JP2013015784A - Optical connector and assembling method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To further certainly remove a coating of an insertion optical fiber by a coating removal member.SOLUTION: An optical connector includes: an optical fiber guiding portion 60 having an optical fiber insertion hole 67 in which an insertion optical fiber 1 gripped by an optical fiber gripping portion 104 is inserted; a coating removal member 30 for removing a coating 2 of a tip end portion of the insertion optical fiber 1 inserted in the optical fiber insertion hole 67; and a clamp portion 20 capable of clamping an abutting portion of a bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating is removed by the coating removing member 30 and a built-in optical fiber 12 built in a ferrule 10. During the removing of the coating by the coating removing member 30, when the optical fiber gripping portion 104 comes close to an opening 73 on an insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole, an opening portion 65 including a part of an opening edge portion 74 on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole is moved to a body portion 63 including a rest part of the opening edge portion 74 so as to form a space for permitting the movement of a part contacting with the opening edge portion 74 of the insertion optical fiber.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector provided with a coating removing member for removing a coating of an optical fiber, and an assembling method thereof.

  In the operation of butt-connecting optical fiber core wires, it is widely performed to remove the coating at the tip of the core wire to expose the bare optical fibers and to butt-connect the bare optical fibers. Further, in recent years, for example, a technique in which a coating removal member having a tapered outer appearance and a minimum appearance as shown in Non-Patent Document 1, for example, is mounted inside an optical connector so that the optical connector itself has a coating removal function of an optical fiber core wire. Is under consideration.

  As an optical connector, a short optical fiber (hereinafter simply referred to as “built-in optical fiber”) fixed in advance in a ferrule is inserted into an optical fiber (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “inserted optical fiber”). In order to maintain the butt-connected state, there is also known one in which a clamp portion is provided on the rear side of the ferrule so that the butt end portions of both optical fibers are sandwiched and fixed between halved members (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

JP 2005-208220 A

Ryo Koyama, Kazuhide Nakajima, Masaaki Takaya, Toshio Kurashima, “Study on Butt Connection of Coated Optical Fiber Core”, 2009 IEICE Communication Society, B-13-8

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector and a method for assembling the optical connector that can more reliably realize the coating removal of the inserted optical fiber by the coating removal member.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an optical fiber guide part (60) having an optical fiber insertion hole (67) through which an insertion optical fiber (1) held by an optical fiber holding part (104) is inserted, The coating removal member (30) for removing the coating (2) at the distal end of the insertion optical fiber (1) inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole (67), and the coating removed by the coating removal member (30) A clamp portion (20) capable of clamping a butt portion between the bare optical fiber (3) and the built-in optical fiber (12) built in the ferrule (10), and during coating removal by the coating removal member (30) When the optical fiber gripping part (104) comes close to the opening (73) on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole, the opening part includes a part of the opening edge (74) on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole. (6 ) Move with respect to the main body (63) including the remainder of the opening edge (74) so as to form a space that allows movement of a portion of the insertion optical fiber that contacts the opening edge (74). An optical connector is provided.

  According to this optical connector, even when the optical fiber gripping portion is close to the opening on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole, even if the insertion optical fiber is bent between the optical fiber insertion hole and the optical fiber gripping portion, The bend can be relaxed in the formed space.

The optical fiber gripping part (104) is formed with an abutting part (105) for abutting and moving the opening part (65) when close to the opening of the optical fiber insertion hole (67). It is preferable.
With this configuration, the open portion slides more reliably.

It is preferable that the open part (65) slides while being guided by rails (71, 72) provided between the main part (63).
With this configuration, the opening portion moves more smoothly.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides an optical fiber insertion hole (67) in which an insertion optical fiber (1) held by an optical fiber holding part (104) is provided in an optical fiber guide part (60) of an optical connector. ), The coating (2) at the tip of the insertion optical fiber (1) inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole (67) is removed by the coating removal member (30) of the optical connector, and the coating removal A butt portion between the bare optical fiber (3) whose coating is removed by the member (30) and the built-in optical fiber (12) built in the ferrule (10) of the optical connector is clamped by the clamp portion (20) of the optical connector. When the optical fiber gripping part (104) comes close to the insertion side opening (73) of the optical fiber insertion hole during the coating removal by the coating removal member (30), The open part (65) including a part of the opening edge part (74) on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole forms a space allowing the movement of the part in contact with the opening edge part (74) of the insertion optical fiber. Thus, there is provided an optical connector assembling method that is moved with respect to the main body (63) including the remaining portion of the opening edge (74).

