CN100529818C - Optical coupling component for use in an optical communication connector and an optical connector using such optical coupling component - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical coupling component for optical communication connection and an optical connector using the coupling component, which have joints on the outer peripheral surfaces of a pair of cylindrical sending side optical function parts (81) and cylindrical receiving side optical function parts (82). area, and the joint part (90) made of the same material as the optical function part is integrally molded with these optical function parts, and the joint area of the joint part (90) is opposite to the side surface of the optical function part (81, 82) The circumferential direction has a length within half of the circumference and is joined.

Description

Optical coupling component for optical communication connection and optical connector using the coupling component

technical field

The present invention relates to an optical coupling component for bidirectional optical communication connection that optically couples a light-emitting element, a light-receiving element, and an optical fiber to reduce crosstalk while improving the transmission efficiency of optical power, and an optical connector using the coupling component ,

Background technique

An optical plug equipped with an optical fiber and an optical connector equipped with an optical coupling member for bidirectional communication, a light-emitting element, and a light-receiving element are fitted together and optically connected to form a bidirectional optical communication connector.

As the prior art, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-304980 (issued on November 2, 2000, hereinafter referred to as document 1), and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-133665 (issued on May 18, 2001) Publication, hereinafter referred to as Document 2), discloses an optical coupling member integrated with bidirectional communication by connecting optical functional units for the transmitting side and the receiving side by a coupling portion, and an optical connector using the same.

However, the optical coupling members of Document 1 and Document 2 are integrally molded with a pair of optical function parts and a pair of cylindrical protective sleeves and a coupling part of a material different from them in two colors, and the manufacturing cost increases.

In addition, there is a non-public prior art developed by the company of the assignee of the present application, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-260882 (filed on September 8, 2004, hereinafter referred to as non-public patent document 3) And the single and integrated optical combination parts in the corresponding foreign applications such as the United States and the optical connector using the combination parts.

12 and 13, the unknown prior art of the integrated bidirectional communication optical coupler disclosed in the above-mentioned unknown document 3 will be described.

In FIGS. 12 and 13 , 107 is an optical coupling member for bidirectional optical communication connection. In this non-public document 3, since it is called a sleeve unit, the same name will be used for description.

As shown in Figures 13A-13E, the sleeve unit 107 has: a cylindrical sender-side optical function part 181 and a receiver-side optical function part 182; a sender-side sleeve 173 for positioning and protecting the sender-side optical function part 181; The receiving side sleeve 174 for positioning and protecting the receiving side optical function part 182; the connecting part 170 connecting the sending side optical function part 181 and the receiving side optical function part 182; curling the sending side optical function part 181 The sending side flange 171 of the light emitting element side end 181a of the light emitting element side; the receiving side flange 172 of the light receiving element side end 182a of the curling receiving side optical function part 182 The connection part 170, the optical function parts 181, 182, the sleeves 173, 174, and the flanges 171, 172 are integrally molded using a translucent synthetic resin (for example, acrylic material, etc.) as a raw material.

The connector 101 using the sleeve unit 107 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14 .

In FIG. 12 , 110 is an insertion hole having a side wall 102 and a bottom wall 103 . In the optical plug housing recess 102a formed in the side wall 102 of the receptacle 110, a cylindrical transmitting side optical fiber storage tube 111 and a receiving side optical fiber storage tube are integrally erected from the bottom wall 103 along the side wall 102 in parallel. 112. On the outer surface of the bottom wall 103 (in FIG. 12A, on the lower side of the bottom wall 103), holes 113a and 113b communicating with the sending side optical fiber storage tube 111 and the receiving side fiber storage tube 112 are formed, and an optical coupling member is formed. The recessed portion 113 is accommodated.

104 is a shield, which is divided into two parts by a partition wall 140 (up and down in FIG. Openings 140 a and 140 b are formed in the center portion of the partition wall 140 . The light emitting element 161 and the light receiving element 162 are suitably accommodated in the element holder 105 .

In FIG. 12A , the transmitting-side optical fiber 131 is inserted into the optical plug housing recess 102 a of the receptacle 110 from above, and fitted and fixed to the transmitting-side optical fiber housing tube 111 via the transmitting-side optical fiber ferrule 121 a. On the other hand, the receiving-side optical fiber 132 is similarly fitted and fixed to the receiving-side optical fiber storage tube 112 via the receiving-side optical fiber ferrule 122 from above.

