An underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket and its components

Abstract

The present invention relates to an underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket and its components. The socket includes a socket housing, a sleeve assembled outside the socket housing, and a socket accessory housing connected to the socket housing. Inside the socket housing, a socket turntable, a socket stopper, and a socket inner housing are sequentially assembled. A mounting hole inner housing for fixing the fiber optic jack contact is fixed in the socket inner housing, and the fiber optic jack contact is aligned with the fiber optic channel II on the socket stopper; a spring is assembled around the outer circumference of the socket inner housing to provide elastic force for the movement of the socket turntable and the socket stopper; a protrusion I is provided outside the socket turntable and can slide along the through groove on the socket housing to realize the rotation of the socket turntable while moving axially. During the entire plugging and unplugging process of the socket of the present invention, the inner cavity filled with the jack contact and silicone oil in the socket is always in a sealed state and will not be affected by the external water body. By the volume change of the silicone oil in the drain hole and the oil bladder, the balance between the inside and outside of the socket is always maintained, and it can be plugged and unplugged at any water depth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of connectors, and in particular to an underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket and its components. Background Art

[0002] An underwater pluggable fiber optic connector is a fiber optic connector that can be plugged and unplugged underwater. It requires a static and dynamic sealing structure, and can maintain the internal sealing of the connector in both the plugged and separated states in water. The fiber optic contact is docked in the sealed cavity and will not be contaminated by the outside world, so as to effectively transmit optical signals. The existing underwater connector sockets cannot meet the use environment of deep water and high water pressure, resulting in the leakage of silicone oil inside the connector and the failure of sealing in the deep water environment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To overcome the above defects, the present invention provides an underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket and its components. When the socket is used underwater, during the entire process of mating with or separating from the plug, the inner cavity of the socket containing the fiber optic jack contact and silicone oil is always in a sealed state, and the outside water body and the like will not affect it during underwater plugging and unplugging. At the same time, the oil bladder I and the drain hole cooperate to keep the pressure inside and outside the socket connector always balanced, so that the socket and its components of the present invention can be plugged and unplugged at any water depth under the condition of effective sealing.

[0004] The present invention solves its technical problems by adopting the following technical solutions. An underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket according to the present invention includes a socket housing, a sleeve assembled outside the socket housing, and a socket accessory housing connected to the socket housing. Among them, a socket turntable, a socket stopper, and a socket inner housing are sequentially assembled in the socket housing from front to back. A mounting hole inner housing for fixing the fiber optic jack contact is fixed in the socket inner housing, and the fiber optic jack contact is always aligned with the fiber optic channel II on the socket stopper; a space is left between the socket inner housing and the socket stopper to facilitate the axial movement of the socket stopper and the socket turntable in the socket housing. A spring is assembled on the outer periphery of the socket inner housing to provide elastic force for the movement of the socket turntable and the socket stopper; a protrusion I is provided on the outer circumference of the socket turntable, which can slide along the through groove on the socket housing, so that the socket turntable rotates while moving axially; during the process of the protrusion I sliding from the starting point to the end point of the through groove along the through groove, the fiber optic channel I on the socket turntable is gradually aligned with the fiber optic channel II on the socket stopper, so as to open the socket fiber optic channel; during the process of the protrusion I sliding from the end point to the starting point of the through groove along the through groove, the fiber optic channel I and the fiber optic channel II are misaligned, so as to close the socket fiber optic channel.

[0005] Further, an oil bladder I is assembled in the inner cavity of the socket accessory housing. The oil bladder I is filled with silicone oil. A drain hole is also opened on the socket accessory housing. When the connectors are plugged and unplugged, water outside the oil bladder I enters or exits through the drain hole, causing the volume of the silicone oil inside the oil bladder I to change, so that the internal pressure of the socket connector is always kept balanced with the external seawater pressure.

[0006] Further, a single key I is also provided on the socket stopper for cooperating with the keyway I on the socket housing so that the socket stopper and the socket turntable can reciprocate linearly in the socket housing.

[0007] Further, the inner wall surface of the mating end of the socket turntable is conical.

