Outdoor optical fiber connector, optical fiber adapter and optical fiber link system

Abstract

The invention relates to an outdoor optical fiber connector, an optical fiber adapter and an optical fiber link system, a plug and a socket as well as the adapter realize push-pull locking through the cooperation of a locking elastic claw, a locking ring groove and a locking sleeve, the structure of a plug shell is simple, the elastic force of the locking sleeve is uniform, the operation is convenient, and the space is saved; the socket shell and the locking structure are designed in a split manner, so that the cost is effectively reduced; the adapter is designed with a waterproof structure and is suitable for an outdoor environment, and an optical fiber link system between the plug and the optical fiber connector is established through the adapter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of optical fiber connectors, and in particular to an optical fiber connector, an adapter and an optical fiber link system suitable for outdoor use. Background Art

[0002] With the full deployment of 5G construction around the world, the demand for outdoor fiber optic connectors is increasing. Outdoor fiber optic connectors require connectors with high transmission efficiency and waterproof performance. Conventional indoor connectors cannot meet this demand. Existing outdoor fiber optic connectors are mostly in the following two forms: One is composed of an indoor optical fiber connector and a waterproof housing 6, such as Figure 1 As shown, although this connector structure improves the waterproof performance, the installation and connection is cumbersome and requires at least two steps. The indoor connector must be docked first and then docked with the waterproof housing. The operation is time-consuming and laborious, and it is difficult to achieve one-handed operation. In addition, the waterproof housing interface of this type of connector is usually a bayonet connection, such as Figure 2 As shown, the bayonet connection generally realizes the locking function through the three-curved groove bayonet structure 8 on the socket. The three-curved groove is difficult to process. In addition, it needs to be locked with tools or by hand. The connector installation panel needs to reserve operating space, and high-density distribution cannot be achieved.

[0003] Another form is that the optical fiber contact and the housing are formed by structural matching, such as Figure 3 As shown, currently most of the connector interfaces of this type are threaded connections. When connecting, the contacts are first aligned and then the threads are tightened to lock. The threaded connection has a long locking stroke, which is not convenient for one-handed operation. At the same time, operating space needs to be reserved between the connectors to tighten the threads, resulting in the inability of this type of connector to achieve high-density distribution.

[0004] Due to the complexity of the outdoor environment, outdoor fiber optic connectors are required to be miniaturized, quick to plug and unplug, and able to be operated with one hand, so as to facilitate workers to operate and install and achieve high-density layout. Existing outdoor fiber optic connectors cannot meet the above requirements well. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the defects of the prior art, the present invention provides an outdoor optical fiber connector, an optical fiber adapter and an optical fiber link system, which can realize one-handed plugging and unplugging, multi-core transmission and high-density arrangement to meet the needs of outdoor use.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention first provides an outdoor optical fiber connector plug, including a plug housing and a plug contact assembly arranged in the plug housing, with the plug-in end as the front end, a locking ring groove is provided at the front end of the plug housing, a locking sleeve that can move axially is provided on the outside of the plug housing, an elastic element is provided between the locking sleeve and the plug housing, and the locking sleeve can be maintained in a front stop position under the action of the elastic element. When in the front stop position, the front end of the locking sleeve is located above the locking ring groove for radially limiting the structure inserted into the locking ring groove.

[0007] A positioning step is provided on the plug housing immediately behind the locking ring groove, and the positioning step is an annular step. A positioning flange is provided on the inner wall of the front end of the locking sleeve, and the positioning flange cooperates with the positioning step to serve as a front stop for the locking sleeve.

[0008] The inner diameter of the locking sleeve located behind the positioning flange is enlarged to form a space for accommodating the elastic element. The elastic element is installed in the space with its front end tightly against the rear end surface of the positioning flange. A retaining ring is installed on the plug housing behind the space, and the rear end of the elastic element is blocked and limited by the retaining ring.

[0009] A positioning key is arranged on the positioning flange of the locking sleeve, and an axially extending sliding groove is arranged on the plug housing. The positioning key cooperates with the sliding groove to prevent the locking sleeve from rotating and guide the axial movement of the locking sleeve.

[0010] The locking sleeve is cylindrical as a whole and has a stop shoulder formed on the outer circumferential surface, so that the outer diameter of the front end of the locking sleeve is smaller than the outer diameter of the rear end, ensuring that when the connectors are plugged in, the front end of the locking sleeve can enter the interior of the socket housing to achieve sealing.

[0011] A plug-in guide portion is provided on the plug housing adjacent to the front end of the locking ring groove, and guide grooves are arranged at intervals on the outer circumference of the plug-in guide portion. The rear end of the guide groove is not connected to the locking ring groove to form a guide step, and the rear end of the guide groove transitions to the guide step in an inclined manner.

[0012] The plug housing has an insertion surface located in front of the insertion guide portion. The outer diameter of the insertion surface is smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion guide portion and is used to guide the plug and the socket to be inserted smoothly.

[0013] A convex key is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the plug-in end of the plug housing, and a corresponding anti-rotation plane 1 is arranged at a position corresponding to the convex key on the inner surface of the plug-in end of the plug housing.

[0014] The plug contact assembly is a multi-core contact assembly. After the plug contact assembly is installed in the plug housing, it is pressed by a pressing plate and fixed by a tail attachment.

