Pin clamp for ferrule, pin clamp with guide pin, and optical connector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pin clamp for an insert, a pin clamp with a guide pin, and an optical connector. The pin clamp for an insert is used for an insert into which a guide pin is inserted. The pin clamp for an insert comprises a main body, the main body comprises a pin retaining portion, the pin retaining portion retains a groove portion of the guide pin, the pin retaining portion comprises a pair of arcs, the diameter of the pair of arcs of the pin retaining portion is smaller than the maximum axial diameter of the guide pin, and larger than the axial diameter of the groove portion formed in the guide pin.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-052242 filed in Japan on March 24, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to a pin clamp for a ferrule, a pin clamp with a guide pin, and an optical connector. Background Art

[0004] Guide pins used in a multi-core optical connector are held in the optical connector by a fixing member such as a clamp. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an optical connector in which a guide pin holding member is disposed behind a multi-core connector core (ferrule).

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-347806

[0006] The axial diameter of the guide pin used in the 12-core and 24-core (12-core × 2-row) multi-core optical connector is about 0.7 mm, while the axial diameter of the guide pin used in the 16-core multi-core optical connector is about 0.5 mm. This is because the diameter of the guide pin is restricted due to the increase in the number of optical fibers arranged in a row between the guide pins. If the axial diameter of the guide pin is small, it is difficult to provide a flange on the guide pin itself, so it is generally manufactured as a pin clamp with a guide pin that is mounted on a pin clamp that clamps the guide pin.

[0007] The pin clamp with a guide pin is held on the ferrule by inserting the guide pin into the guide pin hole of the ferrule. At this time, for example, in the pin clamp with a guide pin having a pair of guide pins, if the pitch width of the guide pin hole of the ferrule is different from the pitch width of the guide pins held by the pin clamp, there is a case where the guide pins become non-parallel to each other. In this case, the guide pins are obliquely deformed in a form in which the pitch width of the tip end of the guide pin protruding to the front of the ferrule is smaller or larger than the pitch width of the rear end of the guide pin held by the pin clamp at the rear of the ferrule.

[0008] When a multi-core optical connector with deformed guide pins is mated, the ferrules are not mated with the same surface, so the end faces of the optical fibers held by the ferrules are not connected with each other in physical contact (PC), thereby reducing optical characteristics such as insertion loss. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ferrule pin clamp, a guide pin-type pin clamp, and an optical connector capable of suppressing degradation of optical characteristics.

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first embodiment of a pin clamp for an insert of the present invention is used for an insert for inserting a guide pin, and the pin clamp for the insert comprises a main body portion, the main body portion has a pin holding portion, the pin holding portion holds the groove portion of the guide pin, the pin holding portion has a pair of arcs, and the diameter of the pair of arcs of the pin holding portion is smaller than the maximum axial diameter of the guide pin and larger than the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin.

[0011] In addition, the second embodiment of the present invention is a pin clamp for inserting a core, which is used for inserting a core into which two guide pins are inserted. The pin clamp for inserting a core comprises a main body, the main body has a pin holding portion, the pin holding portion holds the groove portion of the guide pin, and the main body is separated into two pieces, the main body has a first piece supporting the first guide pin of the two guide pins, and a second piece supporting the second guide pin of the two guide pins.

[0012] A third aspect of the present invention provides a pin clamp with a guide pin, comprising the ferrule pin clamp and the guide pin, wherein the guide pin is provided with the groove portion held by the pin holding portion.

[0013] Furthermore, an optical connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes: the ferrule pin clamp; the guide pin having the groove portion held by the pin holding portion; and a ferrule into which the guide pin is inserted.

[0014] According to the above aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a ferrule pin clamp, a guide pin-type pin clamp, and an optical connector that can suppress degradation of optical characteristics. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a perspective view showing a guide pin to which the pin clamp according to the first embodiment is attached.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a perspective view showing an example of a guide pin.

[0017] Figure 3 It is a partial enlarged view showing the main body of the pin clamp.

[0018] Figure 4 It is a perspective view showing a ferrule provided with the pin clamp according to the first embodiment.

[0019] Figure 5 It is an exploded perspective view showing an optical connector including the pin clamp according to the first embodiment.

[0020] Figure 6 It is a perspective view showing the appearance of an optical connector.

