Optical Fiber Connector with Fixed Central Pins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical fiber connectors are difficult to align and prone to tangling, as the positions of central pins and sleeves are movable, making it troublesome for users to engage them correctly and exposing optical fibers, which can lead to undesirable tangling.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber connector design featuring a base seat with a tubular wall and extension walls, a positioning member with a channel for guiding optical fibers, and a joint unit with fixed central pins and sleeves, ensuring precise alignment and protection against tangling through a protective sheath.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the positions of central pins and sleeves are made movable for flexibility, then the connector can be assembled and disassembled, but the alignment becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The base seat pre-positions the central pins and sleeves in their correct locations before the user needs to connect them. The positioning member is pre-configured with guide structures that automatically guide the optical fibers and central pins into proper alignment, eliminating the need for manual alignment adjustments during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning member acts as an intermediary component between the base seat and the joint unit. It provides guide structures and positioning features that mediate the connection process, ensuring that movable central pins and sleeves automatically align correctly when brought together, thus reducing alignment time while maintaining flexibility.
2Ease of operation
If the optical fibers are exposed outwardly for connection, then the fibers can be connected to central pins, but the fibers become tangled undesirably
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fibers are nested within the positioning member's channel structure, which provides a designated path for the fibers to follow. The positioning member essentially nests the fibers in an organized manner, allowing them to be accessed for connection while preventing them from becoming tangled outside the structured pathway.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning member serves as an intermediary structure between the optical fibers and the external connection environment. It provides a controlled interface where fibers can be connected to central pins through guided openings while the main body of fibers remains protected and organized within the positioning member, preventing tangling.
3Ease of operation
If the central pins and sleeves are made movable for user operation, then the connector can be configured flexibly, but the positions are not fixed leading to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The base seat and positioning member are pre-configured with precise positioning features, guide structures, and locating elements that establish accurate positions for central pins and sleeves before assembly. This preliminary precision setup ensures that when users operate the movable components, they automatically return to or maintain precise aligned positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning member incorporates self-aligning features such as guide structures and positioning geometries that automatically ensure correct positioning of central pins and sleeves during assembly and operation. The design enables the connector to self-correct and maintain precise alignment without requiring high user skill or external alignment tools, thus providing both flexibility and precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber connector adapted to use with two optical fibers includes a base seat, a positioning member, and a joint unit. The base seat includes a tubular wall defining an axial hole and two extension walls defining an accommodation space in spatial communication with the axial hole. The positioning member is disposed in the axial hole and defines a channel permitting the optical fibers to extend therethrough. The joint unit includes two central pins and two sleeves. The central pins are adapted to be connected respectively to the optical fibers. The sleeves are sleeved respectively on the central pins and are detachably mounted to the base seat such that positions of the central pins relative to each other are fixed.