Optical connection structure, adapter, and optical connector

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a first optical connector (100) which is provided with a plurality of first ferrules (110) and a first connector housing (120, 130) that houses the plurality of first ferrules (110); a second optical connector (200) which is provided with a plurality of second ferrules (210) and a second connector housing (220, 230) that houses the plurality of second ferrules (210); and an adaptor (300) which has a tubular shape, and which engages with the first optical connector (100) and the second optical connector (200) such that the first optical connector (100) and the second optical connector (200) face each other inside the tubular shape when inserted inside the tubular shape and each of a plurality of first optical fibers (F1) are optically coupled to a corresponding one of a plurality of second optical fibers (F2). In this optical connection structure (1), provided to the adaptor (300) is a first latch release mechanism (322) that releases the engagement of the first optical connector (100) engaged with the adaptor (300).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an optical connection structure, an adapter, and an optical connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an optical connection structure for connecting an optical connector holding a plurality of ferrules to an adapter. Patent Documents 2 to 6 disclose optical connection structures including an optical connector holding a plurality of ferrules. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0255403 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 10,914,899 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent No. 8,992,097 [Patent Document 4] U.S. Patent No. 10,359,579 [Patent Document 5] U.S. Patent No. 1,067,0824 [Patent Document 6] U.S. Patent No. 10,598,870 Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure discloses an optical connection structure. The optical connection structure includes a first optical connector including a plurality of first ferrules configured to hold a plurality of first optical fibers respectively and a first connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of first ferrules, a second optical connector including a plurality of second ferrules configured to hold a plurality of second optical fibers respectively and a second connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of second ferrules, and a cylindrical adapter that engages the first optical connector and the second optical connector inserted into the cylindrical adapter so that the first optical connector and the second optical connector face each other inside the cylindrical adapter and each of the plurality of first optical fibers is optically coupled to a corresponding optical fiber among the plurality of second optical fibers. In this optical connection structure, the adapter is provided with a first latch release mechanism that releases the engagement of the first optical connector engaged in the adapter. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical connection structure according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the optical connection structure shown in FIG. 1 taken along line II-II. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state before the optical connector is connected to the adapter in the optical connection structure shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the ferrule of the optical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the front connector housing of the optical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the optical connector shown in FIG. 4 with the front connector housing removed. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of ferrules in the optical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of ferrules in the optical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an adapter according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] 12 is an exploded perspective view of the adapter shown in FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a perspective view showing an adapter body of the adapter shown in FIG. 11. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the adapter body shown in FIG. 13 as viewed from a different angle. [Figure 15] 15 is a perspective view showing the latch release member of the adapter shown in FIG. 11. FIG. [Figure 16] 16 is an enlarged perspective cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the latch member of the adapter shown in FIG. 11. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] [Problem to be solved by this disclosure] In the optical connection structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, a member for locking and unlocking the optical connector for connection to an adapter is provided on the outside of the optical connector that holds multiple ferrules, which increases the size of the optical connector. Therefore, when an optical connector that can be attached to and detached from an adapter and has multiple optical fibers mounted therein is connected to the adapter through a narrow space, the optical connector's routing becomes poor and work efficiency decreases. Therefore, there is a need for an optical connection structure, adapter, and optical connector that can improve work efficiency when attaching an attachable and detachable optical connector to an adapter, etc.

[0007] [Effects of this disclosure] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the work efficiency when attaching an optical connector to an adapter or the like.

[0008] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. An optical connection structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first optical connector including a plurality of first ferrules configured to hold a plurality of first optical fibers, respectively, and a first connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of first ferrules; a second optical connector including a plurality of second ferrules configured to hold a plurality of second optical fibers, respectively, and a second connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of second ferrules; and a cylindrical adapter that engages the first optical connector and the second optical connector inserted into the cylindrical adapter so that the first optical connector and the second optical connector face each other inside the cylindrical adapter and each of the plurality of first optical fibers is optically coupled to a corresponding optical fiber among the plurality of second optical fibers. In this optical connection structure, the adapter is provided with a first latch release mechanism that releases the engagement of the first optical connector engaged in the adapter.

[0009] In this optical connection structure, the adapter is provided with a first latch release mechanism that releases the first optical connector that is locked to the adapter. According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the first optical connector with an unlatch mechanism, which tends to be a complex structure and increase the size of the device, and therefore the first optical connector can be made smaller. If the first optical connector is small, the first optical connector, which can be attached and detached, can be easily routed when connecting to an adapter or the like through a narrow space. This improves the work efficiency when attaching the first optical connector to an adapter or the like.

[0010] As one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the adapter may include an adapter body having a first latch member that locks the first optical connector, and a first unlatch member attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along a first direction and having a first unlatch structure. The first unlatch structure may constitute a part of the first unlatch mechanism, and may unlock the first optical connector locked to the adapter when the first unlatch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body. According to this embodiment, the locking of the first optical connector in the adapter can be released by a simple means.

[0011] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the first latch member may be a pair of first latch members, and the first unlatch structure may be two pairs of first unlatch structures. According to this embodiment, the locking of the first optical connector in the adapter can be released by a simple means.

[0012] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the adapter body may further include a frame body having an opening therein. The first latch member may include a first latch body extending outward from the frame body along a first direction, and a first protrusion protruding inward from a tip of the first latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction. In the optical connection structure according to this embodiment, the first optical connector may be locked to the adapter by the first protrusion engaging with the latch receiving portion of the first optical connector. According to this embodiment, the adapter can lock the first optical connector using a simple means.

[0013] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the first unlatching mechanism may be configured to move the first protrusion of the first latch member outward when the first unlatch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body. According to this embodiment, the locking of the first optical connector in the adapter can be released with a simple operation.

[0014] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the first latch member may have a second de-latch structure provided beside the first protrusion, and the first de-latch structure and the second de-latch structure may constitute a first de-latch mechanism. In the optical connection structure according to this embodiment, when the first de-latch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body, the first de-latch structure may come into contact with the second de-latch structure and push the first protrusion outward, thereby releasing the lock of the first optical connector locked in the adapter. This embodiment makes it possible to more reliably release the lock of the first optical connector in the adapter.

[0015] As one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the adapter may further include a first guide member that restricts the distance that the first unlatch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body and that guides the insertion of the first optical connector into the adapter. According to this embodiment, by limiting the range of movement of the first unlatch member, the unlatch operation can be performed within a narrow range and the first optical connector can be smoothly inserted into the adapter.

[0016] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, an elastic member may be disposed between the first unlatching member and the first guide member, and the elastic member may act to return the first unlatching member toward the adapter body after the first unlatching member moves in a direction away from the adapter body. According to this embodiment, the return operation after releasing the lock of the first optical connector in the adapter can be achieved by a simple means.

[0017] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the first guide member may be provided with a restricting structure that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector into the adapter. For example, the end face of the ferrule held by the first optical connector may be inclined to prevent reflected backlight, etc. In this case, the first optical connector must be connected to the adapter or optically coupled to the second optical connector with the first optical connector in the correct vertical posture. In this embodiment, since the adapter is provided with a structure that restricts such posture in advance, the insertion posture when connecting the first optical connector to the adapter is not incorrect. As described above, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to consider the vertical posture when inserting the first optical connector into the adapter, and therefore work efficiency when attaching the first optical connector to the adapter can be improved.

