TWI726177B - Optical fiber adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

The optical fiber adapter of the present invention includes an outer housing and an inner housing. The outer housing has a chamber surrounded by four walls. A first plate, a first alignment cylinder and two stoppers are formed in the chamber. The first alignment cylinder extends from the first plate, and two stoppers are respectively formed on two of the four walls. The inner housing includes a second plate, a second alignment cylinder and two hooks. The second alignment cylinder extends out in a longitudinal direction from the second plate. The two hooks are formed on the second plate, and each hook comprises a bending part, an extending part and a hooking part. The bending part has an arcuate cross-section and extends out from the second plate. The extending part extends out from the rear end of the bending part in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction. The hooking part has a wedge shape formed on an outer surface of an end of the extending part. The hooking parts of the two hooks respectively hooks on the two stoppers to prevent the inner housing from being pulled out of the outer housing.

Description

Fiber optic adapter

The present invention relates to an optical fiber adapter, and more particularly to a one-piece optical fiber adapter.

In recent years, the use of optical fibers for communication purposes has been very large, and data, voice and other communication networks have increasingly used optical fibers to transmit information. Optical fibers are usually configured as glass fibers used to carry light. Individual fibers can be grouped into groups capable of carrying large amounts of data at the same time.

When constructing a fiber optic network, each fiber is usually connected to a source device and a target device. In addition, along the fiber path between the source and destination, various connections or couplings can be formed on the fiber to adjust the length of the fiber. Each connection or coupling requires connectors and adapters to align the optical fibers so that light can be transmitted without interruption. A typical connector includes two symmetrical housings, each housing having a connector latch. An alignment sleeve is placed in the connector latch to ensure that the optical fibers are accurately aligned. Then, the two shells are attached to each other by welding (i.e., by ultrasonic welding), riveting or other means to form a connection. A single optical fiber is then placed in each connector latch, aligning the sleeve tube so that the optical fiber is aligned.

Since multiple components are required (each component may need to be manufactured separately), and welding, riveting, or other joining processes must be performed to connect the two symmetrical shells, the production cost of this exemplary connector is relatively high. In addition, since the two symmetrical housing parts may be displaced during the welding process, alignment problems may be caused by the connection process.

US Patent No. 5,317,663 issued to Beard et al. on May 31, 1994 discloses a method of reducing the number of parts required. In the aforementioned patents, an optical fiber adapter is disclosed, which includes a single-piece housing in which two connector latches are placed, and an alignment sleeve. However, in order to place the components in the housing, a window is provided in the housing, and an outer cover is welded to the housing to cover the window. Although the design of the aforementioned US patent can eliminate any alignment problems caused by connecting two housing parts, many parts and multiple assembly steps are still required, including welding the housing cover to the window.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a conventional LC duplex fiber optic adapter includes an outer housing 100, an alignment sleeve 300 and an inner housing 200.

Please refer to FIG. 2, the outer housing 100 has two chambers 190 with the same structure on the left and right. The cavity 190 is surrounded by four walls and is provided with a bottom plate 110 and an alignment cylinder 130 inside. The bottom plate 110 is substantially rectangular, and its two sides are respectively connected to the left and right walls of the chamber 190, and the other two sides are respectively close to the upper and lower walls of the chamber 190, but are not connected to the upper and lower walls of the chamber 190, respectively. The lower wall connection. The alignment cylinder 130 extends from the bottom plate 110. Two wedge-shaped stoppers 140 are also formed inside the outer shell 100, which are respectively disposed on the upper wall and the lower wall of the cavity 190. Each wedge block 140 has a front surface 141 and a buckle surface 142.

3, the inner housing 200 includes a bottom plate 210, the front of the bottom plate 210 extends an alignment cylinder 230, the front and rear ends of the alignment cylinder 230 each have an opening, wherein the rear end opening is opened in the bottom plate 210 on. A hook 240 extends from both sides of the back of the bottom plate 210. The two hooks 240 are arranged opposite to each other. Each hook 240 includes a first extension 241, a second extension 242, and a buckle 243. The first extension portion 241 and the second extension portion 242 substantially form a V-shaped cross section.

When the aforementioned optical fiber adapter is assembled, half of the alignment sleeve 300 is inserted into the alignment cylinder 130 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 130. After that, the inner housing 200 is inserted into the cavity 190 of the outer housing 100, and the other half of the alignment sleeve 300 is inserted into the alignment cylinder 230 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 230. Figure 4 shows the previously assembled fiber optic adapter.

After the aforementioned inner housing 200 is assembled to the positioning, the buckling portion 243 of the inner housing 200 will abut on the buckling surface 142 of the stopper 140, thereby preventing the inner housing 200 from being pulled out of the outer housing 100. In addition, the first extension 241 and the second extension 242 are compressed and inserted into the gap between the bottom plate 110 and the upper and lower walls of the cavity 190.

