JPS58171012A - fiber optic connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector for an optical transmission line, and particularly relates to an easy-to-handle optical 7-eyeper coupling part.

(2) Background of the technology Fiber-like optical transmission lines (hereinafter referred to as optical fibers) for original transmitters used in optical communications are, for example, made of optical glass whose refractive index is set to a predetermined value and different from each other. Form the core and cladding layers with plastic.
In addition, other materials such as urethane,
Polyethylene and vinyl having the same structure as those tested at Cape are used.

When this optical fiber is used for optical transmission, the optical fiber end is connected to a desired device/device or another optical fiber end to effectively send and receive optical signals. When connecting to the optical fiber 1 in this way, an optical fiber connector is used.

(3) Prior Art and Problems To explain the conventional optical fiber connector as described above using the cross-sectional view shown in Figure 1, an annular fixing fitting is placed at a predetermined distance from the ends of a pair of optical fibers 1 and 2. 3 and 4t-, respectively, and are compressed and deformed from the outer circumferential direction and crimped onto the original fiber 1.2.

On both sides of the optical connector adapter 5, there are recesses @51, 52 into which the fixing metal A a t4 is fitted, and 9+lJK screw threads 53, 5.
A hole 55 communicating with the recesses 1151 and 52 is formed at the center to have the same diameter as the outer diameter of the optical fiber, and a taper for guiding the insertion of the optical fiber expands on both sides of the hole 550. The hole has been dedicated to the public shrine.

As shown in the figure, attach the identification fittings 3 and 4 from both sides of the adapter 5.
When inserted into a pair of optical fibers 1 and 2 which are crimped and facing each other, the tip of the optical fiber 1.2 fits into the hole 55 so that the end faces of the optical fiber 1. ,52
Since the fixing fittings 3 and 4 are attached to the adapter 5 from both sides, the fixing fittings 3 and 4 are pressed and fixed to the adapter 5 using bag nuts 6 and 7.

As described above, conventional optical fiber connectors have disadvantages such as having a large number of component parts, requiring special tools and time and money for assembly, and having to determine dimensions accurately.

(4) Object of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connector which has a small number of component parts and is easy to assemble and operate.

(5) Structure of the Invention The structure of the present invention to achieve this object has a base 7 eyeper mounting part in the center, and the mounting part is substantially divided so as to be able to sandwich the base fiber. , and is provided with a locking part that engages and holds the optical fiber in a clamped state, and is integrally provided with elastic retaining parts for connecting the connector to both sides 11 of the mounting part to enable the connector to be attached and detached, and K is provided on the inner surface of the optical fiber mounting part. This is an optical fiber connector formed with concave and convex portions for sandwiching optical fibers.

(6) Embodiments of the Invention Below, embodiments of the optical fiber connector of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. In the figure, an optical fiber attachment part 12 is formed in a circular hole in the central body 11 in the longitudinal direction of the connector 1o. On the rear end side 15 of the arm, the upper half of the shaft center is divided into a semicircular shape at the top and bottom.
16, 17. The lower half 19 is the tip of the main body 11,
Although it is integrated with the end side, the upper half body 20 has an upper surface 21 as shown in the figure.
is integrally and continuously formed in a thin layer, and this connecting portion 22
has a hinge function and can be integrated with the lower half body 19.

The integrated state is as shown in Figure 3 (c), and the upper half body 2
0 has a reverse groove shape and fits into the left and right sides of the lower half body 19, and an eave-like protrusion 23 protruding from the left and right sides of the lower half body 19 has a groove-shaped eave-like recess 24 of the upper half body 2d. The distal end side 13 of the main body 11, which is engaged and locked into one body, is inclined 25 in a tapered shape that widens on both sides toward the rear end in a plan view. A pair of knobs 27 extending in a shape are formed. This knob 27 is located on both sides of the main body of the attachment 12, and there is a notch-shaped l! till
128 intervenes.

This connector 1 is integrally molded from a synthetic resin having an OFi property, such as polypropylene, which has strength, hardness, and repeated bending elasticity.

Therefore, the bending of the thin connecting portion 22 can withstand repeated bending, and both groove-shaped sides of the upper half body 20 are also elastically expanded, so that the projection 23 and the recess 24 can be easily engaged. The knob 27 is elastically curved with one end as a fulcrum so that the gap is reduced in response to compression from uniformity toward the center, and the maximum width of the step 26 is also reduced along with the tapered portion, and returns to its original position when external force is removed.

Upper half body 20 and lower arm body 19 insertion part 16.17Fi third
As shown in Figure (b), the unevenness 28 is formed in the shape of a needle or a blade, and Figure 4 (a), fully enlarged at the tlA section, (
As shown in b), a large number of sharp triangular or serrated shapes are continuously formed.

The unevenness 28 may be formed uniformly in the length direction, or may be formed continuously in a striped manner along a semicircle, and has an aK of more than 0.5 mm, and is formed on the connector as shown in the -5th section. With the upper half body 20 open, the optical fiber 40 is attached to the attachment part 12 and the fiber core edge 4 consisting of the core and cladding is attached to the attachment part 42.
The tip 43 of 1 is finished into an optical plane or inserted with a cut shape. The hole 14 at the tip @ 13 of the main body is for the optical fiber 40 w.
The hole fits closely with L% 42 and can be easily inserted. With the tip 43 of the inserted optical fiber 40 aligned with the tip surface 29 of the connector 20 is pushed down to engage with the lower half body 19, and the protrusion 23 and recess 24 are locked. Since the coating 42 of the optical fiber 40 is flexible, the protrusion 28 of the attachment part 12 pierces like a thorn, and the optical fiber 4
Fixed at 0f.

This state wA is shown in No. 6-.

