Optical-electrical hybrid connector

Abstract

Provided is a photoelectric composite connector mounted on a circuit board, in which assembly of the photoelectric composite connector can be performed easily.　A photoelectric composite connector 1 attached to a circuit board, comprising at least one optical ferrule 40, at least one electrical connection terminal 50, a housing 10 to which the optical ferrule 40 and the electrical connection terminal 50 can be attached, and a retainer member 20 that can be fitted in the housing 10, the electrical connection terminal 50 being directly secured to the housing 10, and the optical ferrule 40 being sandwiched between the housing 10 and the retainer member 20 and held in the housing 10.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a combination optical-electrical connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Optical cables using optical fibers are widely used for information communication in households, industries, etc., because they are capable of transmitting large amounts of information at high speed. In addition, automobiles are equipped with various electronic devices such as car navigation systems, and optical communication using optical cables has begun to be used for communication in these devices. In particular, in recent years, the speed of communication has been increasing rapidly in the automotive field, but there are many challenges in performing high-speed communication exceeding several Gbps using electric cables, and as communication speeds increase, the importance of optical cables capable of high-speed communication is increasing in on-board communication devices. In particular, optical cables equipped with glass optical fibers can be suitably used for high-speed communication.

[0003] On the other hand, optical cables are not suitable for applications that require the supply of energy to operate communication devices, and electric wires having metal wires are also used in combination with optical cables. Therefore, in order to easily connect optical cables and electric wires to printed circuit boards of communication devices and the like, connectors have been developed that can connect optical cables and electric wires together to the printed circuit board of the device. Such optical-electrical composite connectors are disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like, and some have already been put to practical use. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2007 / 088863 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As described above, optical-electrical composite connectors have been developed as a means for connecting optical cables and electric wires together to a printed circuit board, but such composite connectors tend to be more difficult to manufacture than optical connectors that connect only optical cables or electrical connectors that connect only electric wires. Patent Document 1 discloses an optical-electrical composite connector that is mounted on a circuit board, and this composite connector incorporates a transmitting module having a light-emitting element and a receiving module having a light-receiving element, as well as an electrical connector and an optical connector. If an optical communication module is incorporated into the connector in this way, the internal structure of the connector housing becomes complex, and high accuracy is required for the alignment of each member to be accommodated. This makes it difficult to assemble the composite connector. In addition, optical connectors and electrical connectors usually have completely different manufacturing processes and manufacturing equipment, and it is easy to encounter difficulties in assembling a composite connector that has both an electrical connection part and an optical communication part including modules on the same manufacturing line. In particular, as communication speeds within automobiles become faster, there has been a shift in recent years from the plastic optical fiber (POF) that was previously used to being replaced with aluminum glass optical fiber (AGF). However, since AGFs have a smaller diameter than POFs, the optical communication components for AGFs are smaller than the optical communication components for POFs and require high placement accuracy, making it particularly difficult to correctly place them within the connector housing to manufacture a composite connector.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical-electrical composite connector that is mounted on a circuit board and that is easy to assemble. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The optical-electrical composite connector disclosed herein is an optical-electrical composite connector that is attached to a circuit board, and has at least one optical ferrule, at least one electrical connection terminal, a housing in which the optical ferrule and the electrical connection terminal can be attached, and a retainer member that can be fitted into the housing, wherein the electrical connection terminal is fixed directly to the housing, and the optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member and held in the housing. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The optical-electrical composite connector according to the present disclosure is an optical-electrical composite connector that is mounted on a circuit board and is easy to assemble. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a combined optical-electrical connector according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the combined optical-electrical connector as viewed from the front. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a retainer member is removed from FIG. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of the optical-electrical composite connector, in which Fig. 4A shows an enlarged cross section of the terminal attachment portion, and Fig. 4B shows a cross section of the ferrule attachment portion. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of the above-mentioned optical-electrical composite connector together with related members. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The optical-electrical composite connector according to the present disclosure is an optical-electrical composite connector to be attached to a circuit board, and has at least one optical ferrule, at least one electrical connection terminal, a housing in which the optical ferrule and the electrical connection terminal can be attached, and a retainer member that can be fitted into the housing, wherein the electrical connection terminal is directly fixed to the housing, and the optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member and held by the housing.

