JPH0943453A - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical connector which is reduced in the number of parts, is reduced in its size and cost and is simple in structure without impairing the connection accuracy of an optical fiber. SOLUTION: This optical connector is constituted of a male connector 1 which houses a ferrule 12 freely displaceably into a clip casing 11 having elastic engaging pawls 11c and a female connector of a receptacle structure which is formed with the detaining mechanism of these elastic engaging pawls 11c and is fixed at the base end of a second ferrule. This male connector 1 is constituted by interposing a coil spring 14 between the inside bottom of this clip casing 11 and the rear surface side of the flange part on the first ferrule 12 to elastically hold the ferrule 12 and forming a collar part 11c for regulating the displacement to the opening ends side of the flange part 11a at the prescribed position of the outside face of the clip casing 11. Cylindrical split sleeves 13 which house the opposite end of the ferrule 22 and align the ferrule on the same axial line are fixed onto the outer periphery of the aligning outside diameter part 12b of the ferrule 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a set of a male connector accommodating a first ferrule and a female connector accommodating a second ferrule, for connecting an optical fiber fixed on the central axis of each ferrule. For the structure of the optical connector for.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional optical connector of this type, for example, the one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-81618 is known. FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view showing the structure of this conventional optical connector, wherein 30 is an optical connector, 32 is a male connector,
34 is a female connector. Each connector 32, 34 has a ferrule 3 in which an optical fiber is fixedly held on the central axis.
6, 38, housings 42, 44 for aligning the ferrules 36, 38, and fixtures 54, 56, and a plurality of parts for releasably receiving the other connectors. It is configured.

When connecting the optical fibers, the male connectors 3 are arranged so that the optical fibers are positioned on the same central axis.
2 and the female connector 34 are joined. At this time, at the inclined surface 58 of each of the fixtures 54, 56, the housings 42, 4
The inclined engaging portions 40 and 46 of No. 4 are pressed, and the ferrules 36 and 38 are elastically pressed on the outer inclined surfaces of the elastic arms that are joined to the inner inclined surfaces of the inclined engaging portions 40 and 46. That is, the pair of ferrules 36 and 38 are pushed in the directions in which they face each other, and are connected and fixed.

On the other hand, when removing the optical fiber, the fixture 54 of the male connector 32 is pushed from the outside in the direction of the central axis to release the engagement. Then, if the engagement state of the engagement protrusion of the fixture 54 of the male connector 32 and the engagement groove of the housing 42 is released, the regulation of the inclined engagement portion 46 of the housing 42 is released, and the elastic arm portion of the ferrule 36 is released. The inclined engagement portion 46 is easily disengaged, and the housing 42 and the ferrule 36 are separated.
Also for the female connector 34, the fixture 56, the housing 44, and the ferrule 38 are formed by the same method as the male connector 32.
Can be separated individually.

[0005]

As described above, according to the conventional optical connector, the housings 42 and 44 are provided with the slant engagement portion 4.
4, 46 are provided so that the opposite ends of the ferrules 36, 38 are butted against each other, which causes a problem that the structure becomes complicated. In addition, the pressing force applied to the ends of the ferrules 36 and 38 utilizes the elastic force of the housings 42 and 44, respectively, so that it is difficult to connect the optical fibers with sufficient accuracy. Furthermore, since the ferrules 36 and 38 are aligned by the housings 42 and 44, axial misalignment of the ferrules 36 and 38 is likely to occur, which may deteriorate the loss characteristics.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional structure and to maintain a sufficient optical fiber connection performance.
An object is to provide an optical connector having a simplified structure.

[0007]

