Fiber optic connector
The optical fiber connector's tail sleeve and locking mechanism enable synchronized movement for easy insertion and removal, addressing the difficulty of operating MPO connectors in high-density environments and reducing the risk of damage.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025003511U
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2025-01-20
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-16
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-10-13
AI Technical Summary
Conventional MPO multi-fiber optic connectors are difficult to remove in high-density environments due to the need for additional pull handles, which complicates operations and increases the risk of damage when connectors are closely packed.
The optical fiber connector design incorporates a tail sleeve with a locking mechanism that allows for synchronized movement with the housing and ferrule, enabling easy insertion and removal by applying force to the tail sleeve from a distance, reducing the risk of damage.
The design facilitates smooth insertion and removal of connectors in densely packed arrangements by synchronizing the movement of the tail sleeve, locking member, housing, and ferrule, ensuring ease of operation and minimizing component damage.
Smart Images
Figure 0003254737000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to fiber optic connectors. [Background technology]
[0002] In fiber optic networks, signals are usually organized in pairs, one signal for transmission and one signal for reception. Fiber optic transmission tools can connect shorter fiber optic connections to longer lengths of fiber, and can also connect fiber optics to active components (e.g., light sources and detectors) or to passive components (e.g., optical switches and attenuators). The main function of a fiber optic connector is to align the core of the optical fiber with the optical path of the mating component. In this way, the beam in the optical fiber can be coupled with the optical path of the mating component.
[0003] There are many types of optical fiber connectors, among which the MPO (Multi-Fiber Push On) connector is a type of multi-core, multi-channel connector that is suitable for the need to wire high-density optical fibers in a limited space. It usually includes a housing and ferrule to secure one or more optical fibers. The ferrule protrudes from the housing, allowing the optical fiber inside the ferrule to be coupled with the optical path of the mating component when the connector is mated with another component.
[0004] Conventional MPO multi-fiber optics connectors have a male connector with a guide pin at the front end and a female connector with a corresponding guide hole at the front end. Two optical fiber connectors are inserted into the opposing openings of an adapter, with hooks on the adapter engaging with two recesses on the two optical fiber connectors, and the guide pins also being inserted into the guide holes. When this connector is used in a high-density environment such as an equipment cabinet, where multiple connectors are tightly packed together on an equipment panel, it can be difficult for users to easily remove the connectors. Therefore, the conventional approach requires an additional pull handle to be installed on the optical fiber connectors, which can be used to remove the optical fiber connectors. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0005] The present invention provides a fiber optic connector that achieves a pull-out release action of the fiber optic connector through a tail sleeve. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The optical fiber connector of the present invention comprises a housing, a ferrule, a locking member, and a tail sleeve. At least one optical fiber is fixed in the ferrule, and the ferrule is assembled within the housing, with a portion of the ferrule protruding from a first end of the housing. One end of the optical fiber, remote from the ferrule, extends from a second end of the housing, the first end and the second end being opposite ends of the housing. The locking member is attached to the outside of the housing and has a first locking portion. The tail sleeve is attached to the outside of the housing from the second end and covers the second end and the optical fiber extending from the second end. The tail sleeve has a second locking portion and is locked to the first locking portion, so that when force is applied to the tail sleeve, the locking member is activated and the optical fiber connector can be pulled out of the adapter. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] As described above, the optical fiber of the optical fiber connector is secured by the ferrule and then assembled into the housing. More importantly, the tail sleeve of the optical fiber connector extends from the second end toward the first end of the housing, covering at least the housing and the locking member attached to the housing. At the same time, the first locking portion of the locking member and the second locking portion of the tail sleeve interlock with each other, resulting in a structure in which the tail sleeve, locking member, housing, and the ferrule and optical fiber therein move in unison (or synchronized). This allows a user to grasp the tail sleeve and apply force, which correspondingly drives the other components (the locking member, housing, ferrule, and optical fiber), smoothly driving the optical fiber connector to insert or remove it from the adapter. This configuration allows a user to complete the required insertion or removal operation simply by applying force to the tail sleeve, and the user can apply force from an appropriate distance away from the first end of the housing (i.e., the side closest to the adapter). The advantage of this configuration is that when the optical fiber connectors and adapters are closely spaced (i.e., when these optical fiber connectors are inserted close to each other on a device panel), it is difficult for the user's hands to reach the adjacent portions of the optical fiber connectors and adapters (i.e., the first ends of the housings), making them difficult to operate. By changing the position where force is applied to the tail sleeve, which is away from the first ends as described above, the present invention provides convenience for related operations and avoids the risk of damage to components due to the interlocking (synchronization) between the components. