Patent Publication Number: US-2022236493-A1

Title: Optical fiber connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 110200829, filed on Jan. 22, 2021. 
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a connector, more particularly to an optical fiber connector with a changeable polarity. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the development of data transmission technology, optical fiber connectors with new specifications, such as QSFP (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable) interface, have been introduced to cope with high-speed optical fibers. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a conventional optical fiber connector  1  includes a connector housing  11 , a limiting member  12  fastened in the connector housing  11 , two ferrules  13  spaced apart from each other and held between the limit member  12  and the connector housing  11 , a boot  14  removably assembled to the rear of the connector housing  11 , a pull lever  15  provided on the connector housing  11  and extending backward, and two fastening protrusions  16  protruding from the connector housing  11 . When the conventional optical fiber connector  1  is plugged into an adapter or a receptacle (not shown), the connector housing  11  is inserted in the adapter or receptacle, and at least one of the two fastening protrusions  16  is engaged with a corresponding slot in the adapter or receptacle, such that the two ferrules  13  can be connected respectively with two corresponding ferrules (not shown) in the adapter or receptacle. Different connection modes can be obtained by varying the connection alignment of the ferrules  13  and the corresponding ferrules in the adapter or receptacle. 
     However, when the conventional optical fiber connector  1  is to be unplugged, the connector housing  11  can only be pulled apart forcefully to detach the fastening protrusions  16  from the corresponding slots of the adapter or receptacle. This operation is likely to cause the fastening protrusions  16  or slots to be worn out over time due to the forceful pulling, and even result in breakage of the fastening protrusions. Although some users will try to pull the pull lever  15  upward to cause a displacement of the housing  11  relative to the mated adapter or receptacle to thereby detach the fastening protrusions  16  from the slot on the mated adapter or receptacle, this practice is not in line with the original design intention. Therefore, problems may occur such as insufficient displacement of the fastening protrusions  16  or an excessive pulling force from the user breaking the pull lever  15 . More importantly, the conventional optical fiber connector  1  is often connected in an array of optical fiber connectors in a narrow space; therefore, the dense neighboring optical fiber connectors or receptacles will obstruct the upward movement of the pull lever  15 . 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the object of the disclosure is to provide an optical fiber connector that is easy to operate without causing damage to the parts during removal from an adapter or a receptacle. 
     According to the disclosure, an optical fiber connector includes an outer housing, a rear member, a polarity key, and a release pull lever. The outer housing extends in a front-and-rear direction. The rear member is removably sleeved on a rear end of the outer housing. The polarity key includes a body part, a latching part, and a locking protrusion. The body part extends forward from the rear member and is located on one side of the outer housing in a first direction perpendicular to the front-and-rear direction. The latching part extends forward from the body part, is formed with a cutout, and has a first sloping surface facing the cutout. The locking protrusion is located on a front end of the latching part and extends in the first direction away from the outer housing. The release pull lever is removably disposed on the outer housing, and is rearward slidable. The release pull lever has a manipulating protrusion and a driving portion that protrudes from the manipulating portion into the cutout. The driving portion is in sliding contact with the first sloping surface of the latching part of the polarity key, such that rearward movement of the release pull lever drives the latching part and the locking protrusion to move close to the outer housing via the sliding contact between the first sloping surface of the latching part and the driving portion of the release pull lever. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a conventional optical fiber connector; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the conventional optical fiber connector; 
         FIG. 3  is an assembled perspective view of an embodiment of the optical fiber connector according to the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view, illustrating the coupling between a release pull lever and an outer housing of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the release pull lever of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an indicating component of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  depicts a procedure for changing the polarity of the embodiment; and 
         FIG. 10  is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a locking protrusion of a polarity key of the embodiment in an unfastened state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 , the embodiment of an optical fiber connector according to the present disclosure is described with reference to three directions, including a front-and-rear direction (A), a first direction (B) perpendicular to the front-and-rear direction (A), and a second direction (C) perpendicular to both the front-and-rear direction (A) and the first direction (B). In this embodiment, the front-and-rear direction (A) denotes the direction of plugging in the optical fiber connector, the first direction (B) is the top-and-bottom direction, and the second direction (C) is the left-and-right direction. It should be noted that the aforementioned definitions of the directions are for convenience of explanation and should not impose any restrictions on the use and structure of the disclosure. The optical fiber connector is adapted to be plugged into an adapter or a receptacle (not shown), and includes an outer housing  2  extending in the front-and-rear direction (A), a limit member  3  removably coupled to a front end of the outer housing  2 , two ferrules  4  spaced apart from each other in the first direction (B) and positioned in the outer housing  2  and the limit member  3 , a rear member  5  removably sleeved on a rear end of the outer housing  2 , a polarity key  6  connected to the rear member  5 , a release pull lever removably disposed on the outer housing  2  and rearward slidable, and an indicating component  8  connected to one side of the outer housing  2  and is removable from the outer housing  2  in the second direction (C). 
