JP4121487B2 - Light outlet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is for optically connecting one end of a trunk-side optical fiber installed on a wall surface in a home and used for home wiring to one end of a device-side optical fiber extending from an optical fiber connecting device placed in the home. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical outlet suitable for connecting a plastic optical fiber called POF.

Along with the development of optical communication technology, there is an increasing number of users in general houses who are requesting a new construction of a facility such as a LAN line using an optical fiber cable (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “optical fiber”). .
In order to promote the spread of optical fiber in-house wiring to ordinary homes, it is essential to develop indoor wiring equipment (that is, optical outlets) that can easily connect optical fibers in each room in the house.

  Under such circumstances, optical outlets having various structures have been proposed in recent years (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). However, these conventional optical outlets have not been fully studied for various problems that may occur in actual facility locations.

  For example, the connecting portion of the optical fiber is configured by a relay adapter called a relay jack type optical connector, an optical adapter, an optical receptacle, etc., and if dust or moisture enters the inside of the relay adapter, The information transmission function may be impaired. However, the conventional optical outlet has a configuration in which the connection portion of the optical fiber is exposed on the back side (inside the wall) (see Patent Document 2) or is simply covered with an embedded box (Patent Document 1). reference). Dust and moisture easily enter the walls of the house from the outside. Therefore, even if the connector of the optical fiber cable is inserted into the relay adapter, dust and moisture in the wall enter from a slight gap between the relay adapter and the connector, and the information transmission function of the optical fiber is impaired. There was a fear.

Furthermore, the optical fiber connected by the optical outlet is an extremely delicate part compared to the electrical cable used for general indoor wiring, so it must be handled with care, but the workability during construction is taken into consideration. There are few things. If the workability at the time of construction is poor, there is a high possibility that the tip end face of the optical fiber will be damaged or that it will be forcibly damaged by bending stress.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-257701 JP-A-1-297604

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to protect the connection portion of the optical fiber from dust, moisture, and the like, and to improve workability at a construction site.

The present invention provides an optical outlet that optically connects one end of a trunk-side optical fiber installed on a wall surface in a home and used for home wiring to one end of a device-side optical fiber extending from an optical fiber connection device placed in the home. Because
A case having an opening on the front side and an insertion port for a trunk-side optical fiber on the back side, and an external housing composed of a cover attached to the front opening of the case;
A relay adapter for connecting one end of the trunk-side optical fiber and one end of the device-side optical fiber;
A support body rotatably mounted inside the case and supporting the relay adapter;
An airtight bushing that is attached to the main line side optical fiber and closes a gap between the main line side optical fiber and the insertion port.
And the said case has the arrangement | positioning part of an airtight bushing succeeding to an insertion port, and has a guide wall which guides an airtight bushing to an arrangement | positioning part with rotation operation of a support body.

  According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the relay adapter is housed in the outer casing constituted by the case and the cover, and the gap between the main optical fiber and the insertion port is closed by the airtight bushing. The connection portion of the optical fiber by the relay adapter can be protected from dust and moisture.

  Further, since the hermetic bushing is guided to the guide wall in accordance with the rotation operation of the support and is positioned on the arrangement portion, the workability on the site is improved without bothering the troublesome positioning operation of the hermetic bushing.

  Here, the relay adapter includes a first connection component to which a connector provided at one end of the trunk side optical fiber is connected, and a second connection component to which a connector provided at one end of the device side optical fiber is connected. In addition, it is preferable that each of the connection parts includes a fixing frame that holds one end surface in an overlapping manner.

  The fixed frame can be formed of a thin-walled metal part that is curved and shaped to hold the outer peripheral surface of each connection part.

Further, the fixing frame is formed with an engaging claw for extending to the support, while the support is formed with a locking groove for locking the engaging claw,
A locking state between the locking groove and the engaging claw is formed in accordance with the operation of inserting the engaging claw into the locking groove.

  By constructing the relay adapter with such a simple configuration, the assembly workability of the optical outlet is improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while protecting the connection part of an optical fiber from dust, moisture, etc., the improvement of workability | operativity in a construction site can be aimed at.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1A to 1E are diagrams showing the overall configuration of an optical outlet according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C and FIGS. 3A and 3B are according to an assembly sequence. It is a figure which shows the structure of the same optical outlet.

