Polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector and optical fiber patch cord

Abstract

The invention provides a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector and an optical fiber patch cord, and relates to the technical field of optical communication, and the optical fiber connector comprises a housing, two butt joints which are symmetrically arranged, and an adjusting assembly. The two connectors are symmetrically arranged and installed at the front end of the shell side by side, each connector comprises a connecting part and an installing part, the installing parts are fixed in the shell, locking elastic pieces are arranged on the outer sides of the connecting parts, and rotatable rotating pieces are arranged at the ends, facing the installing parts, of the connecting parts. The adjusting assembly comprises a rotating piece and a gear transmission device, the rotating piece is located at the rear end of the shell, one end of the gear transmission device is connected with the rotating piece, the other end of the gear transmission device is connected with the two rotating pieces, and the rotating piece can rotate relative to the shell. And polarity interchange of the connector is realized. And when the connecting part rotates by 180 degrees, the locking elastic sheet is driven to rotate, so that polarity exchange is completed on the premise that the connector is not disassembled, and the problems of complicated operation and optical fiber damage caused by disassembly are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector and an optical fiber jumper. Background Art

[0002] Fiber optic patch cords are key connection components in optical communication networks. They are assembled from fiber optic connectors and optical cables and are used for pluggable optical connections between devices or between devices and optical distribution frames. Among them, duplex LC fiber optic connectors are widely used in data centers and high-speed communication systems (such as 40G / 100G SR4 modules) due to their high density and miniaturization. The connector achieves rapid docking with the adapter fiber interface through a plug-in mechanical structure. The typical structure includes components such as the housing, the ferrule, and the spring clamping mechanism.

[0003] In duplex communication, the polarity of the fiber optic patch cord (i.e., the direction of signal transmission) must match the system topology. Common polarity standards include Type A and Type B, the difference between the two is that the physical position of the transmitter (Tx) and the receiver (Rx) are arranged differently. If the polarity of the patch cord does not match the device port, the communication link cannot be established. Therefore, in practical applications, it is often necessary to adjust the polarity by swapping the position of the duplex connector to ensure that the Tx / Rx is correctly connected.

[0004] Currently, the LC Uniboot connector is a common polarity-adjustable solution on the market. It uses an integrated shell to encapsulate two LC connectors, and polarity conversion is achieved by disassembling the shell, swapping the positions of the two connectors, and then reassembling them. However, this solution has the following key defects:

[0005] Complex operation: Polarity conversion requires complete disassembly of the connector, which involves steps such as snap unlocking, spring reset, and insert realignment. The operation is cumbersome and can easily cause component damage or contamination;

[0006] Risk of fiber cross damage: When interchanging connectors, duplex optical fibers are forced to cross and twist in the narrow shell space, which can easily cause increased micro-bending losses in the optical fibers or even lead to breakage, affecting transmission performance and long-term reliability.

[0007] Application Contents

[0008] In view of this, the present application proposes a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector and an optical fiber jumper to solve the technical problems in the prior art that the double-position LC connector has complex polarity conversion operations and is prone to damage to the optical fiber.

[0009] The technical solution of this application is implemented as follows:

[0010] In one aspect, the present application provides a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector, comprising:

[0011] Housing;

[0012] Two connectors symmetrically arranged, installed side by side at the front end of the housing. The connector includes a connecting part and a mounting part connected to each other. One end of the mounting part away from the connecting part is fixedly arranged inside the housing. A locking elastic piece extending towards the housing is arranged on the outer side of the connecting part. One end of the connecting part facing the mounting part has a rotating piece passing through the mounting part and capable of rotating relative to the axis of the connector. A through optical fiber channel is defined in the axial direction of the connecting part and the mounting part;

[0013] An adjusting assembly, including a rotating member and a gear transmission device. The rotating member is sleeved on the rear end of the housing. The gear transmission device is located inside the housing. One end of the gear transmission device is connected to the rotating member, and the other end is respectively connected to the two rotating pieces. The rotating member can rotate relative to the housing to drive the two connecting parts to rotate synchronously and reversely around the axis of the connector through the gear transmission device.

[0014] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the rotating piece is a sector structure with a central angle of 90°. A coaxial 270° sector rotating groove is provided on the mounting part. The contact surfaces between the two sides of the rotating piece and the inner wall of the rotating groove respectively form rotating limiting surfaces at the 0° position and the 180° position; among them, when the rotating piece rotates from the 0° position to the 180° position, the connecting part is driven to complete a 180° rotation.

[0015] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the housing includes a first housing and a second housing that are detachably connected. Both the first housing and the second housing include a receiving part and an operating part. A first chamber is provided in the receiving part for fixedly installing the mounting part. The mounting part is fixedly arranged in the mounting cavity of the receiving part. The operating part is integrally connected to the rear end of the receiving part. A second chamber is provided in the operating part. The outer diameter of the operating part is smaller than the outer diameter of the receiving part. The gear transmission device is installed in the first chamber and the second chamber. The rotating member is sleeved on the outer side of the operating part.

[0016] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the gear transmission device includes:

[0017] A first gear ring and a second gear ring respectively fixed on the two rotating pieces;

[0018] A first idler gear and a second idler gear arranged in the first chamber. The first idler gear meshes with the first gear ring and the second idler gear at the same time. The second idler gear meshes with the second gear ring;

[0019] A transmission gear, meshing with the first gear ring or the second gear ring;

[0020] A transmission shaft, connecting the transmission gear and the driving gear;

[0021] A driving gear, arranged in the second chamber;

[0022] The inner side of the rotating member is provided with a main gear ring, and the main gear ring meshes with the driving gear.

[0023] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the gear transmission device further includes a first driven gear and a second driven gear, which are symmetrically meshed on both sides of the driving gear and are both meshed and connected with the main gear ring.

