Shutter-mounted dustproof adapter for optical connector

Abstract

To provide a shutter-mounted dustproof adapter for an optical connector, which achieves miniaturization, densification, and reduction in weight and material cost by omitting one thick plate material when each port engaging with a plurality of optical connectors is formed.SOLUTION: The shutter-mounted dustproof adapter for an optical connector has: a rectangular adapter housing 1 formed in a manner to communicate in a front-back direction on an upper wall 1a, a bottom wall 1b, and right and left side walls 1c; a lower guide 4 arraying and holding a plurality of shutters 13 and protruding on the bottom wall 1b of a front-end opening 2 of the adapter housing 1; and an upper guide 7 engaging with upper parts of a plurality of optical connectors M and protruding on a lower surface of the upper wall 1a of the front-end opening 2 of the adapter housing 1, where the shutters 13 of the front-end opening 2 of the adapter housing 1 are parallelly arranged in a tight manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector, and more particularly to a dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector that is suitable for interconnecting a multi-core MMC optical connector that employs a 1 x 16-core ferrule (TMT) that is more compact than conventional products, and a duplex (2-core) MDC optical connector that employs a ferrule with a 1.25 mm diameter, from the openings on both ends of the adapter. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the above-mentioned dustproof adapters with shutters for the MMC optical connector and the MDC optical connector have been used to provide a higher density optical cable installation solution that cannot be realized with the dustproof adapters with shutters used for the existing MPO, SC, or LC optical connectors.

[0003] Therefore, in the MMC optical connector and MDC optical connector, in order to make the entire dustproof adapter with shutter used in these connectors smaller and less dense, the partition walls necessary to properly align and hold multiple very small form factor (VSFF) optical connectors in each port located adjacent to the tip opening of the dustproof adapter with shutter are omitted.

[0004] On the other hand, as an optical adapter which holds an optical connector fitted to each of a plurality of adjacent ports arranged via partition walls at the tip opening of the above-mentioned dustproof adapter, those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known.

[0005] However, in the partition walls of the dustproof adapters shown in the above-mentioned conventional Patent Documents 1 and 2, although each port that receives multiple optical connectors is made from a single thick plate material and is sturdy with no gaps, this causes problems such as the adapter as a whole becoming larger in size and the weight and material costs increasing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6400892 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5710481 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been devised in consideration of the above-mentioned deficiencies that existed in the past, and has as its object to provide a dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector, which enables miniaturization, high density, weight reduction, and reduction in material costs by omitting a thick sheet of plate material when forming each port for mating with multiple optical connectors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an adapter housing having a rectangular shape formed so as to be communicated in the front-rear direction at a top wall, a bottom wall, and left and right side walls, A lower guide is provided on a bottom wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to align and hold a plurality of shutters. On the other hand, an upper guide is provided on the lower surface of the upper wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to protrude therefrom so as to form the same number of ports into which the upper portions of the plurality of optical connectors are fitted, Furthermore, for each port at the front end opening of the adapter housing, an equal number of shutters for closing that port are arranged in parallel and closely spaced relation with their upper parts inclined rearward, and a spring arranged at the lower end of each shutter constantly urges the shutter in the closing direction, and the upper ends of each shutter are configured to engage with the rear ends of upper guides protruding from the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing.

[0009] The adapter housing is characterized in that it has arc-shaped protrusions formed at the tips of the left and right side walls to serve as insertion guides by sliding against the outer surfaces of the left and right sides of the optical connector that fits into each port located at both ends of the adapter housing.

[0010] The lower guide is characterized in that it is formed by providing a plurality of square rod-shaped guide protrusions protruding in the front-to-rear direction at intervals on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the adapter housing so as to always hold the plurality of shutters aligned in a horizontal row.

[0011] The upper guide is characterized in that it is formed by protruding a plurality of guide plates at intervals equal to the upper width of the optical connector to be fitted into each port from the underside of a locking plate attached to the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing.

[0012] The adapter housing is characterized in that two pairs of locking holes for attaching and detaching the upper guide are opened on both left and right sides of the front of the upper wall of the adapter housing.

