Optical fiber connector and optical fiber connection assembly

Abstract

The present application is a fiber optic connector, which includes a housing, a ferrule, a boot assembly, and a pull tab. The ferrule is disposed in the housing and partially protrudes out of the housing. The boot assembly is disposed in the housing and partially covers the ferrule. The pull tab is disposed in the housing and has elasticity. When not under stress, a portion of the pull tab forms an arc-shaped protrusion. When the pull tab is pulled, the arc-shaped protrusion is flattened. Another fiber optic connector assembly is disclosed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a fiber connector and a fiber connection assembly. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, optical fibers have been widely used as a transmission medium for signals due to their high bandwidth and low loss. As a result of the expansion of optical communication networks, the Internet and intranets have become popular, and communication traffic has increased.

[0003] Generally, a common fiber connector is composed of a female adapter and a male fiber connector. The female adapter is installed in an electronic device, and when the male fiber connector is inserted into the female adapter, a connection relationship is formed, thereby achieving the purposes of fixation and data transmission.

[0004] Furthermore, with the development of technology, optical fiber connectors have evolved into SPF (Small Form-Factor Pluggable) interfaces, SFF (Small Form Factor) interfaces, and QSFP+ / QSFP DD / OSFP interfaces with high-speed transmission performance due to industrial demand. However, these products often have large size structures and high space occupancy, which cannot effectively reduce the optical path pitch and cannot meet the demand for wiring density of 5G communication.

[0005] For example, Figure 1 is an exploded view of part of a conventional fiber connector, which includes the following dimensions: shell size A = 4.47 mm, shell size B = 4.47 mm, core tube outer diameter size C = 1.25 mm, and sleeve outer diameter size D = 3 mm. In addition, Figure 2 is a partial schematic view of a fiber adapter corresponding to Figure 1 the fiber connector shown in Figure 1 the fiber connector shown in the fiber connector shown in

[0006] the fiber connector shown in

[0007] Based on the above, how to make the fiber connector and the adapter form a high-density integrated structure with a simple structure, while also having the convenience of disassembly for the user, becomes a problem that needs to be considered and overcome by relevant technical personnel. SUMMARY

[0008] The present application provides a fiber connector and a fiber connection assembly to provide a high-density integrated fiber group.

[0009] The fiber connector of the present application comprises a housing, a core tube, a sleeve assembly, and a tension bar. The core tube is arranged in the housing and partially protrudes from the housing. The sleeve assembly is arranged in the housing and is sleeved on the partially protruding core tube. The tension bar is arranged in the housing and has elasticity. When not under stress, a part of the tension bar forms an arc-shaped protrusion, and when the tension bar is pulled, the arc-shaped protrusion is flattened.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, the top of the housing has an assembly hole, and the tension bar has an assembly protrusion. The assembly protrusion is assembled in the assembly hole to form an interference fit, so that one end of the tension bar is fixed to the top of the housing.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, the side of the housing has a limiting slot, and the tension bar further has a guide hook that is slidably coupled to the limiting slot.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, the extension direction of the limiting slot is consistent with the plug-in direction of the fiber connector, and the pulling direction of the tension bar is limited.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, the tension bar has a fixed end and a free end. The fixed end is fixed to the housing, and the free end is adapted to be stressed to flatten the arc-shaped protrusion. The guide hook is located between the free end and the arc-shaped protrusion.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the sleeve assembly comprises a first sleeve, a spring, a second sleeve, a third sleeve, and a tail sleeve. The partially protruding core tube is inserted into the first sleeve, the spring is sleeved on the first sleeve, the second sleeve is buckled in the housing, the partially protruding core tube is inserted into the third sleeve, and the third sleeve is inserted into the tail sleeve.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the first sleeve has a stop protrusion, and the spring abuts against the stop protrusion.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present application, the side of the housing has a buckling hole, and the second sleeve has a buckling protrusion that is buckled in the buckling hole.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, the length of the spring is 5.5mm to 6.0mm, the wire diameter is 0.23mm, and the spring is adapted to withstand a force of 5 to 6 Newton.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present application, the outer diameter of the core tube is 0.6mm to 0.8mm.

