is formed by plastic molding in an injection molding manner, and comprises a substantially rectangular bottom plate 210 having a front surface 211 and a rear surface 212. A pair of fixing clips 221, 222 extend from the front surface 211 and the back surface 212 of the bottom plate 210, respectively. In addition, the front surface 211 of the bottom plate 210 further extends with an alignment cylinder 230 which is longitudinally disposed and positioned between the two fixing clips 221. The front and rear ends of the alignment cylinder 230 each have an opening 231, 232, wherein the rear end opening 232 is formed on the bottom plate 210. The alignment cylinder 230 has a hollow circular cross section in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the inner diameter of the alignment cylinder 230 is uniform at the front portion and suddenly becomes small near the opening 231. The inner diameter of the alignment cylinder 230 has a taper at the rear portion and gradually becomes larger toward the opening 232. If the inner diameter of the front section of the alignment cylinder 230 is r1 and the inner diameter of the rear section is r2, then r1 < r2. In addition, a latching arm 240 extends obliquely outwardly from opposite sides of the bottom plate 210. Two elongated pads 251, 252 are formed on each of the other two opposite sides of the bottom plate 210. Two grooves 261 are formed on the side of the bottom plate 210 between the two blocks 251, and two grooves 262 are formed on the side of the bottom plate 210 between the two blocks 252. The grooves 261, 262 are U-shaped grooves and penetrate from the front surface 211 of the bottom plate 210 to the back surface 212. Two alignment and oppositely disposed slots 235 are formed in the alignment cylinder 230. The two slots 235 are penetrated from the outer surface of the alignment cylinder 230 to the inner surface, and extend longitudinally from the center of the front section of the alignment cylinder 230 to the bottom plate. 210 back 212. The width of the slit 235 can be set between 0.5 mm and 1.2 mm. In addition, an arched bridge 271 is formed on the side of the bottom plate 210 between the two recesses 261, the bridge 271 is spanned over the end of one of the slots 235, and the height of the bridge 271 Less than the height of the spacer 251. A notch 273 is formed below the bridge 271, and the notch 273 is connected to the slot 235 located below it. On the side of the bottom plate 210 between the two recesses 262, an arched bridge 272 is formed. The bridge 272 spans over the end of the other slot 235, and the height of the bridge 272 is smaller than the height of the spacer 252. . A notch 274 is formed below the bridge 272, and the notch 274 is communicated to the slot 235 located below it.

Referring again to Figures 1, 2 and 3a, the fiber optic adapter of the present invention, when assembled, inserts one half of the aligned sleeve 190 into the alignment cylinder 130 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 130. Thereafter, the inner casing 200 is inserted into the outer casing 100, and the other half of the aligned sleeve tube 190 is inserted into the alignment cylinder 230 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 230. Figure 4 shows the assembled fiber optic adapter of the present invention.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, when the inner casing 200 is inserted into the outer casing 100, the snap arms 240 on the inner casing 200 slide on the slope 141 on the stopper 140. Referring to FIG. 4, when the inner casing 200 is assembled to the positioning, the stopper 140 can block the snap arm 240, thereby preventing the inner casing 200 from being pulled out of the outer casing 100.

According to the fiber optic adapter of the present invention, a ferrule of a fiber optic connector together with an optical fiber therein can be inserted into the alignment cylinder 130 and inserted into one end of the aligned sleeve tube 190; the sleeve of the other fiber optic connector together with The fiber therein can be inserted into the alignment cylinder 230 and inserted into the other end of the aligned sleeve tube 190, and can be brought into contact with the opposite sleeve, thereby allowing the fibers in the two sleeves to be docked.

In a conventional fiber optic adapter, the retaining clips are included for snapping onto a fiber optic connector to allow the two fiber optic connectors to be docked. Since the fiber connector is provided with a spring, the long-term docking of the fiber connector causes a creep and the fixing clip is expanded outward, thereby causing the function of the fixing clip to fail.

In order to solve the foregoing problems, the optical fiber adapter of the present invention has two oppositely disposed slots 235 in the alignment cylinder 230. Through the simulation and experimental results, the two slots 235 can reduce the stress when the clips 221 and 222 are buckled on the fiber connector, so that the creep strain can be effectively reduced, and the inner casing 200 structure is not deformed for a long time. status. Since the alignment cylinder 230 is compressed and pressed into the aligned sleeve tube 190 after the formation of the slit 235, the interior of the alignment cylinder 230 is thus arranged to gradually become larger toward the opening 232 to increase the allowance to reduce the pressure of the alignment sleeve 190. .

