RECONFIGURABLE POLARITY DETACHABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY

• US 20140050443A1
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Optical Communications LLC (Corning Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Jhih-Ping Lee
• Inventors: Lee, Jhih-Ping
• Granted Patent: US 8,678,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/77
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3849 using mechanical protective elements, e.g. caps, hoods, sealing membranes G02B6/3816 takes precedence; provisionally see H01R13/44
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3879 Linking of individual connector plugs to an overconnector, e.g. using clamps, clips, common housings comprising several individual connector plugs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3893 Push-pull type, e.g. snap-in, push-on

Abstract

A reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly includes a housing defining two accommodation channels and providing a springy protruding member at a top side, two mating simplex connectors respectively detachably mounted in the accommodation channels of the housing, a fiber optic cable fastened to the housing with two optical fiber cores thereof respectively inserted into respective calibration support rods of the mating simplex connectors, and a sliding cap slidably coupled to the housing. The sliding cap is unlocked and can be moved backwardly relative to the housing to expose the optical fiber cores of the fiber optic cable to the outside of the housing for allowing position exchange between the two mating simplex connectors after the user presses the springy protruding member.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly, comprising:

a housing comprising two accommodation channels extending to a front side thereof in a parallel manner, sliding coupling means bilaterally disposed at a bottom side thereof, an opening disposed at a top side thereof, and a springy protruding member suspending in said opening and partially protruding over the top side of said housing;

two mating simplex connectors respectively detachably mounted in said accommodation channels of said housing, each said mating simplex connector comprising a hollow holder base, a tubular calibration support rod positioned in said hollow holder base, and a connection sleeve fastened to a rear side of said hollow holder base around said tubular calibration support rod and selectively detachably mountable in one said accommodation channel;

a fiber optic cable fastened to said housing, said fiber optic cable comprising two optical fiber cores respectively inserted into the connection sleeves of said mating simplex connectors into the respective tubular calibration support rods of said mating simplex connectors; and

a sliding cap capped on said housing and stopped at a front side of said springy protruding member of said housing, said sliding cap being movable relative to said housing between a close position to keep said optical fiber cores of said fiber optic cable from sight and an open position to expose said optical fiber cores of said fiber optic cable outside said housing after pressing of said springy protruding member into said opening by an external force, said sliding cap comprising a horizontal top panel, two vertical side panels respectively downwardly extended from two opposite lateral sides of said horizontal top panel and defining with said two vertical side panels a positioning space, sliding coupling means located on said two vertical side panels at an inner side and respectively slidably coupled to the sliding coupling means of said housing, and a stop flange extended from a front side of said horizontal top panel and disposed at a top front side of said positioning space and stoppable at a front side of said springy protruding member of said housing to hold said sliding cap in said open position after said springy protruding member being forced by an external force into said opening of said housing for allowing movement of said sliding cap by an external force from said close position to said open position.

2. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a bottom shell and a top cover shell covering a part of said bottom shell;

said opening and said springy protruding member are disposed at said top cover shell;

said accommodation channels are formed in said bottom shell.

3. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing further comprises two retaining hooks respectively disposed in said accommodation channels at an outer lateral side;

the connection sleeve of each said mating simplex connector comprises a peripheral retaining groove engageable with one said retaining hook.

4. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sliding coupling means of said housing comprises two sliding grooves bilaterally disposed at the bottom side of said housing;

the sliding coupling means of said sliding cap comprises two sliding rails respectively located on said vertical side panels inside said accommodation space and respectively coupling to the sliding grooves of the sliding coupling means of said housing.

5. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said sliding grooves each comprise an end portion;

said sliding rails each comprise an oblique surface portions engageable into the end portion of the respective sliding groove of said housing to hold said sliding cap in said close position.

6. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises two locating grooves respectively disposed at two opposite lateral sides thereof and respectively outwardly extended from said accommodation channels in a perpendicular manner.

7. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing further comprise a mounting portion backwardly extended from a rear side thereof and defining therein a through hole in communication with said two accommodation channels;

said fiber optic cable comprises an outside jacket surrounding optical fiber cores and said mounting portion of said housing, and a ferrule mounted inside said outside jacket and affixed to the periphery of said mounting portion of said housing.

8. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said springy protruding member extends in a perpendicular direction relative to the sliding direction of said sliding cap for stopping against said stop flange of said sliding cap in said open position.

9. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein said springy protruding member comprises a front stop face adapted for stopping against said stop flange of said sliding cap to hold said sliding cap in said open position.

10. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tubular calibration support rod of each said mating simplex connector comprises a front ceramic tube suspending in the associating hollow holder base and a rear tube axially backwardly extended from said front ceramic tube and positioned in the associating connection sleeve;

each said mating simplex connector further comprises an elastic member mounted around the rear tube of the associating tubular calibration support rod inside the associating connection sleeve and stopped between the associating tubular calibration support rod and the associating connection sleeve.

11. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection sleeve of each said mating simplex connector comprises an index selected from the group of letters, numerals and symbols.

12. The reconfigurable polarity detachable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stop flange of said sliding cap comprises two arched surface portions respectively abutted against the periphery of the connection sleeves of said mating simplex connectors.