Optical Fiber Adapter Rear Portion Miniaturization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical fiber adapters occupy excessive space due to the length of LC-type optical fiber connectors, which hinders cabinet miniaturization.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber adapter design featuring a housing with accommodating cavities and a mounting base that securely positions optical fiber plugs with flanges and latching grooves, allowing for compact placement and direct signal transmission without the need for longer LC-type connectors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If LC-type optical fiber connectors are inserted at the rear portion of the optical fiber adapter, then optical signal transmission is achieved, but the overall size of the adapter in the front-rear direction becomes longer and occupies more space inside the cabinet
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter is divided into a front portion with accommodating cavities for optical fiber connectors and a rear portion with a mounting base for optical fiber plugs. This segmentation allows the front portion to handle connector insertion while the rear portion uses a compact plug design, thereby reducing the overall length while maintaining optical transmission functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using traditional LC-type connectors at both ends which require significant space, the invention inverts the approach by using compact optical fiber plugs at the rear portion. The plugs are directly mounted on the mounting base without requiring the extended housing needed for traditional connectors, thus reducing the front-rear dimension.
2Reliability
If LC-type optical fiber connectors are used, then optical signal transmission is enabled, but the occupied space inside the cabinet increases, which is not beneficial to cabinet miniaturization
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter structure is segmented into a front portion with accommodating cavities and a rear portion with a mounting base. This segmentation enables the use of compact plugs in the rear portion that require minimal space, thereby reducing the overall volume occupied in the cabinet while maintaining optical transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the optical fiber connection interface by replacing the traditional LC-type connector design with a compact plug design. The plugs have reduced dimensions and are mounted directly on the mounting base, significantly reducing the space required in the cabinet and supporting cabinet miniaturization.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber adapter (10) comprises: a housing (1), a front portion of the housing (1) is provided with at least two accommodating cavities (19) which penetrate in a front-rear direction, are arranged sided by side, and are closed circumferentially, and a rear portion of the housing (1) is provided with a mounting base (14); at least two optical fiber plugs (2) provided on the mounting base (14), each optical fiber plug (2) comprises a positioning member (21), a ferrule (22) fixed to the positioning member (21) and extending forwardly, an optical fiber (23) exposed to a front end of the ferrule (22), a sleeve (24) fitted on an outer periphery of the ferrule (22) and a positioning cylinder (25) further sheathed on an outer periphery of the sleeve (24), a front end of the positioning cylinder (25) extends forwardly into the accommodating cavity (19), a rear end of the positioning cylinder (25) is fixed to the positioning member (21), an outer periphery of the positioning member (21) is provided with a first flange (211); and at least a fixing cover (3) locked on the mounting base (14) of the housing (1), the fixing cover (3) and the mounting base (14) are assembled to form a first latching groove (4), the first latching groove (4) correspondingly accommodates the first flange (211) of the optical fiber plug (2) and positions the first flange (211) of the optical fiber plug (2). The optical fiber adapter (10) can shorten the size of the rear portion and save the occupied space inside the cabinet.