[0018] As one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the adapter may be provided with a second latch release mechanism that releases the second optical connector locked to the adapter. According to this embodiment, the second optical connector does not need to be provided with a latch release mechanism, which tends to be a complex structure and increases the size of the device, and the second optical connector can also be made smaller. If the second optical connector is small, the second optical connector can be easily routed when connecting to an adapter or the like through a narrow space. This improves the work efficiency when attaching the second optical connector to an adapter or the like.

[0019] In one embodiment of the optical connection structure, the adapter may further include a second release latch member movably attached to the adapter body along the first direction at a position opposite to the first release latch member along the first direction, the second release latch member having two pairs of third release latch structures, and a second guide member that limits the distance the second release latch member moves away from the adapter body along the first direction and guides the insertion of the second optical connector into the adapter. The adapter body may have a pair of second latch members that engage the second optical connector. Each of the pair of second latch members may include a second latch body extending along the first direction, a second protrusion that protrudes inward from a tip of the second latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a pair of fourth release latch structures provided on both sides of the second protrusion. The two pairs of third release latch structures and the pair of fourth release latch structures of each of the pair of second latch members may constitute a second latch release mechanism. When the second release latch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body, the two pairs of third release latch structures may come into contact with the pairs of fourth release latch structures of the pair of second latch members, respectively, to push the second protrusions outward, thereby releasing the lock of the second optical connector locked to the adapter. According to this embodiment, the lock of the second optical connector in the adapter can be more reliably released using a simple means.

[0020] An adapter according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an adapter for engaging a first optical connector holding a plurality of first ferrules and a second optical connector holding a plurality of second ferrules. The adapter includes an adapter body having a first latch member for engaging the first optical connector, and a first unlatch member attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along a first direction and having a first unlatch structure. The first unlatch structure releases the first optical connector engaged with the adapter by the first latch member when the first unlatch member moves away from the adapter body along the first direction. In this adapter, the first unlatch member can release the engagement of the first optical connector by a simple means.

[0021] In an adapter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first latch member may be a pair of first latch members, and the first unlatch structure may be two pairs of first unlatch structures. In this adapter, the first unlatch members can release the lock of the first optical connector by a simple means.

[0022] In one embodiment of the adapter, the adapter body may further include a frame body having an opening therein, and the first latch member may include a first latch body extending outward from the frame body along a first direction and a first protrusion protruding inward from a tip of the first latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction. The first protrusion may engage with the latch receiving portion of the first optical connector, thereby locking the first optical connector to the adapter. According to this embodiment, the adapter can lock the first optical connector by a simple means.

[0023] In one embodiment of the adapter, the first latch member may have a second unlatch structure provided beside the first protrusion. When the first unlatch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body, the first unlatch structure may come into contact with the second unlatch structure and push the first protrusion outward, thereby releasing the first optical connector locked to the adapter. This embodiment allows the first optical connector to be more reliably released from the adapter.

[0024] In one embodiment of the adapter, the adapter may further include a first guide member that restricts the distance that the first unlatch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body and that guides the insertion of the first optical connector into the adapter. According to this embodiment, by limiting the range of movement of the first unlatch member, the unlatch operation can be performed within a narrow range and the first optical connector can be smoothly inserted into the adapter.

[0025] In one embodiment of the adapter, an elastic member may be disposed between the first unlatching member and the first guide member, and the elastic member may act to return the first unlatching member toward the adapter body after the first unlatching member moves in a direction away from the adapter body. According to this embodiment, the return operation after releasing the lock of the first optical connector in the adapter can be achieved by a simple means.

[0026] In one embodiment of the adapter, the first guide member may be provided with a restricting structure that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector into the adapter. For example, the end face of the ferrule held by the first optical connector may be inclined to prevent reflected backlight, etc. In this case, the first optical connector needs to be connected to the adapter or optically coupled to the second optical connector with the first optical connector in the correct vertical posture. In this embodiment, since the adapter is provided with a structure that restricts such posture in advance, the insertion posture when connecting the first optical connector to the adapter is not incorrect. As described above, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to consider the vertical posture when inserting the first optical connector into the adapter, and therefore work efficiency when attaching the first optical connector to the adapter can be improved.

[0027] In one embodiment of the adapter, the adapter may further include a second release latch member disposed on the opposite side of the first release latch member along the first direction, attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along the first direction, and having two pairs of third release latch structures; and a second guide member that limits the distance that the second release latch member moves away from the adapter body along the first direction and guides the insertion of the second optical connector into the adapter. The adapter body may have a pair of second latch members that engage the second optical connector. Each of the pair of second latch members may include a second latch body extending along the first direction, a second protrusion that protrudes inward from a tip of the second latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a pair of fourth release latch structures provided on both sides of the second protrusion. When the second release latch member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body, the two pairs of third release latch structures may come into contact with the pairs of fourth release latch structures of the pair of second latch members, respectively, to push the second protrusions outward, thereby releasing the lock of the second optical connector locked to the adapter. According to this embodiment, the lock of the second optical connector in the adapter can be more reliably released using a simple means.

[0028] An optical connector according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an optical connector that is inserted into and locked to a cylindrical adapter, and includes a plurality of ferrules configured to hold a plurality of optical fibers, and a connector housing that houses and holds the plurality of ferrules. The connector housing is formed with a latch receiving portion that engages with a latch member of the adapter.

[0029] This optical connector is formed with a latch receiving portion as a structure for latching onto the adapter. The latch receiving portion is easier to make compact and simpler in structure than a latch member, so the optical connector that can be attached to and detached from the adapter can be made compact. A compact optical connector improves the ease of routing the optical connector when connecting to an adapter or the like through a narrow space. This improves the work efficiency when attaching the optical connector to an adapter or the like.

[0030] In one embodiment of the optical connector, the latch receiving portion may be a hole or a recess provided in a wall constituting the connector housing. According to this embodiment, the optical connector that can be attached to and detached from the adapter can be more reliably miniaturized.

[0031] In one embodiment of the optical connector, the connector housing may have at least two or more guide surfaces on its outer peripheral surface that are configured to fit along the inner peripheral surface of the adapter, and the at least two or more guide surfaces may not have protrusions formed in the areas that are inserted into the adapter. This embodiment allows the optical connector to be more appropriately connected to the adapter and also allows the optical connector to be made smaller.

[0032] In one embodiment of the optical connector, a restricting structure may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing to restrict the orientation of the optical connector when inserted into the adapter, and the restricting structure may be a recessed portion. According to this embodiment, the orientation of the optical connector can be easily corrected when inserting the optical connector into the adapter, making the installation work easier.