The sleeve unit 107 fits and positions the sending side sleeve 173 in the sending side storage tube 111 through the hole 113a from the outside of the bottom wall 103 (the lower side of the bottom wall in FIG. 12A ). From the outside of the bottom wall 103 through the hole 113b, it is fitted and positioned in the receiving side storage tube 112, as shown in FIG. At this time, the transmission-side flange 171 and the reception-side flange 172 protrude outward from the surface (lower side in FIG. 12B ) of the bottom wall 103 .

As shown in FIG. 14 in which the sleeve 107 is fitted into the insertion hole 110 viewed from the sleeve unit 107 side, the concave portion 113 has the same shape as the sleeve unit 107 (the shape formed by the flanges 171, 172 and the connecting portion 170). ) roughly corresponds to the shape. In this embodiment, three protrusions 114 are formed on the inner wall surface of the recess 113 , and the cross-section of the protrusions is hemispherical, extending along the depth direction of the recess 113 .

The sleeve unit 107 compresses these three protrusions 114 and is pressed and fixed in the concave portion 113 . Moreover, the sleeve unit 107 has the protrusion part 170a, and positioning in a recessed part is performed by this.

Here, the insertion hole 110 in which the sleeve unit 107, the transmission-side optical fiber 131, and the reception-side optical fiber 132 are housed is accommodated in the upper insertion hole accommodation portion 142 of the shielding case 104, and the transmission-side flange 171 and the reception-side protrusion The edge 172 is inserted into the lower element holder storage portion 141 of the storage element holder 105 through the openings 140a, 140b of the partition wall 140, and the ends 181a, 182a of the optical function parts 181, 182 constitute a state facing the light emitting element 161 and the light receiving element 162. .

Here, the transmission optical signal emitted from the light emitting element 161 is incident on the light emitting element side end portion 181 a of the transmission side optical function portion 181 . Since a collimating lens 181b is formed at the front end (lower end in FIG. 13C ) of the end 181a of the sending side optical function part 181, the incident sending optical signal propagates in the sending side optical function part 181 through the collimating lens 181b, The light exits through the collimator lens 181d formed at the front end (upper end in FIG. 13C ) of the optical fiber 181c, and the incident light converges on the core end face of the transmission-side optics 131 . Thereafter, the optical signal is sent to the outside through the transmission-side optical fiber 131 .

And, on the contrary, the receiving optical signal received from the outside via the receiving side optical fiber 132 is incident on the collimating lens 182d formed at the front end (upper end in FIG. 13C ) of the fiber side end 182c of the receiving side optical function part 182 The receiving side optical function part 182 is incident on the light receiving element 162 through the collimator lens 182b at the front end (lower end in FIG. 13C ) of the light receiving element side end part 182a to be received.

In the above sleeve unit 107, the transmission optical signal emitted from the light emitting element 161 is incident on the transmission side optical function part 181, and is sent out to the outside through the transmission side optical fiber 131. In the connection part 170 which is made of the same optical material as the other part, leakage to the outside from here causes a problem of transmission loss of light. The same problem of leakage occurs in the receiving optical signal incident on the receiving side optical function part 182 from the outside via the receiving optical fiber 132 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned sleeve unit 7, since the sending side optical function part 181 and the receiving side optical function part 182 are connected through the connecting part 170, a part of the sending optical signal emitted from the light emitting element 161 leaks to the connecting part 170, Reflection at the upper and lower interfaces between the connecting portion and the outside air, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 12B , also causes crosstalk leakage to the light receiving element 162 of the local station via the crosstalk path.

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical coupling component for bidirectional optical communication connection and an optical connector using the coupling component, which can reduce crosstalk while improving transmission efficiency of optical power.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention obtains an optical coupling component after a pair of optical functional parts and a connecting part for bidirectional optical communication are integrally formed, and the optical functional part is a function of a light guide path, other structural elements ( In connection part, positioning member, or protection member, etc.), it is joined with the optical function part, and is combined with the side surface of the optical function part with as small an area as possible.