  According to this method of assembling the optical connector, when the optical fiber gripping part is close to the opening on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole, the insertion optical fiber is bent between the optical fiber insertion hole and the optical fiber gripping part. The bend can be relaxed in the formed space.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to more reliably realize the coating removal of the inserted optical fiber by the coating removing member. In particular, when the optical fiber gripping portion is close to the rear opening of the optical fiber insertion hole, even if the insertion optical fiber is bent between the optical fiber insertion hole and the optical fiber gripping portion, the bending is formed. Can be relaxed in space.

(A)-(d) is sectional drawing explaining the outline | summary of the assembly method of an optical connector. It is a perspective view of the optical connector of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector main body which comprises the optical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the connector main body of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of a ferrule and a clamp part. It is (a) perspective view, (b) top view, and (c) sectional view showing an example of a covering removal member. It is a perspective view which shows an example of an assembly member. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a movable guide. It is a side view of the movable guide seen from the F direction of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a jacket holding member. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. (A) is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. 13, (b) is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. It is sectional drawing which follows the DD line | wire of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. It is sectional drawing which follows the EE line | wire of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the optical connector of FIG. 2 is being assembled.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The optical connector described below is a so-called on-site assembly optical connector, which is a connector that can be attached to the tip of an optical fiber cable such as a drop cable without requiring a special assembly tool.

First, an outline of an assembling method of the optical connector 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector main body 101 includes a coating removing member 30 on which a coating removing blade 31 for removing the coating 2 of the inserted optical fiber 1 and a bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed by the coating removing blade 31. And a base member 21 in which grooves 25 and 26 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the insertion optical fiber 1 from the rear of the ferrule 10, and the base member 21. Between the lid members 22 and 23, the insertion optical fiber 1 and the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 are sandwiched to provide a clamp portion 20 that clamps the butted portion. The clamp unit 20 includes a clamp spring 24 that biases the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 in the closing direction.
In the present specification, the side of the built-in optical fiber 12 exposed to the joining end surface 11 of the ferrule 10 along the longitudinal direction (left side in FIG. 1) is referred to as the front, and the opposite direction (right side in FIG. 1). ) Is called back.

Between the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23, there are provided wedge-shaped protrusions (not shown) that secure gaps 22a and 23a into which the insertion optical fiber 1 and the bare optical fiber 3 are inserted.
While the coating 2 is removed by the coating removal blade 31, the insertion optical fiber 1 that is coated behind the lid members 22 and 23 of the clamp portion 20 is accommodated so that the coated insertion optical fiber 1 does not bend and deform. An open guide 50 is provided on the groove 26 to restrict upward deformation of the coated insertion optical fiber 1.
In addition, a predetermined gap G is provided so that the inserted optical fiber 1 can be flexibly deformed while leaving a load sufficient to maintain a butt between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12. There are provided a plurality of optical fiber pressing portions 59, 59 arranged via the.

When assembling the connector main body 101 shown in FIG. 1A at the distal end portion of the insertion optical fiber 1, as shown in FIG. 1A, the movable guide 60 (optical fiber guide portion) assembled behind the base member 21 is used. The insertion optical fiber 1 is inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole 67 of FIG. At this time, the insertion optical fiber 1 is guided by inserting the insertion optical fiber 1 through the optical fiber insertion hole 67. The inserted optical fiber 1 is led out from the end of the optical fiber cable 5 in which the jacket 6 is gripped by the jacket gripping member 102 (optical fiber holder). Next, the coating 2 of the insertion optical fiber 1 is removed by pressing the tip of the insertion optical fiber 1 toward the coating removal blade 31 along the coating optical fiber housing groove 26 provided behind the ferrule 10.
In addition, when the front end of the outer cover gripping member 102 approaches the rear end of the movable guide 60 during the removal of the covering 2, as shown in FIG. The optical fiber 1 moves in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction (insertion direction) of the insertion optical fiber 1. This movement (sliding) mechanism will be described later.

