CN111007597A

CN111007597A - Optical connector

Info

Publication number: CN111007597A
Application number: CN201811168700.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁晓琳
Original assignee: Senko Advanced Components Inc
Current assignee: Senko Advanced Components Inc
Priority date: 2018-10-08
Filing date: 2018-10-08
Publication date: 2020-04-14

Abstract

An optical connector is provided that can be used for next generation broadband ethernet and outdoor microwave network unit cable plugs and also has backward compatibility for use with transceivers/adapters in existing data centers. The optical connector may include a housing and a pair of first and second optical ferrules attached to an optical cable. The optical connector may further include a pair of first and second latches respectively located above the first and second optical ferrules and configured to be elastically deformable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical ferrule. The optical connector may also include a one-touch tab positioned on an upper exterior surface of the connector housing and configured to contact the first and second latches. Preferably, the one-touch pressing piece may extend from an upper outer surface of the connector housing at a position closer to the first and second latches, and have a hole at an engagement position with the housing to maintain flexibility thereof.

Description

Optical connector

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an optical connector for next generation broadband ethernet and outdoor microwave network units with backward compatibility for use with existing transceivers/adapters.

Background

The popularity of the internet has lead to an unprecedented growth in communication networks. Connector manufacturers are constantly seeking ways to reduce the size of the devices. For example, a duplex LC optical connector developed for existing high density fiber optic communications network systems, as shown in fig. 1, may include a pair of first and second optical ferrules and a pair of latches located above each optical ferrule, and a press tab configured to contact the latches, such that a user may press the press tab to deform the latches to remove the optical connector from a high density adapter/transceiver in the fiber optic communications network system in use.

In addition, optical connector providers are faced with constant challenges in order to deploy 4G +, LTE +, and future 5G communication network systems in the telecommunications market. For example, U.S. patent No. 10,018,795 discloses a ruggedized weatherproof fiber optic cable plug to provide a fiber optic cable plug for next generation broadband ethernet and outdoor microwave network units. The disclosed fiber optic cable plug includes a front portion for mating with an optoelectronic transceiver and an LC connector. The front portion has a sleeve with a tab with an attachment. The LC connector is similar to the connector shown in fig. 1, including a pair of latches but not including the wafer as shown in fig. 1. In use, a user may press the tab of the front bushing to deform the latch of the LC connector to remove the connector from the adapter/transceiver in the fiber optic communications network system.

However, the optical connector disclosed in U.S. patent No. 10,018,795 cannot be used with existing conventional adapters/transceivers. Since it does not include a tab configured to contact the latch above the ferrule, facilitating removal of the optical connector from the adapter/transceiver by a user.

On the other hand, the conventional optical connector shown in fig. 1 cannot be used for the optical cable plug disclosed in U.S. patent No. 10,018,795. The reason is that the blades of the prior art optical connector, as shown in fig. 2, may interfere with the wings of the front bushing of the cable plug.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an optical connector that can be used with the next generation broadband ethernet and outdoor microwave network unit cable plugs and also has backward compatibility to be used with existing transceiver/adapters. The optical connector may include a housing and a pair of first and second optical ferrules attached to an optical cable. The optical connector may further include a pair of first and second latches respectively located above the first and second optical ferrules and configured to be elastically deformable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical ferrule. The optical connector may also include a one-touch tab positioned on an upper exterior surface of the connector housing and configured to contact the first and second latches. Preferably, the one-touch pressing piece may extend from an upper outer surface of the connector housing at a position closer to the first and second latches, and have a hole at an engagement position with the housing to maintain flexibility thereof.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art LC optical connector;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the use of a prior art LC optical connector for a ruggedized weatherproof fiber optic cable plug;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an LC optical connector of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fiber optic cable plug including the LC optical connector of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fiber optic cable plug including the LC optical connector of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a front shell for the cable plug of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the front shell metal bushing of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the optical connector of FIG. 3 after insertion into the front housing of FIG. 6;

9A-9D depict a process of removing the optical connector of FIG. 3 from the front shell of FIG. 6;

fig. 10 is a perspective view of the optical connector of fig. 3 in use with a high-density adapter in an existing fiber optic communications network system.

Detailed Description

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the optical connector 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the optical connector 1 is depicted as an optical connector of a duplex LC connector, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the connector of the present invention may be of any suitable type now known or later developed, such as a Ferrule Connector (FC), a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) connector, an LC connector, a Mechanical Transfer (MT) connector, a Square Connector (SC), a CS connector or a straight end (ST) connector.

As shown in fig. 3, the optical connector 1 may include a housing 11 and a pair of first and second

optical ferrules

12a and 12b attached to an optical cable. The optical connector 1 may further include a pair of first and

second latches

13a and 13 b. The first and

second latches

13a and 13b are located above the first and second

optical ferrules

12a and 12b, respectively, and are configured to be elastically deformable about an axis perpendicular to the optical axes of the

optical ferrules

12a and 12 b. The optical connector 1 may further include a one-touch pad 14 positioned on an upper outer surface of the connector housing 11 and configured to contact the first and

second latches

13a and 13 b. Preferably, the one-touch pad 14 may extend from an upper outer surface of the housing 11 at a position closer to the first and second

optical ferrules

12a and 12b, and has a hole 141 at an engagement position with the housing 11 to maintain flexibility thereof. In use, a user may press the one-touch pad 14 to deform the first and

second latches

13a and 13b to remove the optical connector 1 from the adapter or transceiver.