That is, the connecting portion made of the same material as the optical function portion is integrally molded with respect to the side faces of the cylindrical sending side optical function portion and the receiving side optical function portion. The joint area where the sides meet has a circumferential length within half the circumference of the cylindrical section.

Here, as a first technical means, there is provided an optical coupling member for a connector for bidirectional optical communication, which has a cylindrical transmission-side optical function part and a cylindrical reception-side optical function part made of a light-transmitting synthetic resin material. A pair, and a connection part that is integrally formed with these optical function parts and mechanically combined with these optical function parts is made of the same material as the optical function part, optically combining the optical element and the optical fiber, It is characterized in that,

The connection part has a base part and a connection end part, and the joint area of the connection end part respectively connected to the side faces of the pair of cylindrical optical function parts has the length within the half circumference of the cylindrical optical function part. The length in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical optical function part.

As a second technical solution, the optical coupling member for optical communication connection according to the first technical solution is characterized in that the joint region of the connection end portion of the connection part has a width H in the vertical direction that is greater than the width of the connection part in the vertical direction. M is small.

As a third technical solution, in the optical coupling member for optical communication connection according to the first or second technical solution, a V-shaped notch is formed in the central part of the base part of the connecting part, and the apex of the notch is formed to be smaller than that connecting two parts. The horizontal position of the straight line on the lower side of the optical function part is deep.

As a fourth technical solution, in the optical coupling component for optical communication connection according to the first or second technical solution, a U-shaped cutout is formed in the central part of the connecting part from both sides of the upper side and the lower side. The hole is fitted and fixed at the central part of the connecting part.

As a fifth technical means, there is provided an optical connector, characterized by comprising: a light emitting element and a light receiving element; the optical coupling member according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and a connector body on which the light emitting element and the light receiving element are mounted. The light-receiving element and the optical coupling part, the transmitting-side optical function part and the receiving-side optical function part of the above-mentioned optical coupling part will be installed between the transmitting-side optical fiber and the receiving-side optical fiber of the optical plug and the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element Combine light separately.

technical effect

In the connecting member for bidirectional optical communication connection of the present invention, the connecting part made of the same material as the optical function part is integrally formed with respect to the cylindrical sender-side optical function part and the cylindrical receiver-side optical function part. The connecting part joins the two optical function parts to obtain an integrated optical coupling part. In this case, the area of the joining region where the connecting portion is bonded to the side surface of the cylindrical optical function portion is smaller than the area of the optical coupling member obtained in the non-disclosed prior art, thereby suppressing the amount of light leaking through the connecting portion and improving the light intensity. transmission efficiency. According to the optical coupling member for optical communication connection in which the transmitting side and the receiving side are integrated in the present invention, the transmission light entering from the transmitting side optical function part to the connecting part is reduced, and the crosstalk is also reduced accordingly.

Description of drawings

1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an optical coupling member. FIG. 1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a front view, FIG. 1C is a perspective view, FIG. 1D is a perspective view of separated elements, and FIG. 1E is a side view;

2 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is a front view, FIG. 2C is a perspective view, and FIG. 2D is a side view;

3 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of an optical coupling member;

4 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a front view, FIG. 4C is a perspective view, and FIG. 4D is a side view;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another modified example of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3;

6 is a diagram illustrating a third embodiment of an optical coupling member, FIG. 6A is a plan view, FIG. 6B is a front view, FIG. 6C is a perspective view, and FIG. 6D is a side view;

7 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7A is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a front view, FIG. 7C is a perspective view, and FIG. 7D is a side view;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the optical coupling member is inserted into the socket, and shows a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. 11B . FIG. 8A is an example of an optical connector using the optical coupling part of the first embodiment, and FIG. 8B is another example of using an optical connector deformed to the optical coupling part of FIG. 8A;

9 is a diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of an optical coupling member, FIG. 9A is a plan view, and FIG. 9B is a front view;

10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an optical connector is assembled using an integrated optical coupling member according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a state before assembling an optical connector, and FIG. 10B is a description after assembly. picture;

Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the insertion hole of the fitting-integrated optical coupling part of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 11A is a front view seen from the optical fiber side, and Fig. 11B is a view from the side where the optical coupling part is inserted The front view of FIG. 11C is a perspective view, and FIG. 11D is a side view;

12 is a diagram illustrating a non-disclosed prior art, FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a state before an optical connector is assembled using a bidirectional optical communication integrated optical coupling part of the prior art, and FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram after assembly;

13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the non-disclosed prior art integrated optical coupling member shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 13A is a plan view, FIG. 13B is a front view, and FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view showing a dotted line in FIG. 13B, Figure 13D is a side view, and Figure 13E is a perspective view;

Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the undisclosed prior art integrated optical coupling member shown in Figs. 12 and 13 is assembled to a receptacle.

Detailed ways

The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . 1B is a front view of an optical coupling member having a connecting portion and an optical function portion, FIG. 1A is a plan view seen from above, FIG. 1E is a side view seen from the side, and FIGS. 1C and 1D are perspective views.

In FIG. 1, 9 denotes an optical coupling member for bidirectional optical communication connection. The optical coupling member 9 is constituted by a cylindrical sender-side optical function part 81 made of translucent synthetic resin, a cylindrical receiver-side optical function part 82, and a connecting part 90 that mechanically combines these two optical function parts. . In addition, the connecting portion is used for mechanical coupling, but since it is integrally formed of the same material as the optical function portion, it is also optically coupled, resulting in reduced light transmission efficiency.

A transmission optical signal generated from a light emitting element (not shown) is incident on one end (light emitting element side end 81a) of the transmission side optical function part 81, propagates therein, and transmits from the other end (optical fiber one side end). portion 81c), and is sent out to the outside through the transmission-side optical fiber (not shown). The receiving optical signal received from the outside through the receiving side optical fiber (not shown) is incident on one end of the receiving side optical function part 82 (optical fiber one side end 82c), The element-side end portion 82a) emits and is incident on a light-receiving element (not shown) to be received.

The connecting part 90 has a base part 90', and connecting part ends 91, 91' having joining regions 91a, 91a' integrally bonded to the left and right sides of the sending side optical function part 81 and the receiving side optical function part 82, and There are fixing parts 92, 92' for press-fitting and fixing the entire connecting part 90 against the insertion hole described later, and a V-shaped notch 93 formed by cutting a large number of base parts 90' of the connecting part. Here, the connecting portion 90 has a thickness E (see FIGS. 1C and 1E ), and the connecting portion ends 91, 91' have a "vertical width H" designed to be smaller than the vertical width M of the connecting portion 90'. , is also smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical sender-side optical function part 81 and the diameter of the receiver-side optical function part 82 . In addition, let the extension direction of each central axis of the two optical function parts 81, 82 be the x-axis, the direction perpendicular to each central axis in the plane containing the two central axes is the y-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the x-axis and the y-axis is the z-axis, the thickness E of the connecting portion 90 refers to the length in the X-axis direction, and the "width H in the vertical direction" refers to the length in the z-axis direction (see FIGS. 1B and 1C ).

What is important in the present invention is that the connecting portion ends 91, 91 ′ of the connecting portion 90 have joining regions 91a, 91a ′ (actually integrally formed, but may be Imagine that there is a junction area), the junction area is the area surrounded by the four points of A-B-B'-A' in Figure 1D, the length of the circumference of the side of the cylindrical optical function part (in Figure 1B, Figure 1C, Figure 1D The arc-shaped length from point A to point B or from A' to B' constitutes a length within half a circle in the circumferential direction on the side surface of the above-mentioned optical function part.

In addition, the depth D (refer to FIG. 1B ) seen from the upper end line K of the connecting portion 90 of the notch 93 along the notch direction forms a line L that connects the lowermost end portions of the sending side optical function part 81 and the receiving side optical function part 82. (Refer to FIG. 1E ) The horizontal position (1evel) is deep.