[0013] The adapter housing is characterized in that a locking claw is formed below each of two pairs of locking holes on one of the left and right inner walls.

[0014] The upper guide locking plate is formed into a rectangular shape when viewed in a plane, and a pair of guide plates are fixed at right angles to the lower ends of both ends thereof, and the upper ends of the two guide plates are fixed inside the two guide plates so as to form a total of three gaps on the underside of the locking plate, each gap being the same size as the upper width of the optical connector.

[0015] The upper guide locking plate has a long hole opened longitudinally at approximately the center thereof, and locking claws provided at the upper ends of two guide plates are inserted and fixed into the inside upper part of the long hole at a distance equal to the upper width of the optical connector, and the locking claws are engaged with locking claws provided below locking holes opened in the upper wall of the adapter housing, thereby allowing the two guide plates to be fixed below the locking plate in a freely engageable and detachable manner.

[0016] The upper guide locking plate is characterized in that a locking recess is formed at its rear edge into which the upper parts of the outer plates provided on both sides of the front face of the shutter are fitted at an oblique angle to hold them.

[0017] The shutter has a generally U-shaped recess slightly below the center to prevent the optical ferrules protruding from the tips of the optical connectors from coming into contact with each other when the optical connectors are erroneously fitted into each port of the adapter housing by tilting the connectors diagonally upward or downward, and is provided with a shutter plate having side plates integrally formed therewith to close both the left and right sides of the recess. An outer plate is integrally connected to both upper sides of the side plates of the shutter plate, and a pair of notched grooves are formed between the outer surface of the shutter plate and the rear end of the outer plate to freely engage and disengage with the lower guides of the adapter housing when the shutter is finally released.

[0018] The shutter is characterized in that an arc-shaped notch is formed in the upper end of the outer plate connected to both sides of the recess of the shutter plate to prevent contact with the optical ferrules protruding from the tip of each optical connector when the optical connector is mis-fitted into each port of the adapter housing by tilting it from the right or left.

[0019] The shutter is characterized in that the upper end of the outer plate protrudes relative to the upper ends of the side plates of the shutter plate, so that the tips of the outer plate are protruded in a pair of vertically elongated shapes at both ends on the front surface of the shutter that closes the front end opening of the adapter housing.

[0020] The shutter is characterized in that the outer surfaces of a pair of outer plates provided on both sides of the shutter plate are tapered so as to gradually widen toward the rear.

[0021] The cutout groove of the shutter is formed so as to be able to freely engage and disengage with one side portion above the square rod-shaped guide protrusion constituting the lower guide protruding from the bottom wall of the adapter housing, and is formed so as to be able to freely engage and disengage with the cutout groove of another adjacent shutter with the remaining side portion.

[0022] The shutter is characterized in that a bearing for a support shaft inserted into shaft holes in the lower ends of the left and right side walls on the front end side of the adapter housing is formed integrally at the rear of the lower end thereof.

[0023] The shaft supported by the bearing is characterized in that it is a circular pipe having trumpet-shaped retaining portions formed on both ends.

[0024] The adapter housing has an upper guide attached to the inner underside of the upper wall thereof, and an arc-shaped guide is protruded from the rear of the upper guide so that the tip of the shutter slides against it when the shutter rotates to close or open. Effect of the Invention

[0025] That is, the present invention has a rectangular adapter housing formed so as to communicate in the front-rear direction at a top wall, a bottom wall, and left and right side walls, A lower guide is provided on a bottom wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to align and hold a plurality of shutters. On the other hand, an upper guide is provided on the lower surface of the upper wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to protrude therefrom so as to form the same number of ports into which the upper portions of the plurality of optical connectors are fitted, Furthermore, for each port at the front end opening of the adapter housing, an equal number of shutters closing that port are arranged in parallel and closely spaced with their upper parts inclined rearward, and a spring arranged at the lower end of each shutter constantly urges the shutter in the closing direction, with the upper end of each shutter engaging the rear end of an upper guide protruding from the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing. This not only contributes to making the entire adapter smaller and lighter, but also reduces material costs, and has the effect of effectively preventing dust from entering the adapter housing through the shutter connection parts.