[0015] The present invention also provides an outdoor optical fiber connector socket, comprising a socket shell and a socket contact assembly arranged in the socket shell, wherein a spring claw structure is arranged in the socket shell, wherein the spring claw structure comprises locking spring claws distributed along the circumferential direction and extending along the axial direction, and the front end of the locking spring claws protrudes inward to form a buckle.

[0016] The spring claw structure is integrally formed with the socket housing, and the rear end of the locking spring claw is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the socket housing.

[0017] The spring claw structure and the socket housing are separate, and the spring claw structure is arranged on an independent cylindrical member, and the cylindrical member is detachably mounted on the front end of the socket housing and fixed by a fixing sleeve.

[0018] A boss is arranged on the rear end surface of the cylindrical member, and a groove is arranged on the front end surface of the socket housing. The radial positioning between the cylindrical member and the socket housing is achieved through the cooperation of the boss and the groove.

[0019] An external thread is arranged on the front outer wall of the socket housing, an internal thread is arranged on the rear inner wall of the fixing sleeve, and the fixing sleeve is connected to the socket housing through threads.

[0020] A stop is provided inside the fixed sleeve for axially positioning the cylindrical shell.

[0021] A keyway is provided inside the socket housing for cooperating with a convex key on the plug housing to prevent the connector from rotating.

[0022] A socket insulator is arranged in the socket housing, and a second anti-rotation plane is arranged at a position on the outer wall of the socket insulator corresponding to the key slot.

[0023] The socket contact assembly is a multi-core contact assembly. After the socket contact assembly is installed in the plug housing through the socket insulator, it is pressed by a pressing plate and fixed by the socket tail attachment.

[0024] A socket sealing ring is arranged behind the locking spring claw in the socket housing.

[0025] The present invention then provides a multi-core outdoor optical fiber connector, including the above-mentioned plug and socket, the plug and the socket are connected by a push-pull locking method, when the plug and the socket are plugged in, the buckle at the front end of the locking claw in the socket shell falls into the locking ring groove on the plug shell and the outer side of the buckle is limited by the locking sleeve, thereby realizing the locking and connection of the plug and socket.

[0026] The tail accessories of the plug or socket include a supporting sleeve, a connecting nut, a crimping sleeve and an outer sheath. The supporting sleeve cooperates with the tail end of the pressure plate and is fixed to the socket housing through the connecting nut. The crimping sleeve crimps the optical cable sheath and the tail of the supporting sleeve together. The outer sheath is arranged at the tail of the socket housing and extends to the optical cable behind the crimping sleeve, so as to protect the tail of the plug and support the optical cable.

[0027] The tail of the pressure plate and the front end of the support sleeve are provided with mutually matching planar structures for preventing the tail attachment from rotating.

[0028] The present invention also provides a fiber optic adapter, including an adapter shell and a cavity, the cavity including a front cavity and a rear cavity that are interconnected, a spring claw structure is provided on the inner wall of the front cavity, the spring claw structure includes locking spring claws distributed along the axial direction and extending along the axial direction, the front end of the locking spring claws protrudes inward to form a buckle, and the rear end of the locking spring claws is connected to the inner wall of the adapter shell, and a fiber optic connector interface is provided in the rear cavity of the adapter for fixedly connecting the fiber optic connector.

[0029] A sealing ring 1 is provided on the inner wall of the front cavity of the adapter.

[0030] A flange is provided in the middle of the adapter housing, and a sealing groove is provided on the rear end surface of the flange and a sealing ring 2 is installed.

[0031] A keyway is provided inside the front cavity of the adapter, and the keyway is used to cooperate with the convex key on the plug housing to achieve anti-rotation.

[0032] The present invention also provides a fiber optic link system, including a plug, an adapter and a fiber optic connector, wherein the plug is the above-mentioned outdoor fiber optic connector plug, the adapter is the above-mentioned fiber optic adapter, the plug is connected to the front cavity of the adapter, the fiber optic connector is connected to the rear cavity of the adapter, and a ceramic sleeve is installed at the front end of the multi-core contact assembly of the plug to connect to the pins on the fiber optic connector.

[0033] Beneficial effects: 1. The optical fiber connector of the present invention is provided with corresponding protective shells outside the contact components of the plug and the socket, respectively, to improve the outdoor performance of the connector; the plug and the socket are connected by a push-pull locking method, a locking ring groove and a locking sleeve are provided on the plug shell, and a locking spring claw is provided on the socket shell. The locking direction is consistent with the plug-in direction, and locking can be achieved when the plug-in is in place. The operation is convenient, time-saving, labor-saving, space-saving and one-handed operation can be achieved, which meets the one-handed plug-in and pull-out requirements in complex environments such as outdoor high altitudes, and is conducive to the miniaturization and high-density distribution of outdoor optical fiber connectors.

[0034] 2. The connector plug of the present invention is provided with a corresponding locking ring groove on the plug housing, and the elastic element sleeve is arranged on the plug housing coaxially with the plug housing and is located in the space between the locking sleeve and the plug housing. It is easy to install and can ensure that the elastic force of the locking sleeve is uniform. It can also simplify the structure of the housing and the locking sleeve, reduce the special-shaped structure of the parts, and reduce the cost.