As above, the optical coupling member of the present invention has a structure in which the connecting part ends 91, 91' of the connecting part 90 are joined to the side surfaces of the cylindrical optical function parts 81, 82 within a half circle of the cylindrical section, while the previously described non-disclosed The optical coupling member in the prior art has a structure in which the connecting part is joined to the side surface of the cylindrical optical function part on the whole circumference. Comparing the two, the present invention is more effective in the connection of the connecting part to the optical function part than in the prior art. The area can be further reduced, the amount of light leaking through the connection portion can be further suppressed, and the light transmission efficiency can be further improved. Moreover, the depth seen from the upper end of the connecting portion 90 of the cutout 93 is formed deeper than the horizontal position of the lowermost end portion connecting the sending side optical function part 81 and the receiving side optical function part 82, thereby, the optical function of the sending side The light leaked from the part 81 to the connecting part 90 has a longer leakage path to the receiving side optical function part 82 , diffuses in the connecting part 90 and is attenuated during propagation, thereby reducing crosstalk.

An embodiment of an optical connector for bidirectional communication configured using the optical coupling member of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A , 10 and 11 .

8A is a front view of the surface 3 of the insertion hole 10 facing the optical element (the side where the optical coupling member is inserted), and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the optical coupling member 9 of the first embodiment is mounted on the surface 3 .

This corresponds to the structure of FIG. 14 used in the description of the non-disclosed prior art, and the shield cover 4 (equivalent to 104 in FIG. 12, not shown) is combined on such a jack 10 to complete the connector 1. .

Fig. 10 is a sectional view for explaining an assembled state of the optical connector for bidirectional communication according to the present invention (see Fig. 8A for a cut section).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a receptacle 10 of the bidirectional communication optical connector 1 of the present invention.

The optical connector 1 of the present invention has a socket 10 and a shielding case 4 fitted therein, and the socket 10 has a side wall 2 and a bottom wall 3 . In the optical plug housing recess 2a formed in the side wall 2 of the receptacle 10, parallel to the side wall 2 and integrally erected from the bottom wall 3, a cylindrical transmitting-side optical fiber storage tube 11 and a receiving-side optical fiber storage tube 12 are provided. . (see FIG. 10A and FIG. 11A ), and the bottom wall 3 refers to a wall corresponding to the bottom of the concave portion 2a seen from the entrance of the concave portion 2a (see FIG. 6 ).

On the outer surface of the bottom wall 3 (the lower side of the bottom wall 3 in FIG. 10A ), holes 13a, 13b communicating with the sending-side optical fiber storage tube 11 and the receiving-side optical fiber storage tube 12 are formed, and an optical coupling component storage recess is also formed. 13. (Refer to Figure 8A and Figure 10A)

4 is a shielding case, which is divided into two parts (upper and lower in FIG. 10A ) by a partition wall 40, and has a lower component storage part 41 for accommodating the component holder 5 and a socket storage part 42 for accommodating the upper side of the insertion hole 10. Openings 40 a and 40 b are formed in the center portion of the partition wall 40 . The light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 are suitably accommodated in the element holder 5 .

In FIG. 10 , the transmitting-side optical fiber 31 is inserted into the optical plug housing recess 2 a of the receptacle 10 from above, and is fitted and fixed in the fiber hole 11 a of the transmitting-side optical fiber housing tube 11 via the transmitting-side optical fiber ferrule 21 . On the other hand, the receiving-side optical fiber 32 is similarly fitted and fixed to the fiber hole 12 a of the receiving-side optical fiber storage tube 12 via the receiving-side optical fiber ferrule 22 .

In the insertion hole 10 of the present invention, the holes 13a, 13b provided on the bottom wall 3 have a diameter sufficient to insert the optical function parts 81, 82 of the optical coupling member 9, and the front ends thereof communicate with the optical fiber holes 11a, 12a.

The optical fiber side end portion 81c of the sending side optical function portion 81 of the optical coupling member 9 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the hole 13a from the outside of the bottom wall 3 (the lower side of the bottom wall 3 in FIG. Position it so that it is opposite to the sending side optical fiber 31 fitted in the sending side storage tube 11 (see FIG. 10B ), and at the same time, the optical fiber side end 82c of the receiving side optical function part 82 is also inserted into the hole 13b from the outside of the bottom wall 3 Inside, the front end 82d is positioned so that it faces the receiving-side optical fiber 32 fitted in the receiving-side storage tube 12, and as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 13 on.

