Optical connector

Abstract

The objective is to provide an optical connector that allows for high-density mounting and is easy to install and remove. [Solution] This optical connector 1 comprises a ferrule 10 having a connection end face 10a in which a plurality of fiber holes are formed aligned in the Y-axis direction, a biasing member that biases the ferrule 10 in the X-axis direction to which the connection end face 10a is connected, a housing 20 that houses a part of the ferrule 10 and the biasing member, a coupling 30 mounted on the outside of the housing 20 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, and a boot 40 that engages with the coupling 30 and moves integrally with the coupling 30, wherein the boot 40 is positioned within the outer contour of the coupling 30 when viewed from the X-axis direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an optical connector.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a multi-core optical connector for connecting a plurality of optical fibers. This multi-core optical connector includes a ferrule to which the end of an optical fiber strand is fixed, a spring that biases the ferrule forward, a housing that houses a part of the ferrule and the spring, a sleeve slidably attached to the outside of the housing, and a flexible boot disposed behind the sleeve.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The flexible boot includes a pair of front extensions that extend forward and sandwich the sleeve vertically therebetween. For this reason, the flexible boot is larger in the vertical direction than the sleeve, making it difficult to mount a plurality of optical connectors side by side in the vertical direction at high density. Also, when mounting the optical connectors at high density in this way, there is a problem that the interval between the optical connectors becomes narrow, making it difficult to attach and detach the optical connectors.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an optical connector that enables high-density mounting and is easy to attach and detach.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An optical connector according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a ferrule having a connection end face in which a plurality of fiber holes are formed in a first direction, a biasing member that biases the ferrule in a second direction in which the connection end face is connected, a housing that accommodates a part of the ferrule and the biasing member, a coupling mounted on the outside of the housing so as to be movable in the second direction, and a boot that engages with the coupling and moves integrally with the coupling, wherein the boot is positioned within the outer contour of the coupling when viewed from the second direction.

[0007] A second aspect of the present invention is an optical connector according to the first aspect, wherein the coupling is provided with an engagement groove formed on its outer surface and a column portion disposed within the engagement groove and provided at a height less than or equal to the height of the outer surface, and the boot is provided with an engagement portion having an engagement hole formed to engage with the column portion and housed in the engagement groove.

[0008] A third aspect of the present invention is the optical connector of the second aspect, wherein the column portion may have a prismatic shape with a side portion extending in the first direction when viewed in a plan view from a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions.

[0009] A fourth aspect of the present invention is that in any one of the optical connectors of the first to third aspects, a tracer mark may be formed on the boundary line between the coupling and the boot.

[0010] A fifth aspect of the present invention is an optical connector in any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the rear end of the boot may be provided with a flattened tab extending in the first direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an optical connector that enables high-density mounting and is easy to install and remove. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a side view showing the mounting state of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a front view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] This is an exploded perspective view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a plan view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The optical connector of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 is a side view showing the installed state of the optical connector 1 according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is a front view of the optical connector 1 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the optical connector 1 comprises a ferrule 10, a housing 20, a coupling 30, and a boot 40. As shown in Figure 2, the ferrule 10 has a plurality of fiber holes 11 arranged in a single row. Note that the plurality of fiber holes 11 may be arranged in two or more rows.

[0015] The ferrule 10 has a connection end face 10a in which a plurality of fiber holes 11 are formed. The connection end face 10a is provided with fiber holes 11 and positioning pins 12. An optical fiber F is placed in each of the plurality of fiber holes 11. However, some of the fiber holes 11 do not need to have an optical fiber F. In other words, the number of optical fibers F may be less than the number of fiber holes 11. The optical fibers F are exposed on the connection end face 10a. The optical connector 1 can be connected to the other optical connector by bringing the connection end face of the other optical connector to be connected into contact with the connection end face 10a.

[0016] In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each member may be described while referring to this XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. As shown in the figure, the X-axis direction is set to the connection direction of the optical connector 1 (the direction in which the connection end face 10a faces, the direction in which the fiber holes 11 extend, the longitudinal direction of the optical connector 1). Among the X-axis directions, the side of the connection end face 10a (+X side) may be referred to as the front side, and the opposite side (-X side) may be referred to as the rear side.

