Optical fiber connector and connector assembly
By using shrapnel and locking structure in optical fiber connectors, automatic locking under limited installation space is achieved, and the problem of difficult operation of screw locking is solved, providing a simple locking solution.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422417760.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-30
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-01
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-09-30
AI Technical Summary
The screw-type locking method of existing fiber optic connectors is difficult to operate under limited installation space.
The shrapnel and lock structure are adopted, and the lock buckle is automatically locked with the butt parts through the elastic deformation of the shrapnel to avoid screwing operations.
It realizes simple locking of optical fiber connectors under limited installation space, solving the problem of operation difficulties in screw locking.
Smart Images
Figure CN223180452U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of fiber optic quick connection structures, and particularly relates to an optical fiber connector and a connector assembly. Background Art
[0002] With the rapid development of the communication industry, signal connectors such as optical connectors and electrical connectors have been widely used. As standard connectors, optical connectors, electrical connectors and other signal connectors have a very large usage due to their characteristics such as small volume and simple operation. And with the large-scale deployment of FTTH (Fiber To The Home), pre-connected products that reduce construction costs, lower construction technical requirements, and simplify construction difficulties are more and more widely used.
[0003] In related technologies, currently, most of the optical fiber connectors and adapters on the market adopt a screwing locking method. Due to its own characteristics, the screwing locking method requires a finger operation space to be reserved around the connector and the adapter. In a limited installation space, especially when the density requirement is high, the operation is very difficult.
[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to design a new optical fiber connector to overcome the above problems. Summary of the Invention
[0005] The present application provides an optical fiber connector and a connector assembly, which can solve the technical problem that the screwing locking method in related technologies is difficult to operate in a limited installation space.
[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an optical fiber connector, which includes: a connector body, a shrapnel is installed on the connector body, and locking clips are fixedly provided at both ends of the shrapnel; when the connector body is inserted into a set position of a docking member along the docking direction, the shrapnel drives the locking clips at both ends thereof to lock with the docking member.
[0007] In combination with the first aspect, in an embodiment, a first guiding inclined surface is provided at the front end of the locking clip, and the first guiding inclined surfaces on the locking clips at both ends of the shrapnel extend obliquely backward from front to back in a direction away from each other.
[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in an embodiment, the shrapnel includes an elastic main body in a C shape, both ends of the elastic main body are respectively bent to form fixing plates, and the bending direction of the fixing plates is different from the bending direction of the elastic main body; the locking clip is fixed to the elastic main body through the fixing plate.
[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in an embodiment, a fixing hole is opened at the connection between the fixing plate and the elastic main body, a protrusion is provided on the locking clip corresponding to the fixing hole, and the protrusion protrudes into the fixing hole.
[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the connector body is provided with a fixing position, and elastic deformation spaces are formed on opposite sides of the fixing position. The elastic deformation spaces on both sides are symmetric about the axis of the connector body; the elastic piece is fixed to the fixing position, and both ends of the elastic piece extend into the elastic deformation spaces on both sides of the fixing position.
[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the connector body is provided with axial limiting structures on opposite sides of each elastic deformation space, and the elastic piece and the locking buckle are located between the axial limiting structures on both sides of the elastic deformation space.
[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, an outer shell is further sleeved outside the connector body. A first unlocking inclined surface is provided inside the outer shell, and the locking buckle is provided with a second unlocking inclined surface that cooperates with the first unlocking inclined surface; when the outer shell is axially pulled, the first unlocking inclined surface pushes the second unlocking inclined surface to move, driving the locking buckle to move toward the direction close to the axis of the connector body.
[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the optical fiber connector further includes a traction cap, and the traction cap is provided with a locking groove that cooperates with the locking buckle; when the connector body is inserted into the traction cap in the docking direction and the locking buckle moves to the position of the locking groove, the elastic piece drives the locking buckles at both ends thereof to enter the locking groove, so that the optical fiber connector is locked with the traction cap.
[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, a first guiding inclined surface is provided at the front end of the locking buckle, and a second guiding inclined surface that cooperates with the first guiding inclined surface is provided inside the traction cap; when the connector body is inserted into the traction cap in the docking direction, the second guiding inclined surface pushes the first guiding inclined surface to move, driving the locking buckle to move toward the direction close to the axis of the connector body.
