Vehicle-mounted optical fiber beam expanding connector
By designing non-contact coupled on-vehicle fiber beam expansion connectors, the problems of high loss and short life of traditional fiber connectors under vibration impact in on-vehicle environments are solved, and optical fiber communication with low loss, long life and high sealing levels are achieved to adapt to the high vibration requirements of on-vehicle environments.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422579121.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-26
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-10-24
AI Technical Summary
The traditional optical fiber end surface physical contact structure does not meet the requirements of high vibration impact in the on-board environment, resulting in high loss and short service life of the connector under the number of plug-ins and unplugging times and environmental vibration.
The vehicle-mounted fiber beam expansion connector adopts a non-contact coupling method. It uses a snap-on self-locking design between the male and female heads and uses a sealing ring to achieve sealing. Non-contact coupling is used between the male and female heads and the female heads and the beam expansion is achieved through an optical fiber microlens. Each component is fixed by ceramic core and optical fiber special glue.
It realizes optical fiber communication with low insertion loss and long life, has high sealing level and good interchangeability, has a simple structure, low operation and maintenance cost, and is adapted to high vibration impact in the on-board environment.
Smart Images
Figure CN223272709U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of optical fiber communication, in particular to a vehicle-mounted optical fiber beam expansion connector. Background Art
[0002] With the rapid development of the automotive industry, vehicle systems are becoming increasingly complex, driving a surge in demand for high-speed, reliable, and electromagnetic interference (EMI)-insensitive communication technologies. Traditional electrical connectors have relatively low data bandwidth, and with the advancement of intelligent connected vehicles, the number of required connectors will increase exponentially. This poses a challenge to controlling the weight and cost of automotive wiring harnesses.
[0003] Traditional optical connectors have a physical contact structure with the optical fiber end faces, which is not suitable for the harsh environmental requirements of high vibration and shock in the vehicle environment. Utility Model Content
[0004] (1) Technical problems solved
[0005] In response to the shortcomings of the existing technology, the utility model provides an on-vehicle optical fiber expansion connector, which solves the problem that traditional optical connectors have a physical contact structure with the optical fiber end face and are not suitable for the harsh environmental requirements of high vibration and impact in the on-vehicle environment.
[0006] (2) Technical solution
[0007] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:
[0008] A vehicle-mounted optical fiber expansion connector includes a male head and a female head plugged into the male head, the male head including a male shell and a male ferrule assembly snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the male shell, the female head including a female shell and a female ferrule assembly snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the female shell, the female shell and the male shell being self-locked after being inserted into place, the female ferrule in the female ferrule assembly and the male ferrule in the male ferrule assembly being non-contact coupled; a sealing ring is sleeved on the female shell, and the sealing ring is interference fit with the cavity wall of the male shell.
[0009] Preferably, the inner cavity of the male shell is arranged with a male buckle. After the male core assembly is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the male shell, the step on the male core assembly is blocked and limited by the male buckle. The inner cavity of the male shell is located below the male buckle and is slidably arranged with a male pin.
[0010] Preferably, the inner cavity of the female shell is arranged with a female snap-on. After the female core assembly is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the female shell, the step on the female core assembly is blocked and limited by the female snap-on. The inner cavity of the female shell is located below the female snap-on and is slidingly arranged with a female pin.
[0011] Preferably, after the female housing is docked and installed in place in the docking groove arranged in the inner cavity of the male housing, the male plug and the female plug are respectively pressed against the male buckle and the female buckle.
[0012] Preferably, the male housing is symmetrically provided with snap grooves, and the female housing is provided with snap protrusions that match the snap grooves one by one. The snap protrusions are trapezoidal and have rounded corners near the corners of the female pin.
[0013] Preferably, the male ferrule assembly further includes a male ferrule fixing seat for interference fit and fixing the male wire, and the female ferrule assembly includes a female ferrule fixing seat for interference fit and fixing the female wire, and the inner cavities of the male ferrule and the female ferrule are fixedly plugged with bare optical fibers and optical fiber microlenses.
[0014] Preferably, both the male ferrule and the female ferrule are ceramic ferrules, the bare optical fiber and the optical fiber microlens are fused together and then inserted into the ceramic ferrule and fixed with optical fiber special glue, and then the end face of the ceramic ferrule is polished and coated.