[0021] Figure 7 It is a perspective view showing a guide pin to which the pin clamp according to the second embodiment is attached.

[0022] Figure 8 It is a perspective view showing a ferrule provided with a pin clamp according to a second embodiment.

[0023] Fig. 9 It is a graph showing the measurement results of insertion loss. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0025] (Pin clamp of first embodiment)

[0026] exist Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a pin clamp 10 with a guide pin having a pin clamp 11 and a guide pin 15 of the first embodiment. The pin clamp 11 of the first embodiment is configured to be able to mount the guide pin 15. Figure 2 An example of a guide pin 15 is shown in FIG. Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a partially enlarged view of the main body 12 of the pin clamp 11. Figure 4 FIG. 2 shows an insert 20 having a pin clamp 11. Figure 5 2 shows an optical connector 30 having a pin clamp 11 .

[0027] The pin clamp 11 is a ferrule pin clamp used for the ferrule 20 into which the guide pin 15 is inserted. The pin clamp 10 with a guide pin is configured by attaching the pin clamp 11 to the guide pin 15 .

[0028] The ferrule 20 has a guide pin hole 26 (see Figure 5 When the guide pin 15 is inserted into the guide pin hole 26, the tip end 15a of the guide pin 15 protrudes forward from the joint end surface 21 of the ferrule 20, and the rear end 15b of the guide pin 15 protrudes rearward from the rear end surface 22 of the ferrule 20 (see Figure 4 ).

[0029] An insertion hole 23 for inserting an optical fiber is opened at the rear end face 22 of the ferrule 20 .

[0030] (Direction definition)

[0031] In the following description, the front direction refers to the direction from the rear end face 22 of the ferrule 20 toward the joint end face 21, and the rear direction refers to the direction from the joint end face 21 of the ferrule 20 toward the rear end face 22. Similarly, in the description of the guide pin 15, the front direction refers to the direction from the rear end portion 15b toward the terminal portion 15a, and the rear direction refers to the direction from the terminal portion 15a toward the rear end portion 15b.

[0032] In addition, in the pin clamp 10 and the pin clamp 11 with guide pins, the direction in which the two guide pins 15 are arranged in parallel is referred to as the width direction.

[0033] The pin clamp 11 includes a main body 12 that supports the guide pin 15. The main body 12 is plate-shaped and can be opened by making the front surface 12c (see Figure 1 ) contacts the rear end surface 22 of the ferrule 20 to determine the front-rear direction position of the guide pin 15. In addition, the guide pin 15 can be prevented from being separated from the front of the ferrule 20.

[0034] The pin clamp 11 has two main body parts 12 and a connecting part 13 connecting the two main body parts 12. Each main body part 12 holds two guide pins 15 inserted into the ferrule 20. Figure 1 In the examples, the number of guide pins 15 inserted into the ferrule 20 is two, so the number of main body parts 12 is two, but the number of main body parts 12 is not limited to two, and may be one or more than three in accordance with the number of guide pins 15 used.

[0035] The pin clamp 11 is preferably shaped so as to avoid the insertion hole 23 opened in the rear end surface 22 of the ferrule 20 and be arranged at the peripheral portion thereof.

[0036] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the guide pin 15 has a substantially cylindrical shaft portion 15c and a groove portion 15d held by the main body portion 12. The distal end portion 15a of the guide pin 15 may be formed in a tapered shape. The rear end portion 15b of the guide pin 15, which is further rearward than the groove portion 15d, may have a diameter similar to that of the shaft portion 15c.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown, the main body 12 of the pin clamp 11 is formed with a notch 12e for accommodating the guide pin 15. The main body 12 has a first arm 12a connected to the connecting portion 13, a bottom 12d of the notch 12e, and a second arm 12b connected to the first arm 12a via the bottom 12d.

[0038] The pin clamp 11 and the main body 12 can be made of an elastic material such as a metal plate. For example, the pin clamp 11 can be formed by stamping a metal plate. The main body 12 and the connecting portion 13 can also be formed of the same metal plate. The wall thickness of the main body 12 and the connecting portion 13 can also be uniform.

