JP2574527B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector comprising a housing for accommodating a cable holder and a lock arm for coupling to a mating member.

2. Description of the Related Art As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional optical connector accommodates a cable holder 2 in a connector housing 1 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and forwards the cable holder 2 by a spring 3 provided inside the connector housing 1. The front end of the holder is exposed from the front end of the housing by urging the connector housing 1. The connector housing 1 is provided with a lock arm 4 that is coupled to a mating member such as a mating connector.

The lock arm 4 extends in parallel to the left and right outer sides of the connector housing 1, that is, along the outer sides of the left and right side walls of the connector housing 1. In this case, the connection with the counterpart member is released by elastic displacement inward, and the connection with the counterpart member is achieved by restoring outward. Reference numeral 6 denotes an optical cable connected and held by the cable holder 2,
The optical cable 6 is inserted from the rear end of the cable holder 2 and its core end surface is exposed from the front end surface of the holder 2 to be used for opposing connection with an optical cable or an optical element of a mating member.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As described above, in the optical connector, the lock arm extends outside the left and right side walls of the connector housing,
Further, since the lock arms are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals with respect to the left and right side walls of the connector housing and allow elastic displacement in and out, the lock arm can be reduced in the overall width of the optical connector, especially in the width direction of the connector. Has a problem that there is a limit and the size is increased. Furthermore, since the lock arm extends forward and outward from the rear end connecting portion of the connector housing to the outside of the housing, the arm may break due to an impact applied from the front of the lock arm, such as when the lock arm is erroneously inserted or dropped. Was causing.

The present invention provides an optical connector having an optical connector having the above-mentioned lock arm, which has been miniaturized as much as possible, and at the same time, the problem of breakage of the lock arm due to an external impact has been solved so that it can function properly. To provide.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to an optical connector in which the lock arm is elastically displaced in and out so as to be connected to and disengaged from a mating member. The lock arm extends along the side opening to dispose the front end of the arm so as to be elastically displaced into the side opening, and defines a side opening facing the front end surface of the arm. In this configuration, an end wall is provided.

In other words, a locking claw protrudes outside the front end of the lock arm extending along the side opening so that the locking claw protrudes outward from the side opening and is formed on the outer surface of the locking claw. An inclined surface is provided, the front end of the lock arm is elastically displaced into the side opening to release the connection with the counterpart member by the locking claw, and the lock arm front end is restored to the outside, and the counterpart by the locking claw is restored. The end wall facing the lock arm front end face is formed on the front wall of the connector housing at the corner of the connector housing located between the front opening and the side opening. It was configured to be formed.

According to the present invention, as described above, the lock arm extends along the side opening formed on the side surface of the cable holder, and the lock arm can be disposed at a position that is originally left and right side walls of the connector housing. The lock arm is elastically displaced through the side opening at the position where the lock arm is engaged, so that the lock arm can be disengaged from the counterpart member. Therefore, the required operation can be obtained while greatly reducing the size and the material as compared with the conventional optical connector in which the lock arm extends at a predetermined interval outside the left and right side walls of the connector housing. In addition, the presence of the end wall facing the front end face of the lock arm prevents the impact from being applied from the front of the arm, thereby effectively solving the problem of the arm being broken when the optical connector is erroneously inserted or dropped. it can.

In addition, the presence of an inclined surface on the outer surface of the locking claw that protrudes outward from the side opening of the connector housing allows the connector claw to be inserted only into the mating member, so that the inclined surface of the locking claw is The front end portion of the lock arm is elastically displaced into the side opening while sliding with the member, and is then restored outward to achieve the connection with the mating member.

Further, in the coupled state with the mating member, the connector arm is only pulled out from the mating member while pressing the front end of the lock arm from the outside with fingers and elastically displaced into the side opening. Can be released, and the operation of coupling with and releasing the coupling with the counterpart member can be performed extremely easily.