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention being connected to a mating connector via an adapter; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the optical fiber connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the optical fiber connector of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] and [Figure 5]3 shows cross-sectional views of the fiber optic connector of FIG. 2 from different viewing angles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention being connected via an adapter. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the optical fiber connector of Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1 and 2 simultaneously, in this embodiment, optical fiber connectors 100 and 200 are, for example, MPO (Multi-Fiber Push On) connectors, which are connected to each other via an adapter 300. Here, optical fiber connector 100 is, for example, a male connector, and optical fiber connector 200 is, for example, a female connector, which are inserted into adapter 300 through two opposing openings of adapter 300 to complete the connection.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the optical fiber connector of FIG. 2. Referring simultaneously to FIGS. 1 to 3, the optical fiber connector 100 includes a housing 110, a ferrule 120, a locking member 140, and a tail sleeve 150. At least one optical fiber is fixed in the ferrule 120 (in this embodiment, a plurality of optical fibers 130 are used as an example). The ferrule 120 is assembled within the housing 110, and a portion of the ferrule 120 protrudes from the housing 110 through a first end E1 of the housing 110. One end of the optical fiber 130 remote from the ferrule 120 extends from a second end E2 of the housing 110, with the first end E1 and the second end E2 being opposite ends of the housing 110. The locking member 140 is attached to the outside of the housing 110 and has a first locking portion 141. The tail sleeve 150 is attached to the outside of the housing 110 through the second end E2 and covers the second end E2 and the optical fiber 130 extending from the second end E2. The tail sleeve 150 has a second locking portion 151, and by being locked to the first locking portion 141, when force is applied to the tail sleeve 150, the locking member 140 is activated and the optical fiber connector 100 is pulled out of the adapter 300.
[0011] 2 from different perspectives. Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 simultaneously, the optical fiber connector 100 more specifically includes a receiving block 170, a fixing tube 180, a base 190, first elastic members 161 and 162, and a second elastic member 163. Arms 171 and 172 extend from the front surface of the receiving block 170 and engage with the inner wall of the housing 110. A spiral tube 173 extends from the rear surface of the receiving block 170. The fixing tube 180 is screwed into the spiral tube 173, with the outer wall of the fixing tube 180 abutting against the inner wall of the tail sleeve 150.
[0012] The base 190 is disposed within the housing 110 and is located between the receiving block 170 and the ferrule 120. The second elastic member 163 is disposed between the arms 171 and 172 and abuts between the arms 171 and 172 and the ferrule 120. The arms 171 and 172 have steps 171a and 172a, respectively, which abut against one end of the second elastic member 163. More specifically, the second elastic member 163 abuts between the two steps 171a and 172a of the arms 171 and 172 and a recess 193 in the base 190. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the base 190 has two guide pins 191 and 192. When the base 190 abuts against the ferrule 120, the two guide pins 191 and 192 penetrate the ferrule 120 and the housing 110, respectively, and partially protrude.
[0013] 5, after the locking member 140 and the housing 110 are coupled, a pair of receiving chambers R1 and R2 are formed and located on opposite sides of the housing 110. The pair of first elastic members 161 and 162 are located in the receiving chambers R1 and R2, respectively, and each of the first elastic members 161 and 162 abuts between the housing 110 and the locking member 140. After one end of the optical fiber 130 is fixed to the ferrule 120, the remaining portion passes through the base 190, the second elastic member 163, the space between the two arms 171 and 172, the receiving block 170 and the spiral tube 173 behind it, the fixing tube 180, and the tail sleeve 150, in that order.
[0014] Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first locking portion 141 is one of the locking protrusions and the engaging hole, and the second locking portion 151 is the other of the locking protrusions and the engaging hole. This embodiment exemplifies the first locking portion 141 functioning as the locking protrusion and the second locking portion 151 functioning as the engaging hole. In another embodiment (not shown), the above structure can be reversed to achieve a smooth locking effect. Furthermore, the locking member 140 of this embodiment has a spring arm structure 142, and the first locking portion 141 functioning as the locking protrusion is located at the end of the spring arm structure 142. More specifically, the first side of the locking protrusion has a gentle slope 141a, and the second side of the locking protrusion has a cliff 141b. Therefore, the engaging hole (second locking portion 151) moves along the gentle slope 141a in the first direction D1 until it falls down the cliff 141b, and then it is locked by the locking protrusion (first locking portion 141) in the second direction D2. That is, applying a force to the locking member 140 and the tail sleeve 150 in the second direction D2 creates a structural interference effect, where the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are opposite to each other. This allows a user to apply a force to the tail sleeve 150 in the first direction D1 (equivalent to providing a thrust force to the fiber optic connector 100) to complete the interlock with the locking member 140 or insert the fiber optic connector 100 into the adapter 300 (see FIG. 1), and to apply a force to the tail sleeve 150 in the second direction D2 (equivalent to providing a pulling force) to smoothly withdraw the fiber optic connector 100 from the adapter 300 (see FIG. 1).