[0024] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, it further includes a tail sleeve. The outer side of the end of the operating part far from the accommodating part has an external thread, and the tail sleeve is sleeved on the outer side of the end of the operating part far from the accommodating part. The inner side of the tail sleeve has an internal thread that is threadedly matched with the external thread. The tail sleeve is used for the optical cable to penetrate into the interior of the housing and be connected to the optical fiber.

[0025] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the connector further includes:

[0026] A fitting part, which axially opens an optical fiber channel, and a connecting piece is provided at its end. An accommodating cavity is opened on the end face of the mounting part, and its diameter is larger than the optical fiber channel of the mounting part; a through groove for the connecting piece to pass through is provided in the connecting part; the connecting piece is snap-connected with the accommodating cavity and can rotate 180° relative to the through groove;

[0027] An optical fiber ferrule, which penetrates through the optical fiber channels of the fitting part, the connecting part and the mounting part, extends out of the fitting part at one end, and extends into the interior of the housing to connect the optical fiber at the other end. The optical fiber ferrule is provided with a limiting part that abuts against the limiting step in the optical fiber channel of the fitting part;

[0028] An elastic member, which is sleeved on the optical fiber ferrule and abuts against the limiting part and the inner end face of the accommodating cavity at both ends respectively.

[0029] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, it further includes an unlocking assembly, and the unlocking assembly includes:

[0030] A clamping plate, which is arranged in the clamping groove on the outer side of the accommodating parts of the first housing and the second housing;

[0031] A pressing elastic piece, one end of which is connected to the clamping plate, and the other end inclines upward and extends above the locking elastic piece;

[0032] A triggering member, which includes a rotating rod, a connecting plate and an operating rod. The rotating rod is pivotally connected between the two pressing elastic pieces. The connecting plate is fixed to the rotating rod and forms two pressing parts, which respectively contact the two pressing elastic pieces. The operating rod is connected to the rotating rod and extends outwards;

[0033] Among them, the opening directions of the clamping grooves of the first housing and the second housing are arranged in a 180° reverse symmetry.

[0034] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, an arc-shaped isolation plate is provided at the bottom of the end of the connecting plate away from the rotating rod, and the arc-shaped isolation plate forms an elastic abutting fit with the clamping plate; wherein, when the operating rod rotates away from the connecting head, the isolation plate remains in abutting contact with the clamping plate, so that the pressing part is separated from the pressing elastic piece; when the operating rod is subjected to a rotating force towards the connecting head, the isolation plate is compressed and deformed, releasing the abutting state and enabling the pressing part to contact the pressing elastic piece.

[0035] In a second aspect, the present application discloses an optical fiber jumper, which includes an optical cable and the polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector described in the first aspect, and both ends of the optical cable are respectively connected to the polarity-adjustable optical fiber connectors.

[0036] The present application has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0037] (1) Through the cooperation of the rotating member and the gear transmission device, the two rotating pieces can be synchronously rotated in opposite directions, and then the two connecting parts can be synchronously rotated in opposite directions. When the connecting part rotates 180°, the locking elastic piece will be driven to rotate 180°. Thus, without changing the position of the connecting head, only by changing the position of the locking elastic pieces on the two connecting heads by 180°, the polarity can be interchanged, avoiding the problems of complex operation and optical fiber damage caused by disassembling the connecting head.

[0038] (2) Through the arrangement of the matching part, the connecting part can only rotate circumferentially between the matching part and the installation part, avoiding axial movement, and at the same time, the matching arrangement facilitates the assembly of the ferrule in the docking head.

[0039] (3) By setting the rotating piece as a sector structure with a central angle of 90°, a rotating groove with a sector structure of 270° is coaxially arranged on the inner end surface of the accommodating cavity. The 90° sector structure of the rotating piece provides a basis for connecting with the gear transmission device, and the 270° sector structure of the rotating groove provides the rotation angle of the rotating piece, so that the rotating piece can only rotate within the range of 0° to 180°. In this way, the connecting part can only be rotated and adjusted in the 0° and 180° positions. At the same time, when the rotation is in place, the connecting part cannot continue to rotate, so as to ensure that the position of the locking elastic piece on the connecting head is always on the top surface or the bottom surface, so as to ensure that after the locking elastic piece rotates 180°, the optical fiber connector can be directly inserted into the adapter interface to complete the polarity adjustment and ensure reliable communication connection between the optical fiber connector and the adapter.

[0040] (4) By setting the outer diameter of the operating part to be smaller than that of the accommodating part, on the one hand, the internal space of the housing can be reasonably utilized. On the other hand, the rotating part is sleeved outside the operating part, which can reduce the volume of the rotating part, thereby reducing the overall volume of the fiber optic connector. Thirdly, by sleeving the rotating part on the operating part, it is convenient for the unlocking component to be installed outside the accommodating part, so as to achieve a compact structure of the entire fiber optic connector.

[0041] (5) Through the setting of the gear transmission device, when the rotating part rotates, the driving gear is driven to rotate by the main gear ring. The driving gear transmits the torque to the transmission gear through the transmission shaft, and the transmission gear drives the first gear ring or the second gear ring to rotate. When the transmission gear drives the first gear ring to rotate, during the rotation of the first gear ring, the transmission direction is changed by two idler gears, so that the direction of the second gear ring is opposite to that of the first gear ring. Thus, the two connecting parts rotate synchronously in opposite directions, and the position change of the locking spring piece at 0° and 180° can be completed, so as to easily realize the polarity inversion of the fiber optic connector without disassembling the connector head from the housing, and the whole operation process is simple and convenient.

