Patent Publication Number: US-11385413-B2

Title: Device for an optical-fiber connection

Description:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/252,251, filed Jan. 18, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,948,661; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/676,045, filed Aug. 14, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,185,095; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/193,500, filed Jun. 27, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,733,434; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/638,875, filed 4 Mar. 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,377,590, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/166,495, filed 28 Jan. 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,985,861, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/655,017, filed 18 Oct. 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,636,422, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/367,778, filed 7 Feb. 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,313,248, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/983,699, filed 3 Jan. 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,415, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/062,704, filed 4 Apr. 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,243, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/513,207, filed 1 Sep. 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,697, which is the National Stage of Application PCT/EP03/04292, filed 25 Apr. 2003, which claims benefit of Serial No. 102 19 935.3, filed 3 May 2002 in Germany, and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The invention relates to a device for a coaxial optical-fiber connection, comprising a sleeve mount and a coupling housing for accommodating the sleeve mount. 
     It is known for optical fibers to be connected coaxially by coupling. The optical-fiber ends which are to be connected are designed with plug-in connectors, which are accommodated by the coupling. The plug-in connectors are designed with ferrules, which are worked in a highly precise manner and are introduced into a sleeve of the corresponding coupling such that their end surfaces come into contact. The sleeve is mounted in a sleeve mount. For accommodating the plug-in connectors, the sleeve mount is designed, for example, with latching hooks at the two ends. The outer shape of the coupling housing is defined by way of the given geometries of known installation openings. It is known, for easy production and installation, for the coupling housing to be configured in two parts, preferably with two identical housing halves. In order to prevent any possible gap formation between the two housing halves, the latter are, for example, welded. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,663 discloses a coupling housing for accommodating a two-part sleeve mount, the coupling housing comprising a basic body and a housing wall designed as a cover. Grooves are made in the basic body of the coupling housing, it being possible for complementary tongues, which are formed on the sleeve mount, to be inserted into said grooves. The displacement of the connecting seam here is favorable for the stability of the coupling. The configuration, however, requires at least two different molds for producing the basic body and the cover. 
     The Japanese patent application JP2000266963 has disclosed a single-piece coupling housing into which a single-piece sleeve mount can be inserted. The sleeve mount is designed with latching noses, which latch into complementary through-passages on the coupling housing. The through-passages on the coupling housing can be produced cost-effectively. However, the weakening of the coupling housing in the contact region of the plug-in connectors as well as the penetration of dust are disadvantageous. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is based on the technical problem of providing a device which is intended for a coaxial optical-fiber connection, comprising a coupling housing and a sleeve mount, and, with a small number of parts, has a high level of stability. 
     A single-piece sleeve mount can be latched into a single-piece coupling housing, the latching mount on the coupling housing being designed with at least one latching hook and at least one stop. A coupling with the coupling housing and the sleeve mount being designed in one piece, in each case, has a higher level of stability in comparison with the couplings of two-part design. The single-piece embodiment of the coupling housing prevents any possible gap formation in the contact location of two housing halves. It is possible for the coupling housing to be formed in a single mold. There is no need for any locking elements or similar additional parts for a latching fastening of the sleeve mount in the coupling housing. The use of a latching fastening, in addition, is suitable for automated installation. It is possible for the latching mount to be formed in the coupling housing without through-passages in the coupling housing. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the stop and latching hook of the latching mount do not have any undercut. This allows a cost-effective design of the mold and precise follow-up work on the contact surfaces without any special tools being used. 
     In a development, the latching hook is designed with a slope, which serves as an installation aid. The angle may be selected in accordance with the required load-bearing force of the latching mount and in order to be suitable for maximum admissible forces during the joining operation. 
     In a further embodiment, the latching mount of each latching nose comprises two stops and one latching hook, the latching hook being arranged between the stops. The arrangement allows the latching nose of the sleeve mount to be accommodated in a stable manner. A design comprising two latching hooks and one centrally located stop is also conceivable in order for the latching nose to be accommodated in a stable, non-tilting manner. However, for production reasons, the embodiment with two stops and one latching hook is preferred. 
     In a further embodiment, the latching fastening is designed with two latching mounts on mutually opposite housing walls. The embodiment with two latching mounts allows stable attachment. For installation of the sleeve mount in the coupling housing, temporary deformation of the housing is necessary in order to allow passage beyond the projecting latching-hook geometry. It is advantageous here if the housing has a relatively small accumulation of material at this location. The housing is usually designed with flanges on the outsides of two mutually opposite housing walls, for attachment to a front panel, with the result that, in the case of this embodiment, the latching mounts are preferably made on the insides of the other two housing walls. 