[0035] 3. The connector socket, the socket housing and the locking claws of the present invention can be designed as one piece and formed in one step by a mold, which can effectively reduce the connector cost.

[0036] 4. The connector socket, socket housing and locking claw of the present invention can also be designed in a split type. The locking claw itself can be manufactured and disassembled separately and locked on the socket housing by a fixed sleeve. By splitting the complex and difficult-to-form parts into several simple parts, the manufacturing of each part is simple, the difficulty of processing the parts is reduced, and the installation is convenient and the cost is reduced.

[0037] 5. The connector of the present invention is provided with a multi-core contact assembly in the shell to improve the transmission efficiency of the connector and meet the outdoor high-density connection requirements. At the same time, multiple anti-rotation structures are provided, a convex key is provided on the plug shell, a corresponding key slot is provided on the socket shell, and mutually matching flat features are provided on the plug shell and the socket shell to enhance the anti-rotation effect and realize the anti-rotation function while axially locking; and an anti-rotation mark corresponding to the convex key is provided on the shell to facilitate identification of the plug-in direction during connection.

[0038] 6. The connector of the present invention is provided with an anti-rotation structure at the connection position between the tail attachment and the pressure plate, which effectively prevents the tail rotation from causing the optical fiber to twist and affect the product performance.

[0039] 7. In the connector of the present invention, the plug locking sleeve is designed to be cylindrical and has an axial shoulder on the outside. When the plug and the socket are mated, the front end of the locking sleeve can enter the socket housing, and the front end surface of the socket housing abuts against the axial shoulder. This matching structure improves the sealing performance at the connector mating interface. A sealing ring is provided in the socket housing, and an outer sheath is provided at the rear of the connector for effective protection, thereby improving the outdoor waterproof performance of the connector.

[0040] 8. The present invention also provides a fiber optic adapter with a locking claw structure, one end of which is pushed and pulled and locked with the plug housing, and the other end is designed to be matched with the fiber optic connector, so that a fiber optic link can be established between the fiber optic connector and the plug. The fiber optic adapter achieves a waterproof sealing function through a sealing ring to meet the needs of outdoor use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 A structural form of an outdoor optical fiber connector in the prior art; Figure 2 for Figure 1A schematic diagram of the locking structure of the connector shown; Figure 3 Another structural form of the outdoor optical fiber connector in the prior art; wherein Figure 3 (a) and Figure 3 (b) shows the connector in the separated state and locked state respectively; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a plug locking structure in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a plug in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 An exploded schematic diagram of a plug structure in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a plug anti-rotation structure in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the plug anti-rotation structure from another angle; Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the socket locking structure (integrated) in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a socket in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the socket locking structure (split type) in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.12 An exploded schematic diagram of a socket structure in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.13 Exploded schematic diagram of split locking structure parts; Fig.14 Schematic diagram of the fixed sleeve structure; Fig.15 Schematic diagram of cylindrical parts structure Fig.16 Schematic diagram of socket housing structure Fig.17 Schematic diagram of socket anti-rotation structure Fig.18 Schematic diagram of the locking state of the connector plug and socket of the present invention; Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the connector plug and socket of the present invention in a separated state; Fig. 20 Schematic diagram of the anti-rotation structure of the rear attachment of the connector of the present invention; Fig.21 Schematic diagram of the adaption optical cable of the connector tail attachment of the present invention; Fig. 22 A schematic diagram of the structure of the adapter of the present invention; Fig.23 A schematic diagram of the connection status of the optical fiber link system of the present invention; Fig.24 Schematic diagram of the separation state of the optical fiber link system of the present invention.

[0042] Reference numerals: 1 Plug: 11 Plug housing: 111 mating surface, 112 plug-in guide, 113 locking ring groove, 114 positioning step, 115 sliding groove, 116 convex key, 117 anti-rotation plane 1, 118 guide groove, 119 guide step; 12 locking sleeve: 121 elastic element, 122 retaining ring, 123 positioning flange, 124 stop shoulder, 125, plane part; 13 Plug contact assembly; 14 Plug pressure plate; 141, pressure plate anti-rotation plane; 15 Plug tail accessories: 151 support sleeve, 152 connecting nut, 153 crimping sleeve, 154 outer sheath, 155 support sleeve anti-rotation plane; 16 Optical cable; 2 Socket: 21 socket housing, 211 groove, 212 keyway, 213 anti-rotation plane 2, 214 socket sealing ring, 215 external thread, 216 plug-in direction mark; 22 locking claw, 221 buckle, 222 fixing sleeve, 223 cylinder, 224 boss, 225 stopper, 226 internal thread; 23 socket insulator, 24 socket contact assembly, 25 socket pressure plate, 26 socket tail accessories; 3 adapter: 31 adapter housing, 32 front cavity, 33 rear cavity, 35 sealing ring 1, 36 sealing ring 2, 37 outer flange; 4. Optical fiber connector, 5. Ceramic sleeve, 6. Indoor optical fiber connector, 7. Waterproof housing, 8. Bayonet structure, 9. Threaded engagement area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0044] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the present invention are only used to illustrate the basic concept of the present invention in a schematic manner. Therefore, the drawings only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0045] The directions or positional relationships indicated by “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “middle”, “inner”, “outer”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc. cited in this specification are relative directions or positional relationships based on the drawings and are not intended to be absolute limitations on the present invention.

