JP5622476B2 - Optical connector, connector connection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector that can be fastened by a push-on method, and a connector connection system using the optical connector.

  As an optical connector, for example, an MPO type optical connector (F13 type optical connector established by JIS C 5982; MPO: Multi-fiber Push On) is known as a plug-adapter-plug coupling type ( For example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Japan Standards Association, “F13 type multi-fiber optical fiber connector C 5982: 1997”, JIS Handbook Electronic Test Methods / Optoelectronics Edition, Publisher: Japan Standards Association, April 24, 1998.

By the way, in recent years, in high-performance computers and computer systems, a large number of photoelectric composite substrates are mounted, and optical communication is performed between these substrates using optical fibers. For this reason, there is a demand for optical fiber connector connection on the circuit board.
However, for example, in order to fasten the above-described MPO optical connector on a circuit board, an adapter is necessary, and the thickness of the connector (plug) itself is large. Therefore, when a plurality of circuit boards are installed in parallel, a circuit is required. It was not easy to narrow the distance between the substrates.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an optical connector that can be fastened without using an adapter and that can be reduced in thickness (thinned) compared to an MPO optical connector, and a connector connection system using the optical connector. It is an object.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following configuration.
First invention comprises a engaging member having a pair of elastic pieces which are engaged in the recess of the side surfaces of the receiving-side optical connector ferrule by突爪inward tip rotatably back and forth relative to the engagement member And the pair of elastic pieces are separated from each other by riding on the side surface of the receiving optical connector ferrule of the projecting claw, so that the housing becomes the engaging member. is restricted from moving forward against the pair of resilient pieces, that approach each other by the engagement between the concave portion of the side surfaces of the receiving-side optical connector ferrule and the突爪, said housing the engagement When the housing is moved forward with respect to the engaging member, the pair of elastic pieces abut against the inner side of the housing and restrict movement in a direction away from each other. It is, to provide an optical connector that holds the engagement state between the recess of the side surfaces of the突爪and the receiving-side optical connector ferrule of the pair of elastic pieces.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, each of the pair of elastic pieces has a front inclined surface that is inclined outward toward the front end of the protruding claw, and outward toward the rear end of the protruding claw. An optical connector according to a first aspect of the present invention having an inclined rear side inclined surface is provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a recess extending along the longitudinal direction of the pair of elastic pieces is formed on the outer surface side of the pair of elastic pieces in the longitudinal center portion of the pair of elastic pieces, A pair of stopper protrusions provided on the inner surface side of the position shifted from the front end to the rear side, and inserted into the respective recesses of the pair of elastic pieces so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the elastic pieces. An optical connector according to the first or second aspect of the present invention is provided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the engaging member further includes a biasing means receiving portion that takes a reaction force of a biasing means that biases the ferrule forward, and the pair of elastic pieces includes the biasing means receiving portion. The optical connector according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention is provided to extend forward.
5th invention has the inclined surface which inclines in the front-end | tip part of the said elastic piece to the opposite side to the said protrusion claw toward the front, and the front-end part of the said housing contact | abuts from the back side to the said inclined surface Thus, the optical connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects , wherein the forward movement of the housing is restricted, is provided.
In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the housing and the engagement member are provided with a latch structure that engages with each other by an engagement protrusion and an engagement recess, and the engagement protrusion is formed at an edge of the engagement recess. Provided is the optical connector according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the forward movement or the backward movement of the housing with respect to the engaging member is restricted by the contact.
The seventh invention provides the optical connector according to any one of the fourth to sixth inventions, wherein the engaging member further includes a restricting means for restricting the forward movement of the ferrule biased forward.
An eighth invention provides the optical connector according to any one of the fourth to seventh inventions, wherein the housing has a ferrule engaging portion engageable with a flange portion of the ferrule from the front side thereof.
In a ninth aspect of the invention, the ferrule is an MT-type optical connector, and the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tip end surface for butt joining is aligned with the interval direction of the pair of elastic pieces of the engaging member. An optical connector according to any one of the fourth to eighth aspects is provided.
A tenth aspect of the invention provides the optical connector according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein an operation protrusion is provided on the outer periphery of the housing.
In an eleventh aspect of the invention, an optical fiber with a connector in which the optical connector of any one of the first to tenth aspects of the invention is assembled at the tip of an optical fiber, and the receiving optical connector to which the optical connector is fastened are provided on a circuit board. Provided is a connector connection system provided with a connector-equipped board.

  According to the present invention, the optical connector can be fastened to the receiving optical connector without using an adapter. In addition, the optical connector can easily realize reduction in thickness (thinning) as compared with the MPO optical connector.

It is a figure which shows the optical connector of one Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) is the initial state which the flange part of a ferrule rear end contacts with the rear-end surface of the 2nd faceplate part of the housing in the standby position with respect to an engaging member. FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a state in which the housing of the optical connector of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the optical connector of FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the connector connection system of one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the optical connector at the tip of the optical fiber with connector is fastened (connected) to the receiving optical connector of the board with connector in the connector connection system of FIG. It is a plane sectional view explaining the internal structure of the optical connector of FIG. (A), (b) is a figure explaining the fastening operation | work with respect to the receiving side optical connector of the optical connector of FIG. (A), (b) is a figure explaining the fastening operation | work with respect to the receiving side optical connector of the optical connector of FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B are front sectional views for explaining the internal structure of the optical connector of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 1A shows an initial state in which the housing is in a standby position with respect to the engaging member, and FIG. Show. FIG. 5 is a front sectional view for explaining the connector connection system of FIGS. 3 and 4. (A), (b) is a front sectional view explaining another mode of a connector connection system (another mode of a board member with a connector). It is a perspective view explaining another aspect of the multi-core ferrule which can be used for an optical connector.

Hereinafter, an optical connector and a connector connection system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the optical connector 10 is assembled at the tip of the optical fiber 1. Reference numeral 1A in the figure is attached to an optical fiber with a connector in which an optical connector 10 is assembled at the tip of the optical fiber 1.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the optical connector 10 can be fastened to and connected to the receiving optical connector 110 by a push-on method by pressing toward the receiving optical connector 110 (plug).

  As shown by arrows in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 3 and 4, for the optical connector 10, a pair of elastic pieces of an engaging member 40 (see FIG. 2) provided on the optical connector 10 The side where the tip of 42 is located will be described as the front and the opposite side as the rear. 5, 6A, 7B, 7A, and 7B, the optical connector 10 will be described with the left side as the front and the right side as the rear.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the optical connector 10 includes a ferrule 20 attached to the tip of the optical fiber 1, and a biasing means 30 disposed on the rear side of the ferrule 20. (Specifically, a coil spring), an engagement member 40 having the pair of elastic pieces 42, and a cylindrical housing 50 that is externally inserted into the engagement member 40 so as to be movable back and forth.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the engagement member 40 has a U-shape in which a pair of elastic pieces 42 are extended from both sides of a plate-like biasing means receiving portion 41 to one side of the biasing means receiving portion 41. It is a member. The engaging member 40 is externally inserted into the optical fiber 1 passed through a fiber insertion hole 43 that penetrates the biasing means receiving portion 41. The pair of elastic pieces 42 extend from the urging means receiving portion 41 in a direction along the axis of the fiber insertion hole 43.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the engaging member 40 is a pair of elastic members from the biasing means receiving portion 41 disposed on the rear side of the biasing means 30 that is a coil spring extrapolated to the optical fiber 1 to the front side. The piece 42 is provided in an extending direction. The ferrule 20 and the biasing means 30 are disposed between the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40.