Since the alignment cylinder 230 is formed with the slit 235, the production size of the fixing clip 222 is difficult to control when the inner casing 200 is fabricated, so that arched bridges 271, 272 are respectively formed to extend across the end of the slot 235 to prevent the bottom plate 210. Bending deformation. U-shaped grooves 261 formed at both ends of the bridge 271 and U-shaped grooves 262 formed at both ends of the bridge 272 are used to share the forces of the bridges 271, 272, respectively. In general, if the width of the grooves 261, 262 is larger, the force applied to the bridges 271, 272 is smaller, but the rigidity of the inner casing 200 as a whole is poor. In addition, since the height of the spacer 251 is larger than the height of the bridge 271, the bridge 271 can be prevented from directly contacting the inner wall of the outer casing 100. Likewise, the spacer 252 also prevents the bridge 272 from directly contacting the inner wall of the outer casing 100.

The present invention has been disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any of the ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains can be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. . Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ outer casing
130‧‧‧Alignment cylinder
140‧‧ ‧stop
141‧‧‧Bevel
190‧‧‧Aligned sleeves
200‧‧‧ inner casing
210‧‧‧floor
211‧‧‧ positive
212‧‧‧Back
221‧‧‧fixed clip
222‧‧‧fixed clip
230‧‧‧Alignment cylinder
231‧‧‧ openings
232‧‧‧ openings
235‧‧‧ slotting
240‧‧‧ buckle arm
251‧‧‧ blocks
252‧‧‧ pads
261‧‧‧ Groove
262‧‧‧ Groove
271‧‧‧ Bridge
272‧‧ ‧ Bridge
273‧‧‧ gap
274‧‧‧ gap
R1‧‧‧ front section inner diameter
R2‧‧‧ rear section inner diameter

1 is an exploded perspective view of an optical fiber adapter of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the outer casing of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention. 3a and 3b are perspective views of the inner casing of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention at different viewing angles. Figure 3c is a front elevational view of the inner housing of the fiber optic adapter of the present invention. Figure 3d is a rear elevational view of the inner housing of the fiber optic adapter of the present invention. Figure 3e is a cross-sectional view of the inner casing of the fiber optic adapter of the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic adapter of the present invention.

Claims (10)

An optical fiber adapter comprising: an outer casing having a first alignment cylinder formed therein for receiving a first optical fiber; and an inner casing integrally formed and disposed in the outer casing The inner casing comprises: a bottom plate having a front surface and a back surface; a pair of fixing clips extending from the front surface of the bottom plate; and a second alignment cylinder for accommodating a second optical fiber, the second alignment circle a cylinder is disposed between the two fixing clips and extends from a front surface of the bottom plate toward a longitudinal direction, wherein the second alignment cylinder is formed with two oppositely disposed slots, and the two slots are formed by the second alignment circle The outer surface of the barrel extends through the inner surface and extends in the longitudinal direction to the back side of the bottom plate. The fiber optic adapter of claim 1, wherein the inner casing further comprises: two bridges, respectively a first bridge and a second bridge, the two bridges are formed on the bottom plate and are respectively horizontally Across the two slots. The fiber optic adapter of claim 2, wherein the two bridges are arch bridges. The fiber optic adapter of claim 2, wherein a gap is formed under each of the bridges, and the two notches are respectively connected to the two slots. The optical fiber adapter of claim 2, wherein two opposite sides of the bottom plate are formed with two grooves, two of the four grooves respectively Located at both ends of the first bridge, and the other two of the four grooves are respectively located at both ends of the second bridge. The fiber optic adapter of claim 5, wherein the four grooves are U-shaped grooves. The fiber optic adapter of claim 1, wherein the second alignment cylinder comprises two front and rear sections, the rear section being closer to the bottom panel than the front section, and the interior of the rear section is gradually changed toward the bottom panel. Big. The fiber optic adapter of claim 7, wherein the inner diameter of the front section is uniform. The optical fiber adapter of claim 1, wherein the inner casing further comprises: another pair of fixing clips extending from a back surface of the bottom plate. The fiber optic adapter of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic adapter is an SC fiber optic adapter.