[0011] The optical-electrical composite connector includes an optical ferrule as a member for optical communication. An optical fiber can be coupled to the optical ferrule, and the optical fiber can be coupled to an optical communication module, such as one equipped with a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element. Then, even if an optical communication module is not incorporated in the optical-electrical composite connector, optical signals can be transmitted and received between an optical communication member, such as an optical ferrule, of the mating connector and the optical communication module. By not incorporating an optical communication module in the optical-electrical composite connector, the structure of the optical-electrical composite connector is simplified, and the optical-electrical composite connector can be easily assembled. Furthermore, in the optical-electrical composite connector, the optical ferrule is not directly fixed to the housing, but is sandwiched between the housing and a retainer member fitted to the housing and held in the housing. Therefore, the optical ferrule can be attached to the housing simply by fitting the retainer member into the housing, and the optical-electrical composite connector can be more easily assembled. The effect of simplifying the assembly process of the optical-electrical composite connector is particularly noticeable when the optical-electrical composite connector is applied to optical communications using thin optical fibers such as AGF.

[0012] Here, the optical-electrical composite connector may further include a split sleeve into which the optical ferrule can be inserted, and with the tip of the optical ferrule housed in the split sleeve, the optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member and held in the housing. By using the split sleeve, the optical ferrule can be positioned with high precision in the optical-electrical composite connector. Also, by inserting the optical ferrule of the mating connector from the opposite side into the split sleeve, the tip faces of both optical ferrules can be butted together with high precision to perform optical communication.

[0013] The optical ferrule may be coupled to an optical fiber and fixed to the circuit board via the optical fiber, or coupled to an optical communication module attached to the circuit board via the optical fiber. By mounting the optical-electrical composite connector on the circuit board in this manner, optical signals can be transmitted and received between an external optical communication member and an optical communication member on the circuit board via the optical-electrical composite connector, even if an optical communication module is not provided in the optical-electrical composite connector. In addition, by selecting the fixing point of the optical fiber and the type of optical module to which the optical fiber is coupled, the same optical-electrical composite connector can be used for optical communication for various purposes.

[0014] The electrical connection terminal may be directly and electrically connected to the circuit board at a board connection portion protruding outside the housing, thereby simplifying the configuration of the electrical connection portion of the optical-electrical composite connector and the configuration of the connection portion to the circuit board.

[0015] In this case, the board connection portion of the electrical connection terminal may be electrically connected to the circuit board by surface mounting using soldering or by insertion into a through hole, which simplifies the configuration of the electrical connection portion of the optical-electrical hybrid connector and allows easy formation of electrical connection to the circuit board.

[0016] [Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure] The optical-electrical composite connector according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the terms "cylindrical", "rectangular tube", "parallel", etc., which indicate the shape or arrangement of the components, include not only the geometrically strict concept but also the tolerance range generally acceptable for an optical-electrical composite connector.

[0017] <Outline of optical-electrical hybrid connector> 1 and 2 show rear and front perspective views, respectively, of an optical-electrical composite connector (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a composite connector) 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 shows a state in which a retainer member 20 has been removed from Fig. 1. The composite connector 1 according to this embodiment is configured as a board connector that is attached to a circuit board such as a printed circuit board (PCB), and simultaneously performs optical connection for optical communication and electrical connection for conduction with a mating connector.

[0018] The composite connector 1 according to this embodiment includes at least one optical ferrule 40 as an optical communication portion, and at least one electrical connection terminal 50 as an electrical connection portion. The composite connector 1 includes a housing 10 to which the optical ferrule 40 and the electrical connection terminal 50 can be attached, and a retainer member 20 that can be fitted into the housing 10. The electrical connection terminal 50 is fixed to the housing 10, and the optical ferrule 40 is attached to the housing 10 by the retainer member 20.