Specifically, the ferrule 20 is an MT type optical connector (F12 type optical connector established in JIS C 5981. MT: Mechanically Transferable). Hereinafter, the ferrule 20 is also referred to as an MT ferrule.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ferrule 20 (MT ferrule) is a plastic optical connector having an external plate shape. The ferrule 20 has a front end face 21 (joint end face) for butt joining on the front side. A flange portion 25 projects from the rear end portion of the ferrule 20. The flange portion 25 is provided around the entire rear end portion of the ferrule 20.
The ferrule 20 (MT ferrule) has a rectangular cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and the distal end surface 21 is also rectangular.

  Specifically, the optical fiber 1 is an optical fiber ribbon. The ferrule 20 is fixed to the tip of the optical fiber 1. The distal end surface of the bare optical fiber 1 a exposed to the distal end of the optical fiber 1 is exposed at the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20. The plurality of bare optical fibers 1a of the optical fiber 1 includes a pair of guide pin holes 22 between a pair of guide pin holes 22 that pass through the ferrule 20 back and forth and open at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the distal end surface 21. They are arranged along the interval direction.

In addition, although the optical fiber 1 of the example of illustration is a 12-fiber optical fiber ribbon, there is no limitation in particular in the number of cores of an optical fiber tape.
Further, a cylindrical boot 27 assembled to the ferrule 20 is provided on the rear side of the ferrule 20, and the optical fiber 1 is passed through the boot 27. The boot 27 is a flexible cylindrical member formed of rubber or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 3, a pair of guide pin holes 22 (see FIG. 1) penetrating the ferrule 20 are formed on the ferrule 20 (MT ferrule) on the front end face 21 (joint end face) side for butt joining. 2), the guide pins 23 inserted and fitted are projected. As shown in FIG. 5, each guide pin 23 is prevented from coming off against the rear end surface of the ferrule 20 on the outer periphery of the rear end portion protruding to the rear side of the ferrule 20 (the side opposite to the front end surface 21). A flange 23a is projected. In the guide pin 23, the position where the retaining flange 23 a abuts on the ferrule 20 is a limit position for moving forward with respect to the ferrule 20. Further, a pin clamp 24 fixed to the rear end portion of each guide pin 23 is provided on the rear side of the ferrule 20.

The illustrated optical connector 10 includes the guide pin 23 and the pin clamp 24.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the pin clamp 24 is provided with a fiber insertion hole 24 a for allowing the optical fiber 1 to pass therethrough. As shown in FIG. 5, the pin clamp 24 is inserted between the ferrule 20 and the urging means 30 by being externally inserted into the optical fiber 1 passed through the fiber insertion hole 24 a.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the housing 50 includes a pair of face plate portions 51 and 52 (a first face plate portion 51 and a second face plate portion 52) provided in parallel to each other, It has a pair of rib-shaped side wall portions 53 projecting parallel to each other along a pair of long sides of the rectangular plate-shaped first face plate portion 51. The pair of side wall portions 53 protrudes from the first face plate portion 51 over its entire length in the longitudinal direction. The second face plate portion 52 bridges the ends of the pair of side wall portions 53 opposite to the first face plate portion 51. However, the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50 in the illustrated example is provided in a range from the front end portion of the housing 50 to the central portion in the extending direction of the pair of side wall portions 53. The housing 50 in the illustrated example includes a cylindrical portion 54 in which ends of the pair of side wall portions 53 opposite to the first face plate portion 51 are bridged by a second face plate portion 52.
The tubular portion 54 is formed in a flat rectangular tube shape. The pair of side wall portions 53 are positioned at both ends of the cylindrical portion 54 in the longitudinal direction of the cross section. In the housing 50, a rear portion from the cylindrical portion 54 is a guide piece portion 55 having a U-shaped cross section.

As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5, etc., the housing 50 is arranged outside the engaging member 40 so that the interval direction of the pair of side wall portions 53 is aligned with the interval direction of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40. It is inserted.
At the center in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40, the side opposite to the opposing elastic piece 42 in the interval direction of the pair of elastic pieces 42 (hereinafter referred to as the outer surface side). In other words, a recess 44 extending along the longitudinal direction of the elastic piece 42 is formed.
The housing 50 has a stopper protrusion 56 protruding from the side wall portion 53 on the inner surface side at a position slightly shifted to the rear side from the front end, and the stopper protrusion 56 is formed in the recess 44 of the pair of elastic pieces 42. Is inserted. The stopper protrusion 56 is inserted into the recess 44 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the elastic piece 42.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 5 and the like, the rear end portions of the side wall portions 53 on both sides of the housing 50 extend along the extending direction (front-rear direction) of the side wall portions 53. Thus, an elongated slot 58 is formed, and a housing locking projection 48 protruding from both sides of the engaging member 40 is inserted into the slot 58. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, in the illustrated engaging member 40, the housing locking projection 48 is located on the outer surface side of the elastic piece 42 from the vicinity of the boundary position between the biasing means receiving portion 41 and the elastic piece 42. It protrudes. However, the projecting position of the housing locking projection 48 is not limited to the illustrated position.
As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1 </ b> B, 5, and the like, the housing locking protrusion 48 is movable in the extending direction of the long hole 58. A movable range in the front-rear direction with respect to the engaging member 40 of the housing 50 (in other words, a movable range along the longitudinal direction of the elastic piece 42) is set by the dimension of the elongated hole 58 in the extending direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 3, 5, 8 A and the like, the housing 50 is engaged with the housing locking hole 58 a in which the front end portion of the long hole 58 is slightly expanded. When the projection 48 is fitted (engaged), it is the rear limit position for the engagement member 40. The position of the housing 50 relative to the engaging member 40 at this time (rear side movement limit position; position shown in FIG. 5) is also referred to as a standby position hereinafter.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1B, 8B, etc., the housing 50 has a housing locking projection 48 formed in a rear locking hole 58b obtained by slightly expanding the rear end of the long hole 58. When fitted (engaged), the front movement limit position with respect to the engaging member 40 is set.

The housing locking projection 48 passes through the passage 58c between the front locking hole 58a and the rear locking hole 58b of the elongated hole 58, and passes through the front locking hole 58a and the rear locking hole. It can move between the parts 58b.
However, when the optical connector 10 is not fastened (coupled) to the receiving optical connector 110 and is in a state separated from the receiving optical connector 110 (initial state) as shown in FIG. By the fitting of the hole 58a and the housing locking projection 48, the engaging member 40 is locked at the standby position.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the housing 50, the stopper protrusions 56 protruding from the pair of side wall parts 53 are brought into contact with the elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40, respectively. Further, the housing 50 abuts the engaging member 40 at a portion of the pair of side wall portions 53 located on the rear side from the stopper projection 56. The housing 50 has a pair of elastic pieces 42 that are in contact with the pair of elastic pieces 42 from both sides of the pair of elastic pieces 42 in the distance direction (that is, a part that comes into contact with the elastic pieces 42 from the outer surface side). The increase in the distance between the pieces 42 is restricted.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, etc., the ferrule 20 has a longitudinal direction (hereinafter also referred to as a width direction) of the cross section (cross section orthogonal to the front-rear direction) of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engagement member 40. They are arranged between the pair of elastic pieces 42 so as to be aligned in the interval direction.
The ferrule 20 is configured such that portions of the flange portion 25 located on both sides in the width direction of the ferrule 20 are opposite sides (hereinafter referred to as inner surfaces) of the base end portions (rear end portions) of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40. (Also referred to as a side). In the ferrule 20, the plate-like portion 26 on the distal end side from the flange portion 25 is disposed on the front side portion from the flange portion accommodating recess 45 of the pair of elastic pieces 42. However, the ferrule 20 is disposed between the pair of elastic pieces 42 on the rear side (on the biasing means receiving portion 41 side) of the protruding claws 49 protruding on the inner surface side of the distal end portion of each elastic piece 42. Has been.