[0019] The optical fiber connection assembly of the present application comprises an adapter and a plurality of the optical fiber connectors as described above. The adapter comprises a body, a plurality of holding sleeves and a holding seat, wherein the body has a front side and a back side opposite to each other, and the holding seat is disposed on the front side of the body. The body has a plurality of insertion holes, and the holding sleeves are respectively disposed in the insertion holes and the holding seat. The optical fiber connectors are connected to the adapter from the back side of the body, so that the core tubes are respectively held in the holding sleeves.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present application, the body has a plurality of clamping holes, and the tension bars of the optical fiber connectors have clamping protrusions. When the optical fiber connectors are connected to the adapter, the clamping protrusions are clamped in the clamping holes correspondingly. When the tension bars are forced to make the arc-shaped protrusions flat, the clamping protrusions are out of the clamping holes.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping holes are respectively located on the top of the body and the bottom of the body. The optical fiber connectors connected to the adapter are in two rows and parallel to each other, and the two rows are upside down.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, a protective cover is further included, which is assembled to or detached from the front side of the body.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present application, at least one protective sleeve is further included, which is assembled to or detached from at least one insertion hole of the back side of the body which is not connected to the optical fiber connectors.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, the distance between two adjacent insertion holes is 2.3mm to 2.8mm.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, the inner diameter of the holding sleeve is 0.58mm to 0.8mm.

[0026] Based on the above, the optical fiber connector of the present application is reduced in size while its structure is further adjusted to facilitate assembly with an adapter to form a high-density integrated structure. The optical fiber connector is provided with a pullable tab on the top plate of the housing, the tab having a buckle protrusion to be buckled to the adapter, and the tab is also elastic and forms an arc-shaped protrusion when not under stress. After the user exerts force on the tab to pull the arc-shaped protrusion flat, the buckle protrusion can be withdrawn from the buckle hole of the adapter to achieve the purpose of releasing the optical fiber connector from the adapter. Conversely, when the optical fiber connector is plugged into the adapter, the core tube of the optical fiber connector is held in the holding sleeve of the adapter, and the buckle protrusion is buckled in the buckle hole to maintain the fixed relationship between the optical fiber connector and the adapter. Accordingly, the optical fiber connection assembly can be successfully reduced in size without affecting the assembly process with the adapter, and a high-density integrated structure is formed. Correspondingly, the adapter matched with the optical fiber connector is also reduced in size, and has a combination structure corresponding to the optical fiber connector, so that a high-density integrated optical fiber connection assembly with reduced size can be assembled. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is an exploded view of part of the existing optical fiber connector.

[0028] Figure 2 is a partial schematic view of an optical fiber adapter.

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic view of an optical fiber connection assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic view of an adapter.

[0031] Figure 5 is an exploded view of an adapter.

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic view of an optical fiber connector.

[0033] Figure 7 is an exploded view of an optical fiber connector.

[0034] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber connection assembly of Figure 3