[0008] Further, the inner wall of the optical fiber channel I is conical, making the diameter of the side of the optical fiber channel I adjacent to the socket stopper larger and the diameter of the other side smaller. A raised portion II in the shape of a cone is provided between two adjacent optical fiber channels II on the socket stopper for mating with the optical fiber channel I to close the optical fiber channel I; when the socket turntable rotates, the raised portion II always closely adheres to the socket turntable under the action of a spring; when the raised portion I is at the starting position of the through groove, the raised portion II is inserted into the optical fiber channel I to make both the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II in a closed state, and an O-ring I is also installed on the outer periphery of the raised portion II to further seal between the socket turntable and the socket stopper.

[0009] An underwater pluggable optical fiber connector assembly includes a socket, and the socket includes a socket housing, a sleeve assembled outside the socket housing, and a socket accessory housing connected to the socket housing. Among them, a socket turntable, a socket stopper, and a socket inner housing are sequentially assembled in the socket housing from front to back. A mounting hole inner housing for fixing the optical fiber jack contact is fixed in the socket inner housing, and the optical fiber jack contact is always aligned with the optical fiber channel II on the socket stopper; a space is left between the socket inner housing and the socket stopper to facilitate the axial movement of the socket stopper and the socket turntable in the socket housing. A spring is assembled on the outer periphery of the socket inner housing to provide elastic force for the movement of the socket turntable and the socket stopper; a raised portion I is provided on the outer circumference of the socket turntable and can slide along the through groove on the socket housing, so that the socket turntable rotates while making an axial movement; during the process of the raised portion I sliding from the starting point to the end point of the through groove along the through groove, the optical fiber channel I on the socket turntable is gradually aligned with the optical fiber channel II on the socket stopper, thus realizing the opening of the socket optical fiber channel; during the process of the raised portion I sliding from the end point to the starting point of the through groove along the through groove, the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II are misaligned, thus realizing the closing of the socket optical fiber channel.

[0010] Further, an oil bladder I is assembled in the inner cavity of the socket accessory housing. The oil bladder I is filled with silicone oil. A drain hole is also opened on the socket accessory housing. When the connectors are plugged and unplugged, water outside the oil bladder I enters or exits through the drain hole, causing the volume of the silicone oil inside the oil bladder I to change, so that the internal pressure of the socket connector is always kept balanced with the external seawater pressure.

[0011] Furthermore, a single key I is also provided on the socket stopper for cooperating with the keyway I on the socket housing so that the socket stopper and the socket turntable can reciprocate linearly within the socket housing.

[0012] Furthermore, the inner wall surface of the insertion end of the socket turntable is a conical surface.

[0013] Furthermore, the inner wall of the optical fiber channel I is a conical surface, such that the diameter of the side of the optical fiber channel I adjacent to the socket stopper is large while the diameter of the other side is small. A raised portion II in the shape of a conical surface is provided between every two adjacent optical fiber channels II on the socket stopper for adapting to the optical fiber channel I to close the optical fiber channel I; when the socket turntable rotates, the raised portion II always closely adheres to the socket turntable under the action of a spring; when the raised portion I is located at the starting position of the through groove, the raised portion II is inserted into the optical fiber channel I so that both the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II are in a closed state, and an O-ring seal I is further installed on the outer periphery of the raised portion II to further seal between the socket turntable and the socket stopper.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0015] (1) By providing a socket turntable with an optical fiber channel I, a socket stopper with an optical fiber channel II on the socket connector, providing a raised portion I on the socket turntable, and providing a through groove on the socket housing, when the raised portion I slides along the through groove, not only can the socket turntable move linearly in the axial direction, but also can rotate simultaneously. The rotation of the socket turntable can align the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II to open the socket optical fiber channel. Under the action of the spring at the rear of the socket stopper, the raised portion I can slide reversely along the through groove to misalign the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II, thereby closing the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II to protect parts such as the optical fiber jack contacts in the socket connector.

[0016] (2) The present invention designs both the insertion end of the socket turntable and the insertion end of the plug turntable as conical surfaces, which can better and faster drain the surrounding water during insertion. At the same time, a sleeve is provided outside the socket housing, and an O-ring seal II is provided between the sleeve and the socket turntable. The sleeve can limit and fix the socket turntable. When the head and socket are inserted into each other, under the action of the insertion force, the socket turntable moves towards the socket tail, so that the insertion end of the plug turntable first passes through the O-ring seal II, thereby realizing the sealing during the insertion process.

