JPH0581807U - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To prevent connection errors reliably. An optical connector comprising an adapter having at least two aligning sleeves in a housing, and a plug having at least two ferrules simultaneously inserted into at least two aligning sleeves, An erroneous insertion preventing means for preventing erroneous insertion of the plug and the adapter by a combination of their attachments is detachably provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an optical connector, and more particularly, it includes an adapter having a plurality of alignment sleeves in a housing, and a plug having a plurality of ferrules inserted into the alignment sleeves at the same time. The present invention relates to a structure for preventing misinsertion of optical connectors.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, there are optical connectors shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This connects two optical fibers for transmission and reception as a pair, and is used for exchanging data between information processing devices.

This optical connector is composed of an adapter (FIG. 6) and a pair of plugs (FIG. 5) which are inserted into the adapter from both sides and are coupled by one-touch (FIG. 5). reference).

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes two ferrules made of zirconia, 2 denotes a hole 2a for accommodating the ferrule 1, and 2 inner portions of 4 elastic locking pieces of an adapter to be described later. A plug frame 3 having a notch 2b formed in the middle of the upper and lower protrusions 2a, and a recess 2c and a protrusion 2d of a locking piece provided on the upper and lower surfaces, 3 is a spring, 4 is the upper and lower surfaces A knob having a convex portion 4a and a concave portion 4b provided on both sides thereof, 5 is a stop ring, 6 is a hood, 7 is a ring, 8 is an optical cord, 9 is an optical fiber, and 10 is a reinforcing fiber.

The plug frame 2 incorporates two ferrules 1 in a floating manner, and has a stop ring 5 attached to its rear end. A spring 3 is provided between the ferrule 1 and the stop ring 5 to press the ferrule 3 toward the free end side.

A knob 4 is mounted on the outer periphery of the plug frame 2 so as to be slidable back and forth. A hood 6 is attached to the outer side of the stop ring 5, and the reinforcing fiber 10 of the optical cord 8 inside the hood 6 is fixed to the rear end of the stop ring 5 by caulking the ring 7. .. The optical fiber 9 is inserted and fixed in the ferrule 1.

Further, in FIG. 6, 11 is a housing, 11 a is a support member that is provided in the middle of the housing 11 so as to penetrate upward and downward, 12 is an elastic locking piece, 13 is an alignment sleeve, and 14 is a mounting hole to the panel. Is shown.

Two alignment sleeves 13 are supported in the housing 11 through the supporting member 11a. Two elastic locking pieces 12 are supported on both sides of each alignment sleeve 13 in a cantilever shape by a supporting member 11a.

To attach the plug of this optical connector to the adapter, the knob 4 of the plug is held and inserted into the housing 11 of the adapter. When the convex portion 4a provided on the knob 4 rides over the projection 12a of the elastic locking piece 12 and is further inserted, the elastic stop piece 12 is closed and the locking claw 12b enters the concave portion 2c of the plug frame 2 and is completely engaged. Be stopped. In this way, when two plugs are inserted into the adapter from both sides, each plug is connected through the adapter.

[0010]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional optical connector, two optical fibers may be used separately for transmission and reception, or both may be used for transmission or reception. Then, in the actual exchange of data in the information processing apparatus, these are mixedly used. When connecting multiple optical connectors at the same time in this way, optical connectors that should not be connected may be mistakenly connected, so care must be taken when connecting them.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector capable of reliably preventing a connection error.

[0012]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In the present invention, the means for solving the above problems include an adapter having at least two aligning sleeves in a housing, and at least two ferrules simultaneously inserted into at least two aligning sleeves. In the optical connector configured with the included plug, the plug and the adapter are removably provided with an erroneous insertion preventing means for preventing the connection between the plug and the adapter by a combination of their attachments.

In a second aspect of the present invention, an adapter having at least two alignment sleeves in a housing and a plug having at least two ferrules simultaneously inserted into the at least two alignment sleeves. When an optical connector consisting of a plug and an adapter is provided with a plug and an adapter, the plug and the adapter are provided with a misinsertion preventing device that prevents the plug and the plug from being inserted incorrectly. The plug and adapter are equipped with front and back alignment means that allows the plug to be inserted into the adapter.

[0014]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, the connection of the plug and the adapter of the optical connector can be selectively limited by selecting the mounting positions of the plurality of erroneous insertion preventing members provided on the plug of the optical connector and the adapter. The erroneous insertion prevention member can be attached in advance, and it can be freely attached at the place where the erroneous insertion is performed, so that the attachment error can be surely prevented.

Further, when the front and back matching means is provided, when the plug cannot be inserted into the adapter, whether the insertion is prevented by the erroneous insertion preventing means or whether the plug and the adapter are simply not aligned with each other. The worker can know.