[0039] When the guide pin type pin clamp 10 is viewed from the front-rear direction, the notch 12e is formed to extend in the up-down direction perpendicular to the width direction in which the two guide pins 15 are arranged. In addition, the notch 12e opens on the connecting portion 13 side. Figure 3In the example of the notch 12e, the opening portion whose width gradually narrows from the opening end toward the bottom 12d side, the pin holding portion 14, and the notch bottom are formed in this order. At the notch bottom, the width of the notch may also be formed to be constant. The shape of the notch 12e is not limited to Figure 3 In the example shown, it is sufficient that at least the pin holding portion 14 is formed.

[0040] The main body 12 has a pin holding portion 14 for holding the guide pin 15. The pin holding portion 14 of this embodiment engages with the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15 to hold the guide pin 15. The pin holding portion 14 is a pair of recessed portions facing each other in the width direction of the cutout 12e and is recessed in an arc shape from the cutout 12e.

[0041] The pin holding portion 14 includes a first arc 14a disposed on the first arm portion 12a side, and a second arc 14b disposed on the second arm portion 12b side. The first arc 14a and the second arc 14b are preferably arcs on the same circumference. The center angles of the arcs respectively included in the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b are not particularly limited, but are exemplified as being greater than 30° and less than 180°. As long as the total value of the center angle of the first arc 14a and the center angle of the second arc 14b does not exceed 360°, either center angle may exceed 180°. The center angles of the two arcs may also be set so that the distance between the ends of the arcs of the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b in the width direction of the cutout 12e is equal to or less than the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15.

[0042] The maximum shaft diameter D1 of the guide pin 15 is, for example, the shaft diameters of the shaft portion 15c and the rear end portion 15b. The maximum shaft diameter D1 is larger than the shaft diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15. The diameter D3 of the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b of the pin holding portion 14 is smaller than the maximum shaft diameter D1 of the guide pin 15 and larger than the shaft diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d.

[0043] The diameter D3 of the arc of the pin holding portion 14 is smaller than the maximum shaft diameter D1 of the guide pin 15. That is, the shaft diameter of the shaft portion 15c located in front of the groove portion 15d and the shaft diameter of the rear end portion 15b located in the rear of the groove portion 15d are both larger than the diameter D3 of the arc of the pin holding portion 14. If the groove portion 15d is held in the pin holding portion 14, the shaft portion 15c and the rear end portion 15b of the guide pin 15 cannot pass through the pin holding portion 14. That is, the guide pin 15 is held so as to prevent it from escaping forward and backward. The holding force of the pin holding portion 14 on the guide pin 15 is preferably 19.6N or more.

[0044] The diameter D3 of the arc of the pin holding portion 14 is larger than the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d, thereby ensuring the freedom of the groove portion 15d to move radially within the pin holding portion 14. Therefore, even if the pitch width of the guide pin holes 26 of the ferrule 20 is different from the pitch width of the guide pins 15 held by the pin clamp 11, the guide pins 15 can be prevented from being deformed, thereby preventing the optical characteristics from being degraded when the connector is connected.

[0045] The clearance between the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15 is preferably 0.13 mm or less. That is, the difference between the arc diameter D3 of the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d, i.e., D3-D2, is preferably 0.13 mm or less. This can prevent the degree of freedom of displacement of the groove portion 15d from becoming too large.

[0046] The clearance between the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15 is preferably 0.01 mm or more. That is, the difference between the arc diameter D3 of the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d, i.e., D3-D2, is preferably 0.01 mm or more. Thus, the degree of freedom of the groove portion 15d can be better ensured.

[0047] The gap between the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15 may also be 0.05 mm or more. That is, the difference between the arc diameter D3 of the pin holding portion 14 and the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d, i.e., D3-D2, may also be 0.05 mm or more. Thus, the degree of freedom of the groove portion 15d can be better ensured.

[0048] like Figure 5 As shown, the optical connector 30 includes a cap 31, a housing 32, a ferrule shield 33, a spring 34, a spring pusher 35, a clamp tube 36, and a cable shield 37 in addition to the guide pin type pin clamp 10 and the ferrule 20. Figure 6 2 shows the appearance of the optical connector 30 in an assembled state.

[0049] The cap 31 is attached to the front side of the housing 32 and protects the inside of the opening 32c from dust, etc. The housing 32 includes a plug frame 32a that accommodates the ferrule 20 and a coupler 32b attached to the outer periphery of the plug frame 32a.