By pushing the outer gripping member 102 forward, the inserted optical fiber 1 is pushed further forward, whereby the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 has been removed can be abutted against the built-in optical fiber 12 and the end faces.
The base member 21 can have an alignment groove 25 that accommodates the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 between the ferrule 10 and the coating removal member 30. The alignment groove 25 facilitates optical axis alignment (alignment) between the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12. The alignment groove 25 is not particularly limited, but a V groove is preferable.
While removing the coating 2 by the coating removal blade 31, an open guide disposed on the accommodation groove 26 for accommodating the insertion optical fiber 1 behind the base member 21 so that the coated insertion optical fiber 1 does not bend and deform. 50 restricts upward deformation of the insertion optical fiber 1 aligning groove. The accommodation groove 26 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a U groove, a semicircular groove, and a V groove.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, after the removal of the coating 2 is completed, the restriction of the insertion optical fiber 1 by the opening guide 50 is released. At this time, a plurality of optical fiber holding portions 59, 59 arranged with a predetermined gap G are provided on the insertion optical fiber 1 accommodated in the accommodation groove 26. Thereby, the bending deformation 4 of the coated insertion optical fiber 1 is possible, leaving a load to such an extent that the butt is maintained between the end faces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 (d), the bare optical fiber 3 is formed by the base member 21 and the first lid member 22 disposed to face the base member 21 between the bent portion 4 and the ferrule 10. And the built-in optical fiber 12 are sandwiched to maintain the butt connection. Further, a second lid member 23 is provided behind the sheath removing member 30. The inserted optical fiber 1 is fixed by sandwiching the covered inserted optical fiber 1 between the base member 21 and the second lid member 23.
After the insertion optical fiber 1 is fixed, it is not necessary to maintain the bending deformation 4 of the insertion optical fiber 1, so that the optical fiber pressing portions 59, 59 may be removed from the accommodation groove 26.

  According to this optical connector 100, when the insertion optical fiber 1 is inserted into the connector main body 101, the insertion optical fiber 1 is accurately guided by being guided into the optical fiber insertion hole 67 of the movable guide 60. Inserted forward. In addition, the opening member 65 moves when the outer gripping member 102 approaches the movable guide 60, and a space is formed on the inserted optical fiber 1 inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole 67. Even when the insertion optical fiber 1 begins to bend due to the occurrence of an “axial misalignment” between the optical fiber insertion hole 67 and the optical fiber insertion hole 67, the bending can be alleviated.

Further, while the coating 2 is removed by the coating removal blade 31, the upward deformation of the inserted optical fiber 1 is caused by the open guide 50 disposed on the accommodation groove 26 extending rearward of the base member 21. Since it can be regulated, when the insertion optical fiber 1 is inserted forward, bending of the insertion optical fiber 1 is suppressed, and a strong pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 is reliably transmitted to the coating removal blade 31. be able to. The pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 is, for example, about 5 to 6 N (500 to 600 g) as described in FIG. 2 of Non-Patent Document 1 (relation between the deflection width and the maximum insertion force). .
Further, due to the presence of the open guide 50, the bending width of the insertion optical fiber 1 becomes 2.5 mm or less or 2.1 mm or less, and a pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 can be generated.

In this case, a strong load corresponding to the pressing force necessary for removing the coating 2 is continuously applied between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 from which the coating 2 of the inserted optical fiber 1 is removed and the built-in optical fiber 12. Become.
If there is an abutting failure such as “axial misalignment” between the optical fibers 3 and 12, the bare light is applied so that the optical axes of the optical fibers 3 and 12 coincide with each other by the urging force of the clamp spring 24. It is desirable to displace the fiber 3.
Therefore, after the coating 2 is removed, the open guide 50 is moved from the top of the housing groove 26 to the outside while leaving the plurality of optical fiber pressing portions 59 and 59 on the housing groove 26. Since the bending deformation 4 is spontaneously formed by the elasticity of the inserted optical fiber 1 itself between the plurality of optical fiber holding portions 59, 59, the load between the end surfaces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12. Can be relaxed to an appropriate level such that the butt is maintained. This makes it possible to close the first lid member 22 of the clamp portion 20 with an appropriate load between the end faces, and to make a good butt connection state between the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 after being sandwiched by the clamp portion 20. Can be. This facilitates assembly of an optical connector with good optical characteristics.

The load acting between the end faces of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 after the bending deformation 4 can be appropriately changed depending on the strength of the urging force of the clamp spring 24, etc. For example, it can be in the range of 0.3N to 1N (30 g to 100 g).
The interval G between the plurality of optical fiber holding portions 59, 59 depends on the material, outer diameter, etc. of the coated insertion optical fiber 1, but in the case of a general silica-based optical fiber having a resin coating diameter of 0.25 mm. About 5-10 mm is mentioned. The distance G at which the deflection deformation 4 occurs with respect to the pressing force applied to the end face of the inserted optical fiber 1 depends on parameters such as elastic modulus determined depending on the material, outer diameter, etc. of the inserted optical fiber 1. It can be estimated accordingly. Also, a suitable interval G can be determined experimentally.
Since the distance H between the optical fiber holding part 59 and the lid member 23 of the clamp part 20 is smaller than the distance G between the optical fiber holding parts 59, 59, buckling or deflection of the optical fiber occurs at the distance H, etc. do not do.
The base member 51 having the receiving groove 26 facing the opening guide 50 is preferably integrated with the base member 21 of the clamp portion 20 because the receiving groove 26 can be formed without interruption.

