JPH09258065A - Optical repeater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical repeater having a saved space and little restriction on the installing place and the appearance. SOLUTION: A cap 30 for holding a ferrule 42 in a sleeve is freely attachably and detachably retained on an intermediate adaptor 20 by an engaging member 38 and, when it is engaged with the intermediate adaptor 20, one end of a spring SP pressing the ferrule 42, inserted into the intermediate adaptor 20 from one end of the sleeve, on the other end is supported. Consequently, an optical fiber cable 40 is simply connected to the intermediate adaptor 79 in a space saving manner without attaching a male connector to the end part of the optical fiber cable 40. A portion for housing/fixing the optical repeater is made to save a space and the degree of freedom of junction place and the appearance is increased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical repeater arranged at a repeater point of an optical signal transmission line using an optical fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional optical repeater, there is one that uses a repeater adapter as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-68107. In this case, wiring is premised on relaying, and the relay component has a detachable structure like an electrical outlet. Specifically, the mail connectors are pre-assembled at the ends of the pair of fiber cables, and the ends of both mail connectors are detachably fitted to the relay adapter to optically connect both mail connectors. The way to do is taken.

[0003]

However, the conventional optical repeater has a structure in which the end of the mail connector is fitted in the relay adapter, and the space of the mail connector main body protruding from the relay adapter becomes large. There is a restriction on the arrangement and handling of the relay adapter, and the space for storing and positioning them becomes large. For this reason, in an application such as an electric outlet intended for easy attachment / detachment or replacement, the place where the optical repeater is installed is restricted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical repeater which is space-saving and has few restrictions on the installation place and appearance.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an optical repeater according to a first aspect of the present invention is a device arranged in an optical signal transmission line using an optical fiber, the end of a pair of optical fiber cables. The relay adapter that has a sleeve for aligning the ferrule provided in the inner part and the base of the ferrule at the end of the optical fiber cable are separably housed and detachably locked to the relay adapter by the locking means. And a cap that supports a biasing means that biases the ferrule, which is passed from one end side of the sleeve with respect to the relay adapter, toward the other end side of the sleeve when locked to the adapter.

In the optical repeater according to a second aspect of the present invention, the cap has an attachment / detachment groove wider than the diameter of the optical fiber cable from the side portion to the center of the bottom portion, and the cap is engaged with the relay adapter by the biasing means. It is a spring that is compressed and sandwiched between the collar-shaped portion provided around the ferrule and the periphery of the attachment / detachment groove end at the center of the bottom of the cap when the spring is pressed.

The optical repeater according to a third aspect of the invention is characterized in that the spring is a Tsurumaki spring arranged around the end of the optical fiber cable.

Further, in the optical repeater according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the cap has a box shape with one end open, and the relay adapter has a square tube shape. Substantially coincides with the outer peripheral shape of the side surface of the cap, and the locking means has a locking groove formed on the outer circumference of the relay adapter and a locking claw extending from the outer circumference of the cap, and the opening end surface of the cap and the relay adapter end surface When and are brought into contact with each other, the locking claw is fitted in the locking groove.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

{First Embodiment} FIGS. 1 to 4 are diagrams illustrating an optical repeater according to a first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the optical repeater, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a cap constituting a part of the optical repeater of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an optical repeater of FIG. It is a figure explaining assembly of an apparatus, and FIG. 4 is sectional drawing explaining the internal structure of the optical repeater of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the optical repeater 10 of the first embodiment comprises a relay adapter 20 having a conventional structure and a cap 30 attached to one end thereof. The relay adapter 20 includes a pair of mounting stays 24, 24 extending in opposite directions from opposite outer surfaces of a rectangular tubular main body 22, and a partition wall 26 provided inside the center of the main body 22.
And

Both mounting stays 24, 24 are used when fixing the relay adapter 20 to a mounting plate (not shown) provided on a wall or the like. That is, the main body 22 of the relay adapter 20 is fitted into the opening formed in the mounting plate, and the screw groove 24a provided in each mounting stay 24 is used to screw this to the mounting plate. Fixed.