[0015] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a connector assembly, which includes: the above-mentioned optical fiber connector and an adapter; when the connector body is inserted into a set position of the adapter in the docking direction, the elastic piece drives the locking buckles at both ends thereof to be locked with the adapter.
[0016] The beneficial effects brought by the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application include:
[0017] By providing a spring piece on the connector body and fixing locking latches at both ends of the spring piece, when locking the connector body with the docking member, the connector body is directly inserted along the docking direction. When the connector body moves to the set position, the spring piece can automatically drive the locking latches to lock with the docking member, eliminating the need to twist the connector body for locking. Simply pushing the connector body along a straight line can solve the technical problem in the related art that the twisting locking method is difficult to operate in a limited installation space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.
[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic exploded view of an optical fiber connector provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic exploded view of a traction cap and a connector body provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic combined structure view of an optical fiber connector provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic exploded view of a spring piece and a locking latch provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic three-dimensional structure view of a locking latch provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic combined structure view of a connector body and a housing provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0025] Figure 7 is Figure 6 a schematic structure view when the housing in
[0026] Figure 8 is a schematic three-dimensional structure view of a housing provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0027] Figure 9 is a schematic structure view of a traction cap provided by an embodiment of the present application.
[0028] In the figure:
[0029] 1. Connector body; 11. Fixed position; 12. Elastic deformation space; 13. Axial limiting structure; <{
[0030] 2. Elastic piece; 21. Elastic main body; 22. Fixed plate; 23. Fixed hole;
[0031] 3. Lock; 31. First guiding inclined surface; 32. Protrusion; 33. Second unlocking inclined surface;
[0032] 4. Outer shell; 41. First unlocking inclined surface;
[0033] 5. Traction cap; 51. Lock groove; 52. Second guiding inclined surface. Specific implementation manner
[0034] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of this application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of this application.
[0035] The embodiment of this application provides an optical fiber connector and a connector assembly, which can solve the technical problem that the screwing locking method in the related art is difficult to operate in a limited installation space.
[0036] See Figure 1 As shown, an optical fiber connector provided by the embodiment of this application may include: a connector body 1, an elastic piece 2 is installed on the connector body 1, and locks 3 are fixedly provided at both ends of the elastic piece 2; when the connector body ① is inserted into a set position of a docking member along the docking direction, the elastic piece 2 drives the locks 3 at both ends of it to lock with the docking member.
[0037] In this embodiment, the docking member here is also a device or component that needs to be docked and cooperated with the connector body 1. For example, the docking member can be an adapter. Of course, it can also be a traction cap 5. When the optical fiber connector is not needed, the connector body 1 can be docked and cooperated with the traction cap 5. When in use, the traction cap 5 can be removed so that the connector body 1 cooperates with the adapter. The elastic piece 2 in this embodiment has a certain elasticity and can undergo elastic deformation. Among them, the elastic piece 2 can be a one-piece structure, or can be formed by combining two or more pieces of elastic pieces 2. The elastic piece 2 can be made of a metal material or a non-metal material that can undergo elastic deformation. The number of locks 3 on the elastic piece 2 can be multiple or two. When two locks 3 are provided, one lock 3 is fixedly provided at one end of the elastic piece 2, and one lock 3 is located above the connector body 1, and one lock 3 is located below the connector body 1. The upper and lower locks 3 are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the connector body 1.
[0038] In this embodiment, by providing a spring piece 2 on the connector body 1 and fixing locking latches 3 at both ends of the spring piece 2, when it is necessary to lock the connector body 1 with the docking member, the connector body 1 is directly inserted along the docking direction. During the movement of the connector body 1, the docking member can squeeze the upper and lower locking latches 3, causing the upper and lower locking latches 3 to move towards each other. At the same time, both ends of the spring piece 2 also elastically deform towards each other. When the connector body 1 moves to the set position, the spring force of the spring piece 2 can automatically drive the locking latches 3 to lock with the docking member. There is no need to twist the connector body 1 to achieve locking. Just push the connector body 1 directly along a straight line, which solves the technical problem that the screwing locking method in the related art is difficult to operate in a limited installation space.
