JPH0498207A - Ferrule for optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use a material capable of easily attaining highly precise molding work as a material for a plastic molding by reinforcing the outside of the plastic molding having optical fiber holes and positioning pin holes by a reinforcing body. CONSTITUTION:The optical fiber holes 2 and the positioning pin holes 1 are formed unitedly with the plastic molding 3 and the outside of the molding 3 is reinforced by the sleeve-like reinforcing body 4. Thermoplastic resin is used as the material of the molding 3. Although the strength of these materials is lower than that of the thermoplastic resin, the molding is highly precisely molded by a transfer molding method or an injection molding method. Metals, ceramics, or plastic is used as the material of the reinforcing body 4. Since the plastic molding 3 is reinforced by the reinforcing body 4, especially strong strength is not required and working precision can be improved only by selecting and working a plastic material suitable for highly precise molding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a ferrule for an optical connector that allows each optical fiber to be positioned with extremely high precision in an optical connector.

[Conventional technology]

A ferrule for an optical connector has a hole for fixing an optical fiber and has a function of fixing the optical fiber and a function of positioning the ferrule itself when fitting an optical connector. There are two methods for positioning the ferrule: inserting the ferrule into a sleeve, etc., and holding the outer shape of the ferrule for positioning;
There is a method of positioning by inserting a positioning pin into a hole formed in the ferrule. The present invention
This is related to the latter method. In this latter method, the hole for fixing the optical fiber and the hole for the positioning pin must be formed with high precision. Conventionally, in order to form this hole, a method of integrally molding a ferrule by plastic molding has been widely used. This molding method is
This method is suitable for mass producing parts with multiple holes at low cost.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The dimensional accuracy required for ferrules for optical connectors is extremely strict, and the holes for optical fibers and holes for positioning pins must be formed with high accuracy in terms of hole diameter, roundness, relative position, etc. be. This required precision is considerably higher than that of general plastic molding, and requires advanced molding technology. On the other hand, this optical connector ferrule needs to be made of a material with high strength, such as a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin or phenol resin, so that it will not be damaged during insertion or fitting into the positioning bin. As described above, ferrules for optical connectors must be molded from high-strength materials with high precision, and this poses a problem in that it is difficult to manufacture using conventional plastic molding techniques.

[Means and actions to solve the problem]

The present invention provides a ferrule for an optical connector that solves the above-mentioned problems, and has a hole for an optical fiber and a hole for a positioning pin, and positioning for fitting is performed by inserting a positioning pin into the hole for the positioning pin. In the optical connector ferrule manufactured by the above, the optical fiber hole and the positioning pin hole are formed in a plastic molded body, and the outside of the plastic molded body is reinforced with a reinforcing body. It is something.

As described above, according to the present invention, compared to conventional integrally molded optical connector ferrules, the plastic molded body is reinforced with a reinforcing body, so high precision molding is possible without particularly requiring strength. All you have to do is select a suitable plastic material and process it. Therefore, processing accuracy is improved, productivity is increased, and costs are reduced.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in two drawings.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show a fitting surface view of an embodiment of the ferrule for an optical connector according to the present invention, and a plastic molded body 3 integrally formed in the cross section 3 taken along the line A-A, and having a circular cross section. The outside is reinforced with a sleeve-shaped reinforcing body 4. Figure 2(a)
, (b) shows another example, in which the plastic molded body 13
The cross section of the reinforcing body 14 is approximately rectangular, and the reinforcing body 14 is thick. FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) show yet another embodiment, in which reinforcing bodies 24 are partially provided at the ends of the plastic molded body 23 where strength is required.

Thermoplastic resins such as polyamide, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, and liquid crystal resin are used as materials for the plastic molded body. These materials are
Although its strength is lower than that of thermosetting resins, it can be molded with high precision by transfer molding, injection molding, or the like. Note that it goes without saying that a thermosetting resin can be used as usual. Moreover, metal, ceramics, or plastic can be used as the material for the reinforcing body. As a method for forming the reinforcing body on the outside of the plastic molded body, it is possible to perform outsert molding by placing it in the mold when molding the plastic molded body, or to form the reinforcing body on the outside of the plastic molded body. It can be installed later. When plastic is used as the material for the reinforcing body, it may be molded separately in advance, or it may be molded simultaneously with the plastic molded body using a color injection molding method or the like. It goes without saying that the optical fiber may be inserted into the mold and molded together with the optical connector ferrule as in the conventional method.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the plastic molded body having the optical fiber hole and the positioning pin hole is reinforced with a reinforcing body on the outside, so that it can be processed with high precision as a material for the plastic molded body. This has the advantage that materials that are easy to use can be used.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are a fitting surface view and an A-A sectional view of an embodiment of the ferrule for an optical connector according to the present invention, and FIG.
a) and (b) are a fitting surface view and an AA sectional view of another embodiment, and FIGS.
-A sectional view. 1... Hole for positioning pin, 2... Hole for optical fiber, 3.13.23... Plastic molded body, 4.14
．． 24...Reinforcement body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a ferrule for an optical connector, which has an optical fiber hole and a positioning pin hole, and the fitting positioning is performed by inserting the positioning pin into the positioning pin hole, the optical fiber hole and the positioning pin hole are A ferrule for an optical connector, characterized in that it is formed in a plastic molded body, and the outside of the plastic molded body is reinforced with a reinforcing body.