[0019] Before describing the structure of the composite connector 1 according to the present embodiment in detail, the use of the composite connector 1 will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of the use of the composite connector 1 together with related members. As shown in FIG. 5, the composite connector 1 is attached to a circuit board B by a housing 10. An optical ferrule 40 and an electrical connection terminal 50 are attached to the housing 10. The electrical connection terminal 50 is directly and electrically connected to the circuit board B at a board connection portion 51 on the rear end side. The optical ferrule 40 is used by coupling an optical fiber F. The optical fiber F is joined to the optical ferrule 40 at the front end side, and is coupled to an optical communication module M attached to the circuit board B at the rear end side. Here, the optical communication module M is a module that contributes to optical communication by receiving or transmitting an optical signal, and can be exemplified by a photodiode element (PD) or a laser diode element (LD).

[0020] The housing 10 of the composite connector 1 has a fitting portion 12 that opens forward, into which the mating connector 9 can be inserted and fitted. Here, the mating connector 9 is, for example, an optical-electrical composite cable connector, which is connected to the ends of an optical cable 93 and an electric wire 94, and includes a mating optical ferrule 91 and a mating electrical connection terminal 92. When the mating connector 9 is fitted into the composite connector (substrate connector) 1 according to this embodiment fixed to the circuit board B, the end faces of both optical ferrules 40, 91 are butted against each other to form an optical connection. In addition, the terminal connection portion 52 of the electrical connection terminal 50 and the mating electrical connection terminal 92 are fitted together to form an electrical connection. In this way, a path for an optical signal is formed between the optical cable 93 and the optical communication module M on the circuit board B through the composite connector 1, and conduction is formed between the electric wire 94 and the electrical circuit on the circuit board B.

[0021] In the illustrated embodiment, the optical fiber F coupled to the optical ferrule 40 of the composite connector 1 is directly coupled to the optical communications module M, but the optical fiber F may be fixed to the circuit board B by bonding or the like. The optical fiber F fixed to the circuit board B may then be pulled out onto the circuit board B or to the outside of the circuit board B as appropriate and used for connection to other members, etc. For example, the optical fiber F may be configured such that a midpoint is fixed to the circuit board B, one end is coupled to the optical ferrule 40 of the composite connector 1, and the other end is coupled to the optical communications module M mounted on the circuit board B.

[0022] <Structure of optical-electrical hybrid connector> Next, the structure of the optical-electrical combined connector 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0023] In this specification, the direction in which the composite connector 1 is connected to the circuit board B is defined as the downward direction, and the up-down direction (direction c) is defined. The axial direction of the optical ferrule 40 and the electrical connection terminal 50, which is perpendicular to the up-down direction, is defined as the front-rear direction (direction a). The tip side of the terminal connection portion 52 of the optical ferrule 40 and the electrical connection terminal 50 is the front. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction is defined as the width direction (direction b). The optical ferrule 40 and the electrical connection terminal 50 are arranged in parallel along the width direction.

[0024] The optical ferrule 40 is composed of a known ferrule for optical fibers. The optical ferrule 40 integrally comprises, from the front, a tip portion 41, a flange portion 42, and a rear end portion 43 (see FIG. 4B). The tip portion 41 and the rear end portion 43 are formed in a rod shape. The flange portion 42 has a larger diameter than the tip portion 41 and the rear end portion 43, destinationIt has a tapered shape with a diameter expanding from the end 41 side toward the rear end 43 side. An optical fiber F can be coupled to the optical ferrule 40. Here, the details of the type of the optical fiber F and the optical ferrule 40 are not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of application to high-speed communication, it is preferable to use a glass optical fiber (AGF) as the optical fiber F. AGFs that are generally widely used have a cladding diameter of 125 μm, and even in the case of a multimode type, the core diameter is often small, at 100 μm or less, and the area of ​​the tip surface of the compatible optical ferrule 40 is also small. The tip of the optical fiber F is coupled and fixed to the optical ferrule 40 in a plane flush with the tip surface of the optical ferrule 40.

