JPS6032647Y2 - fiber optic connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a plug for an optical fiber connector that is inexpensive to manufacture.

Optical fiber connectors are made by positioning a core part with a diameter of 10 to 30 μm at the center of an optical fiber with an outer diameter of 100 to 200 μm within a sleeve with high precision, and interconnecting two optical fibers in a straight line. This is for connecting two optical fibers by butting them together to form their optical axes, and requires ease of attachment and detachment, compatibility, and reproducibility.

Since an optical fiber connector is used to connect two optical fibers with low loss, a spring is used to press the ends of the two optical fibers so that there is no gap between them.

At this time, if a relative rotation occurs between the abutted end faces of the two optical fibers, scratches remain on the end faces and increase splice loss.

Therefore, the plug of the optical fiber connector requires a mechanism for stopping the rotation of the optical fiber.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional high-grade optical fiber connector, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cylindrical member 1 and a perspective view of its head, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the terminal member 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the guide member 4. FIG.

In these, the rotation of the optical fiber is stopped by the projection 16 provided on the head of the cylindrical member 1 engaging with the groove 12 provided on the flange portion of the terminal member 2.

That is, by stopping the terminal member 2 and the cylindrical member 1 that are integrated with the optical fiber from sliding, the optical fiber is prevented from rotating within the plug.

However, the process of providing the protrusion 16 on the cylindrical member 1 is complicated and the manufacturing cost increases.

Further, the outer diameter of the cylindrical member 1' cannot be made larger than the diameter of the flange portion of the end member 2. Therefore, when assembling the plug, the spring 5 and the end member 2 must be correctly set in the cylindrical member 1', and the guide member 4 ' is screwed into the cylindrical member 1'.

However, the two grooves alone cannot sufficiently support the terminal member 2, which has the disadvantage that it becomes difficult to correctly insert the guide member 4'.

Furthermore, after fitting the guide member 4', it is necessary to check whether the protrusion of the cylindrical member 1' is correctly inserted into the groove 12 of the terminal member 2. There were serious drawbacks in the assembly process, such as the possibility of accidents such as breakage of the 16.

Furthermore, the cylindrical member 1' in the conventional connector has a pair of protrusions, which require two milling operations to manufacture.

Adjustment of the connection phase in a conventional connector is carried out by inserting a groove 17, 17' formed on the flange 16 at the center of the guide member 4', a protrusion 19, . This is done by changing the position of the protrusion 20 provided on the opposite side with respect to the guide member 4, which prevents rotation with the outside, depending on whether the protrusion 19' is fitted.

For this reason, it was necessary to make 6 to 8 grooves 17, 17', etc., and milling was required 6 to 8 times.

Therefore, the cylindrical member 1' and the guide member 4' of the conventional connector require a total of eight or more milling processes, which has the drawback of increasing the manufacturing cost.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, the present invention is characterized by combining the terminal member 2 with the support member 3, thereby making it easier to manufacture and assemble the parts.The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the manufacturing cost of the optical fiber connector. The goal is to make the world more popular.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the main parts of the plug according to the present invention,
1 is a cylindrical member, 2 is a semi-standardized end member, 3 is a support member combined with the end member 2, 4 is a guide member, 5 is the end member 2, and the support member 3 is moved forward (leftward in the figure) A spring 6 for pressing is a cap nut used for fastening with the outside.

To assemble this, first insert the first protrusion 10.10' of the support member 3 shown in FIGS.
The second protrusion 13.13' of the groove 14.14' of the cylindrical member 1
and then screwed into the cylindrical member 1 of the guide member 4.

At this time, the spring 5 is inserted into the hole of the cylindrical member 1, and is pressed by the flanges of the support member 3 and the end member 2.

Due to this structure, the cylindrical member 1 can have the hole 15 that completely accommodates the terminal member 2 and the support member 3, and at the same time, the wire diameter of the spring 5 can be increased, and the wire diameter can be increased with less deflection. Since the load can be obtained, the terminal member 2 becomes almost upright during assembly, so accidents do not occur, a good assembly yield is obtained, and the assembly itself becomes easy.

The first protrusion 10.10' of this support member 3 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the grooves 12 and 12 of the terminal member 2 are shaped like an S character.
If the support member 3 is clamped at the bottom of the terminal member 2, once the support member 3 is attached to the terminal member 2, it becomes possible to handle the supporting member 3 as if it were a single component in the same way as the conventional terminal member 2.

Furthermore, since the supporting member 3 has a relatively simple flattened shape and a relatively simple bent shape, it can be manufactured in a single press process, so it can be manufactured at an extremely low cost.

Further, the cylindrical member 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 6 only needs to be processed once using a milling cutter.

Three milling operations are sufficient for the cylindrical member 1'' according to the present invention, which uses a connector capable of adjusting the connection phase shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in the guide member 4 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 11, it is necessary to drive a pin 21 to prevent rotation from the outside, which plays the same role as the protrusion 20 of the connection positioning key ring in the conventional example, but milling is not necessary. will disappear.

That is, in the cylindrical members 1, 1'' and the guide member 4 of the present invention, although it is necessary to drive the pin 21, the number of milling operations is at most 3 times, which is less than half of the 8 or more times of the conventional one. As a result, the machining cycle time can be halved.

These are great advantages for automation when manufacturing parts.

Furthermore, the cost of the parts can be significantly reduced due to the reduction in the number of milling steps.

As explained above, 1. By adding support members, it is easy to position parts during the assembly process, and the assembly is always performed correctly, so there is no need to check the operation and there is no chance of parts being damaged due to incorrect assembly. .

Therefore, automatic assembly for temporary assembly is also possible.

Furthermore, it has many advantages in reducing the cost of connectors, such as reducing the cost of parts by reducing the number of man-hours required to process the parts.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional connector plug, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a conventional cylindrical member and a perspective view of that part, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a standardized terminal member, and Fig. 4 is a conventional 5 is a sectional view of a connector plug according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a sectional view and a perspective view of a portion of a cylindrical member according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another cylindrical member according to the present invention. FIGS. 8 to 10 are perspective views of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is an embodiment of a guide member according to the present invention. 1.1'...Cylindrical member, 2...Terminal member, 3...Supporting member, 4,4'...Guiding member, 5... ... Spring, 6 ... Cap nut, 18 ... Positioning key ring, 21 ...
・Stopping pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cylindrical terminal member having a microhole in the center to which an optical fiber is fixed and a plurality of notches on its flange; and a guide member having a hole larger than the flange of the terminal member and a screw formed on its inner wall. a support member having one or more first protrusions to be inserted into the notch of the terminal member and one or more second protrusions, and a threaded portion that engages with the thread of the guide member. a cylindrical member having one or more guide grooves in which the second protrusion of the support member can slide; 1. An optical fiber connector comprising: a spring member that presses the guide member; and a cap nut that is removably attached to the outer periphery of the guide member.