Next, the structure of the optical connector 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an optical connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector main body 101 constituting the optical connector 100 of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the optical connector 100 is attached to the tip of the optical fiber cable 5, and is connected to the outer gripping member 102 that holds the optical fiber cable 5 by gripping, and the outer gripping member 102. It consists of a connector body 101. The insertion optical fiber 1 is led out from the end of the optical fiber cable 5, and the insertion optical fiber 1 extends forward from the front end of the jacket gripping member 102.

  The connector main body 101 has a clamp part that holds the ferrule 10 with the built-in optical fiber 12 (see FIG. 1) fixed in advance and the joint end face 11 exposed, and the butt connection state of the inserted optical fiber 1 and the built-in optical fiber 12 by a clamp. 20 and a housing for housing the ferrule 10 and the clamp part 20. The housing includes a front housing 14 in which the ferrule 10 is accommodated, a coupling 13 assembled on the outer periphery of the front housing 14, and a rear housing 15 assembled to the front housing 14 from the rear.

  In addition, a retaining cover 16 that holds the outer gripping member 102 is rotatably attached to the rear housing 15. A movable guide 60 is provided in the rear housing 15 so as to be slidable back and forth. Further, the connector main body 101 includes a detachable guide rail 103 for guiding the jacket gripping member 102 toward the rear. The assembly member 40 attached below the housing will be described later.

  Here, an optical fiber cable 5 with a jacket 6 is used on the outer periphery of the insertion optical fiber 1. Examples of the optical fiber cable 5 include an indoor cable and a drop cable. The bare optical fiber 3 is, for example, a quartz optical fiber. The coating 2 is a resin coating in which, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or a polyamide resin is coated in one layer or a plurality of layers in a substantially concentric shape. Examples of the insertion optical fiber 1 include an optical fiber core wire and an optical fiber strand. In this embodiment, the basic structure of the ferrule 10, the coupling 13, and the front housing 14 is in accordance with an SC type connector (SC: Single fiber Coupling, one defined in JIS C 5973, etc.).

  The ferrule 10 is not particularly limited. For example, a ferrule 10 made of ceramics such as zirconia or a hard material such as glass can be used. Moreover, what formed a part or all of the ferrule 10 with the synthetic resin is also employable. The ferrule 10 has a fine hole penetrating in the axial direction from the joint end face 11. A built-in optical fiber 12 is housed in the fine hole and is fixed by an adhesive or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the clamp portion 20 includes an elongated base member 21, lid members 22 and 23 that are arranged side by side facing the base member 21, and these members 21, 22, and 23. It consists of a clamp spring 24 that applies an urging force. The clamp part 20 is accommodated in the cylindrical part 15a of the rear housing 15 as shown in FIG. On the side surface of the cylindrical portion 15a, a window 15b into which the wedge-shaped protrusion 41 of the assembly member 40 is inserted and a window 15c into which the optical fiber pressing piece 42 is inserted are formed.

  An alignment groove 25 for positioning and aligning the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 is formed as an alignment mechanism on the mating surface where the base member 21 and the first lid member 22 are overlapped. . The alignment groove 25 extends in the longitudinal direction of the base member 21 along the extension line of the fine hole of the ferrule 10. The cross-sectional shape of the aligning groove 25 is, for example, a V groove, but may be a U groove, a round groove (a groove having a semicircular cross section), or the like. The alignment groove 25 is provided for each pair of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 to be connected (for the number of cores: one here).