[0035] SYMBOL DESCRIPTION

[0036] 10: optical fiber connection assembly

[0037] 100: optical fiber connector

[0038] 110: housing

[0039] 111: sliding groove

[0040] ​112: limiting groove

[0041] 113: buckle hole

[0042] 114: assembly hole

[0043] 120: stay

[0044] 122: arc-shaped protrusion

[0045] 123: buckle protrusion

[0046] 124: assembly protrusion

[0047] 126: guide hook

[0048] 130 protective cover

[0049] 140: core tube

[0050] 150: first sleeve

[0051] 151: stop protrusion

[0052] 160: spring

[0053] 170: second sleeve

[0054] 171: buckle protrusion

[0055] 180: third sleeve

[0056] 190: tail sleeve

[0057] 200: adapter

[0058] 210: body

[0059] 211: clamping hole

[0060] 212: plug-in hole

[0061] 220: protective sleeve

[0062] 230: holding sleeve

[0063] 240: holding seat

[0064] 250: protective cover

[0065] A, B: shell size

[0066] C, D, E: outer diameter size

[0067] F: inner diameter size

[0068] G: pitch

[0069] E1: fixed end

[0070] E2: free end

[0071] d1: hole distance

[0072] S1: front side

[0073] S2: rear side

[0074] TS: sleeve assembly DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] Figure 3 is a schematic view of a fiber optic connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 is a schematic view of an adapter. Figure 5 is an exploded view of the adapter. Please refer to Figure 3 to Figure 5 In this embodiment, the fiber optic connector assembly 10 includes an adapter 200 and a plurality of fiber optic connectors 100. The adapter 200 includes a body 210, a plurality of retaining sleeves 230 and a retaining seat 240, wherein the body 210 has a front side S1 and a rear side S2 opposite to each other, and the retaining seat 240 is disposed on the front side S1 of the body 210. The body 210 has a plurality of insertion holes 212, and the retaining sleeves 230 are respectively disposed in the insertion holes 212 and the retaining seat 240, and are movable along an assembly axis. The fiber optic connectors 100 are mated to and retained by the adapter 200 from the rear side S2 of the body 210.

[0076] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 5 In this embodiment, the adapter 200 further includes a protective cover 250 and a plurality of protective sleeves 220, wherein the protective cover 250 is assembled to or disassembled from the front side S1 of the body 210, and the protective sleeves 220 are used to be assembled to or disassembled from at least one insertion hole 212 of the rear side S2 of the body 210 which is not mated with the fiber optic connector 100. Here, the protective cover 250 and the protective sleeves 220 are assembled when the adapter 200 is not mated with the fiber optic connector 100, so as to provide the required protection effect.

[0077] Figure 6 is a schematic view of a fiber optic connector. Figure 7 is an exploded view of the fiber optic connector. Please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 In this embodiment, the fiber optic connector 100 includes a housing 110, a core tube 140, a sleeve assembly TS and a tension strip 120. The core tube 140 is disposed in the housing 110 and partially protrudes from the housing 110. The sleeve assembly TS is disposed in the housing 110 and covers a portion of the core tube 140. The tension strip 120 is disposed in the housing 110 and has elasticity. When not under stress, a portion of the tension strip 120 forms an arc-shaped protrusion 122, and when the tension strip 120 is pulled, the arc-shaped protrusion 122 is flattened.

[0078] Further, asFigure 7 As shown, the top of the housing 110 has an assembly hole 114, and the tension bar 120 has a fixed end E1 and a free end E2 opposite to each other, and an assembly protrusion 124 at the fixed end E1, which is assembled to the assembly hole 114 in interference fit, so as to fix the fixed end E1 of the tension bar 120 to the top of the housing 110. In addition, the side of the housing 110 has a limiting slot 112, and the tension bar 120 further has a guide hook 126 which is slidably coupled to the limiting slot 112, so as to limit the moving path of the tension bar 120 when being pulled by a user. That is, the extending direction of the limiting slot 112 of the present embodiment is consistent with the plugging direction of the fiber connector 100, and the user also pulls the tension bar 120 in the plugging direction (the pulling direction is consistent with the plugging direction). In short, for the tension bar 120 of the present embodiment, the fixed end E1 is used to be fixed to the top of the housing 110, the free end E2 is suitable for being stressed to pull the arc-shaped protrusion 122 flat, and the guide hook 126 is located between the fixed end E1 and the arc-shaped protrusion 122.