[0046] The embodiments of the present invention provide technical solutions for plugs, sockets, connector assemblies, adapters, optical fiber link systems, etc., and each aspect is described in detail below.

[0047] like Figure 1-18As shown, an embodiment of the present invention discloses an outdoor optical fiber connector, including a plug 1 and a socket 2, wherein the plug 1 and the socket 2 are connected in a push-pull locking manner, which is convenient for one-handed operation, can achieve quick plugging and unplugging, save operating space, and meet the high-density distribution requirements of the connector.

[0048] plug like Figure 4-8 As shown, the plug 1 includes a plug housing 11 and a plug contact assembly 13 arranged in the plug housing 11 .

[0049] A locking structure is provided at the plug-in end of the plug housing 11, and the locking structure mainly includes a locking ring groove 113 and a locking sleeve 12. The locking ring groove 113 is provided at the front end of the plug housing 11, and a locking sleeve 12 is provided outside the plug housing 11. An elastic element 121 is provided in the space between the locking sleeve 12 and the plug housing 11. The elastic element 121 is sleeved on the outside of the plug housing 11 and is used to provide an axial force for the locking sleeve 12, so that the locking sleeve 12 can be maintained at the front stop position under the action of the elastic element 121. When the locking sleeve 12 is at the front stop position, the front end of the locking sleeve 12 covers the position above the locking ring groove 113, and can radially limit the corresponding structure falling into the locking ring groove 113.

[0050] Specifically, Figure 4-5 As shown, the plug-in end of the plug housing 11 comprises, from front to back, an inserting surface 111, an inserting guide portion 112, a locking ring groove 113 and a positioning step 114, wherein the locking ring groove 113 is located between the inserting guide portion 112 and the positioning step 114, and a locking sleeve 12 is sleeved on the outside of the plug housing 11, wherein the positioning step 114 is an annular step, and a positioning flange 123 is provided on the inner wall of the front end of the locking sleeve 12, wherein the front end surface of the positioning flange 123 cooperates with the rear end surface of the positioning step 114, and acts as a front stop for the locking sleeve 12. When the locking sleeve 12 is located at the front stop position, the front end of the locking sleeve 12 is located above the locking ring groove 113, so as to radially limit the structure (mainly referring to the locking claw 22 on the socket 2 or the adapter 3) that falls into the locking ring groove 113.

[0051] The inner diameter of the locking sleeve 12 behind the positioning flange 123 is increased to form a space for accommodating the elastic element 121. The elastic element 121 is installed in the space with its front end pressed against the rear end face of the positioning flange 123. A retaining ring 122 is installed on the plug housing 11 behind the elastic element 121. The retaining ring 122 presses against the rear end of the elastic element 121, so that the elastic element 121 is compressed and deformed in the axial direction, thereby providing an axial force for the locking sleeve 12 to maintain the front stop position. Under the restriction of the locking sleeve 12 and the plug housing 11, the elastic element 121 can only be deformed in the axial direction, so as to prevent the elastic element 121 from moving in the circumferential direction.

[0052] Preferably, the elastic element 121 is coaxially arranged with the plug housing 11 to ensure uniform elastic force. The elastic element 121 is usually a spring, which mainly provides an axial elastic force for the locking sleeve 12 to maintain the front stop position. Those skilled in the art may use other elastic elements 121 with equivalent functions to replace the spring in actual use.

[0053] In order to limit the rotation of the locking sleeve 12, a positioning key (not shown in the figure) is provided on the positioning flange 123 of the locking sleeve 12, and an axially extending sliding groove 115 is provided on the plug housing 11. The positioning key cooperates with the sliding groove 115 to prevent the locking sleeve 12 from rotating and at the same time guide the axial movement of the locking sleeve 12.

[0054] The locking sleeve 12 is cylindrical as a whole and has a stop shoulder 124 formed on the outer circumferential surface, so that the outer diameter of the front end of the locking sleeve 12 is smaller than the outer diameter of the rear end. When plugged in, the front end of the locking sleeve 12 can enter the socket housing, and at the same time, the stop shoulder 124 is tightly fitted with the front end surface of the socket housing. This structure can improve the sealing performance at the plug-in interface to a certain extent.

[0055] A plurality of guide grooves 118 extending axially are arranged at intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion guide portion 112 of the plug housing 11 . The rear ends of the guide grooves 118 are not connected to the locking ring groove 113 , thereby forming guide steps 119 . The rear ends of the guide grooves 118 transition to the guide steps 119 in an inclined manner.

[0056] The mating surface 111 is located in front of the insertion guide portion 112, and the outer diameter of the mating surface 111 is smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion guide portion 112. When the plug and socket are plugged together, the mating surface 111 plays a primary guiding role to ensure that the plug and socket can be smoothly plugged in. After being plugged in place, the mating surface 111 can cooperate with the sealing structure on the socket 2 to achieve sealing; the mating surface 111 and the insertion guide portion 112 are transitioned through an inclined surface at the guide groove 118.

[0057] The plug housing 11 is also provided with an anti-rotation structure, specifically: Figure 7-8 As shown, on the plug housing 11, a convex key 116 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plug end, and an anti-rotation plane 117 is provided at a position corresponding to the convex key 116 on the inner surface of the plug end.