[0017] (3) The parts inside the socket housing are sealed by O-ring seals. For example, O-ring seal II installed between the sleeve and the socket turntable, O-ring seal III installed between the sleeve and the socket housing, and O-ring seal V installed between the socket housing and the inner socket housing. Throughout the entire process of mating or separating, the inner cavity of the socket containing the fiber optic jack contacts and silicone oil is always in a sealed state, and external water bodies, etc. will not affect it during underwater plugging and unplugging. At the same time, the oil bladder I and the drain hole cooperate to always keep the pressure inside and outside the socket balanced, enabling the socket of the present invention to be used at any water depth under effective sealing. Description of the Drawings

[0018] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the socket connector of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the socket rotation structure.

[0020] Figure 3 is Figure 2 a schematic diagram of the components being assembled in place.

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the closed state of the socket fiber optic channel.

[0022] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the open state of the socket fiber optic channel.

[0023] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the plug connector of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the plug rotation structure.

[0025] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the closed state of the plug fiber optic channel.

[0026] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the open state of the plug fiber optic channel.

[0027] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the fiber optic connector of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the non-plugged state of the fiber optic connector of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the initial mating state of the fiber optic connector of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the fully mated state of the fiber optic connector of the present invention.

[0031]

Description of Components and Symbols

[0032] 1: Socket housing, 2: Sleeve, 3: Socket turntable, 4: Socket stop, 5: Socket accessory housing, 6: Inner socket housing, 7: Inner housing with mounting hole, 8: Fiber optic jack contact, 9: Spring, 10: Step Ⅰ, 11: Oil bladder Ⅰ, 12: Retaining ring, 13: Washer, 14: Nut, 15: Stuffing box, 16: Projection Ⅰ, 17: Through groove, 18: Starting point of through groove, 19: End point of through groove, 20: Fiber optic channel Ⅰ, 21: Fiber optic channel Ⅱ, 22: Projection Ⅱ, 23: O-ring Ⅰ, 24: Single key Ⅰ, 25: Keyway Ⅰ, 26: O-ring Ⅱ, 27: O-ring Ⅲ, 28: Plug housing, 29: Connecting nut, 30: Plug turntable, 31: Inner plug housing, 32: Plug stop, 33: Inner housing with pin mounting, 34: Plug accessory housing, 35: Corrugated spring, 36: Torsion spring, 37: Outer plug retaining ring, 38: Fiber optic pin contact, 39: Oil bladder Ⅱ, 40: Locking piece, 41: Tail of socket sleeve, 42: Conical surface Ⅰ, 43: Conical surface Ⅱ, 44: Single key Ⅱ, 45: Notch, 46: Projection Ⅲ, 47: Groove, 48: Fiber optic channel Ⅲ, 49: Projection Ⅳ, 50: Fiber optic channel Ⅳ, 51: O-ring Ⅳ, 52: Convex key, 53: Keyway Ⅱ, 54: Insertion end conical surface of plug turntable, 55: Insertion end conical surface of socket turntable, 56: Drain hole, 57: O-ring Ⅴ, 58: O-ring Ⅵ, 59: O-ring Ⅶ. Detailed implementation mode

[0033] To further elaborate on the technical means and technical effects adopted by the present invention, the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments.

[0034] It should be noted that: The terms indicating directions such as "front", "rear", "tail end", "tail" in the present invention are all based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the figures, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Specifically, the ends where the socket and the plug are inserted and mated are defined as the front end of the socket and the front end of the plug respectively, and the other ends of each are their tail ends. The directions of "front" and "rear" are consistent with those of "front end" and "tail end".