The bottom wall 3 of the insertion hole 10 has protrusions 3a, 3b on the outer side (the lower side in FIG. 10A ) of the surface thereof. The protruding portions 3a, 3b are formed to surround the cylindrical outer peripheries of the light-emitting element-side end 81a of the optical function portion 81 and the light-receiving element-side end 82a of the optical function portion 82 only in the range of half a circle (refer to FIG. 8A, 10B, 11C).

When fitting the insertion hole 10 with the shield case 4, the light-emitting element-side end 81a and the light-receiving element-side end 82a of the optical function parts 81, 82 surrounded by the protrusions 3a, 3b are inserted into the shield case 4, respectively. In the openings 40 , 40 b on the top, the front ends 81 b , 82 b are positioned so that they are opposite to the light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 .

As shown in FIG. 8A showing a state where the optical coupling member 9 is fitted into the insertion hole 10 , the concave portion 13 has a shape substantially corresponding to the outer shape of the optical coupling member 9 . In this embodiment, six protrusions 14 are formed on the inner wall surface of the recess 13 (indicated by a thick line in FIG. 8A ). The direction perpendicular to the paper surface) extends to form.

The optical coupling member 9 is press-fitted and fixed in the concave portion 13 , so that the base portion 90 ′ of the connection portion 90 and the fixing portions 92 , 92 ′ compress the six protrusions 14 . In addition, the optical coupling member 9 is positioned in the recessed portion 13 by the base portion 90' of the coupling portion.

Here, the transmission optical signal emitted from the light emitting element 61 is incident on the light emitting element side end portion 81 a of the transmission side optical function portion 81 . Since a collimator lens (collimator lens) 81b is formed at the front end of the end portion 81a, the incident transmission optical signal is converged by the collimator lens 81b, propagates in the transmission side optical function portion 81, and passes through the optical function portion formed at the fiber side end portion 81c. It is converged by the collimator lens 81 at the front end of the laser beam and emitted, and is incident on the core end face of the transmitting-side optical fiber 31 . Thereafter, the transmission optical signal is sent to the outside through the transmission-side optical fiber 31 .

On the contrary, the receiving optical signal received from the outside through the receiving side optical fiber 32 is converged by the collimator lens 82d formed at the front end of the optical fiber side end 82c of the receiving side optical function part 82, and enters the receiving side optical function part 82. It is condensed and emitted by the collimator lens 82b formed at the front end of the light receiving element side end portion 82a, and is incident on the light receiving element side 62 to be received.

Because the optical coupling member 9 of the first embodiment makes the area ratio of the joining area of the joint members 91, 91' of the joint part 90 necessary for integrally forming a pair of optical function parts with respect to the side surfaces of the optical function parts be within Since the prior art is small, the amount of light leaking through the connecting portion can be suppressed, and the light transmission efficiency can be improved. Therefore, in an optical connector using such an optical coupling member, the light transmission efficiency is also improved.

The cross-sectional area of the connecting part end 91, 91' between the optical coupling member 9 and the optical function part 81, 82 must be minimized in order to improve the light transmission efficiency, and is determined by the synthetic resin material used for molding. The boundary area necessary for the molten synthetic resin to spread in the mold.

The minimum area is determined by a cut and try method. That is, the smaller the cross-sectional area of the end portion of the connecting portion, the higher the light transmission efficiency, and conversely, the higher the risk of resin flow failure during injection molding of the resin forming the connecting portion. In order to improve the flow of the resin, as shown in FIG. 8B , it is effective to obtain a shape with an enlarged cross-sectional area from the joint portion toward the base portion while maintaining the area of the joint portion. However, since it is difficult to determine which shape is most suitable from the shape of FIG. 8A to the shape of FIG. 8B during design, after trial molding, mold correction is performed while confirming characteristics, and the end of the connecting portion is determined. cross-sectional area and shape.

Therefore, the concave portion 13 on the side of the insertion hole is formed to have a space that can accommodate even the shape of FIG. 8B in which the vertical height H of the end portion of the coupling portion is formed to be the largest. As a result, molding is performed using the mold of the shape shown in FIG. 8A , and when resin flow failure occurs, the mold at the end of the connecting portion is gradually removed, and flow countermeasures such as enlarging the cross-sectional area of the end of the connecting portion and obtaining normal resin flow can be obtained. .