[0015] Preferably, a stop ring and a closed ceramic sleeve are sequentially sleeved on the female ferrule, a female metal sleeve is sleeved outside the stop ring and the closed ceramic sleeve, and the female metal sleeve is pressed into the female ferrule fixing seat.
[0016] Preferably, the optical fiber microlens includes two sections of ordinary optical fiber and a self-focusing optical fiber. The ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber are connected by fusion splicing. The fused ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber remain coaxial. The light beam input from the bare optical fiber at one end of the optical fiber microlens is converted into parallel light beams after passing through the self-focusing optical fiber and emitted.
[0017] (3) Beneficial effects
[0018] The utility model has the following beneficial effects:
[0019] The vehicle-mounted fiber optic expansion connector realizes optical fiber communication between the male head and the female head by adopting physical contact, so that each insertion loss is low, the insertion loss repeatability is good, it is not affected by the number of plugging and unplugging times, the intensity or frequency of environmental vibration, and has a long service life. At the same time, the entire connector can realize rapid replacement between different optical fibers, with good repeatability and strong interchangeability; through the provision of a sealing ring, the sealing ring is filled between the male head shell and the female head shell. When the male head and the female head of the connector are plugged in, the sealing ring is filled between the male head shell and the female head shell to achieve a sealing effect, so that the entire connector has a high sealing level, is insensitive to dust, and is almost unaffected by the cleanliness of the installation environment; the entire connector male head and female head have a simple structure and strong scalability, and can be expanded to more than 12 cores. The production process of each component is simple, and the overall operation and maintenance cost is low. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the application state structure of the utility model;
[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the utility model in the AA direction;
[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the split structure of the male housing and the female housing of the utility model;
[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the male and female housings of the utility model;
[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the utility model in the BB direction;
[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the docking structure of the male ferrule assembly and the female ferrule assembly of the utility model;
[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the optical fiber microlens structure of the utility model.
[0027] In the figure: 1. Male connector housing; 11. Male connector buckle; 12. Male connector pin; 13. Docking slot; 14. Buckle slot; 2. Male connector ferrule assembly; 21. Male connector ferrule fixing seat; 22. Male connector ferrule; 3. Female connector housing; 31. Female connector buckle; 32. Female connector pin; 33. Sealing ring; 34. Buckle protrusion; 41. Female connector ferrule fixing seat; 4. Female connector ferrule assembly; 42. Female connector ferrule; 43. Female connector metal sleeve; 44. Closed-end ceramic sleeve; 45. Stop ring; 5. Cable sealing plug; 6. Bare optical fiber; 7. Optical fiber microlens; 8. Sheath crimping tube. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0029] See also Figure 1The utility model provides a technical solution: an on-vehicle optical fiber expansion connector, comprising a male head and a female head plugged into the male head, the male head comprising a male shell 1 and a male ferrule assembly 2 snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the male shell 1, the female head comprising a female shell 3 and a female ferrule assembly 4 snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the female shell 3, the female shell 3 and the male shell 1 being self-locked after being inserted into place, the female ferrule 42 in the female ferrule assembly 4 and the male ferrule 22 in the male ferrule assembly 2 being non-contact coupled; a sealing ring 33 is sleeved on the female shell, and the sealing ring 33 is interference fit with the cavity wall of the male shell 1.
[0030] The utility model realizes the optical fiber communication between the male head and the female head by adopting the physical contact method, so that each insertion loss is low, the insertion loss repeatability is good, it is not affected by the number of plugging and unplugging, the environmental vibration intensity or frequency, and the service life is long. At the same time, the entire connector can realize the rapid replacement of different optical fibers, with good repeatability and strong interchangeability; through the provided sealing ring 33, the sealing ring 33 is filled between the male head shell 1 and the female head shell 3. When the male head and the female head of the connector are plugged into each other, the sealing ring 33 is filled between the male head shell 1 and the female head shell 3 to achieve a sealing effect, so that the entire connector has a high sealing level, is insensitive to dust, and is almost not affected by the cleanliness of the installation environment; the entire connector male head and female head have a simple structure and strong scalability, and can be expanded to more than 12 cores. The production process of each component is simple, and the overall operation and maintenance cost is low.