[0026] The adapter housing has arc-shaped protrusions at the tips of the left and right side walls to act as an insertion guide by sliding against the outer surfaces of the left and right sides of the optical connector that fits into each port located at both ends.As a result, both walls of the adapter housing are long, allowing the optical connector to be fitted into each port accurately and smoothly.

[0027] The lower guide is formed by providing a number of square rod-shaped guide protrusions at intervals in the front-to-rear direction on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the adapter housing so as to always keep the multiple shutters aligned in a horizontal row, thereby allowing the shutters to be kept in a fixed position within the adapter housing without ever disturbing the arrangement of the shutters provided at the front end opening of the adapter housing.

[0028] The upper guide is formed by protruding multiple guide plates at intervals the same size as the upper width of the optical connectors to be fitted into each port from the underside of a locking plate attached to the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing, so that multiple optical connectors can be accurately and smoothly fitted into each port provided at the front end opening of the adapter housing.

[0029] Two pairs of engagement holes for attaching and detaching the upper guide are opened on both the left and right sides of the front of the upper wall of the adapter housing, which contributes to easily attaching and detaching the upper guide with a simple operation.

[0030] Since locking claws are formed on the lower side of each of the left and right inner walls of two pairs of locking holes opened in the upper wall of the adapter housing, this contributes to easily attaching and detaching the upper guide with a one-touch operation.

[0031] The upper guide locking plate is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in a plane, with a pair of guide plates fixed at right angles to the lower ends of both ends, and the upper ends of the two guide plates are fixed to the inside of both guide plates so as to form a total of three gaps on the underside of the locking plate, each gap being the same size as the upper width of the optical connector.Therefore, by protruding an appropriate number of guide plates downward via the locking plates on the inner wall of the adapter housing, an upper guide that can accurately and smoothly engage the optical connector can be easily manufactured.

[0032] The upper guide locking plate has a long hole opened longitudinally at approximately the center, and locking claws on the upper ends of two guide plates are inserted and fixed into the inside upper part of the long hole at a distance the same size as the upper horizontal width of the optical connector.The locking claws are engaged with locking claws provided below locking holes opened in the upper wall of the adapter housing, thereby fixing the two guide plates below the locking plate in a freely engageable and detachable manner.Therefore, the upper guide can be easily attached and detached to the adapter housing with a single touch by engaging and disengaging the locking claws with each other.

[0033] The upper guide locking plate has a locking recess formed at its rear edge which fits in and holds the upper parts of the outer plates on both sides of the front of the shutter at an oblique angle, allowing the shutter to be accurately and easily positioned relative to the upper guide locking plate when the shutter is closed.

[0034] The shutter is provided with a shutter plate having a generally U-shaped recess in a side view slightly below the center to prevent the optical ferrules protruding from the tips of the optical connectors from coming into contact when the optical connectors are erroneously fitted into the ports of the adapter housing at an angle from above or below, and a side plate is integrally provided to close both the left and right sides of the recess, and an outer plate is integrally connected to both upper sides of the side plate of the shutter plate, and a pair of notched grooves are formed between the outer surface of the shutter plate and the rear end of the outer plate to be freely engaged and disengaged with the lower guide of the adapter housing at the time of final release of the shutter, so that even if the optical connector is fitted into the adapter housing at an angle from above or below, the ferrule tips of the optical connector will not come into contact with the shutter plate. Also, the shutter is always arranged in parallel in a tight state when opening and closing, and has the effect of easily and reliably preventing damage caused by hitting the lower guide even when the shutter is finally opened.

[0035] The shutter has an arc-shaped notch formed in the upper end of the outer plate connected to both sides of the recess of the shutter plate to prevent the optical ferrules protruding from the tip of each optical connector from coming into contact when the optical connector is mis-fitted into each port of the adapter housing by tilting it from the right or left.This effectively prevents the optical ferrules protruding from the tip of the optical connector from coming into contact with the outer plates on both sides of the shutter plate.