[0016]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an optical connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 and 7 show an embodiment of an optical connector according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the optical connector of this embodiment is composed of a plug 23 having a pair of optical fibers as in the conventional case, and an adapter 25 into which the plug 23 is inserted from both sides. It

FIG. 1 shows a plug of an optical connector according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, 30 is a housing of a plug, 21 is an optical fiber, 22 is a ferrule, 31 is a spring for urging the ferrule 22, 32 is a holding member for holding the ferrule 22, and 33 is the wrong side of the adapter 25. In the case where the plug 23 is inserted, a mounting direction regulating plate for prohibiting the insertion of the plug 23, 28 is an erroneous insertion preventing member mounting groove, and 26 is an erroneous insertion preventing member mounted in the erroneous insertion preventing member mounting groove 28.

The ferrule 22 has the end face 21 a of the optical fiber 21 arranged and fixed to the end face 22 a, and the ferrule 22 is arranged in the housing 30 by a holding member 32, a spring 31, and a stopper fitting 32 ′. .. The ferrule 22 is pressed by the spring 31 in the leftward direction in FIG.

In the housing 30, the thickness of the insertion portion 30a into the adapter 25 is smaller than that of the grip portion 30b, and a step portion 30c is formed at the boundary thereof.

The erroneous insertion prevention member mounting grooves 28 are provided on one surface of the housing 30 at two locations along the plug insertion / removal direction, and have a trapezoidal cross section having a trapezoidal cross section having an opening portion in the step portion 30c. At the same time, a locking step portion 33d is provided at the end thereof. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the incorrect insertion prevention member 26 is attached only to the upper incorrect insertion prevention member attachment groove 28.

As shown in FIG. 2, the erroneous insertion preventing member 26 has a quadrangular prism-shaped main body 26a and a protruding section having a trapezoidal trapezoidal shape protruding from both sides of the main body 26a and inserted into the erroneous insertion preventing member mounting groove 28. A portion 26b is formed, and a protrusion 26c is provided at an end portion thereof to be locked to the locking step portion 33d of the incorrect insertion preventing member mounting groove 28 to prevent the incorrect insertion preventing member 26 from coming off.

Then, in a state in which the wrong insertion preventing member 26 is attached to the wrong insertion preventing member attachment groove 28, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the body 26 a of the wrong insertion preventing member is inserted into the insertion portion 30 a of the housing 30. Is in a protruding state.

FIG. 3 is a three-view drawing showing the adapter 25 of the optical connector according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 24 is a pair of alignment sleeves into which the ferrules 22 provided in the above-mentioned plug 23 are inserted, 41 is a housing having openings at both ends into which the plugs 23 are inserted, and 42 is a housing 41. A support member formed so as to separate the two inserted plugs 23, 43 is a fixing claw portion that extends from the support member 42 and engages with the plug 23 to fix the plug 23 to the adapter 25, and 44 is two alignments Partition wall separating sleeve, 45 mounting flange to wall, 46 mounting hole, 47 groove into which plug mounting direction regulating plate 33 is inserted, 27 erroneous insertion prevention member, 29 erroneous insertion prevention member attachment Grooves 41a indicate two locking projections with which the incorrect insertion preventing member 27 is engaged.

In the present embodiment, the incorrect insertion prevention member mounting grooves 29 are provided in two rows in a trapezoidal cross section on one surface of the housing 41 along the inserting / removing direction of the plug 23, and the openings are formed in the end portions of the housing 41. Is forming. The erroneous insertion prevention member mounting groove 29 is formed at a position corresponding to the mounting position of the erroneous insertion prevention member 26 of the plug 23 when the plug 23 is inserted. When the incorrect insertion prevention member 27 is attached and the incorrect insertion prevention member 26 is attached to the plug 23, the incorrect insertion prevention members 26 and 27 attached to both of them come into contact with each other and the plug 23 is inserted into the adapter 25. Prohibit that. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the erroneous insertion preventing member 26 of the plug 23 is inserted into the corresponding erroneous insertion preventing member attaching groove 29 of the adapter 25, and the plug 23 is inserted into the erroneous inserting preventing member attaching groove 29. It can be completely inserted into 25.

As shown in FIG. 4, the erroneous insertion prevention member 27 is provided with a plate-shaped base portion 48 and locking projections provided on both sides of the base portion 48 when the erroneous insertion prevention member 27 is attached to the adapter 25. It has a locking piece 49 that engages with 41a and an insertion portion 50 that is inserted into the incorrect insertion prevention member attachment groove 29 with the same cross-sectional shape as the cross-sectional shape of the incorrect insertion prevention member attachment groove 29. Reference numeral 51 indicates a stepped portion on which a fingertip is hung when detached. To use the optical connector according to the present embodiment, the incorrect insertion preventing members 26 and 27 are attached to the incorrect insertion preventing member attaching grooves 28 and 29 of the plug 23 and the adapter 25, which are connected in advance. At this time, it is necessary to attach the erroneous insertion prevention member 27 to at least one of the erroneous insertion prevention member attachment grooves 29 in the plug 23 and the adapter 25 used. This is because, if the incorrect insertion prevention member 27 is not attached to the adapter 25 at all, it can be inserted even if the incorrect insertion prevention member 26 is attached to the plug 23 under any condition. Further, even if the incorrect insertion preventing member 26 is not attached to the plug 23, the incorrect insertion preventing member 27 can be inserted into the adapter 25 under any condition.