[0031] In this embodiment, a male buckle 11 is arranged in the inner cavity of the male shell 1. After the male core assembly 2 is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the male shell 1, the step on the male core assembly 2 is blocked and limited by the male buckle 11. A male pin 12 is slidingly arranged in the inner cavity of the male shell 1 below the male buckle 11.
[0032] In this embodiment, a female head buckle 31 is arranged in the inner cavity of the female head shell 3. After the female head core assembly 4 is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the female head shell 3, the step on the female head core assembly 4 is blocked and limited by the female head buckle 31. A female head pin 32 is slidingly arranged in the inner cavity of the female head shell below the female head buckle 31.
[0033] Reference Figure 3-5As shown, in this embodiment, after the female housing 3 is docked and installed in the docking groove 13 arranged in the inner cavity of the male housing 1, the male plug 12 and the female plug 32 respectively press against the male buckle 11 and the female buckle 31. The male buckle 11 and the female buckle 31 can facilitate the initial stable position fixing of the male ferrule assembly 2 and the female ferrule assembly 4. At the same time, the male plug 12 and the female plug 32 can ensure that after the female housing 3 and the male housing 1 are docked and locked, the plug can further press against the male buckle 11 and the female buckle 31, thereby improving the stability of the buckle for fixing the ferrule assembly. Since the male plug 12 and the female plug 32 are installed in a sliding manner and have no other connection relationship between them, at this time, only the buckle connection relationship between the female housing 3 and the male housing 1 needs to be cancelled to quickly separate the male head and the female head, which is convenient for realizing the rapid disassembly of different female heads, smoother, better repeatability and stronger interchangeability.
[0034] Reference Figure 3 and 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the male housing 1 is symmetrically provided with snap grooves 14, and the female housing 3 is provided with snap protrusions 34 that match the snap grooves 14 one-to-one. The snap protrusions 34 are trapezoidal in shape and have rounded corners near the female plug pin 32. The provision of the snap protrusions 34 and snap grooves 14 facilitates quick docking and installation of the female housing 3 and the male housing 1, and facilitates subsequent quick removal and replacement of the female head for different optical fibers.
[0035] In this embodiment, the male ferrule assembly 2 also includes a male ferrule fixing seat 21 for interference fit and fixing the male wire, and the female ferrule assembly includes a female ferrule fixing seat 41 for interference fit and fixing the female wire, and the inner cavities of the male ferrule 22 and the female ferrule 42 are fixedly plugged with bare optical fibers 6 and optical fiber microlenses 7.
[0036] In this embodiment, both the male ferrule 22 and the female ferrule 42 are ceramic ferrules. After the bare optical fiber 6 and the optical fiber microlens 7 are fused together, they are inserted into the ceramic ferrules and fixed with optical fiber special glue. Then, the end faces of the ceramic ferrules are polished and coated.
[0037] Reference Figure 6As shown, in this embodiment, a stop ring 45 and a closed ceramic sleeve 44 are sequentially sleeved on the female ferrule 42, and a female metal sleeve 43 is sleeved on the outside of the stop ring 45 and the closed ceramic sleeve 44, and the female metal sleeve 43 is pressed into the female ferrule fixing seat 41. The inner and outer holes of the ceramic ferrule have extremely high roundness and coaxiality, and the accuracy can reach the micron level. The bare optical fiber 6 and the optical fiber microlens 7 that have been fused are inserted into the inner hole of the ceramic ferrule. The ultra-high precision and extremely small gap between the inner hole of the ceramic ferrule and the optical fiber ensures that the optical fiber and the ceramic sleeve are coaxial, and the optical-mechanical coaxiality is achieved. In actual applications, an optical cable sheath is provided on the outside of the optical cable, and the sheath crimping tube 8 is fixed to the female ferrule assembly 4 and the male ferrule 22 using structural adhesive, and the optical cable sheath is crimped and fixed by the sheath crimping tube 8. One end of the male housing 1 and the female housing 3 is provided with a cable sealing plug 5. The cable sealing plug 5 is made of rubber material, and its threading hole is smaller than the diameter of the optical cable sheath, which can play a better sealing role.