,
In the pair of elastic pieces 42, the separation distance between the front side portions from the flange portion housing recess 45 is aligned with the widthwise dimension of the plate-like portion 26 of the ferrule 20. The pair of elastic pieces 42 positions the ferrule 20 in the longitudinal direction of the cross section of the housing 50 (interval direction of the pair of side wall portions 53).
The portion of the housing 50 that comes into contact with the pair of elastic pieces 42 from the outer surface side restricts the increase in the distance between the pair of elastic pieces 42. The positioning of the ferrule 20 by the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 is performed. Contributes effectively to maintaining stable state.

As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, an inclined surface 46 is formed at the front end portion of the concave portion 44 of the elastic piece 42 of the engaging member 40 so as to incline from the rear side toward the outer surface side of the elastic piece 42. Yes. The inclined surface 46 is an edge of the front end of the recess 44 of the elastic piece 42.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the housing 50 is prevented from coming out from the tip of the elastic piece 42 by the stopper projection 56 coming into contact with the inclined surface 46 of the elastic piece 42. Further, the housing 50 has a rear locking hole in which the stopper projection 56 abuts against the inclined surface 46 of the elastic piece 42 and at the same time the rear end of the long hole 58 is slightly expanded as shown in FIG. The housing locking projection 48 of the engaging member 40 is fitted (engaged) with the portion 58a to reach the front side movement limit position.

As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the housing 50 has a stopper projection when the housing locking projection 48 is fitted into the front locking hole 58a of the long hole 58 (when the housing locking projection 48 is at the rear movement limit position). 56 abuts on a step surface 44 a which is an edge of the rear end of the recess 44 of the elastic piece 42 of the engaging member 40.
The stopper protrusion 56 of the housing 50 is moved forward and backward with respect to the engagement member 40 of the housing 50, and the inclined surface 46 that is the edge of the front end of the recess 44 of the elastic piece 42 of the engagement member 40 and the edge of the rear end of the recess 44. Can be selectively brought into contact with the stepped surface 44a. The housing 50 and the elastic piece 42 of the engaging member 40 include the rear end of the concave portion 44 of the elastic piece 42 when the stopper projection 56 of the housing 50 abuts against the inclined surface 46 of the elastic piece 42. The latch structure is configured to engage with each other when contacting the step surface 44a. The stopper protrusion 56 of the housing 50 functions as an engagement protrusion that comes into contact with and engages with the front edge and the rear edge of the recess 44 (engagement recess) of the elastic piece 42.

  Further, the housing 50 is configured so that the front end edge and the rear end edge of the elongated hole 58 are selectively brought into contact with the housing locking projection 48 of the engagement member 40 by the back and forth movement with respect to the engagement member 40. The engagement member 40 can be engaged. The housing 50 and the engaging member 40 are formed when the housing locking protrusion 48 (engaging protrusion) of the engaging member 40 comes into contact with the front end edge of the long hole 58 of the housing 50 and the housing locking protrusion. A latch structure that engages with each other when 48 abuts the rear end edge of the long hole 58 is formed. The long hole 58 of the housing 50 functions as an engagement recess for engaging the housing locking protrusion 48 (engagement protrusion) of the engagement member 40 with the housing 50.

  A portion of the distal end portion of the elastic piece 42 where the inclined surface 46 is formed and a portion on the distal end side (front side) from the portion are a retaining protrusion 47 that restricts the housing 50 from coming out from the elastic piece 42 to the front side. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 7 (b), when the housing 50 is disposed at the front movement limit position, the stopper projection 56 comes into contact with the distal ends of the pair of elastic pieces 42 from the outer surface side, and a pair of The increase in the distance between the tips of the elastic pieces 42 is restricted. At this time, in the housing 50, a portion (front end abutting wall portion 53 a) located on the front end side from the stopper protrusion 56 of the side wall portion 53 abuts on the front end portion of the pair of elastic pieces 42 from the outer surface side. Therefore, an increase in the distance between the tip portions of the pair of elastic pieces 42 can be reliably controlled.
Hereinafter, the position (front movement limit position) of the housing 50 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the ferrule 20 has the plate-like portion 26 accommodated in a cylindrical portion 54 of the housing 50. The thickness dimension of the plate-like portion 26 of the ferrule 20 is the width direction of the elastic piece 42 of the engaging member 40 (the interval direction between the first face plate portion 51 and the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50. FIG. It is larger than the dimension in the vertical direction) in b). The interval (separation distance) between the first face plate portion 51 and the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50 is aligned with the thickness dimension of the plate-like portion 26 of the ferrule 20. The plate-like portion 26 of the ferrule 20 is formed by the first face plate portion 51 and the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50 in the thickness direction of the tubular portion 54 of the housing 50 (the first face plate portion 51 and the second face plate portion 52. Positioned in the interval direction).

As shown in FIGS. 2, 8 (a) and 8 (b), the ferrule 20 has a rear end flange portion 25 at a portion of the first face plate portion 51 of the housing 50 that is located at the guide piece portion 55. It arrange | positions in the formed flange part guide groove 57. FIG. Accordingly, the ferrule 20 is provided in the housing 50 in a posture in which the front-rear direction is aligned with the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the cylindrical portion 54 of the housing 50.
The flange portion guide groove 57 extends to the rear end of the first face plate portion 51 along the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the tubular portion 54 of the housing 50.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ferrule 20 is elastically urged forward with respect to the engaging member 40 by the urging means 30. In the ferrule 20, the portion of the flange portion 25 inserted into the flange portion storage recess 45 of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 is the flange portion storage recess 45 in the elastic piece 42 and its front side. It contacts the step surface 45a located at the boundary with the portion from the rear side. The step surface 45a functions as a restricting means for restricting the movement of the ferrule 20 relative to the engaging member 40 from the rear side of the step surface 45a to the front side from the position where the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20 abuts.

  However, the extending dimension of the flange portion recess 45 in the longitudinal direction of the elastic piece 42 is a clearance that enables relative movement in the longitudinal direction (connector longitudinal direction) of the elastic piece 42 with respect to the engaging member 40 of the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20. It is a size that can be secured. The ferrule 20 is movable along the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the pair of elastic pieces 42 with respect to the engaging member 40. The ferrule 20 can be pushed rearward against the urging force of the urging means 30 from the position where the flange portion 25 abuts on the step surface 45a (FIGS. 7A and 7B). reference).

Further, the ferrule 20 is movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 54 with respect to the housing 50.
However, as shown in FIG. 7B, for example, the ferrule 20 has a housing 50 disposed at a front end restraining position (front movement limit position) with respect to the engaging member 40, and is flanged by abutment with the receiving side optical connector 110. Even if the portion 25 is pushed rearward from the position where it abuts on the stepped surface 45 a, the plate-like portion 26 with respect to the tubular portion 54 is prevented from coming out of the tubular portion 54 of the housing 50. A length sufficient for the insertion length is secured. For this reason, the ferrule 20 can always maintain the state in which the plate-like portion 26 is accommodated in the cylindrical portion 54 of the housing 50.