[0035] The underwater pluggable connector assembly of the present invention includes a socket connector and a plug connector that is inserted into the socket connector, as Figure 1As shown in the figure, the socket connector includes a socket housing 1, a sleeve 2 assembled outside the socket housing, a socket turntable 3 and a socket stopper 4 assembled inside the socket housing at the socket mating end, and a socket accessory housing 5 connected to the socket housing. The socket turntable is located in front of the socket stopper. A socket inner housing 6 is also assembled inside the socket housing, which is located behind the socket stopper. A mounting hole inner housing 7 is fixed inside the cavity of the socket inner housing. Four groups of single-core fiber optic jack contacts 8 are fixed in the mounting hole inner housing by positioning claws for butt-joint with the fiber optic pin contacts inside the plug connector to achieve fiber optic connection. A spring 9 is assembled on the outer periphery of the socket inner housing to provide elastic force for the movement of the socket turntable and the socket stopper. One end of the spring is limited by the socket stopper, and the other end is limited by a step Ⅰ 10 on the socket housing. A space is left between the socket inner housing and the socket stopper to facilitate the axial movement of the socket stopper and the socket turntable inside the socket housing. An oil bladder Ⅰ 11 is assembled inside the cavity of the socket accessory housing. The oil bladder Ⅰ is filled with silicone oil. When the connector is mated and separated, the internal pressure of the socket connector is balanced with the external seawater pressure through the change in the volume of the silicone oil inside the oil bladder Ⅰ. The oil bladder Ⅰ is sealed by extrusion. One end of it is extruded between the socket inner housing and the socket accessory housing, and the other end is extruded and sealed on the tail housing of the socket accessory housing through a retaining ring 12 and a washer 13. The material friction coefficients on both sides of the washer are different. Both the retaining ring and the washer are made of metal and can slip. It is not easy for the washer to slip with the oil bladder Ⅰ. When the retaining ring is tightened, the oil bladder Ⅰ will not rotate. Without the washer, the retaining ring will drive the oil bladder Ⅰ to rotate together. The tail of the socket accessory housing is connected to a four-core deep-sea optical cable. The optical cable passes through a nut 14 at the tail of the socket accessory housing and is sealed with the socket accessory housing through a stuffing box 15 and encapsulated by vulcanization (this technology is prior art and will not be elaborated here).

[0036] As Figure 2 shown, a protrusion Ⅰ 16 is provided on the outer circumference of the socket turntable, which can slide along a through groove 17 on the socket housing, so that while the socket turntable makes a linear movement in the axial direction, it can also rotate. When the protrusion Ⅰ slides from the starting point 18 to the ending point 19 of the through groove, it drives the socket turntable to rotate, making the fiber optic channel Ⅰ 20 on it gradually align with the fiber optic channel Ⅱ 21 on the socket stopper, thus opening the socket fiber optic channel. On the contrary, when the protrusion Ⅰ slides from the ending point to the starting point of the through groove, it drives the socket turntable to rotate, making the fiber optic channel Ⅰ and the fiber optic channel Ⅱ gradually stagger, thus closing the socket fiber optic channel.

[0037] The inner wall surface of the fiber optic channel Ⅰ on the socket turntable is conical, with the diameter of the side adjacent to the socket stopper being larger and the diameter of the other side being smaller. As Figure 5 shown. In one embodiment, four fiber optic channels Ⅱ are provided on the socket stopper. A conical protrusion Ⅱ 22 is provided between adjacent fiber optic channels Ⅱ for matching with the fiber optic channel Ⅰ. An O-ring Ⅰ 23 is installed on the outer periphery of each protrusion Ⅱ and is embedded in a groove on the end face of the socket stopper. Figure 2As shown. In the case of four optical fiber channels II and four protrusions II, the angle (central angle) between the center of each protrusion II and the center of the adjacent optical fiber channel II on the same cross-section is 45°. When the optical fiber channels of the socket turntable and the socket stopper are in a closed state, the protrusions II on the socket stopper are inserted into the optical fiber channels I. The conical surface on the protrusions II is in close contact with the conical surface of the inner wall of the optical fiber channels I and is sealed by the O-ring I 23. At this time, the optical fiber channels I and II do not correspond to each other, and each is regarded as a closed state, as Figure 4 shown. When the socket and the plug are inserted into each other, under the action of the insertion force, the protrusions I on the socket turntable slide along the through groove to rotate the socket turntable by 45°, so that the optical fiber channels I and II are aligned and the optical fiber channels are opened, as Figure 5 shown. Conversely, when the protrusions I slide from the end point to the starting point of the through groove, the socket turntable rotates reversely by 45° to make the optical fiber channels I correspond to the protrusions II and close the optical fiber channels I and II.

[0038] The socket turntable and the socket stopper are sealed by the O-ring I 23. At the same time, the protrusions II located within the O-ring I 23 cooperate with the optical fiber channels I. When the socket turntable rotates, due to the conical surface structures of both the protrusions II and the optical fiber channels I, the socket stopper will separate from the socket turntable by a small distance. However, due to the action of the spring force, the protrusions II on the socket stopper always closely adhere to the socket turntable. Coupled with the action of the O-ring I 23, the inner cavity of the socket containing the optical fiber jack contact 8 and silicone oil is finally in a sealed environment.