[0039] Further, in one embodiment, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5 A first guiding inclined surface 31 is provided at the front end of the locking latch 3. The first guiding inclined surfaces 31 on the locking latches 3 at both ends of the spring piece 2 extend obliquely away from each other from front to back. In this embodiment, a first guiding inclined surface 31 is provided at the front end of each locking latch 3, and this guiding inclined surface gradually moves away from the axis of the connector body 1 from front to back. With such a setting, when the connector body 1 is inserted into the docking member, the docking member will contact the first guiding inclined surface 31, and then push the locking latch 3 towards the direction close to the axis of the connector body 1, so that the locking latch 3 will not protrude outwards, and the connector body 1 can be smoothly inserted into the docking member. When the locking latch 3 moves forward together with the connector body 1 until the locking latch 3 is exactly vertically aligned with the locking groove 51 on the docking member, at this time, the docking member will no longer hold the locking latch 3. Under the elastic force of the spring piece 2, the two locking latches 3 will be driven to move away from each other and enter the corresponding locking grooves 51, realizing the locking of the connector body 1 and the docking member. In this embodiment, by providing the first guiding inclined surface 31 on the locking latch 3, it helps the docking member smoothly press the locking latch 3 into the connector body 1 and ensures that the connector body 1 is smoothly inserted into the docking member.
[0040] Further, in some alternative embodiments, as shown in Figure 4As shown, the elastic sheet 2 includes an elastic main body 21 in a C shape. Both ends of the elastic main body 21 are bent to form fixing plates 22, and the bending directions of the fixing plates 22 are different from the bending direction of the elastic main body 21. The latch 3 is fixed to the elastic main body 21 through the fixing plates 22. In this embodiment, the elastic main body 21 is preferably in a sheet shape and bent into a C shape to ensure that both ends of the elastic main body 21 have good elasticity. The fixing plates 22 are bent from the front side of the elastic main body 21 into a state perpendicular to the plate surface of the elastic main body 21 (of course, it can also be set not to be perpendicular to the elastic main body 21). When the latch 3 is fixed to the elastic sheet 2, it is fixed not only to the elastic main body 21 but also to the fixing plates 22. By bending to form the fixing plates 22 on one side of the elastic main body 21 and fixing the latch 3 together with the elastic main body 21 through the fixing plates 22, the connection strength between the latch 3 and the elastic sheet 2 can be enhanced.
[0041] In this embodiment, when fixing the latch 3 to the elastic sheet 2, it is preferably to injection-mold the plastic latch 3 and the elastic sheet 2, so that the contact area between the latch 3 and the elastic sheet 2 is larger and the connection strength is better. Of course, in other embodiments, the latch 3 and the elastic sheet 2 can be separately manufactured and then assembled and fixed together.
[0042] Based on the above technical solution, in one embodiment, refer to Figure 4 As shown, a fixing hole 23 is provided at the connection between the fixing plate 22 and the elastic main body 21. The latch 3 is provided with a protrusion 32 corresponding to the fixing hole 23, and the protrusion 32 protrudes into the fixing hole 23. In this embodiment, the elastic main body 21 can also be provided with an independent fixing hole 23 at the position corresponding to where the latch 3 needs to be fixed. By providing the fixing holes 23 on the elastic main body 21 and the fixing plates 22, the protrusion 32 of the latch 3 can protrude into the fixing hole 23, and at least part of the material of the latch 3 will enter the fixing hole 23 and be engaged with the fixing hole 23, which can further enhance the connection strength between the latch 3 and the elastic sheet 2 and prevent the latch 3 from falling off the elastic sheet 2.
[0043] Furthermore, in some alternative embodiments, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the connector body 1 is provided with a fixing position 11, and elastic deformation spaces 12 are formed on opposite sides of the fixing position 11. The elastic deformation spaces 12 on both sides are symmetric about the axis of the connector body 1; the elastic piece 2 is fixed to the fixing position 11, and both ends of the elastic piece 2 extend into the elastic deformation spaces 12 on both sides of the fixing position 11. In this embodiment, an installation hole is provided at the middle position of the elastic piece 2, so that the elastic piece 2 can be fixed to the fixing position 11 through this installation hole. The connector body 1 in this embodiment is not a complete closed cylindrical shape, but an opening is provided at the position corresponding to the installation of the lock 3, so that elastic deformation spaces 12 are formed above and below the fixing position 11. During the process of inserting the connector body 1 into the docking member, the lock 3 will move towards the direction close to the axis of the connector body 1 and enter the inside of the elastic deformation space 12. At the same time, the upper and lower arms of the elastic piece 2 will undergo elastic deformation and also enter the inside of the elastic deformation space 12 together with the lock 3. This elastic deformation space 12 provides a space for the lock 3 and the elastic piece 2 to move and deform.