Further, the desired arm protection purpose can be effectively achieved by a simple structure in which a housing corner wall remaining by molding the side opening and the front opening is used and disposed opposite to the front end face of the lock arm. Since simple molding for molding the side opening and the front opening is sufficient, the molding of the connector housing becomes easy, and the arm can be formed without causing an increase in the size of the optical connector as in the case where the end wall is specially provided. Protection objectives can be achieved.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

11 is a connector housing made of an insulating material, 12 is the same cable holder, and the cable holder 12 is inserted through a rear opening 26 opened in the rear end face of the connector housing 11 and accommodated in the housing in a retractable manner. The front end of the holder is urged forward by a spring 13 housed in the housing to expose the front end of the holder from a front opening 27 formed in the front end surface of the housing 1, and the optical cable 16 is inserted and held from the rear end surface of the cable holder. The core 16a is exposed to the front end face of the holder, and is used for facing connection with the core of the optical cable or various optical elements held by the mating member. The cable holder 12 has spring receiving and tilt guides on the left and right sides.
The coil spring 13 disposed along the left and right side surfaces of the cable holder 12 is supported by the rear surface of the spring receiving / tilting guide 17 so as to perform the above-mentioned forward biasing.

On the other hand, a lock arm 14 has a rear end connected to the left and right rear ends of the connector housing 11, and the cable holder 12 is connected from the rear end to the front end of the housing.
The arm is extended along the left and right side surfaces, and the front end of the arm is a free end, and an outward locking claw 15 is protruded at the same location. That is, the housing 11
Open side openings 25 on the left and right sides of the lock arm 14
Are extended along the side openings 25 so that the locking claws 15 project outward from the side openings 25, the front end outer surfaces of the locking claws 15 are inclined surfaces 15a, and both locking arms 14 are formed. A space for accommodating the cable holder 12 is formed inside the cable holder 12, and a space in which the spring 13 is provided between the cable holder 12 and the lock arm 14 is defined.
It is arranged so that it is elastically displaced so as to bend into the housing 11 via 25 and is engaged and disengaged.

Also, the front end of the lock arm is bent into the side opening 25 as shown in the figure, and an end wall 28 that defines the side opening 25 is disposed opposite to the front end surface of the arm. The connector housing 11 includes a corner wall between the opening 27 and the side opening 25.

The end wall 28 serves as a means for preventing a shock applied to the front end of the lock arm 14 from the front and for making the lock arm 14 function properly.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, connector housing
The lock arm 11 and the lock arm 14 are integrally formed in the above arrangement, or, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock arm 14 is formed of a separate component such as a leaf spring, and is formed on the left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 11. A screw 29 or the like is attached to the side surface of the rear end of the housing so as to extend along the opening 25 and have the above arrangement.

Further, each of the lock arms 14 and the cable holder 12 are in elastic contact with each other via inclined guides provided at portions opposed to each other. For example, the front surface of each of the spring receiving and tilting guides 17 is formed with a sloping surface 18 that diverges from the front end to the rear end, so that the spring receiving and the tilting guide 17 are shared. An inclined guide 20 having an inclined surface 19 on the inner surface is formed by, for example, obliquely bending an intermediate portion of each of the opposing lock arms 14 inward, and the inclined surfaces 18, 19 of the two inclined guides 17, 20 are arranged to face each other. Then, the spring 13 is brought into elastic contact with each other by the forward biasing force.

That is, each lock arm 14 and the cable holder 12 are inclined by the spring 13 that biases the holder 12,
The lock arms 14 are elastically supported by the cable holder 12 from the inside by this.

The spring 13 functions as a means for applying a forward biasing force F1 shown in FIG. 4 to the cable holder 12 to butt-connect the core 16a.
Function as a means for applying a lateral force F2 to the elastic member to elastically support it.

In the embodiment, the cable holder 12 and the lock arm are used.
Although the case where the inclined guides 17 and 20 are provided at both opposing portions of the case 14 is shown, the above-described inclined guide may be provided only on one of the holder 12 and the arm 14 and the other may be elastically contacted with the same. .