[0039] Furthermore, a single key I 24 is provided on the socket stopper for cooperating with the key groove I 25 on the socket housing so that the socket stopper and the socket turntable can perform reciprocating axial linear motion within the socket housing. The starting position of the protrusions I 16 on the socket turntable is at the starting point of the through groove and is limited by the front end of the sleeve outside the socket housing, so that the socket turntable, the socket stopper, the spring, etc. are limited within the socket housing. The parts within the socket housing are sealed by O-rings, such as the O-ring II 26 installed between the sleeve and the socket turntable, the O-ring III 27 installed between the sleeve and the socket housing, and the O-ring V 57 installed between the socket housing and the inner socket housing.

[0040] Figure 6The plug cross-section is shown. The plug connector includes a plug housing 28, a connecting nut 29 assembled outside the plug housing, a plug turntable 30 assembled inside the plug housing, a plug inner housing 31 and a plug stop 32 assembled inside the plug turntable, a pin inner housing 33 assembled inside the plug inner housing, a plug accessory housing 34 connected to the plug housing, etc. The plug inner housing 31 is located behind the plug stop 32, and a corrugated spring 35 is assembled between the plug inner housing and the plug stop. A torsion spring 36 is also installed at the center of the pin inner housing to provide elastic force for the rotation of the plug turntable. The two ends of the torsion spring are respectively limited by the plug turntable and the tail end of the pin inner housing. The plug turntable is fixed by a plug outer retaining ring 37 so that the plug turntable cannot move axially. Figure 6 The four groups of single-core fiber optic pin contacts 38 shown are fixed in the pin inner housing 33 by positioning claws for butt-inserting with the fiber optic jack contacts 8 in the socket to achieve fiber optic connection. An oil bladder II 39 is assembled in the inner cavity of the plug accessory housing. The oil bladder II is filled with silicone oil. When the connector is inserted and separated, the internal pressure of the plug connector is balanced with the external seawater pressure through the change in the volume of the silicone oil inside the oil bladder II. Its assembly method is the same as that of the oil bladder I in the socket connector. One end is squeezed and assembled between the plug housing and the plug accessory housing, and the other end is squeezed and sealed on the tail housing of the plug accessory housing through a retaining ring and a washer. This will not be elaborated here. The four-core deep-sea optical cable is connected to the plug tail. The optical cable is sealed between the stuffing box and the plug accessory housing and encapsulated by vulcanization. The parts inside the plug housing are sealed by O-ring seals. For example, an O-ring VI 58 is installed between the plug inner housing and the plug turntable, and an O-ring VII 59 is installed between the plug housing and the plug inner housing.

[0041] Three elastic hook-type locking pieces 40 are provided on the wall surface of the connecting nut outside the plug housing for being stuck on the tail of the socket sleeve 41 after being butt-inserted with the socket connector to achieve connection and locking with the socket connector. Under the action of tension, the connecting nut can move relative to the locking piece towards the plug tail to press the conical surface I 42 on the connecting nut against the conical surface II 43 on the locking piece to achieve unlocking. A single key II 44 is also provided on the plug inner housing for cooperating with the notch 45 on the plug turntable to control the rotation angle of the plug turntable. When the plug turntable rotates and the single key II moves from one end of the notch to the other end, the fiber optic channel IV on the plug turntable should be aligned with the fiber optic pin contact. When the plug turntable rotates in the reverse direction, the fiber optic channel IV should not be aligned with the fiber optic pin contact. There are two protrusions III 46 at the front end of the plug turntable, which cooperate with two grooves 47 on the socket turntable during the butt-insertion of the head seats, so that the socket turntable drives the plug turntable to rotate synchronously. As shown in the drawing, both the protrusion III 46 and the groove 47 are semi-circular. In other embodiments, the protrusion III 46 and the groove 47 can also be other shapes, but the shapes of the protrusion III 46 and the groove 47 need to be the same and adapted.

