Optical waveguides – With disengagable mechanical connector – Structure surrounding optical fiber-to-fiber connection
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2001-07-31
Ullah, Akm E. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
With disengagable mechanical connector
Structure surrounding optical fiber-to-fiber connection
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267513
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical connector for making a required connection between two optical fibers or between an optical fiber and an associated optical device.
PRIOR ART
This type of optical connector includes a plug and a receptacle to be mated with the plug. To keep these parts in the mated condition, the receptacle has a resilient engagement latch formed thereon whereas the plug has a recess or aperture made therein for engaging a projection on the resilient engagement latch of the receptacle.
A conventional optical connector is designed such that the plug can be separated from the receptacle without use of tools, for example, the plug has a slidable cover attached thereto, which when pushed towards the receptacle abuts the resilient engagement latch of the receptacle and raises it from the recess of the plug thereby permitting the plug to be disengaged from the receptacle.
While advantageously no extra tool is required in decoupling the plug from the receptacle, there are some problems with such arrangement. If the cover is moved backward inadvertently, undesired decoupling may occur. To overcome this problem, springs are inserted between several selected parts to prevent optically unstable conditions, but this arrangement increases the number of parts to be assembled and accordingly the number of assembly steps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above one object of the present invention is to provide a fail-safe optical connector of simple structure, requiring no extra tools for decoupling, no springs, fewer number of parts to be assembled, and yet ensuring complete, stable plug-and-receptacle coupling all the time.
To attain this object a fail-safe optical connector according to the present invention includes a plug having a slidable cover enclosing the plug, which cover may be moved forward to abut against the resilient engagement latch of the receptacle for decoupling; and a receptacle with engagement projections which yield to allow the latch projections on the plug housing to be engaged by the recesses or apertures in the yielding sides of the receptacle.
Specifically, an optical connector having a plug with an engagement projections formed thereon and a receptacle to be mated with the plug having a resilient engagement latch formed therein for coupling with the engagement portion of the plug when the receptacle accommodates the plug, is improved according to the present invention in that the plug has a cover slidably attached thereon, the cover having at least one actuating piece formed on its front side to be inserted in a space defined by the surrounding wall of the receptacle. The actuating piece has a trapezoidal projection formed on its free end allowing the projection to abut the engagement projection of the resilient engagement latch for raising and disengaging it from the engagement portion of the plug when the cover is moved backward on the plug. Additionally, that the plug has at least one latch projection formed on either side of its front end whereas the receptacle has a projection formed on the surrounding yieldable wall with an aperture in the wall, whereby the wall in response to the insertion of the plug into the receptacle yields so that the latch projection on the plug may be engaged by the aperture of the yieldable wall allowing the wall to return to the stress-free, original position, thereby preventing undesired decoupling between the plug and the receptacle even if the cover is inadvertently moved back from the receptacle and the engagement latch is released.
With this arrangement the plug and the receptacle are mated together with the engagement portion of the plug engaged by the resilient engagement latch of the receptacle, and with the latch projection on the plug engaged by the aperture of the yieldable wall of the receptacle. Thus, the plug and the receptacle are double-latched. Withdrawal of the cover causes the trapezoid projection of the actuating piece to lift the resilient engagement latch such that the plug is placed in half-disconnected position from the receptacle, and further withdrawal of the cover causes the latch projection to leave the aperture of yielding wall resulting in complete disconnection of the plug from the receptacle. No extra tool is required for decoupling the plug from the receptacle. Still advantageously, even if the cover is inadvertently pulled back from the receptacle, the latch projection on the plug remains engaged by the aperture of the yieldable wall of receptacle, preventing undesired disconnection between the plug and the receptacle.
The yieldable surrounding wall of the receptacle has a tapered surface formed inside defining a divergent space toward the plug. This has the effect of causing no sequential sound feedback (clicks) during the coupling of the plug with the receptacle thereby preventing a person handling the optical connector from mistaking the first click for the sign of complete engagement. Such a mistake may be caused by failure to continue the mating process until the second click is heard. Specifically, the tapered surface of the projection on the yieldable wall of the receptacle will cause the resistance to insertion of the plug to increase continuously until the plug has reached the final coupling position. At that time the person feels a counter action on the plug as a sign of complete coupling. If the projection had a linear flat surface, he would hear the first click which would be caused when the yieldingly upward-bending of the resilient engagement piece of the receptacle stops with the first click but before the outward-yielding of the projection on the receptacle starts as a counter action to abutment on the bondable extension by latch projection of the plug and he would stop the further mating process of the plug prior to the complete coupling. Thus, he would mistake incomplete coupling for complete coupling based on the first click, leaving the plug and receptacle only partially coupled. This is avoided in the fail-safe optical connector according to the present invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4669797 (1987-06-01), Bourdon
patent: 4678264 (1987-07-01), Bowen et al.
patent: 4761144 (1988-08-01), Hunt et al.
patent: 5203712 (1993-04-01), Kilpatrick et al.
patent: 5447442 (1995-09-01), Swart
patent: 5490800 (1996-02-01), Benes et al.
Seto Masashi
Watanabe Kenji
Molex Incorporated
Tirva A. A.
Ullah Akm E.
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