[0025] The electrical connection terminal 50 is configured as an electrical connection terminal for a known insulated electric wire. The type and shape of the electrical connection terminal 50 are not particularly limited, but here, the electrical connection terminal 50 has a terminal connection portion 52 at the front end side and a board connection portion 51 at the rear end side. The terminal connection portion 52 is a connection portion that can be electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 92 of the counterpart connector 9, and for example, a form of a mating type male terminal can be suitably applied. The board connection portion 51 is a connection portion that can be electrically connected to the circuit board B, and in the illustrated form, the board connection portion 51 is configured as a through-hole pin that is inserted into a through-hole of the circuit board B. Alternatively, the board connection portion 51 may be configured as a board connection terminal (SMT terminal) that is surface-mounted by soldering, a press-fit pin that is pressed into a through-hole, or the like. In the illustrated form, the electrical connection terminal 50 has a bent portion 53 at the middle, the terminal connection portion 52 extends forward, and the board connection portion 51 extends downward. Between terminal connection portion 52 and bent portion 53, protrusion 54 (see FIG. 4A) is provided, which protrudes in a stepped shape in the width direction.

[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the composite connector 1 includes one optical ferrule 40 and a pair of electrical connection terminals 50. However, the numbers of optical ferrules 40 and electrical connection terminals 50 included in the composite connector 1 are not particularly limited as long as there is at least one each. When a plurality of optical ferrules 40 are included, each optical ferrule 40 is independently coupled to an optical fiber F.

[0027] The housing 10 is a case member made of resin. The housing 10 is formed in a generally rectangular cylindrical shape with a fitting portion 12 at the front as a space capable of accommodating the mating connector 9. The housing 10 has, at the position of the rear wall surface 11 and integral with the rear wall surface 11, a ferrule mounting portion 14 for mounting the optical ferrule 40 and a terminal mounting portion 15 for mounting the electrical connection terminal 50.

[0028] The electrical connection terminal 50 is directly fixed to the housing 10 at the terminal mounting portion 15. FIG. 4A shows an enlarged cross section of the terminal mounting portion 15, that is, a cross section perpendicular to the up-down direction passing through the center of the electrical connection terminal 50. The terminal mounting portion 15 is provided with a terminal insertion hole 151 as a hole penetrating the rear wall surface 11 of the housing 10. The electrical connection terminal 50 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 151 and is held by the terminal mounting portion 15 at the protrusion 54. The width d of the terminal insertion hole 151 of the terminal mounting portion 15 is smaller than the width of the electrical connection terminal 50, and the electrical connection terminal 50 is press-fitted into the terminal insertion hole 151 to fix the electrical connection terminal 50 to the terminal mounting portion 15. Furthermore, the top of the protrusion 54 bites into the wall surface of the terminal insertion hole 151, thereby firmly fixing the electrical connection terminal 50. When the electrical connection terminal 50 is fixed to the terminal mounting portion 15 in this manner, the front portion of the electrical connection terminal 50 has the terminal connection portion 52 protruding forward within the fitting portion 12 of the housing 10. On the other hand, the rear portion of the electrical connection terminal 50 protrudes rearward from outside the rear wall surface 11 of the housing 10, and the board connection portion 51 protrudes downward across the bent portion 53.

[0029] The optical ferrule 40 is held by the housing 10 at the ferrule mounting portion 14, but is not directly fixed to the housing 10, unlike the electrical connection terminal 50. FIG. 4B shows a cross section of the composite connector 1 at the ferrule mounting portion 14, that is, a cross section perpendicular to the up-down direction passing through the center of the optical ferrule 40. The ferrule mounting portion 14 integrally has a tubular portion 145 provided in front of the rear wall surface 11 of the housing 10 and an open portion 140 provided behind the rear wall surface 11 of the housing. The tubular portion 145 is a hollow cylindrical portion extending forward from the rear wall surface 11 of the housing 10 into the fitting portion 12, and is open at both the front and rear ends. The inner diameter of the tubular portion 145 is set to a size that allows the split sleeve 60 described later to be press-fitted into it, but does not allow the flange portion 42 of the optical ferrule 40 to be inserted therein.

[0030] The open portion 140 of the ferrule attachment portion 14 integrally has a bottom surface 141 extending rearward from the housing rear wall surface 11 and side surfaces 142 erected at both ends in the width direction of the bottom surface 141. The accommodation space 14S surrounded by the bottom surface 141 and the side surfaces 142 on both sides is continuous with the hollow portion of the cylindrical portion 145. The upper and rear sides of the accommodation space 14S are open and not covered by walls. The accommodation space 14S is capable of accommodating the flange portion 42 and the rear end portion 43 of the optical ferrule 40. A step structure is formed on the inside of the side surface 142 along the front-rear direction, and the front portion of the accommodation space 14S becomes a flange portion accommodation space S1 with a narrow width, and the rear portion of the accommodation space 14S becomes a rear end portion accommodation space S2 with a wide width. An engagement protrusion 13 is formed on the outer side of each of the side surfaces 142 on both sides of the open portion 140.