[0017] The Y-axis direction is set to the width direction of the optical connector 1 (the lateral direction of the optical connector 1, the direction in which the fiber holes 11 are arranged in a row). Among the Y-axis directions, one side (+Y side) may be referred to as the left side, and the other side (-Y side) may be referred to as the right side. The Z-axis direction is set to the height direction of the optical connector 1. Among the Z-axis directions, one side (+Z side) may be referred to as the upper side, and the other side (-Z side) may be referred to as the lower side.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, at least a part of the ferrule 10 is housed in the opening 20a of the housing 20. The ferrule 10 has two positioning pins 12. The positioning pins 12 protrude forward from the connection end face 10a. The two positioning pins 12 are arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction. The two positioning pins 12 are arranged so as to sandwich a plurality of fiber holes 11 in the Y-axis direction.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 1 of the present embodiment is connected to the connection adapter 200 and is densely mounted with a minute gap in the Z-axis direction. The optical connector 1 is a male side, and in the connection adapter 200, the positioning pins 12 are inserted into another female-side optical connector (not shown) in which positioning holes are formed, so that the relative positions of the optical connector 1 and the other optical connector are determined and they are connected to each other.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical connector 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 20 has a front housing 21 and a rear housing 22. The front housing 21 and the rear housing 22 are each formed in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape when viewed in the X-axis direction. On the inner wall surface of the front housing 21, a regulating groove 21a for regulating the protrusion of the ferrule 10 from the opening 20a of the housing 20 is formed. On the outer wall surface of the ferrule 10, a regulating piece 15 that abuts against the regulating groove 21a from the rear is formed.

[0021] On the outer wall surface of the front housing 21, a locking groove 21b into which the locking piece 201 of the connection adapter 200 fits is formed. Behind the locking groove 21b, a fitting hole 21c that penetrates the front housing 21 in the Z-axis direction is formed. The front end portion of the rear housing 22 is inserted into the front housing 21 from behind the front housing 21. On the front end portion of the rear housing 22, a fitting protrusion 22a that fits into the fitting hole 21c from inside the front housing 21 is formed.

[0022] A cable jack 22b is provided at the rear end portion of the rear housing 22. The cable socket 60 provided on the optical cable 100 is connected to the cable jack 22b. Inside the housing 20, a pin clamp 13 (intermediate member) and a first biasing member 14 (biasing member) are accommodated. An optical fiber F (not shown) extends in the X-axis direction from the end of the optical cable 100, passes through the inside of the rear housing 22, the pin clamp 13, and the front housing 21, and is inserted into each fiber hole 11 of the ferrule 10.

[0023] The pink ramp 13 is located on the rear side (-X side) of the ferrule 10. That is, the pink ramp 13 is located on the opposite side of the ferrule 10 from the connecting end face 10a. The pink ramp 13 is in contact with the rear side of the ferrule 10 and holds the positioning pin 12. The pink ramp 13 has the role of transmitting the biasing force of the first biasing member 14 to the ferrule 10. The front end of the first biasing member 14 is in contact with the pink ramp 13, and the rear end of the first biasing member 14 is in contact with a spring receiving groove formed on the inside of the rear housing 22.

[0024] The coupling 30 comprises an outer coupling 31 and an inner coupling 32. The outer coupling 31 is formed in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape when viewed from the X-axis direction. The outer coupling 31 is mounted on the outside of the housing 20 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction. The inner coupling 32 is positioned in the gap between the outer coupling 31 and the housing 20 and is movable in the X-axis direction between a locked position facing the lock groove 21b and an unlocked position located behind the lock groove 21b.

[0025] A second biasing member 23 is positioned in the gap between the outer coupling 31 and the housing 20, biasing the inner coupling 32 forward (towards the +X side) from the unlocked position to the locked position. The second biasing member 23 is housed in a spring receiving groove 21d formed on the outer wall surface of the front housing 21. An L-shaped hook piece 32a is provided at the rear end of the inner coupling 32, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 1, which restricts movement toward the +X side relative to the outer coupling 31 to a certain range, while allowing movement toward the -X side relative to the outer coupling 31.

[0026] When the optical connector 1 configured above is inserted into the connection adapter 200, the locking piece 201 of the connection adapter 200 shown in Figure 3 pushes the inner coupling 32 toward the -X side. As a result, the inner coupling 32 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position against the biasing force of the second biasing member 23. When the inner coupling 32 moves to the unlocked position, the locking groove 21b is opened and the locking piece 201 engages with the locking groove 21b.