  When the relative position of the ferrule 20 relative to the housing 50 in the front-rear direction of the connector fluctuates, the plate-like portion 26 has an inner surface of the cylindrical portion 54 of the housing 50 (specifically, the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 54 of the pair of face plate portions 51 and 52). ). At this time, the ferrule 20 slides on the guide piece 55 while the flange 25 is guided by the flange guide groove 57 of the guide piece 55 of the housing 50.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a step surface 51 a formed at the boundary position between the flange portion guide groove 57 in the first face plate portion 51 of the housing 50 and the front portion from the flange portion guide groove 57. And the rear-end surface 52a of the 2nd face plate part 52 corresponds in the position in the axial direction (front-back direction) of the cylindrical part 54. FIG. When the optical connector 10 is not fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110 and is in a state separated from the receiving side optical connector 110 (initial state), the step surface 51a of the housing 50 and the second face plate portion 52 The flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20 contacts the rear end surface 52a.
The step surface 51a of the housing 50 and the rear end surface 52a of the second face plate portion 52 function as a ferrule engaging portion that can be engaged with the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20 from the front side.

  Since the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50 does not cover the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20, there is no need to form the flange portion guide groove 57 unlike the first face plate portion 51, and it is thinner than the first face plate portion 51. Can be formed. This effectively contributes to reducing the thickness of the housing 50 and the optical connector 10 as a whole.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, in the optical connector 10, the front ends of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 protrude from the front end of the housing 50 in the standby position.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example, the work of fastening the optical connector 10 to the receiving optical connector 110 is performed by pressing the housing 50 at the standby position toward the receiving optical connector 110 with a finger of an operator. It can be done by following.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the receiving side optical connector 110 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape. The receiving-side optical connector 110 has a butt-joining front end surface 111 with which the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 (MT ferrule) of the optical connector 10 abuts. The cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the receiving side optical connector 110 (the front end surface 111 side is the front and the opposite side is the rear. The left and right directions in FIGS. 6A and 6B) is a rectangular shape. It is formed in a rectangular shape that coincides with the tip surface 21 of the ten ferrules 20.

  An operation protrusion 59 for facilitating the pressing operation of the housing 50 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 50. In the illustrated optical connector 10, the operation protrusion 59 is formed on the outer surface of the first face plate 51 of the housing 50 in the width direction of the housing 50 (longitudinal longitudinal direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical portion 54. The protrusions extend in the direction of the interval 53). In addition, the operation protrusion 59 is provided at the center of the housing 50 in the front-rear direction (the direction along the axis of the cylindrical portion 54). For this reason, the operation protrusion 59 can be suitably used for the operation of pressing the housing 50 forward in the operation of fastening the optical connector 10 to the receiving optical connector 110. Further, the operation projection 59 is used for pulling out the optical connector 10 from the receiving optical connector 110 by pulling the housing 50 of the optical connector 10 fastened to the receiving optical connector 110 rearward. Can also be suitably used.

  In order to engage the receiving side optical connector 110 by inserting the projections 49 at the tips of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 of the optical connector 10 into the side surfaces 114 on both sides in the long side direction of the receiving side optical connector 110. The engaging recess 115 is formed. When the optical connector 10 is fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110, the protruding claws 49 that have entered the engaging recesses 115 on both sides of the receiving side optical connector 110 are connected to the engaging side recesses 115 of the receiving side optical connector 110. Engage with the front locking portion 116 (locking protrusion).

  A pair of guide pin holes 112 formed in parallel to the receiving side optical connector 110 are opened at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the distal end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110. Further, the tip surface of the optical fiber 113 fixed to the receiving side optical connector 110 is exposed at a position between the pair of guide pin holes 112 on the tip surface 111. As shown in FIG. 6A and the like, the number of the optical fibers 113 is the same as the number of the bare optical fibers 1 a fixed to the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 and exposed to the distal end surface 21 in the receiving-side optical connector 110. Is provided.

The distance between the pair of guide pin holes 112 is the same as the distance between the pair of guide pins 23 protruding from the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 and the distance between the pair of guide pin holes 22. Further, the positional relationship between the distal end surface of each optical fiber 113 exposed on the distal end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 with respect to the pair of guide pin holes 112 is that the distal end of the bare optical fiber 1 a on the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10. The positional relationship between the surface and the guide pin 23 is matched.
The optical connector 10 is inserted into the pair of guide pin holes 112 of the receiving side optical connector 110 and fitted to the receiving side optical connector 110 by inserting and fitting the pair of guide pins 23 protruding from the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20. On the other hand, it can be positioned and connected with high accuracy. The butt connection of the ferrule 20 to the receiving optical connector 110 is inserted and fitted into the pair of guide pin holes 112 of the receiving optical connector 110 to receive the pair of guide pins 23, and the tip end of the receiving optical connector 110 is received. This is realized by matching the surface 111. The plurality of bare optical fibers 1a exposed on the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 are respectively connected to the optical fibers 113 exposed on the front end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 when the ferrule 20 is butt-connected to the receiving side optical connector 110. Positioning and butt connection with high accuracy.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the receiving side optical connector 110 in the illustrated example is attached to the photoelectric conversion unit 130 mounted on the circuit board 120, and is parallel to the circuit board 120 from the side surface of the photoelectric conversion unit 130. Projected. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the receiving side optical connector 110 is provided separately from the circuit board 120. The front end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 is an end surface of the protruding end of the receiving side optical connector 110 protruding from the photoelectric conversion unit 130. When the optical connector 10 is fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110, the optical connector 10 is inserted between the receiving side optical connector 110 and the circuit board 120 by receiving the first face plate portion 51 or the second face plate portion 52 of the housing 50. The distal end portion of the side optical connector 110 is accommodated in the cylindrical portion 54.

The front end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the circuit board 120 (perpendicular or slightly inclined with respect to a virtual plane perpendicular to the circuit board 120).
The optical fiber 113 exposed on the distal end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 and the bare optical fiber 1a exposed on the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 are oriented along the circuit board 120 at the butted portions that are butted against each other. Are optically connected through the optical axis.
3, 4, and 9 show the tip of the optical fiber 1 </ b> A with a connector attached to the receiving side optical connector 110 of the board 120 </ b> A with a connector in which the receiving side optical connector 110 is attached to the photoelectric conversion unit 130 mounted on the circuit board 120. The connector connection system of the structure which fastens and connects the optical connector 10 of this is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 9, each optical fiber 113 has a portion extending from the rear end of the receiving optical connector 110 drawn into the photoelectric conversion unit 130, and an end surface of the optical fiber 113 is light in the photoelectric conversion unit 130. The element 131 (photoelectric conversion element) is disposed so as to be optically coupled. The optical element 131 is a light emitting element or a light receiving element. The optical element 131 is electrically connected to the electronic circuit of the circuit board 130. As a light emitting element, LD (semiconductor laser element; LD: Laser Diode), LED (light emitting diode; LED: Light Emitting Diode), etc. are employable, for example. As the light receiving element, for example, a photodiode or the like can be employed.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when the optical connector 10 is advanced toward the receiving optical connector 110, first, the front side formed at the front ends of the pair of elastic pieces 42 protruding from the front end of the housing 50. The inclined surface 42 a comes into contact with the edge portion of the outer periphery of the distal end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110. As the optical connector 10 further advances, the portions of the pair of elastic pieces 42 protruding from the front end of the housing 50 are pushed open by the front end portion (near the front end surface 111) of the receiving side optical connector 110 and curved. Due to the deformation (elastic deformation), the protrusion 49 at the tip of the elastic piece 42 rides on the side surfaces 114 on both sides of the receiving optical connector 110.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the protruding claws 49 of the pair of elastic pieces 42 are protrusions having a triangular shape in a plan view projecting toward the elastic piece 42 opposed to the tip of the elastic piece 42.
The pair of elastic pieces 42 are formed with the front inclined surfaces 42a that gradually approach the opposing elastic pieces 42 from the tips thereof toward the top portions 49a of the protruding claws 49 located on the rear side of the tips.