[0036] The shutter is formed so that the upper end of the outer plate protrudes relative to the upper ends of the side plates of the shutter plate, and the tips of the outer plate protrude in a pair of vertically elongated shapes from both ends on the front of the shutter that closes the front end opening of the adapter housing.Since the multiple shutters are arranged closely together with the outer plates protruding from both ends, this reliably prevents the intrusion of dust and other debris into the adapter housing.

[0037] The shutter is formed by tapering the outer surfaces of a pair of outer plates on both sides of the shutter plate so that they gradually widen toward the rear, so that adjacent shutters fully perform their original function of closing the front opening of the adapter housing with just their front tips, and the rearward expanding portion communicates with an enlarged groove consisting of a combination of the cutout grooves of adjacent shutter plates.As a result, the contact area between the shutters when they are opened and closed can be kept to a minimum, allowing each shutter to be opened and closed smoothly.

[0038] The cutout groove of the shutter fits freely into one side portion above the square rod-shaped guide protrusion that constitutes the lower guide protruding from the bottom wall of the adapter housing, and is formed so that the cutout groove of another adjacent shutter can fit freely into the remaining side portion, thereby reliably preventing collisions between the guide protrusions of adjacent shutters when they are finally opened.

[0039] The shutter has a bearing for a support shaft inserted into shaft holes at the lower ends of the left and right side walls at the front end of the adapter housing integrally formed at its rear lower end, so that the shutter can be supported on a support shaft provided in the bottom wall of the adapter housing so as to rotate without any play.

[0040] The shaft supported by the bearing is a circular pipe with trumpet-shaped anti-slip portions formed on both ends, so that the shaft can be reliably prevented from coming off the shaft hole provided below the front end of the adapter housing.

[0041] An arc-shaped guide protrudes from the rear of the upper guide attached to the underside of the inner top wall of the adapter housing so that the tip of the shutter slides against it when it rotates in conjunction with closing or opening the shutter, so that the shutter can always be opened and closed in the correct position via the support shaft. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0042] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded perspective view of the entire dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1A is a front view of the adapter alone, FIG. 1B is a front view of the adapter after assembly, FIG. 1C is a plan view of the adapter, and FIG. 1D is a side view of the adapter. [Diagram 3] 13A and 13B show a dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector when assembled, in which (a) is an overall perspective view seen from diagonally forward, and (b) is an explanatory diagram enlarging the circled portion in (a). [Figure 4] In the figure, (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2(b), and (b) is an explanatory view showing an enlargement of the circled portion in (a). [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view seen from an oblique front direction, similar to FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line B--B of FIG. [Figure 7]In the figure, (a) is an enlarged front view showing the internal state in FIG. 2(b) with the upper side portion removed leaving only the base portion of the shutter, and (b) is a cross-sectional view further enlarged of the circled portion in (a). [Figure 8] 1 shows the shutter, with (a) being a front view, (b) being a right side view, (c) being a left side view, (d) being a rear view, and (e) being a plan view. [Figure 9] 13A and 13B are perspective views of the shutter as viewed obliquely from the front and rear, respectively. [Figure 10] 8A is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 8A, FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD, and FIG. 8C is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD. [Figure 11] 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E show the upper guide of an optical connector, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, (c) is a plan view, (d) is a bottom view, and (e) is a side view. [Figure 12] 1 shows the shutter shaft, where (a) is a front view and (b) is an FF sectional view of (a). [Figure 13] 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a dustproof adapter with a shutter and an optical connector, showing a state in which a ferrule portion of the optical connector is inserted between the tip opening of the dustproof adapter with a shutter and is about to come into contact with the front surface of the shutter. [Figure 14] 1A shows the state in which an optical connector is mated and connected to a dustproof adapter with a shutter, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of the entire dustproof adapter with a shutter and only the ferrule of the optical connector, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of the entire dustproof adapter with a shutter and the optical connector. [Figure 15] 13 is a perspective view seen from the rear of the optical connector, showing a state in which the upper end of the shutter is fitted into a recessed tip of an upper guide of the optical connector. FIG. [Figure 16] 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the front side of the front end opening of the dustproof adapter with a shutter, viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 17] 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the front side of the front end opening of the dustproof adapter with a shutter, viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 18] 1 is a perspective view of the front side of the front end opening of the dustproof adapter with a shutter, viewed obliquely from below. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0044] The dustproof adapter with shutter of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, has a rectangular adapter housing 1 formed so as to communicate in the front and rear directions at a top wall 1a, a bottom wall 1b, and left and right walls 1c, 1c. As shown in FIG. 1, the adapter housing 1 is separated into two components, a front housing 1A and a rear housing 1B, and is constructed by connecting these two housings 1A and 1B together, but it may also be constructed as a single unit without being separated into the two components.

