A light-adjustable optical fiber attenuator

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of optical fiber components, and discloses an optical fiber attenuator with adjustable light, including: an input optical fiber connection end plate, on which an input optical fiber connector is arranged, and the input optical fiber connector is used to connect the input optical fiber to the attenuator; a fixed housing, which is installed on the side of the input optical fiber connection end plate away from the input optical fiber connector, and in which an output optical fiber connector is installed; an attenuation component, which is installed in the fixed housing and is used to adjust the optical signal power; a rotating housing, which is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the fixed housing and connected to the attenuation component, and is used to drive the attenuation component to move by rotation to change the attenuation amount in the optical path; a limiter component, which is arranged between the input optical fiber connection end plate and the rotating housing, and is used to limit the rotation angle of the rotating housing and fix the position of the rotating housing. The present application solves the problem of easy displacement of the rotating housing, and ensures the stability and adjustment accuracy of the optical signal power.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of optical fiber components, and in particular to a dimmable optical fiber attenuator. Background Art

[0002] In optical fiber communication systems, precise control of optical signal power is crucial. As a key component, the optical fiber attenuator can effectively reduce the optical signal power, prevent overload at the receiving end, and achieve optical power balance at each node in the system. Traditional optical fiber attenuators mainly adopt a fixed attenuation value design, which cannot meet the needs of dynamic adjustment of optical power. For this reason, the dimmable optical fiber attenuator came into being, which changes the loss in the optical path by mechanical or optical means to achieve continuous adjustment of the optical signal power.

[0003] At present, most common adjustable optical fiber attenuators adopt a rotary structure, which drives the internal attenuation mechanism by rotating the outer shell to change the attenuation in the optical path. However, this structure has a significant technical problem: the rotating outer shell lacks an effective limit mechanism, which causes the outer shell to be easily displaced due to accidental contact or vibration after rotation, thereby changing the adjusted optical signal power. This instability seriously affects the reliability and stability of the optical fiber communication system and limits the application scope of the adjustable optical fiber attenuator. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides an adjustable optical fiber attenuator, which solves the technical problem in the prior art that the rotating shell lacks an effective limiting mechanism, resulting in the shell being easily displaced due to accidental contact or vibration after rotation, thereby changing the adjusted optical signal power. The application solves the problem of easy displacement of the rotating shell through an effective limiting mechanism, thereby ensuring the stability of the optical signal power and the adjustment accuracy.

[0005] The present application provides a dimmable optical fiber attenuator, comprising: an input optical fiber connection end plate, on which an input optical fiber connector is arranged, and the input optical fiber connector is used to connect the input optical fiber to the attenuator; a fixed shell, which is installed on a side of the input optical fiber connection end plate away from the input optical fiber connector, and in which an output optical fiber connector is installed; an attenuation component, which is installed in the fixed shell and is used to adjust the power of an optical signal; a rotating shell, which is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the fixed shell and is connected to the attenuation component, and is used to drive the attenuation component to move by rotation to change the attenuation amount in the optical path; a limiting component, which is arranged between the input optical fiber connection end plate and the rotating shell, and is used to limit the rotation angle of the rotating shell and fix the position of the rotating shell.

[0006] Furthermore, the limiting assembly includes: a thin ring fixed on the end face of the input optical fiber connection end plate facing the rotating shell; an elastic sheet integrally formed on the side wall of the thin ring facing the rotating shell, and a plurality of the elastic sheets are arranged around the thin ring, with a spacing between two adjacent elastic sheets; an insertion strip integrally formed on the side of the elastic sheet away from the thin ring, and a plurality of the insertion strips are formed along the side of the elastic sheet; wherein, a plurality of insertion holes equidistantly distributed around the rotating shell are provided on the end face of the rotating shell facing the input optical fiber connection end plate, and the insertion holes are used for inserting the insertion strips.

