Optical connector

Abstract

To provide an optical connector that increases the engaging force between an inner housing and an outer housing.SOLUTION: An optical connector comprises: a pair of ferrules; a pair of front housings each accommodating a corresponding ferrule of the pair of ferrules inside; an inner housing connected to rear ends of the pair of front housings; an outer housing including a first latch and accommodating the inner housing; and a tab disposed in a second direction intersecting a first direction with respect to the outer housing. The inner housing includes a pair of second latches respectively disposed on a pair of side portions in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction. Each of the pair of second latches includes an engaging portion that can be engaged with the outer housing. Each of the engaging portions is pushed toward the inside of the inner housing to release a state of engagement between the inner housing and the outer housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an optical connector. This optical connector includes a pair of ferrules each capable of holding an optical fiber, a pair of front housings each accommodating a corresponding one of the pair of ferrules therein, an inner housing connected to the rear ends of the pair of front housings, and an outer housing accommodating the inner housing therein. A pair of protrusions having inclined surfaces are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the inner housing. A hole is provided in the lower surface of the outer housing.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the optical connector of Patent Document 1, a pair of ferrules are each configured to hold an optical fiber. In such an optical connector, for various reasons, it may be necessary to change the polarity of the optical fibers held by the pair of ferrules. In that case, the outer housing is removed from the inner housing and rotated 180° to change the polarity of the optical fibers. Therefore, the inner housing and the outer housing need to be configured to be insertable and removable.

[0005] In the optical connector of Patent Document 1, any one of a pair of protrusions provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the inner housing engages with a hole provided on the lower surface of the outer housing, thereby preventing the inner housing from being unintentionally pulled out from the outer housing. This protrusion engages with the hole of the outer housing by an inclined surface so that the inner housing can be pulled out from the outer housing. Therefore, by strongly pulling the outer housing in the direction in which the optical connector extends, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing can be released. However, when a force is applied to such an optical connector in a direction inclined with respect to the direction in which the optical connector extends, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing may be unintentionally released. Hereinafter, the direction inclined with respect to the direction in which the optical connector extends may be referred to as the "oblique direction". In particular, when removing the optical connector from an external device, if a force is applied in the oblique direction, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing may be unintentionally released. Therefore, there is a need for an optical connector that improves the engagement force between the inner housing and the outer housing so that the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing is not unintentionally released even when a force is applied in the oblique direction.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an optical connector that improves the engagement force between an inner housing and an outer housing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present disclosure provides an optical connector having a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end in a first direction, and into which a pair of optical fibers can be inserted from the rear end. The optical connector includes a pair of ferrules that respectively hold a pair of optical fibers, a pair of front housings that respectively house the corresponding ferrules therein, an inner housing connected to the rear ends of the pair of front housings, a first latch that protrudes toward the front end along the first direction and is configured such that a tip portion thereof can engage with an external device, an outer housing that houses the inner housing therein, a tab that is disposed in a second direction intersecting the first direction with respect to the outer housing and is configured to release the engagement state between the first latch and the external device by moving rearward along the first direction with respect to the outer housing. The inner housing is configured to be insertable and removable in the first direction with respect to the outer housing so that the polarity of the pair of front housings can be changed by rotating 180° with respect to the outer housing about a central axis along the first direction. The inner housing has a pair of second latches respectively disposed on a pair of side portions in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction and exposed from the tab. Each of the pair of second latches includes an engaging portion that can engage with the outer housing so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing from the outer housing. Each engaging portion is configured to be elastically pushed inward of the inner housing. When each engaging portion is pushed inward of the inner housing, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing is released.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an optical connector that improves the engaging force between the inner housing and the outer housing.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, the contents of this embodiment will be listed and described.