[0044] Further, in an embodiment, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 7 As shown, the connector body 1 is provided with axial limiting structures 13 on opposite sides of each elastic deformation space 12, and the elastic piece 2 and the lock 3 are located between the axial limiting structures 13 on both sides of the elastic deformation space 12. In this embodiment, an axial limiting structure 13 is provided in front of and behind each elastic deformation space 12. The axial limiting structure 13 can be, for example, a limiting baffle. A limiting baffle is provided on the front side and the rear side of each lock 3, which can limit the axial position of the lock 3 and the elastic piece 2, so that the lock 3 will not deviate too much in the front and rear directions during the movement.
[0045] Further, in some alternative embodiments, refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, a housing 4 can also be sleeved outside the connector body 1. The housing 4 is provided with a first unlocking inclined surface 41 ( Figure 8As shown, the latch 3 is provided with a second unlocking inclined surface 33 that cooperates with the first unlocking inclined surface 41. When the housing 4 is axially pulled, the first unlocking inclined surface 41 pushes the second unlocking inclined surface 33 to move, driving the latch 3 to move towards the direction close to the axis of the connector body 1. In this embodiment, two first unlocking inclined surfaces 41 can be provided in the housing 4 corresponding to each latch 3. The two first unlocking inclined surfaces 41 are symmetric left and right. Correspondingly, two second unlocking inclined surfaces 33 are also provided on each latch 3. The two second unlocking inclined surfaces 33 are distributed on the left and right sides of the latch 3. A towing rope can be provided on the housing 4. When the housing 4 is pulled backward through the towing rope, the housing 4 moves backward relative to the connector body 1. At the same time, the first unlocking inclined surface 41 acts on the second unlocking inclined surface 33. Through the first unlocking inclined surface 41, the backward movement of the housing 4 can be converted into driving the latch 3 to move inside the connector body 1 (i.e., towards the center of the circle), so that the latch 3 disengages from the locking groove 51, realizing unlocking.
[0046] Further, in one embodiment, referring to Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the fiber optic connector further includes a towing cap 5. The towing cap 5 is provided with a locking groove 51 that cooperates with the latch 3. When the connector body 1 is inserted into the towing cap 5 in the docking direction and the latch 3 moves to the position of the locking groove 51, the elastic piece 2 drives the latches 3 at both ends thereof into the locking groove 51, locking the fiber optic connector with the towing cap 5. In this embodiment, the towing cap 5 is provided with two locking grooves 51. The two locking grooves 51 are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the towing cap 5. When the fiber optic connector is not in use, the towing cap 5 can be installed at the docking end of the connector body 1. When the connector body 1 is inserted into the towing cap 5, the inner wall of the towing cap 5 will abut against the upper and lower latches 3, driving the two latches 3 to move towards the center of the connector body 1. When the connector body 1 is inserted in place, the two latches 3 just move to the position of the locking groove 51. At this time, the elastic piece 2 drives the two latches 3 into the corresponding locking grooves 51, realizing the locking of the connector body 1 and the towing cap 5.
[0047] Further, in one embodiment, referring to Figure 5 and Figure 9As shown, a first guiding inclined surface 31 is provided at the front end of the latch 3, and a second guiding inclined surface 52 cooperating with the first guiding inclined surface 31 is provided inside the traction cap 5; when the connector body 1 is inserted into the traction cap 5 along the docking direction, the second guiding inclined surface 52 pushes the first guiding inclined surface 31 to move, driving the latch 3 to move towards the direction close to the axis of the connector body 1. In this embodiment, a second guiding inclined surface 52 is provided inside the traction cap 5 corresponding to each locking groove 51. During the process of the connector body 1 being inserted into the traction cap 5, the second guiding inclined surface 52 here will contact the first guiding inclined surface 31 and push the first guiding inclined surface 31 together with the latch 3 towards the center of the connector body 1, so that the upper and lower latches 3 retract into the interior of the connector body 1, facilitating the smooth insertion of the connector body 1 into the traction cap 5.
[0048] The embodiment of the present application adopts a novel locking and unlocking method, and the latch 3 for locking and the housing 4 for unlocking are both arranged on the fiber optic connector, effectively solving the technical problem that the screwing locking method is difficult to operate in a limited installation space.