[0007] Furthermore, a connecting ring is integrally formed on the end face of the rotating shell facing the input optical fiber connection end plate, the insertion hole is located on the side of the connecting ring facing the input optical fiber connection end plate close to the inner circle, and a ring track is fixed on the side of the connecting ring facing the input optical fiber connection end plate, the ring track is located on the side of the connecting ring facing the input optical fiber connection end plate close to the outer circle, and the ring track is used for moving the insertion strip in the track groove.

[0008] Furthermore, multiple layers of the insertion holes are provided along the diameter line direction of the connecting ring, and the insertion holes in two adjacent layers are staggered.

[0009] Furthermore, the elastic sheet is V-shaped, and the opening of the V-shape faces the outside of the rotating shell.

[0010] Furthermore, a pull tab is fixed on each of the elastic sheets, the pull tab is perpendicular to the axis of the rotating shell, and one end of the pull tab away from the elastic sheet extends to the outside of the rotating shell.

[0011] Furthermore, a plurality of through holes are opened along a circumference of the thin ring, and connecting bolts are inserted into the through holes. The connecting bolts are used to fix the thin ring to the input optical fiber connection end plate.

[0012] One or more technical solutions provided in this application have at least the following technical effects or advantages:

[0013] The attenuation component is driven to move by rotating the rotating shell, and the attenuation in the optical path is changed, thereby adjusting the optical signal power. The rotation angle of the rotating shell is limited by the limit component, and the insertion strip is inserted into the socket for restriction. The elastic effect of the elastic sheet makes the insertion strip fit tightly with the socket to prevent the rotating shell from loosening. The structure is simple and the adjustment accuracy is high. The matching design of the elastic sheet and the insertion strip makes the position of the rotating shell more firmly fixed to prevent loosening, which solves the technical problem that the rotating shell in the prior art lacks an effective limit mechanism, which makes the shell easily displaced due to accidental contact or vibration after rotation, thereby changing the adjusted optical signal power. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the adjustable optical fiber attenuator in the embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the rotating housing in the embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the middle part structure mainly shows the structure of the ring track and the socket;

[0017] Figure 4 for Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the middle part structure mainly illustrates the state of the insert in the limit assembly in the ring track;

[0018] Figure 5 The overall structure of the limit assembly in the embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Partial structure of the middle limit assembly;

[0020] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Another angle diagram of the middle limit assembly;

[0021] In the figure: 101, input fiber optic connector; 102, output fiber optic connector; 1, input fiber optic connection end plate; 2, fixed housing; 3, attenuation assembly; 4, rotating housing; 41, connecting ring; 401, jack; 402, ring track; 5, limit assembly; 51, thin ring; 511, through hole; 512, connecting bolt; 52, elastic sheet; 53, insert; 54, pull tab. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiment of the present application discloses an adjustable optical fiber attenuator, which drives the attenuation component 3 to move by the rotation of the rotating shell 4, so as to adjust the optical signal power. When the adjustment is completed, the pull tab 54 is pressed downward in the axial direction of the rotating shell 4. Since multiple layers of jacks 401 are provided in the diameter line direction of the connecting ring 41 and the upper and lower layers are staggered, no matter where the rotating shell 4 rotates to, under the action of the elastic force applied by the elastic sheet 52, there will always be an insertion strip 53 inserted into the insertion strip 401 to achieve the limiting and fixing function of the rotating shell 4. When the rotating shell 4 needs to rotate, the pull tab can be pulled outward to lift the side edge of the elastic sheet 52 close to the rotating shell 4 outward, so that the insertion strip 53 is separated from the insertion strip 401 and enters the track groove of the ring track 402, thereby releasing the restriction of the insertion strip 53 on the rotating shell 4, and solving the problem of easy displacement of the rotating shell 4 through an effective limiting mechanism, thereby ensuring the stability and adjustment accuracy of the optical signal power.

