JPH09297244A - Ferrule protective cap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to protect and temporally fix a bare ferrule by freely attachably and detachably mounting a cap body which is mounted at the ferrule to coat and the butt end of the ferrule at a supporting member. SOLUTION: This ferrule protective cap 1 is applied to an MT connector and consists of a plastic material having adequate elasticity over the entire part. The ferrule protective cap has the cap boy 5 which coats the butt end face 4 of the ferrule 3 by mounting the cap body at both sides of the connecting ends of the ferrule 3 terminating and optical fiber ribbon (optical fiber) 2 and an elastic projection 7 as the mounting means for freely attachably and detachably mounting the cap body 5 at the slit of the supporting member. The ferrule protective cap 1 is freely attachably and detachably mounted at the ferrule 3 by manual operation. The ferrule protective cap 1 mounted at the ferrule 3 coats the butt end face 4 and protects the butt end face 4 against the contamination by sticking of dust, etc., and the damage by the collision of obstructions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ferrule protection cap for holding a ferrule of an optical connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art MT connectors (Mechanically) are used to connect switchable optical fibers.
Transferable) is often used. In the MT connector, the ferrules terminating the ends of the optical fibers are butted against each other via a positioning pin and held and fixed by a holding means such as a clip, but the optical fibers are butted and connected to each other, and the holding by the holding means is released. This allows the ferrules to be separably separable.

[0003]

By the way, in the ferrule forming the MT connector, it is particularly necessary to keep the abutting end faces clean. However, when the MT connector is not formed, the abutting end faces are exposed and dust or dust is generated. There is concern that the reliability of optical signal transmission may be affected during connection due to contamination due to oil adhesion, damage due to collision of obstacles, and the like. If the ferrule is contaminated, it is necessary to clean the MT connector before the MT connector is constructed, which reduces workability. Therefore, the ferrule that is not connected has a protective cap on its tip to prevent contamination of the end surface. But,
Even if the ferrule that does not compose the MT connector (bare ferrule) is allowed to freely swing even if it is covered with a protective cap, it may be damaged during handling, entanglement of optical wiring or miswiring may occur. There is also a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a ferrule protection cap capable of protecting and temporarily fixing a bare ferrule.

[0005]

The present invention has the following features to attain the object mentioned above. That is, claim 1
In the ferrule protection cap described, it is a solution means of the above-mentioned problem that it is provided with a cap main body that covers the abutting end surface of the ferrule by mounting on the ferrule, and an attaching means that detachably attaches the cap main body to the support member. .

The ferrule protection cap according to claim 2 is the ferrule protection cap according to claim 1,
A plurality of mounting means are elastic projections protruding from the cap body in the same direction and deformable in a direction of approaching and separating from each other. The tip of the elastic projection is engaged with the support member to form the cap body. The provision of the engaging portion between which the support member can be sandwiched is provided as a means for solving the above problems.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a ferrule protection cap of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 1 in the figure is a ferrule protection cap of the present embodiment. The ferrule protection cap 1 is applied to a ferrule of an MT connector, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the entire ferrule protection cap 1 is made of a plastic material having an appropriate elasticity, and includes an optical fiber tape (optical fiber) 2 And a cap body 5 that covers the abutting end surface 4 of the ferrule 3 by mounting the cap body 5 on the connection end surface side of the ferrule 3 that terminates, and as an attachment means that detachably attaches the cap body 5 to the slit 10 of the support member 6. And a projection 7 (elastic projection).

The cap body 5 is in the shape of a rectangular cylinder with a bottom whose one end in the axial direction is closed by the bottom 8, and the ferrule 3 is pushed in so that the abutting end face 4 abuts on the bottom 8 side. As a result, the inner surface is formed in such a size that it can be fitted to the outer surface of the ferrule 3 with a frictional force such that it can be manually attached and detached.

On the outer surface of the bottom portion 8, two thin plate-shaped elastic projections 7 are provided so as to project. The elastic protrusions 7 are formed so as to be deformable in a direction in which they approach each other. A pair of elastic projections 7 is provided at the tip of the elastic projections 7 with a slit 10.
The engaging portion 9 having a thick wall allows the support member 6 to be sandwiched between the cap body 5 and the support member 6 when the support member 6 is inserted into the cap body 5.
Is protruding. Each engaging portion 9 has an elastic protrusion 7
Are projected toward the outside of the pair. The pair of elastic projections 7 inserted into the slits 10 are biased in a direction in which they are separated from each other, so that the engagement between the engagement portion 9 and the support member 6 is maintained. Further, the pair of elastic projections 7 can be easily engaged and disengaged with the support member 6 manually by pressing in a direction in which they approach each other or releasing the pressing force. Therefore, the ferrule protection cap 1 can temporarily fix the bare ferrule 3 at an appropriate position only by inserting the pair of elastic protrusions 7 into the slit 10. In addition, the number and shape of the elastic protrusions can be appropriately changed according to the shape of the slit 10.