The partition wall 26 is provided with a cylindrical sleeve 27 penetrating the partition wall 26. When connecting the pair of optical fiber cables 40, a pair of sleeves 27 are fixed from both ends of the sleeve 27 to both ends of the optical fiber cables 40. Tip parts 42a, 42a of the ferrules 42, 42 made of metal
Is inserted, and the end faces of the optical fibers housed in the two optical fiber cables 40 are aligned with each other.

The cap 30 is, as shown in FIGS.
It has a box shape with one end open and has the same outer peripheral shape as the relay adapter 20. The cap 30 includes a base portion 42c of a ferrule 42 provided at the tip of the optical fiber cable 40.
Groove 34 for removably accommodating the inside of the cap 30
Is formed from one side surface 31 of the cap 30 to the center of the bottom surface 32. The groove 34 is formed on the ferrule 4
The optical fiber cable 40 has a width about the diameter of the optical fiber cable 40 for passing the optical fiber cable 40 extending from the second base portion 42c.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 3, the pair of opposed side surfaces 36, 36 constituting the cap 30 are
Plate-like locking members 38, 38 are fixedly installed, respectively.
The claw 38 a provided at the tip of each locking member 38 is a means for fixing the cap 30 to the relay adapter 20. That is, the relay adapter 2 already fixed to the mounting plate
0 and the cap 3 that accommodates the base 42c of the ferrule 42
When 0 is opposed to each other and is brought close to the end surface 22a of the relay adapter 20 against the end surface 30a of the cap 30 against the spring SP, a pair of locking members 38 extending from the cap 30, claws 38a at the tips of the 38, 38a are locking grooves 22c, 22 provided on both side surfaces of the relay adapter 20.
fit in c. As a result, the relay adapter 20 and the cap 30 are aligned and fixed. When removing the cap 30 from the relay adapter 20, the rear ends of both the locking members 38, 38 are held by fingers so as to press them. As a result, the support portions 38c, 38c of both the locking members 38, 38 act as springs, and the claws 38a, 38
a is separated from each other, the engagement with both engagement grooves 22c, 22c is released, and the cap 30 is removed from the relay adapter 20.

Inside the cap 30, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a spring SP made of a Tsurumaki spring is also accommodated. This spring SP is cap 30
When the ferrule 42 is attached to the relay adapter 20,
It is sandwiched between the annular collar portion 42b provided on the bottom and the central portion of the bottom surface 32 of the cap 30. As a result, the ferrule 42 inserted from one end side of the sleeve 27 is biased to the other end side of the sleeve 27. As shown in FIG. 3, the end of the optical fiber cable 40 is passed through the spring SP in advance, and then the ferrule 42 is fixed. Then, attach the optical fiber cable 40 to the cap 30.
The base portion 42c of the ferrule 42 can be housed inside the cap 30 by passing through the groove 34.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the optical repeater 10 of the first embodiment, the cap 30 for holding the ferrule 42 on the sleeve 27 is attached to and detached from the relay adapter 20 by the locking member 38. Freely locked,
When locked by the relay adapter 20, the relay adapter 20
On the other hand, it supports one end of a spring SP that urges the ferrule 42 passed from one end of the sleeve 27 toward the other end. Therefore, the optical fiber cable 40 can be easily and space-savingly connected to the relay adapter 20 without assembling the mail connector at the end of the optical fiber cable 40. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, which is the conventional mail connector with a small number of times of attachment / detachment, to bring about a cost advantage, and to save the space where the optical repeater 10 is to be housed / fixed. The degree of freedom regarding relay points and appearance is increased. Also,
The parts to be incorporated in the cap 30 can be used as they are in the conventional mail connector. further,
Since the ferrule 42 is directly attached to the relay adapter 20 instead of fitting the mail connector to the relay adapter after assembling the mail connector as in the conventional case, the workability at the time of laying the optical fiber system is improved.

Second Embodiment FIGS. 5 and 6 are views for explaining the structure of the optical repeater 110 of the second embodiment.
The optical repeater 110 of the second embodiment is a modification of the optical repeater of the first embodiment, and is different from that of the first embodiment in that it is a two-pole type, but it is first in other points. It is common to the embodiments. Therefore, the same portions will be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description will be omitted.

The optical repeater 110 of the second embodiment comprises a two-pole type repeater adapter 120 having a conventional structure,
And a cap 130 attached to one end thereof.