[0050] The ferrule shield 33 is inserted into the insertion hole 23 of the ferrule 20 (see Figure 4 The flange 24 of the ferrule 20 engages with a convex portion (not shown) provided inside the plug frame 32a, so that the ferrule 20 does not fall out of the opening 32c of the plug frame 32a.

[0051] The spring 34 urges the ferrule 20 forward. The spring pusher 35 engages the front engagement portions 35a and 35b with the plug frame 32a, and receives the reaction force of the spring 34 at the rear receiving portion 35c.

[0052] The clamp tube 36 fixes the tensile fiber of the optical cable (not shown) between itself and the rear end portion 35d of the spring pusher 35. The cable shield 37 protects the outer periphery of the optical cable.

[0053] The optical fiber built into the optical cable is inserted into the ferrule 20 and fixed by an adhesive injected from the window 25 of the ferrule 20. The terminal end of the optical fiber is inserted into the fiber hole 27 opened on the joint end face 21 of the ferrule 20. After the terminal end of the optical fiber is inserted and fixed in the fiber hole 27, the joint end face 21 and the terminal end of the optical fiber protruding from the joint end face 21 may be polished together.

[0054] (Connection of Optical Connectors 30)

[0055] The two ferrules 20 are placed opposite to each other and the optical connectors 30 are connected to each other. At this time, the guide pin 15 is inserted into the guide pin hole 26 of the first ferrule 20. The tip 15a of the guide pin 15 protrudes on the mating end surface 21 of the first ferrule 20. The guide pin 15 is not inserted into the second ferrule 20, and the guide pin hole 26 opens on the mating end surface 21.

[0056] The ferrules 20 are mechanically coupled to each other by inserting the distal end 15a of the guide pin 15 of the first ferrule 20 into the guide pin hole 26 of the second ferrule 20. When the ferrule 20 having the guide pin 15 is mated with the ferrule 20 not having the guide pin 15, the pin clamp 11 only needs to be provided in the ferrule 20 having the guide pin 15, and the pin clamp 11 of the ferrule 20 not having the guide pin 15 may be omitted.

[0057] The pitch widths of the guide pin holes 26 of each ferrule 20 are substantially equal. Therefore, it is desirable that the pitch width of the tip portions 15a of the guide pins 15 protruding forward of one ferrule 20 is substantially equal to the pitch width of the guide pin holes 26. However, as described above, if the guide pins 15 are deformed and the pitch width of the tip portions 15a becomes smaller or larger than the pitch width of the guide pin holes 26, the fitting between the ferrules 20 becomes poor, the tip surfaces of the optical fibers are not connected by PC, and the optical characteristics such as insertion loss are degraded.

[0058] The pin holding portion 14 of the pin clamp 11 of the first embodiment, which holds the shaft portion 15c of the guide pin 15, has arcs 14a and 14b that are larger than the shaft diameter of the groove portion 15d. According to this structure, the degree of freedom of the guide pin 15 in the pin holding portion 14 can be increased by utilizing the gap generated between the pin holding portion 14 and the groove portion 15d of the guide pin 15. Thus, even if the pitch width of the guide pin holes 26 of the ferrule 20 is different from the pitch width of the guide pins 15 held by the pin clamp 11, deformation of the guide pins 15 can be suppressed, and degradation of optical characteristics when the connector is connected can be suppressed.

[0059] (Pin clamp of the second embodiment)

[0060] Reference Figure 7-Figure 8 A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0061] exist Figure 7 FIG. 4 shows a guide pin 15 to which a pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment is mounted. Figure 8 2 shows a ferrule 20 equipped with a pin clamp 11C. The pin clamp 11C is a ferrule pin clamp used for the ferrule 20 into which the guide pin 15 is inserted. The pin clamp 10C with a guide pin is a structure in which the pin clamp 11C is attached to the guide pin 15.