[0023] In order to better understand the above technical solution, the above technical solution will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0024] Reference Figure 1 The present embodiment provides an adjustable optical fiber attenuator, which is suitable for adjusting the optical signal power in an optical fiber communication system, especially in the scenario where the optical signal attenuation needs to be adjusted with high precision. The present embodiment provides an adjustable optical fiber attenuator including an input optical fiber connection end plate 1, a fixed housing 2, an attenuation component 3, a rotating housing 4 and a limit component 5. The input optical fiber connection end plate 1 is used to connect the input optical fiber, the fixed housing 2 is used to fix the internal components, the attenuation component 3 is used to adjust the optical signal power, the rotating housing 4 is used to drive the attenuation component 3 to move, and the limit component 5 is used to limit the rotation angle of the rotating housing 4 and fix its position.

[0025] Continue to refer to Figure 1The input optical fiber connection end plate 1 is a circular plate. The input optical fiber connection end plate 1 is the input end of the optical fiber attenuator and is used to connect the external input optical fiber. An input optical fiber connector 101 is arranged on the input optical fiber connection end plate 1. The input optical fiber connector 101 adopts a standard optical fiber connector (such as FC, SC or LC type) to ensure compatibility with the external optical fiber. The input optical fiber connection end plate 1 can be fixed to the fixed housing 2 by snapping to ensure the stability of the connection. The material of the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 is preferably high-strength aluminum alloy or stainless steel to improve durability and corrosion resistance. The fixed housing 2 is cylindrical. The fixed housing 2 is installed on the side of the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 away from the input optical fiber connector 101, and is used to accommodate the attenuation component 3 and the output optical fiber connector 102. The fixed housing 2 is made of high-strength materials (such as aluminum alloy or stainless steel) to ensure the stability and durability of the structure. The output optical fiber connector 102 is installed in the fixed housing 2 to output the attenuated optical signal. The interior of the fixed housing 2 is designed as a hollow structure to facilitate the installation and adjustment of the attenuation component 3. The attenuation component 3 is installed in the fixed housing 2 and is used to adjust the power of the optical signal. The attenuation component 3 includes a movable optical element (such as a filter or a reflector). The power of the optical signal is adjusted by changing the attenuation in the optical path. The attenuation component 3 is connected to the rotating housing 4. The rotation of the rotating housing 4 drives the attenuation component 3 to move through a mechanical transmission device (such as a gear or a connecting rod). The design of the attenuation component 3 enables the attenuation of the optical signal to be continuously and accurately adjusted, thereby meeting the diverse requirements of the optical signal power in different application scenarios. Specifically, the attenuation component 3 achieves stepless adjustment of the attenuation of the optical signal by changing the position of the movable optical element (such as a filter or a reflector) in the optical path. This design can not only meet the needs of high-precision optical fiber communication systems, but also provide flexible adjustment functions in laboratory environments or complex optical test scenarios. In addition, the continuous adjustment characteristics of the attenuation component 3 enable users to fine-tune the power of the optical signal according to actual needs, ensure the stability and reliability of signal transmission, and avoid the problem of insufficient adjustment accuracy of traditional segmented attenuators.

[0026] Reference Figure 1-Figure 4, the rotating shell 4 can be rotatably sleeved on the outside of the fixed shell 2 and connected to the attenuation component 3. The rotation of the rotating shell 4 drives the attenuation component 3 to move, thereby realizing the adjustment of the optical signal power. The end face of the rotating shell 4 facing the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 is integrally formed with a connecting ring 41. The outer diameter of the connecting ring 41 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shell 4, and the inner diameter is consistent with the inner diameter of the rotating shell 4 to ensure the matching accuracy and stability between the rotating shell 4 and the fixed shell 2. During the process of adjusting the optical signal power of the rotating shell 4, due to the rotation movement of the rotating shell 4, a certain distance will be generated between the connecting ring 41 and the input optical fiber connection end plate 1. This design not only provides sufficient operating space for the rotation of the rotating shell 4, but also avoids direct friction between the rotating shell 4 and the input optical fiber connection end plate 1, thereby extending the service life of the equipment. In addition, a plurality of jacks 401 are arranged on the end face of the rotating shell 4 facing the input optical fiber connection end plate 1, which are evenly distributed along the rotating shell 4. These jacks 401 are evenly arranged to form multiple positioning points. The limiting component 5 is arranged between the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 and the connecting ring 41 of the rotating shell 4. The positioning point formed by the socket 401 is used to cooperate with the limiting component 5 to realize the precise limiting of the rotating shell 4, thereby limiting the rotation angle of the rotating shell 4 and fixing the position of the rotating shell 4.