[0011] An optical connector according to an embodiment has a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end in a first direction, and provides an optical connector into which a pair of optical fibers can be inserted from the rear end. This optical connector includes a pair of ferrules that respectively hold a pair of optical fibers, a pair of front housings that respectively house the corresponding ferrules inside, an inner housing connected to the rear ends of the pair of front housings, and a first latch that protrudes toward the front end along the first direction and is configured such that its tip portion can be engaged with an external device. It also includes an outer housing that houses the inner housing inside, and a tab that is disposed in a second direction intersecting the first direction with respect to the outer housing and is configured to release the engaged state between the first latch and the external device by moving rearward along the first direction with respect to the outer housing. The inner housing is configured to be insertable and removable in the first direction with respect to the outer housing so that the polarity of the pair of front housings can be changed by rotating 180° with respect to the outer housing about a central axis along the first direction. The inner housing has a pair of second latches respectively disposed on a pair of side portions in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction and exposed from the tab. Each of the pair of second latches includes an engaging portion that can be engaged with the outer housing so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing from the outer housing. Each engaging portion is configured to be elastically pushed inward of the inner housing. When each engaging portion is pushed inward of the inner housing, the engaged state between the inner housing and the outer housing is released.

[0012] In this optical connector, when the engaging portions of the pair of second latches provided in the inner housing are pushed into the inner side of the inner housing, the engaged state between the inner housing and the outer housing is released. That is, when the engaging portions of the pair of second latches are not pushed into the inner side of the inner housing, it is difficult to release the engaged state between the inner housing and the outer housing. Therefore, when removing this optical connector from an external device, even when a force is applied in an oblique direction, it is difficult to release the engaged state between the inner housing and the outer housing. Thereby, according to this optical connector, the engaging force between the inner housing and the outer housing is improved. Here, the external devices include, for example, an adapter for connecting optical connectors to each other and an optical transceiver for connecting an optical connector. Further, in this optical connector, the pair of second latches are respectively arranged on a pair of side portions in a third direction where no tab is provided and are exposed from the tab. Thereby, it is possible to easily pinch the pair of second latches with a finger and easily push the pair of second latches into the inner side of the inner housing.

[0013] In the above optical connector, each of the pair of second latches may include a main body portion which is an elastic body extending toward the front end. The engaging portion may be located at the front end of the main body portion. In this case, the elastic main body portion enables the engaging portion to be elastically pushed into the inner side of the inner housing.

[0014] In the above optical connector, the outer housing may have a pair of pushing portions respectively arranged on the main body portions of the pair of second latches and protruding outside the outer housing. Each pushing portion may be elastically supported so as to be elastically pushed toward the inner side of the outer housing. When releasing the engaged state between the inner housing and the outer housing, each pushing portion may be configured to push the main body portion of each second latch so that the engaging portion is pushed into the inner side of the inner housing. In this case, in conjunction with the pushing of the pushing portion of the outer housing, the engaging portion of the inner housing is pushed into the inner side of the inner housing. Therefore, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing can be released without directly pushing the engaging portion of the inner housing accommodated inside the outer housing. As a result, it becomes possible to smoothly release the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing, and the detachability of both is improved. Further, in a configuration where the pushing portion protrudes outside the outer housing, an operator can easily push each pushing portion into the inner side of the outer housing.

[0015] In the above optical connector, the inner housing may have a pair of protrusions respectively arranged on a pair of outer surfaces facing each other in the second direction. The outer housing may have a pair of portions respectively facing the pair of outer surfaces of the inner housing. Openings may be formed in each of the pair of portions of the outer housing. Each protrusion may include an inclined surface that engages with the corresponding opening so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing from the outer housing. In this case, the engagement force between the inner housing and the outer housing is surely improved.

[0016] In the above optical connector, the engaging portion may include an engaging surface configured to engage with the outer housing. The engaging surface may be perpendicular to the first direction. In this case, the engagement force between the inner housing and the outer housing is further surely improved.