[0033] In one embodiment of the optical connector, each of the multiple ferrules may have a tip surface from which the multiple optical fibers are exposed, and the tip surface may include an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a first direction, which is the extension direction of a holding hole that holds the multiple optical fibers. In this optical connector, the multiple ferrules may be held in the connector housing so that all of the inclined surfaces are located on a single inclined surface. According to this embodiment, because all of the inclined surfaces, which are the main surfaces of the multiple ferrules, form a single surface, cleaning of the inclined surfaces before optically coupling the optical connector to another optical connector is easier and can be performed more reliably. This can improve the coupling efficiency of the optical connector.

[0034] In one embodiment of the optical connector, the connector housing may be composed of a rectangular parallelepiped front connector housing located at the front and a rear connector housing located at the rear. The front connector housing may have a plurality of ferrule storage holes for storing a plurality of ferrules. The front connector housing may have four guide surfaces on its outer circumferential surface formed to fit along the inner circumferential surface of the adapter, and at least the area of ​​the four guide surfaces that is inserted into the adapter may not have a protrusion. This embodiment allows the optical connector to be miniaturized.

[0035] As one embodiment of the optical connector, the optical connector may further include a plurality of biasing members that bias the plurality of ferrules forward, and a storage member that receives rear ends of the plurality of biasing members and stores the plurality of biasing members. The storage member may have a first storage area that stores some of the plurality of biasing members, a second storage area that stores other portions of the plurality of biasing members, and a plurality of fiber insertion holes that correspond to the plurality of ferrules and allow passage of each of the plurality of optical fibers held in the plurality of ferrules. According to this embodiment, a large number of optical fibers can be mounted at high density within a single optical connector.

[0036] [Details of the embodiments of the present disclosure] Specific examples of the optical connection structure, adapter, and optical connector according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

[0037] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical connection structure according to one embodiment. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the optical connection structure shown in Fig. 1 taken along line II-II. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical connection structure shown in Fig. 1. 1 is a perspective view showing a state before an optical connector is connected to an adapter. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the optical connection structure 1 includes a first optical connector 100, a second optical connector 200, and an adapter 300. The first optical connector 100 includes a plurality of ferrules 110, each of which further holds a plurality of optical fibers F1. Similarly, the second optical connector 200 includes a plurality of ferrules 210, each of which further holds a plurality of optical fibers F2. The ferrules 110 and 210 are, for example, MT ferrules. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of optical fibers F1 and F2 are shown together, while in FIG. 3, the plurality of optical fibers F1 and F2 are omitted. In the example shown in this embodiment, the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 have the same structure, and therefore, redundant description may be omitted below. However, the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 may have different configurations.

[0038] The adapter 300 has a cylindrical shape and is configured so that the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 can be inserted from both sides of the cylindrical shape, as shown in FIG. 3 . The adapter 300 is a connecting member that locks the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 to the adapter 300 in a state in which the tip surface 101 of the inserted first optical connector 100 and the tip surface 201 of the inserted second optical connector 200 face each other inside the cylindrical shape, as shown in FIG. 2 . The locking to the adapter 300 is performed by a latch member, the details of which will be described later. With this locking, each of the multiple first optical fibers F1 held by the first optical connector 100 locked to the adapter 300 can be optically coupled to a corresponding optical fiber among the multiple second optical fibers F2 held by the second optical connector 200 locked to the adapter 300.

[0039] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an optical connector according to one embodiment. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connector shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the first optical connector 100 includes a plurality of ferrules 110, a front connector housing 120, a rear connector housing 130, a storage member 140, a plurality of biasing members 150, and a plurality of pin keepers 160. Similarly, the second optical connector 200 includes a plurality of ferrules 210, a front connector housing 220, a rear connector housing 230, a storage member 240, a plurality of biasing members 250, and a plurality of pin keepers 260. The ferrules 110, 210, the front connector housings 120, 220, the rear connector housings 130, 230, the housing members 140, 240, and the pinkeepers 160, 260 can be formed from resin materials such as polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), polyamide (PA), polyacetal (POM), polyphenylene ether (PPE), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or polyethersulfone (PES), or can be formed from composite materials in which glass fibers or glass spheres are filled into these resin materials. The biasing members 150, 250 can be formed from, for example, springs. Note that each optical connector 100, 200 according to this embodiment includes, for example, six ferrules 110, 210, six pinkeepers 160, 260, and six biasing members 150, 250.

[0040] Each of the ferrules 110, 210 is a member that holds a plurality of optical fibers F1, F2, respectively. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a cross section of the ferrule. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the ferrules 110, 210 have a plurality of fiber holding holes 111, 211 that hold the optical fibers F1, F2, respectively, front end faces 112, 212 from which the plurality of fiber holding holes 111, 211 are exposed, a pair of guide holes 113, 213, and openings 114, 214. The fiber holding holes 111, 211 extend along the axial direction A (first direction) and hold the optical fibers F1, F2 inserted into the fiber holding holes 111, 211. The front ends of the optical fibers F1, F2 held in the fiber holding holes 111, 211 are exposed from the front end faces 112, 212. The ferrules 110, 210 according to this embodiment hold, for example, 32 optical fibers F1, F2 (16 fibers x 2 rows). However, the number of optical fibers held by the ferrules 110, 210 is not limited to this. The optical fibers F1, F2, whose tip portions are held in the fiber holding holes 111, 211, are drawn rearward through the openings 114, 214. The tip faces 112, 212 may be entirely parallel to a plane perpendicular to the axial direction A, or may include a first face 112a, 212a parallel to the plane perpendicular to the axial direction A and a second face 112b, 212b slightly inclined with respect to the plane perpendicular to the axial direction A. In this case, the inclined second face 112b, 212b may be inclined, for example, by 8° with respect to the plane perpendicular to the axial direction A (see also FIG. 9 ). This prevents light emitted from the optical fiber that is reflected and returned (reflected return light) from entering the original optical fiber.

[0041] The pair of guide holes 113, 213 of the ferrules 110, 210 are holes for positioning the corresponding ferrules 110 and 210 when the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 are engaged with the adapter 300 and face each other. A guide pin (not shown) is inserted into one of the pair of guide holes 113, 213. By inserting the guide pin inserted into one pair of guide holes into the other pair of guide holes into which no guide pin is inserted, the ferrules 110 and 210 are positioned relative to each other, and each optical fiber F1 held in the ferrule 110 and each optical fiber F2 held in the ferrule 210 are optically coupled. The rear ends of the guide pins inserted into the pair of guide holes protrude rearward from the ferrule 110 or 210 and are held by pin keepers 160, 260 arranged behind the ferrules 110, 210.

[0042] The front connector housings 120, 220 (connector housings) are rectangular parallelepiped housings located in front of the optical connectors 100, 200. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view with a portion of the front connector housing cut away. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the front connector housings 120, 220 have a plurality of ferrule storage holes 121, 221 in the front that individually store a plurality of ferrules 110, 210. The cross-sectional area of ​​the ferrule storage holes 121, 221 is larger than the main body portions 115, 215 of the ferrules 110, 210 and smaller than the flange portions 116, 216 (see also FIG. 6). With this configuration, when the ferrule 110, 210 is inserted into the ferrule storage hole 121, 221 from the rear, the flange portions 116, 216 hit the edges 121a, 221a of the ferrule storage hole 121, 221, preventing the ferrule 110, 210 from moving forward any further. 8, the ferrules 110, 210 are urged forward by the urging members 150, 250. Due to the urging by the urging members 150, 250 and the abutment against the edges 121a, 221a, the ferrules 110, 210 are held in a floating state within the ferrule housing holes 121, 221. In other words, the ferrules 110, 210 are held in a state in which they can move back and forth within the ferrule housing holes 121, 221.