  As for the optical outlet of this embodiment, the main part is comprised by each component of the case 10, the cover 20, the relay adapter 30, and the support body 40. FIG.

The case 10 and the cover 20 are parts that constitute an external casing of the optical outlet.
The case 10 has an open front (for example, see FIG. 2A), and a cover 20 is attached to the front opening 10a (see FIG. 1D). A plurality of locking claws 11 are formed on the peripheral surface of the case 10, while a plurality of engagement pieces 21 extend from the peripheral edge of the cover 20. The cover 20 is attached to the case 10 by the engagement between the engagement pieces 21 and the locking claws 11.

  An insertion port 12 for inserting the trunk side optical fiber is formed on the back surface of the case 10 (see FIG. 1D). In the present embodiment, a notch 13 for inserting a connector is also formed continuously from the insertion opening 12. The notch 13 is an opening through which the connector 51 attached to the distal end of the trunk side optical fiber 50 is introduced from the back side of the case 10 to the inside.

  Further, the arrangement portion 14 of the airtight bushing 60 is formed on the inner back surface of the case 10 continuously from the insertion opening 12 so as to be surrounded by the standing wall. The optical outlet according to the present embodiment includes an airtight bushing 60 configured as shown in FIGS. The airtight bushing 60 is made of an elastic material such as rubber. As shown in FIG. 1D, the airtight bushing 60 is arranged in the arrangement unit 14 in a state of being fitted on the main line side optical fiber 50. The airtight bushing 60 arranged in the arrangement part 14 is in contact with the insertion port 12, thereby closing the insertion port 12.

  Here, a guide wall 15 that guides the airtight bushing 60 attached to the trunk side optical fiber 50 to the placement portion 14 is formed on the inner back surface of the case 10 in accordance with a rotation operation of the support 40 described later. (See FIGS. 2A and 2B). That is, the guide wall 15 has an inclined surface extending from the upper end of the hermetic bushing 60 arrangement portion 14, and the airtight bushing 60 is guided to the arrangement portion 14 along the inclined surface. .

  As shown in FIG. 1 (e), a device-side optical fiber insertion port 22 opens downward on the front surface of the cover 20. A metal mounting bracket 23 is attached to both sides of the cover 20. The mounting bracket 23 is for mounting an optical outlet on a wall surface of a house using a general-purpose wiring fixture mounting frame, and has a size and shape suitable for the wiring fixture mounting frame.

  The relay adapter 30 is a component that connects one end of the trunk-side optical fiber 50 and one end of the device-side optical fiber. Here, the “trunk side optical fiber” is an optical fiber used for in-home wiring, and the “equipment side optical fiber” is an optical fiber that connects an optical fiber connection device installed in a room in the home to this optical outlet. is there. In this embodiment, a plastic optical fiber called POF is used as each optical fiber. Such a plastic optical fiber has an advantage that it is more resistant to bending than a quartz optical fiber and is easily terminated.

  Connectors suitable for termination of plastic optical fibers are commercially available in various configurations. In this embodiment, a POF connector called an SMI plug is used. Therefore, the relay adapter 30 has a configuration suitable for the connection of this SMI plug.

4 to 7 are diagrams illustrating the configuration of the relay adapter 30 according to the present embodiment.
The relay adapter 30 is connected to a first connection component 31 (see FIG. 4) to which a connector 51 provided at one end of the trunk side optical fiber 50 is connected and a connector 51 provided at one end of the equipment side optical fiber. Second connection component 32 (see FIG. 5) and a fixed frame 33 (see FIG. 6) for holding each of the connection components with one end face being overlapped.
In addition, the relay adapter 30 shown in the figure can also use the first connection component 31 as a second connection component and the first connection component 31 as a second connection component.

  In this embodiment, the relay adapter 30 is manufactured by improving a commercially available SMI relay optical connector. As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (a), the commercially available SMI relay optical connector has flanges 31a and 32a (hatched portions in the figure) extending from the side edges of the connection parts 31 and 32, respectively. The flanges 31a and 32a are screwed and the connection parts 31 and 32 are superposed.