After the aforementioned inner housing 200 is assembled to the positioning, the first extension 241 and the second extension 242 are severely compressed, and a huge stress is generated at the connection between the two. After a long time, the function of the hook 240 is likely to fail.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber adapter.

In one embodiment, the optical fiber adapter of the present invention includes an outer shell and an inner shell. The outer shell has a chamber surrounded by four walls. A first bottom plate, a first alignment cylinder, and two stoppers are formed in the cavity. The first alignment cylinder extends from the first bottom plate for accommodating a first optical fiber, and the two stoppers are respectively formed in two of them. On the wall. The inner shell includes a second bottom plate, a second alignment cylinder and two hooks. The second alignment cylinder extends from the second bottom plate in a longitudinal direction and is used for accommodating a second optical fiber. Two hooks are formed on the second bottom plate, and each hook includes a bent part, an extension part and a buckle part. The curved part has an arc-shaped cross section and extends from the second bottom plate. The extension part extends parallel to the longitudinal direction from the end of the bent part. Buckle parts It has a wedge shape and is formed on the outer surface of the end of the extension part, wherein the buckle parts of the two hooks are respectively abutted on the two stoppers, thereby preventing the inner shell from being pulled out of the outer shell.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, the two bending parts extend from the two sides of the second bottom plate respectively.

The optical fiber adapter according to the present invention further includes four supporting arms extending from the second bottom plate, wherein the four supporting arms can be inserted into the gap between the first bottom plate and the chamber wall, thereby preventing the inner housing Shake in the outer shell.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, each of the hooks is located between two of the four supporting arms.

After the inner shell of the present invention is assembled to the positioning, the hook is no longer compressed, so it bears less stress, and the reliability is greatly improved.

In order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

100: outer shell

110: bottom plate

130: Align the cylinder

140: stop

141: front

142: buckle surface

190: Chamber

200: inner shell

210: bottom plate

230: Align the cylinder

240: card hook

241: first extension

242: second extension

243: buckle

300: Align the sleeves

500: outer shell

510: bottom plate

530: Align the cylinder

540: Stop

541: front

542: Snap Surface

543: top surface

590: Chamber

600: inner shell

610: bottom plate

611: front

612: back

620: Support arm

630: Align the cylinder

631: open

632: open

640: card hook

641: bend

642: Extension

643: Snap

647: Snap Surface

Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of a conventional optical fiber adapter.

Fig. 2 shows the internal structure of the outer shell of the optical fiber adapter in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the inner housing of the optical fiber adapter in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber adapter in Fig. 1 after being assembled.

Fig. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

Figures 6a and 6b show the internal structure of the outer casing of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

Fig. 6c is a cross-sectional view of the outer casing of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

Figures 7a and 7b are perspective views of the inner housing of the fiber optic adapter of the present invention from different viewing angles.

Fig. 7c is a cross-sectional view of the inner housing of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 5, the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, such as an LC duplex type optical fiber adapter, includes an outer shell 500, an alignment sleeve 300 and an inner shell 600.

6a to 6c, the outer shell 500 is formed by plastic molding by injection molding, and has the shape of a hollow cuboid, and its interior is divided into two chambers 590 with the same structure on the left and right. The chamber 590 is surrounded by four walls, which are a left wall, a right wall, an upper wall, and a lower wall. A bottom plate 510 and an alignment cylinder 530 are provided in each chamber 590. The bottom plate 510 is substantially rectangular, and its two sides are respectively connected to the left and right walls of the chamber 590, while the other two sides are respectively close to the upper and lower walls of the chamber 590, but are not connected to the upper and lower walls of the chamber 590. The lower wall connection. The alignment cylinder 530 extends longitudinally from the bottom plate 510, and an opening at one end thereof is opened on the bottom plate 510. The alignment cylinder 530 and the bottom plate 510 can be formed together with the outer shell 500 in a single injection molding process. Two wedge-shaped stoppers 540 are also formed inside the outer shell 500, which are respectively arranged on the upper wall and the lower wall of the cavity 590. Each wedge block 540 has a front surface 541, a buckling surface 542 and a top surface 543. The two front surfaces 541 are inclined planes and both face the same opening of the cavity 590. The angle between the two front surfaces 541 and the upper or lower wall of the cavity 590 is greater than 90 degrees. The two buckle surfaces 542 are inclined planes and both face the other opening of the cavity 590. The angle between the two buckle surfaces 542 and the upper or lower wall of the cavity 590 is less than 90 degrees. top The surface 543 is flat and connects the front surface 541 with the buckle surface 542, and is also parallel to the upper or lower wall of the cavity 590.

