Protective cap for optical connector

Abstract

In the conventional method for connecting an fixing using tape or the like by winding the tape onto a housing, the problem arises that when an LC optical connector at an intermediate position is removed, it is necessary to remove the LC optical connector from an adhesive surface of the tape, and handling is difficult. A protective cap (101) for an optical connector (102) is characterized in that a protruding fitting part (201b) is provided on one side surface of the protective cap (101), and a recessed fitting part (201a) is provided on the other side surface of the protective cap (101).

Description

Optical connector protective cap

[0001] The present invention relates to a protective cap for an optical connector.

[0002] The LC connector, a type of optical connector, is a single-core optical connector that has an external lever-type latch on the top of the connector housing and can be inserted and removed with one touch. In optical modules such as optical transceivers, LC connectors are mainly used in pigtail configurations, and multi-core optical modules are equipped with single LC connectors corresponding to the number of cores.

[0003] Typically, when an optical connector is not in use, such as during storage, a protective cap (adapter) is attached to the optical connector to prevent damage or contamination to the ferrule tip of the optical connector (Patent Document 1). Such protective caps include a full-cover type that covers everything from the housing to the ferrule, and can be securely attached using the lever-type latch of the LC connector.

[0004] Patent No. 4033752

[0005] However, in a multi-core optical module with two or more cores, there is a concern that the optical fibers may become tangled, the LC connector may fall, or the LC connector may get caught on a peripheral device such as a measuring device, causing breakage or fracture during handling such as transportation, mounting, and evaluation. For this reason, it is desirable to connect and fix the LC connectors to each other in some way. For example, a configuration in which tape or the like is wrapped around the connector housing to connect and fix the LC connectors can be considered, but when removing an LC connector at an intermediate position, it is necessary to remove the tape from its adhesive surface, which makes handling cumbersome.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and to provide a protective cap for a connector that allows connectors of optical modules with two or more cores to be connected and disconnected with a simple operation.

[0007] The present invention is a protective cap for an optical connector, characterized in that a convex mating portion is provided on one side of the protective cap and a concave mating portion is provided on the other side of the protective cap.

[0008] According to the above configuration, the protective cap allows the connectors of the optical module having two or more cores to be easily connected and disconnected.

[0009] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a protective cap for an LC connector according to a comparative example; (a) is a view showing a protective cap for a linked LC connector having a concave fitting portion of a fitting portion; (b) is a view showing a convex fitting portion of a fitting portion of the protective cap for a linked LC connector; (c) is a view showing a rear surface of the protective cap for a linked LC connector; (d) is a view showing a state in which the concave fitting portion and the convex fitting portion are connected (connected fitting portion); (a) is a conceptual diagram of the connecting mechanism of the protective cap for a linked LC connector; (b) is a view showing the connecting mechanism of the protective cap for a linked LC connector; (c) is a view showing a top view of the protective cap for a linked LC connector after connection; (d) is a view showing a front surface of the protective cap for a linked LC connector after connection.

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A protective cap and a structure for connecting the protective cap according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, a comparative example of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a protective cap for an LC connector according to the comparative example, illustrating the attachment of the protective cap to the LC connector. The LC connector 102 has an external lever-type latch 104 on the top of the connector housing. An optical fiber 106 is connected to a ferrule 103 via a boot 105. The LC connector 102 allows the ferrule 103 to be inserted or removed from its mating connector by operating the latch 104. Meanwhile, the protective cap 101 is attached to the LC connector 102 so as to cover the entire housing, including the tip of the ferrule 103. When attaching the protective cap 101, the latch 104 of the LC connector 102 is utilized, and the latch 104 elastically deforms and engages with the inside of the protective cap 101, thereby securing the protective cap 101 to the LC connector 102.

[0012] In the connector and protective cap structures of the above comparative examples, when multiple connectors or multiple connectors with protective caps attached are to be connected, they must be bundled together with tape or the like, as described above.

[0013] In contrast, in an LC connector and protective cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, the protective caps are connected to each other by a connecting structure provided in the protective caps, as shown in Figures 2 to 5. This allows multiple connectors equipped with protective caps to be connected together. Details of the connecting structure of this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 2 to 5.

[0014] 2(a) to 2(d) are diagrams illustrating the structure of a protective cap according to one embodiment of the present invention, particularly for connection.