[0017] [Details of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] A specific example of the optical connector of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and is shown by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements in the description of the drawings, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of the optical connector 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the optical connector according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connector according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical connector 1 includes a pair of front housings 10, 11, a pair of ferrules 14, 15, an inner housing 20, an outer housing 30, a tab 50, a boot 60, an elastic member 70, and a cable holding member 80.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 1 is a connector having a horizontally long shape in the longitudinal direction X, and has a front end 1a and a rear end 1b. The rear end 1b is located on the opposite side of the front end 1a in the longitudinal direction X. The optical cable K held by the optical connector 1 is inserted from the rear end 1b of the optical connector 1. A pair of optical fibers (not shown) enclosed in the optical cable K have the coating resin removed in the optical connector 1 and are housed and held in each of the pair of ferrules 14, 15. The optical connector 1 is, for example, a duplex LC type optical connector (Duplex LC Connector) and a uniboot type (Uniboot Type) optical connector. The optical connector 1 may be an optical connector having another configuration.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, a pair of front housings 10, 11 have main bodies 12, 13. The main bodies 12, 13 are formed of synthetic resin and have a rectangular prism shape with round holes 12a, 13a provided inside. The main bodies 12, 13 house a pair of ferrules 14, 15 that can each hold an optical fiber, with their respective tips 14a, 15a exposed to the outside at the front end 1a of the optical connector 1 within the round holes 12a, 13a. The tips of the optical fibers held protrude from the tips 14a, 15a of the ferrules 14, 15. The tips 14a, 15a of the ferrules 14, 15 may be planes parallel to the vertical direction Y intersecting the longitudinal direction X, or may be inclined planes. At the rear ends of the main bodies 12, 13, protrusions 12b, 13b are provided at the four corners respectively. These protrusions 12b, 13b define the relative positions when the front housings 10, 11 are connected to the front end of the inner housing 20. On both side surfaces of the front housing 10, a pair of rectangular openings 16 are provided, and on both side surfaces of the front housing 11, a pair of rectangular openings 17 are provided.

[0021] Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the configuration of the inner housing 20 will be described. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the inner housing. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the cross-sectional configuration of the inner housing along the transverse direction Z intersecting both the longitudinal direction X and the vertical direction Y and the longitudinal direction X. The inner housing 20 is a housing having a space inside which can accommodate optical fibers, and is formed of a synthetic resin. The inner housing 20 has a front end portion 21, a tapered portion 22, and a rear end portion 23, and is formed such that the inner space of the tapered portion 22 gradually expands from the rear end toward the front end. The inner housing 20 is a region for branching a pair of optical fibers enclosed in the optical cable K into the ferrules 14 and 15, and is connected to the rear ends of the pair of front housings 10 and 11. A pair of latches 24 and a pair of latches 25 are provided at the front end portion 21 of the inner housing 20. The pair of latches 24 are inserted and engaged from the inside into the pair of openings 16 of the front housing 10, and the pair of latches 25 are inserted and engaged from the inside into the pair of openings 17 of the front housing 11. Thereby, the pair of front housings 10 and 11 are connected to the inner housing 20.

[0022] The inner housing 20 has a pair of protrusions 26 and 27 respectively disposed on a pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b facing each other in the vertical direction Y (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The pair of protrusions 26 and 27 are provided near the center and slightly in front of the corresponding outer surface of the pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 26 is disposed on the outer surface 20a, and the protrusion 27 is disposed on the outer surface 20b. The protrusion 26 includes inclined surfaces 26a and 26b, and the protrusion 27 includes inclined surfaces 27a and 27b. The inclined surface 26a and the inclined surface 27a are located near the front end 1a, and the inclined surface 26b and the inclined surface 27b are located near the rear end 1b. The inclined surfaces 26a, 26b and the inclined surfaces 27a, 27b are inclined toward the inside of the inner housing 20 with respect to the vertical direction Y, respectively.

[0023] The inner housing 20 is disposed on a pair of side portions 20c and 20d in the lateral direction Z, respectively, and has a pair of latches 28 exposed from the tabs 50. The pair of latches 28 includes a rod-shaped main body portion 28a extending toward the front end 1a and an engaging portion 28b located at the front end of the main body portion 28a. That is, the main body portion 28a is integrated with a portion other than the latch 28 of the inner housing 20 at the rear end, and the engaging portion 28b is located at the front end of the latch 28. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 28a and the engaging portion 28b are integrally formed and continuous. The extending direction of the main body portion 28a is inclined so as to be separated from the central axis of the optical connector 1 in the lateral direction Z toward the front end with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the optical connector 1. Each latch 28 of the present embodiment is surrounded from three sides except the rear end by a U-shaped slit 29 formed in the side portion 20c (20d), and its contour is formed by the slit 29. Due to the elasticity of the main body portion 28a, the engaging portion 28b is configured to be elastically pushed in the direction of arrow S1 along the lateral direction Z (see FIG. 4), that is, toward the inside of the inner housing 20. Each engaging portion 28b includes an engaging surface 28c configured to engage with the outer housing 30. Each engaging surface 28c is, for example, a flat surface facing forward and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X.