  The optical connector 10 to be fastened to the receiving optical connector 110 has the width direction of the housing 50 (longitudinal longitudinal direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical portion 54) and the width direction of the ferrule 20 in the side surfaces 114 on both sides of the receiving optical connector 110. Are pressed toward the receiving optical connector 110 in a posture aligned in the width direction, which is the interval direction. As shown in FIG. 6A and the like, the distance between the side surfaces 114 on both sides of the receiving side optical connector 110 (the width direction dimension of the receiving side optical connector 110) is the width of the plate-like portion 26 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10. It is aligned with the direction dimension. The width-direction dimension of the receiving side optical connector 110 is slightly larger than the distance between the top portions 49a of the protrusions 49 of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 of the optical connector 10 shown in FIG. 42 is slightly smaller than the distance between the front ends of 42 (specifically, the distance between the front ends of the front inclined surfaces 42a of the pair of elastic pieces 42).

  For this reason, when the optical connector 10 is advanced toward the receiving-side optical connector 110 (advance operation of the housing 50), first, the front inclined surface 42a of the distal end portion of the pair of elastic pieces 42 protruding from the front end of the housing 50 is obtained. Comes into contact with the edge of the outer periphery of the distal end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110. At this time, the engaging member 40 is not released from the locked state with respect to the housing 50 due to the fitting between the housing locking protrusion 48 and the front locking hole 58a of the long hole 58 of the housing 50, and the locked state is It is maintained and does not retract with respect to the housing 50. The front side locking hole portion 58 a of the long hole 58 of the housing 50 functions as an engaging member locking portion that regulates the backward movement of the engaging member 40 with respect to the housing 50.

  Then, the optical connector 10 has the front end of the pair of elastic pieces 42 as shown in FIG. 6A while maintaining the locked state of the engaging member 40 with respect to the housing 50 by the further forward operation of the housing 50. The portions projecting from each other are pushed open by the distal end portion of the receiving optical connector 110 to be bent (elastically deformed). In the illustrated optical connector 10, specifically, the pair of elastic pieces 42 are spaced apart from each other as the front portion moves from the contact portion of the stopper projection 56 of the housing 50 toward the front side from the stopper projection 56. Is curved and deformed so as to increase.

The elastic piece 42 that is bent and deformed by the distal end portion of the receiving side optical connector 110 has the front end of the housing 50 (specifically, the side wall portion 53 in detail) by the protruding claw 49 of the distal end portion riding on the side surface 114 of the receiving side optical connector 110. The front abutting wall portion 53a). In the optical connector 10, when the housing 50 is further advanced, the front end of the housing 50 presses the distal end portions of the pair of elastic pieces 42 and moves toward the rear side of the receiving side optical connector 110 along the side surface 114 of the receiving side optical connector 110. Move (see FIG. 6B). Here, since the front end of the housing 50 is in contact with the tip portions of the pair of elastic pieces 42, the relative movement of the housing 50 relative to the front is restricted.
As shown in FIG. 6B, the optical connector 10 is configured such that after the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 abuts on the distal end surface 111 of the receiving optical connector 110, the elastic piece 42 is moved forward by further advancement of the housing 50. The protrusions 49 can be engaged with the engaging recesses 115 on both sides of the receiving side optical connector 110 and engaged with the locking portions 116 (see FIG. 7A).

  The engagement state of the engagement member 40 with respect to the housing 50 by the fitting of the housing engagement protrusion 48 and the front engagement hole 58a of the elongated hole 58 is that the elastic piece 42 bent and deformed by the receiving optical connector 110 is used. It is maintained even when it contacts the front end of the housing 50.

  In the illustrated optical connector 10, the inclined surface 46 of the pair of elastic pieces 42 that are curved and deformed by the distal end portion of the receiving optical connector 110 abuts the front end of the housing 50. Compared with the portion of the elastic piece 42 that extends straight in the connector longitudinal direction (the axial direction of the tubular portion 54 of the housing 50) in the elastic piece 42, the elastic piece 42 is connected to the side surface 114 of the receiving optical connector 110. The angle of inclination with respect to the front-rear direction of the connector when the protrusions 49 are bent and deformed is increased. The configuration in which the inclined surface 46 of the elastic piece 42 abuts on the front end of the housing 50 is advantageous in that the forward movement of the pair of elastic pieces 42 by the advance operation of the housing 50 is reliably realized.

  As shown in FIGS. 6B and 7A, the optical connector 10 is connected to the receiving optical connector 110 by being fastened so that the distal end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 is the distal end surface of the receiving optical connector 110. After abutting on 111, the forward operation of the housing 50 (the operation of pressing and moving from the front end side of the receiving side optical connector 110 toward the rear end) is continuously arranged at the front end restraining position. In the optical connector 10, the engaging member 40 follows the advance of the housing 50 after the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 contacts the front end surface 111 of the receiving optical connector 110, and the biasing means 30 is compressed and deformed. Go. The housing 50 and the engaging member 40 are moved relative to the front side of the connector with respect to the ferrule 20 abutted on the receiving side optical connector 110. Here, the forward operation of the housing 50 is performed against the elastic biasing force of the biasing means 30. Further, with the compressive deformation of the urging means 30, the flange portion 25 at the rear end of the ferrule 20 is separated rearward from the step surface 45a at the front end of the flange portion accommodating recess 45 of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engagement member 40, The entire ferrule 20 is relatively displaced rearward with respect to the engaging member 40.

The abutment (butting) between the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 and the front end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector 110 causes the pair of guide pins 23 protruding from the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 to pass through the receiving side optical connector 110. This is realized by inserting and fitting into the pair of guide pin holes 112.
In the optical connector 10, the housing 50 in the standby position with respect to the engaging member 40 restricts an increase in the separation distance between the pair of elastic pieces 42 that contact the housing 50 on the inner side thereof, and a pair of elastic connectors 10 The positioning accuracy of the ferrule 20 between the pieces 42 is maintained. Further, the optical connector 10 has a pair of elastic pieces 42 protruding frontward from the housing 50 and abutting against the side surfaces 114 on both sides of the receiving side optical connector 110, thereby receiving the front side light of the pair of guide pins 23. The connector 110 is roughly positioned with respect to the pair of guide pin holes 112. Thus, the optical connector 10 can smoothly insert and fit the pair of guide pins 24 into the pair of guide pin holes 112 of the receiving side optical connector 110.

  In the illustrated optical connector 10, the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 is on standby when the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20 is in contact with the step surface 45 a of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40. It is located behind the front end of the housing 50 in position. Therefore, in this optical connector 10, the receiving end of the receiving optical connector 110 in the housing 50 is started before the leading end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 contacts the leading end surface 111 of the receiving optical connector 110.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 of the optical connector 10 has a housing 50 when the protruding claws 49 of the distal end portion enter the engaging recess 115 of the receiving optical connector 110. Separate from. In the optical connector 10, when the housing 50 is further advanced, the housing locking protrusion 48 of the engaging member 40 comes out of the front locking hole 58 a of the long hole 58 of the housing 50 and enters the passage 58 c of the long hole 58. Get in. The optical connector 10 is engaged with the housing 50 by releasing the fitting between the housing locking projection 48 and the front locking hole 58a by the forward operation of the housing 50 from the state of FIG. The relative movement to the connector front side with respect to the combined member 40 is started.