[0042] The sealing method between the socket turntable and the socket stopper is the same. Between two adjacent optical fiber channels Ⅲ 48 on the plug stopper, a conical protrusion Ⅳ 49 is provided for mating with the optical fiber channel Ⅳ 50 on the plug turntable to close the optical fiber channel Ⅳ. The mating end of the optical fiber pin contact 38 is assembled in the optical fiber channel Ⅲ 48. Figure 9 The optical fiber pin contact is not shown in Figure 6 . The inner wall of the optical fiber channel Ⅳ is also of a conical structure, so that the diameter of the side of the optical fiber channel Ⅳ adjacent to the plug stopper is larger than that of the other side. In the closed state of the optical fiber channel of the plug, the protrusion Ⅳ 49 is inserted into the optical fiber channel Ⅳ, so that the optical fiber pin contact in the optical fiber channel Ⅲ is not aligned with the optical fiber channel Ⅳ. An O-ring Ⅳ 51 embedded in the groove on the end face of the plug stopper is installed on the outer periphery of each protrusion Ⅳ for further sealing between the plug turntable and the plug stopper. When the head and socket are inserted into each other, the semi-circular protrusion Ⅲ 46 on the plug cooperates with the semi-circular groove 47 on the socket to drive the plug turntable to rotate by the same angle (45°), so that the optical fiber channel Ⅳ is aligned with the optical fiber pin contact and is also aligned with the optical fiber channel Ⅰ and the optical fiber channel Ⅱ in the socket to realize the insertion of the optical fiber pin contact and the optical fiber jack contact. When the plug turntable rotates, due to the conical structures of the protrusion Ⅳ and the optical fiber channel Ⅳ, the plug stopper will be separated from the plug turntable by a small distance. However, due to the elastic force of the rear corrugated spring 35, the protrusion Ⅳ on the plug stopper always clings to the plug turntable. Coupled with the function of the O-ring Ⅳ 51 embedded in the groove on the end face of the plug stopper on the outer periphery of the protrusion Ⅳ, the inner cavity of the plug connector containing the optical fiber pin contact and silicone oil is finally in a sealed environment.

[0043] The principle and process of the head and socket insertion of the connector assembly of the present invention are as follows:

[0044] Figure 11 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the uninserted state of the connector assembly of the present invention. At this time, the turntables of the plug and the socket are both in the initial state, and the optical fiber channels of both are not opened. When inserting, the key 52 on the socket sleeve cooperates with the key groove Ⅱ 53 on the plug connection nut to guide the insertion for accurate alignment to ensure the alignment and insertion of the optical fiber channel Ⅰ and the optical fiber channel Ⅳ. Figure 12The figure shows a schematic diagram of the state when the plug turntable and the socket turntable are aligned and start to be inserted. The outer wall surface of the insertion end of the plug turntable and the inner wall surface of the insertion end of the socket turntable are both conical surfaces, which is beneficial to better and faster drain the surrounding water. During further insertion, under the action of the insertion force, the protrusion Ⅰ on the socket turntable slides along the through groove, causing the socket turntable and the socket stopper to move towards the socket tail, so that the outer circumferential conical surface of the insertion end of the plug turntable first passes through the O-ring Ⅱ 26 at the front end of the socket and is sealed, making the inside and outside of the connector sealed during the insertion process. Drainage holes 56 are provided on both the plug and the socket tail accessory housing, which is beneficial to the entry and exit of the water outside the oil sac Ⅰ and the oil sac Ⅱ when the volumes of the oil sac Ⅰ and the oil sac Ⅱ in the connector change. In this way, the internal and external pressures of the connector can be always kept balanced, reducing the risk of seal failure. When the protrusion Ⅰ slides to the end position of the through groove, the optical fiber channel Ⅰ and the optical fiber channel Ⅱ are aligned. Due to the cooperation of the semi-circular protrusion Ⅲ 46 and the semi-circular groove 47, the socket turntable drives the plug turntable to rotate synchronously, making the optical fiber channel Ⅳ align with the optical fiber pin contact. Since the optical fiber channel Ⅱ and the optical fiber jack contact are always aligned, the optical fiber channel Ⅰ and the optical fiber channel Ⅳ are always aligned during the insertion process. Finally, after the insertion is in place, the optical fiber pin contact, the optical fiber channel Ⅳ, the optical fiber channel Ⅰ, the optical fiber channel Ⅱ, and the optical fiber jack contact are all aligned, and the optical fiber pin contact and the optical fiber jack contact are docked. At the same time, the three locking pieces on the plug connection nut are hooked into the end of the socket sleeve to achieve locking.

