Optical Fiber Connector Tail Sleeve for Confined-Space Detachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical fiber connectors face issues such as wear and breakage of engaging members due to forced detachment, difficulty in detachment in crowded spaces, and damage from poor grinding quality leading to discarding, especially when optical fibers and core heads are assembled and disassembled repeatedly.
Innovation Solution
The optical fiber connector design includes a casing body with a flexible engaging portion, a housing with seat members, and an auxiliary member that allows for easy detachment by pulling the tail sleeve along the longitudinal axis, enabling the engaging portion to disengage from the adapter without breaking, and allows pre-grinding of core heads and fibers before assembly to ensure quality and prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the casing body is pulled outwardly with force to detach the connector, then the connector can be removed from the adaptor, but the engaging members wear or break due to forcible pulling
Solution Approach 1:
The engaging portion is designed to be flexible rather than rigid, allowing it to dynamically adapt during insertion and detachment. The engaging portion can elastically deform to engage with and disengage from the adaptor's engaging slot without requiring excessive force, thereby preventing wear and breakage while maintaining reliable operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The engaging portion's flexibility changes its mechanical properties (rigidity vs. flexibility) to suit different operational phases. During insertion, it can be relatively rigid for precise positioning, but during detachment, it becomes flexible to allow easy disengagement without forcing, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and durability.
2Ease of operation
If the handling lever is pulled upwardly to detach the connector, then the engaging members may disengage, but the operation is difficult in crowded spaces where levers are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The engaging portion extends inclinedly from the case wall portion at an angle rather than perpendicular to it. This angular orientation allows the engaging portion to be accessed and operated from a different spatial dimension, enabling detachment operations in confined spaces where vertical lever movement would be blocked by adjacent connectors or slots.
3Manufacturing precision
If the head sleeve and core heads are assembled first, then optical fibers can be inserted, but poor grinding quality requires disassembly and reassembly which may damage the connector
Solution Approach 1:
The head sleeve is divided into a fixed portion (connected to the casing body) and a movable portion (which can slide along the longitudinal axis). This segmentation allows the movable portion to be independently adjusted or replaced without disassembling the entire connector, enabling re-grinding or replacement of core heads without complete disassembly and reducing damage risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The engaging portion's flexible design allows for preliminary engagement adjustments before final assembly. This enables optimization of the engagement state and grinding quality before committing to full assembly, reducing the need for subsequent disassembly and reassembly operations that could cause damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy and damage-free detachment of optical fiber connectors in confined spaces and ensures high-quality grinding by allowing pre-grinding of core heads and fibers, reducing wear and tear and preventing damage.
Implementation Method 1
an engaging portion extending inclinedly from the case wall portion away from the accommodating space, being flexible
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber connector includes a casing body, a housing, a tail sleeve, and an auxiliary member. The casing body includes a case wall portion and an engaging portion extending inclinedly from the case wall portion and being flexible. The housing includes two seat members removably mounted to the casing body and detachably connected to each other. The auxiliary member includes a base portion mounted on the tail sleeve and a drive portion extending from the base portion along a longitudinal axis and driving movement of the engaging portion. The auxiliary member is co-movable with the tail sleeve when the tail sleeve is pulled away from the casing body along the longitudinal axis such that the drive portion drives the engaging portion to move toward the case wall portion.