Abstract:
A connector for ribbon optical fiber comprises a plug ( 1 ) and a socket ( 2 ). The plug ( 1 ) movably connects with the socket ( 2 ) through buttons ( 106 ) which are set on the both sides of the front end of the plug, and an alignment core ( 12 ) which allows a ribbon optical fiber movably aligning in the inside movement is also set on the front end of the plug ( 1 ). In the connector for ribbon optical fiber of present invention, the plug ( 1 ) movably connects with the socket ( 2 ) through buttons ( 106 ), therefore repeated plugging and pulling can be achieved, and the optical fiber movably aligns inside the alignment core with the advantages of simple structure and good effect of alignment.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present application relates to a physical connection technology in the optical communication field, and more particularly, to a connector for ribbon optical fiber cable. 
       TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The ribbon optical fiber cable has been increasingly applied due to its capability of providing multiple optical paths. Generally, the connection between the ribbon optical fiber cables is much more complex than that between optical fiber cables each with a single optical fiber, because each optical fiber of the ribbon optical fiber cable must be inserted into the corresponding hole or channel of the prefabricated connector. However, it is difficult to insert each bare optical fiber into the corresponding hole or channel due to the extremely small size and the brittle nature of the bare optical fiber, and the connection of the ribbon optical fiber cable must be reconstructed if any of the optical fibers is broken. Therefore, the nature of the ribbon optical fiber cable results in the complex structure and a relatively high defective rate of the existing connector for ribbon optical fiber cable, which limits the application of the ribbon optical fiber cable to a certain extent. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The problem to be resolved by the application is to provide a connector for ribbon optical fiber cable in view of the above defects of connecting the ribbon optical fiber cables in the prior art. 
         [0004]    In order to achieve above purpose, the application proposes a technical solution of a connector for ribbon optical fiber cable, which includes a plug and a receptacle, wherein, the plug is detachably connected to the receptacle through hooked tabs provided on both lateral sides of a front end of the plug, and a centering body which allows a ribbon optical fiber cable to be movably centered inside the centering body is provided at the front end of the plug. 
         [0005]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of the present application, the plug includes: a plug casing; and a first fiber fixation assembly and the centering body accommodated in the plug casing, where the centering body is provided with multiple centering channels; where a centering body accommodating cavity for receiving the centering body is provided at a front end of the plug casing, and an opening facing the centering body is provided at a front end face of the plug casing; a first ribbon optical fiber cable is allowed to be inserted into the plug casing from a tail end of the plug casing and fixed by the first fiber fixation assembly, a sleeve of an end of the first ribbon optical fiber cable is stripped off to expose multiple first bare fibers, and each of the first bare fibers is inserted into a corresponding one of the centering channels; the receptacle includes a receptacle casing and a second fiber fixation assembly accommodated in the receptacle casing; a second ribbon optical fiber cable is allowed to be inserted into the receptacle casing from a tail end of the receptacle casing and fixed by the second fiber fixation assembly; a sleeve of an end of the second ribbon optical fiber cable is stripped off to expose multiple second bare fibers, and when the plug is inserted into the receptacle, each of the second bare fibers is inserted into a corresponding one of the centering channels, so that an end face of the first bare fiber abuts on that of the second bare fiber. 
         [0006]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the centering body is a ceramic body, the centering channels are through holes arranged in the ceramic body, and chamfers are provided at both ends of the through holes. 
         [0007]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the centering body includes a base with V-grooves and a cover plate with V-grooves for covering the base, multiple parallel V-shaped centering slots forming the centering channels are arranged on the base, and a chamfer is arranged on at least one end of the V-shaped centering slot. 
         [0008]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, V-shaped arranging slots are provided on the base with V-grooves, and the first bare fibers extend into the centering V-grooves through the V-shaped arranging slots. 
         [0009]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, guiding protrusions are provided on both top and bottom surfaces of the centering body, and corresponding guide slots are arranged on inner wall of the centering body accommodating cavity of the plug casing. 
         [0010]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the first fiber fixation assembly includes an optical fiber tailstock and an outer cover plate that covers over the optical fiber tailstock, and the first ribbon optical fiber cable is pressed tightly between the optical fiber tailstock and the outer cover plate. 