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 5 to 8, the configuration of the outer housing 30 will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the outer housing. FIGS. 6 and 7 are views showing a state in which the inner housing and the outer housing are coupled. FIG. 8 is a view showing a cross-sectional configuration of the inner housing and the outer housing along the longitudinal direction X and the lateral direction Z. The outer housing 30 is a housing that houses the inner housing 20 inside and is connected to the inner housing 20. The outer housing 30 has a housing body 33 having openings 31 and 32 at the front and rear, respectively. On the upper surface 30a of the outer housing 30, a pair of wall portions 36 that define a portion 36a for housing the elastic member 70 inside and a pair of guide protrusions 37 located outside the wall portions 36 are provided. The elastic member 70 housed in the portion 36a is disposed between the outer housing 30 and the tab 50. Therefore, when the tab 50 is moved closer to the rear end 1b with respect to the outer housing 30, the elastic member 70 functions to return the tab 50 to its normal position. The elastic member 70 is, for example, a compression coil spring. Each guide protrusion 37 is located within the slits 55 and 56 (see FIG. 10) of the tab 50 when the tab 50 is connected to the outer housing 30, and guides the movement of the tab 50 along the longitudinal direction X thereof. The outer housing 30 has, as a connection structure with the tab 50, a protrusion 34 provided on the front side and connection slits 35 provided below each guide protrusion 37.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the outer housing 30 has a pair of portions 30c and 30d that respectively face a pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b of the inner housing 20. The pair of portions 30c and 30d face each other with the inner housing 20 sandwiched therebetween in the vertical direction Y. The upper surface 30a includes the outer surface of the portion 30c. The lower surface 30b includes the outer surface of the portion 30d. An opening 30e is formed in the portion 30c, and an opening 30f is formed in the portion 30d. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 are coupled, the protrusions 26 and 27 enter the corresponding openings among the openings 30e and 30f, respectively. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 26 enters the opening 30e and the protrusion 27 enters the opening 30f. By the pair of protrusions 26 and 27 of the inner housing 20 entering the openings 30e and 30f of the outer housing 30, respectively, the inner housing 20 is prevented from being pulled out from the outer housing 30.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the outer housing 30 is respectively disposed on the main body portions 28a of the pair of latches 28 and has a pair of pushing portions 39 that protrude outside the outer housing 30. The pair of pushing portions 39 are disposed on a pair of side surfaces of the outer housing 30 in the lateral direction Z. Therefore, the pair of pushing portions 39 are exposed from the tab 50. When the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 are in a coupled state, each pushing portion 39 is in contact with the corresponding main body portion 28a. Each pushing portion 39 is elastically supported by an elastic support portion 90 so as to be pushable toward the inside of the outer housing 30. The elastic support portion 90 extends along the main body portion 28a of the corresponding latch 28. Each pushing portion 39 has a side surface 39a on the side opposite to the surface that contacts the main body portion 28a. The side surface 39a is a flat surface perpendicular to the lateral direction Z. As an engaging structure of the pair of latches 28 of the inner housing 20, a pair of slits 38 are provided on a pair of side surfaces of the outer housing 30. Each slit 38 is formed closer to the front end 1a than the corresponding pushing portion 39. In the present embodiment, each slit 38 is formed so as to surround the periphery of each pushing portion 39 from three sides excluding the elastic support portion 90 of each pushing portion 39. In other words, each slit 38 forms the contour of each pushing portion 39. The pair of slits 38 have engaging surfaces 38a configured such that the engaging portions 28b are caught from the inside. Each engaging surface 38a is, for example, a flat surface facing rearward and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. The pair of latches 28 of the inner housing 20 and the pair of slits 38 of the outer housing 30 are engaged with each other, preventing the inner housing 20 from being pulled out of the outer housing 30.