[0042] (6) By introducing the first secondary gear and the second secondary gear, it is not necessary to set the outer diameter of the driving gear to be large. Through the cooperation of the first secondary gear and the second secondary gear, the deficiency of the outer diameter of the driving gear can be made up, so that the main gear ring can be meshed with the driving gear by means of the first secondary gear and the second secondary gear. In this way, the volume of the operating part and the rotating part does not need to be changed, so as to establish an effective transmission relationship between the rotating part and the gear transmission device.

[0043] (7) By the threaded connection between the tail sleeve and the operating part, the rotating part can be limited between the accommodating part and the tail sleeve, so that it cannot move axially. In addition, by the threaded connection between the tail sleeve and the housing, it is convenient to connect the optical cable and the optical fiber inside the housing.

[0044] (8) By setting the unlocking component, when it is necessary to pull out the fiber optic connector from the adapter, only the end of the operating rod far from the rotating rod needs to be lifted upward. At this time, using the seesaw principle, the connecting rod rotates downward around the rotating rod, so that the two pressing parts on the connecting plate simultaneously apply a downward force to the two pressing spring pieces, thereby realizing that the clamping parts on the two pressing spring pieces are unlocked from the adapter at the same time. During the whole operation process, it is simple and convenient, and the plugging connection between the fiber optic connector and the adapter can be quickly and conveniently realized in a high-density data center. In addition, when it is necessary to perform polarity inversion, the unlocking component can be quickly disassembled from the housing without affecting the rotation of the connecting part. Description of the Drawings

[0045] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0046] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the first perspective of the fiber optic connector disclosed in the present application;

[0047] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the connector head disclosed in the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the exploded view of the first perspective of the connector head disclosed in the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the exploded view of the second perspective of the connector head disclosed in the present application;

[0050] Figure 5 Top view of the connector head disclosed in the present application;

[0051] Figure 6 For Figure 5 The plane cross-sectional view at A-A in

[0052] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the fiber optic connector after removing the tail sleeve and the unlocking component disclosed in the present application;

[0053] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the gear transmission device disclosed in the present application;

[0054] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the adjustment component disclosed in the present application;

[0055] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the second perspective of the fiber optic connector disclosed in the present application;

[0056] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the unlocking component disclosed in the present application;

[0057] Figure 12 Top view of the fiber optic connector disclosed in the present application;

[0058] Figure 13 For Figure 12 The plane cross-sectional view at B-B in

[0059] Reference numerals:

[0060] 1. Housing; 11. First housing; 12. Second housing; 10a. Accommodating part; 10b. Operating part; 10a1. First chamber; 10b1. Second chamber; 100. Clamping groove;

[0061] 2. Connector; 21. Connecting part; 22. Mounting part; 211. Locking spring piece; 2111. Clamping part; 2112. Linking part; 212. Rotating piece; H. Optical fiber channel; 221. Rotating groove; 23. Fitting part; 231. Connecting piece; 222. Accommodating cavity; 213. Through groove; 24. Ferrule; 241. Limiting part; 232. Limiting step; 25. Elastic part; G. Optical fiber;

[0062] 3. Adjusting assembly; 31. Rotating part; 32. Gear transmission device; 321. First gear ring; 322. Second gear ring; 323. First idler gear; 324. Second idler gear; 325. Driving gear; 326. Transmission shaft; 327. Driving gear; 311. Main gear ring; 328. First driven gear; 329. Second driven gear;

[0063] 4. Tail sleeve; L. Optical cable; 5. Unlocking assembly; 51. Clamping plate; 52. Pressing spring piece; 53. Trigger part; 531. Rotating rod; 532. Connecting plate; 533. Operating rod; 5321. Pressing part; 5322. Arc-shaped isolation plate; 54. Protective cover; 220. Sector-shaped support plate. Detailed implementation mode

[0064] Next, in combination with the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0065] As Figure 1 shown, in combination with Figures 2-9 , an embodiment of the present application discloses a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector, including a housing, a connector 2 and an adjusting assembly 3.

[0066] Among them, the housing 1 is the base of the entire optical fiber connector, used to provide the installation basis for the connector 2 and the adjusting assembly 3.

[0067] There are two connector heads 2 symmetrically arranged and installed side by side at the front end of the housing 1, thus forming a two-station LC fiber optic connector. The connector head 2 has a cuboid structure and is used to cooperate and connect with the fiber optic interface of the adapter. The connector head 2 includes a connecting portion 21 and an installation portion 22 which are connected to each other. Among them, one end of the installation portion 22 far from the connecting portion 21 is fixedly arranged inside the housing. Specifically, one section of the cuboid-structured installation portion 22 can be fixed inside the housing by means of snap connection, which is convenient for operation. Through the setting of the connecting portion 21, it is convenient to assemble the ferrule 24 installed with the optical fiber between the connector head 2 and the installation portion 22. In this embodiment, a through optical fiber channel H is defined in the axial direction of the connecting portion 21 and the installation portion 22, and the optical fiber channel H provides an installation space for the ferrule 24.

[0068] In this embodiment, a locking elastic piece 211 extending towards the housing is arranged on the outside of the connecting portion 21. Specifically, the locking elastic piece 211 is located on the outer surface in the vertical direction of the connecting portion 21. The locking elastic piece 211 has elastic deformation and can undergo elastic deformation when being extruded. A clamping portion 2111 is arranged on the locking elastic piece 211. After the connector head 2 is inserted into the fiber optic interface of the adapter, the clamping portion 2111 can be clamped with the card slot inside the interface of the adapter, thereby realizing a reliable connection between the fiber optic connector and the adapter. When the locking elastic piece 211 is pressed, the clamping of the clamping portion 2111 and the buckle of the adapter interface can be disengaged, and the entire fiber optic connector and the adapter can be disengaged.