         [0011]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the optical fiber tailstock includes a plate and a limiting block arranged on the side of the plate, the plug casing is provided with a limiting slot that fits the limiting block, a positioning pin is arranged on the bottom surface of the outer cover plate, and the plug casing is provided with a location hole that fits the positioning pin. 
         [0012]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the second fiber fixation assembly includes a fiber clipping plate, V-shaped fiber fixation slots are provided at the tail end of the receptacle casing, the fiber clipping plate is used to be placed over the V-shaped fiber fixation slots, the second ribbon optical fiber cable includes a fixed-length bare fiber section to be fixed in the V-shaped fiber fixation slots, and the fiber clipping plate is used to press the fixed-length bare fiber section in the V-shaped fiber fixation slots. 
         [0013]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, the second fiber fixation assembly also includes a fiber shaping and clipping sheet, which is arranged in the receptacle casing in front of the fiber clipping plate, and is used to press the second ribbon optical fiber cable on the bottom of the receptacle casing. 
         [0014]    In the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of present application, V-shaped arranging slots for optical fibers are arranged at the bottom of the receptacle casing, and the second bare fiber is suspended in the receptacle casing. 
         [0015]    The advantageous effect of the present application lies as follows. The inventive connector for ribbon optical fiber cable includes a plug and a receptacle, and a centering body containing multiple centering channels is accommodated in the front end of the plug casing. 
         [0016]    When the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the end faces of the first bare fibers at the front end of the first ribbon optical fiber cable abut on the end faces of the second bare fibers at the front end of the second ribbon optical fiber cable in the centering channels. The connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of the present application is advantageous for its simple structure, easy usage and repeatable inserting and plugging. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to a first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic exploded view of a plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a section view of the plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a centering body of the plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the centering body of  FIG. 4  viewed from another perspective. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the plug casing of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of a receptacle of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a section view of the receptacle of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0026]      FIG. 9  is a section view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application, when the plug is inserted into the receptacle. 
           [0027]      FIG. 10  is a schematic exploded view of a plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to a second embodiment of the present application. 
           [0028]      FIG. 11  is a section view of the plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the second embodiment of the present application. 
           [0029]      FIG. 12  is a schematic exploded view of the connection between a first ribbon optical fiber cable and the centering body in the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the second embodiment of the present application. 
           [0030]      FIG. 13  is section view of the connection between the first ribbon optical fiber cable and the centering body of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the second embodiment of the present application. 
           [0031]      FIG. 14  is a section view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the second embodiment of the present application, when the plug is inserted into the receptacle. 
           [0032]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable in an application state. 
           [0033]      FIG. 16  is a schematic view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable in another application state. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0034]    The specific embodiments of the present application will be further explained with reference to the drawings, for better understanding of the technical features, objects, and effects of the present application. 
         [0035]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to a first embodiment of the present application, and the connector includes a plug  1  and a receptacle  2 , the plug  1  may be repeatedly inserted into and pulled out from the receptacle  2 , and the connection between a first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  and a second ribbon optical fiber cable  32  can be achieved by inserting the plug  1  into the receptacle  2 . 
         [0036]      FIGS. 2 to 6  are schematic views of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application. The plug  1  includes a plug casing  10 , and a first fiber fixation assembly  11  and a centering body  12  that are received within the casing  10 . A centering body accommodating cavity  101  for receiving the centering body  12  is provided at the front end of the plug casing  10 , an opening  102  facing the centering body  12  is provided at the front end face of the plug casing  10 , and the centering body  12  may be fixed within the centering body accommodating cavity  101  by means of interference fitting. In the present embodiment, the centering body  12  is a ceramic body, in which multiple centering channels  121  are provided. The centering channels  121  are through holes in the ceramic body, and chamfers for guiding bare optical fibers are formed at both ends of each of the centering channels  121 , to facilitate the insertion of the bare optical fibers into the centering channels  121 . In order to facilitate the precise assembling of the centering body  12 , guiding protrusions  122  and  123  are provided on both top and bottom surfaces of the centering body  12 , and corresponding guiding slots  103  is arranged on inner walls of the centering body accommodating cavity  101 . When being assembled, the guiding protrusions  122  are placed in the guide slots  103 , and subsequently the centering body  12  is pushed into the centering body accommodating cavity  101 . 