[0027] The outer housing 30 has a latch 40 that protrudes toward the front end 1a along the longitudinal direction X. The latch 40 includes members 41 and 42 that are latch members extending toward the front end 1a along the longitudinal direction X. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state where the optical connector according to the present embodiment is inserted into an adapter. The members 41 and 42 of the latch 40 are provided with engaging portions 43 and 44 at their tip portions 40b that can engage with an external device such as the adapter 100 shown in FIG. 9. The engaging portions 43 and 44 include, for example, engaging bodies 45 and 46 extending along the longitudinal direction X, and a pair of engaging protrusions 47 and 48 protruding outward along a lateral direction Z that intersects both the longitudinal direction X and the vertical direction Y from each of the engaging bodies 45 and 46. For example, when the longitudinal direction X defines a first direction and the vertical direction Y defines a second direction, the lateral direction Z defines a third direction. By engaging the engaging protrusions 47 and 48 of the engaging portions 43 and 44 with the engaging portions in the adapter 100, the optical connector 1 is prevented from being pulled out of the adapter 100. Before the optical connector 1 is attached to the adapter 100, the tip portion 40b of the latch 40, that is, the engaging portions 43 and 44, are in a state of floating away from the front housings 10 and 11.

[0028] The members 41 and 42 of the latch 40 are provided with inclined surfaces 41a and 42a, inclined surfaces 41b and 42b, and recesses 41c and 42c in the vicinity of their centers. The inclined surfaces 41a and 42a are provided inside the latch 40. The inclined surfaces 41b and 42b are provided outside the latch 40 and form part of the recesses 41c and 42c. Note that the members 41 and 42 of the latch 40 may be formed to have the same thickness throughout, or the plate thickness at the end 40a may be thinner than the plate thickness in the region where the inclined surfaces 41a and 42a or the inclined surfaces 41b and 42b are located. In this case, the vertical movement of the tip portion 40b of the latch 40, that is, the engaging portions 43 and 44, with the end 40a as a fulcrum becomes smoother. Note that the plate thickness referred to here means the thickness in a direction perpendicular to the surface at each location.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the configuration of the tab 50 will be described. FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing the tab. The tab 50 is disposed outside the outer housing 30 side by side in the vertical direction Y with respect to the outer housing 30 so as to cover a portion excluding the engaging portions 43 and 44. In the present embodiment, the tab 50 is disposed to face the upper surface 30a. Further, the tab 50 exposes a pair of side surfaces of the outer housing 30 facing each other in the lateral direction Z and the lower surface 30b. A protrusion 58 inside the front end 50a of the tab 50 is connected to a protrusion 34 on the upper surface 30a of the outer housing 30, and a pair of latches 59 on the left and right inside the tab 50 are caught from the inside by slits 35 on the left and right of the upper surface 30a of the outer housing 30. Thereby, the tab 50 is connected to the outer housing 30 so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction X with respect to the outer housing 30. The tab 50 is configured to push down the engaging portions 43 and 44 of the latch 40 toward the front housings 10 and 11 in the vertical direction Y in accordance with the movement in the direction from the front end 1a to the rear end 1b along the longitudinal direction X. More specifically, protrusions 51 and 52 protruding downward are provided at the front end 50a of the tab 50. When the tab 50 moves rearward, these protrusions 51 and 52 move rearward along the inclined surfaces 41b and 42b of the latch 40, whereby the engaging portions 43 and 44 of the latch 40 are pushed downward.