The operation and effect of the present invention will be described below. The ferrule protection cap 1 is manually attached to and detached from the ferrule 3. The ferrule protection cap 1 attached to the ferrule 3 has a butt end surface 4
To protect the butt end surface 4 from contamination due to adhesion of dust or oil and damage due to collision of obstacles. by the way,
Since the ferrule 3 is generally provided with an engagement flange 11 (see FIG. 2) for engaging a clip serving as a holding member for maintaining the paired state of the ferrules 3 on the side surface, The engagement flange 11 functions as a stopper for the cap body 5, and the maximum insertion depth into the cap body 5 is easily maintained. Therefore, if the cap body 5 is formed so that a clearance is formed between the bottom portion 8 and the abutting end surface 4 when the ferrule 3 is inserted into the cap body 5 at the maximum, the bottom portion 8 and the abutting end surface 4 are always provided with a clearance. The clearance is maintained, and the abutting end surface 4 can be housed inside the cap body 5 without contacting the inner surface of the cap body 5, and the abutting end surface 4 can be protected more reliably.

The ferrule protection cap 1 includes a support member 6
By simply inserting the pair of elastic projections 7 into the slit 10, the support member 6 is sandwiched between the cap body 5 and the engaging portion 9 and held in place. Further, the ferrule protection cap 1 can be easily attached / detached to / from the slit 10 by manually bringing the engaging portions 9 of both elastic protrusions 7 closer to and away from each other, so that the bare ferrule 3 can be swung at an appropriate position. It can be temporarily fixed without any problems. Further, since the cap body 5 has a bottomed rectangular tube shape, by arranging a plurality of ferrule protection caps 1 side by side in one slit 10, it is possible to save space and accommodate a plurality of bare ferrules 3.

Therefore, according to the ferrule protection cap 1 of the present embodiment, by mounting it on the bare ferrule 3, the abutting end face 4 is protected from dust and oil adhesion, contamination and damage due to collision of obstacles. A target connection loss can be reliably obtained when the MT connector is configured, and optical signal transmission reliability can be maintained for a long period of time.
Further, the ferrule protection cap 1 does not require cleaning of the abutting end faces 4 when the MT connector is constructed, and can be easily attached / detached to / from the ferrule 3 manually, so that workability of connection switching can be improved. Furthermore, the ferrule protection cap 1 can be stably held without rocking the bare ferrule 3 by being attached to the support member 6 in a state where the bare ferrule 3 is installed, and the bare ferrule 3 can be used for other optical parts. It is possible to prevent contact with the optical fiber and improve the transmission reliability of the optical signal.

[0013]

As described above, according to the ferrule protection cap of the first aspect, the cap body that covers the abutting end face of the ferrule when mounted on the ferrule, and the cap body is detachable from the support member. It is equipped with a mounting means for mounting, and by mounting it on the ferrule, the butted end faces are protected from contamination due to adhesion of dust and oil, damage due to collision of obstacles, etc.
The desired connection loss can be reliably obtained when the optical connector is constructed, and the optical signal transmission reliability can be maintained for a long period of time. Further, since it is not necessary to clean the butted end faces when the optical connector is constructed, and the ferrule can be easily attached / detached to / from the ferrule, the workability of connection switching can be improved, which is an excellent effect.

The ferrule protection cap according to claim 2 is the ferrule protection cap according to claim 1, wherein:
A plurality of mounting means are elastic projections protruding from the cap body in the same direction and deformable in a direction of approaching and separating from each other. The tip of the elastic projection is engaged with the support member to form the cap body. Providing an engaging portion that can sandwich the support member between
By mounting the ferrule inside the support member so that the ferrule can be held stably without rocking, preventing the ferrule from contacting other optical components or optical fibers, It has an excellent effect that the transmission reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a ferrule protection cap of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the operation of the ferrule protection cap of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Ferrule protection cap, 2 ... Optical fiber (optical fiber tape), 3 ... Ferrule, 4 ... Butt end surface,
5 ... Cap body, 6 ... Support member, 7 ... Attachment means, elastic protrusion (elastic protrusion), 9 ... Engagement part.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Nomura 1440 Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Fujikura Ltd. Sakura Factory (72) Inventor Masato Kuroiwa 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (72) Inventor Naoki Nakao 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Takashi Ebihara 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Within the corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A ferrule protection cap (1) for protecting a ferrule (3) which constitutes an optical connector which terminates the tip of an optical fiber (2) and is abutted against each other to connect the optical fibers to each other. And a cap body (5) for covering the abutting end surface (4) of the ferrule when mounted on the ferrule, and an attaching means (7) for detachably attaching the cap body to the support member (6). A ferrule protection cap characterized by that. 2. The ferrule protection cap according to claim 1, wherein the attaching means are elastic projections (7) projecting from the cap body in the same direction and deformable toward and away from each other, A ferrule protection cap, characterized in that an engaging portion (9) that engages with a support member and can sandwich the support member between the cap body is provided at the tip of the elastic protrusion.