[0062] The second embodiment can adopt the same structure as the first embodiment for structures other than the pin clamp 11C, such as the guide pin 15, the ferrule 20, and the optical connector 30. Therefore, for structures that are common to the structures already described, the same figure marks are sometimes marked and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0063] The pin clamp 11C is used for the ferrule 20 into which two guide pins 15 are inserted. The main body 12 of the pin clamp 11C is separated into two pieces for the guide pins 15. That is, the first pin clamp (first piece) 11A and the second pin clamp (second piece) 11B are independent pieces. The first pin clamp 11A has a first main body 12 for supporting the first guide pin 15, and the second pin clamp 11B has a second main body 12 for supporting the second guide pin 15.

[0064] The first pin clamp 11A and the second pin clamp 11B may have the same shape or may have a left-right symmetrical shape. The pin clamps 11A and 11B shown in the figure are formed into mutually symmetrical shapes with the direction of the pitch width as the left-right direction. The first guide pin type pin clamp 10A is a structure in which the first pin clamp 11A is attached to the first guide pin 15. The second guide pin type pin clamp 10B is a structure in which the second pin clamp 11B is attached to the second guide pin 15.

[0065] The optical connector of the second embodiment comprises at least: a pin clamp 11C in which the main body 12 is separated into independent pieces; a guide pin 15 held by a pin holding portion 14 of each main body 12; and a ferrule 20 into which the guide pin 15 is inserted. The first pin clamp 10A with a guide pin and the second pin clamp 10B with a guide pin are not connected to each other. Therefore, when the pin clamps 10A and 10B with a guide pin are inserted into the guide pin holes 26 of the ferrule 20 (see Figure 5 ), the spacing width of the guide pins 15 matches the spacing width of the guide pin holes 26.

[0066] When the pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment is used, the degree of freedom between the guide pins 15 can be increased when the guide pins 15 are inserted into the ferrule 20. Thus, the degree of freedom can be increased so that the pitch width of the guide pin holes 26 of the ferrule 20 does not differ from the pitch width of the guide pins 15 held by the pin clamp 11, and deformation of the guide pins 15 can be suppressed, thereby suppressing degradation of optical characteristics when the connector is connected.

[0067] In the pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment, similarly to the pin clamp 11 of the first embodiment, the diameter D3 of the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b of the pin holding portion 14 can be formed to be smaller than the maximum shaft diameter D1 of the guide pin 15. Thus, when the groove portion 15d is held in the pin holding portion 14, the shaft portion 15c and the rear end portion 15b of the guide pin 15 cannot pass through the pin holding portion 14, and the guide pin 15 is held to prevent it from coming out forward and backward.

[0068] In the pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment, the diameter D3 of the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b of the pin holding portion 14 can be formed to be larger than the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d, similarly to the pin clamp 11 of the first embodiment. Thus, the groove portion 15d has a degree of freedom to move radially between the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b inside the pin holding portion 14, so that the guide pin 15 can be prevented from being deformed, thereby preventing the optical characteristics from being degraded.

[0069] In the pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment, the diameter D3 of the first arc 14a and the second arc 14b of the pin holding portion 14 can be formed to be equal to or smaller than the axial diameter D2 of the groove portion 15d. In this case, the pin holding portion 14 can be formed to elastically hold the guide pin 15. Thus, the guide pin 15 can be more reliably held in the pin holding portion 14. Furthermore, the pin holding portion 14 can be formed not only to elastically hold the guide pin 15, but also to fix the guide pin 15 using an adhesive or the like.

[0070] As described above, in the pin clamp 11C of the second embodiment, the guide pin 15 may be fixed to the pin holding portion 14 without providing the groove portion 15 d in the guide pin 15 .

[0071] As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the preferred embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Various changes are possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

[0072] Examples of optical connectors to which the pin clamp of the above-mentioned embodiment can be applied include the MT connector of JIS C5981 (F12 type multi-core optical fiber connector), the MPO connector of JIS C 5982 (F13 type multi-core optical fiber connector), the Mini-MPO connector of JIS C 5984 (F15 type optical fiber connector), the MiniMT connector of JIS C 5987 (F18 type optical fiber connector), and the MT-RJ connector of JIS C 5988 (F19 type optical fiber connector).