A modified example of the first embodiment of the optical coupling member shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . In this modified example, the V-shaped notch 93 used in the first embodiment is changed to a U-shaped notch 93', and at the same time, the fixing part 92 that press-fits and fixes the entire connecting part 90 to the insertion hole is not provided. , 92' (that is, a structure in which the region above the upper surface of the connecting portion ends 91, 91' is cut off). In the U-shaped notch 93', the depth D (refer to FIG. 2B) seen from the upper end of the connecting part 90 (that is, the upper surface of the connecting parts 91, 91') is also formed to be larger than the optical function part 81 connecting the sending side and the receiving side. The horizontal position of the line L of the lowest end of the optical function part 82 is deep.

As in this modified example, even if a cutout of a shape with a small vertical dimension is formed over the entire length of the connecting portion 90, the connecting portion 90 also functions as a light guide. The transmission optical signal entered at 81 propagates toward the cylindrical receiving-side optical function part 82, causing a considerable amount of crosstalk. (Refer to FIG. 2A) However, in the cross-sectional U-shaped notch 93', the depth seen from the upper end of the connecting part 90 is also formed to be lower than the horizontal position of the lowermost end of the connecting optical function part 81 and the receiving side optical function part 82. Deep, the light leaked from the sending side optical function part 81 to the connecting part 90 is due to the extension of the leakage path to the receiving side optical function part 82, so it is diffused in the connecting part 90 and attenuated during propagation, and the crosstalk is reduced (refer to FIG. 2B).

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . Comparing the areas of the joining regions 91a, 91a' between the cylindrical sender-side optical function part 81, the receiver-side optical function part 82, and the connection part ends 91, 91', the size of the up-down direction of the connection part 90 can be increased by forming M is a structure whose cross-sectional area (M×E) is further increased, so that the transmission light entering the connecting part 90 is diffused in this part, so the amount of light entering the receiving side optical function part 82 is correspondingly reduced, and crosstalk can be reduced.

A modified example of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 . In this modified example, the product of the bonding area between the sending side optical function part 81, the receiving side optical function part 82, and the connecting part ends 91, 91' is compared, and the dimension M in the vertical direction of the connecting part 90 is increased (refer to FIG. 4B ), a structure that further increases its cross-sectional area.

Another modified example of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5 . This modified example is a modified example in which a pair of the cylindrical transmitting-side optical function part 81 and the cylindrical receiving-side optical function part 82 is made of the same constituent material as the optical function part integrally molded with these optical function parts. In the optical coupling member 9 for bidirectional optical communication connection composed of the coupling portion 90 made of the above material, the coupling portion 90 is simply passed through the coupling portion end 91 within the half circumference of the cylindrical cross-section relative to the side faces of the cylindrical optical function portions 81 and 82. , 91' joint. This modification also has the following structure, that is, the connection part 90 is joined to the side surface of the cylindrical optical function part 81, 82 within half a circle of the cylindrical section, and compared with the case where the connection is made on the whole circumference, the effect of the connection part is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the amount of light leaking through the connecting portion, thereby achieving the effect of improving the light transmission efficiency.

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . This embodiment is also the same as Embodiment 1, and the optical coupling member 9 is composed of a cylindrical transmitting-side optical function part 81, a cylindrical receiving-side optical function part 82, and a coupling part 90 that mechanically couples the two optical function parts. The connecting part 90 of this embodiment is the following embodiment, that is, U-shaped cutouts 93', 93" are formed on both sides of the central part from the upper side and the lower side, and the connecting part is fitted and fixed to the insertion hole through it, so that the connecting part The end portion and two optical function parts release.In this embodiment, also restrain the light quantity that leaks through the connection part, improve the transmission efficiency of light, at the same time, will leak the light on the connection part 90 from the sending side optical function part 81 to the receiving side. The leakage path of the signal-side optical function part 82 is extended, and is attenuated when it diffuses and propagates in the connecting part, so as to achieve the effect of reducing crosstalk.