[0015] Furthermore, tail sleeve 150 of this embodiment has a conical surface 152 that gradually contracts inward away from housing 110, and tail sleeve 150 has a plurality of force application grooves 153 located on conical surface 152. This provides a grip when a user applies force, and its structural features improve friction when the user grips it. Therefore, relative to housing 110 (which is considered a fixed structure that does not move), locking member 140 moves along second direction D2, compressing and deforming first elastic members 161 and 162 to accumulate elastic force, and when the elastic force is released, it drives locking member 140 to move along first direction D1. Here, second direction D2 is the direction in which optical fiber connector 100 is pulled out of adapter 300. In other words, because the tail sleeve 150 and the locking member 140 are in a state of structural interference with each other along the second direction D2, when the user attempts to pull the optical fiber connector 100 out of the adapter 300, the user applies a force in the second direction D2 to the tail sleeve 150, which then moves the locking member 140 in conjunction with the tail sleeve 150 to perform the aforementioned operation, thereby smoothly and continuously separating the housing 110 and the associated components housed within the housing 110 from the adapter 300 and completing the pulling operation. Here, the locking direction between the first locking portion 141 and the second locking portion 151 is the same as the direction in which the optical fiber connector 100 is pulled out of the adapter 300, i.e., the second direction D2.
[0016] 3 to 5, the smooth insertion and extraction operations are possible because the tail sleeve 150, the locking member 140, the housing 110, and the ferrule 120 have a laminated coating structure from the outside to the inside in the optical fiber connector 100 of this embodiment. With the housing 110 as the boundary, the ferrule 120, base 190, second spring 163, and receiving block 170 inside are essentially locked onto the inner wall of the housing 110 by the outer hook portions 171b, 172b of the arms 171, 172 on both sides of the receiving block 170 (as shown in FIG. 5), and the outer locking portion of the ferrule 120 is locked onto the inner wall of the housing 110, which together completes the assembly and fixation of the components within the housing 110.
[0017] Correspondingly, the tail sleeve 150 of this embodiment includes a head portion L2 and a tail portion L1. The head portion L2 has a second locking portion 151 and is laminated onto the housing 110 and the locking member 140, while the tail portion L1 shrinks relative to the head portion L2 to cover the optical fiber 130 protruding from the housing 110. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the portion of the optical fiber 130 extending from the housing 110 is protected by the helical tube 173 of the receiving block 170, the fixed tube 180, and the tail sleeve 150.
[0018] In this way, due to the correspondence between the tail sleeve 150, the locking member 140, and the housing 110, when a user applies force to the tail sleeve 150, that force is equivalent to being simultaneously applied to the housing 110 and the components therein. In other words, by simply applying force to the tail sleeve 150, the user can smoothly operate the entire structure of the optical fiber connectors 100, 200, without having to worry about relative displacement between the components causing damage to the structure or detachment.
[0019] It should be noted that although the above example uses the optical fiber connector 100, this is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber connector 200 can also have the above-mentioned component configuration, which allows for smooth insertion and removal from the adapter 300.
[0020] In summary, in the above embodiment of the present invention, the optical fiber of the optical fiber connector is fixed by the ferrule and then installed in the housing, the tail sleeve of the optical fiber connector extends from the second end toward the first end of the housing, covering at least the housing and the locking member attached to the housing, and simultaneously the first locking portion of the locking member and the second locking portion of the tail sleeve interlock with each other, so that the tail sleeve, locking member, housing, and the ferrule and optical fiber therein are interlocked (or synchronized). In particular, the laminated coating structure formed by the tail sleeve, housing, and locking member ensures that when a user grips the tail sleeve, the force is properly transmitted through the laminated coating structure, allowing the user to smoothly insert or remove the optical fiber connector from the adapter.