[0045] A lower guide 4 for aligning and holding a shutter 13 (described later) is provided protruding from a bottom wall 1b of a front end opening 2 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A).

[0046] In this embodiment, an MDC optical connector is used as the optical connector M, and four square rod-shaped guide protrusions 5 are provided in the front-to-rear direction as the lower guide 4 on the bottom wall 1b of the connector housing (front housing 1A) at intervals so as to keep the multiple shutters 13 aligned in a horizontal row at all times (including when opened and closed).

[0047] The four guide projections 5 are formed by two narrow guide projections 5a, 5a protruding from the lower ends of the left and right side walls 1c, 1c at both ends of the bottom wall 1b of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) and two wide guide projections 5b, 5b protruding from the center of the bottom wall 1b. The wide guide projections 5b, 5b are formed to be twice as wide as the narrow guide projection 5a, the reason for which will be described later.

[0048] As shown in Figures 1, 2(d), 13, 16 and 18, the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) has arc-shaped protrusions 6 formed at the tips of the left and right side walls 1c, 1c to act as a guide for smooth insertion of the optical connector M when the outer surfaces of the left and right side portions of the optical connector M that fits into each port 3 located at both ends of the adapter housing 1 slide against each other.

[0049] Meanwhile, an upper guide 7 is provided protruding from an upper wall 1b of the front end opening 2 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) to form the same number of ports 3 into which the upper portions of the optical connectors M are fitted.

[0050] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 6, 7, 11, 16, 17 and 18, four guide plates 8 are protruding downward as the upper guides 7 on the upper wall 1a of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) at intervals equal to the upper width of the three optical connectors M that fit into the three ports 3.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper guide 7 is provided with a locking plate 9 having a generally rectangular shape in plan view which is attached to the underside of the upper wall 1a of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), and a pair of guide plates 8a, 8b are fixed at right angles to the lower ends of the locking plate 9, and the upper parts of two guide plates 8c, 8d are fixed inside the two guide plates 8a, 8b so as to form a total of three gaps on the underside of the locking plate 9, each gap having the same size as the upper width of the optical connector M.

[0052] Two pairs of locking holes 10 are opened on both the left and right sides in the front of the top wall 1a of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), and the locking plate 9 of the upper guide 7 is formed so as to be able to be engaged with and disengaged from the lower surface of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) through the locking holes 10. Then, in the two pairs of locking holes 10 opened in the top wall 1a of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), locking claws 10a, 10a are formed on one side of the left and right inner walls, respectively.

[0053] The locking plate 9 of the upper guide 7 has a long hole 11 opened along the longitudinal direction at approximately the center thereof, and locking claws 11a, 11a provided at the upper ends of two guide plates 8c, 8d are inserted and fixed to the inside upper portion of the long hole 11 at an interval equal to the upper end width of the optical connector M. The locking claws 11a, 11a are respectively engaged with locking claws 10a, 10a provided below a pair of locking holes 10, 10 opened at the front center side of the upper wall 1a of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), whereby the two guide plates 8c, 8d are fixed below the locking plate 9 in a freely releasable manner.