A modified example of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . In this modified example, in Example 1, an opening 930 having a square cross-section is formed in the central portion of the connecting portion 90 instead of the notch 93 . The connecting part 90 is integrally molded from the same material as the cylindrical sending-side optical function part 81 and the cylindrical receiving-side optical function part 82 , and is fixed to the insertion hole through a cross-sectional square opening 930 formed in the center of the connecting part.

A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9 . This is, in the connection part 90 composed of the same material as the optical function part integrally formed with the cylindrical sending side optical function part 81 and the cylindrical receiving side optical function part 82, the cylindrical shape of the optical function part is retained. An optical coupling member for optical communication connection forming the coupling portion 90 is added to a part of the outer circumference of the section. As can be seen from the figure, the optical coupling member of this embodiment is constituted as follows. The length of the circumferential direction of the side surface of the optical function part in the joint region where the coupling part 90 is bonded to the outer peripheral surfaces of the optical function parts 81, 82 (arc from A to B The length of) constitutes the length of the half circle of the outer circumference of the optical function part. In addition, the sleeves 73 and 74 used in the prior art are further integrally formed on the optical coupling member, but since the length of the above-mentioned joint area is limited, compared with the prior art, the effect of improving the light transmission efficiency is not lost. In addition, when constituting an optical connector using the optical coupling member of this embodiment, the diameters of the holes 13a, 13b formed in the bottom wall 3 are set to a size in which a sleeve can be inserted, as shown in the prior art.

Industrial availability

According to the present invention, compared with the prior art, an optical coupling member having an effect of improving optical transmission efficiency and reducing crosstalk, and an optical connector using the optical coupling member can be effectively utilized in the field of bidirectional optical communication.

Claims (6)

1, a kind of bidirectional optical connection optics bonded block, it has makes the cylindric sidelight of delivering letters that is made of the translucent synthetic resin material learn function portion and cylindric collection of letters sidelight is learned a pair of that function portion constitutes, and the linking part that the constituent material identical materials of one-body molded and having of being integral with these mutual mechanical bond of optical function portion and optical function portion constitutes with these optical function portions, with optical bond between optical element and the optical fiber, it is characterized in that

Linking part has matrix part and links the end, and the length that the engaging zones of the binding end that joins respectively with side with respect to described a pair of cylindric optical function portion has a half cycle that constitutes columned optical function portion is with the circumferential length of interior described columned optical function portion.

2, the optics bonded block is used in optical communication connection as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that the width H of the above-below direction that the engaging zones of the binding end of linking part has is littler than the width M of the above-below direction of linking part.

3, the connection of the optical communication described in claim 1 or 2 optics bonded block, it is characterized in that, form the otch of V word shape at the central portion of the matrix part of linking part, the summit of otch forms deeplyer than the horizontal level of the straight line that links two optical function subordinate sides.

4, the optics bonded block is used in the connection of the optical communication described in claim 1 or 2, it is characterized in that, and is at the central portion of linking part, from the otch of upside and downside both sides formation U word shape, chimeric fixing at the linking part central portion with respect to jack.

5, a kind of optical connector is characterized in that, has: light-emitting component and light receiving element; Each described optical bond parts of claim 1～4; Connect body, it installs described light-emitting component and light receiving element and optical bond parts,

The sidelight of delivering letters of above-mentioned optical bond parts learns function portion and collection of letters sidelight is learned the light combination respectively between optical fiber and collection of letters optical fiber and described light-emitting component and the light receiving element of delivering letters that function portion will be installed on optical plug.

6, a kind of optical connector is characterized in that, has: light-emitting component and light receiving element; Each described optical bond parts of claim 1～4; Connect body, it has wall, and this wall has the chimeric recess of deliver letters optical fiber and the collection of letters optical fiber that are installed on the optical plug chimeric deliver letters side and collection of letters optical fiber admission extinguisher, optical bond parts, is communicated with the through hole of optical fiber admission extinguisher from this recess,

In above-mentioned through hole, insert optical function portion, insert and fixing described optical bond parts at described recess, the end that the side of delivering letters and collection of letters sidelight are learned function portion is relative with described light-emitting component and light receiving element position on being installed on the connection body, and the other end is relative with the optical fiber that is embedded in optical fiber admission extinguisher position in the through hole of this admission extinguisher.

Images