[0027] Reference Figure 4-Figure 7The limiting assembly 5 includes a thin ring 51, an elastic sheet 52, an insert 53, and a pull tab 54. The material of the thin ring 51 can be stainless steel to improve wear resistance and corrosion resistance. The outer diameter of the thin ring 51 is smaller than the outer diameter of the connecting ring 41 of the rotating shell 4, and the inner diameter of the thin ring 51 is larger than the inner diameter of the connecting ring 41 of the rotating shell 4. A plurality of through holes 511 are opened along the circumference of the thin ring 51, and a connecting bolt 512 is inserted into each through hole 511. The connecting bolt 512 is used to fix the thin ring 51 to the end surface of the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 facing the rotating shell 4. The elastic sheet 52 is integrally formed on the side wall of the thin ring 51 facing the rotating shell 4. A plurality of elastic sheets 52 are evenly arranged around the thin ring 51. A reasonable spacing is provided between two adjacent elastic sheets 52 to ensure that each elastic sheet 52 can function independently when subjected to force to avoid mutual interference. The elastic sheet 52 is designed in a V-shape, and the opening of the V-shape faces the outside of the rotating shell 4. This structure can not only provide good elastic restoring force, but also realize accurate limiting and fixing functions through the cooperation between the insertion strip 53 and the insertion hole 401 when the rotating shell 4 rotates. The material of the elastic sheet 52 is preferably Elastic stainless steel, this material has excellent elastic properties and durability, can maintain stable elastic properties in long-term use, and has strong fatigue and corrosion resistance, ensuring the reliability and service life of the limit assembly 5 in complex environments; in addition, the V-shaped design also enables the elastic sheet 52 to evenly distribute stress when subjected to force, avoiding material fatigue or damage caused by local stress concentration, further improving the stability and durability of the equipment; the one-piece molding design of the elastic sheet 52 and the thin ring 51 also simplifies the assembly process, reduces production costs, and enhances the strength and consistency of the overall structure. The overall design takes into account functionality, reliability and economy, and is suitable for the long-term stable operation of high-precision optical fiber attenuators.

