Optical Connector Jacket Fixture and Flexible Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical connectors for tight structure optical cables are cumbersome and time-consuming to assemble, as they require excessive force handling of coated fibers, which can lead to breakage and necessitate storage on trays, increasing production costs and reducing workability.
Innovation Solution
An optical connector design featuring a mechanical splice with a ferrule, an outer housing with flexible arms and a jacket fixture that fixes the cable jacket, preventing external forces from affecting the coated fiber, and a simplified assembly method that eliminates the need for fiber storage trays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protecting tube and boot are attached to the coated optical fiber, then the coated fiber is protected from excessive force, but the assembly work becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protecting tube and boot into a single integrated protective structure that is pre-assembled with the mechanical splice. This merging eliminates the need for separate attachment steps, reducing assembly time while maintaining fiber protection. The protective boot is designed to receive both the coated fiber and the protecting tube, creating a unified assembly unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The protecting tube and boot are pre-assembled with the mechanical splice before the actual fiber connection work. This preliminary action ensures that the protective structure is already in place when the coated fiber needs to be handled, eliminating the need for time-consuming on-site assembly and providing immediate protection during the connection process.
2Ease of manufacture
If the coated fiber is led out from the mechanical splice without protection, then the assembly is simpler, but the coated fiber is subjected to excessive force and may break
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protecting tube as an intermediary element between the coated fiber and the external environment. This protecting tube serves as a mediator that provides mechanical protection while allowing the fiber to be led out from the mechanical splice. The boot acts as another intermediary structure that receives and protects the fiber assembly, enabling simple assembly procedures while maintaining fiber integrity through the protective intermediary structures.
3Reliability
If fiber storage trays are used to protect the coated fiber, then the fiber is protected from breakage, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fiber protection function from the separate storage tray component and integrates it directly into the mechanical splice assembly through the protective boot. This extraction eliminates the need for additional storage trays, reducing the quantity of materials required and lowering production costs while maintaining the essential protection function. The protective boot is designed to provide adequate fiber protection as a built-in feature rather than requiring external storage solutions.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises (a) a ferrule incorporating a short fiber; (b) a mechanical splice having a holding part and a fixing part, and adapted so that the fixing part mechanically fixes the short fiber extending from the ferrule held by the holding part, and an optical fiber in an optical cable to butt the short fiber; (c) an outer housing having a housing part in which the mechanical splice is located, and a pair of flexible arms located on both sides of the housing part, the pair of arms each being provided with a locking claw at a tip; and (d) a jacket fixture for fixing a cable jacket, the jacket fixture being coupled to the mechanical splice so that the cable jacket is inserted therein.