[0038] Reference Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the fiber microlens 7 includes two sections of ordinary optical fiber and self-focusing optical fiber. The ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber are connected by fusion splicing. The ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber after fusion splicing remain coaxial. The light beam input from the bare optical fiber 6 at one end of the fiber microlens 7 is converted into parallel light beams after passing through the self-focusing optical fiber and emitted. The fiber microlens 7 includes an ordinary optical fiber of indefinite length and a self-focusing optical fiber of a specific length L. The two optical fibers are connected by fusion splicing. The ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber after fusion splicing remain coaxial. The light beam propagates along a sinusoidal trajectory in the self-focusing optical fiber, and the length of a complete sine wave cycle is called a pitch P. The relationship between the length L of the self-focusing optical fiber in the coaxial collimator and the pitch P is L=1 / 4×M×P (where M is a positive odd number). For a self-focusing optical fiber of a specific length L, when the light beam is input from one end of the self-focusing lens optical fiber, it will be converted into parallel light beams after passing through the self-focusing optical fiber. When a pair of fiber microlenses 7 are coupled, their axial coupling working distance is magnified, and non-contact coupling of the optical fiber end faces can be achieved. As shown Figure 5 and 6 As shown, after the male and female heads of the connector are plugged into place, there is a gap between the end faces of the male and female ferrules, which prevents end face wear caused by repeated plugging and unplugging of the connector and vibration impact.
[0039] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only 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 terms "include," "comprise," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations. The phrase "includes an element defined by..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device that includes the element.
[0040] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A vehicle-mounted optical fiber expansion connector, comprising a male head and a female head plugged into the male head, characterized in that: The male head includes a male shell and a male plug assembly that is snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the male shell. The female head includes a female shell and a female plug assembly that is snap-fitted into the inner cavity of the female shell. The female shell and the male shell are snap-fitted into place and self-locked. The female plug in the female plug assembly and the male plug in the male plug assembly are non-contact coupled. A sealing ring is sleeved on the female shell, and the sealing ring is interference fit with the cavity wall of the male shell.
2. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expanded beam connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner cavity of the male shell is provided with a male buckle. After the male plug core assembly is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the male shell, the step on the male plug core assembly is blocked and limited by the male buckle. The inner cavity of the male shell is provided with a male pin which is slidably arranged below the male buckle.
3. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expanded beam connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner cavity of the female shell is arranged with a female snap. After the female core assembly is inserted into the hole in the inner cavity of the female shell, the step on the female core assembly is blocked and limited by the female snap. The inner cavity of the female shell is located below the female snap and is slidingly arranged with a female pin.
4. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expansion connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: After the female housing is docked and installed in place in the docking groove arranged in the inner cavity of the male housing, the male plug and the female plug are respectively pressed against the male buckle and the female buckle.
5. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expansion connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The male housing is symmetrically provided with snap grooves, and the female housing is provided with snap protrusions that match the snap grooves one by one. The snap protrusions are trapezoidal and have rounded corners near the corners of the female pin.
6. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expanded beam connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The male ferrule assembly also includes a male ferrule fixing seat for interference fit and fixing the male wire, and the female ferrule assembly includes a female ferrule fixing seat for interference fit and fixing the female wire. The inner cavities of the male ferrule and the female ferrule are fixedly plugged with bare optical fibers and optical fiber microlenses.
7. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expanded beam connector according to claim 6, characterized in that: The male ferrule and the female ferrule are both ceramic ferrules. The bare optical fiber and the optical fiber microlens are fused together and then inserted into the ceramic ferrule and fixed with optical fiber special glue. Thereafter, the end face of the ceramic ferrule is polished and coated.
8. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expansion connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: A stop ring and a closed ceramic sleeve are sequentially sleeved on the female ferrule, a female metal sleeve is sleeved outside the stop ring and the closed ceramic sleeve, and the female metal sleeve is pressed into the female ferrule fixing seat.
9. The vehicle-mounted optical fiber expanded beam connector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The fiber microlens includes two sections of ordinary optical fiber and a self-focusing optical fiber. The ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber are connected by fusion splicing. The fused ordinary optical fiber and the self-focusing optical fiber remain coaxial. The light beam input from the bare optical fiber at one end of the fiber microlens is converted into parallel light beams after passing through the self-focusing optical fiber and then emitted.