[0043] The front connector housings 120, 220 have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and have four faces 122a, 222a, 122b, 222b, 122c, 222c, and 122d, 222d. These four faces 122a to 122d and four faces 222a to 222d function as guide faces on one side when inserting each optical connector 100, 200 into the adapter 300. A pair of openings 123, 223 is formed on the faces 122a, 222a and 122b, 222b of the front connector housings 120, 220. A pair of engaging protrusions 133, 233 of the rear connector housings 130, 230, which will be described later, engage with these pair of openings 123, 223, respectively.

[0044] Grooves 124, 224 extending along the axial direction A are further provided on the surfaces 122a, 222a of the front connector housings 120, 220. The grooves 124, 224 are configured to regulate the insertion posture (up and down direction) of the optical connectors 100, 200 when inserting the optical connectors 100, 200 into the adapter 300, and are designed to engage with protrusions provided on the adapter 300. Furthermore, latch receivers 125, 225 consisting of a pair of openings are provided on the surfaces 122c, 222c and surfaces 122d, 222d of the front connector housings toward the front. The latch receivers 125, 225 penetrate the wall portion including the surfaces 122c, 222c and the wall portion including the surfaces 122d, 222d, respectively, but may also be non-penetrating recessed portions. When the latch receiving portions 125, 225 have a recessed shape, the latch receiving portions 125, 225 have a shape recessed inward from the surfaces 122c, 222c and 122d, 222d.

[0045] As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 8, the rear connector housings 130, 230 are cylindrical and have front portions 131, 231 and rear portions 132, 232. The front portions 131, 231 are housed inside the front connector housings 120, 220, and the rear portions 132, 232 are located outside and rearward of the front connector housings 120, 220. A pair of engagement protrusions 133, 233 is provided on the top and bottom surfaces of the front portions 131, 231. The pair of engagement protrusions 133, 233 engage with a pair of openings 123, 223 of the front connector housings 120, 220, thereby fixing the rear connector housings 130, 230 to the front connector housings 120, 220. 8, the plurality of ferrules 110, 210, the plurality of pin keepers 160, 260, the plurality of biasing members 150, 250, the storage members 140, 240, and the front portions 131, 231 of the rear connector housings 130, 230 are stored in the front connector housings 120, 220. The rear connector housings 130, 230 have a hollow shape, and the optical fibers F1, F2 are inserted therethrough and drawn out rearward.

[0046] 5 and 8, the storage members 140 and 240 are members that receive the rear ends of the multiple biasing members 150 and 250 and store the multiple biasing members 150 and 250. ,240 is located between the plurality of ferrules 110, 210 and the rear connector housings 130, 230. ,240The rear ends of the urging members 150, 250 are supported by the front ends of the rear connector housings 130, 230. The accommodating members 140, 240 may be formed from a member integrated with the rear connector housings 130, 230. The accommodating members 140, 240 have a first accommodating area 141, 241 that accommodates one group of the plurality of urging members 150, 250 (the three urging members on the left side of the figure), a second accommodating area 142, 242 that accommodates the other group of the plurality of urging members 150, 250 (the three urging members on the right side of the figure), and a plurality of fiber insertion holes 143, 243 that correspond to the plurality of ferrules 110, 210 and allow passage of each of the plurality of optical fibers F1, F2 held in the plurality of ferrules 110, 210. The fiber insertion holes 143, 243 extend all the way to the rear side. Although the first storage areas 141, 241 and the second storage areas 142, 242 are each formed as a single area (although they are spatially connected), protrusions 144, 244 may be provided that function as partitions that allow the biasing members to be stored separately.

[0047] In the optical connectors 100, 200 having the above-described configuration, as shown in Fig. 9, the ferrules 110, 210 are held so that their tip portions 117, 217 protrude from the tip faces 126, 226 of the front connector housings 120, 220. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the tip portions 117, 217 of the ferrules 110, 210 protrude by equal amounts from the tip faces 126, 226. However, as shown in Fig. 10, the protrusion amounts of the tip portions 117, 217 of the ferrules 110, 210 protruding from the tip faces 126, 226 may be increased, for example, from top to bottom, so that all of the second surfaces 112b, 212b (inclined surfaces) of the ferrules 110, 210 are positioned on a single reference inclined surface S (aligned with the reference inclined surface). In this case, the tip faces 112, 212 (second faces 112b, 212b) where the optical fibers F1, F2 are exposed are aligned on one surface, making it easier to clean the tips of the optical fibers F1, F2 and the tip faces 112, 212 of the ferrules.

[0048] Next, with reference to Figures 11 and 12, an adapter 300 that can latch and unlatch the above-mentioned first optical connector 100 and second optical connector 200 using a latch member will be described. Figure 11 is a perspective view showing an adapter according to one embodiment. Figure 12 is an exploded perspective view of the adapter shown in Figure 11. As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the adapter 300 includes an adapter main body 310, a first unlatch member 320, a first guide member 330, a first elastic member 340, a second unlatch member 350, a second guide member 360, and a second elastic member 370. The adapter body 310, first latch release member 320, first guide member 330, second latch release member 350, and second guide member 360 can be formed from a resin material such as polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), polyamide (PA), polyacetal (POM), polyphenylene ether (PPE), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or polyethersulfone (PES), or can even be formed from a composite material in which glass fiber or glass spheres are filled into these resin materials. The first elastic member 340 and the second elastic member 370 can be formed from, for example, a spring.

[0049] In the adapter 300, the first release latch member 320 is attached to the adapter body 310 so as to be slightly slidable relative to the adapter body 310 along the insertion / removal direction A of the first optical connector 100 (the first direction, which is the same as the axial direction A). The first guide member 330 is fixed to the adapter body 310, sandwiching the first release latch member 320 between itself and the adapter body 310. A first elastic member 340 is disposed between the first release latch member 320 and the first guide member 330, and the first elastic member 340 biases the first release latch member 320 toward the adapter body 310. In the adapter 300 configured as described above, moving the first release latch member 320 in a direction away from the adapter body 310 (the PULL direction in FIG. 11 ) moves a first release latch structure 322 (see FIG. 15 ) within the first release latch member 320, thereby releasing the engagement of the first optical connector 100 by the adapter body 310. This will be described in detail later. After release, the first latch release member 320 returns to its initial position toward the adapter main body 310 due to the bias of the first elastic member 340. The second latch release member 350 and the second guide member 360 have the same configuration as the first latch release member 320 and the first guide member 330 described above, but are provided on the opposite side in the insertion / removal direction A, and are configured to perform the same latch release operation.