[0058] In addition, a flat surface 125 is provided on the outer surface of the locking sleeve 12 corresponding to the convex key 116 and at a position 180° away from the convex key 116, so as to facilitate the operation of applying force when the connector is plugged in and out, and to facilitate identification of the plugging direction of the connector.

[0059] like Figure 5A plug contact assembly 13 is provided in the plug housing 11 through structural matching. For outdoor optical fiber connectors, the plug contact assembly 13 usually uses a multi-core contact assembly, which can improve the transmission efficiency of the connector and meet the high-density transmission requirements, but the connector structure described in the present invention can also be used for single-core contact assemblies to protect them; the multi-core contact assembly has more than 2 cores, specifically it can be a 2-core, 4-core or other optical fiber pin assembly, or it can also be an MT pin structure. The structure inside the plug housing 11 is designed to be matched with the corresponding multi-core contact assembly. After the multi-core contact assembly is installed in the plug housing 11, the rear end is pressed by the pressing plate 14 and fixed by the plug tail accessory 15.

[0060] like Figure 5-6 As shown, the plug tail accessory 15 includes a support sleeve 151, a connecting nut 152, a crimping sleeve 153 and an outer sheath 154. The support sleeve 151 is connected to the rear of the plug pressure plate 14, and the support sleeve is connected to the plug housing 11 through the connecting nut 152. The crimping sleeve 153 presses the outer sheath of the optical cable on the rear end of the support sleeve 151 to fix it. The outer sheath 154 is arranged at the rear of the plug housing 11, extending from the rear end of the plug housing 11 to the rear of the crimping sleeve 153, and is used to protect the various components at the rear end of the plug 1 and support the optical fiber.

[0061] socket like Figure 9-16 As shown, the socket 2 includes a socket housing 21 and a socket contact assembly 24. The socket contact assembly 24 is arranged in the socket housing 21 through a socket insulator 23. A spring claw structure is provided in the socket housing 21. The spring claw structure includes a plurality of locking spring claws 22 distributed along the circumferential direction and extending along the axial direction. The rear end of the locking spring claw 22 is fixedly connected to the socket housing 21, and the front end of the locking spring claw 22 protrudes inward to form a buckle 221. The buckle 221 is used to cooperate with the locking ring groove 113 on the plug housing 11.

[0062] The locking claws 22 are evenly distributed along the circumference, and are usually set to 2-6 in number. The locking claws 22 correspond one-to-one to the guide grooves 118 on the plug-in guide portion 112 of the plug housing 11 .

[0063] In order to improve the waterproof performance of the connector, a socket sealing ring 214 is provided in the socket housing 21 .

[0064] In one form of the socket housing 21, as Figure 9-10 As shown, the spring claw structure is designed as an integral unit with the socket housing 21 , and the spring claw structure is formed on the inner wall of the socket housing 21 by means of a mold.

[0065] In another form of the socket housing 21, as Figure 11-16As shown, the spring claw structure and the socket housing 21 are of separate design. The spring claw structure is arranged on an independent cylindrical member 223 and is installed at the front end of the socket housing 21 through a fixing sleeve 222 .

[0066] The cylindrical member 223 is detachably mounted on the front end of the socket housing 21. Fig.15 As shown, a boss 224 is provided on the rear end surface of the cylindrical member 223. Fig.16 As shown, a groove 211 is provided on the front end surface of the socket housing 21 , and radial positioning between the cylindrical member 223 and the socket housing 21 is achieved through the cooperation between the boss 224 and the groove 211 .

[0067] The rear end of the fixing sleeve 222 is threadedly connected to the front end of the socket housing 21. Specifically, Fig.16 As shown, the front end of the socket housing 21 is provided with an external thread 215. Fig.14 As shown, the rear end of the fixing sleeve 222 is provided with an internal thread 226, and the fixing sleeve 222 is threadedly connected with the socket housing 21. A stopper 225 is provided inside the front end of the fixing sleeve 222 for axial positioning of the internal cylindrical member 223.

[0068] When assembling the split-type claw structure, first align the boss 224 on the cylindrical member 223 with the groove 211 at the front end of the socket housing 21, then put the fixed sleeve 222 on the outside of the cylindrical member 223 and threadedly connect it to the socket housing 21. After the connection is in place, the front end face of the cylindrical member 223 is blocked and positioned by the stop 225 inside the fixed sleeve 222, and the rear end face of the cylindrical member 223 is limited and positioned by the front end face of the socket housing 21.

[0069] like Fig.17 As shown, the socket housing 21 is provided with an anti-rotation structure corresponding to the plug housing 11: When the socket housing 21 and the locking claw 22 are designed as one body, a key slot 212 is provided on the inner wall of the socket housing 21 , and the key slot 212 is used to cooperate with the convex key 116 on the plug housing 11 to achieve anti-rotation.

[0070] When the socket housing 21 and the locking claw 22 are designed separately, a key groove 212 is provided on the inner wall of the cylindrical member 223 , and the key groove 212 is used to cooperate with the convex key 116 on the plug housing 11 to achieve anti-rotation.

[0071] A second anti-rotation plane 213 is provided on the outer wall of the socket insulator 23 at a position corresponding to the key slot 212 . The second anti-rotation plane 213 is used to cooperate with the first anti-rotation plane 117 on the plug housing 11 .