         [0037]    The first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  may be inserted into the plug casing  10  from the tail end of the plug  1 , and may include a cladding section  310  with cladding, a sleeve section  311  where the cladding is stripped off, and a first bare fiber section  312  where the sleeve is stripped off. The diameter of each optical fiber in the sleeve section  311  is 250 micron (nm), the diameter of each bare fiber in the first bare fiber section  312  is 125 micron, and the first bare fiber section  312  (i.e. the head of the first ribbon optical fiber cable  31 ) contains multiple first bare fibers. The sleeve section  311  of the first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  is fixed in the plug casing  10  by the first fiber fixation assembly  11 , which includes an optical fiber tailstock  110  and an outer cover plate  111  that covers over the optical fiber tailstock  110 , and the sleeve section  311  of the first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  is pressed tightly between the optical fiber tailstock  110  and the outer cover plate  111 , or otherwise is adhered between the optical fiber tailstock  110  and the outer cover plate  111  by adhesive for the purpose of fixation. Each of the first bare fibers of the first bare fiber section  312  is inserted into the corresponding centering channel  121  and occupies the centering channel  121  partially. The optical fiber tails tock  110  includes a plate  112  and limiting blocks  113  arranged laterally on the side of the plate  112 , the plug casing  10  is provided with limiting slots  104  that fit the limiting blocks  113 , a positioning pin  114  is arranged on the bottom surface of the outer cover plate  111 , and the plug casing  10  is provided with a location hole  105  that fits the positioning pin  114 . In the process of assembling, the centering body  12  is mounted in the centering body accommodating cavity  101 , the optical fiber tailstock  110  is placed within the plug casing  10  and positioned with the limiting blocks  113  stuck in the limiting slots  104 , and then the preprocessed first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  is inserted into the plug casing  10  from the tail end of the plug casing  10 , each of the first bare fibers of the first bare fiber section  312  is inserted into the corresponding centering channel  121 , and the outer cover plate  112  is placed and positioned with the positioning pin  114  of the outer cover plate  112  inserted into the location hole  105 . A step is provided at the front end of the outer cover plate  112 , and the step corresponds to and fits a step arranged on the plug casing  10 , which may be also used for positioning the outer cover plate  112 . 
         [0038]    Elastic hooked tabs  106  are provided on both lateral sides of the plug casing  10  of the plug  1 , and engagement recesses  201  matching the hooked tabs  106  are correspondingly arranged on the inner wall of the receptacle casing  20  of the receptacle  2 , so that the hooked tabs  106  are caught in the engagement recesses  201  after the plug  1  is inserted into the receptacle  2 . In order to ensure the precise mating between the plug  1  and the receptacle  2  as well as the precise alignment of optical fibers at one end with those at the other end, the guiding protrusion  123  at the bottom surface of the centering body precisely mates with the precise mating positioning slot  205  arranged on the inner wall of the receptacle casing; further, in order to guarantee sufficient strength of the mating between the plug and the receptacle to prevent them from lateral shaking relative to each other, multiple ribs  107  are arranged on the surface of the front end of the plug casing  10 , and multiple positioning slots  202  are correspondingly provided on the inner wall of the receptacle casing  20 . 
         [0039]      FIGS. 7 to 8  are schematic views of the receptacle of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application, and the receptacle  2  includes a receptacle casing  20 , and a second fiber fixation assembly  21  accommodated in the receptacle casing  20 . A second ribbon optical fiber cable  32  is inserted into the receptacle casing  20  through the tail end of the receptacle casing  20  and fixed by the second fiber fixation assembly  21 . The second ribbon optical fiber cable  32  may include a cladding section  320  with cladding, a fixed-length bare fiber section  321  for fixing the second ribbon optical fiber cable  32 , a sleeve section  322  where the cladding is stripped off, and a second bare fiber section  323  which is the head of the second ribbon optical fiber cable and includes multiple second bare fibers. 