[0015] 2(a) and 2(b), a concave mating portion 201a and a convex mating portion 201b, which are structured to be interlocked with each other, are provided on both sides of the protective cap 201. That is, when two adjacent protective caps 201 are connected, the concave mating portion 201a of one of the protective caps 201 and the convex mating portion 201b of the other of the protective caps 201 are fitted together, thereby connecting the two protective caps 201 (and the LC connectors 102 to which they are attached). The protective caps 201 of this embodiment can be made of a resin material such as polyethylene.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 2(a), the concave fitting portion 201a is formed by cutting out a side wall of the protective cap 201 and consists of a front circular portion and a tapered portion continuing from it. Correspondingly, as shown in Fig. 2(b), the convex fitting portion 201b is provided on the side wall of the protective cap 201 opposite to the side wall on which the concave fitting portion 201a is provided. The convex fitting portion 201b is formed so that the front circular portion and the tapered portion protrude from the side wall by a predetermined thickness.

[0017] 2(c) is a view of the protective cap 201 as seen from the rear side. As shown in the figure, the entire side end of the convex fitting portion 201b forms a tapered portion 201c that extends inward. On the other hand, the concave fitting portion 201a has a tapered portion 201d that corresponds to the tapered portion 201c of the convex fitting portion 201b and slidably engages with the tapered portion 201c. This prevents the connected protective caps from coming loose (detaching) in the connecting direction. Furthermore, the slidable tapered portions allow the protective caps to be attached and detached by sliding them together.

[0018] 2(d) shows the state in which the concave fitting portion 201a and the convex fitting portion 201b are fitted together. Here, notches 201e are provided above and below the boundary (the portion with the smallest distance) between the front circle and the tapered portion of the concave fitting portion 201a. This allows the convex fitting portion 201b to pass through by pushing apart the boundary (the portion with the smallest distance) between the front circle and the tapered portion of the concave fitting portion 201a when fitting into the concave fitting portion 201a during the fitting operation, and also enables the concave fitting portion 201a and the convex fitting portion 201b to be tightly fitted together.

[0019] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the attachment operation of the protective cap and the connection operation via the protective cap according to this embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3A, the protective cap 201 is attached to the tip of the LC connector 102 by moving it in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

[0021] 3(b), the LC connector 102 fitted with the protective cap is slid relative to the adjacent LC connector 102 as shown by the arrow in the figure, so that the convex mating portions and concave mating portions of each connector are mated. To release the connection, the connector is slid in the opposite direction.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a top view of the protective cap 201 after connection. Fig. 5 is a front view (optical fiber 106 side) of the protective cap 201 after connection. The connection fitting portion of the protective cap 201 has tapered portions 201c and 201d in the connection direction, and fitting the tapered portion 201c with the tapered portion 201d of the adjacent protective cap 201 prevents loosening or falling off in the connection direction.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, a protective cap for an optical connector has a convex mating portion on one side and a concave mating portion on the other side, which allows multiple optical connectors equipped with protective caps to be connected side by side. As a result, the protective cap of the embodiment of the present invention can provide a protective cap for a connected LC connector that facilitates handling of optical fibers in optical modules with two or more cores without lacking flexibility according to the number of cores.

[0024] The protective cap's coupling part can be attached with a single slide, and the sliding direction is opposite to the direction in which the optical connector is removed from the protective cap, which has the effect of preventing the protective cap from coming loose when the optical connector is inserted or removed.

[0025] Furthermore, the connecting and fitting portion of the protective cap has a tapered portion in the connecting direction, and by fitting the tapered portion with the tapered portion of the adjacent protective cap, it has the effect of preventing loosening and falling off in the connecting direction.

Claims

1. A protective cap for an optical connector, comprising: a convex fitting portion provided on one side of the protective cap; and a concave fitting portion provided on the other side of the protective cap.

2. A protective cap for an optical connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that the connecting and fitting portion of the protective cap is attached with a single touch by sliding, and the sliding direction is opposite to the direction in which the optical connector is removed from the protective cap.

3. A protective cap for an optical connector as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the connecting and mating portion of the protective cap has a tapered structure in the connecting direction, and the tapered portion having the tapered structure is configured to fit into the tapered portion of an adjacent protective cap.

4. A protective cap for an optical connector as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the number of said protective caps to be connected is 2 to 16.

5. A protective cap for an optical connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said protective cap contains a resin material.

6. A protective cap for an optical connector according to claim 5, wherein said resin material includes polyethylene.

7. A protective cap for an optical connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface of said convex fitting portion has a forward circular and tapered shape.

8. A protective cap for an optical connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a notch is provided above and below the portion of the boundary between the front circle of said recessed fitting portion and the tapered portion that is the smallest distance therebetween.

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