An optical connector provided by the present invention comprises a distal end portion of a first ferrule in which an optical fiber is fixed on a central axis and a projection is integrally formed at a central portion in a longitudinal direction of an outer circumference. An optical connector in which an opposing end portion of a second ferrule having an optical fiber fixed to the same central axis as the first ferrule is detachably joined, and an elastic engaging claw is formed at an opening end. A male connector in which the first ferrule is accommodated in a bottomed tubular clip housing so as to be displaceable along the central axis, and a locking mechanism for the elastic engaging claws is formed at the opening end of the second ferrule. The female connector has a receptacle structure with a fixed base end. The male connector elastically holds the first ferrule by interposing an elastic body between the inner bottom portion of the clip housing and the rear surface side of the projection body, and at a predetermined portion of the outer surface of the clip housing. And a rib portion for restricting the displacement of the projection body toward the opening end. The clip housing is, for example, a pair of free ends whose opposite side surfaces near the opening end are elastically deformed in the same plane, and the tips of the free ends are bent outward to form the elastic engaging claws. The upper and lower sides of the central portion of the first free end in the longitudinal direction and the lower portion of the central portion of the second free end in the longitudinal direction are formed with the brim portions facing each other in a plane perpendicular to the elastically deformable surface. Has been done. The interval between the flanges is smaller than the outer diameter of the protrusion, which restricts the displacement of the protrusion toward the opening side. A cylindrical split sleeve is fixed to the outer circumference of the end of either the first ferrule or the second ferrule and accommodates the opposite end of the other ferrule and aligns them on the same axis.

When connecting an optical fiber, the ends of the ferrules are positioned with a split sleeve, and then the clip housing of the male connector is temporarily elastically deformed in the central axis direction and pushed into the female connector. Then, the elastic engagement claw is locked to the locking mechanism portion. At this time, the split sleeve aligns the facing ends of the facing first and second ferrules on the same axis, and the elastic body abuts the leading ends of the ferrules with a required pressure. As a result, the optical fibers in both connectors are connected on the same axis. On the other hand, when the connection state of the optical fiber is released, the clip housing is temporarily elastically deformed in the central axis direction to release the locking of the elastic engagement claw. As a result, the elastic body is deenergized and the male connector is automatically pulled out from the female connector.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the male connector 1 according to this embodiment before connection, FIG.
FIG. 2C is a front view, and FIG. 2 is a female connector 2 before connection.
FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a connection state of the male connector and the female connector, and FIG. 3B is a side view.

The male connector 1 is shown in FIGS. 1 (a) (b) (c).
As shown in, the clip housing 11 is provided. The clip housing 11 has a pair of free ends 11b whose opposite side surfaces near the opening end are elastically deformed in the same plane in the direction of the arrow, and the tips of the free ends are bent outward to form elastic members. It forms a compound claw 11a. Further, a flange portion 11a is formed on the upper side of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of one free end and the lower portion of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the other free end so as to face each other in a plane perpendicular to the elastically deformable surface. ing.

A first ferrule 12 having a flange portion (projection body) 12c formed at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the outer periphery is accommodated inside the clip housing 11 so as to be displaceable along the central axis. The outer diameter of the flange portion 12c is larger than the distance between the two facing flange portions 11a, and a predetermined portion of the front edge of the flange portion 12c is in contact with the side end of each flange portion 11a. A tubular split sleeve 13 is fixed to the outer periphery of the aligned outer diameter portion 12b of the first ferrule 12, and the tip end side of the split sleeve 13 is connected to the tip end portion of the first ferrule 12. A guide space for guiding the tip end portion of the second ferrule to be joined is formed.

An elastic body, for example, a coil spring 14 is arranged between the back side of the flange portion 12a and the inner bottom portion of the clip housing 11.
The basic shape of the ferrule 12 is maintained, and the flange 12a is pushed toward the open end along the central axis. The optical fiber 10 to be connected is fixed on the central axis of the first ferrule 12 with an adhesive or the like.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 2 is provided with a block 21 formed with a key 21a for locking the elastic engaging claw 11c at the open end. The opening end of the block 21 is of a size that allows at least the clip housing 11 to be inserted, and the shape of the key 21a is formed to be concave so that the elastic engaging claw 11c inserted from the opening end can be locked. . In addition, a second portion is provided at a substantially central portion of the block 21 and directed to the end portion of the split sleeve 13.
Groove 21b for fitting the base end of the ferrule 22 of
Are formed. The optical fiber 20 to be connected is fixed by an adhesive or the like on the central axis of the second ferrule 22 fitted and fixed in the groove portion 21b, thereby realizing a receptacle structure. A module 3 connected to the optical fibers 10 and 20 is provided on the back side of the block 21.