[0045] The separation process of the connector is opposite to the insertion process. First, pull the plug connection nut backward. The conical surface Ⅱ 43 on the locking piece catch is lifted from the end of the socket sleeve by the conical surface Ⅰ 42 on the connection nut. Then, continue to pull out the plug to achieve separation. After separation, the socket turntable is driven by the spring 9 at the rear end to rotate and move linearly in the opposite direction along the through groove, automatically closing the optical fiber channel Ⅰ and the optical fiber channel Ⅱ. The plug turntable rotates back under the elastic force of the torsion spring, and the optical fiber channel Ⅳ and the optical fiber channel Ⅲ are closed synchronously.

[0046] As can be seen from the above, during the entire process of the connector's insertion and separation, the inner cavities of the socket connector containing the optical fiber jack contact and silicone oil and the inner cavities of the plug connector containing the optical fiber pin contact and silicone oil are always in a sealed state. When the connector is plugged and unplugged underwater, the external water body will not affect it. At the same time, due to the action of the oil sac Ⅰ and the oil sac Ⅱ, the internal and external pressures of the connector are always kept balanced. Therefore, it can be plugged and unplugged at any water depth under the condition of effective sealing.

[0047] The accompanying drawings are described by taking 4 jack contacts, 4 pin contacts, 4 O-ring seals Ⅰ 23 and 4 O-ring seals Ⅳ as examples. In this case, the rotation angle of the socket turntable is 45°. However, the present invention is not limited to four-core pin and jack, and the rotation angle of the socket turntable is not limited to 45°. In other cases, as long as the number of optical fiber channels Ⅰ, optical fiber channels Ⅱ, protrusions Ⅱ, optical fiber channels Ⅲ, optical fiber channels Ⅳ, protrusions Ⅳ, optical fiber jack contacts and optical fiber pin contacts are equal, and it can be ensured that when the protrusion Ⅰ slides along the through groove from the starting point to the ending point, the rotation of the socket turntable can make the optical fiber channel Ⅰ align with the optical fiber channel Ⅱ after rotation from the initial correspondence with the protrusion Ⅱ, and at the same time drive the plug turntable to rotate to align the optical fiber channel Ⅳ with the optical fiber pin contact, and it can be ensured that when the protrusion Ⅰ slides reversely along the through groove, the optical fiber channels Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅳ can be closed.

[0048] Figure 2 Three protrusions Ⅰ and three through grooves are shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the case of the four-core pin and jack shown in the accompanying drawings, there may also be four through grooves, five through grooves, two through grooves, etc. The number of protrusions Ⅰ is equal to the number of through grooves, and when each protrusion Ⅰ slides along the through groove, the degree of circumferential rotation of the socket turntable can realize the opening or closing of the optical fiber channels Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅳ.

[0049] The specific structure of the socket in the embodiment of the present invention is the same as the socket structure in the above-mentioned connector assembly embodiment, and will not be described in detail here.

[0050] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not impose any form of limitation on the present invention. Any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket, comprising a socket housing, a sleeve assembled outside the socket housing, and a socket accessory housing connected to the socket housing, characterized in that Inside the socket housing, a socket turntable, a socket stopper, and an inner socket housing are sequentially assembled from front to back. An inner housing with holes for fixing the optical fiber jack contact is fixed in the inner socket housing. The optical fiber jack contact is always aligned with the optical fiber channel II on the socket stopper. A space is left between the inner socket housing and the socket stopper to facilitate the axial movement of the socket stopper and the socket turntable within the socket housing. A spring is assembled around the outer circumference of the inner socket housing to provide elastic force for the movement of the socket turntable and the socket stopper. One end of the spring is limited by the socket stopper, and the other end is limited by the step I on the socket housing. On the outer circumference of the socket turntable, there is a protrusion I that can slide along the through groove on the socket housing, so that the socket turntable rotates while moving axially. During the process of the protrusion I sliding from the starting point to the ending point of the through groove, the optical fiber channel I on the socket turntable gradually aligns with the optical fiber channel II on the socket stopper, thus opening the socket optical fiber channel. During the process of the protrusion I sliding from the ending point to the starting point of the through groove, the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II are misaligned, thus closing the socket optical fiber channel. An oil bladder I is assembled in the socket accessory housing. One end of the oil bladder I is squeezed between the inner socket housing and the socket accessory housing, and the other end is squeezed and sealed on the tail housing of the socket accessory housing through a retaining ring and a washer. The material friction coefficients on both sides of the washer are different. The retaining ring slips relative to the washer, and the washer does not slip relative to the oil bladder I.