[0028] Continue to refer to Figure 4-Figure 7The insert strip 53 is integrally formed on the side of the elastic sheet 52 away from the thin ring 51. A plurality of insert strips 53 are uniformly formed along the side of the elastic sheet 52. The design of these insert strips 53 matches the insertion hole 401 on the rotating shell 4 and can be accurately inserted into the insertion hole 401, thereby realizing the limiting and fixing function of the rotating shell 4. Since multiple layers of insertion holes 401 are provided in the diameter line direction of the connecting ring 41 and the upper and lower layers are staggered, no matter where the rotating shell 4 rotates to, there will always be an insert strip 53 inserted into the insertion hole 401 under the elastic force applied by the elastic sheet 52 to realize the limiting and fixing function of the rotating shell 4. The material of the insert strip 53 is consistent with that of the thin ring 51, preferably stainless steel, to ensure that it has sufficient strength and wear resistance, and can withstand repeated plugging and unplugging operations in long-term use without being easily worn or deformed. A ring track 402 is fixed on the side of the connecting ring 41 of the rotating housing 4 facing the input optical fiber connection end plate 1. The ring track 402 is located on the side of the connecting ring 41 facing the input optical fiber connection end plate 1, which is close to the outer ring. The design of the ring track 402 provides a smooth moving path for the insert 53, so that the insert 53 can slide freely in the track groove. When the rotating housing 4 needs to rotate, the elastic sheet 52 can be lifted up on the side close to the rotating housing 4, so that the insert 53 is separated from the socket 401 and enters the track groove of the ring track 402, thereby releasing the restriction of the insert 53 on the rotating housing 4. At this time, the role of the ring track 402 not only provides a guiding function for the insert 53, but also prevents the insert 53 from moving downward and reinserting into the socket 401 during the rotation process, ensuring that the rotating housing 4 can rotate freely without hindrance. This design not only ensures the flexibility and convenience of the rotating housing 4 during the adjustment process, but also can achieve accurate limit and fixation through the cooperation of the insert 53 and the socket 401 after the adjustment is completed, ensuring the stability and reliability of the equipment during operation. In addition, the smooth surface and precise processing of the ring track 402 also reduce the friction resistance of the insert 53 during movement, further improving the smoothness of operation and the service life of the device. The overall design cleverly combines functionality, durability and user experience, and is suitable for a variety of application scenarios of high-precision optical fiber attenuators.

[0029] Reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 A pull tab 54 is fixed on each elastic sheet 52. The pull tab 54 is perpendicular to the axis of the rotating housing 4. The pull tab 54 is L-shaped, and the short side of the pull tab 54 is away from the end of the elastic sheet 52 and extends to the outside of the rotating housing 4. When the rotating housing 4 needs to rotate, the user can operate the pull tab 54 on the elastic sheet 52 to lift the insertion strip 53 upward, so that the insertion strip 53 is separated from the insertion hole 401 and enters the track groove of the ring track 402, thereby releasing the restriction of the insertion strip 53 on the rotating housing 4.

[0030] In order to ensure the long-term stable operation of the adjustable optical fiber attenuator of the present application, it is recommended to regularly perform the following maintenance and care: Regularly check the matching of the rotating housing 4 and the limiting assembly 5 to ensure the tight matching of the insert 53 and the jack 401. Regularly check the connection between the input optical fiber connection end plate 1 and the fixed housing 2 to ensure the stability of the connection. Regularly check the optical components of the attenuation assembly 3 to ensure that they are clean and intact.

[0031] This application can explain its functional principle through the following operation methods:

[0032] When in use, the attenuation component 3 is driven to move by rotating the rotating shell 4, thereby changing the attenuation in the optical path and realizing precise adjustment of the optical signal power. When the attenuation is adjusted to the preset value, multiple fingers can be used to press against different pull tabs 54 respectively, and the pull tabs 54 can be pressed downward to move the pull tabs 54 toward the axis of the rotating shell 4. Since multiple layers of jacks 401 are provided in the diameter line direction of the connecting ring 41, and the upper and lower layers of jacks 401 are staggered, this design ensures that no matter where the rotating shell 4 rotates to, under the elastic force applied by the elastic sheet 52, there will always be a plug 53 that can be accurately inserted into the corresponding jack 401, thereby realizing the limiting and fixing function of the rotating shell 4. This design of multiple layers of staggered jacks 401 not only improves the flexibility and reliability of the limit, but also avoids the inconvenience of adjustment caused by the rotation angle limit.

[0033] When the attenuation in the optical path needs to be readjusted, the pull tab 54 can be pulled outward to lift the side of the elastic sheet 52 close to the rotating housing 4 outward, thereby driving the insert 53 to leave the socket 401 and enter the track groove of the ring track 402. At this time, the insert 53 can move smoothly under the guidance of the ring track 402, completely removing the restriction on the rotating housing 4, so that the rotating housing 4 can rotate freely, facilitating the next adjustment operation. The design of the ring track 402 not only provides a smooth movement path for the insert 53, but also prevents the insert 53 from being accidentally reinserted into the socket 401 during the rotation process, ensuring that the rotating housing 4 can complete the adjustment task without hindrance.