In the optical connector 10, when the protrusion 49 enters the engaging recess 115 of the receiving optical connector 110 and engages with the engaging portion 116 of the receiving optical connector 110, the tip of the elastic piece 42 is separated from the housing 50. The elastic biasing force of the biasing means 30 does not act on the housing 50.
The fitting state between the housing locking projection 48 and the front locking hole 58a of the long hole 58 of the housing 50 can be released by a force for manually operating the housing 50 from the state shown in FIG. As the housing 50 moves forward from the state shown in FIG. 7A, the housing locking protrusion 48 of the engaging member 40 extends from the front locking hole 58 a of the long hole 58 of the housing 50 to the rear side and becomes long. It enters the passage portion 58c of the hole 58. The forward movement operation (forward movement) of the housing 50 with respect to the engaging member 40 is possible up to the point where the housing locking projection 48 is fitted into the rear locking hole 58b (see FIG. 7B).

The forward operation of the housing 50 ends when the housing 50 reaches the tip restraining position with respect to the engaging member 40 as shown in FIG.
The housing 50 arranged at the tip restraining position is externally inserted into the receiving side optical connector 110 and houses the tip portions of the pair of elastic pieces 42 inside thereof. The housing 50 comes into contact with the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engaging member 40 from the outer surface side thereof, with the stopper protrusion 56 and the front contact wall portion 53a of the housing 50 coming into contact with each other. Regulate the increase in distance between. As a result, the pair of elastic pieces 42 is stably maintained in a state in which the protruding claws 49 enter the engaging recesses 115 of the receiving optical connector 110 and engage with the locking portions 116.
Thereby, the optical connector 10 is fastened (connected) to the receiving side optical connector 110.

The engagement state between the rear side locking hole 58b of the long hole 58 and the housing locking projection 48 of the engaging member 40 is such that the operator moves the housing 50 at the front end restraint position with the fingers on the rear side of the connector (FIG. 7B). Can be released manually by pulling to the right). As long as the housing 50 is not forcibly released from the engagement between the rear locking hole 58b of the long hole 58 and the housing locking protrusion 48 of the engaging member 40 by the movement operation from the front end restraining position to the rear side. The state of being locked at the tip restraining position with respect to the engaging member 40 is kept stable.
The housing locking projection 48 of the engaging member 40 is detachably engaged with the housing 50 at the distal end restraining position for storing the distal ends of the pair of elastic pieces 42, so that the housing 50 is engaged with the engaging member 40. It functions as a housing locking part that restricts retreat.

When the fastening to the receiving side optical connector 110 of the optical connector 10 is completed, the elastic biasing force of the biasing means 30 acts as a butting force between the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 and the receiving side optical connector 110. As a result, each bare optical fiber 1a of the optical fiber 1 fixed to the ferrule 20 is optically connected to each optical fiber 113 fixed to the receiving side optical connector 110 with low loss. Each bare optical fiber 1 a of the optical fiber 1 is optically connected to the optical element 131 of the photoelectric conversion unit 130 via the optical fiber 113 of the receiving side optical connector 110.
When the optical element 131 is a light emitting element, output light from the light emitting element can be incident on the bare optical fiber 1 a of the optical fiber 1 through the optical fiber 113 of the receiving side optical connector 110. When the optical element 131 is a light receiving element, the transmission light of the bare optical fiber 1 a of the optical fiber 1 can be received by the light receiving element via the optical fiber 113 of the side optical connector 110.

  In the optical connector 10 illustrated in FIG. 5, the biasing means receiving portion 41 at the rear end of the engaging member 40 is accommodated inside the guide piece 55 on the rear side of the housing 50, and the engaging member 40 is rearward from the rear end of the housing 50. Has a configuration that does not protrude. However, in this optical connector 10, as shown in FIG. 7B, the engagement member 40 protrudes from the rear end of the housing 50 to the rear side when the fastening to the receiving side optical connector 110 is completed. For this reason, in the operation of fastening the optical connector 10 to the receiving side optical connector 110, it is determined whether or not the fastening operation has been normally performed by observing whether or not the engaging member 40 protrudes from the rear end of the housing 50. It is possible to grasp.

The pulling-out operation of pulling out the optical connector 10 fastened to the receiving-side optical connector 110 from the receiving-side optical connector 110 is performed by removing the housing 50 at the distal end restraint position by the operator with the fingers on the rear side of the connector (right side in FIG. 7B). It can be done simply by pulling to).
The pull-out operation is performed by pulling the housing 50 at the distal end restraining position in the optical connector 10 fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110 to the rear side of the connector, in order as shown in FIG. This is realized through the state of b) and the state of FIG. When the optical connector 10 is completely removed from the receiving side optical connector 110, the optical connector 10 is in the state (initial state) of FIGS. 1 (a), 3, 5, and 8 (a).

In the unplugging operation, the optical connector 10 fastened to the receiving-side optical connector 110 is first moved to the standby position with respect to the engaging member 40 when the housing 50 is moved from the tip restraining position by the pulling operation of the housing 50 to the rear side of the connector. 40 (see FIG. 7A). The housing locking projection 48 of the engaging member 40 is pulled out from the rear locking hole 58b of the long hole 58 and moved forward (retracted) with respect to the engaging member 40 of the housing 50, and the front locking hole of the long hole 58 is. 58a. Further, when the housing 50 is disposed at the standby position, the stopper protrusion 56 of the housing 50 is brought into contact with the step surface 44a at the rear end of the recess 44 of the elastic piece 42 from the front side thereof.
And this optical connector 10 will give the force of the separation direction with respect to the receiving side optical connector 110 to the engaging member 40 by continuing pulling operation of the housing 50 further.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the rear side from the top 49a of the protruding claw 49 at the tip of the pair of elastic pieces 42 of the engagement member 40 is separated from the elastic piece 42 as going from the top 49a to the rear side. It is set as the taper part 49b for engagement cancellation | release formed in the taper shape which a protrusion dimension reduces.
In the state shown in FIG. 7A, the optical connector 10 is operated by pulling the housing 50 to the rear side of the connector, so that the protrusion 49 engages the engagement releasing taper portion 49 b with the receiving side optical connector 110. By sliding with the rear end of the stop portion 116 (the end portion on the engagement recess 115 side), it is extracted from the engagement recess 115 and rides on the locking portion 116 (see FIG. 6B). Further, in the optical connector 10, the engaging member 40 and the housing 50 are displaced toward the rear side of the connector with respect to the ferrule 20 by the elastic biasing force of the biasing means 30 as the protruding claws 49 come out of the recesses 115 for engagement. (Moved).

  After the protrusion 49 is pulled out of the engaging recess 115 in FIG. 6B, the optical connector 10 is removed from the receiving optical connector 110 through the state shown in FIG. Can be removed.

The optical connector 10 can be simply fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110 by a push-on method without using an adapter, by simply advancing the housing 50 from the front end side to the rear end side of the receiving side optical connector 110. Can be connected. The optical connector 10 is inserted and connected to the receiving side optical connector 110 by extrapolating the housing 50 to the receiving side optical connector 110.
The connection of the optical connector 10 to the receiving optical connector 110 corresponds to a plug-plug connection. The optical connector 10 is a plug that can be connected to the receiving optical connector 110 by being fastened. In the plug-plug connection method, the optical connector 10 can improve the workability of connection by insertion and fastening into the receiving side optical connector 110 (plug).