[0050] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the adapter body of the adapter shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the adapter body shown in FIG. 13, viewed from a different angle. As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the adapter body 310 has a frame body 312 having an opening 311 therein, a pair of first latch members 313, and a pair of second latch members 314. The pair of first latch members 313 and the pair of second latch members 314 are disposed on opposite sides of the frame body 312 and extend toward opposite sides. Each of the first latch members 313 is provided on both edges of one surface of the opening 311 of the frame body 312 and includes a first latch body 313a extending from the frame body 312 along the insertion / removal direction A of the first optical connector 100, and a first protrusion 313b protruding inward from the tip of the first latch body 313a in a lateral direction perpendicular to (intersecting) the insertion / removal direction A. When the first optical connector 100 is inserted into the adapter 300, both first protrusions 313b engage with the latch receiving portions 125 (see Figure 4) of the first optical connector 100, thereby locking the first optical connector 100 into the adapter 300.

[0051] Each of the first latch members 313 further includes a pair of second de-latch structures 313c provided on both vertical sides of the first protrusion 313b. The second de-latch structures 313c have inclined surfaces that extend outward toward the frame body 312. When the first de-latch member 320 is moved in a direction away from the adapter body 310, the first de-latch structure 322 of the first de-latch member 320 moves up the inclined surface of the second de-latch structure 313c, pushing the first latch member 313 outward in the lateral direction. This pushing motion also pushes the protrusions 313b outward, thereby releasing the first latch member 313 from the latch of the first optical connector 100.

[0052] The second latch member 314 has a configuration similar to that of the first latch member 313, but is disposed and extends at a position opposite to that of the first latch member 313 in the insertion / removal direction A. Such second latch member 314 is provided on both edges of the surface of the opening 311 of the frame body 312 opposite to the first latch member 313, and includes a second latch main body 314a extending from the frame body 312 along the insertion / removal direction A of the second optical connector 200, and a second protrusion 314b protruding inward from the tip of the second latch main body 314a along a lateral direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction A. Both second protrusions 314b engage with latch receivers 225 (see FIG. 4 ) of the second optical connector 200, thereby locking the second optical connector 200 to the adapter 300.

[0053] Like the first latch member 313, each second latch member 314 further includes a pair of fourth de-latch structures 314c provided on both vertical sides of the second protrusion 314b. The fourth de-latch structure 314c has an inclined surface. The fourth de-latch structure 314c has an inclined surface that widens outward in the direction toward the frame body 312. When the second de-latch member 350 is moved in a direction away from the adapter body 310, the third de-latch structure 352 of the second de-latch member 350 moves up the inclined surface of the fourth de-latch structure 314c, pushing the second latch member 314 outward in the lateral direction. This pushing motion also pushes the protrusions 314b outward, thereby releasing the second optical connector 200 from the latch of the second latch member 314.

[0054] The first release latch member 320 is attached to the adapter body 310 so as to be movable along the insertion / removal direction A, and has two pairs of first release latch structures 322. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the release latch member. As shown in FIG. 15, the first release latch structures 322 of the first release latch member 320 are configured to include inclined surfaces 322a facing outward. These inclined surfaces 322a come into contact with the inclined surfaces of the second release latch structures 313c of the first latch member 313 and push them outward, thereby releasing the first optical connector 100 from the first latch member 313. The distance (vertical distance) between the inclined surfaces 322a of the pair of first release latch structures 322 is wider than the vertical length of the protrusion 313b of the first latch member 313, so that the protrusion 313b can freely spread outward (be pushed outward) when the above-described release operation is performed.

[0055] 11 and 12, the first guide member 330 is a member that restricts the distance that the first latch release member 320 moves in the direction away from the adapter main body 310 along the insertion / removal direction A, and also guides the insertion of the first optical connector 100 into the adapter 300. The first guide member 330 has four guide surfaces 332 that define an opening 331 provided on the front side. When the first optical connector 100 is inserted into the adapter 300, the four guide surfaces 332 guide the first optical connector 100 so that they come into contact with the four surfaces 122a to 122d of the first optical connector 100.

[0056] One of the guide surfaces 332 of the first guide member 330 (the upper surface in FIG. 11 ) may be provided with a restricting structure 334 that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector 100 inserted and guided by the first guide member 330. The restricting structure 334 is, for example, a protrusion extending along the insertion / removal direction A, and is inserted into a groove 124 provided on the upper part of the first optical connector 100. Such a restricting structure 334 makes it easy to determine the insertion posture of the first optical connector 100 inserted into the adapter 300. Note that the reason for restricting such an insertion posture is that the tip surface 112 of the ferrule 110 held in the first optical connector 100 is inclined, and the inclined surface of the ferrule 210 held in the second optical connector 200 and similarly having an inclined tip surface 212 is aligned (parallel) with the inclined surface of the first ferrule 110 during optical coupling. In this way, when only the up-down direction needs to be determined, the regulating structure 334 may be provided on only one of the four guide surfaces 332. Note that regulating structures 334 of different heights may be provided on two or more guide surfaces 332.

[0057] The first guide member 330 further has four insertion protrusions 336 at its rear end. These insertion protrusions 336 are inserted into four fixing holes 315 (see FIG. 14) provided near the outer periphery of the opening 311 of the adapter body 310, thereby fixing the first guide member 330 to the adapter body 310. The four fixing holes 315 are provided at positions corresponding to the insertion protrusions 336. The first guide member 330 also has an elastic member arrangement portion 338 on its outer periphery upper surface. A first elastic member 340 is arranged in one of the grooves of the elastic member arrangement portion 338, and the first guide member 330 is fixed to the adapter body 310 with the first latch release member 320 sandwiched therebetween. At this time, the tip of the first elastic member 340 contacts the tip wall 338a of the elastic member arrangement portion 338 of the first guide member 330, and the rear end of the first elastic member 340 contacts the rear end wall 324a of the recess 324 of the first latch release member 320. In the example shown in the figure, one spring is arranged above and one spring is arranged below as the first elastic member 340, but three springs may be arranged above and three springs below. Note that the configuration may not include the first elastic member 340.

[0058] The second release latch member 350 has the same configuration as the first release latch member 320 and is disposed on the opposite side of the first release latch member 320 across the adapter body 310. The second release latch member 350 is attached to the adapter body 310 so as to be movable along the insertion / removal direction A, and has two pairs of third release latch structures 352. As shown in FIG. 15 , the third release latch structures 352 of the second release latch member 350 are configured to include inclined surfaces 352a facing outward. These inclined surfaces 352a come into contact with the inclined surfaces of the fourth release latch structure 314c of the second latch member 314 and push them outward, thereby releasing the second optical connector 200 from the second latch member 314. The distance between the inclined surfaces of the pair of third latch release structures 352 is wider than the vertical distance between the second protrusions 314b of the second latch members 314, and is configured so that the second protrusions 314b can freely spread outward (be pushed out) when performing the above-mentioned unlocking operation.

[0059] The second guide member 360 has the same configuration as the first guide member 330. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , the second guide member 360 regulates the distance that the second latch release member 350 moves in the insertion / removal direction A away from the adapter main body 310 and also guides the insertion of the second optical connector 200 into the adapter 300. The second guide member 360 has four guide surfaces that define an opening 361 on the front side. Similar to the first guide member 330, one of the guide surfaces may be provided with a regulating structure that regulates the insertion posture of the second optical connector 200 inserted and guided into the second guide member 360. However, this regulating structure is provided in a position (e.g., the bottom surface) that is upside down compared to the regulating structure 334 of the first guide member 330. With this arrangement, the inclined surfaces of the tip surfaces of the first optical connector 100 and the second optical connector 200 coincide with each other.

