Optical contact unit and optical plug

• US 20050232552A1
• Filed: 04/14/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canare Electric (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Canare Electric (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Tetsuo, Komatsubara, Manabu
• Granted Patent: US 7,232,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/76
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3821 with axial spring biasing or loading means G02B6/3847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3825 with an intermediate part, e.g. adapter, receptacle, linking two plugs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3874 using tubes, sleeves to align ferrules

Abstract

A ferrule holder 110 and a coil spring 120 are comprised in a main body 130 formed in an approximately tube shape. A cable adaptor 140 comprising a front opening part 142 at a large diameter part 141 is inserted from a back opening part 133 into the main body 130 having slits S2 and S3. A first small diameter part 131 of the main body 130 fits with the large diameter part 141 of the cable adaptor 140 and prevents the cable adaptor 140 from translating in the z-axis direction. And the second small diameter part 132 of the main body 130 controls transfer of the ferrule holder 110 in the z-axis direction. At the forward part of the large diameter 141, a taper part which helps to insert the cable adaptor 140 is formed around the circuit of the optical axis. Each slit formed at the back opening part 133 also helps to insert the cable adaptor 140.

Claims

1. An optical contact unit which constructs an elastic contact at which a ferrule A connected to the end part of an optical fiber is faced and mechanically couples on another ferrule B placed at the front side of the ferrule A, comprising:

said ferrule A;

a ferrule holder which holds said ferrule A and the back end part to which said optical fiber of said ferrule A is connected;

an elastic member which gives said ferrule holder elasticity to translate in the optical axis direction of said optical fiber and holds said ferrule holder;

a tubular main body comprising at least said ferrule holder and said elastic member; and

a tubular cable adaptor which is inserted to the back opening part of said main body and is penetrated by said optical fiber,

wherein said main body comprises a first small diameter part which has a first contact plane extending approximately vertical from the internal surface of said main body toward inside,

said cable adaptor comprises a large diameter part which has a second contact plane extending approximately vertical from the external surface of said cable adaptor toward outside,

a maximum radius of said large diameter part is larger than a minimum radius of said first small diameter part,

said large diameter part is installed at the front side of said first small diameter part, and

said second contact plane contacts to said first contact plane.

2. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein

said main body comprises a second small diameter part having a third contact plane, which extends from the internal surface around a front opening part of said main body to inside in approximately vertical direction,

the maximum radius of said ferrule holder is smaller than the minimum radius of said first small diameter part and larger than the minimum radius of said second diameter part, and

an edge of the front opening part of said ferrule holder contacts to the third contact plane.

3. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein a taper part which helps to insert said cable adaptor into said main body is formed at the forward part of said large diameter part of said cable adaptor.

4. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein said main body comprises said taper part which helps to insert said cable adaptor at the back side of said first small diameter part.

5. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein a slit which penetrates from the back opening part in the optical axis direction is formed at said main body, and

wherein said slit reaches deeper in the forward direction into said main body than said first small diameter part.

6. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein said main body comprises:

a slit which penetrates from the front opening part of said main body in the optical axis direction; and

a concave part which fits with the rare edge part of a dividing sleeve unit comprising and keeping a dividing sleeve and is formed in the internal surface of the front opening part.

7. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein said elastic member is formed by using a metal coil spring.

8. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein said external surface of said cable adaptor is formed in an approximately rotator shape whose rotational axis is in said optical axis direction, and

said large diameter part is formed almost in a circle in circumferential direction around said external surface.

9. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein a through-type hole, which is formed at a supporting member which supports said cable adaptor and has an axis approximately corresponding to that of said cable adaptor, comprises at least a portion of said cable adaptor,

a rotational asymmetric part, which is asymmetric to the rotation around the axis of said cable adaptor, is formed at said external surface of said cable adaptor, and

a rotation preventing part contacts to a rotational preventing part which is formed at the internal surface of said through-type hole.

10. The optical contact unit according to claim 1, wherein said rotational asymmetric part is formed by two planes which are approximately parallel with each other and sandwiching the axis of said cable adaptor.

11. An optical plug which functions to face and connect forward facets of two ferrules, comprising an optical contact unit according to acclaim 1.