[0069] In this embodiment, the installation portion 22 is fixed in position on the housing. If the relative positions of the connecting portion 21 and the installation portion 22 are fixed, then the upward orientation of the locking elastic piece 211 on the connector head 2 is fixed. The entire fiber optic connector can only be inserted into the adapter interface in one direction, and the locking elastic piece 211 and the card slot of the adapter are buckled and connected. When the signal changes between the transmitting end and the receiving end in the fiber optic interface of the adapter, it is necessary to reverse the polarity of the docking head on the fiber optic connector to adapt to the correct conduction of the optical path. However, by only rotating the fiber optic connector 180°, the connector head 2 cannot be inserted into the adapter interface because at this time, the locking elastic piece 211 and the card slot of the adapter are reversed by 180°, which limits the insertion of the connector head 2.

[0070] If the two connector heads 2 are disassembled from the housing and their positions are swapped, the optical fibers on the connector heads 2 will be crossed and bent. On the one hand, the process of disassembling the connector heads 2 is complex. On the other hand, it will also cause unnecessary damage to the optical fibers.

[0071] For this reason, the solution adopted in this embodiment is as follows: The connecting part 21 is rotatably arranged at one end of the mounting part 22 away from the housing. Specifically, one end of the connector 2 facing the mounting part 22 has a rotating piece 212 that passes through the mounting part 22 and can rotate relative to the axis of the connector 2. The rotating piece 212 extends into the housing. When the rotating piece 212 rotates around the axis of the connector 2, the connector 2 can rotate around the axis of the connector 2 relative to the mounting part 22.

[0072] To achieve the rotation of the connector 2, this embodiment is completed by the adjusting assembly 3. Specifically, the adjusting assembly 3 includes a rotating member 31 and a gear transmission device 32. The rotating member 31 is sleeved on the rear end of the housing. One end of the gear transmission device 32 is connected to the rotating member 31, and the other end is respectively connected to the two rotating pieces 212. The rotating member 31 can rotate relative to the housing to drive the two connecting parts 21 to rotate synchronously and reversely around the axis of the connector 2 through the gear transmission device 32. In some embodiments, the rotating member 31 has a cylindrical structure, and a toothed ring is arranged on its inner side. By transmitting power through the toothed ring and the gear transmission device 32, the two rotating pieces 212 can rotate synchronously and reversely.

[0073] Adopting the above technical solution, through the cooperation of the rotating member 31 and the gear transmission device 32, the two rotating pieces 212 can rotate synchronously and reversely, and then drive the two connecting parts 21 to rotate synchronously and reversely. When the connecting part 21 rotates 180°, the locking elastic piece 211 will be driven to rotate 180°. Therefore, without changing the position of the connector 2, only by changing the position of the locking elastic pieces 211 on the two connectors 2 by 180°, the polarity can be interchanged, avoiding the problems of complex operation and optical fiber damage caused by disassembling the connector 2.

[0074] To ensure the structural stability of the connector 2 on the mounting part 22 and ensure that the ferrule 24 in the connector 2 can be reliably assembled and perform its functions, refer to the attached Figures 2-6 As shown, this embodiment further sets the structure of the connector 2. Specifically, the connector 2 further includes a mating part 23, a ferrule 24, and an elastic member 25.

[0075] Among them, the mating part 23 is also arranged in a square structure. It is arranged on the side of the connecting part 21 away from the mounting part 22. The mating part 23 is also axially provided with an optical fiber channel H for the ferrule 24 to pass through. It should be noted that the optical fiber channels H in the mating part 23, the connecting part 21, and the mounting part 22 are axially connected to allow the ferrule 24 to axially pass through.

[0076] Since the connecting part 21 passes axially through the mounting part 22 via the rotating piece 212, although the connecting part 21 can rotate circumferentially relative to the mounting part 22, the axial directions of the connecting part 21 and the mounting part 22 are not restricted. Therefore, the setting of the engaging part 23 is to axially positionally restrict the connecting part 21 and the mounting part 22 to prevent the connecting part 21 from moving axially. To solve this problem, in this embodiment, a receiving groove is provided on the end face of the mounting part 22 facing the connecting part 21, and its diameter is larger than the optical fiber channel H of the mounting part 22. The rotating piece 212 of the connecting part 21 is inserted into the receiving groove and extends out of the outside of the mounting part 22 through the inner end face of the receiving groove. In this example, a rotating groove 221 is coaxially provided on the inner end face of the receiving groove. Thus, the rotating piece 212 passes through the rotating groove 221 and can rotate circumferentially by a certain angle along the rotating groove 221.

[0077] A coaxial through groove 213 is provided on the connecting part 21. The through groove 213 is arc-shaped. The end face of the engaging part 23 facing the connecting part 21 is provided with a connecting piece 231. Two connecting pieces 231 are symmetrically arranged. The connecting piece 231 movably passes through the through groove 213 and extends into the receiving cavity 222. There are buckles on the outer wall of the connecting piece 231, and clamping grooves are provided on the side wall of the receiving cavity 222. The connecting piece 231 and the side wall of the receiving cavity 222 are connected by a buckle cooperation method. Since the engaging part 23 is fixedly connected to the mounting part 22 through the connecting piece 231, thus, the connecting part 21 is located between the engaging part 23 and the mounting part 22 and is axially restricted. The connecting part 21 can only rotate circumferentially between the engaging part 23 and the mounting part 22. It should be noted that the central angle of the through groove 213 is at least greater than 180°. In this way, when the connecting part 21 rotates circumferentially, the connecting piece 231 can slide circumferentially in the through groove 213.