On the mating surface where the base member 21 and the second lid member 23 are overlapped, a coated optical fiber accommodation groove 26 is provided on the extension of the alignment groove 25. The coated optical fiber housing groove 26 extends further rearward from the position where the mating surfaces on which the base member 21 and the second lid member 23 are overlapped face each other. The coated optical fiber housing groove 26 accommodates the distal end portion of the insertion optical fiber 1 and has a shape that allows the insertion optical fiber 1 to be securely clamped when the second lid member 23 is clamped by the clamp spring 24. ing.
When the insertion optical fiber 1 is inserted into the clamp portion 20 along the coated optical fiber accommodation groove 26, it is guided to the coating removal member 30 through the coated optical fiber accommodation groove 26. As shown in FIG. 1B, the coating 2 is removed by the coating removal blade 31 of the coating removal member 30, and the bare optical fiber 3 can be abutted with the built-in optical fiber 12.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the coating removing member 30 has a bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 on the front side and an insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34 on the rear side. The bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34 are both circular holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. A through hole 32 is formed between the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 and the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34 so as to penetrate in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. The coating removal blade 31 is formed on the side surface on the side where the through hole 32 is connected to the optical fiber insertion hole 33. The sheath removing blade 31 has an annular blade portion 31 a formed in a tapered shape around the optical fiber insertion hole 33 and a horizontal blade portion 31 b formed perpendicular to the forming direction of the through hole 32.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, when the insertion optical fiber 1 coated toward the coating removal member 30 is inserted, it is first inserted into the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34. The insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34 is linear, and the insertion optical fiber 1 can be positioned straight toward the coating removal blade 31. When the distal end of the insertion optical fiber 1 passes through the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34, it crosses the through hole 32 and comes into contact with the coating removal blade 31. When the tip of the insertion optical fiber 1 is pressed toward the coating removal blade 31, the coating 2 is removed, and the bare optical fiber 3 passes through the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33. By inserting the annular blade 31 a between the bare optical fiber 3 and the coating 2, the coating 2 can be easily separated from the bare optical fiber 3. Moreover, the unnecessary coating 2 can be easily discharged | emitted from the upper and lower sides of the through-hole 32 by dividing | segmenting the coating | coated 2 peeled cylindrically from the bare optical fiber 3 into two by the horizontal blade part 31b.
The division of the coating 2 into two by the horizontal blade portion 31b facilitates the movement of the coating 2 peeled from the bare optical fiber 3 from the rear end of the outer peripheral surface of the annular blade portion 31a toward the front end. As a result, the pressing force of the insertion optical fiber 1 on the coating removal blade 31 required for removing the coating of the insertion optical fiber 1 can be kept low, and the coating 2 is peeled off from the bare optical fiber 3 by the annular blade portion 31a. Can be done easily.

At the entrance of the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34, a tapered hole 34a whose diameter decreases from the outside to the inside is provided. By inserting the distal end of the insertion optical fiber 1 into the tapered hole 34a, the insertion into the insertion optical fiber insertion hole 34 becomes more reliable.
In addition, a tapered hole 33a whose diameter increases from the inside to the outside is provided at the outlet of the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33. The bare optical fiber 3 can be easily guided from the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33 to the alignment groove 25 by having a slight margin in the direction in which the bare optical fiber 3 exits from the bare optical fiber insertion hole 33.

As shown in FIG. 7, the assembly member 40 includes wedge-shaped protrusions 41 and 41 that secure gaps 22 a and 23 a between the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23. Further, in the assembly member 40, a plurality of optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 are formed in parallel with the wedge-shaped protrusions 41, 41, and an optical fiber pressing portion 59 is provided at the protruding end of each optical fiber pressing piece 42. Is provided.
As a result, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 that are not required after the optical connector is assembled can be integrated with the assembly member 40, the number of wastes can be reduced, and workability is improved.
Needless to say, the optical fiber pressing pieces 42, 42 can be configured separately from the assembly member 40.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the movable guide 60 includes a movable guide body 63 and an opening member 65 combined with the movable guide body 63. The opening member 65 is a part including at least a part of the opening edge 74 on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole 67, and a movable guide body including the remaining part of the opening edge 74 on the rear side of the optical fiber insertion hole 67. By combining with 63, a mortar-shaped fitting recess 66 is formed in the rear end portion 62 of the movable guide 60.
As shown in FIG. 10, the jacket gripping member 102 includes an optical fiber gripping portion 104 that grips the sheath 6 of the optical fiber cable 5 and the vicinity of the distal end portion of the insertion optical fiber 1. The front has a shape combined with the fitting recess 66.
In the optical connector 100 according to the present embodiment, when the outer gripping member 102 is inserted into the movable guide 60, the opening member 65 that constitutes the movable guide 60 slides between the opening member 65 and the movable guide body 63. A feature is that a space S in which bending of the insertion optical fiber 1 can be avoided is formed. Details of the structure will be described below.