The relay adapter 120 has a partition wall 26 inside the center of the main body 122. The partition wall 26 is provided with a pair of sleeves 27, 27 penetrating the partition wall 26. When connecting the pair of optical fiber cables 40, the ends of the ferrules 42, 42 fixed to the ends of the optical fiber cables 40 are inserted from both ends of each sleeve 27.

The cap 130 has a box shape with one end open and has the same outer peripheral shape as the relay adapter 120. A pair of grooves (not shown) for accommodating the ferrule 42 provided at the end of each optical fiber cable 40 in the cap 130 is formed from the side surface to the bottom surface 132 of the cap 130. The groove is about the diameter of the optical fiber cable 40, and the groove 3 of the first embodiment is used.
Similar to 4, the base portion of the ferrule 42 is detachably housed inside the cap 130.

The plate-shaped locking member 13 is provided on each of a pair of opposing side surfaces 137 and 137 constituting the cap 130.
8 is fixed. The claw 138 a provided at the tip of each locking member 138 is for fixing the cap 130 to the relay adapter 120. That is, the relay adapter 1
When the end face 122a of the cap 20 is brought close to the end face 130a of the cap 130, the claw 138a at the tip of each locking member 138 extending from the end of the cap 130 is locked by the locking groove 122c.
Fit in from inside. As a result, the relay adapter 120 and the cap 130 are aligned and fixed to each other.

A ferrule 42, which is inserted from one end of the sleeve 27, is inserted into the cap 130.
A pair of springs SP, SP biasing the other end side of 7 are housed. When the cap 130 is mounted on the relay adapter 120, these springs SP, SP are sandwiched between the annular flange portion 42b provided on the ferrule 42 and the central portion of the bottom surface 132 of the cap 130.

[0023]

According to the optical repeater of the first aspect of the present invention, the base of the ferrule at the end of the optical fiber cable is separably housed and detachably locked to the relay adapter by the locking means and locked to the relay adapter. The optical fiber cable end is equipped with a cap that supports the biasing means that biases the ferrule, which is passed from one end side of the sleeve to the relay adapter when biased to the other end side of the relay adapter of the sleeve. You can connect the optical fiber cable to the relay adapter in a small space without assembling the connector. Therefore, restrictions on the installation location and appearance of the optical repeater are reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of an optical repeater according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cap structure that constitutes the optical repeater in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the assembly of the optical repeater in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the optical repeater in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an optical repeater according to a second embodiment.

6 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the optical repeater in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Optical Repeater 20 Relay Adapter 22 Main Body 22c Locking Groove 24 Mounting Stay 26 Partition Wall 27 Sleeve 30 Cap 32 Bottom 34 Groove 36 Side 38 Locking Member 38 Locking Claw 40 Optical Fiber Cable 42 Ferrule SP Spring

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical repeater arranged in an optical signal transmission line using an optical fiber, which has a sleeve inside for aligning a ferrule provided at an end of a pair of optical fiber cables. And a base of the ferrule at the end of the optical fiber cable is separably housed and detachably locked to the relay adapter by locking means, and when locked to the relay adapter, with respect to the relay adapter An optical repeater, comprising: a cap that supports a biasing unit that biases the ferrule passed from one end side of the sleeve toward the other end side of the sleeve. 2. The cap is formed with an attachment / detachment groove wider than the diameter of the optical fiber cable from the side portion to the center of the bottom portion, and the urging means is configured such that when the cap is locked to the relay adapter, The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein the optical relay device is a spring that is compressed and sandwiched between a collar-shaped portion provided around the ferrule and a periphery of the attachment / detachment groove end at the center of the bottom of the cap. 3. The optical repeater according to claim 2, wherein the spring is a Tsurumaki spring arranged around the end of the optical fiber cable. 4. The cap has a box shape with one end open, the relay adapter has a rectangular tubular shape, and an outer peripheral shape of the relay adapter is an outer circumference of a side surface of the cap. The locking means substantially has a shape, and the locking means has a locking groove formed on the outer circumference of the relay adapter and a locking claw extending from the outer circumference of the cap, and the opening end surface of the cap and the relay adapter end surface are connected to each other. The optical repeater according to claim 3, wherein the locking claw is fitted into the locking groove when abutted.