2. The underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket according to claim 1, characterized in that The oil bladder I is filled with silicone oil. A drain hole is also opened on the socket accessory housing. When the connector is inserted and separated, the water outside the oil bladder I enters or exits through the drain hole, causing the volume of the silicone oil inside the oil bladder I to change, so that the internal pressure of the socket connector is always balanced with the external seawater pressure.

3. The underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket according to claim 1, characterized in that A single key I is also provided on the socket stopper to cooperate with the key groove I on the socket housing, so that the socket stopper and the socket turntable can perform reciprocating linear motion within the socket housing.

4. The underwater pluggable fiber optic connector socket according to claim 1, wherein The inner wall of the optical fiber channel I is a conical surface, so that the diameter of the side of the optical fiber channel I adjacent to the socket stopper is large and the diameter of the other side is small. A conical protrusion II is provided between two adjacent optical fiber channels II on the socket stopper to adapt to the optical fiber channel I to close the optical fiber channel I. When the socket turntable rotates, the protrusion II always closely adheres to the socket turntable under the action of the spring. When the protrusion I is at the starting point position of the through groove, the protrusion II is inserted into the optical fiber channel I, so that both the optical fiber channel I and the optical fiber channel II are in a closed state. An O-ring I is also installed on the outer circumference of the protrusion II to further seal between the socket turntable and the socket stopper.

5. An underwater pluggable fiber optic connector assembly, comprising a socket and a plug, characterized in that The socket adopts the socket according to any one of claims 1 - 4. The plug includes a plug housing, a connecting nut assembled outside the plug housing, and a plug accessory housing connected to the plug housing. A plug turntable is assembled inside the plug housing. A plug stop and a plug inner housing are successively assembled inside the plug turntable from front to back. A corrugated spring is assembled between the plug inner housing and the plug stop. A needle-loading inner housing for fixing an optical fiber pin contact is assembled inside the plug inner housing. The mating end of the optical fiber pin contact is located in the optical fiber channel III on the plug stop. A torsion spring is also installed at the center of the needle-loading inner housing, and both ends of the torsion spring are limited by the plug turntable and the tail end of the needle-loading inner housing respectively. When the head seats are inserted into each other, the plug turntable can rotate so that the optical fiber channel IV on the plug turntable is aligned with the optical fiber pin contact. After the head seats are separated, the plug turntable rotates back under the action of the torsion spring to misalign the optical fiber channel IV with the optical fiber pin contact, thereby closing the plug optical fiber channel.

6. The underwater fiber optic connector assembly according to claim 5, wherein Elastic hook-type locking pieces are provided on the wall surface of the connection nut outside the plug housing and are used to be stuck on the tail of the socket sleeve after being inserted into the socket connector to realize the connection and locking with the socket connector. When unlocking, the conical surface I on the connection nut presses the conical surface II on the locking piece to realize unlocking.

7. The underwater pluggable fiber optic connector assembly according to claim 5, wherein A protrusion III is provided at the front end of the plug turntable. When the head seats are inserted into each other, the protrusion III cooperates with the groove on the socket turntable to drive the plug turntable to rotate synchronously with the socket turntable.

8. The underwater pluggable fiber optic connector assembly according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that The outer wall surface of the mating end of the plug turntable and the inner wall surface of the mating end of the socket turntable are both conical surfaces.

9. The underwater pluggable optical fiber connector assembly according to claim 5, wherein The inner wall of the optical fiber channel IV is a conical surface, so that the diameter of the side of the optical fiber channel IV adjacent to the plug stop is large and the diameter of the other side is small. A conical protrusion IV is provided between two adjacent optical fiber channels III on the plug stop and is used to be adapted to the optical fiber channel IV to close the optical fiber channel IV. When the plug turntable rotates, the protrusion IV always closely adheres to the plug turntable under the action of the corrugated spring. In the closed state of the plug optical fiber channel, the protrusion IV is inserted into the optical fiber channel IV to make the optical fiber pin contact not correspond to the optical fiber channel IV. An O-ring IV is also installed on the outer periphery of the protrusion IV to further seal between the plug turntable and the plug stop.

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