Tip 43 of optical fiber 40 Tip surface 2 of Fi connector IO
9, or may be very slightly concave, which prevents scratches.

The protrusion 28Fi fixing the coating 42 of the optical fiber 40
The height is determined to have no effect on the optical fiber core $4HC, and it may be fixed so as to prevent movement in the axial direction by suppressing the shape so as not to pierce it. This means that the protrusions 28 are not thorn-like;
It is possible that the surface is quite uneven and speckled.

A pair of optical fiber connectors shown in FIG. 6 are prepared, and a coupling adapter for coupling them is shown in FIG. t-M7. The adapter 6 (l) is a rectangular parallelepiped in appearance and has openings 6-1 on corresponding surfaces, and the inside is hollow and communicates with each other.

This cavity has a completely symmetrical shape when viewed from both sides, and is formed with a stepped portion 62 that expands from side to side following the square 0M opening 61, and contracts from the expanded portion toward the center at a taper 63. The vertical direction has the same width interval and is the same as the opening width. The coupling adapter 60 may be integrally molded from synthetic resin, or may be formed from a metal body or press-molded. In this case, the external shape is not necessarily a rectangular parallelepiped.

To attach the connector 10 to the adapter 60, when the tabs 27 on both sides of the connector 10 are squeezed with fingers, the opening of the adapter 60 is narrowed by curving and sloping from the tapered portion 25 and reducing the width between the R portions 26. From the tip side 1 of the connector 10
Insert 3 at the beginning. When the taper 25 of the connector 10 is in contact with the taper 63 of the adapter 60 and the hand is released, the stepped portion 26 of the connector 10 elastically restores to the stepped portion 62 of the adapter 60, expands, and is engaged.

When a pair of connectors 10 are inserted into both openings 61 of the adapter 60 independently or simultaneously as described above, the pair of connector ends 29 abut each other, and the optical fiber end faces 43Fi coaxially face each other and emit light. It becomes possible to combine and is packed.

To remove the connector 10, follow the steps in reverse order 27
It can be easily pulled out by holding it down and reducing the space between the stepped portions 26. In this way, the connectors can be attached and detached in a one-touch manner.

The optical fiber 4o can be removed from the connector 10 by forcibly pulling up the upper body 20t and the lower body 19.
Since the optical fiber 40 is split at the center of the connecting portion 22t, the optical fiber 40 can be pulled out and inspected, or another optical fiber can be attached and fixed again. Wow. This is true even if the upper half of the attachment part is completely divided, but it is more suitable for molding if it is integrated.

FIG. 8 shows a different embodiment of the invention. In the case of the present example, the distal end 40' of the optical fiber 40 inserted into the connector 10 protrudes a predetermined length a from the distal end surface 29 of the connector 1o, and there is a A wall portion 65Yr is formed, and the outer diameter of the optical fiber 40 is inserted into the center of the wall portion 65Yr under moderate pressure, and both ends are connected through a hole 66 enlarged by a taper, but other than that, the structure is exactly the same. . Note that the length of the hole 66 is set to 2&.

Therefore, in order to attach the connector 10 to the adapter 60',
Pressing the knob 271r of the connector and inserting the adapter 60' from the bottom 61 is the same, and the optical 77 and fiber ends of the pair of connectors are set exactly on the same axis by this hole 66, creating an optically coupled state. .

Since the original fiber connector according to the present invention is as described above, the optical fiber is directly inserted and exposed at the center of the end face of the optical fiber guide of the connector body, and iI! Shield part is original fiber T
- When fixed, the K is positioned with the tapered surface on the tip side on both sides, and since it is integrally equipped with an elastic retainer for connecting the connector later, it is extremely easy to assemble and operate. Therefore, the connector adapter is not limited to those shown in Figures 7 and 8, but it is also possible to directly connect one side to an optical element such as a light emitting element or a light receiving element. Yes, formed at the connection part with the optical device.
It may also be a part of the installation.

Although the optical fiber connector of the present invention is applicable to original fibers made of glass, it is more suitable for use with plastic original fibers whose optical fiber strands have a relatively large diameter.

In addition, although the insertion part of the main body hole is made to be a hole that is in close contact with the optical fiber to be drilled, it is also possible to make the hole diameter suitable for this part only when the nuclide gold is removed and the Optical 7 Aiper wire is made. Needless to say.

Also, the illustrated example is a combination of a single original fiber, but
This is also effective for a combination of two or more fibers.This may be done with a plurality of individual optical fibers or in parallel.

(7) Effects of the Invention As described above, the optical fiber connector of the present invention is a practical connector with an integrated structure and excellent operability for attaching, detaching, and coupling optical fibers.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an assembled sectional view of a conventional optical fiber connector, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the optical fiber connector according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is (a) a front view (b) a lft cross section. (e) Rear view, different examples of enlarged portions of A in Fig. 4 and Fig. 3 are shown in (aL (b), Fig. 5 is before installing the optical fiber, Fig. 6 is after the original fiber Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a coupling adapter, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a different embodiment. , 19 is the lower half body, 20 is the upper half body, 22 is the Fi connection part, 23 is the protrusion, 2
4 is a concave part, 25 is a taber, 26 is an insulator, 27 is a ti knob, 40 is an optical fiber, 60°] Fig. 5 n'3 Fig. 6 Fig. 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An optical fiber mounting part is provided in the center, the mounting part is substantially divided so as to be able to clamp the optical fiber, and has a locking part that holds and holds the optical fiber in a clamped state, and An original fiber connector that is integrally equipped with an elastic retaining part for connecting connectors that allows both 1IiIK connectors to be attached and detached. (2) The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein a concave and convex portion for clamping an optical fiber is formed on the inner surface of the Optical 7 Eyeper mounting portion.