The optical connector 10 can be removed from the state of being fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110, and can be easily attached to and detached from the receiving side optical connector 110 by a push-pull method.
For this reason, the optical fiber 1A with a connector having the configuration in which the optical connector 10 is assembled at the tip of the optical fiber 1 is attached to and detached from the receiving side optical connector 110, whereby the optical fiber 1 and the optical fiber 113 on the receiving side optical connector 110 side are connected. Connect and disconnect easily.

  The optical connector 10 can easily realize a reduction in thickness (thinning) as compared with an MPO optical connector. For this reason, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 9, the height H from the circuit board 120 of the connector assembly in which the optical connector 10 is fastened to the receiving-side optical connector 110 provided on the circuit board 120 (see FIG. 9). ) Can be easily reduced as compared with a case where an adapter for connecting an MPO optical connector is provided directly on the circuit board 120, for example.

  Therefore, in the connector connection system illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 9, it is easy to narrow the arrangement pitch of the boards with connectors 120A when a plurality of boards with connectors 120A are arranged in parallel. Also, with this connector connection system, when a plurality of boards with connectors 120A are mounted in parallel in a casing of an electronic device such as a computer or a computer system, the installation space in the casing is saved. be able to.

10A and 10B show another embodiment of the board with connector and the connector connection system.
10A and 10B, the front end surfaces 111 for butt joining of the receiving side optical connectors 140 and 160 of the boards with connectors 120B and 120C shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B are substantially orthogonal to the circuit board 120 (perpendicular). Alternatively, it extends in a direction slightly inclined with respect to a virtual plane perpendicular to the circuit board 120.
The optical fiber 113 exposed on the front end surface 111 of the receiving side optical connector and the bare optical fiber 1a exposed on the front end surface 21 of the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 are oriented in the direction along the circuit board 120 at the abutting portion. Optical connection is made with an optical axis.

  A board 120B with a connector shown in FIG. 10A is configured such that a receiving side optical connector 140 is connected to the circuit board 120 from the photoelectric conversion unit 150 on the side opposite to the circuit board 120 of the photoelectric conversion unit 150 mounted on the circuit board 120. It is the thing of the structure attached so that it may overhang.

  The receiving optical connector 140 is formed with a recess 142 that is recessed from the bottom surface 141 facing the photoelectric conversion unit 150 at the rear end of the receiving optical connector 110 illustrated in FIG. 143 is provided. The mirror part 143 is, for example, a metal thin film, and is provided on the inner surface of the recess 142 inclined with respect to the bottom surface 141. The receiving-side optical connector 140 is disposed with the rear end of the optical fiber 113 facing the mirror part 143 through the recess 142. In the optical fiber 113, the optical axis at the rear end is oriented along the bottom surface 141 of the receiving optical connector 140. The mirror unit 143 functions as a connection optical path forming unit that forms a bent optical path h1 for optically coupling the rear end of the optical fiber 113 and the optical element 131 in the photoelectric conversion unit 150.

The receiving side optical connector 140 has a configuration similar to that of the receiving side optical connector 110 illustrated in FIG. 9 from the recess 142 to the tip side (tip surface 111 side).
The connector connection system shown in FIG. 10A is configured by fastening the optical connector 10 at the tip of the optical fiber 1A with connector to the receiving optical connector 140 of the board 120B with connector, The optical fiber 1 can be optically coupled to the optical element 131 of the photoelectric conversion unit 150 through the optical path h1.

A board 120C with a connector shown in FIG. 10 (b) uses a receiving side optical connector 160 in the figure instead of the receiving side optical connector 140 in FIG. 10 (a). The receiving side optical connector 160 is attached to the side opposite to the circuit board 120 of the photoelectric conversion unit 150 mounted on the circuit board 120. The receiving-side optical connector 160 is a fiber bending storage portion 161 that stores a bending portion obtained by bending the optical fiber 113 in place of the recess 142 and the mirror portion 143 with respect to the receiving-side optical connector 140 of FIG. Is provided. The receiving side optical connector 160 has a configuration similar to that of the receiving side optical connector 110 illustrated in FIG.
In addition, the receiving side optical connector 160 fixes the fiber bending storage portion 161 to the photoelectric conversion unit 150, the tip side (tip surface 111 side) from the fiber bending storage portion 161, and the photoelectric conversion unit 150 to the circuit board 120. It protrudes so as to overhang.

In the optical fiber 113 of the receiving side optical connector 160, a portion (rear end portion) extended from the fiber bending storage portion 161 is drawn into the photoelectric conversion unit 150, and the end surface thereof is connected to the optical element 131 in the photoelectric conversion unit 150. On the other hand, it arrange | positions so that optical coupling | bonding is possible.
In the connector connection system shown in FIG. 10B, the optical fiber 113 of the receiving side optical connector 160 is fastened by fastening the optical connector 10 at the tip of the optical fiber 1A with connector to the receiving side optical connector 160 of the board 120C with connector. Thus, the optical fiber 1 can be optically coupled to the optical element 131 of the photoelectric conversion unit 150. The optical fiber 113 of the receiving side optical connector 160 functions as a connection optical path forming unit that forms an optical path having a curved portion that optically couples the optical element 131 of the photoelectric conversion unit 150 and the optical fiber 1 of the optical fiber 1A with a connector. .

  Also in the connector connection system of FIGS. 10A and 10B, the height from the circuit board 120 of the connector assembly in which the optical connector 10 at the tip of the optical fiber 1 is fastened to the receiving side optical connector of the board with the connector is It can be easily realized to be smaller (lower) than the connection of the MPO type optical connector using.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, A design change is possible suitably in the range which does not deviate from the main point.
The connector connection system of the above-described embodiment exemplifies a configuration in which a pair of guide pins 23 for positioning the ferrule 20 and the receiving side optical connector of the optical connector 10 are provided on the optical connector 10 side. However, as a connector connection system, a pair of guide pins provided on the receiving side optical connector and projecting from the front end surface thereof is inserted into the guide pin hole 22 by a ferrule 20 that is butt-connected to the receiving side optical connector. It is good also as a structure to fit.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the multi-fiber ferrule is not limited to the one attached to the tip of one optical fiber ribbon. As the ferrule, for example, as shown in a ferrule 20A shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) optical fiber tape cores 1T are attached as optical fibers 1, and each optical fiber tape core 1T is bare. The optical fiber 1a may have a configuration in which the distal end of the optical fiber 1a is two-dimensionally arranged on the distal end surface 21. The fail 20A illustrated in FIG. 11 has two rows in which the tips of the bare optical fibers 1a of the optical fiber ribbons 1T are arranged in a row on the tip surface 21 thereof.
Further, a ferrule having a configuration in which the tip of one or a plurality of single-core optical fibers is attached can also be used.