[0078] The ferrule 24 is used to establish an optical path connection between the optical fiber and the signal end in the optical fiber interface of the adapter. In this embodiment, the ferrule 24 passes through the optical fiber channels H of the engaging part 23, the connecting part 21, and the mounting part 22. One end extends out of the engaging part 23, and the other end extends to the inside of the housing to connect the optical fiber. The assembly of the optical fiber and the ferrule 24 belongs to the prior art. The optical fiber is installed inside the housing, and an external optical cable L is introduced into the housing to connect with the optical fiber.

[0079] One end of the ferrule 24 facing the mating part 23 has a limiting part 241. A limiting step 232 is arranged in the optical fiber channel H of the mating part 23, and the limiting step 232 faces the side of the connecting part 21. In this way, when the limiting part 241 abuts against the limiting step 232, the length of the ferrule 24 extending out of the outer side of the mating part 23 can be limited. The elastic member 25 is sleeved on the ferrule 24, and the two ends respectively abut against the limiting part 241 and the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222. With this setting, when the connector 2 and the adapter are inserted and mated, the ferrule 24 is subjected to a squeezing force and will axially move towards the housing direction, thereby compressing the elastic member 25. At the same time, the elastic potential energy of the elastic member 25 will drive the limiting part 241 to move towards the mating part 23 direction, so that the end face of the ferrule 24 and the signal end of the optical fiber interface in the adapter are reliably docked.

[0080] In this embodiment, the elastic member 25 is preferably a spring or other components that can undergo elastic deformation.

[0081] It should be noted that since the ferrule 24 needs to pass through the optical fiber channel H of the connecting part 21, and at the same time the elastic member 25 is sleeved on the ferrule 24, and the elastic member 25 needs to abut against the limiting part 241 of the ferrule 24 and the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222, therefore, the rotating piece 212 of the connecting part 21 is located outside the elastic member 25, and the rotating piece 212 needs to penetrate the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222. Since the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222 needs to provide a positioning basis for the elastic member 25, the rotating groove 221 on the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222 cannot be set as a complete circle.

[0082] For this reason, the following technical solution is adopted in this embodiment. The rotating piece 212 is set as a sector structure with a central angle of 90°. A rotating groove 221 with a sector structure of 270° is coaxially arranged on the inner end face of the accommodating cavity 222. The contact surfaces between the two sides of the rotating piece 212 and the inner wall of the rotating groove 221 respectively constitute rotating limiting surfaces at the 0° position and the 180° position; wherein, when the rotating piece 212 rotates from the 0° position to the 180° position, the connecting part 21 is driven to complete a 180° rotation.

[0083] Adopting the above technical solution, the 90° sector structure rotating piece 212 provides a basis for connecting with the gear transmission device 32, and the 270° sector structure rotating groove 221 provides the rotation angle of the rotating piece 212, so that the rotating piece 212 can only rotate within the range of 0° to 180°. In this way, the connecting part 21 can only rotate and switch positions at the 0° and 180° orientations. At the same time, when the rotation reaches the position, the connecting part 21 cannot continue to rotate, so as to ensure that the position of the locking elastic piece 211 on the connector 2 is always on the top surface or the bottom surface, so as to ensure that after the locking elastic piece 211 rotates 180°, the optical fiber connector can be directly inserted into the adapter interface to complete the polarity reversal and ensure the reliable communication connection between the optical fiber connector and the adapter.

[0084] As some embodiments, the housing of this embodiment includes a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 that are detachably connected. The first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are connected by a snap - fit method. Both the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 include a receiving portion 10a and an operating portion 10b. A first chamber 10a1 is provided in the receiving portion 10a for fixedly installing the mounting portion 22. The operating portion 10b is integrally connected to the rear end of the receiving portion 10a. A second chamber 10b1 is provided in the operating portion 10b. The outer diameter of the operating portion 10b is smaller than the outer diameter of the receiving portion 10a. The gear transmission device 32 is installed in the first chamber 10a1 and the second chamber 10b1, and the rotating member 31 is sleeved outside the operating portion 10b.

[0085] In this embodiment, since the connection heads 2 are arranged side by side at the front end of the receiving portion 10a, most of the structure of the gear transmission device 32 is installed in the first chamber 10a1 of the receiving portion 10a, and only a small part of the structure is installed in the second chamber 10b1 of the operating portion 10b. Therefore, the outer diameter of the operating portion 10b is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the receiving portion 10a. In this way, on the one hand, the internal space of the housing can be reasonably utilized. On the other hand, since the rotating member 31 is sleeved outside the operating portion 10b, the volume of the rotating member 31 can be reduced, thereby reducing the volume of the entire optical fiber connector. Thirdly, by sleeving the rotating member 31 on the operating portion 10b, it is convenient for the unlocking assembly 5 described below to be installed outside the receiving portion 10a, thus making the structure of the entire optical fiber connector compact.

[0086] This embodiment shows a preferred structural form of the gear transmission device 32. Refer to the attached Figure 8 and 9 As shown, it includes a first gear ring 321, a second gear ring 322, a first idler gear 323, a second idler gear 324, a transmission gear 325, a transmission shaft 326, and a driving gear 327.

[0087] Among them, the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322 are respectively fixedly sleeved outside two rotating pieces 212. Since the rotating piece 212 is a 90° sector - shaped structure, the contact area between the gear ring and the rotating piece 212 is small, which may cause radial deformation of the rotating piece 212. For this reason, a 90 - degree sector - shaped support plate 220 is fixedly provided at the end of the mounting portion 22 facing the housing. The sector - shaped support plate 220 and the rotating groove 221 are coaxially arranged, and the sector - shaped support plate and the rotating groove 221 are 360° complementary. With this setting, the gear ring is sleeved on the sector - shaped support plate 220 and can rotate relative to the sector - shaped support plate 220. The sector - shaped support plate 220 and the rotating piece 212 can cooperate with each other to provide radial direction constraints for the gear ring to ensure that the gear ring does not have radial run - out.