[0031] The optical ferrule 40 is accommodated in the cylindrical portion 145 of the ferrule attachment portion 14 with the tip portion 41 accommodated in the split sleeve 60. The split sleeve 60 is a metallic cylindrical member with a slit formed along the axial direction, and can hold the optical ferrule 40 inserted therein by tightening it inward with its elastic force. The split sleeve 60 serves to simplify and increase the accuracy of the positioning of the optical ferrule 40, and further to increase the accuracy of the connection with the optical ferrule 91 of the mating connector 9.

[0032] In the ferrule attachment section 14, the split sleeve 60 into which the tip portion 41 of the optical ferrule 40 is inserted is inserted from the rear into the cylindrical section 145. After insertion, the split sleeve 60 is press-fitted into the cylindrical section 145, and the tip portion 41 of the optical ferrule 40 is press-fitted into the rear portion of the split sleeve 60. The flange portion 42 and the rear end portion 43 of the optical ferrule 40 are accommodated in the accommodation space 14S of the open section 140 and protrude rearward from the housing rear wall surface 11. The flange portion 42 of the optical ferrule 40 is accommodated in the flange portion accommodation space S1, and the rear end portion 43 is accommodated in the rear end portion accommodation space S2. A space is left in the front portion of the split sleeve 60 into which the optical ferrule 91 of the mating connector 9 can enter.

[0033] In this manner, the retainer member 20 can be fitted into the ferrule attachment portion 14 of the housing 10 to which the optical ferrule 40 is attached. The retainer member 20 has a ceiling portion 21, and a pair of engagement portions 22 and a pair of insertion portions 23, each of which serves as a plate-like member hanging down from the ceiling portion 21. The engagement portions 22 are provided on both ends of the retainer member 20 in the width direction, and the insertion portions 23 are provided on the inner side of the engagement portions 22 in the width direction.

[0034] When the retainer member 20 is placed above the ferrule mounting portion 14 of the housing 10 and attached from above such that the ceiling portion 21 of the retainer member 20 covers the upper side of the open portion 140 of the ferrule mounting portion 14 (arrow A in FIG. 3), the engaging portion 22 of the retainer member 20 is elastically deformed so as to be pushed outward in the width direction and is positioned outside the side surface 142 of the ferrule mounting portion 14. The engaging portion 22 of the retainer member 20 is provided with a hole portion penetrating the plate thickness, and the engaging protrusion 13 provided on the side surface 142 of the ferrule mounting portion 14 fits into and engages with this hole portion, thereby fixing the retainer member 20 to the ferrule mounting portion 14.

[0035] With the retainer member 20 attached to the ferrule attachment portion 14 in this manner, the insertion portion 23 of the retainer member 20 is inserted into the accommodation space 14S of the open portion 140 of the ferrule attachment portion 14. More specifically, the insertion portion 23 of the retainer member 20 is inserted into the rear end accommodation space S2 at the rear of the accommodation space 14S. The rear end 43 of the optical ferrule 40 is already accommodated in the rear end accommodation space S2, and the insertion portion 23 of the retainer member 20 is pressed into a gap generated between the rear end 43 of the optical ferrule 40 and the side surface 142 of the ferrule attachment portion 14. A pressing portion 231 is integrally provided on the tip side of the insertion portion 23 of the retainer member 20 as a portion protruding inward in the width direction, and this pressing portion 231 comes into contact with the rear end 43 of the optical ferrule 40. By pressing the insertion portions 23 into the narrow gap, the insertion portions 23 are elastically deformed, and a force acting inward in the width direction acts between the pressing portions 231 of the pair of insertion portions 23. This force holds the optical ferrule 40 at the rear end portion 43. In addition, the front end portion of the insertion portion 23 of the retainer member 20 abuts against the rear end surface of the flange portion 42 of the optical ferrule 40, preventing the ferrule 40 from slipping out rearward.