[0060] The second guide member 360 has four insertion protrusions 366 at its rear end. These insertion protrusions 366 are inserted into four fixing holes 315 (see FIG. 14 ) provided near the outer periphery of the opening 311 of the adapter body 310, thereby fixing the second guide member 360 to the adapter body 310. The four fixing holes 315 are provided at positions corresponding to the insertion protrusions 366. The second guide member 360 also has an elastic member arrangement portion 368 on its outer periphery, an upper surface. A second elastic member 370 is arranged in one of the grooves of this elastic member arrangement portion 368, and the second guide member 360 is fixed to the adapter body 310 with the second latch release member 350 sandwiched therebetween. At this time, the tip of the second elastic member 370 contacts the tip wall 368a of the elastic member placement portion 368 of the second guide member 360, and the rear end of the second elastic member 370 contacts the rear end wall of the recess of the second latch release member 350.

[0061] 16, the operation of unlatching the first optical connector 100 inserted into the adapter 300 and locked by the latch member in the optical connection structure 1 according to this embodiment will be described. The operation of unlatching the second optical connector 200 inserted into the adapter 300 and locked by the latch member is the same, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0062] First, to release the latch, the first release latch member 320 is moved in the insertion / removal direction A away from the adapter main body 310. Then, the inclined surface 322a of the first release latch structure 322 provided on the inside of the first release latch member 320 moves inward (arrow S1) and comes into contact with the second release latch structure 313c of the first latch member 313. When the first release latch member 320 is then further moved in the direction away from the adapter main body 310, the first release latch structure 322 moves further, pushing outward the region including the protrusion 313b of the first latch member 313 in the lateral direction (arrow S2). This disengages the protrusion 313b of the first latch member 313, which had been engaged with the latch receiver 125 of the first optical connector 100, from the latch receiver 125, allowing the first optical connector 100 to be removed from the adapter 300. When the first optical connector 100 is removed from the adapter 300, the first unlatch member 320 is returned to its initial position by the first elastic member 340. The above-described operation is performed simultaneously in each of the first unlatch structures 322.

[0063] As described above, in the optical connection structure 1, the adapter 300 is provided with an unlatch mechanism that releases the first optical connector 100 that has been locked to the adapter 300. According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the first optical connector 100 with an unlatch mechanism, which tends to be a complex structure and increase the size of the device, and therefore the first optical connector 100 can be made smaller. If the first optical connector 100 is small, the first optical connector 100, which can be attached and detached, can be easily routed in applications where it is connected to the adapter 300 or the like through narrow spaces. This improves the efficiency of the work when attaching the first optical connector 100 to the adapter 300.

[0064] In this embodiment, the adapter 300 includes an adapter main body 310 having a pair of first latch members 313 that lock the first optical connector 100, and a first unlatch member 320 that is attached to the adapter main body 310 so as to be movable along the insertion / removal direction A and has two pairs of first unlatch structures 322. The two pairs of first unlatch structures 322 form part of the unlatch mechanism, and unlock the first optical connector 100 that has been locked to the adapter 300 when the first unlatch member 320 moves in the insertion / removal direction A away from the adapter main body 310. This makes it possible to unlock the first optical connector 100 in the adapter 300 by simple means.

[0065] In this embodiment, the adapter body 310 further includes a frame body 312 having an opening 311 formed therein. Each of the pair of first latch members 313 includes a first latch body 313a extending outward from the frame body 31 in the insertion / removal direction A, and a first protrusion 313b protruding inward from the tip of the first latch body 313a. The first protrusion 313b engages with the latch receiving portion 125 of the first optical connector 100, thereby locking the first optical connector 100 to the adapter 300. This configuration allows the adapter 300 to lock the first optical connector 100 using simple means.

[0066] In this embodiment, the above-described latch release mechanism is configured to move the first protrusions 313b of the pair of first latch members 313 outward when the first latch release member 320 moves in a direction away from the adapter main body 310 along the insertion / removal direction A. With this configuration, the locking of the first optical connector 100 in the adapter 300 can be released with a simple operation.

[0067] In this embodiment, each of the pair of first latch members 313 may have a pair of second de-latch structures 313c provided on both sides of the first protrusion 313b, and the two pairs of first de-latch structures 322 and the pair of second de-latch structures 313c of each of the pair of first latch members 313 may constitute a latch release mechanism. In this optical connection structure 1, when the first de-latch member 320 moves in the insertion / removal direction A away from the adapter main body 310, the two pairs of first de-latch structures 322 come into contact with the pair of second de-latch structures 313c of each of the pair of first latch members 313, pushing the first protrusions 313b outward, thereby releasing the lock of the first optical connector 100 locked to the adapter 300. This configuration makes it possible to more reliably release the lock of the first optical connector 100 in the adapter 300.

[0068] In this embodiment, the adapter 300 further includes a first guide member 330 that restricts the distance that the first unlatch member 320 moves in the direction away from the adapter main body 310 along the insertion / removal direction A, and that guides the insertion of the first optical connector 100 into the adapter 300. By limiting the range of movement of the first unlatch member 320 in this manner, the unlatch operation can be performed within a narrow range, and the first optical connector 100 can be inserted into the adapter 300 smoothly.

[0069] In this embodiment, an elastic member 340 is disposed between the first unlatch member 320 and the first guide member 330, and the elastic member 340 acts to return the first unlatch member 320 toward the adapter body 310 after the first unlatch member 320 moves in a direction away from the adapter body 310. With this configuration, the return operation after the first optical connector 100 is released from the latch in the adapter 300 can be achieved by simple means.

[0070] In this embodiment, the first guide member 330 is provided with a restricting structure 334 that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector 100 relative to the adapter 300. For example, the end face of the ferrule 110 held by the first optical connector 100 may be inclined to prevent reflected backlight, etc. In this case, the first optical connector 100 needs to be connected to the adapter 300 or optically coupled to the second optical connector 200 with the vertical posture of the first optical connector 100 correct. In this embodiment, since the structure that restricts such posture is provided in advance in the adapter 300, the insertion posture when connecting the first optical connector 100 to the adapter 300 is not incorrect. As described above, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to consider the vertical posture when inserting the first optical connector 100 into the adapter 300, and therefore work efficiency when attaching the first optical connector 100 to the adapter 300 can be improved.

[0071] In this embodiment, the adapter 300 may be provided with a second latch release mechanism that releases the second optical connector 200 that has been locked to the adapter 300. According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the second optical connector 200 with an unlatch mechanism, which tends to be bulky and increase the size of the device, and therefore the second optical connector 200 can also be made smaller. If the second optical connector 200 is small, the ease of routing the second optical connector 200 is improved when connecting to an adapter or the like through a narrow space. This improves the work efficiency when attaching the second optical connector 200 to the adapter 300 or the like. Note that this structure for locking the second optical connector 200 to the adapter 300 is the same as the structure for locking the first optical connector 100 to the adapter 300, and can achieve the same effects.