[0088] The first idler gear 323 and the second idler gear 324 are rotatably arranged between the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322. The first idler gear 323 meshes with the first gear ring 321 and the second idler gear 324 simultaneously, and the second idler gear 324 meshes with the second gear ring 322. Through the change of the transmission direction of the two idler gears, the rotation directions of the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322 are opposite. Thus, when the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322 rotate in opposite directions, the connecting parts 21 on the two connectors 2 will rotate synchronously in opposite directions.

[0089] It should be noted that when the two connectors 2 rotate, they both rotate towards the outside of the connector 2, so as to avoid interference when the two connectors 2 rotate inwards.

[0090] The transmission gear 325 meshes with the first gear ring 321 or the second gear ring 322. The driving gear 327 is arranged in the second chamber 10b1; the transmission shaft 326 connects the transmission gear 325 and the driving gear 327; the rotating part 31 has a cylindrical structure, and a main gear ring 311 is arranged on its inner side, and the main gear ring 311 meshes with the driving gear 327.

[0091] Adopting the above technical solution, by rotating the rotating part 31, the rotating part 31 drives the driving gear 327 to rotate through the main gear ring 311 during the rotation process. The driving gear 327 transmits the torque to the transmission gear 325 through the transmission shaft 326, and the transmission gear 325 drives the first gear ring 321 or the second gear ring 322 to rotate. For example, when the transmission gear 325 drives the first gear ring 321 to rotate, during the rotation process of the first gear ring 321, the transmission direction is changed by the two idler gears, so as to realize that the direction of the second gear ring 322 is opposite to that of the first gear ring 321. Thus, the two connecting parts 21 rotate synchronously in opposite directions, and the position changes of the locking elastic piece 21 by 110° and 180° can be completed, so that the polarity of the optical fiber connector can be easily reversed without disassembling the connector 2 from the housing, and the whole operation process is simple and convenient.

[0092] It should be noted that a double gear ring can be arranged axially on the first gear ring 321 or the second gear ring 322, which is convenient for meshing with the two idler gears and also with the transmission gear 325. In addition, it should be noted that the number of teeth of the transmission gear 325, the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322 is the same. Thus, although the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322 are separated by the first idler gear 323 and the second idler gear 324, due to the same number of teeth of the transmission gear 325, the first gear ring 321 and the second gear ring 322, and the gear transmission ratios are offset step by step, finally the rotational speeds of the first gear ring 321 or the second gear ring 322 are the same.

[0093] Similar to the "idler gear effect": The first idler gear 323 and the second idler gear 324 only change the direction and do not change the final speed ratio. In this way, the rotations of the two connecting parts 21 can be synchronized.

[0094] Since the outer diameter of the operation part 10b is relatively small and the driving gear 327 is arranged in the second chamber 10b1, it needs to extend outside the operation part 10b to mesh with the main gear ring 311. This will make the diameter of the driving gear 327 relatively large, resulting in the second chamber 10b1 being unable to provide enough space, and it is necessary to increase the width of the operation part 10b. In this way, the outer diameter of the rotating part 31 will become larger, and the volume of the entire optical fiber connector will become larger.

[0095] Therefore, the solution adopted in this embodiment is that the gear transmission device 32 further includes a first driven gear 328 and a second driven gear 329. The first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329 are symmetrically meshed on both sides of the driving gear 327 and are both meshed and connected with the main gear ring 311. With this setting, by introducing the first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329, it is not necessary to set the outer diameter of the driving gear 327 to be relatively large. Through the cooperation of the first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329, the deficiency of the outer diameter of the driving gear 327 can be compensated, enabling the main gear ring 311 to mesh with the driving gear 327 by means of the first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329. In this way, the volumes of the operation part 10b and the rotating part 31 do not need to be changed, thereby establishing an effective transmission relationship between the rotating part 31 and the gear transmission device 32.

[0096] In addition, it is worth noting that by setting the first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329, the rotating part 31 can always rotate around the center of the driving gear 327, ensuring the effective meshing of the main gear ring 311 with the first driven gear 328 and the second driven gear 329 in the radial direction.

[0097] In this embodiment, the rotating part 31 has a cylindrical structure and is sleeved outside the operation part 10b. Although the rotating part 31 can rotate circumferentially relative to the operation part 10b, there is no position limit in its axial direction. Therefore, the optical fiber connector of this embodiment further sets a tail sleeve 4. The outer side of the end of the operation part 10b far from the accommodating part 10a has an external thread, and the tail sleeve 4 is sleeved on the outer side of the end of the operation part 10b far from the accommodating part 10a. The inner side of the tail sleeve 4 has an internal thread that is threadedly engaged with the external thread. The tail sleeve 4 is used for the optical cable L to penetrate into the inside of the housing and be connected to the optical fiber.

[0098] Adopting the above technical solution, through the threaded engagement connection between the tail sleeve 4 and the operation part 10b, the rotating part 31 can be limited between the accommodating part 10a and the tail sleeve 4 so that it cannot move axially. In addition, by threadedly connecting the tail sleeve 4 and the housing, it is convenient to connect the optical cable L and the optical fiber inside the housing.

[0099] It should be noted that by rotating the rotating member 31 and through the gear transmission device 32, the two connecting portions 21 can be driven to rotate synchronously and in opposite directions. However, if the two connecting portions 21 are manually operated to rotate, it will be very difficult because the gear transmission device 32 needs to transmit torque step by step. Therefore, there will be a self-locking phenomenon. In this way, there is no need to set a position locking structure between the rotating member 31 and the operating portion 10b, and only the rotating member 31 needs to rotate in a specified direction.