[0030] In the central portion of the tab 50, a pair of slits 55, 56 are provided. In these slits 55, 56, a pair of guide protrusions 37 of the outer housing 30 described above are arranged. By each of the pair of guide protrusions 37 sliding within these slits 55, 56, the movement along the longitudinal direction X of the tab 50 is guided. Further, a gripping portion 57 is provided at the rear end 50b of the tab 50. When removing the optical connector 1 attached to the adapter 100 (see FIG. 9) from the adapter 100, the operator grips the gripping portion 57 and pulls it rearward, causing the protrusions 51, 52 to perform the above-described operation and releasing the engagement of the latch 40. The gripping portion 57 in the present embodiment has a cylindrical shape that wraps around so that the operator can grip it in both the vertical direction Y and the horizontal direction Z, but any configuration that allows the operator to grip it in at least one of the vertical direction Y and the horizontal direction Z is acceptable.

[0031] The boot 60 and the cable holding member 80 are members for introducing the optical cable K into the optical connector 1 and fixing the optical cable K at a predetermined position within the optical connector 1. The boot 60 is housed inside the gripping portion 57 of the tab 50. A part of the boot 60 and the cable holding member 80 are housed inside the outer housing 30 and the like.

[0032] Subsequently, the operation of attaching and detaching the outer housing 30 to and from the inner housing 20 in the optical connector 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. When attaching the outer housing 30 to the inner housing 20, the operator moves the outer housing 30 along the longitudinal direction X toward the front end 1a to couple the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30. More specifically, the outer housing 30 is moved along the longitudinal direction X toward the front end 1a so that the rear end portion 23 of the inner housing 20 is inserted into the opening 31 formed in front of the outer housing 30. At this time, each engaging portion 28b of the pair of latches 28 is caught from the inside by the corresponding slit 38 and engages with the slit 38. Thereby, the pair of latches 28 of the inner housing 20 engage with the outer housing 30. As a result, unintentional extraction of the outer housing 30 from the inner housing 20 is restricted.

[0033] Further, when the outer housing 30 is moved so that the rear end portion 23 of the inner housing 20 is inserted into the opening 31 of the outer housing 30, the edge of the opening 30e moves toward the front end 1a along the inclined surface 26b of the protrusion 26, and the edge of the opening 30f moves toward the front end 1a along the inclined surface 27b of the protrusion 27. As a result, the protrusion 26 enters and engages with the opening 30e, and the protrusion 27 enters and engages with the opening 30f. At this time, the inclined surface 26a engages with the opening 30e so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing 20 from the outer housing 30, and the inclined surface 27a engages with the opening 30f so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing 20 from the outer housing 30.

[0034] When removing the outer housing 30 from the inner housing 20, an operator moves the outer housing 30 along the longitudinal direction X toward the rear end 1b, thereby separating the outer housing 30 from the inner housing 20. At this time, while the operator pushes each pushing portion 39 in the direction of arrow S1, the outer housing 30 is moved in the direction along the longitudinal direction X toward the rear end 1b. At this time, each pushing portion 39 pushes the main body portion 28a of each latch 28. In conjunction with the pushing of the pushing portion 39, the engaging portion 28b of the inner housing 20 is pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20. As a result, each engaging portion 28b disengages from the corresponding slit 38, and the engaged state between the latch 28 of the inner housing 20 and the slit 38 of the outer housing 30 is released.

[0035] Also, when removing the outer housing 30 from the inner housing 20, an operator moves the outer housing 30 along the longitudinal direction X toward the rear end 1b, so that the protrusions 26, 27 disengage from the openings 30e, 30f, and the engaged state between the protrusions 26, 27 and the openings 30e, 30f is released. More specifically, along the inclined surface 26a of the protrusion 26, the edge of the opening 30e moves closer to the rear end 1b, and along the inclined surface 27a of the protrusion 27, the edge of the opening 30f moves closer to the rear end 1b. As a result, the protrusion 26 disengages from the opening 30e, and the protrusion 27 disengages from the opening 30f. Thus, the engaged state between the pair of protrusions 26, 27 and the openings 30e, 30f is released by applying a force along the longitudinal direction X.