The relay adapter 30 of the present embodiment is reduced in size by deleting the flanges 31 a and 32 a of the connection parts 31 and 32, so that the relay adapter 30 can be accommodated in the case 10. The overlapping of the connection parts 31 and 32 is realized by a fixed frame 33 shown in FIG.
The fixed frame 33 is formed of a thin-walled metal part that is curved and shaped to hold the outer peripheral surfaces of the connection parts 31 and 32. The upper surface of the fixed frame 33 is notched at the intermediate portion, and a locking claw 33a is formed on the inner edge of the fixed frame 33. Further, an engagement piece 33 b is bent at the side edge of the fixed frame 33. On the end surfaces where the connection parts 31 and 32 are overlapped, protrusions 31b and 32b are formed at the top, and on the side surfaces of the connection parts 31 and 32, cutout grooves 31c and 32c extending in the vertical direction are formed. It is.

  The relay adapter 30 is easily assembled by first overlapping the end surfaces of the connection parts 31 and 32 and then fitting the fixed frame 33 into the overlapped portion from above (see FIG. 7). At this time, the locking claw 33a of the fixed frame 33 engages with the protrusions 31b and 32b of each connection component, and the engagement piece 33b of the fixed frame 33 engages with the notch grooves 31c and 32c of each connection component. Thereby, an assembly-like body is hold | maintained.

  The fixing frame 33 described above is formed with an engaging claw portion 33c that is attached to the support body 40 described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the support body 40 is rotatably mounted inside the case 10. That is, a bearing piece 41 extends from the base end portion of the support body 40, and a long hole 41 a is formed in the bearing piece 41. On the other hand, a support shaft 16 is formed inside the case 10, and this support shaft 16 is engaged with the long hole 41a. Thereby, the support body 40 is rotatable with respect to the support shaft 16, and is slidable by the length of the long hole 41a.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (e), a locking groove portion 42 is formed on the front surface of the support body 40, and the engaging claw portion 33 c of the fixing frame 33 is inserted and locked into the locking groove portion 42. The relay adapter 30 is held.

  Moreover, the upper part 40a of the support body 40 is formed in the curved shape (refer FIG.1 (d)). The trunk side optical fiber 50 drawn into the case 10 is disposed along the curved upper portion 40a, thereby preventing the optical fiber 50 from being bent excessively.

  A projecting wall 43 for closing the notch 13 for inserting the connector 51 formed on the back of the case 10 is formed on the back of the support 40 (see FIGS. 2A to 2C). . Further, a bushing pressing portion 44 for pressing and holding the airtight bushing 60 to the arrangement portion 14 of the case 10 is formed on the support body 40 (see FIG. 1D). In addition, a bushing holding projection 45 for detachably holding the airtight bushing 60 is formed on the side surface of the support body 40 (see FIG. 2A). By attaching the airtight bushing 60 to the bushing holding projection 45 at the time of shipment from the factory, it is possible to prevent the airtight bushing 60, which is a fine part, from being lost during transportation or in the field.

  The support body 40 is fitted inside the case 10 by a rotation operation. In order to maintain the fitted state, a plurality of engagement pieces 17 are formed inside the case 10, while the support body 40 is formed. A plurality of locking claws 46 are formed on the side surface. The support body 40 is held by the case 10 by the engagement of the engagement pieces 17 and the locking claws 46.

Next, an in-house construction method for an optical fiber using the optical outlet according to the present embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 2 and 3).
First, the airtight bushing 60 attached to the bushing holding protrusion of the support body 40 is removed and fitted into the trunk side optical fiber 50 from its tip. Next, the optical connector 51 is attached to the tip of the main line side optical fiber 50 and terminated. As a method for terminating the optical fiber for POF, for example, a hot plate method is known. In this method, the tip of the optical fiber is inserted into the hole of the optical connector 51, the tip is cut, and then the tip of the optical fiber is heated and deformed using a heating tool called a hot rate tool. It is a method of pressing.

  Thereafter, the optical connector 51 is led inward from the back side of the case 10 through the notch 13 for inserting the connector 51 formed in the case 10 and connected to the relay adapter 30 (FIG. 2A). Subsequently, the position of the airtight bushing 60 is adjusted so as to face the guide wall 15, and the support body 40 is rotated and fitted to the back side of the case 10. As the support body 40 is rotated, the airtight bushing 60 is guided by the guide wall 15 and placed on the placement portion 14 (FIGS. 2B and 2C). With this operation, the insertion opening 12 of the case 10 is closed by the airtight bushing 60, and the protruding wall portion 43 of the support body 40 is fitted into the cutout portion 13 of the case 10 to close the cutout portion 13.