[0100] In a high-density data center, the number of fiber optic connectors is huge, the layout is complex, and the distance between adjacent fiber optic connectors is extremely small. Therefore, in a high-density scenario, it may occur that the finger cannot press the locking spring piece 211 to unlock the connector.

[0101] For this reason, the fiber optic connector disclosed in this embodiment is also provided with an unlocking assembly 5, and the unlocking assembly 5 is used to press the locking spring piece 211 to unlock the fiber optic connector and the adapter. Refer to the attached Figure 7 、 10 Figures 11, 12, and 13. Specifically, it includes a clamping plate 51, a pressing spring piece 52, and a triggering member 53.

[0102] Among them, clamping grooves 100 are provided on the outer sides of the accommodating portions 10a of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12, and the clamping grooves 100 provide an installation basis for the unlocking assembly 5.

[0103] In this embodiment, the clamping plate 51 can be horizontally inserted into the clamping groove 100 and connected to the clamping groove 100 by a snap-fastening method.

[0104] One end of the pressing spring piece 52 is connected to the clamping plate 51, and the other end is inclined upward and extends above the locking spring piece 211. One end of the locking spring piece 211 away from the connecting portion 21 has a linkage portion 2112, and the linkage portion 2112 is recessed. The end of the pressing spring piece 52 is located above the linkage portion 2112, and the end of the pressing spring piece 52 is in an arc-shaped protrusion, so that it can cooperate with the recessed linkage portion 2112. When the pressing spring piece 52 is subjected to a downward pressure, the acting force is transmitted to the linkage portion 2112, so that the locking spring piece 211 moves closer to the connecting portion 21 and deforms, so that the clamping portion 2111 on the locking spring piece 211 is disengaged from the card slot in the adapter. At this time, by pulling, the entire fiber optic connector can be easily removed from the adapter.

[0105] To achieve the pressing operation of the pressing elastic piece 52, a trigger 53 is provided in this embodiment. The trigger 53 includes a rotating rod 531, a connecting plate 532 and an operating rod 533. The rotating rod 531 is pivotally connected between the two pressing elastic pieces 52. The connecting plate 532 is fixed to the rotating rod 531 and forms two pressing parts 5321, which respectively contact the two pressing elastic pieces 52. The operating rod 533 is connected to the rotating rod 531 and extends outward.

[0106] With the above technical solution, when it is necessary to pull out the optical fiber connector from the adapter, only the end of the operating rod 533 far from the rotating rod 531 needs to be lifted upward. At this time, using the seesaw principle, the connecting rod rotates downward around the rotating rod 531, so that the two pressing parts 5321 on the connecting plate 532 simultaneously apply a downward force to the two pressing elastic pieces 52, thereby realizing the simultaneous unlocking of the engaging parts 2111 on the two pressing elastic pieces 52 and the adapter. During the whole operation process, it is simple and convenient, and the plugging connection between the optical fiber connector and the adapter can be quickly and conveniently realized in a high-density data center.

[0107] When it is necessary to perform polarity inversion, since the end of the pressing elastic piece 52 is located above the locking elastic piece 211, which restricts the rotation of the locking elastic piece 211. Therefore, when performing polarity inversion, the entire unlocking assembly 5 can be separated from the housing by horizontally removing the connecting plate 532 from the engaging groove 100. At this time, the connecting part 21 can be rotated 180° through the rotating part 31 to perform polarity inversion.

[0108] In this embodiment, the opening directions of the engaging grooves 100 of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are arranged in a 180° reverse symmetry. Thus, after the polarity of the optical fiber connector is inverted, the unlocking assembly 5 can be inserted into the engaging groove 100 in the opposite direction. For example, when the locking elastic piece 211 initially faces the first housing 11, the unlocking assembly 5 is taken out from the engaging groove 100 of the first housing 11. When the locking elastic piece 211 rotates to face the second housing 12, the unlocking assembly 5 is inserted into the engaging groove 100 of the second housing 12 to ensure that the pressing elastic pieces 52 in the unlocking assembly 5 can establish connections with the locking elastic piece 211 in the opposite directions.

[0109] In this embodiment, in order to ensure that the pressing part 5321 does not contact the pressing elastic piece 52 in the initial state and avoid unlocking caused by accidental touch, an arc-shaped isolation plate 5322 is provided at the bottom of the end of the connecting plate 532 away from the rotating rod 531 in this embodiment. The arc-shaped isolation plate 5322 forms an elastic abutting fit with the clamping plate 51. Among them, when the operating rod 533 rotates away from the connector 2, the isolation plate maintains the abutting state with the clamping plate 51, so that the pressing part 5321 is separated from the pressing elastic piece 52. When the operating rod 533 is subjected to a rotating force towards the connector 2, the isolation plate is compressed and deformed, and the abutting state is released, so that the pressing part 5321 contacts the pressing elastic piece 52.

[0110] Specifically, the setting of the arc-shaped isolation plate 5322 enables the operating rod 533 to rotate away from the connector 2 in the initial state. In this way, the pressing part 5321 and the pressing elastic piece 52 maintain a separated relationship. Since the isolation plate is of an arc-shaped structure, it has a certain elastic potential energy. And the operating rod 533 is located outside the rotating part 31. Under the block of the rotating part 31, the operating rod 533 is positionally constrained. When the operating rod 533 is lifted upward, the isolation plate is compressed. At this time, the pressing part 5321 and the pressing elastic piece 52 come into contact, thereby applying a pressing force to ensure the unlocking of the locking elastic piece 211 and the adapter. With this setting, it can be ensured that in the initial state, the unlocking phenomenon caused by accidental touch is avoided, and the reliable connection between the optical fiber connector and the adapter is guaranteed.