[0036] In this manner, the optical ferrule 40 is accommodated in the ferrule attachment portion 14 of the housing 10, and the retainer member 20 is fitted into the ferrule attachment portion 14, whereby the optical ferrule 40 is sandwiched between the housing 10 and the retainer member 20. This sandwiching holds the optical ferrule 40 in a predetermined position in the housing 10. In this manner, by using the retainer member 20, the optical ferrule 40 can be attached and held in the housing 10 without directly fixing the optical ferrule 40 to the housing 10.

[0037] Furthermore, the housing 10 is provided with a plurality of pins 16 for physically fixing the composite connector 1 to the circuit board B. The pins 16 are each insertable into a through-hole in the circuit board B. The composite connector 1 can be fixed to the circuit board B by inserting the pins 16 into the through-holes in the circuit board B and fixing them appropriately by soldering or the like.

[0038] The optical-electrical composite connector 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, which makes it easy to assemble. As described with reference to FIG. 5, the composite connector 1 is provided with an optical ferrule 40 as an optical communication member, and by coupling an optical fiber F to the optical ferrule 40, the optical ferrule 40 can be fixed to the circuit board B or coupled to an optical communication module M attached to the circuit board B via the optical fiber F. Therefore, even if an optical communication module is not incorporated in the composite connector 1, optical communication between the counterpart connector 9 and the optical communication module M fixed to the circuit board B can be performed via the composite connector 1. Since there is no need to incorporate an optical communication module in the composite connector 1, the structure of the composite connector 1 is simplified, and there is no need to precisely position the optical communication member inside the connector. Therefore, the composite connector 1 can be easily assembled. In particular, if an optical communication module is to be incorporated inside a connector used to relay communication using an AGF, it is necessary to incorporate small optical communication members into the connector in response to the small diameter of the AGF, and high precision is required for the arrangement of these optical communication members, but by applying the configuration of the composite connector 1 according to this embodiment, a high effect can be obtained in improving ease of assembly. Note that although there is nothing to prevent an optical communication module from being incorporated inside the composite connector 1 according to this embodiment, from the viewpoint of simplifying the structure of the composite connector 1 and the assembly process, it is preferable not to incorporate an optical communication module.

[0039] Furthermore, in the composite connector 1 according to this embodiment, the optical ferrule 40 is not fixed to the housing 10, but is sandwiched between the housing 10 and a separate retainer member 20 and held in the housing 10. Since the optical ferrule 40 can be attached to the housing 10 by simply fitting the retainer member 20 into the ferrule attachment portion 14 in which the ferrule 40 is disposed at a predetermined position, the ease of the work of incorporating the optical ferrule 40 into the composite connector 1 is increased. Even when attaching a small optical ferrule 40 such as an optical ferrule for an AGF, the ease of the attachment work is almost the same.

[0040] In this composite connector 1, the optical ferrule 40 is held in the housing 10 by the retainer member 20, and is fixed to the circuit board B or coupled to the optical communication module M via the optical fiber F, but the electrical connection terminal 50 is directly fixed to the housing 10 and is also directly electrically connected to the circuit board B. By simplifying the mechanism for attaching the electrical connection terminal 50 to the housing 10 and the mechanism for connecting it to the circuit board B, the overall configuration of the composite connector 1 can be simplified.

[0041] <Other forms> As described above, the type and number of the electrical connection terminals 50 are not particularly limited. For example, either a general terminal that is not expected to conform to a specific standard or a terminal that meets a specified standard such as the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard may be used as the electrical connection terminal 50. The configuration using a general terminal is superior in terms of low cost, while the configuration using a terminal that meets the specified standard is superior in terms of being able to guarantee the performance of the electrical connection part, such as communication performance.