[0079] As shown, the top of the housing 110 further has a sliding groove 111, and the rear half of the tension bar 120 close to the free end E2 slidably contacts the sliding groove 111, and the front half of the tension bar 120 close to the fixed end E1 is connected to the rear half of the tension bar 120 through the arc-shaped protrusion 122, and there is a step between the front half and the rear half, so as to facilitate the user to pull the arc-shaped protrusion 122 flat to make the buckle protrusion 123 exit from the clamping hole 211. Figure 7 In addition, the sleeve assembly TS of the present embodiment includes a first sleeve 150, a spring 160, a second sleeve 170, a third sleeve 180, and a tail sleeve 190, wherein a part of the core tube 140 is inserted into the first sleeve 150, the spring 160 is sleeved on the first sleeve 150, the second sleeve 170 is buckled in the housing 110, a part of the second sleeve 170 is inserted into the third sleeve 180, and the third sleeve 180 is inserted into the tail sleeve 190. The fiber connector 100 of the present embodiment further includes a protective cover 130 which is assembled to the opening 115 of the housing 110 to cover and protect the core tube 140 protruding from the housing 110.

[0080]

[0081] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber connection assembly. Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 7 Figure 8 ​​, the first sleeve 150 has a stop protrusion 151, for example, an outer ring structure on the outer surface of the first sleeve 150, so that the spring 160 can abut against the stop protrusion 151 when the spring 160 is sleeved on the first sleeve 150. The side of the housing 110 has a buckling hole 113, and the second sleeve 170 has a buckling protrusion 171, for example, an open outer ring structure on the outer surface of the second sleeve 170, which can make the buckling protrusion 171 buckled in the buckling hole 113 when the second sleeve 170 is assembled into the housing 110, thereby completing the fixation of the component. Here, the length of the spring 160 is 5.5mm to 6.0mm, the wire diameter is 0.23mm, and it is used to bear 5 to 6 Newton force, so that the fiber connector 100 can maintain the required assembly ability in response to size reduction. At the same time, the stop protrusion 151 of the first sleeve 150 abuts against the inner stop structure of the housing 110 (as shown in Figure 8 , the left side of the stop protrusion 151 abuts against), so as to limit the position of the core tube 140 relative to the housing 110.

[0082] Please also refer to Figure 3 and Figure 8 In this embodiment, the body 210 of the adapter 200 has a plurality of clamping holes 211, and each fiber connector 100 has a buckling protrusion 123 between the arc-shaped protrusion 122 and the fixed end E1. When the fiber connector 100 is connected to the adapter 200, the core tube 140 is correspondingly held in the holding sleeve 230, and the buckling protrusion 123 is correspondingly buckled in the clamping hole 211. When the arc-shaped protrusion 122 is pulled flat by the force on the pull bar 120 (in Figure 8 , the user provides a right force to pull the pull bar 120), the buckling protrusion 123 can smoothly exit the clamping hole 211 due to the existence of the high-low difference as described above, thereby enabling the fiber connector 100 to be removed from the adapter 200.

[0083] Please also refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 8 The adapter 200 of this embodiment is used to plug a plurality of fiber connectors 100 to form a high-density integrated structure, wherein the plurality of clamping holes 211 of the body 210 are respectively located at the top and bottom of the body 210, so that the fiber connectors 100 connected to the adapter 200 are in two rows and parallel to each other, and the two rows are upside down to form a 2x6 array. Here, the hole distance d1 of the adjacent two plug-in holes 212, which also corresponds to the optical path of the adjacent two fiber connectors 100, is 2.3mm to 2.8mm, and in order for the core tube 140 of the fiber connector 100 to be smoothly assembled into the holding sleeve 230, the inner diameter of the holding sleeve 230 is 0.58mm to 0.8mm to match the outer diameter of the core tube 140, which is 0.6mm to 0.8mm.