[0072] A socket contact assembly 24 is disposed in the socket housing 21 through a socket insulator 23 . The socket contact assembly 24 is pressed by a socket pressing plate 25 at the rear and fixed by a socket tail attachment 26 .

[0073] Corresponding to the plug contact assembly 13 , the socket contact assembly 24 is single-core or multi-core. The plug contact assembly 13 is usually an optical pin assembly, and the socket contact assembly 24 is usually an optical pin assembly installed with a ceramic sleeve 5 . However, in some application examples, the ceramic sleeve 5 can also be set on the plug contact assembly 24 .

[0074] The structural composition of the socket tail accessory 26 is the same as that of the plug tail accessory 15 , including a support sleeve 151 , a connecting nut 152 , a crimping sleeve 153 and an outer sheath 154 .

[0075] When the connector is in use, the socket 2 can be connected to the panel by a nut fastening method or a square plate mounting method.

[0076] like Fig.18 As shown in the figure (partial features of the plug-in end are omitted in the figure), the plug-in and socket-in locking process of the connector of the present invention is as follows: Before the connector plug 1 and the socket 2 are plugged together, the convex key 116 on the plug housing 11 is aligned with the keyway 212 on the socket housing 21, and the plug 1 and the socket 2 are plugged together along the axial direction. When plugging together, the plugging surface 111 at the front end of the plug housing 11 enters the socket housing 21 in advance. As the plugging is carried out, the locking claw 22 in the socket housing 21 moves toward the plug 1, first passes through the plugging surface 111 at the front end of the plug housing 11, and then enters the guide groove 118 of the plugging guide portion 112. When the front end of the locking claw 22 moves to the tail end of the guide groove 118, the front end of the locking claw 22 is lifted up by the guide step 119, and then While continuing to move, the front end of the locking claw 22 presses the locking sleeve 12 to move backward to compress the spring until the buckle 221 at the front end of the locking claw 22 falls into the locking ring groove 113 of the plug housing 11. At this time, the locking sleeve 12 returns to its original position (i.e., the front stop position) under the action of elastic force, acting on the outer peripheral side of the buckle 221 of the locking claw 22 to limit the radial deformation of the locking claw 22. At the same time, the cooperation between the locking ring groove 113 and the buckle 221 limits the axial movement of the locking claw 22, so that the locking claw 22 is restricted between the plug housing 11 and the locking sleeve 12, thereby achieving the locking of the plug 1 and the socket 2.

[0077] When the connector plug and socket are locked, the sealing ring 214 in the socket 2 cooperates with the mating surface 111 of the plug 1, and the front end of the locking sleeve 12 of the plug 1 enters the inside of the socket housing 21 to achieve sealing of the insertion point; the tail attachment can achieve sealing of the rear end.

[0078] The connector is locked when it is inserted into place, and the insertion direction is consistent with the locking direction, so that plugging and unplugging can be achieved with one hand, which saves time, effort and space.

[0079] The process of unlocking the plug and socket is as follows: When the plug and socket are unlocked, the locking sleeve 12 is pulled axially backward to release the radial restriction of the locking claw 22, and the plug housing 11 is pulled, and the locking claw 22 is deformed and withdrawn from the locking ring groove 113 of the plug housing 11, thereby unlocking the plug and socket. Fig.19 shown.

[0080] Furthermore, an anti-rotation structure is provided at the rear attachment of the plug 1 or the socket 2, such as Fig. 20 As shown, taking the plug 1 as an example, the rear end of the plug pressure plate 14 and the front end of the plug support sleeve 151 are provided with mutually matching planar structures, the rear end of the plug pressure plate 14 is provided with a pressure plate anti-rotation plane 141, and the front end of the plug support sleeve 151 is provided with a support sleeve anti-rotation plane 155, the two are used to achieve anti-rotation of the plug tail accessory 15, to prevent the optical fiber in the connector from rotating during installation, causing optical fiber distortion and affecting product performance; the anti-rotation design of the socket tail accessory 26 is the same as that of the plug and will not be repeated.

[0081] like Fig.21 As shown, the plug and socket of the present invention can adapt to optical cables 16 of various specifications and different outer diameters, and this can be achieved by simply changing the size of the crimping sleeve in the tail accessory.

[0082] Adapter like Fig. 22 As shown, the present invention also provides an optical fiber adapter for outdoor use, the adapter 3 includes an adapter housing 31, a front-to-back connected cavity is formed in the adapter housing 31, including a front cavity 32 and a rear cavity 33, wherein a spring claw structure is provided in the front cavity 32, the spring claw structure includes a plurality of locking spring claws 22 uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction and extending along the axial direction, the rear end of the locking spring claws 22 is connected to the spring claw structure body, the front end of the locking spring claws 22 protrudes inward to form a buckle 221, which is used to cooperate with the connector plug 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment, and a fiber optic interface is provided in the rear cavity 33 of the adapter 3 for fixedly connecting the optical fiber connector 4.

[0083] The adapter 3 is provided with a sealing structure, which has a waterproof sealing function and can be used in outdoor environments; the sealing structure includes a sealing ring 1 35 and a sealing ring 2 36, which are specifically configured as follows: In the front cavity 32 of the adapter 3, a sealing ring 35 is provided at the rear of the locking claw 22. When the adapter 3 is matched with the plug 1, the sealing ring 35 contacts the plugging surface 111 at the front end of the plug 4 to achieve a sealing effect on the plugging interface.