[0054] 11 and 15, the locking plate 9 of the upper guide 7 has four locking recesses 12 formed at its rear edge, two at both ends of the locking plate 9 and two at the center behind the guide plates 8c, 8d, for biasing and holding the upper ends of the outer plates 14 provided at both ends of the front of the shutter 13 at an oblique angle. The width of each locking recess 12 is such that the center side is large enough to fit two outer plates 14 of adjacent shutters 13, while both ends are large enough to fit the tip of one outer plate 14 of the shutter 13.

[0055] 8, 9 and 10, the shutter 13 is provided with a recess 16 that is substantially U-shaped in side view slightly below the center in order to prevent the ferrule 15 protruding from the tip of each optical connector M from contacting the optical connector M when the optical connector M is fitted into each port 3 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), and is provided with a shutter plate 18 that is integrally provided with side plates 17 to close both the left and right sides of the recess 16. This makes it possible to effectively prevent the ferrule 15 protruding from the tip of the optical connector M from contacting the shutter plate 18 even if the optical connector M is erroneously fitted into each port 3 of the adapter housing 1 at an angle from above or below.

[0056] Furthermore, the outer plate 14 is integrally connected to both sides of the upper portion of the side plate 17 of the shutter plate 18. Here, the shutter 13 is formed in a vertically elongated rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and the upper end of the outer plate 14 is formed to protrude from the upper end of the side plate 17 of the shutter plate 18, so that the outer plate 14 is provided in a pair of vertically elongated protruding positions on both front ends of the shutter plate 18.

[0057] 4, 5, 9 and 10, the shutter 13 has arc-shaped notches 14a formed in the upper end of the outer plate 14 connected to both sides of the recess 16 of the shutter plate 18 in order to prevent the optical ferrules 15 protruding from the tip of each optical connector M from contacting each other when the optical connector M is erroneously fitted into each port 3 of the adapter housing 1 by tilting it from the right or left. This makes it possible to effectively prevent the optical ferrules 15 protruding from the tip of the optical connector M from contacting the outer plates 14 on both sides of the shutter plate 18.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 3(b), the outer surfaces of the pair of outer plates 14 provided on both sides of the shutter plate 18 are formed with tapers 14b that gradually widen toward the rear. This allows adjacent shutters 13 to fully perform their original function of closing the front opening 2 of the adapter housing 1 with only the front tips of both outer plates 14, and the widened portion formed by the rear tapers 14b communicates with the enlarged groove formed by the combination of the notched grooves 19 of the adjacent shutters 13, thereby minimizing the contact area caused by the opening and closing operation of the shutters 13. This prevents the outer plates 14 of adjacent shutters 13 from butting against each other, thereby preventing the operation of the shutters 13 from being hindered.

[0059] As shown in Figures 3, 6 and 7, an L-shaped notch groove 19 is formed between both sides of the shutter plate 18 and the rear end of the outer plate 14, which can be freely engaged and disengaged with the lower guide 4 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) when the shutter 13 is finally released. Incidentally, as the closed shutter 13 is opened by the push-in fitting of the optical connector M, the notched groove 19 gradually engages with the guide protrusion 5 constituting the lower guide 4, and completely engages with the guide protrusion 5 in the final process in which the ferrule 15 at the tip of the optical connector M is inserted and connected into the sleeve 26 of the sleeve holder 27 located in the center of the adapter housing 1 (see FIG. 14). At this time, the shutter 13 is pressed against the bottom wall of the optical connector M and is held in a substantially horizontal state.

[0060] The cutout groove 19 of the shutter 13 is adapted to be freely engaged and disengaged with one side portion above the square rod-shaped guide protrusion 5 constituting the lower guide 4 protruding from the bottom wall 1b of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A), and is formed so as to be freely engaged and disengaged with the cutout groove 19 of another adjacent shutter 13 on the remaining side portion.

[0061] 1, 2, 3 and 6, the three shutters 13 are arranged so that the tips of the outer plates 14 protruding from both ends of the front of the shutters 13 are in close contact with both side walls 1c, 1c of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) and the ends of the shutter 13 located in the center are in close contact with the inner ends of the shutters 13 located on both left and right sides, in order to completely close the three ports 3 formed in the front opening 2 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A). This provides a dustproof effect that prevents dust and the like from entering through gaps in the front of the shutters 13.