Further, the ferrule 20 illustrated in FIG. 11 is different from the ferrule 20 of the optical connector 10 illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, etc. in the number of tips of the bare optical fibers 1 a arranged on the tip surface 21. Having the guide pin hole 22 and having the plate-like portion 26 and the rear flange portion 25 are the same as the ferrule 20.
The ferrule is not necessarily limited to a pin fitting positioning type having a guide pin hole for inserting and fitting a positioning guide pin, and a ferrule having no guide pin hole 22 can also be adopted. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 8A and the like, the stepped surface 51a of the housing 50 of the optical connector 10 and the rear end surface 52a of the second face plate portion 52 are ferrules that can be engaged with the flange portion 25 of the ferrule 20 from the front side thereof. It functions as an engaging part. Therefore, in the optical connector 10, for example, the step surface 45a at the front end of the flange housing recess 45 of the engaging member 40 is more than the step surface 51a of the housing 50 at the standby position and the rear end surface 52a of the second face plate portion 52. You may form in the position shifted | deviated to the connector front side. In this optical connector 10, the position of the step surface 45 a at the front end of the flange portion housing recess 45 of the engaging member 40 is located in front of the connector relative to the step surface 51 a of the housing 50 at the standby position and the rear end surface 52 a of the second face plate portion 52. Even if they are misaligned, they can be attached to and detached from the receiving side optical connector (fastened and removed from the fastened state).

  The optical connector 10 is not limited to a configuration that employs an engaging member having a housing locking portion that is detachably engaged with the housing. For example, the optical connector 10 is configured by a contact resistance (slip resistance) between the engaging member and the housing. It is also possible to make it stand still in the tip restraint position. However, the contact resistance is set to such a magnitude that the housing at the tip restraining position can be manually pulled and moved rearward.

  In addition, the optical connector 10 has a structure (standby position holding structure) that generates a movement resistance to the rear side of the housing at the standby position of the engagement member. It is not limited to the joint member locking portion. As the standby position holding structure, when the optical connector 10 is fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110, until the distal end portion of the elastic piece 42 is bent and deformed by the pressure on the receiving side optical connector 110, the Any structure that can restrict the rearward movement of the engaging member relative to the housing may be used. As the standby position holding structure, the rearward movement of the engaging member relative to the housing until the distal end of the elastic piece 42 abuts against the front end of the housing 50 due to bending deformation is the contact resistance between the engaging member and the housing ( It is also possible to adopt a configuration that regulates by (slip resistance). However, the movement resistance of the engagement member that generates the standby position holding structure to the rear side with respect to the housing is such that when the protrusion 49 at the tip of the elastic piece 42 is engaged with the engaging portions 116 on both sides of the receiving optical connector 110. The size is such that the forward movement of the housing relative to the engaging member can be performed manually.

When the optical connector 10 is fastened to the receiving side optical connector 110, the engaging member 40 can also be pressed toward the receiving side optical connector 110 together with the housing to perform a fastening operation.
The optical connector 10 does not necessarily press the distal end portion of the elastic piece 42 curved by the protrusion of the protrusions 49 on the engaging portions 116 on both sides of the receiving-side optical connector 110 by the front end portion of the housing 50 from the rear side. 49 is not required to be engaged with the locking portion 116 of the receiving optical connector 110.

  As a plate member with a connector, for example, a circuit board 120 mounted with an MT ferrule attached to the tip of an optical fiber (board with a connector), and an MT ferrule attached to the tip of an optical fiber is not formed with circuit wiring What was mounted in the board member etc. is employable.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber, 1A ... Optical fiber with a connector, 10 ... Optical connector, 20, 20A ... Ferrule, 21 ... End face, 25 ... Flange part of 30 (ferrule), 30 ... Energizing means (coil spring), 40 ... Engagement 41: urging means receiving portion, 42: elastic piece, 44: engagement recess (engagement recess), 44a: edge of the engagement recess (step surface), 46: inclined surface, engagement recess 48 ... engagement projection (housing locking projection), 49 ... projection claw, 50 ... housing, 51a ... ferrule engagement part (step surface), 52 ... ferrule engagement part (second face plate part) , 52a ... ferrule engagement part (rear end face), 56 ... engagement protrusion (stopper protrusion), 58 ... engagement recess (long hole), 58a ... engagement member locking part (front locking hole part) , 110 ... receiving side optical connector, 111 ... tip end face, 113 ... optical fiber, connection optical path formation , 120 ... circuit board (plate member), 120A, 120B, 120C ... plate member with connector, board with connector, 130 ... photoelectric conversion unit, 131 ... optical element, 140 ... receiving side optical connector, 143 ... connection optical path forming section ( Mirror portion), 150... Photoelectric conversion unit, 160... Receiving side optical connector.

Claims (11)

An engagement member having a pair of elastic pieces that are engaged with recesses on both side surfaces of the receiving-side optical connector ferrule by an inward projecting claw at the tip;
A cylindrical housing which is extrapolated to be movable back and forth with respect to the engaging member,
The pair of elastic pieces are separated from each other by riding on the side surface of the receiving-side optical connector ferrule of the projecting claw, so that the front ends of the housing abut against the tip portions of the pair of elastic pieces, thereby The housing is restricted from moving forward relative to the engagement member;
The pair of elastic pieces approach each other by the engagement of the protrusions and the recesses on both side surfaces of the receiving optical connector ferrule, so that the housing can move forward with respect to the engaging member.
When the housing moves forward with respect to the engaging member, the pair of elastic pieces abuts on the inner side of the housing and restricts movement in a direction away from each other, thereby preventing the protrusions of the pair of elastic pieces. And an optical connector that holds the engagement state between the recesses on both side surfaces of the receiving side optical connector ferrule.

Each of the pair of elastic pieces is a front inclined surface that is inclined outward toward the front end of the protruding claw, and a rear inclined surface that is inclined outward toward the rear end of the protruding claw. The optical connector according to claim 1. In the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the pair of elastic pieces, a recess extending along the longitudinal direction of the pair of elastic pieces is formed on the outer surface side of the pair of elastic pieces,
The housing is a pair of stopper projections respectively provided on the inner surface side of the position shifted from the front end to the rear side, and is inserted into the respective concave portions of the pair of elastic pieces so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the elastic pieces. The optical connector according to 1 or 2, further comprising a pair of stopper protrusions. The engagement member further includes a biasing means receiving portion (41) that takes a reaction force of a biasing means (30) that biases the ferrule (20, 20A) forward.
The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pair of elastic pieces extend forward from the biasing means receiving portion. The front end portion of the elastic piece has an inclined surface (46) inclined to the opposite side to the protruding claw toward the front, and the front end portion of the housing is in contact with the inclined surface from the rear side. the optical connector according to any one of claims 1-4 in which the forward movement of the housing is restricted. The housing and the engagement member are provided with a latch structure that engages with each other by an engagement protrusion (48, 56) and an engagement recess (44, 58), and the engagement protrusion is the engagement recess. The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein movement of the housing forward or backward relative to the engaging member is restricted by abutting against an edge (44a, 46) of the housing. The optical connector according to any one of claims 4 to 6 , wherein the engaging member further includes a regulating means (45a) for regulating forward movement of the ferrule biased forward. The optical connector according to any one of claims 4 to 7 , wherein the housing has a ferrule engaging portion (51a, 52, 52a) that can be engaged with a flange portion (25) of the ferrule from the front side thereof. The ferrule is an MT-type optical connector, and is provided between the pair of elastic pieces so that the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tip end face (21) for butt joining is aligned with the interval direction of the pair of elastic pieces of the engagement member. The optical connector according to any one of claims 4 to 8 . The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein an operation protrusion (59) is provided on the outer periphery of the housing. An optical fiber with connector (1A) in which the optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is assembled at the tip of the optical fiber (1);
A connector connection system comprising: a board with a connector (120A, 120B, 120C) formed by mounting the receiving side optical connector to which the optical connector is fastened on a circuit board (120).

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