  Next, the cover 20 is attached to the front surface of the case 10 (FIGS. 3A and 3B). In this way, assembly at the construction site of the optical outlet can be easily performed. The optical outlet is attached to the wiring fixture mounting frame provided on the wall surface in the house.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, For example, the notch part 13 for inserting the optical connector 51 formed in the back surface of the case 10 is not an essential structure. If the trunk-side optical fiber 50 is passed through the insertion port 12 in advance and then the end of the optical fiber is terminated, there is no problem in the assembly work even if the notch 13 is not present.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the optical outlet concerning embodiment of this invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is side sectional drawing, (e) Is a bottom view. (A) thru | or (c) is side surface sectional drawing which shows the optical outlet shown in FIG. 1 along an assembly order, (d) is a front view of an airtight bushing, (e) is a side view of an airtight bushing. (A) and (b) are side surface sectional views which show the optical outlet of FIG. 1 along the assembly order following FIG. (A) is a left side view showing the first connection part of the conventional relay adapter, (b) is a plan view showing the first connection part of the relay adapter according to this embodiment, (c) is a plan sectional view, d) is a left side view, (e) is a front view, and (f) is a right side view. (A) is a right side view showing a second connection part of a conventional relay adapter, (b) is a plan view showing a second connection part of the relay adapter according to the present embodiment, (c) is a plan sectional view, d) is also a front view, and (e) is a right side view. (A) is a top view which shows the fixed frame of the relay adapter which concerns on this embodiment, (b) is a front view, (c) is a right view. (A) is a plan view of the relay adapter according to the present embodiment, (b) is also a front view, (c) is a left side view, (d) is a plan sectional view, and (e) is a mounting to a support. It is a left view which shows a state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Case, 10a: Front opening part, 11: Locking claw, 12: Insertion opening, 13: Notch part, 14: Arrangement part, 15: Guide wall, 16: Support shaft, 17 Engagement piece 20: Cover, 21 : Engagement piece, 22: insertion port, 23: mounting bracket, 30: relay adapter, 31: first connection part, 31b: protrusion, 31c: notch groove, 32: second connection part, 32b: protrusion 32c: Notch groove, 33: Fixed frame, 33a: Locking claw, 33b: Engagement piece, 33c: Engagement claw part 40: Support, 40a: Upper part, 41: Bearing piece, 41a: Long hole, 42: Locking groove part, 43: protruding wall part, 44: bushing pressing part, 45: bushing holding projection, 46: locking claw 50: trunk side optical fiber, 51: connector,
60: Airtight bushing

Claims (4)

An optical outlet that is optically connected to one end of an optical fiber connected to an optical fiber connected to one end of an optical fiber connected to the optical fiber connected to the end of the main fiber that is installed on a wall surface in the house and used for in-home wiring,
A case having an opening on the front side and an insertion port for the trunk-side optical fiber on the back side, and an external housing composed of a cover attached to the front opening of the case;
A relay adapter for connecting one end of the trunk-side optical fiber and one end of the device-side optical fiber;
A support body rotatably mounted inside the case and supporting the relay adapter;
An airtight bushing that is attached to the main line side optical fiber and closes a gap between the main line side optical fiber and the insertion port;
The case has an arrangement portion of the hermetic bushing that is continuous with the insertion opening, and a guide wall that guides the airtight bushing to the arrangement portion as the support is rotated. A light outlet. The relay adapter includes a first connection component to which a connector provided at one end of the trunk side optical fiber is connected, and a second connection component to which a connector provided at one end of the device side optical fiber is connected. The optical outlet according to claim 1, further comprising: a fixed frame that holds each of the connection parts with one end face being overlapped. The optical outlet according to claim 2, wherein the fixed frame is a thin-walled metal part that is curved and formed to hold the outer peripheral surface of each connection part. The fixing frame is formed with an extension of an engaging claw for mounting on the support, while the support is formed with a locking groove for locking the engaging claw. ,
The optical outlet according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a locking state between the locking groove and the engaging claw is formed in accordance with the insertion operation of the engaging claw with respect to the locking groove.

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