TWI447454B - Optical fiber connector and shell molding method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Optical fiber connector and its outer casing forming method

The invention relates to an optical communication device, in particular to a fiber optic connector and a method for forming the same.

With the current trend, many electronic signal transmission cables for information appliances, communication and audio-visual equipment have changed from early metal wires to high-efficiency fiber optic connectors as the main medium for signal transmission. The optical fiber connector is a device capable of being detachably connected between the optical fiber and the optical fiber. By precisely connecting the two end faces of the optical fiber, the optical energy outputted by the transmitting optical fiber can be coupled to the receiving optical fiber to the maximum extent. The signal is transmitted via the fiber core that is housed inside the fiber optic connector.

Previous fiber optic connectors typically included a connector housing and a concentrating lens integrally formed with the connector housing. Thus, when the connector housing or the concentrating lens is damaged, it is necessary to replace the entire optical fiber connector, which is disadvantageous in reducing cost.

In addition, the connector housing usually includes a receiving hole for inserting the connector of the electronic device, and a through hole for inserting the core. The receiving hole and the through hole communicate with each other and form a blind with the collecting lens. hole. The size of the receiving hole is generally larger than the size of the through hole, and the size of the through hole is generally small, only on the order of millimeters. During the molding process, a first mold core is first extended into the female mold to form the receiving hole, and a second mold core is further extended from the receiving hole into the female mold to form the through hole. However, by The size of the receiving hole is larger than the size of the through hole. When the through hole is formed, the second mold is received at one end of the receiving hole without fulcrum support, so that the through hole is easily deflected. Or curved. When the optical fiber is inserted into the curved through hole, the optical fiber is also bent according to the shape of the through hole, which undoubtedly increases the inherent loss of the optical connector and reduces the product quality.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a fiber optic connector and a molding method thereof which are advantageous in reducing cost and capable of improving product quality.

A fiber optic connector includes an outer casing having an axial through hole and a collecting lens. The axial through hole includes a larger diameter receiving cavity and a smaller diameter through hole. The receiving cavity is configured to receive a larger diameter portion of the optical fiber, and the through hole is configured to receive a core portion having a smaller diameter in the optical fiber. An opening is formed in an end of the through hole away from the receiving cavity, and an edge of the collecting lens is provided with an external thread corresponding to the internal thread.

A method of forming a fiber optic connector housing for use in preparing the housing of the fiber optic connector described above. The molding method comprises the steps of: providing a master mold having a cavity for forming the contour of the outer casing; providing a mold for receiving the cavity and forming the receiving cavity; providing a a male mold for clamping the female mold, wherein the male mold is fixedly disposed on the surface of the female mold with a piercing terminal and a thread forming part connecting the root of the piercing terminal, the piercing terminal is Interfacing with the mold core on the master mold to form the through hole in the female mold, the thread forming part is used for forming a groove having an internal thread at the end of the through hole; And the master mold is injection molded to form the outer casing.

Compared with the prior art, the optical fiber connector of the present invention and a method of molding the same thereof will The outer casing of the optical fiber connector and the condensing lens are separately formed into two structures, and only one mold core and the through terminal on the male mold are used to form the axial through hole. When the through hole is formed, the through terminal can protrude into the female mold with the male mold as a support point, thereby avoiding the formation of the through hole from the one side of the female mold and causing the bending of the through hole to occur. The quality of the fiber optic connector. In addition, since the original integrally formed outer casing and the condensing lens can be separately assembled, when the condensing lens is damaged, the concentrating lens can be directly replaced, that is, the optical fiber connector can be continuously used, thereby avoiding waste and thereby reducing cost.

100‧‧‧Fiber Optic Connectors

224‧‧‧plug end

10‧‧‧Axial through hole

225‧‧ ‧ gap

12‧‧‧ containment chamber

226‧‧‧Bumps

14‧‧‧With holes

227‧‧‧Flanking

16‧‧‧ Groove

228‧‧‧ slot

20‧‧‧ Shell

229‧‧‧ dent

22‧‧‧ Main body

331‧‧‧ recessed hole

30‧‧‧ Concentrating lens

10a‧‧‧Slot

31‧‧‧ external thread

40‧‧‧Female model

32‧‧‧Optical area

41‧‧‧Men

33‧‧‧Non-optical area

50‧‧‧Male model

142‧‧‧ internal thread

51‧‧‧With terminal

221‧‧‧ first side

510‧‧‧Threaded parts

222‧‧‧ second side

S301, S303, S305, S307‧‧‧ steps

223‧‧‧ third side

1 is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the optical fiber connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the optical fiber connector of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a molding method of the optical fiber connector housing provided by the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the molding of the optical fiber connector housing of FIG.

The invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an optical fiber connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 20 having an axial through hole 10 and a collecting lens 30. The axial through hole 10 includes a larger diameter receiving cavity 12 and a smaller diameter through hole 14 for receiving a part of the optical fiber wrapped with an insulating layer, and the through hole 14 is for receiving The core of the fiber. In the present embodiment, the number of the axial through holes 10 is four.

The outer casing 20 and the condensing lens 30 are each formed by a plastic injection molding method. The outer casing 20 includes a main body portion 22 having a rectangular cross section. The main body portion 22 includes a first side surface 221 and a second side surface 222 opposite to each other, and is oppositely disposed and spaced apart from the first side surface 221 and the second side surface 222, respectively. Two adjacent third sides 223. Two insertion ends 224 and a notch 225 are formed on the first side surface 221, and the two insertion ends 224 are used for interposing and positioning with a peripheral device (not shown). An end portion is formed between the notch 225 and the insertion end 224. A protrusion 226 is formed on the second side surface 222 in a direction away from the main body portion 22 and parallel to the third side surface 223. The end of the receiving cavity 12 is formed on a second side adjacent to both sides of the protrusion 226. In the position of the 222, when a plurality of optical fibers are respectively inserted into the receiving cavity 12, the bumps 226 can separate a plurality of optical fibers on both sides thereof to prevent the optical fibers from being twisted together. One side wing 227 is formed on the third side surface 223, and the side wing 227 extends from a position adjacent to the first side surface 221 and is bent toward the second side surface 222, so that the bent portion of the side wing 227 is A slot 228 is formed between the third side faces 223 such that the side wings 227 have a certain elasticity to increase the hand feeling when the fiber optic connector 100 is mounted. A recess 229 is formed on the outer surface of the body 227 away from the body 22 for the user to press, so that the user can grasp the outer casing 20.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , an internal thread 142 is defined in an end of the through hole 14 away from the receiving cavity 12 . Specifically, an end of the through hole 14 away from the receiving cavity 12 extends in a radial direction of the through hole 14 with a groove 16 having a diameter larger than a diameter of the through hole 14 , the internal thread 142 is formed on the inner side wall of the recess 16.

The edge of the collecting lens 30 is provided with an external thread 31 corresponding to the internal thread 142. The concentrating lens 30 includes an optical region 33 and a non-optical region 32 surrounding the optical region 33, the diameter of the optical region 33 being equal to the diameter of the through hole 14. The optical region 33 is convex relative to the non-optical region 32. Specifically, when the condensing lens 30 is mounted on the outer casing 20, the optical region 33 is convex toward a direction away from the outer casing 20. The diameter of the non-optical region 32 is equal to the diameter of the groove 16. A plurality of concave holes 331 are formed in a surface of the non-optical region 32 away from the outer casing 20, and the plurality of concave holes 331 are used for a jig (not shown) to screw the collecting lens 30 into the groove 16 Inside.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the present invention provides a method for molding an optical fiber connector housing for preparing the outer casing 20 of the optical fiber connector 100 described above. The molding method includes the following steps: Step S301, providing a master mold 40 having a groove 10a for forming a contour shape of the outer casing 10.

In step S303, a mold core 41 is provided for being housed in the master mold 40 during the injection molding process. When the mold core 41 is taken out, the receiving cavity 12 can be formed in the female mold 40.

In step S305, a male mold 50 for clamping the female mold 40 is provided. The male mold 50 is fixedly disposed on the surface of the female mold 40 with a piercing terminal 51 for abutting against the mold core 41 on the female mold 40 to form the through hole 14 in the female mold 40. Specifically, the piercing terminal 51 is disposed near the root of the male mold 50 with a female thread forming part 510 capable of being pressed to the end of the through hole 14 and forming the groove 16 The internal thread 142 can be formed on the inner side wall of the groove 16 after the internally threaded molded part 510 is pulled out.