[0036] Next, in the optical connector 1 having the above configuration, an operation for changing the polarity of the optical fibers held by the pair of ferrules 14, 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15. FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views showing a configuration including both the front housing and the inner housing. FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing an operation for changing the polarity of the optical fiber. Here, the polarity refers to the arrangement order of the pair of front housings 10, 11 in the lateral direction Z when the latch 40 is placed upward.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the optical connector 1 includes a pair of ferrules 14 and 15 each for accommodating an optical fiber. In the connection operation of the optical connector 1, not only when it is directly connected to the adapter 100 (see FIG. 9) with the polarity shown in FIG. 12, but also when the polarity is changed and it is connected to the adapter 100 with a polarity different from the above-mentioned polarity shown in FIG. 13. In this embodiment, changing the polarity means, for example, reversing the positions of the transmitting optical fiber and the receiving optical fiber in the lateral direction Z with reference to the position of the latch 40. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, first, while pushing each pushing portion 39 of the outer housing 30 into the inside of the outer housing 30, the front housings 10, 11 and the inner housing 20 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow S2, and the front housings 10, 11 and the inner housing 20 are removed from the outer housing 30.

[0038] Subsequently, the front housings 10, 11 and the inner housing 20 are rotated 180° in the direction of the arrow S3 with a central axis parallel to the longitudinal direction X and reversed. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the reversed front housings 10, 11 and the inner housing 20 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow S4 and inserted into the outer housing 30 again and connected. In this way, the polarity of the optical connector 1 can be easily changed.

[0039] As described above, in the optical connector 1 according to the present embodiment, when the engaging portions 28b of the pair of latches 28 provided in the inner housing 20 are pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20, the engagement state between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 is released. That is, when the engaging portions 28b of the pair of latches 28 are not pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20, the engagement state between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 is not released. For this reason, in the optical connector 1, when removing the optical connector 1 from an external device such as the adapter 100, even when a force is applied in an oblique direction, it is difficult to release the engagement state between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30. Further, in the optical connector 1, the pair of latches 28 are respectively arranged on a pair of side portions 20c and 20d in the lateral direction Z where the tab 50 is not provided, and are exposed from the tab 50. Thereby, the pair of latches 28 can be easily pinched with fingers, and the pair of latches 28 can be easily pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20.

[0040] In the optical connector 1, each of the pair of latches 28 includes a main body portion 28a which is an elastic body extending toward the front end 1a. Further, the engaging portion 28b is located at the front end of the main body portion 28a. In this case, due to the main body portion 28a which is an elastic body, the engaging portion 28b can be elastically pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20.

[0041] In the optical connector 1, the outer housing 30 is respectively arranged on the main body portions 28a of the pair of latches 28 and has a pair of pushing portions 39 protruding to the outside of the outer housing 30. Each pushing portion 39 is elastically supported so as to be elastically pushed toward the inside of the outer housing 30. When releasing the engagement state between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30, each pushing portion 39 is configured to push the main body portion 28a of each latch 28 so that the engaging portion 28b is pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20. In this case, in conjunction with the pushing-in of the pushing-in portion 39 of the outer housing 30, the engaging portion 28b of the inner housing 20 is pushed into the inner side of the inner housing 20. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly release the engaged state between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 without directly pushing in the engaging portion 28b of the inner housing 20 accommodated inside the outer housing 30, and the detachable property of both is improved. Further, in the configuration where the pushing-in portion 39 protrudes outside the outer housing 30, an operator can easily push each pushing-in portion 39 into the inner side of the outer housing 30.

[0042] In the optical connector 1, the inner housing 20 has a pair of protrusions 26 and 27 respectively arranged on a pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b facing each other in the vertical direction Y. The outer housing 30 has a pair of portions 30c and 30d respectively facing the pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b of the inner housing 20. Openings 30e and 30f are formed in each of the pair of portions 30c and 30d of the outer housing 30. Each of the protrusions 26 and 27 includes inclined surfaces 26a and 27a that engage with the corresponding openings 30e and 30f so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing 20 from the outer housing 30. In this case, the engaging force between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 is surely improved.

[0043] In the optical connector 1, the engaging portion 28b includes an engaging surface 28c configured to engage with the outer housing 30. The engaging surface 28c is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. In this case, the engaging force between the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 30 is further surely improved.

[0044] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be applied to various embodiments.