[0111] As some embodiments, the unlocking assembly 5 further includes a protective cover 54. The protective cover 54 is fixedly arranged on the connecting plate 532 to protect the pressing elastic piece 52 and the trigger 53. It should be noted that two notches are parallelly opened on the connecting groove, which facilitates the passing of the protective cover 54.

[0112] The present invention also discloses an optical fiber jumper, which includes an optical cable L and the polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector disclosed in the above embodiment. The two ends of the optical cable L are respectively connected to the polarity-adjustable optical fiber connectors. Due to the function of the optical fiber connector to quickly adjust the polarity, when the optical fiber jumper is connected between the adapter and the communication device, the polarity can be quickly adjusted, and the use operation is more convenient.

[0113] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A polarizability-adjustable optical fiber connector, characterized in that, Comprising: A housing; Two symmetrically arranged connectors, installed side by side at the front end of the housing. The connector includes a connecting portion and an installation portion connected to each other. One end of the installation portion away from the connecting portion is fixedly arranged inside the housing. A locking elastic piece extending towards the housing direction is arranged on the outer side of the connecting portion. One end of the connecting portion facing the installation portion has a rotating piece passing through the installation portion and capable of rotating relative to the axis of the connector. A through optical fiber channel is defined in the axial direction of the connecting portion and the installation portion; An adjusting assembly, including a rotating member and a gear transmission device. The rotating member is sleeved on the rear end of the housing. The gear transmission device is located inside the housing. One end of the gear transmission device is connected to the rotating member, and the other end is respectively connected to the two rotating pieces. The rotating member can rotate relative to the housing to drive the two connecting portions to rotate synchronously and reversely around the axis of the connector through the gear transmission device.

2. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating piece is a sector structure with a central angle of 90°. A coaxial 270° sector rotating groove is provided on the installation portion. The contact surfaces between the two sides of the rotating piece and the inner wall of the rotating groove respectively constitute the rotating limiting surfaces at the 0° position and the 180° position; wherein, when the rotating piece rotates from the 0° position to the 180° position, the connecting portion is driven to complete a 180° rotation.

3. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The housing includes a detachable first housing and a second housing. Both the first housing and the second housing include a receiving portion and an operating portion. A first chamber is provided in the receiving portion for fixedly installing the installation portion. The operating portion is integrally connected to the rear end of the receiving portion. A second chamber is provided in the operating portion. The outer diameter of the operating portion is smaller than that of the receiving portion. The gear transmission device is installed in the first chamber and the second chamber. The rotating member is sleeved on the outer side of the operating portion.

4. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: The gear transmission device includes: A first gear ring and a second gear ring respectively fixed on the two rotating pieces; A first idler gear and a second idler gear arranged in the first chamber. The first idler gear meshes with both the first gear ring and the second idler gear at the same time. The second idler gear meshes with the second gear ring; A transmission gear, meshing with the first gear ring or the second gear ring; A transmission shaft, connecting the transmission gear and the driving gear; A driving gear, arranged in the second chamber; The rotating member has a cylindrical structure, and a main gear ring is provided on its inner side. The main gear ring meshes with the driving gear.

5. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The gear transmission device further includes a first driven gear and a second driven gear. The first driven gear and the second driven gear are symmetrically meshed on both sides of the driving gear and are both meshed and connected to the main gear ring.

6. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: It further includes a tail sleeve. The outer side of the end of the operating portion away from the receiving portion has an external thread. The tail sleeve is sleeved on the outer side of the end of the operating portion away from the receiving portion. The inner side of the tail sleeve has an internal thread threadedly matched with the external thread. The tail sleeve is used for allowing the optical cable to penetrate into the interior of the housing and be connected to the optical fiber.

7. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connector further includes: A matching portion, axially provided with an optical fiber channel, and a connecting piece is provided at its end. A receiving cavity is provided on the end face of the installation portion, and its diameter is larger than the optical fiber channel of the installation portion; a through groove for the connecting piece to pass through is provided on the connecting portion; the connecting piece is snap-connected to the receiving cavity and can rotate 180° relative to the through groove; The ferrule has an optical fiber channel passing through the mating part, the connecting part and the mounting part. One end extends out of the mating part, and the other end extends into the interior of the housing to connect the optical fiber. The ferrule is provided with a limiting part that abuts against a limiting step in the optical fiber channel of the mating part. The elastic member is sleeved on the ferrule, and its two ends respectively abut against the limiting part and the inner end face of the accommodating cavity.

8. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 3, wherein: It further includes an unlocking component, and the unlocking component includes: The clamping plate is arranged in the clamping groove on the outer side of the accommodating parts of the first housing and the second housing. The pressing elastic piece has one end connected to the clamping plate, and the other end is inclined upward and extends above the locking elastic piece. The triggering member includes a rotating rod, a connecting plate and an operating rod. The rotating rod is pivotally connected between the two pressing elastic pieces. The connecting plate is fixed to the rotating rod and forms two pressing parts that respectively contact the two pressing elastic pieces. The operating rod is connected to the rotating rod and extends outward. Wherein, the opening directions of the clamping grooves of the first housing and the second housing are arranged in a 180° reverse symmetry.

9. The polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to claim 8, wherein: At the bottom of the end of the connecting plate away from the rotating rod, there is an arc-shaped isolation plate, and the arc-shaped isolation plate forms an elastic abutting fit with the clamping plate. Among them, when the operating rod rotates away from the connector, the isolation plate maintains the abutting state with the clamping plate, so that the pressing part is separated from the pressing elastic piece; when the operating rod is subjected to a rotating force towards the connector, the isolation plate is compressed and deformed, and the abutting state is released so that the pressing part contacts the pressing elastic piece.

10. An optical fiber jumper, comprising an optical cable and a polarity-adjustable optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: Both ends of the optical cable are respectively connected to the polarization-adjustable optical fiber connectors.

Images