     Specific applications require a connection piece which serves, for example, as a protective device against the emission of laser light. In order to prevent any change in the outer dimensions of the coupling, which are defined by way of the given installation openings, any possible connection piece may be attached to the coupling housing by an additional inner latching fastening. The formation of the latching sockets for the sleeve mounts on two mutually opposite housing walls makes it possible for the additional latching fastening to be formed on the other two housing walls. The task of forming the latching fastening for the connection piece does not have any adverse effect on the task of forming the latching mounts for the sleeve mount. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic illustration of a coupling for coaxial optical-fiber connection; 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a sleeve mount; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a cut-open coupling housing; and 
         FIG. 4  shows a sectional illustration of the coupling housing with the sleeve mount installed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows, schematically, a coupling  1  for the coaxial connection of fiber-optic cables. The coupling  1  comprises a coupling housing  10 , in which a concealed sleeve mount  20  is mounted. The end of a fiber-optic cable is designed with a plug-in connector  30 , which can be accommodated in the coupling  1  on both connection sides of the concealed sleeve mount  20 . The coupling housing  10  is designed with a groove  11 . For a good orientation and/or positioning of the plug-in connector  30  in the coupling  1 , the plug-in connector  30  is designed with a complementary tongue  31 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective illustration of the sleeve mount  20 . The sleeve mount  20  is designed with a latching nose  21 , latching hooks  22 , an axial bore  23 , and a spacer  24 . The latching nose  21  is part of a latching fastening for fixing the sleeve mount  20  in the coupling housing  10 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The cross section of the latching nose  21  is preferably of rectangular design. This provides for a both straightforward production and a high loading capability of the associated latching fastening. The latching hooks  22  serve for accommodating the plug-in connector  30 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In order for the plug-in connector  30  to be accommodated by the latching hooks  22 , the latching hooks  22  need to move. The sleeve mount  20  is thus to be mounted in the coupling housing  10  (not illustrated in  FIG. 2 ), such that this movement is not obstructed, and a plug-in connector  30  can be accommodated by the latching hooks  22 . In addition, good lateral guidance of the sleeve mount  20  in the coupling housing  10  is required. For this purpose, spacers  24  are provided on the sleeve mount  20 . The contact location of two plug-in connectors  30  connected by the coupling  1  is located in a sleeve which is not illustrated but can be inserted into a bore  23  of the sleeve mount  20 . The material of the sleeve may be selected here in accordance with the connection-quality requirements. 
       FIG. 3  shows a perspective illustration of the cut-open coupling housing  10 . The coupling housing  10  is designed with flanges  16  on the outsides of two housing walls  12 , it being possible for the coupling housing  10  to be attached to a front panel (not used) by means of said flanges. A rectangular through-passage for accommodating the sleeve mount  20 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , is made in the coupling housing  10 . In each case, one latching mount, comprising a latching hook  14  and two stops  15 , is made on one housing wall  13  and on the opposite housing wall (not illustrated). The latching nose  21  of the sleeve mount  20 , said latching nose being illustrated in  FIG. 2 , can be fixed between the latching hook  14  and the stops  15 . The sleeve mount  20  can be installed automatically in the latching direction R in the single-piece coupling housing  10 . The latching hook  14  is designed with a slope  141  for the purpose of assisting the latching-in operation. Easy definition of the coupling housing  10  is necessary in the latching operation in order to allow passage beyond the latching hook  14 . The housing walls  12  have an accumulation of material in this region on account of the flanges  16  which are usually present. The latching mounts are thus preferably formed on the housing walls  13 . By the avoidance of any undercuts, the coupling housing  10  can be produced cost-effectively as a plastic injection molding using a single mold. The contact surfaces  151  of the stops  15 , said surfaces being concealed in  FIG. 3 , can be worked in a precise manner by way of access in the latching direction R. A contact surface  142  of the latching hook  14  can be worked by way of access counter to the latching direction R. There is thus no need for any special tool for follow-up work on the contact surfaces  142 ,  151 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the coupling housing  10  with a sleeve mount  20  installed. The designations here correspond to the preceding figures. The sleeve mount  20  is fixed between the latching hook  14  and the stops  15  via the latching nose  21 . The fixing of the sleeve mount  20  does not require any further locking elements. The contact surfaces  142 ,  151  of the latching mount may be produced in a precise manner, with the result that play is avoidable. 
     The outer shape of the coupling  1  is determined by way of the given geometry of an installation opening, and it is only the length of the coupling  1  which can be varied within limits. For example, it is possible for the coupling housing  10  to be extended by a connection piece, which provides protection against the emission of laser radiation. In addition, it is also conceivable for dust-protection devices to be positioned on the coupling housing  10  when the plug-in connector  30  is subjected to pulling. For accommodating a connection piece, the housing walls  12  are designed with additional latching noses  17  at terminations of the coupling housing  10 . The task of forming the latching noses  17  does not adversely affect the task of forming the latching mount for the sleeve mount. In order to avoid undercuts, the latching noses  17  are arranged in a diagonally offset manner. 
     LIST OF DESIGNATIONS 
     
         
         
           
               1  coupling 
               10  coupling housing 
               11  groove 
               12  housing wall 
               13  housing wall 
               12  latching hook 
               141  slope 
               142  contact surface 
               15  stop 
               151  contact surface 
               16  flange 
               17  latching nose 
               20  sleeve mount 
               21  latching nose 
               22  latching hook 
               23  bore 
               24  spacer 
               30  plug 
               31  tongue