[0084] An outer flange 37 is provided in the middle of the adapter housing 31, a sealing groove is provided on the rear end surface of the outer flange 37 and a second sealing ring 36 is installed. When the adapter 3 is installed on a panel, the second sealing ring 36 can achieve sealing between the adapter housing 31 and the panel.

[0085] The adapter housing 31 is provided with an external thread and a mounting nut at the rear end, and the adapter 3 is mounted on the panel by means of the mounting nut. When the nut is tightened, the panel can be pressed against the rear end surface of the outer flange 37, and the sealing between the panel and the adapter housing 31 is achieved by means of the sealing ring 36.

[0086] The adapter 3 provides an optical path conversion function between the optical fiber connector 4 and the connector plug 1 described in the present invention, wherein the optical fiber connector connected to the adapter 3 can be any type of optical fiber connector such as LC / SC / MPO / DLC, but is not limited thereto, and can also be other types of optical fiber connectors used by users.

[0087] Furthermore, a key slot 212 is provided in the front cavity 32 of the adapter 3, and the key slot 212 is used to cooperate with the convex key 116 on the plug housing 11 to achieve anti-rotation, and an anti-rotation mark is provided on the adapter housing 31 at a position corresponding to the key slot 212 to facilitate identification of the plug-in direction.

[0088] like Figure 23-24 As shown, the optical fiber link system formed by using the above-mentioned adapter 3 includes the plug 1, the adapter 3 and the optical fiber connector 4 described in the present invention.

[0089] It should be noted that when forming an optical fiber link system with the adapter 3, a hole for accommodating the ceramic sleeve 5 needs to be designed in the plug shell 11 of the plug 1, and the ceramic sleeve 5 is installed at the front end of the plug contact assembly 13 to ensure that it can be connected to the pin of the optical fiber connector 4 at the other end of the adapter 3.

[0090] It should be noted that, in the description of this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, a conflicting connection, or an integral connection. A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application according to specific circumstances.

[0091] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment as above, it is not used to limit the present invention. Any technician familiar with this profession can make some changes or modify the technical contents disclosed above into equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An outdoor optical fiber connector plug, comprising a plug housing (11) and a plug contact assembly (13) arranged in the plug housing (11), with a plug end as the front end, characterized in that: A locking ring groove (113) is provided at the front end of the plug housing (11); an axially movable locking sleeve (12) is sleeved on the outside of the plug housing (11); an elastic element (121) for providing an axial force to the locking sleeve (12) is provided between the locking sleeve (12) and the plug housing (11); the locking sleeve (12) can be kept at a front stop position under the action of the elastic element (121); when at the front stop position, the front end of the locking sleeve (12) is located radially outside the locking ring groove (113) for radially limiting a structure inserted into the locking ring groove (113).

2. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 1, characterized in that: A positioning step (114) is provided on the plug housing (11) adjacent to the rear of the locking ring groove (113); the positioning step (114) is an annular step; a positioning flange (123) is provided on the inner wall of the front end of the locking sleeve (12); the positioning flange (123) cooperates with the positioning step (114) to act as a front stop for the locking sleeve (12).

3. An outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the locking sleeve (12) located behind the positioning flange (123) is increased to form a space for accommodating the elastic element (121); the elastic element (121) is installed in the space with its front end tightly against the rear end surface of the positioning flange (123); a retaining ring (122) is installed on the plug housing (11) behind the space; the rear end of the elastic element (121) is blocked by the retaining ring (122) for position limiting.

4. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 2, characterized in that: A positioning key is provided on the positioning flange (123) of the locking sleeve (12), and an axially extending sliding groove (115) is provided on the plug housing (11). The positioning key cooperates with the sliding groove (115) to prevent the locking sleeve (12) from rotating and to guide the axial movement of the locking sleeve (12).

5. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 2, characterized in that: The locking sleeve (12) is cylindrical in shape as a whole and has a stop shoulder (124) formed on its outer circumferential surface, so that the outer diameter of the front end of the locking sleeve (12) is smaller than the outer diameter of the rear end, thereby ensuring that the front end of the locking sleeve (12) can enter the interior of the socket housing (21) when the connectors are plugged in.

6. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plug-in guide portion (112) is provided on the plug housing (11) adjacent to the front end of the locking ring groove (113); guide grooves (118) are arranged at intervals on the outer circumference of the plug-in guide portion (112); the rear end of the guide groove (118) is not connected to the locking ring groove (113) so as to form a guide step (119); the rear end of the guide groove (118) transitions to the guide step (119) in the form of an inclined surface.

7. An outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 6, characterized in that: The plug housing (11) has an insertion surface (111) located in front of the insertion guide portion (112); the outer diameter of the insertion surface (111) is smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion guide portion (112) and is used to guide the plug and socket to be inserted smoothly.

8. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 6, characterized in that: A convex key (116) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plug-in end of the plug housing (11), and a corresponding anti-rotation plane 1 (117) is provided at a position corresponding to the convex key (116) on the inner surface of the plug-in end of the plug housing (11).

9. The outdoor optical fiber connector plug according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plug contact assembly (13) is a multi-core contact assembly. After the plug contact assembly (13) is installed in the plug housing (11), it is pressed by a plug pressing plate (14) and fixed by a plug tail attachment (15).