[0027] When the locking piece 201 is fitted into the locking groove 21b, the biasing force of the second biasing member 23 moves the inner coupling 32 from the unlocked position to the locked position, restricting the detachment of the locking piece 201 from the locking groove 21b. As a result, the optical connector 1 can be attached to the connection adapter 200.

[0028] To remove the optical connector 1 from the connection adapter 200, pinch the boot 40 (described later) and pull the outer coupling 31 toward the -X side. This causes the inner coupling 32, which is hooked onto the outer coupling 31 via the hook piece 32a, to move toward the -X side along with the outer coupling 31. As a result, the inner coupling 32 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position, the lock groove 21b is released, and the lock piece 201 can be detached. As a result, the optical connector 1 can be removed from the connection adapter 200.

[0029] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the optical connector 1 according to one embodiment. Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connector 1 according to one embodiment. As shown in these figures, the optical connector 1 includes a boot 40 that engages with the outer coupling 31. The boot 40 is movable in the X-axis direction as an integral part of the outer coupling 31.

[0030] The boot 40 comprises an engaging portion 41 that engages with the outer coupling 31, and a tail portion 42 that extends rearward from the engaging portion 41. The engaging portion 41 is provided at the front end of the boot 40. The engaging portion 41 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape that opens toward the +X side. The outer surface of the engaging portion 41 is continuous with the outer surface of the outer coupling 31. The rear part of the engaging portion 41 tapers in shape toward the -X side and is connected to the front end of the tail portion 42.

[0031] As shown in Figure 5, the outer coupling 31 is provided with an engagement groove 33 formed on the outer surface of the outer coupling 31, and a column portion 34 positioned within the engagement groove 33 and provided at a height less than or equal to the outer surface of the outer coupling 31. The engagement groove 33 is formed around the entire circumference of the rear of the outer coupling 31 and accommodates the engagement portion 41 of the boot 40. The depth of the engagement groove 33 should be greater than or equal to the thickness of the engagement portion 41. This prevents the engagement portion 41 from protruding outward beyond the outer shape of the outer coupling 31.

[0032] The column portion 34 has a prism shape with a side portion 34a extending in the Y-axis direction when viewed from the Z-axis direction (third direction) in plan view. Specifically, the column portion 34 has a rectangular prism shape that is long in the Y-axis direction and short in the X-axis direction. The engaging portion 41 has a rectangular engaging hole 41a in plan view that engages with the column portion 34. The column portion 34 is provided on the upper surface on the +Z side and the lower surface on the -Z side of the outer coupling 31. The engaging portion 41 also has two engaging holes 41a corresponding to the column portion 34.

[0033] As shown in Figure 4, a tracer mark 50 is formed at the boundary between the outer coupling 31 and the boot 40. The tracer mark 50 is formed only on the +X side of the optical connector 1. This makes it possible to determine the left and right orientation of the optical connector 1. As shown in Figure 5, the tracer mark 50 is formed in a roughly U-shape by engaging a protrusion 50a provided on the outer coupling 31 with a recess 50b provided on the boot 40.

[0034] The tail portion 42 of the boot 40 is formed in a cylindrical shape. Multiple arc-shaped slits are formed in the tail portion 42, allowing for flexible elastic deformation. A flattened knob portion 42a extending in the Y-axis direction is provided at the rear end of the tail portion 42. The dimension of the knob portion 42a in the Z-axis direction is smaller than the dimension of the rear end of the tail portion 42 in the Z-axis direction. The knob portion 42a extends from the rear end of the tail portion 42 on both sides in the Y-axis direction and has a roughly isosceles triangular shape when viewed from the Z-axis direction.

[0035] Figure 6 is a plan view of an optical connector 1 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the optical cable 100 with the above configuration allows the coupling 30 to be operated from a position away from the housing 20 by grasping the gripping portion 42a at the rear end of the boot 40. Therefore, even if the optical connectors 1 are densely mounted as shown in Figure 1, they can be easily attached to and detached from the connection adapter 200. Furthermore, since the gripping portion 42a has a flattened shape that extends in the Y-axis direction, a large gap can be secured in the Z-axis direction, allowing only the target optical connector 1 to be grasped and attached or detached.