[0049] The embodiment of the present application also provides a connector assembly, which includes: the above-mentioned fiber optic connector and an adapter; when the connector body 1 is inserted into the set position of the adapter along the docking direction, the elastic piece 2 drives the latches 3 at both ends thereof to lock with the adapter.
[0050] In this embodiment, the fiber optic connector can adopt the fiber optic connector provided in any of the above embodiments and realize the corresponding functions, which will not be elaborated here.
[0051] Meanwhile, the adapter can also be provided with a locking groove and a second guiding inclined surface cooperating with the latch 3 and realize the corresponding functions, which will not be elaborated here.
[0052] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper" and "lower" is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to specific situations.
[0053] It should be noted that in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising an..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element.
[0054] The above are only specific embodiments of this application, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement this application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this application. Therefore, this application will not be limited to these embodiments shown herein, but rather to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features claimed herein.
Claims
1. An optical fiber connector, characterized in that, It includes: A connector body (1), a spring piece (2) is installed on the connector body (1), and locking latches (3) are fixedly provided at both ends of the spring piece (2); When the connector body (1) is inserted into a set position of a docking member along the docking direction, the spring piece (2) drives the locking latches (3) at both ends thereof to lock with the docking member.
2. The fiber optic connector according to claim 1, wherein A first guiding inclined surface (31) is provided at the front end of the locking latch (3), and the first guiding inclined surfaces (31) on the locking latches (3) at both ends of the spring piece (2) extend obliquely backward from front to back in a direction away from each other.
3. The fiber optic connector according to claim 1, wherein The spring piece (2) includes an elastic main body (21) in a C shape, both ends of the elastic main body (21) are bent to form fixing plates (22), and the bending directions of the fixing plates (22) are different from the bending direction of the elastic main body (21); The locking latch (3) is fixed to the elastic main body (21) through the fixing plate (22).
4. The fiber optic connector according to claim 3, wherein A fixing hole (23) is formed at the connection between the fixing plate (22) and the elastic main body (21), a protrusion (32) is provided on the locking latch (3) corresponding to the fixing hole (23), and the protrusion (32) protrudes into the fixing hole (23).
5. The fiber optic connector according to claim 1, wherein The connector body (1) is provided with a fixing position (11), and elastic deformation spaces (12) are formed on opposite sides of the fixing position (11), and the elastic deformation spaces (12) on both sides are symmetrical about the axis of the connector body (1); The spring piece (2) is fixed to the fixing position (11), and both ends of the spring piece (2) extend into the elastic deformation spaces (12) on both sides of the fixing position (11).
6. The fiber optic connector according to claim 5, wherein Axial limiting structures (13) are provided on opposite sides of each elastic deformation space (12) of the connector body (1), and the spring piece (2) and the locking latches (3) are located between the axial limiting structures (13) on both sides of the elastic deformation space (12).
7. The fiber optic connector according to claim 1, wherein A housing (4) is further sleeved outside the connector body (1), a first unlocking inclined surface (41) is provided inside the housing (4), and the locking latch (3) is provided with a second unlocking inclined surface (33) cooperating with the first unlocking inclined surface (41); When the housing (4) is axially pulled, the first unlocking inclined surface (41) pushes the second unlocking inclined surface (33) to move, driving the locking latch (3) to move toward a direction close to the axis of the connector body (1).
8. The fiber optic connector according to claim 1, wherein The fiber optic connector further includes a traction cap (5), and the traction cap (5) is provided with a locking groove (51) cooperating with the locking latch (3); When the connector body (1) is inserted into the traction cap (5) along the docking direction and the latch (3) moves to the position of the locking groove (51), the elastic piece (2) drives the latches (3) at both ends thereof to enter the locking groove (51), so that the optical fiber connector is locked with the traction cap (5).
9. The optical fiber connector according to claim 8, wherein a first guiding inclined surface (31) is provided at the front end of the latch (3), and a second guiding inclined surface (52) matching with the first guiding inclined surface (31) is provided on the inner side of the traction cap (5); when the connector body (1) is inserted into the traction cap (5) along the docking direction, the second guiding inclined surface (52) pushes the first guiding inclined surface (31) to move, driving the latch (3) to move towards the direction close to the axis of the connector body (1).
10. A connector assembly, characterized in that, It includes: the optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1-9 and an adapter; when the connector body (1) is inserted into the set position of the adapter along the docking direction, the elastic piece (2) drives the latches (3) at both ends thereof to be locked with the adapter.