First, the outer covering member 102 will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, the jacket gripping member 102 has a pair of locking means 102 a and 102 a that are locked to the movable guide body 63 of the movable guide 60. The optical fiber gripping portion 104 is formed between the pair of locking means 102a and 102a, and the front of the optical fiber gripping portion 104 has a conical shape, and has a shape that is combined with the fitting concave portion 66 of the movable guide 60 in an uneven relationship. It has become. The insertion optical fiber 1 exposed from the optical fiber cable 5 extends from the apex of the cone of the optical fiber gripping portion 104.
In addition, a pair of wedge-shaped contact portions 105 and 105 are formed on the front side of the jacket gripping member 102. The contact portion 105 is formed so that the wedge tip faces forward and connects the pair of locking means 102a and 102a.

  Next, the movable guide 60 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the movable guide 60 includes a sleeve portion 61 that surrounds the extension portion 51 and the open guide 50 of the base member 21 (see FIG. 3) and maintains the restraint therebetween, And a movable guide body 63 that can be connected by the locking means 102a of the gripping member 102 or the like. As will be described in detail later, the movable guide 60 maintains the opening guide 50 on the coated optical fiber housing groove 26 and advances by pushing the outer gripping member 102 to drive the opening guide 50 forward. Thus, it has a function of moving out of the coated optical fiber housing groove 26. A window 61 a (see FIG. 4) through which the optical fiber pressing piece 42 of the assembly member 40 is inserted is formed on the side surface of the sleeve portion 61.

  The movable guide body 63 and the opening member 65 are planes parallel to the upper surface 63a of the movable guide body 63, and the first divided surface 69 passing through the upper end of the optical fiber insertion hole 67 and the movable guide 60 are arranged in two directions. It divides | segments by the division surface comprised with the 2nd division surface 70 to divide | segment. By dividing in this way, as shown in FIG. 9, 3/4 of the fitting recess 66 belongs to the movable guide main body 63, and ¼ of the fitting recess 66 belongs to the opening member 65. It becomes the composition like this. The movable guide main body 63 and the opening member 65 are formed with rails 71 and 72 which are fitted to each other in the vertical direction, so that the opening member 65 can slide in the vertical direction.

  The contact portion 105 of the outer gripping member 102 is close to the fitting recess 66 of the movable guide 60, that is, the opening 73 on the rear end side of the optical fiber insertion hole 67, and the optical fiber gripping portion 104 of the outer gripping member 102. At this time, the movable guide body 63 and the opening member 65 are inserted into the first divided surface 69 so as to be separated from each other on the first divided surface 69. Thereby, a space S is created on the side of the optical fiber insertion hole 67.

  Further, the contact portion 105 on the side opposite to the contact portion 105 inserted into the first dividing surface 69 does not interfere with the movable guide 60 because the escape portion 68 is formed in the movable guide. That is, the abutting portion 105 that is not inserted into the first divided surface 69 abuts against the movable guide 60, so that the advancement of the outer gripping member 102 is not hindered. Furthermore, since the contact part 105 is formed substantially symmetrically, the opening member 65 is surely slid even when the jacket holding member 102 is inserted upside down.

In the assembly of the optical connector 100 of the present embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 10, the optical fiber cable 5 in which the insertion optical fiber to be the insertion optical fiber 1 is exposed on the distal end side is attached to the jacket holding member 102. Prepare things.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the insertion optical fiber 1 is inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole 67 of the movable guide 60. The movable guide 60 is provided so as to be slidable back and forth. At this stage, the movable guide 60 is disposed at the initial position shown in FIG. 11 and can be advanced from the initial position toward the ferrule 10.

  At this stage, the guide main body 63 and the opening member 65 are not separated from each other on the first divided surface 69 (see FIG. 9), and the optical fiber insertion hole 67 has a substantially circular cross section. 1 is accurately guided forward. Furthermore, the insertion 2 of the inserted optical fiber 1 is started to be removed by continuing the insertion of the inserted optical fiber 1 and pressing the tip of the inserted optical fiber 1 toward the coating removal blade 31. Even at this stage, the guide body 63 and the opening member 65 are not separated from each other, so that deformation of the insertion optical fiber 1 is restricted.