[0062] In addition, bearings 22 for a support shaft 21 inserted into an axial hole 20 at the lower end of the left and right side walls 1c, 1c of the front end side of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) are formed integrally on both rear sides of the lower end of the shutter 13.

[0063] Thus, the shutter 13 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 21, and is constantly biased in the closing direction by a leaf spring 23 disposed at the lower end of the shutter 13.

[0064] At this time, as described above, the upper ends of the outer plates 14 of the shutter 13 are fitted into the four locking recesses 12 provided on the rear end edge of the locking plate 9 of the upper guide 7, respectively.

[0065] 12, the support shaft 21 has a circular pipe 21a with both ends crimped to form trumpet-shaped retaining portions 21b at both ends, which effectively prevents the support shaft 21 from coming off the shaft hole 20 of the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A).

[0066] 4, 13, 17 and 18, the adapter housing 1 (front housing 1A) has, behind a guide plate 8 of an upper guide 7 attached to the underside of its upper wall 1a, arc-shaped guides 24 protruding downward in the same number as the guide plates 8 (four in this embodiment) so that the tip of the shutter 13 comes into sliding contact with them when the shutter 13 rotates in response to closing or opening due to insertion or removal of the optical connector M. This allows the shutter 13 to be opened and closed at a precise position at all times via the support shaft 21.

[0067] On the other hand, the rear housing 1B of the adapter housing 1 has three ports 25 for mating with the other optical connector (not shown), as shown in Figures 1, 4, 5, 14, 15, 17 and 18, and also has a sleeve holder 27 built in that stores a total of six sleeves 26 vertically and horizontally extending from the front housing 1A.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the adapter housing 1 is formed as a triple type having three ports 3 and three shutters 13 to fit three optical connectors M into the front end opening 2, but it may also be a double or quadruple or more type. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] M Optical Connector 1 Adapter Housing 1A Front Housing 1B Rear housing 1a Upper wall 1b Bottom wall 1c side wall 2 Front end opening 3 Ports 4 Bottom Guide 5 Guide protrusion 5a Narrow guide protrusion 5b Wide guide protrusion 6 Protrusion 7 Upper guide 8 Guide plate 8a Guide plate 8b Guide plate 8c Guide plate 8d Guide plate 9 Locking plate 10 Locking hole 10a Locking claw 11 long hole 11a Locking claw 12 Locking recess 13 Shutter 14 Outer plate 14a Cutout 14b Taper 15 Ferrule 16 Recess 17 Side Panel 18 Shutter plate 19 Notched groove 20 Shaft hole 21 Spindle 21a Circular Pipe 21b Stopper 22 Bearings 23 Leaf spring 24 Arc guide 25 Ports 26 Sleeve 27 Sleeve holder

Claims

1. The adapter housing has a rectangular shape and is formed so as to communicate with the upper wall, the bottom wall, and the left and right side walls in the front-rear direction. A lower guide is provided on a bottom wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to align and hold a plurality of shutters. On the other hand, an upper guide is provided on the lower surface of the upper wall of the front end opening of the adapter housing to protrude therefrom so as to form the same number of ports into which the upper portions of the plurality of optical connectors are fitted, and a dustproof adapter with shutters for optical connectors, characterized in that for each port at the front end opening of the adapter housing, an equal number of shutters for closing the same port are arranged in parallel and closely spaced with their upper parts inclined backward, a spring arranged at the lower end of each shutter constantly urges the shutter in the closing direction, and the upper ends of each shutter are engaged with the rear end of an upper guide protruding from the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing.

2. The dustproof adapter with shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that the adapter housing has arc-shaped protrusions formed at the tips of the left and right side walls to serve as an insertion guide by sliding against the outer surfaces of the left and right side portions of the optical connector that fits into each port located at both ends of the adapter housing.