Therefore, when the plug 23 and the adapter 25 are provided with two rows of erroneous insertion preventing member mounting grooves 28 and 29 as in the present embodiment, and A and B are provided respectively, the plugs are combined by the following two combinations. It is possible to limit the combination of installation of the adapter and adapter. Here, “◯” represents the state in which the incorrect insertion prevention member is attached, and “x” represents the state in which the incorrect insertion prevention member is not attached.

Adapter side Plug side A ×-○ A B ○ -x B Adapter side plug side A ○ -x A B ×-○ B Under these conditions, the incorrect insertion preventing member of the plug 23 and the adapter 25 is attached. If the wrong insertion preventing members 26 and 27 are attached to the grooves 28 and 29, it is prohibited to attach the plug 23 to the wrong adapter 25 which should not be originally attached. Therefore, always connect the correct plugs securely. You can

In the above embodiment, the plug 23 and the adapter 25 are each provided with two incorrect insertion preventing member mounting grooves, but the number may be three or more.

Further, in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the mounting direction regulating plate 33 of the plug 23 comes into contact with the end face of the adapter 25 when the front and back are mistaken, so that the plug 23 cannot be inserted into the adapter 25 at all. .. As a result, the operator can quickly know that the plug 23 has made a mistake in the front and back of the adapter 25. In this way, when the plug 23 is inserted into the adapter 25 with the front and back sides of the adapter 23 aligned with each other, and the connection is prohibited by the misinsertion preventing member, it means that the plug 23 was erroneously inserted. means. Therefore, the same operation as described above is repeated for different adapters 25. Since these operations can be performed without looking at the plug 23 or the adapter 25 at all, the desired connection can be surely obtained even in a difficult-to-see place or a dark place.

[0032]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an adapter having at least two alignment sleeves in a housing, and a plug having at least two ferrules inserted into at least two alignment sleeves at the same time. In the case of an optical connector that is configured as described above, the plug and the adapter are equipped with a wrong insertion prevention member that prevents them from being inserted incorrectly by the combination of their installation, so they are attached to the plug and adapter of the optical connector. By selecting the mounting positions of a plurality of erroneous insertion prevention members, the connection of the plug of the optical connector and the adapter can be selectively limited. The erroneous insertion prevention member can be attached in advance, or can be freely attached at the place where the connection is made, so that an error in mounting can be reliably prevented. Play.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of a plug used in an optical connector according to the present invention, (A) is a front view with its upper half sectioned, (B) is a bottom view thereof, and (C) is a left side surface thereof. It is a figure.

FIG. 2 shows an erroneous insertion preventing member for the plug shown in FIG. 1, (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a bottom view thereof, and
(C) is a right side view of the same.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of an adapter used for an optical connector according to the present invention, (A) is a front view with its upper half sectioned, (B) is its bottom view with its right half sectioned, and , (C) are right side views. FIG.

4A and 4B show an erroneous insertion preventing member for the adapter shown in FIG. 3, in which FIG. 4A is a bottom view thereof, FIG.
(C) is a right side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a plug of a conventional optical connector.

FIG. 6 is an end view showing a conventional optical connector adapter.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a connected state of the optical connector according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 optical fiber 21a end face 22 ferrule 22a end face 23 plug 24 alignment sleeve 25 adapter 26 misinsertion prevention member 27 misinsertion prevention member 28 misinsertion prevention member installation groove 29 misinsertion prevention member installation groove

Front Page Continuation (72) Hiromasa Okamura 6-18-12 Meguro Honcho, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Honda Communication Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Yasuhiro Ando 1-1-6 Uchiyuki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (72) Inventor Ryo Nagase 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An adapter having at least two alignment sleeves in a housing, and said at least two.
An optical connector comprising an aligning sleeve and a plug having at least two ferrules that are simultaneously inserted into the aligning sleeve. An erroneous insertion preventing means for preventing erroneous insertion of the plug and the adapter by a combination of their attachments. An optical connector that is detachably provided. 2. The erroneous insertion preventing means corresponds to a plurality of erroneous insertion preventing member mounting grooves formed in the plug and an erroneous insertion preventing member attachable thereto, and a plurality of erroneous insertion preventing member mounting grooves of the plug. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector comprises a plurality of erroneous insertion preventing member mounting grooves formed in the adapter and an erroneous insertion preventing member attachable thereto. 3. An adapter having at least two alignment sleeves in a housing, and said at least two.
An optical connector comprising an aligning sleeve and a plug having at least two ferrules that are simultaneously inserted into the aligning sleeve. An erroneous insertion preventing means for preventing erroneous insertion of the plug and the adapter by a combination of their attachments. Detachable, and only when the front and back of the plug and adapter match
An optical connector, characterized in that front and back aligning means enabling insertion of the plug into the adapter are provided on the plug and the adapter. 4. The erroneous insertion preventing means and the front and back aligning means are provided at different insertion depths of the plug into the adapter,
4. The light according to claim 3, thereby enabling an operator to know whether the insertion is prohibited by the erroneous insertion preventing means or the insertion is prohibited by the front and back aligning means. connector.