[0045] In the optical connector 1, each of the pair of latches 28 does not necessarily include a main body portion 28a that is an elastic body extending toward the front end 1a, and the engaging portion 28b does not necessarily need to be located at the front end of the main body portion 28a. Even in this case, if the engaging portion 28b is configured to be elastically pushable toward the inside of the inner housing 20, the effects of the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

[0046] In the optical connector 1, the outer housing 30 does not necessarily have a pair of pushing portions 39 that are respectively disposed on the main body portions 28a of the pair of latches 28 and protrude to the outside of the outer housing 30. Even in this case, the effects of the above-described embodiment can be achieved by directly pushing the pair of latches 28 or the like.

[0047] In the optical connector 1, the inner housing 20 does not necessarily have a pair of protrusions respectively disposed on a pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b facing each other in the vertical direction Y, and openings 30e and 30f do not necessarily need to be formed in a pair of portions 30c and 30d of the outer housing 30 that respectively face the pair of outer surfaces 20a and 20b of the inner housing 20. Even in this case, by engaging the pair of latches 28 of the inner housing 20 with the pair of slits 38 of the outer housing 30, a sufficient engaging force between the outer housing 30 and the inner housing 20 can be obtained.

[0048] In the optical connector 1, the engaging portion 28b does not necessarily include an engaging surface 28c configured to engage with the outer housing 30, and the engaging surface 28c does not necessarily need to be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. Even in the case where the engaging portion 28b engages with the outer housing 30 in another aspect, the effects of the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0049] 1... optical connector, 1a... front end, 1b... rear end, 10, 11... front housing, 14, 15... ferrule, 20... inner housing, 20a, 20b... pair of outer surfaces, 20c, 20d... pair of side portions, 26... pair of protrusions, 26a, 27a... inclined surfaces, 28... pair of latches, 28a... main body portion, 28b... engaging portion, 28c... engaging surface, 30... outer housing, 30c, 30d... pair of portions, 30e, 30f... openings, 39... pushing-in portion, 50... tab.

Claims

1. An optical connector having a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end in a first direction, and a pair of optical fibers can be inserted from the rear end, comprising: A pair of ferrules for holding the pair of optical fibers respectively; A pair of front housings for respectively accommodating the corresponding ferrules of the pair of ferrules inside; An inner housing connected to the rear ends of the pair of front housings; An outer housing having a first latch that protrudes toward the front end along the first direction and the tip portion of which is configured to be engageable with an external device, and the inner housing is accommodated inside; A tab disposed in a second direction intersecting the first direction with respect to the outer housing, and configured to release the engagement state between the first latch and the external device by moving rearward along the first direction with respect to the outer housing; The inner housing is configured to be insertable and removable in the first direction with respect to the outer housing so that the polarity of the pair of front housings can be changed by rotating 180° with respect to the outer housing about a central axis along the first direction; The inner housing has a pair of second latches respectively disposed on a pair of side portions in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction and exposed from the tab; Each of the pair of second latches includes: A main body portion which is an elastic body extending toward the front end; An engaging portion which is located at the front end of the main body portion and is engageable with the outer housing so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing from the outer housing; The outer housing has a pair of pushing portions respectively disposed on the main body portions of the pair of second latches and protruding outside the outer housing; Each of the pushing portions is elastically supported so as to be pushable toward the inside of the outer housing; Each of the engaging portions is configured to be elastically pushable toward the inside of the inner housing; When each of the engaging portions is pushed toward the inside of the inner housing, the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing is released. When releasing the engagement state between the inner housing and the outer housing, each of the pushing portions is configured to push the main body portion of each of the second latches so that the engaging portion is pushed inside the inner housing. An optical connector.

2. The inner housing has a pair of protrusions respectively disposed on a pair of outer surfaces facing each other in the second direction. The outer housing has a pair of portions respectively facing the pair of outer surfaces of the inner housing. Openings are formed in each of the pair of portions of the outer housing, and each of the protrusions includes an inclined surface that engages with the corresponding opening so as to restrict the extraction of the inner housing from the outer housing. The optical connector according to claim 1.

3. The engaging portion includes an engaging surface configured to engage with the outer housing. The engaging surface is perpendicular to the first direction. The optical connector according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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