Fig. 4 and 5 show a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a cable plug 100 comprising the optical connector 1 of fig. 3. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the optical connector 1 is mounted on the optical fiber cable 2 and connected to the opto-electronic transceiver 3 to form an optical cable plug 100. The cable plug 100 includes a front shell 4 for connecting the opto-electronic transceiver 3 and the optical connector 1. The fiber optic cable 2 may be held together with the connector housing 11 by the retainer 5 and crimp ring 6, and is supported and protected by the cable jacket 7.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the front shell 4. As shown in fig. 6, the front case 4 may include a main body 41, a metal bushing 42, and a flange 43. The metal bushing 42 is configured to be fittingly wrapped around the body 41. The flange 43 is configured to surround the metal bush 42 and fix the metal bush 42 to the main body 41. The front housing body 41 may include locking elements (not shown) corresponding to the first and

second latches

13a and 13b of the optical connector 1 for locking the optical connector 1 within the front housing 4.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the metal bushing 42. As shown in fig. 7, the metal bushing 42 may have a tab 421 having a flat portion and a curved portion. The curved portion may have a pair of first and second

inclined plates

421a and 421b to form a V shape.

Fig. 8 depicts a side view after the optical connector 1 is inserted into the front shell 4. It can be seen that the one-touch pressing piece 14 of the optical connector 1 can be fittingly located below the first inclined plate 421a of the bent portion of the front-shell metal bushing fin 421 without interfering with the front-shell metal bushing fin 421.

Referring back to fig. 4 and 5, the optical cable plug 100 may further include an outer housing 8 covering the interface of the optical connector 1 and the front housing 4, which is configured to be passed through by the optical fiber cable 2 and slidable along the optical fiber cable 2. The housing 8 may include one or more locking elements 81 (depicted as grooves in this embodiment) located on the inner wall of the housing 8. Accordingly, the front shell body 41 may have one or more locking elements 411 (depicted as protrusions in this embodiment) located on the outer wall of the front shell body 41 that couple with the locking elements 81 on the inner wall of the housing 8 to secure the housing 8. The tab 421 of the metal bush may have an opening 4211 on a flat portion thereof to allow the protrusion 411 on the outer wall of the front housing to pass through, and the opening 4211 may be designed to allow the metal bush 42 to slide in the optical axis direction of the optical connector 1.

Fig. 9A to 9D depict a process of detaching the optical connector 1 from the front case 4. First, as shown in fig. 9A, the housing 8 is pulled in a direction away from the front housing 4 (as shown by the arrow) to expose the front housing 4 and the interface of the optical connector 1. Then, as shown in fig. 9B, the metal bush 42 is slid in a direction away from the optical connector 1 (as shown by the arrow) so that the V-shaped bottom of the bent portion of the metal bush wing 421 is positioned above the one-touch pad 14 of the optical connector. Then, the tab 421 of the metal bush is pressed downward as shown in fig. 9C to bend the one-touch-pressing piece 14, deforming the first and

second latches

13a and 13b of the optical connector until the first and

second latches

13a and 13b of the optical connector are disengaged from the corresponding locking members in the front case 4. Then, the optical connector 1 is pulled out and detached from the front housing 4 as shown in fig. 9D.

Fig. 10 depicts a perspective view of the optical connector 1 of fig. 3 in use with a high density adapter 9 in an existing fiber optic communications network system. As shown in fig. 10, the optical connector 1 is mounted on the optical fiber cable 2 and connected to an existing adapter 9. A user may press the one-touch pad 14 to deform the

latches

13a and 13b (not shown) to detach the optical connector 1 from the adapter 9 in use.

The specific embodiments described in this disclosure are intended as illustrations of various aspects and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various of the features and functions disclosed above, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An optical connector mountable on a fiber optic cable for use with an optical cable plug or with an existing transceiver/adapter, comprising:

a connector housing;

a pair of first and second optical ferrules;

a pair of first and second latches located above the first and second optical ferrules, respectively, and configured to be elastically deformable about an axis perpendicular to optical axes of the first and second optical ferrules; and

a one-touch tab positioned on an upper exterior surface of the connector housing and configured to contact the first and second latches; wherein the one-touch pressing piece extends from an upper outer surface of the connector housing at a position closer to the first and second latches, and has a hole at an engagement position with the connector housing to maintain flexibility thereof.

2. An optical cable plug comprising the optical connector of claim 1, further comprising a front shell 4 for connecting an opto-electronic transceiver with the optical connector; wherein the front case includes:

a front housing main body;

a metal bushing configured to be engageably wound around a circumference of the front case body; and

and a flange configured to surround the metal bushing and fix the metal bushing to the front case main body.

3. The fiber optic cable plug of claim 2, wherein the front housing body includes locking elements corresponding to the first and second latches of the optical connector on an inner wall of the front housing body for locking the optical connector within the front housing.

4. The fiber optic cable plug of claim 3, wherein the metal sleeve has a tab with a flat portion and a curved portion; the bent portion has a pair of first and second inclined plates to form a V shape;

wherein the tabs of the metal bushing are configured to bend the one-touch tab of the optical connector to deform the first and second latches of the optical connector to disengage from the corresponding locking elements on the inner wall of the front housing body.

5. The optical cable plug of claim 2, further comprising an outer housing covering the interface of the optical connector and the front shell, configured to be traversed by and slidable along a fiber optic cable.

6. The fiber optic cable plug of claim 5, wherein the housing includes one or more locking elements located on an inner wall of the housing; accordingly, the front shell body has one or more locking elements on an outer wall of the front shell body for coupling with one or more locking elements on an inner wall of the housing.

7. The optical cable plug of claim 6, wherein the tabs of the metal sleeve have openings on a flat portion thereof to allow one or more locking elements on the front housing outer wall to pass through and to allow the metal sleeve to slide in the optical axis direction of the optical connector.