10. An outdoor optical fiber connector socket, comprising a socket housing (21) and a socket contact assembly (24) arranged in the socket housing (21), characterized in that: A claw structure is provided in the socket housing (21), the claw structure comprising locking claws (22) distributed in the circumferential direction and extending in the axial direction, the front end of the locking claw (22) protruding inwards to form a buckle (221).

11. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 10, characterized in that: The spring claw structure is integrally formed with the socket housing (21), and the rear end of the locking spring claw (22) is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the socket housing (21).

12. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 10, characterized in that: The spring claw structure and the socket housing (21) are separate bodies; the spring claw structure is arranged on an independent cylindrical member (223); the cylindrical member (223) is detachably mounted on the front end of the socket housing (21) and fixed by a fixing sleeve (222).

13. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 12, characterized in that: A boss (224) is provided on the rear end surface of the cylindrical member (223), and a groove (211) is provided on the front end surface of the socket housing (21), and radial positioning between the cylindrical member (223) and the socket housing (21) is achieved through the cooperation of the boss (224) and the groove (211).

14. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 12, characterized in that: An external thread (215) is provided on the front outer wall of the socket housing (21), and an internal thread (226) is provided on the rear inner wall of the fixing sleeve (222). The fixing sleeve (222) is connected to the socket housing (21) via threads.

15. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 12, characterized in that: A stopper (225) is provided inside the fixed sleeve (222) for axially positioning the cylindrical shell.

16. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 10, characterized in that: A keyway (212) is provided inside the socket housing (21) for cooperating with a convex key (116) on the plug housing (11) to prevent the connector from rotating.

17. An outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 16, characterized in that: A socket insulator (23) is provided in the socket housing (21), and a second anti-rotation plane (213) is provided at a position on the outer wall of the socket insulator (23) corresponding to the key slot (212).

18. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 10, characterized in that: The socket contact assembly (24) is a multi-core contact assembly. After the socket contact assembly (24) is installed in the plug housing (11) via the socket insulator (23), the rear end is pressed by the socket pressing plate (25) and fixed by the socket tail attachment (26).

19. The outdoor optical fiber connector socket according to claim 10, characterized in that: A socket sealing ring (214) is provided in the socket housing (21) behind the locking claw (22).

20. An outdoor optical fiber connector, comprising a plug and a socket, characterized in that: The plug is an outdoor optical fiber connector plug as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and the socket is an outdoor optical fiber connector socket as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 19. The plug (1) and the socket (2) are connected by a push-pull locking method. When the plug (1) and the socket (2) are plugged into each other, the buckle (221) at the front end of the locking claw (22) in the socket housing (21) falls into the locking ring groove (113) on the plug housing (11) and the outer side of the buckle (221) is limited by the locking sleeve (12), thereby realizing the locking and connection of the plug and the socket.

21. An outdoor optical fiber connector according to claim 20, characterized in that: The plug tail accessory (15) or the socket tail accessory (26) comprises a support sleeve, a connecting nut, a crimping sleeve and an outer sheath. The support sleeve cooperates with the tail end of the pressure plate and is fixed on the outside by a connecting nut. The crimping sleeve crimps the outer sheath of the optical cable and the tail of the support sleeve together. The outer sheath is arranged at the tail of the plug housing (11) or the socket housing (21) and extends to the optical cable behind the crimping sleeve.

22. An outdoor optical fiber connector according to claim 21, characterized in that: The tail of the pressure plate and the front end of the support sleeve are provided with mutually matching planar structures for preventing the tail attachment from rotating.

23. An optical fiber adapter, comprising an adapter housing (31) and a front cavity (32) and a rear cavity (33) that are interconnected, characterized in that: A claw structure is provided on the inner wall of the front cavity (32), the claw structure comprising locking claws (22) distributed and extending along the axial direction, the front end of the locking claws (22) protruding inwardly to form a buckle (221), and an optical fiber connector interface is provided in the rear cavity (33) of the adapter for fixedly connecting the optical fiber connector (4).

24. The optical fiber adapter according to claim 23, characterized in that: A sealing ring 1 (35) is provided on the inner wall of the front cavity (32).

25. The optical fiber adapter according to claim 23, characterized in that: An outer flange (37) is provided in the middle of the adapter housing (31), and a sealing groove is provided on the rear end surface of the outer flange (37) and a second sealing ring (36) is installed.

26. The optical fiber adapter according to claim 23, characterized in that: A keyway (212) is provided in the front cavity (32), and the keyway (212) is used to cooperate with a convex key (116) on the plug housing (11) to achieve anti-rotation.

27. An optical fiber link system, comprising a plug (1), an adapter (3) and an optical fiber connector (4), characterized in that: The plug (1) is the plug according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the adapter (3) is the optical fiber adapter according to any one of claims 23 to 26, the plug (1) is connected to the front cavity (32) of the adapter (3), and locking is achieved through the cooperation of the locking claw (22), the locking ring groove (113) and the locking sleeve (12), the optical fiber connector (4) is connected to the rear cavity (33) of the adapter (3), and a ceramic sleeve (5) is installed at the front end of the plug contact assembly (13) for connecting with the plug pins on the optical fiber connector (4).

Images