[0084] In summary, in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application, the fiber optic connector is not only reduced in size, but also further adjusted in structure to facilitate assembly with the adapter to form a high-density integrated structure. The fiber optic connector is provided with a pullable tab on the top plate of the housing, the tab having a buckling protrusion to be buckled to the adapter, and the tab also having elasticity and forming an arc-shaped protrusion when not under force, so that after the arc-shaped protrusion is pulled flat by the user, the buckling protrusion can be withdrawn from the buckling hole of the adapter to achieve the purpose of releasing the fiber optic connector from the adapter. Conversely, when the fiber optic connector is plugged into the adapter, the core tube of the fiber optic connector is held in the holding sleeve of the adapter, and the buckling protrusion is buckled in the buckling hole, so that the fiber optic connector and the adapter are maintained in a fixed relationship. Accordingly, the fiber optic connection assembly can be successfully reduced in size without affecting the assembly process with the adapter, and a high-density integrated structure is formed. Correspondingly, the adapter matched with the fiber optic connector is also reduced in size, and has a corresponding combination structure for the fiber optic connector, so that a fiber optic connection assembly with high-density integration and reduced size can be assembled.

Claims

1. An optical fiber connector, characterized in that: A housing having a limiting groove on its side; A core tube is disposed within the housing, and a portion of the core tube protrudes from the housing; A set of tube assembly is disposed in the housing and sleeved on a portion of the core tube; as well as A pull bar is disposed in the housing. The pull bar has a fixed end and a free end facing each other. The fixed end of the pull bar is fixed to the top of the housing. The pull bar also has a guide hook that is slidably coupled to the limiting groove. The extending direction of the limiting groove is consistent with the insertion and removal direction of the fiber optic connector, thereby restricting the movement path of the pull bar. The pull bar is elastic, and when not under force, a local arc-shaped protrusion is formed in the pull bar. The pull bar is adapted to be pulled under force to flatten the arc-shaped protrusion. The free end is adapted to be flattened under force. The guide hook is located between the free end and the arc-shaped protrusion. The top of the housing also has a sliding groove. The rear half of the pull bar near the free end slidably contacts the sliding groove, flattening the arc-shaped protrusion and disengaging the buckling protrusion of the pull bar from the locking hole of the mating adapter.

2. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the housing has an assembly hole, and the pull bar has an assembly protrusion. The assembly protrusion is assembled into the assembly hole in an interference fit so that one end of the pull bar is fixed to the top of the housing.

3. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The sleeve assembly includes: A first sleeve, wherein a portion of the core tube is inserted into the first sleeve; A spring is fitted onto the first sleeve; A second sleeve is fastened inside the housing; A third sleeve, wherein a portion of the second sleeve is inserted into the third sleeve; and A tail sleeve, the third sleeve being inserted into the tail sleeve.

4. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The first sleeve has a stop protrusion, and the spring abuts against the stop protrusion.

5. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The side of the housing has a fastening hole, and the second sleeve has a fastening protrusion, which fastens into the fastening hole.

6. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The spring has a length of 5.5 mm to 6.0 mm, a wire diameter of 0.23 mm, and is designed to withstand a force of 5 to 6 Newtons.

7. The fiber optic connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The outer diameter of the core tube is 0.6 mm to 0.8 mm.

8. An optical fiber connection assembly, characterized in that: Multiple fiber optic connectors as described in any one of claims 1 to 7; and An adapter includes a body, a plurality of retaining sleeves, and a retaining base, wherein the body has a front side and a rear side opposite to each other, the retaining base is disposed on the front side of the body, the body has a plurality of insertion holes, the plurality of retaining sleeves are respectively disposed in the plurality of insertion holes and the retaining base, and a plurality of fiber optic connectors are mated to the adapter from the rear side of the body so that the plurality of core tubes are respectively retained in the plurality of retaining sleeves.

9. The optical fiber connection assembly as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The body has multiple locking holes, and the pull bar of each of the fiber optic connectors has a snap-fit ​​protrusion. When the multiple fiber optic connectors are connected to the adapter, the multiple snap-fit ​​protrusions are correspondingly engaged with the multiple locking holes. When the pull bar is subjected to force and the arc-shaped protrusion is flattened, the snap-fit ​​protrusions are disengaged from the locking holes.

10. The optical fiber connection assembly as described in claim 9, characterized in that: The plurality of slots are located at the top and bottom of the body, respectively, and the plurality of fiber optic connectors that mate with the adapter are arranged in two parallel columns, which are inverted vertically.

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