[0072] In this embodiment, the optical connectors 100, 200 are formed with latch receiving portions 125, 225 as a configuration for latching onto the adapter 300. The latch receiving portions 125, 225 are easier to configure and miniaturize than latch members, and this configuration allows for the miniaturization of the optical connector that can be attached to and detached from the adapter 300. A compact optical connector improves the ease of routing the optical connector when connecting to an adapter or the like through a narrow space. This improves the work efficiency when attaching the optical connector to an adapter or the like.

[0073] In this embodiment, the latch receiving portions 125, 225 of the optical connectors 100, 200 are holes or recesses provided in the walls that constitute the front connector housings 120, 220. With this configuration, the optical connectors 100, 200 that can be attached to and detached from the adapter 300 can be more reliably made smaller.

[0074] In this embodiment, the front connector housings 120, 220 of the optical connectors 100, 200 have at least two guide surfaces on their outer circumferential surfaces that are configured to fit along the inner circumferential surface of the adapter 300. Furthermore, no protrusions or the like are formed on these guide surfaces in the area that is inserted into the adapter 300. In other words, they do not have any configuration that protrudes outward. This configuration allows the optical connectors 100, 200 to be connected to the adapter 300 more appropriately, and also allows the optical connectors 100, 200 to be made smaller.

[0075] In this embodiment, grooves 124, 224, which are restriction structures that restrict the posture of the optical connectors 100, 200 when inserted into the adapter 300, are provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the front connector housings 120, 220 of the optical connectors 100, 200. With this configuration, the posture of the optical connectors 100, 200 can be easily corrected when inserting the optical connectors 100, 200 into the adapter 300, making the installation work easier.

[0076] In this embodiment, each of the ferrules 110, 210 of the optical connector 100, 200 has a distal end surface 112, 212 from which the optical fibers F1, F2 are exposed. The distal end surface 112, 212 includes a second surface 112b, 212b (inclined surface) inclined relative to a plane perpendicular to the extension direction of the holding hole that holds the optical fibers F1, F2. In this optical connector 100, 200, the ferrules 110, 210 may be held in the connector housing so that all of the second surfaces 112b, 212b (inclined surfaces) are located on a single inclined surface. In this case, because all of the inclined surfaces, which are the main surfaces of the ferrules 110, 210, form a single surface, cleaning of the inclined surfaces before optically coupling the optical connector 100, 200 to another optical connector is facilitated and can be performed reliably. This improves the coupling efficiency of the optical connector.

[0077] In this embodiment, the connector housing of the optical connector is a rectangular parallelepiped front connector housing 120 located at the front. ,220 and a rear connector housing 130 located at the rear. ,230 The front connector housing 120 ,220 The front connector housing 120 has a plurality of ferrule receiving holes 121, 221 for receiving the plurality of ferrules 110, 210, respectively. ,220 has four guide surfaces formed on its outer circumferential surface to fit the inner circumferential surface of adapter 300, and no protrusions are formed on at least the area of ​​the four guide surfaces that is inserted into the adapter. With this configuration, the optical connectors 100 and 200 can be made smaller.

[0078] In this embodiment, the optical connector 100, 200 further includes a plurality of biasing members 150, 250 that bias the plurality of ferrules 110, 210 forward, and a storage member 140, 240 that receives the rear ends of the plurality of biasing members 150, 250 and stores the plurality of biasing members 150, 250. The storage member 140, 240 has a first storage area 141, 241 that stores some of the plurality of biasing members 150, 250, a second storage area 142, 242 that stores other parts of the plurality of biasing members 150, 250, and a plurality of fiber insertion holes 143, 243 that correspond to the plurality of ferrules 110, 210 and allow passage of each of the plurality of optical fibers F1, F2 held in the plurality of ferrules 110, 210. This configuration allows a large number of optical fibers to be mounted at high density within a single optical connector.

[0079] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be applied to various embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1...Optical connection structure 100...First optical connector 101,201…Tip surface 110,210...Ferrule 111, 211...Fiber holding holes 112,212…Tip surface 112a,212a…First side 112b, 212b…Second surface (slanted surface) 113,213...Guide holes 114,214…Aperture 115,215...Main body 116,216... Tsuba section 117,217...Tip part 120, 220...Front connector housing (connector housing) 121, 221...Ferrule storage hole 121a,221a...Edge 122a to 122d, 222a to 222d... surfaces (guide surfaces) 123,223…Aperture 124,224...Groove (regulatory structure) 125, 225...Latch receiving part 126,226…Tip surface 130, 230...Rear connector housing 131,231...front part 132,232…rear part 133,233…Engagement protrusion 140, 240...Storage components 141,241...First storage area 142,242...Second storage area 143, 243...Fiber insertion hole 150, 250... Urging member 160,260... Pinkie Pie 200...Second optical connector 300...Adapter 310...Adapter body 311…Aperture 312…Frame body 313...First latch member 313a...First latch body 313b...first protrusion 313c...Second latch release structure 314...Second latch member 314a...Second latch body 314b…Second protrusion 314c...Fourth latch release structure 315…Fixing hole 320...First latch release member 322...First latch release structure 322a…Slanted surface 324...recess 324a……Rear end wall 330...First guide member 331,361…Aperture 332...Guide surface 334...Regulatory Structure 336,366...insertion protrusion 338, 368...Elastic member arrangement section 338a, 368a...Tip wall 340...First elastic member 350...Second latch release member 352...Third latch release structure 352a…Slanted surface 354...recess 354a……Rear end wall 360...Second guide member 370...Second elastic member A...Axial direction, insertion / removal direction F1, F2...Optical fiber S…Reference slope S1, S2...arrows

Claims

1. a first optical connector including a plurality of first ferrules each configured to hold a plurality of first optical fibers, and a first connector housing that houses and holds the plurality of first ferrules; a second optical connector including a plurality of second ferrules each configured to hold a plurality of second optical fibers, and a second connector housing that houses and holds the plurality of second ferrules; an adapter having a cylindrical shape, which engages the first optical connector and the second optical connector inserted into the cylindrical shape so that the first optical connector and the second optical connector face each other inside the cylindrical shape and each of the plurality of first optical fibers is optically coupled to a corresponding optical fiber among the plurality of second optical fibers; a first latch release mechanism that releases the first optical connector that has been locked to the adapter is provided in the adapter; The adapter is an adapter body having a first latch member that locks the first optical connector; a first unlatching member attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along a first direction, the first unlatching member having a first unlatching structure; The first latch release structure forms part of the first latch release mechanism, and when the first latch release member moves in the first direction away from the adapter body, it releases the engagement of the first optical connector engaged with the adapter.

2. the first latch members are a pair of first latch members, the first unlatch structures are two pairs of first unlatch structures; The optical connection structure according to claim 1 .

3. The adapter body further includes a frame having an opening therein, the first latch member includes a first latch body extending outward from the frame body along the first direction, and a first protruding portion protruding inward from a tip of the first latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction, the first protrusion engages with the latch receiving portion of the first optical connector, thereby locking the first optical connector to the adapter; The optical connection structure according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the first latch release mechanism is configured to move the first protrusion of the first latch member outward when the first latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along the first direction. The optical connection structure according to claim 3 .