Next, a method of using the optical connector composed of the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 having the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. When connecting the optical fibers 10 and 20, after positioning so that the tip of the second ferrule 22 fixed to the block 21 may be accommodated in the guide space of the split sleeve 13, the free end 11b of the male connector 1 is fixed. Elastically deform in the direction of the central axis to block 21 the entire clip.
Push in the direction. Then, when the elastic engagement claw 11c is locked to the locking portion 21a of the block 21, the elastic deformation is released. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the split sleeve 13 aligns the facing ends of the first and second ferrules 12 and 22 on the same central axis line by an appropriate tightening force. Further, the coil spring 14 causes the opposing ends of the ferrules 12 and 22 to abut against each other with a required pressure. As a result, the optical fiber 10 and the optical fiber 20 are reliably connected.

On the other hand, when disconnecting the optical fibers 10 and 20, the free end 1 of the clip housing 11 is fixed by a jig or the like.
1b is elastically deformed in the central axis direction, and the elastic engagement claw 11c is removed from the key 21b of the block 21. As a result, the coil spring 14 is deenergized and the clip housing 11 is blocked by the block 2.
The ferrules 12 and 22 are separated from each other, and the opposite ends of the ferrules 12 and 22 are separated from each other.

As described above, in this embodiment, the first
The split sleeve 13 for aligning the opposite ends of the second ferrules 12 and 22 with each other, and the coil spring 14 for applying a required pressing force to the opposite ends are arranged in the clip housing 11 and face each other. First by the two collars 11a
The male connector 1 is configured by restricting the displacement of the ferrule 12 on the open end side, and the optical connector is realized by the combination with the female connector 2 having the block 21 of the receptacle structure. It is possible to reduce the number of parts, simplify the structure, and reduce the size while maintaining the connection performance of.

Although the split sleeve 13 is provided on the male connector 1 side in the above description, the split sleeve 13 may be provided on the female connector 2 side. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the shape of the clip housing 11 is not necessarily rectangular in cross section, and may be cylindrical with a bottom or polygonal with a bottom. Further, the elastic body also includes the coil spring 14
May be used.

[0018]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small-sized and simple structure optical connector which is excellent in mass productivity with a small number of parts without impairing the connection accuracy of optical fibers. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structural example of a male connector which is a constituent element of an optical connector of the present invention, in which (a) is a plan structural diagram before connection, (b) is a side structural diagram, and (c) is a front structural diagram. It is a figure.

FIG. 2 is a plan structural view before connection showing a structural example of a female connector which is a constituent element of the optical connector of the present invention.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a connection state of the optical connector of the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a plan structural view and FIG. 3B is a side structural view.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a structural example of a conventional optical connector of this type.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Male connector 10 Optical fiber on male connector side 11 Clip housing 11a Collar portion (displacement regulating portion) 11b Free end 12 First ferrule 12a Flange portion (projection body) 12b Alignment outer diameter portion 13 Split sleeve 14 One example of elastic body Coil spring 2 Female connector 20 Optical fiber on female connector side 21 Block 21a Locking portion 21b Groove portion 3 Module to which optical fiber is connected

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A front end of a first ferrule having an optical fiber fixed on the central axis and a projection integrally formed at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the outer circumference, and on the same central axis as the first ferrule. An optical connector for detachably joining opposite ends of a second ferrule to which an optical fiber is fixed,
A male connector in which the first ferrule is displaceably accommodated along the central axis in a bottomed tubular clip housing in which an elastic engaging claw is formed at the opening end, and an engagement of the elastic engaging claw at the opening end. And a female connector having a receptacle structure in which a locking mechanism is formed and the base end of the second ferrule is fixed, and the male connector is elastic between the inner bottom of the clip housing and the rear side of the protrusion. A body is interposed to elastically hold the first ferrule, and a collar portion for restricting displacement of the projection body toward the opening end is formed at a predetermined portion on the outer surface of the clip housing. , On the outer circumference of the end of either the first ferrule or the second ferrule,
An optical connector, characterized in that a tubular split sleeve that accommodates the opposite end of the other ferrule and is aligned on the same axis is fixed. 2. The clip housing is a pair of free ends whose opposite side surfaces near the opening end elastically deform in the same plane,
The tip of each free end is bent outward to form the elastic engaging claw, and further, the upper part of the longitudinal center of the first free end and the lower part of the longitudinal center of the second free end. 2. The light according to claim 1, wherein the flange portions are formed so as to face each other in a plane perpendicular to the elastically deformable surface, and the interval between the flange portions is smaller than the outer diameter of the protrusion. connector.