In step S307, the mold 50 and the master mold 40 after molding are injection molded to form the outer casing 10.

The optical fiber connector 100 of the present invention and the method for molding the outer casing thereof are formed by dividing the outer casing 20 of the optical fiber connector 100 and the collecting lens 30 into two structures, and only one mold core 41 and the male mold 50 are required to be used. The terminal 51 can be formed by fitting the axial through hole 10. When the through hole 14 is formed, the through terminal 51 can protrude into the female mold 40 with the male mold 50 as a support point, thereby avoiding forming the through hole 14 from one side of the female mold 40 and causing the through hole. 14 bending occurs, ensuring the quality of the fiber optic connector 100. In addition, since the original integrally formed outer casing 20 and the condensing lens 30 can be separately assembled, when the condensing lens 30 is damaged, the concentrating lens 30 can be directly replaced, that is, the optical fiber connector 100 can be continuously used, thereby avoiding waste. , thereby reducing costs.

In addition, those skilled in the art can make other changes within the spirit of the invention, and all changes which are made according to the spirit of the invention should be included in the scope of the invention.

100‧‧‧Fiber Optic Connectors

223‧‧‧ third side

10‧‧‧Axial through hole

224‧‧‧plug end

12‧‧‧ containment chamber

225‧‧ ‧ gap

14‧‧‧With holes

226‧‧‧Bumps

20‧‧‧ Shell

227‧‧‧Flanking

30‧‧‧ Concentrating lens

228‧‧‧ slot

221‧‧‧ first side

229‧‧‧ dent

222‧‧‧ second side

Claims (7)

An optical fiber connector comprising an outer casing having an axial through hole and a collecting lens, the collecting lens comprising an optical region and a non-optical region surrounding the optical region, the optical region having a diameter equal to the wearing Providing a diameter of the hole, a diameter of the non-optical area being equal to a diameter of the groove, the non-optical area being formed with a plurality of concave holes for a user to assemble the concentrating lens to the outer casing, the axial direction The through hole includes a larger diameter receiving cavity for receiving a larger diameter portion of the optical fiber, and a smaller diameter through hole for receiving a core portion having a smaller diameter in the optical fiber. The improvement is that an end of the through hole away from the receiving cavity is provided with an internal thread, and an edge of the collecting lens is provided with an external thread corresponding to the internal thread. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, wherein the outer casing and the condensing lens are respectively formed by a plastic injection molding method. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, wherein the one end of the through hole away from the receiving cavity has a groove extending in a radial direction of the through hole, and the diameter of the groove is larger than the diameter of the through hole. The internal thread is formed on an inner side wall of the groove. The fiber optic connector of claim 1, wherein the number of the axial through holes is four. The optical fiber connector of claim 1, wherein the outer casing comprises a main body portion, the main body portion includes opposite first and second side surfaces, and are oppositely disposed and adjacent to the first side, respectively Two third sides; two insertion ends are formed on the first side for insertion with a peripheral device and a notch, and an end of the through hole is formed between the notch and the insertion end; a protrusion is formed on the second side, an end of the receiving cavity is formed on a second side of the two sides of the protrusion; and a side wing is formed on the third side, the side wing A first slot extends from the first side to the second side, and a slot is formed between the side flap and the third side. The fiber optic connector of claim 5, wherein the side flap is formed with a recess for the user to press away from the outer surface of the body. A method of forming a fiber optic connector housing for use in the housing of the fiber optic connector of any of claims 1-6, comprising the steps of: providing a master mold having an opening for forming a pocket of the outer casing contour; a mold core for receiving the cavity and forming the receiving cavity; and a male mold for clamping the female mold, the male mold A threaded molding part is disposed on the surface of the female mold, and a thread forming part is connected to the root of the wearing terminal, and the through terminal is used for docking with the mold core on the female mold to form the inside of the female mold. A hole is formed, the thread forming part is configured to form a groove having an internal thread at the end of the through hole; and the mold is formed by molding the mold and the master after molding.