         [0040]    The second fiber fixation assembly  21  includes a fiber clipping plate  210 , V-shaped fiber fixation slots  203  are provided at the tail end of the receptacle casing  20 , and the fiber clipping plate  210  may be placed over the V-shaped fiber fixation slots  203 . The fixed-length bare fiber section  321  is arranged in the V-shaped fiber fixation slots  203 , and adhesive is added to the V-shaped fiber fixation slots  203 , thus the fixed-length bare fiber section  321  is attached in the V-shaped fiber fixation slots  203  by adhesive through the fiber clipping plate  210 . The second fiber fixation assembly  21  also includes a fiber shaping and clipping sheet  211 , which is arranged in the receptacle casing  20  in front of the fiber clipping plate  210  and is used to press the sleeve section  322  of the second ribbon optical fiber cable  32  onto the bottom of the receptacle casing  20 , for shaping and positioning of the second ribbon optical fiber cable  32 . V-shaped fiber arranging slots  204  are arranged at the bottom of the receptacle casing  20 , and the second ribbon optical fiber cable  32  may extend forward along the V-shaped fiber arranging slots  24 , with the second bare fiber section  323  being suspended at the front end of the receptacle casing  20 . When the plug  1  is inserted into the receptacle  2 , the second bare fibers of the second bare fiber section  323  are inserted into the respective centering channels  121  of the centering body  12 , so that end faces of the second bare fibers abut on those of the first bare fibers in the centering channels  121 . The first and second bare fibers are slightly bent and deformed when they are aligned with each other, so that the end faces of the first and second bare fibers abut on each other with pressure, to secure excellent conduction of optical paths. Since neither of the first bare fibers and the second bare fibers are fixed in the centering body, the abutting connections between the first and second bare fibers are movable. 
         [0041]      FIG. 9  shows a section view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the first embodiment of the present application, where the plug  1  and the receptacle  2  are engaged. As shown, the end faces of the first bare fibers abut on those of the second bare fibers in the centering channel  121  of the centering body  12 , to accomplish the relay of the optical paths. 
         [0042]      FIGS. 10 to 13  are schematic views of the plug of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to a second embodiment of the present application. It is very difficult to form the centering channels by making through holes in the centering body  12  due to the diameter of the bare fiber which is as small as 125 micron. Therefore, in order to facilitate the production of the centering body  12 , the centering body  12  in the present embodiment is divided into two parts, i.e. a base with V-grooves  123  and a cover plate with V-grooves  124  for covering the base, in this case, the manufacture of the V-grooves are much easier than making through holes. The base with V-grooves  123  includes V-shaped centering slots  125  and V-shaped arranging slots  126 , the V-shaped centering slots  125  are used for forming the centering channels and are covered by the cover plate with V-grooves  124 , but the V-shaped arranging slots  126  are exposed. The first bare fiber section  312  of the first ribbon optical fiber cable  31  is placed from the above into the V-grooves of the base  123 , and the fibers are pre-fixed in the V-shaped arranging slots  126  with adhesive. In order to facilitate the inserting of the second bare fibers into the V-shaped centering slots, chamfers for guiding are provided at the fiber inserting end of the V-shaped centering slots  125  that faces the receptacle. Other structural features of the plug  1  in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus will not be further described. The structure of the receptacle in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. 
         [0043]      FIG. 14  is a section view of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable according to the second embodiment of the present application, when the plug  1  is inserted into the receptacle  2 . As shown, the end faces of the first bare fibers abut on those of the second bare fibers in the V-shaped centering slots  125  of the base with V-grooves  123  of the centering body  12 , to accomplish the relay of the optical paths. 
         [0044]      FIGS. 15 and 16  illustrated two applications of the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of the present application, respectively. In  FIG. 15 , the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable is perpendicular to a panel, while in  FIG. 16 , the connector for ribbon optical fiber cable is at an angle relative to the panel. The connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of the present application possesses good adaptability, and may be adapted to various applications. 
         [0045]    The inventive connector for ribbon optical fiber cable includes a plug and a receptacle, and a centering body containing multiple centering channels is accommodated in the front end of the plug casing. When the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the end faces of the first bare fibers at the front end of the first ribbon optical fiber cable abut on the end faces of the second bare fibers at the front end of the second ribbon optical fiber cable in the centering channels. The connector for ribbon optical fiber cable of the present application is advantageous for its simple structure, easy usage and repeatable inserting and plugging. 
         [0046]    The embodiments of the invention are described above with reference to appending drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, which are exemplary instead of restrictive, various modifications and alternatives can be made by those skilled in the art with the enlightenment of the invention without departing from the principle of the invention and the scope of the claims, and these modifications and alternatives fall within the scope of the invention.