[0073] In addition, the pin clamp of the above-mentioned embodiment can also be applied to other optical connectors having ferrules suitable for JIS C5964-5 (Optical Fiber Connector Matching Standard - Part 5: MT Connector Type (F12 Type)), JIS C5964-7-1 (Optical Fiber Connector Matching Standard - Part 7-1: MPO Connector Type (F13 Type) - Column 1), JIS C 5964-7-2 (Optical Fiber Connector Matching Standard - Part 7-2: MPO Connector Type (F13 Type) - Column 2), and JIS C 5964-18 (Optical Fiber Connector Matching Standard - Part 18: MT-RJ Connector Type (F19 Type)).

[0074] The structure of the optical connector is not limited to standard products, and can be applied to other application shapes and new shapes. The number of guide pins included in one ferrule is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0075] Example

[0076] Hereinafter, the contents of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following Examples.

[0077] (Example 1)

[0078] The pin clamping member is made of a metal plate and has a pair of arcs of a pin holding portion with a diameter of 0.45 mm (+0.03 mm / -0 mm). The diameter of the pair of arcs of the pin holding portion is smaller than the maximum axial diameter of the guide pin and larger than the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin. In addition, the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin is 0.35 mm (+0 mm / -0.05 mm).

[0079] (Comparative Example 1)

[0080] The pin clamping member having a pair of arcs of the pin holding portion formed to have a diameter of 0.37 mm (+0.03 mm / -0 mm) was manufactured using a metal plate. In addition, the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin was 0.35 mm (+0 mm / -0.05 mm).

[0081] The guide pins were held in the pin clamps of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, and the guide pins were inserted into the ferrule to form an optical connector. The insertion loss (dB) of the optical connector was measured and a bar graph was prepared. The coordinate graph of the results is shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown. According to the optical connector using the pin clamp of Example 1, the insertion loss of the optical connector is reduced compared to the optical connector using the pin clamp of Comparative Example 1. In addition, according to the optical connector using the pin clamp of Example 1, the insertion loss of the optical connector can be suppressed to less than 0.2 dB. That is, according to the pin clamp of Example 1, optical connectors that show a loss value of the standard value (0.2 dB or more) can be eliminated.

[0082] Description of reference numerals:

[0083] D1…maximum axial diameter of the guide pin; D2…axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin; D3…diameter of the arc of the pin retaining portion; 10, 10A, 10B, 10C…pin clamp with guide pin; 11, 11A, 11B, 11C…pin clamp; 12…main body; 13…connecting portion; 14…pin retaining portion; 14a…first arc; 14b…second arc; 15…guide pin; 15a…terminal end portion; 15b…rear end portion; 15c…shaft portion; 15d…groove portion; 20…ferrule; 30…optical connector.

Claims

1. A pin clamp for an ferrule, the pin clamp for an ferrule being used for an ferrule into which a guide pin is inserted, wherein: The ferrule pin clamp has two main body parts made of elastic material, each of which has a pin holding part, and the pin holding part holds the groove part of the guide pin. When the direction in which the two main bodies are arranged in parallel is defined as the width direction, the direction in which the guide pin extends is defined as the front-rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to the width direction and the front-rear direction is defined as the up-down direction, The pin holding portion has a pair of arcs facing each other in the width direction in a notch extending in the up-down direction and opening toward the bottom. The diameter of the pair of arcs of the pin holding portion is smaller than the maximum axial diameter of the guide pin and larger than the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin, The distance between the ends of the pair of arcs is smaller than the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin, A connecting portion is provided for connecting the two main body portions at the lower side. There is no connecting portion for connecting the two main body portions at the upper side, In the ferrule pin clamp, a space through which the optical fiber inserted into the ferrule passes is opened in an upward direction opposite to a downward direction of the opening of the cutout.

2. The pin clamp for insert according to claim 1, wherein: The pin holding portion includes the pair of arcs whose clearance from the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin is 0.13 mm or less.

3. The pin clamp for insert according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The pin holding portion includes the pair of arcs having a clearance of 0.01 mm or more from the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin.

4. The pin clamp for insert according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The pin holding portion includes the pair of arcs having a clearance of 0.05 mm or more from the axial diameter of the groove portion of the guide pin.

5. A pin clamp with a guide pin, wherein: have: The pin clamp for insert according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and The guide pin is formed with the groove portion held by the pin holding portion.

6. An optical connector, wherein: have: The pin clamp for insert according to any one of claims 1 to 4; The guide pin is formed with the groove portion held by the pin holding portion; and The guide pin is inserted into the ferrule.

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