[0021] In other words, the user can complete the necessary insertion / extraction operation simply by applying force to the tail sleeve, and the position where the user applies the force can be appropriately separated from the first end of the housing (i.e., the side closest to the adapter). The advantage of this configuration is that when the optical fiber connectors and adapters are densely arranged (i.e., when these optical fiber connectors are inserted close to each other on an equipment panel), it is difficult for the user's hand to contact the adjacent parts of the optical fiber connector and adapter (i.e., the first end of the housing), making operation difficult. By changing the position where the force is applied to the tail sleeve, which is separated from the first end as described above, the present invention provides convenience to the related operations and avoids the risk of damage to components associated with the insertion / extraction operation by interlocking (synchronizing) the components. [Industrial Applicability]
[0022] The present invention is used in the field of optical fiber technology, such as optical fiber connectors. [Explanation of symbols]
[0023] 100, 200: Optical fiber connector 110: Housing 120: Ferrule 130: Optical fiber 140: Locking member 141: First locking part 141a: Gentle slope 141b: Cliff 142: Spring arm structure 150: Tail sleeve 151:Second locking part 152: Cone surface 153: Force action groove 161, 162: First elastic member 163: Second elastic member 170: Receive block 171, 172: Sidearm 171a: Step 173: Spiral tube 180: Fixed tube 190: Base 191, 192: Guide pins 193: Recess 300: Adapter D1: First direction D2:Second direction E1: First end E2: Second end R1, R2: Containment room
Claims
1. 1. An optical fiber connector, comprising: Housing and a ferrule having at least one optical fiber fixed therein, mounted within the housing, and partially protruding from a first end of the housing, wherein one end of the optical fiber remote from the ferrule extends from a second end of the housing, the first end and the second end being opposite ends of the housing; a locking member attached to the outside of the housing and having a first locking portion; a tail sleeve attached to the second end portion of the housing, covering the second end portion and the optical fiber extending from the second end portion, the tail sleeve having a second locking portion and locking with the first locking portion, so that when force is applied, the locking member is activated and the optical fiber connector can be pulled out of the adapter; Including fiber optic connectors.
2. 2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the first locking portion is one of a locking protrusion and an engagement hole, and the second locking portion is the other of the locking protrusion and the engagement hole.
3. 3. The optical fiber connector according to claim 2, wherein the locking member or the tail sleeve has a spring arm structure, and the locking protrusion is located at an end of the spring arm structure.
4. 3. The optical fiber connector of claim 2, wherein a first side of the locking protrusion has a gentle slope and a second side of the locking protrusion is a cliff, so that the engagement hole moves along the gentle slope in a first direction until it falls down the cliff, and then is engaged with the locking protrusion in a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other.
5. 2. The fiber optic connector of claim 1, wherein said tail sleeve has a conical surface that converges away from said housing, and further has a plurality of force application grooves located in said conical surface.
6. 2. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, wherein a pair of receiving chambers is formed after the locking member and the housing are coupled, and are located on opposite sides of the housing, and the optical fiber connector further includes a pair of first elastic members respectively located in the pair of receiving chambers, and each of the first elastic members abuts between the housing and the locking member.
7. 7. The optical fiber connector of claim 6, wherein the locking member moves along a second direction relative to the housing, compressing and deforming the pair of first elastic members to accumulate elastic force, and when the elastic force is released, the locking member is driven to move along a first direction, the first direction being opposite to the second direction, and the second direction being a direction in which the optical fiber connector is pulled out of the adapter.
8. 2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the first locking portion and the second locking portion are locked coincides with a direction in which the optical fiber connector is pulled out from the adapter.
9. 2. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, further comprising a receiving block and a fixing tube, wherein arms extend from the front surface of the receiving block and engage with the inner wall of the case, a spiral tube extends from the rear surface of the receiving block, the fixing tube is screwed into the spiral tube, the outer wall of the fixing tube abuts against the inner wall of the tail sleeve, and the optical fiber passes through the receiving block, the fixing tube, and the tail sleeve in that order.
10. 10. The optical fiber connector of claim 9, further comprising a second elastic member disposed between the side arms and abutting between the side arms and the ferrule, wherein the side arms each have a step and abut against one end of the second elastic member.
11. 11. The optical fiber connector of claim 10, further comprising a base disposed within the housing and positioned between the receiving block and the ferrule, wherein the second elastic member abuts between the two steps of the side arms and the base.
12. 12. The optical fiber connector according to claim 11, wherein the base further has two guide pins, and when the base abuts against the ferrule, the two guide pins each penetrate the ferrule and the housing and partially protrude.
13. 2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein said tail sleeve, said locking member, said housing and said ferrule have a structure in which layers are laminated and coated from the outside to the inside.
14. 2. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, wherein the tail sleeve includes a head portion and a tail portion, the head portion having the second locking portion and covering laminated to the housing and the locking member, and the tail portion shrinks relative to the head portion to cover the optical fiber protruding from the housing.