3. The dustproof adapter with shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that the lower guide is formed by providing a plurality of square rod-shaped guide protrusions at intervals in the front-to-rear direction on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the adapter housing so as to always keep the plurality of shutters aligned in a horizontal row.

4. 2. A dustproof adapter with shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that the upper guide is formed by protruding a plurality of guide plates at intervals equal to the upper width of the optical connector to be fitted into each port from the underside of a locking plate attached to the underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing.

5. 5. The dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector according to claim 4, wherein two pairs of locking holes for attaching and detaching said upper guide are opened on both left and right sides of the front of the upper wall of said adapter housing.

6. 6. A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector according to claim 5, wherein a locking claw is formed below each of two pairs of locking holes on one of the left and right inner walls of the upper wall of said adapter housing.

7. The upper guide locking plate is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in a plane, and a pair of guide plates are fixed at right angles to both ends below it, and the upper ends of the two guide plates are fixed inside the two guide plates so as to form a total of three gaps on the underside of the locking plate, the gaps being the same size as the upper width of the optical connector.A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 4.

8. The upper guide locking plate has a long hole opened along the longitudinal direction at approximately the center thereof, and locking claws provided at the upper ends of two guide plates are inserted and fixed into the inside upper part of the long hole at a distance equal to the upper width of the optical connector, and the locking claws are engaged with locking claws provided below locking holes opened in the upper wall of the adapter housing, thereby allowing the two guide plates to be freely engaged and releasably fixed below the locking plates.

9. 2. A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that the upper guide locking plate has a locking recess formed at its rear edge into which the upper parts of the outer plates provided on both sides of the front of the shutter are inserted at an oblique angle.

10. The shutter has a generally U-shaped recess slightly below the center to prevent contact with the optical ferrules protruding from the tips of the optical connectors when the optical connectors are erroneously fitted into each port of the adapter housing by tilting the optical connectors diagonally upward or downward, and is provided with a shutter plate having side plates integrally formed therewith to close both the left and right sides of the recess, an outer plate is integrally connected to both upper sides of the side plates of the shutter plate, and a pair of notched grooves are formed between the outer surface of the shutter plate and the rear end of the outer plate to freely engage and disengage with the lower guides of the adapter housing when the shutter is finally released.

11. The dustproof adapter with shutter for optical connectors as described in claim 10, characterized in that the shutter has an arc-shaped notch formed in the upper end of the outer plate connected to both sides of the recess of the shutter plate to prevent contact with the optical ferrules protruding from the tip of each optical connector when the optical connector is mis-fitted into each port of the adapter housing by tilting it from the right or left.

12. The dustproof adapter with shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 10, characterized in that the shutter is formed so that the upper end of the outer plate protrudes relative to the upper end of the side plate of the shutter plate, so that the tips of the outer plate protrude in a pair of vertically elongated shapes at both ends on the front surface of the shutter that closes the front end opening of the adapter housing.

13. 11. The dustproof adapter with shutter for an optical connector according to claim 10, wherein said shutter comprises a pair of outer plates provided on both sides of said shutter plate, the outer surfaces of which are tapered so as to gradually widen rearward.

14. A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 10, characterized in that the notch groove of the shutter is formed to be able to engage and disengage freely with one side portion above the square rod-shaped guide protrusion that constitutes the lower guide protruding from the bottom wall of the adapter housing, and the notch groove of another adjacent shutter is formed to be able to engage and disengage freely with the remaining side portion.

15. A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 10, characterized in that the shutter has a bearing for a support shaft inserted into an axial hole at the lower end of the left and right side walls of the front end of the adapter housing integrally formed at its rear lower end.

16. 16. The dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector according to claim 15, wherein the shaft supported by the bearing is a circular pipe having trumpet-shaped retaining portions formed on both ends thereof.

17. 2. A dustproof adapter with a shutter for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that an arc-shaped guide is protruded behind an upper guide attached to the inner underside of the upper wall of the adapter housing so that the tip of the shutter slides against it when the shutter rotates in conjunction with closing or opening.

Images