Thus, with the above configuration, the lock arm 14 can be displaced against the elasticity into the side opening 25 inside the end wall 28 by applying an external force to the front end side thereof, and can be restored outward according to the elasticity. When the lock arm 14 is elastically displaced inward by manual operation or the like, the arm 14
20 and 20, the cable holder 12 is pressed while sliding on the inclined surface thereof, and is pressed downward against the spring 13. As a result, the inward displacement of the side opening 25 required by the lock arm 14 is ensured, and the engagement between the locking claw 15 and the counterpart member is properly released. Conversely, when the external force of the lock arm 14 is released and the arm 14 is restored to the outside and the connection with the mating member is achieved, the cable holder 12 is urged by the spring 13 to advance and the lock arm 14 moves forward. The state in which 14 is pressed and supported from the inside by the inclined guide 17 or 20 is continued.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which a pair of the above optical connectors is used, and both optical connectors are butt-connected via a connection adapter 21 to connect the optical cables to each other. The connection adapter 21 has, at the front and rear portions thereof, receptacles 22 for receiving the connector housing 11, and a connection port 22 a for inserting and abutting the front end of the cable holder 12 at the center of the two receptacles 22. A locking portion 23 is provided on both left and right side walls of the opening 22 to engage the locking claw 15 of the lock arm 14 from inside.

Thus, when the front end of the connector housing 11 is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface of the socket 22, the front end of the cable holder 12 is inserted into the connection port 22 a and the two optical connectors are pressed against each other by the spring 13. State. At the same time, the lock arm 14 is inserted into the socket 22 and the locking claw 15 is elastically displaced inside the end wall 28 and locked to the locking portion 23, so that the combined state of the two optical connectors and the above-mentioned pressed butted state are maintained. As a result, the cores 16a are connected to each other. At this time, the inclined guide 20 of the lock arm 14 is located outside the receiving port 22 of the connection adapter 21, and a pressure receiving portion is formed by the outer inclined surface 24 of the inclined guide 20 to facilitate the pressing operation.

Effect of the Invention According to the present invention, the above-described configuration has a structure in which a portion which is originally a side wall of the connector housing is opened to form a side opening, and the lock arm extends along the side opening. The size in the width direction can be greatly reduced, and the miniaturization of the optical connector can be effectively achieved.

In addition, the presence of the end wall facing the front end face of the lock arm prevents the impact from being applied from the front of the arm, and effectively breaks the arm when the optical connector is erroneously inserted or dropped, effectively losing the function. Can be solved.

Further, the desired arm protection purpose can be effectively achieved by a simple structure in which the housing corner wall remaining by molding the side opening and the front opening is used and this is used as an end wall so as to be opposed to the front end face of the lock arm. Since simple molding for molding the side opening and the front opening is sufficient, the molding of the connector housing becomes easy, and the arm can be formed without causing an increase in the size of the optical connector as in the case where the end wall is specially provided. Protection objectives can be achieved.

Also, the inner surface of the front end, which is the free end of the lock arm, is concealed in the side opening and the front end surface is shielded by the end wall, so that other objects can be hooked or entangled with the lock arm. Troubles can be eliminated.

Also, by inserting the connector housing into the mating member, the inclined surface of the locking claw slides between the mating member and the lock arm front end is elastically displaced into the side opening and then is restored outward. In this connection state, the front end of the lock arm is pressed with a finger and elastically displaced into the side opening, and only the connector housing is pulled out from the mating member, so that the locking is achieved. The connection with the counterpart member by the pawl can be released, and the operation of connection and release with the counterpart member can be performed extremely easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical connector, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same half section, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a half-cross section of the connection state between the optical connectors, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a connector housing and a lock arm showing another example, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional optical connector, FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the same half section. 11… Connector housing, 12… Cable holder,
14 ... lock arm, 15 ... locking claw, 25 ... side opening,
27 ... front opening, 28 ... end wall.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A cable holder is accommodated in a connector housing, and a front end of the cable holder is exposed from a front opening formed in a front surface of the connector housing, and is connected to a mating member along a side of the connector housing. An optical connector configured to extend the lock arm and elastically displace the lock arm inward and outward at a front end side provided with a locking claw, so as to achieve coupling and disengagement with a mating member. A side opening is provided on a side surface of the housing, the lock arm extends along the side opening, and the locking claw is projected outside the front end of the lock arm so that the locking claw is outside the side opening. Along with protruding to the side, an inclined surface is provided on the outer surface of the locking claw, the lock arm front end is elastically displaced into the side opening, and the engagement with the mating member by the locking claw is released, Lot The locking arm is arranged so as to be connected to the counterpart member by the locking claw when the arm front end is restored to the outside, and exists between the front opening and the side opening facing the locking arm front end face. An optical connector having an end wall formed by a corner wall of a connector housing.