[0036] As described above, the optical connector 1 according to this embodiment includes a ferrule 10 having a connection end face 10a in which a plurality of fiber holes 11 are formed in the Y-axis direction (first direction), a first biasing member 14 (biasing member) that biases the ferrule 10 in the X-axis direction (second direction) to which the connection end face 10a is connected, a housing 20 that houses a part of the ferrule 10 and the first biasing member 14, a coupling 30 mounted on the outside of the housing 20 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, and a boot 40 that engages with the coupling 30 and moves together with the coupling 30.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2, the boot 40 is positioned within the outline of the coupling 30 (outer coupling 31) when viewed from the X-axis direction. With this configuration, the outer shape of the boot 40 is smaller than the outer shape of the coupling 30, so, for example, as shown in Figure 1, it becomes possible to mount multiple optical connectors 1 in a high-density arrangement along the Z-axis direction. In addition, since the optical connectors 1 can be attached and detached by manipulating the coupling 30 by pinching the boot 40, installation and removal become easy even when the optical connectors 1 are mounted in a high-density arrangement.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the coupling 30 is provided with an engagement groove 33 formed on the outer surface of the outer coupling 31, and a column portion 34 disposed within the engagement groove 33 and provided at a height below the height of the outer surface of the outer coupling 31. The boot 40 is provided with an engagement portion 41 having an engagement hole 41a that engages with the column portion 34 and is housed in the engagement groove 33. With this configuration, the coupling 30 and the boot 40 can be engaged without the boot 40 protruding from the outer surface of the coupling 30.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the column portion 34 has a prism shape with a side portion 34a extending in the Y-axis direction when viewed in a plan view from the Z-axis direction (third direction) which is perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions. With this configuration, when the boot 40 is pulled to the -X side, the engagement hole 41a contacts the side portion 34a of the column portion 34 over a wide area, thereby mitigating stress concentration on the engagement hole 41a.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a tracer mark 50 is formed at the boundary line between the coupling 30 and the boot 40. With this configuration, the left and right orientation of the optical connector 1 can be determined without marking the optical connector 1.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rear end of the boot 40 is provided with a flat-shaped tab 42a that extends in the Y-axis direction. With this configuration, even if the optical connectors 1 are densely mounted in the Z-axis direction as shown in Figure 1, a gap in the Z-axis direction can be secured, so that only the target optical connector 1 can be attached and detached.

[0042] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described and explained above, it should be understood that these are illustrative and should not be considered limiting. Additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be considered limited by the foregoing description, but rather limited by the claims.

[0043] For example, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which the coupling 30 comprises an outer coupling 31 and an inner coupling 32 was described, but the configuration is not limited to this. The coupling 30 may be formed as a single piece, for example, as a sleeve in the prior art documents.

[0044] Furthermore, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, the components in the above-described embodiments may be replaced with well-known components as appropriate, and the above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1…Optical connector, 10…Ferrule, 10a…Connecting end face, 11…Fiber hole, 12…Pin, 13…Pink lamp, 14…First biasing member (biasing member), 15…Restricting piece, 20…Housing, 20a…Opening, 21…Front housing, 21a…Restricting groove, 21b…Locking groove, 21c…Mating hole, 21d…Spring receiving groove, 22…Rear housing, 22a…Mating projection, 22b…Cable jack, 23…Second biasing part Material, 30...Coupling, 31...Outer coupling, 32...Inner coupling, 32a...Hook piece, 33...Engagement groove, 34...Column part, 34a...Side part, 40...Boot, 41...Engagement part, 41a...Engagement hole, 42...Tail part, 42a...Knob part, 50...Tracer mark, 50a...Convex part, 50b...Concave part, 60...Cable socket, 100...Optical cable, 200...Connection adapter, 201...Lock piece, F...Optical fiber

Claims

1. A ferrule having a connecting end face in which multiple fiber holes are formed aligned in a first direction, A biasing member that biases the ferrule in the second direction to which the connecting end face is connected, A part of the ferrule, a housing that accommodates the biasing member, A coupling is attached to the outside of the housing so as to be movable in the second direction, The system includes a boot that engages with the coupling and moves integrally with the coupling, The boot is positioned within the range of the outer contour of the coupling when viewed from the second direction. Optical connector.

2. The coupling is provided with an engagement groove formed on its outer surface and a column portion disposed within the engagement groove and provided at a height less than or equal to the height of the outer surface. The boot is provided with an engaging portion that has an engaging hole formed for engaging with the column portion and is housed in the engaging groove. The optical connector according to claim 1.

3. The column portion has a prismatic shape, as viewed in plan from a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions, with a side portion extending in the first direction. The optical connector according to claim 2.

4. A tracer mark is formed at the boundary between the coupling and the boot. The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The rear end of the boot is provided with a flat-shaped tab that extends in the first direction. The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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