[0034] Through this effective limiting mechanism, the rotating shell 4 can be accurately positioned and fixed during the adjustment process, and can quickly release the restrictions when needed. The flexible adjustment operation not only solves the problem of easy displacement of the rotating shell 4, but also significantly improves the stability and accuracy of the optical signal power adjustment, ensuring that the equipment can operate stably and reliably in the optical fiber communication system. In addition, the design of the pull tab 54 makes the user operation more convenient, and the adjustment and fixing operations can be completed without the help of additional tools, further improving the ease of use and user experience of the equipment. The overall structural design is ingenious, taking into account functionality, reliability and ease of operation, and is suitable for a variety of high-precision optical fiber communication scenarios.

[0035] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

[0036] What has been described above is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent substitutions or changes according to the technical scheme and concept of the present application within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A dimmable optical fiber attenuator, characterized in that: include: An input optical fiber connection end plate (1), wherein the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) is provided with an input optical fiber connector (101), and the input optical fiber connector (101) is used to connect the input optical fiber to the attenuator; A fixed housing (2) mounted on a side of the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) facing away from the input optical fiber connector (101), wherein an output optical fiber connector (102) is mounted in the fixed housing (2); An attenuation component (3) is installed in the fixed housing (2) and is used to adjust the power of the optical signal; A rotating housing (4) is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the fixed housing (2) and connected to the attenuation component (3), and is used to drive the attenuation component (3) to move by rotating, so as to change the attenuation amount in the optical path; A limit assembly (5) is arranged between the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) and the rotating shell (4), and is used to limit the rotation angle of the rotating shell (4) and fix the position of the rotating shell (4); The limiting component (5) comprises: A thin ring (51) is fixed to an end surface of the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) on a side facing the rotating housing (4); An elastic sheet (52) is integrally formed on a side wall of the thin ring (51) facing the rotating housing (4), and a plurality of the elastic sheets (52) are arranged around the thin ring (51), with a spacing between two adjacent elastic sheets (52); An insert strip (53) is integrally formed on a side of the elastic sheet (52) away from the thin ring (51), and a plurality of the insert strips (53) are formed along the side of the elastic sheet (52); A plurality of insertion holes (401) are provided on an end surface of the rotating housing (4) facing the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) and are distributed equidistantly around the rotating housing (4), and the insertion holes (401) are used for inserting the insertion strips (53).

2. The adjustable optical fiber attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: An end surface of the rotating housing (4) facing the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) is integrally formed with a connection ring (41); the insertion hole (401) is located on a side of the connection ring (41) facing the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) close to the inner circle; a ring track (402) is fixed on a side surface of the connection ring (41) facing the input optical fiber connection end plate (1); the ring track (402) is located on a side of the connection ring (41) facing the input optical fiber connection end plate (1) close to the outer circle; and the ring track (402) is used for the insertion strip (53) to move in the track groove.

3. The adjustable optical fiber attenuator according to claim 2, characterized in that: Multiple layers of the insertion holes (401) are provided along the diameter line direction of the connection ring (41), and the insertion holes (401) of two adjacent layers are arranged in a staggered manner.

4. The adjustable optical fiber attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic sheet (52) is V-shaped, and the opening of the V-shape faces the outside of the rotating housing (4).

5. The adjustable optical fiber attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: A pull tab (54) is fixed on each of the elastic sheets (52), the pull tab (54) being perpendicular to the axis of the rotating shell (4), and one end of the pull tab (54) away from the elastic sheet (52) extending to the outside of the rotating shell (4).

6. The adjustable optical fiber attenuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of through holes (511) are provided along a circumference of the thin ring (51), and connecting bolts (512) are inserted into the through holes (511). The connecting bolts (512) are used to fix the thin ring (51) to the input optical fiber connection end plate (1).

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