A wedge-shaped projection that secures gaps 22a and 23a (see FIG. 1) between the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 at one side edge of the mating surface where the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 are overlapped. Parts 41 and 41 are inserted. FIG. 15 shows a state in which the gap 22 a between the base member 21 and the first lid member 22 is secured by the wedge-shaped protrusion 41. When the wedge-shaped protrusions 41 and 41 are pulled out, the space between the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23 can be closed and closed by the clamping force of the clamp spring 24.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 100 is sold in a state where the assembly member 40 is attached to the connector main body 101 by inserting the wedge-shaped projection 41 of the assembly member 40 into the clamp portion 20 in advance. It is possible to carry around. In this case, it is possible to dispense with the trouble of preparing a wedge suitable for the optical connector or interrupting the wedge-shaped protrusion 41 into the clamp portion 20 during work in the wiring site.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, when the jacket holding member 102 to which the insertion optical fiber 1 is attached is pushed forward, it is connected to the rear end 62 of the movable guide 60 at the rear end of the connector body 101. Can do.
When the optical fiber gripping portion 104 of the jacket gripping member 102 is close to the opening 73 of the optical fiber insertion hole 67, the contact portion 105 (see FIG. 10) of the jacket gripping member 102 is the first divided surface 69 of the guide body 63. By inserting between the opening member 65 (see FIG. 9) and the surface of the opening member 65 facing it, the opening member 65 moves downward. As a result, a space S (see FIG. 9B) is formed on the bare optical fiber 3 inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole 67, and when the inserted optical fiber 1 begins to bend, the inserted light in the space S The bending of the fiber 1 can be reduced.
Further, when pushed further forward, the outer gripping member 102 pushes the movable guide 60, thereby moving the movable guide 60 forward.

FIG. 13 shows the state at the same time corresponding to FIG. 1B, that is, a state in which the open guide 50 exists on the coated optical fiber housing groove 26 and the open guide 50 regulates the deformation of the inserted optical fiber 1. Is shown. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 14 (a) and 14 (b), along the longitudinal direction of the insertion optical fiber 1, the optical fiber holding portions 59 and the open guides 50 are alternately present, and both are inserted light. By covering the fiber 1, the upward deflection deformation of the insertion optical fiber 1 can be restricted.
There is a large space inside the housing of the optical connector, for example, between the clamp portion 20 and the movable guide 60. However, since the open guide 50 exists on the coated optical fiber housing groove 26, the open guide 50 is provided. The gap 56 between the front end of the optical fiber 1 and the clamp portion 20 and the gap 57 between the rear end of the open guide 50 and the movable guide 60 are limited to a distance (for example, 2.1 mm or less) where the optical fiber 1 is not buckled.

16 and 17 show a state corresponding to FIG. 1C, that is, a state in which the restriction of the insertion optical fiber 1 by the opening guide 50 is released after the removal of the coating 2 is completed. Rail means 52 is formed on the extension 51 of the base member 21 to guide the opening guide 50 to move obliquely forward. The rail means 52 functions as a separation structure that separates the opening guide 50 from the base member 51 when the opening guide 50 moves forward by being pushed by the movable guide 60.
As shown in FIG. 18, in the present embodiment, the open guide 50 moves to the side of the coated optical fiber housing groove 26, so that the insertion optical fiber 1 forms the deflection deformation 4 above the coated optical fiber housing groove 26. A gap 53 is secured.
As shown in FIG. 5, the base member 51 with respect to the open guide 50 has a protrusion 54 protruding to the side of the coated optical fiber housing groove 26 in a range in which the optical fiber holding portion 59 is not provided in the longitudinal direction of the insertion optical fiber 1. A gap 53 that forms the deflection deformation 4 is formed between the protrusion 54 and the opening guide 50. A notch portion 55 through which the optical fiber pressing portion 59 can be inserted is formed between the protrusion portions 54.

FIG. 19 shows a state corresponding to FIG. 1D, that is, a state in which the butt connection is maintained by sandwiching the insertion optical fiber 1 and the built-in optical fiber 12 between the base member 21 and the lid members 22 and 23. As shown in FIG. 20, the assembly member 40 includes a protrusion support portion 43 that supports the wedge-shaped protrusion portion 41 and a pair of operation portions 44 and 44 disposed on both sides thereof. , The protrusion support portion 43 can be deformed in a direction away from the clamp portion 20. As a result, the wedge-shaped protrusion 41 can be extracted by operating the operation unit 44 provided integrally with the assembly member 40 without preparing another tool. Further, after the first lid member 22 that sandwiches the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 is closed, the second lid member 23 that sandwiches the inserted optical fiber 1 can be closed after a slight time difference. Thereby, the butt connection of the bare optical fiber 3 and the built-in optical fiber 12 can be improved.
The operation of the operation unit 44 is a simple operation such as “pinch” with one hand, and is excellent in workability.