Referring to FIGS. 7a to 7c, the inner shell 600 is formed by plastic molding by injection molding, and includes a substantially rectangular bottom plate 610, the bottom plate 610 having a front surface 611 and a back surface 612. An alignment cylinder 630 extends longitudinally from the front 611 of the bottom plate 610. The front and rear ends of the alignment cylinder 630 have openings 631 and 632 respectively, and the rear end opening 632 is opened on the bottom plate 610. Two support arms 620 are provided on both sides of the bottom plate 610 respectively. The four support arms 620 extend longitudinally from the sides of the bottom plate 610 and are opposite to the direction in which the alignment cylinder 630 extends from the bottom plate 610. In addition, a hook 640 is provided on both sides of the bottom plate 610, and each hook 640 is located between the two supporting arms 620, respectively. The two hooks 640 are arranged opposite to each other, and each hook 640 includes a bent portion 641, an extension portion 642 and a buckle portion 643. The curved portion 641 has a substantially arc-shaped cross-section and is curved and extended from the side of the bottom plate 610, and the extension portion 642 is longitudinally extended from the end of the curved portion 641. The buckle portion 643 generally has a wedge shape and is formed on the outer surface of the end of the extension portion 642. Each buckle portion 643 has a flat buckle surface 647, and the included angle between the buckle surface 647 and the outer surface of the extension portion 642 is less than 90 degrees.

When the optical fiber adapter of the present invention is assembled, half of the alignment sleeve 300 is inserted into the alignment cylinder 530 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 530. After that, the inner shell 600 is inserted into the cavity 590 of the outer shell 500, and the other half of the alignment sleeve 300 is inserted into the alignment cylinder 630 from the rear end of the alignment cylinder 630. Fig. 8 shows the assembled optical fiber adapter of the present invention.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, when the inner housing 600 is inserted into the cavity 590, the hook 640 will be compressed by the stopper 540, and the buckle part 643 will slide on the top surface 543 of the stopper 540. Referring to FIG. 8, when the inner housing 600 is assembled to be positioned, the buckle surface 647 of the buckle portion 643 can abut against The stopper 540 is on the buckling surface 542, so that the inner housing 600 can be prevented from being pulled out of the outer housing 500. In addition, the support arms 620 are inserted into the gaps between the bottom plate 510 and the upper and lower walls of the chamber 590, respectively.

According to the optical fiber adapter of the present invention, the sleeve of one optical fiber connector and the optical fiber in it can be inserted into the alignment cylinder 530, and inserted into one end of the alignment sleeve 300; the sleeve of the other optical fiber connector with its inner The optical fiber can be inserted into the alignment cylinder 630 and inserted into the other end of the alignment sleeve 300, and can be in contact with the opposite sleeve, thereby allowing the optical fibers in the two sleeves to be connected.

After the inner housing 600 of the present invention is assembled to the positioning, the hook 640 is no longer compressed, and therefore bears less stress, and the reliability is greatly improved. In addition, the support arm 620 inserted between the bottom plate 510 and the upper or lower wall of the cavity 590 can prevent the inner housing 600 from shaking in the outer housing 500.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. . Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent scope.

300‧‧‧Align sleeve tube

500‧‧‧Outer shell

590‧‧‧ Chamber

600‧‧‧Inner shell

Claims (5)

An optical fiber adapter includes: an outer shell with a cavity surrounded by four walls, wherein a first bottom plate, a first alignment cylinder, and two stoppers are formed in the cavity. An alignment cylinder extends from the first bottom plate for accommodating a first optical fiber, the two stoppers are respectively formed on two of the four walls; and an inner shell, the inner shell system Integrally formed and disposed in the cavity, the inner housing includes: a second bottom plate; a second alignment cylinder for accommodating a second optical fiber, the second alignment cylinder extending from the second bottom plate in a longitudinal direction And two hooks are formed on the second bottom plate, each of the hooks includes a bent portion, an extension portion, and a buckle portion, wherein the bent portion has an arc-shaped cross-section and extends from the second bottom plate The extension portion extends parallel to the longitudinal direction from the end of the bent portion, the buckle portion has a wedge shape and is formed on the outer surface of the end of the extension portion, wherein the buckle portions of the two hooks respectively abut against Are connected to the two stoppers, thereby preventing the inner shell from being pulled out of the outer shell. According to the optical fiber adapter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the two bending parts extend from two sides of the second bottom plate respectively. The optical fiber adapter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: four supporting arms extending from the second bottom plate, wherein the four supporting arms can be inserted between the first bottom plate and the wall of the chamber In the gap between them, thereby preventing the inner shell from shaking in the outer shell. In the optical fiber adapter described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, each of the hooks is located between two of the four support arms. For the optical fiber adapter described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the optical fiber adapter is an LC-type optical fiber adapter.

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