5. the first latch member has a second unlatching structure provided on a side of the first protrusion; the first de-latch structure and the second de-latch structure constitute the first de-latch mechanism; when the first release latch member moves in the direction away from the adapter body along the first direction, the first release latch structure comes into contact with the second release latch structure to push the first protrusion outward, thereby releasing the lock of the first optical connector locked to the adapter.

5. The optical connection structure according to claim 3 or 4.

6. the adapter further includes a first guide member that restricts the distance that the first latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along the first direction and that guides the insertion of the first optical connector into the adapter. The optical connection structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. an elastic member disposed between the first latch release member and the first guide member, the elastic member acting to return the first latch release member toward the adapter body after the first latch release member has moved in a direction away from the adapter body; The optical connection structure according to claim 6 .

8. The first guide member is provided with a restricting structure that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector into the adapter.

8. The optical connection structure according to claim 6 or 7.

9. a second latch release mechanism that releases the second optical connector that has been locked to the adapter is provided in the adapter; The optical connection structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The adapter is a second latch release member attached to the adapter body in a position opposite to the first latch release member in the first direction so as to be movable along the first direction, the second latch release member having two pairs of third latch release structures; a second guide member that restricts the distance that the second latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along the first direction and that guides the insertion of the second optical connector into the adapter, the adapter body has a pair of second latch members that lock the second optical connector, Each of the pair of second latch members includes a second latch body extending along the first direction, a second protruding portion protruding inward from a tip of the second latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a pair of fourth latch release structures provided on both sides of the second protruding portion, the two pairs of third latch release structures and the pair of fourth latch release structures of the pair of second latch members respectively constitute the second latch release mechanism, when the second release latch member moves in the direction away from the adapter body along the first direction, the two pairs of third release latch structures come into contact with the pair of fourth release latch structures of the pair of second latch members, respectively, to push outward the second protrusions, thereby releasing the second optical connector that has been locked to the adapter; The optical connection structure according to claim 9 .

11. An adapter for engaging a first optical connector holding a plurality of first ferrules with a second optical connector holding a plurality of second ferrules, an adapter body having a first latch member that locks the first optical connector; a first unlatching member attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along a first direction, the first unlatching member having a first unlatching structure; The first latch release structure releases the engagement of the first optical connector, which has been engaged with the adapter by the first latch member, when the first latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along a first direction.

12. the first latch members are a pair of first latch members, the first unlatch structures are two pairs of first unlatch structures; 12. The adapter of claim 11.

13. The adapter body further includes a frame having an opening therein, the first latch member includes a first latch body extending outward from the frame body along the first direction, and a first protruding portion protruding inward from a tip of the first latch body along a second direction intersecting the first direction, the first protrusion engages with the latch receiving portion of the first optical connector, thereby locking the first optical connector to the adapter; 13. An adapter according to claim 11 or claim 12.

14. the first latch member has a second unlatching structure provided on a side of the first protrusion; when the first release latch member moves in the direction away from the adapter body along the first direction, the first release latch structure comes into contact with the second release latch structure to push the first protrusion outward, thereby releasing the lock of the first optical connector locked to the adapter.

14. The adapter of claim 13.

15. a first guide member that restricts the distance that the first latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along the first direction and that guides the insertion of the first optical connector into the adapter; An adapter according to claim 13 or claim 14.

16. an elastic member disposed between the first latch release member and the first guide member, the elastic member acting to return the first latch release member toward the adapter body after the first latch release member has moved in a direction away from the adapter body; 16. The adapter of claim 15.

17. The first guide member is provided with a restricting structure that restricts the insertion posture of the first optical connector into the adapter.

17. An adapter according to claim 15 or claim 16.

18. a second latch release member disposed at a position opposite to the first latch release member along the first direction, attached to the adapter body so as to be movable along the first direction, and having two pairs of third latch release structures; a second guide member that restricts the distance that the second latch release member moves in a direction away from the adapter body along the first direction and that guides the insertion of the second optical connector into the adapter, the adapter body has a pair of second latch members that lock the second optical connector, Each of the pair of second latch members includes a second latch body extending along the first direction, a second protruding portion protruding inward from a tip of the second latch body along a third direction intersecting the first direction, and a pair of fourth latch release structures provided on both sides of the second protruding portion, when the second release latch member moves in the direction away from the adapter body along the first direction, the two pairs of third release latch structures come into contact with the pair of fourth release latch structures of the pair of second latch members, respectively, to push outward the second protrusions, thereby releasing the second optical connector that has been locked to the adapter; An adapter according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

19. An optical connector that is inserted into and locked into a cylindrical adapter, a plurality of ferrules each configured to hold a plurality of optical fibers; a connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of ferrules; a plurality of biasing members that bias the plurality of ferrules forward; a storage member that receives rear ends of the plurality of biasing members and stores the plurality of biasing members, The connector housing is formed with a latch receiving portion to which a latch member of the adapter is engaged, the storage member has a first storage area that stores some of the plurality of biasing members, a second storage area that stores other parts of the plurality of biasing members, and a plurality of fiber insertion holes that correspond to the plurality of ferrules and through which the plurality of optical fibers held in the plurality of ferrules can pass, and is provided with protrusions that function as partitions for individually storing each of the plurality of biasing members in the first storage area and the second storage area. Optical connector.

20. 19. An optical connector that is the first optical connector that is inserted into and locked in the adapter according to claim 11, a plurality of ferrules each configured to hold a plurality of optical fibers; a connector housing that accommodates and holds the plurality of ferrules, The optical connector has a latch receiving portion formed in the connector housing to which the first latch member of the adapter is latched.

21. The latch receiving portion is a hole or a recess provided in a wall constituting the connector housing.

21. The optical connector according to claim 19 or 20.

22. the connector housing has at least two guide surfaces on its outer circumferential surface that are configured to fit along the inner circumferential surface of the adapter, No protrusion is formed in a region of the at least two guide surfaces that is inserted into the adapter.

22. The optical connector according to claim 19.

23. a restricting structure is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the connector housing to restrict the position of the optical connector when inserted into the adapter, the restricting structure having a recessed shape; 23. The optical connector according to claim 19.

24. each of the plurality of ferrules has a tip end surface from which the plurality of optical fibers are exposed, the tip end surface being inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a first direction, which is an extension direction of a holding hole that holds the plurality of optical fibers; The plurality of ferrules are held in the connector housing such that all of the tip surfaces are positioned on one inclined surface.

24. The optical connector according to claim 19.

25. The connector housing is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped front connector housing located at the front and a rear connector housing located at the rear, the front connector housing has a plurality of ferrule receiving holes for receiving the plurality of ferrules, the front connector housing has four guide surfaces formed on its outer circumferential surface so as to fit along the inner circumferential surface of the adapter; No protrusion is formed on at least a region of the four guide surfaces that is inserted into the adapter.

25. The optical connector according to any one of claims 19 to 24.

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