[0042] When a plurality of electrical connection terminals 50 are provided, the direction in which the electrical connection terminals 50 are arranged is not particularly limited. In the above embodiment, as illustrated, a pair of electrical connection terminals 50 are arranged in the width direction (direction b) together with the optical ferrule 40 (hereinafter referred to as a series arrangement), but for example, a pair of electrical connection terminals 50 may be arranged in the width direction (direction b) together with the optical ferrule 40 in a state where they are arranged in the vertical direction (direction c) (hereinafter referred to as a parallel arrangement). Whether a series arrangement or a parallel arrangement is adopted may be selected according to the application of the composite connector 1 and the type of the electrical connection terminals 50. The parallel arrangement is superior in terms of space saving, since it is easier to set the composite connector 1 to a small size as a whole. On the other hand, the series arrangement is preferable in terms of ensuring communication performance. This is because, when the illustrated series arrangement is adopted, the pair of electrical connection terminals 50 are arranged horizontally along the surface of the circuit board B, and it is easy to make the electrical connection paths from the electrical connection terminals 92 of the mating connector 9 to the circuit board B, i.e., the distance from the tip of the terminal connection portion 52 of the electrical connection terminal 50 to the tip of the board connection portion 51, equal in length between the pair. In the case of a parallel arrangement, the pair of electrical connection terminals 50 are arranged vertically with respect to the circuit board B, and a difference in length is likely to occur between the pair of electrical connection paths. In particular, when electrical connection terminals 50 that satisfy communication standards such as the Ethernet standard are used, it is advisable to adopt a series arrangement from the viewpoint of ensuring communication characteristics.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 (Optical-electrical) composite connector 10. Housing 11 Rear wall of housing 12 Fitting part 13 Engagement protrusion 14 Ferrule attachment part 140 Open area 141 Bottom 142 Lateral view 145 Cylindrical part 14S Storage Space 15 Terminal mounting part 151 Terminal insertion hole 16-pin 20 Retainer member 21 Ceiling 22 Engagement part 23 Insertion section 231 Pressing part 40 Optical Ferrule 41 Tip 42 Flange 43 Rear end 50 Electrical connection terminal 51 Board connection part 52 Terminal connection part 53 Bending section 54 Protrusion 60 split sleeve 9 Mating connector 91 Optical Ferrule 92 Electrical connection terminal 93 Optical Cable 94 Electric wire a Anteroposterior direction b Width direction c top and bottom direction d Terminal insertion hole width A Retainer member installation direction B Circuit board F Optical Fiber M Optical communication module S1 flange housing space S2 Rear end storage space

Claims

1. 1. A combined optical-electrical connector for mounting on a circuit board, comprising: At least one optical ferrule; At least one electrical connection terminal; a housing in which the optical ferrule and the electrical connection terminal can be mounted; a retainer member that can be fitted into the housing, the electrical connection terminal is directly fixed to the housing; The optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member and held by the housing, except for the case where the electrical connection terminal is held by the retainer member.

2. the optical-electrical composite connector further includes a split sleeve into which the optical ferrule can be inserted, 2. The optical-electrical composite connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member and held by the housing with the tip portion of the optical ferrule housed in the split sleeve.

3. 3. The optical-electrical composite connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical ferrule has an optical fiber coupled thereto and is fixed to the circuit board via the optical fiber, or is coupled to an optical communication module attached to the circuit board via the optical fiber.

4. 3. The optical-electrical composite connector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection terminals are directly and electrically connected to the circuit board at board connection portions protruding outside the housing.

5. 5. The optical-electrical composite connector according to claim 4, wherein the board connection portion of the electrical connection terminal is electrically connected to the circuit board by surface mounting using soldering or by insertion into a through hole.

6. The optical ferrule integrally comprises, from the front, the tip portion, a flange portion, and a rear end portion, the flange portion having a larger diameter than the tip portion and the rear end portion, the housing has a hollow cylindrical tubular portion extending forward from a rear wall surface, the tubular portion having an inner diameter into which the split sleeve can be press-fitted but into which the flange portion of the optical ferrule cannot be inserted; The optical-electrical composite connector according to claim 2, wherein the optical ferrule is accommodated in the cylindrical portion with the tip portion accommodated in the split sleeve, and the optical ferrule is sandwiched between the housing and the retainer member with the flange portion and the rear end portion protruding rearward from the rear wall surface of the housing.

7. An optical-electrical composite connector as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the electrical connection terminal has a protrusion that protrudes in a stepped manner in the width direction, and the electrical connection terminal is fixed to the housing with the top of the protrusion embedded in the wall of a terminal insertion hole that is provided as a hole penetrating the rear wall surface of the housing.

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