21 and 22 show a state in which the optical fiber pressing pieces 42 and 42 are removed from the top of the receiving groove 26 after the insertion optical fiber 1 is fixed. As a result, a large deflection deformation 7 having a bending radius R of about 10 mm is formed in the insertion optical fiber 1 accommodated in the coated optical fiber accommodation groove 26, so that loss due to the deflection of the insertion optical fiber 1 can be reduced. .
The optical connector 100 of the present embodiment can be assembled by the above procedure.

According to the above-described embodiment, when the covering member 102 comes close to the rear end of the movable guide 60, the opening member 65 slides to remove the insertion light while removing the covering 2 by the covering removing member 30. The bending of the fiber 1 is accommodated in the space S. As a result, an “axial misalignment” or the like occurs between the insertion optical fiber 1 extending from the distal end of the outer gripping member 102 and the optical fiber insertion hole 67 of the movable guide 60, and the insertion optical fiber 1 is bent. Even in this case, this bending can be relaxed.
Further, since the optical fiber gripping portion 104 of the conical outer gripping member 102 is guided to the mortar-shaped fitting recess 66 of the mortar-shaped optical fiber insertion hole 67, the connector body 101 and the outer gripping member 102 Connection becomes easy.

Although the present invention has been described based on the best mode, the present invention is not limited to the above-described best mode, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, the specific configuration of the optical connector is not limited as long as it conforms to the technical idea of the present invention. The specific procedure for assembling the optical connector can also be modified according to the specific configuration of the optical connector.

The structure of the clamp part is not particularly limited as long as it is a structure that aligns the optical fiber and clamps and holds the butt connection between the end faces. For example, the number of lids facing the substrate of the element may be one or more.
The present invention can also be applied to an optical connector in which a plurality of built-in optical fibers are built in a ferrule. In this case, if the alignment mechanism such as the positioning groove provided in the clamp part is provided at least for the number of the built-in optical fibers, each of the optical fibers terminated by the optical connector is connected to the built-in optical fiber by the aligning mechanism. It can be optically connected to the fiber.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Insertion optical fiber, 2 ... Coating | coated, 3 ... Bare optical fiber, 10 ... Ferrule, 12 ... Built-in optical fiber, 20 ... Clamp part, 30 ... Coating removal member, 60 ... Movable guide (optical fiber guide part), 63 ... Movable guide main body (main body part), 65 ... opening member (opening part), 67 ... optical fiber insertion hole, 71, 72 ... rail, 73 ... opening, 74 ... opening edge, 100 ... optical connector, 104 ... optical fiber gripping Part, 105 ... contact part, S ... space.

Claims (4)

An optical fiber guide portion (60) having an optical fiber insertion hole (67) through which the insertion optical fiber (1) gripped by the optical fiber gripping portion (104) is inserted;
A coating removal member (30) for removing the coating (2) at the tip of the insertion optical fiber (1) inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole (67);
A clamp portion (20) capable of clamping a butt portion between the bare optical fiber (3) whose coating has been removed by the sheath removing member (30) and the built-in optical fiber (12) built in the ferrule (10); ,
During the coating removal by the coating removal member (30), when the optical fiber gripping part (104) comes close to the insertion side opening (73) of the optical fiber insertion hole, the opening on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole The opening edge (65) including a part of the edge (74) forms a space (S) that allows movement of a portion of the insertion optical fiber in contact with the opening edge (74). An optical connector that is moved relative to the body part (63) including the remainder of the part (74).   The optical fiber gripping part (104) is formed with an abutting part (105) for abutting and moving the opening part (65) when close to the opening of the optical fiber insertion hole (67). The optical connector according to claim 1.   The optical connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening portion (65) slides while being guided by rails (71, 72) provided between the main body portion (63). The insertion optical fiber (1) gripped by the optical fiber gripping part (104) is inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole (67) provided in the optical fiber guide part (60) of the optical connector,
The coating (2) at the tip of the insertion optical fiber (1) inserted through the optical fiber insertion hole (67) is removed by the coating removal member (30) of the optical connector,
The butted portion of the bare optical fiber (3) whose coating has been removed by the coating removing member (30) and the built-in optical fiber (12) built in the ferrule (10) of the optical connector is used as a clamp portion ( 20) clamping,
During the coating removal by the coating removal member (30), when the optical fiber gripping part (104) comes close to the insertion side opening (73) of the optical fiber insertion hole, the opening on the insertion side of the optical fiber insertion hole The opening edge (74) including an opening (65) including a part of the edge (74) forms a space that allows movement of a portion of the insertion optical fiber in contact with the opening edge (74). The assembly method of the optical connector is moved with respect to the main body portion (63) including the remaining portion.

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