     The outer housing  2  includes a main body  21  that extends in the front-and-rear direction (A), and two guide bars  22  that are elongated in the front-and-rear direction (A), that are disposed opposite to each other in the first direction (B), and that protrude outwardly from the main body  21  and respectively in opposite directions. In this embodiment, the guide bars  22  protrudes upwardly and downwardly from the main body  21 , respectively. The housing further includes a tail part  23  connected to a rear end of the main body  21 , and two projections  24  disposed opposite to each other in the first direction (B) and protruding outwardly from the tail part  23  and respectively in opposite directions. In this embodiment, the projections  24  protrudes upwardly and downwardly from the tail part  23 , respectively. In this embodiment, the main body  21  is formed with a first fitting slot  211  recessed from a lateral side thereof, and an engaging groove  212  spatially connected with the first fitting slot  211 . The tail part  23  is formed with a second fitting slot  231  extending in the front-and-rear direction (A), spatially connected with the engaging groove  212 , and having a rear end that is located in the rear member  5 . The rear member  5  is removably engaged with the projections  24 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 , the polarity key  6  and the rear member  5  are integrally formed as one piece, and the polarity key  6  is disposed between the release pull lever  7  and the outer housing  2 . The polarity key  6  includes a body part  61  that extends forward from the rear member  5  and that is located on one side of the outer housing  2  in the first direction B, a latching part  62  that extends forward from the body part  61  and that has a cutout  621 , and a locking protrusion  63  that is located on a front end of the latching part  62  and that extends in the first direction (B) away from the outer housing  2 . The body part  61  has a first guide recess  611  that extends in the front-and-rear direction (A) and that has a rear open end. The latching part  62  has a first sloping surface  622  facing the cutout  621 . The locking protrusion  63  is adapted to be engaged with a corresponding slot in the adapter or receptacle when the optical fiber connector is in use and inserted into the adapter or receptacle. The release pull lever  7  extends in the front-and-rear direction (A), and has a manipulating portion  71  and a driving portion  72  that protrudes from a front end of the manipulating portion  71  into the cutout  621 . A portion of the manipulating portion  71  extends into the first guide recess  611 . The portion of the manipulating portion  71  has a second guide recess  711  that extends in the front-and-rear direction (A) and that has a front open end. One of the guide bars  22  slidably engages the second guide recess  711 . The driving portion  72  includes two tabs  721  engaging the cutout  621  of the polarity key  6  and spaced apart in the second direction (C). Each tab  721  has a second sloping surface  722  which is in sliding contact with the first sloping portion  622  of the latching part  62  of the polarity key  6 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3, 4, and 8 , the indicating component  8  includes a plate body  81  extending in the front-and-rear direction (A), having an exposed indicating symbol  811 , and engaged with the first fitting slot  211 . In this embodiment, the indicating component  8  further includes an engaging portion  82  protruding from the plate body  81  and engaged with the engaging groove  212 , and a tail extension  83  extending rearward from the plate body  81 , engaged with the second fitting slot  231 , and partially accommodated in the rear member  5 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3, 4, and 9 , the procedure for changing the polarity of this embodiment is illustrated in  FIG. 9 , with the release pull lever  7  shown in a separated position in the top four steps. In the first step, the release pull lever  7  is pulled backward so that the driving portion  72  thereof slides out of the cutout  621 . In the second step, the release pull lever  7  is further pulled backward until the guide bar  22  that is located in the second guide recess  711  moves out of the second guide recess  711 . Then, in the third step, the rear member  5  and the polarity key  6  are pulled backward and removed from the outer housing  2 , and the outer housing  2  is rotated about its axis by 180 degrees. In the fourth and fifth steps, the outer housing  2  is reassembled with the rear member  5  and the release pull lever  7 , such that the other guide bar  22  is engaged in the second guide recess  711  (i.e., the polarity key  6  is now located on the opposite side of the outer housing  2 ), thus the polarity change procedure is completed. 
     The indicating symbol  811  of the indicating component  8  may be an arrow sign, so that a user can distinguish the polarity of the optical fiber connector easily by checking whether the arrow sign of the indicating symbol  811  points to the polarity key  6  or not. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4, 5, and 10 , when the optical fiber connector of the disclosure is to be removed from the adapter or receptacle, the user only needs to pull the release pull lever  7  backward, the latching part  62  and the locking protrusion  63  of the polarity key  6  will be driven to move close to the outer housing  2  via the sliding contact between the first sloping surface  622  of the latching part  62  and the second sloping surface  722  of the driving portion  72  of the release pull lever  7 , thereby converting the locking protrusion  63  to an unfastened state to be disengaged from the corresponding slot in the adapter or receptacle. Thus, the user can unplug the optical fiber connector without obstruction and prevent the locking protrusion  63  from being worn. Accordingly, this disclosure not only reduces the difficulty of operation but also improves product life. 
     In summary, the disclosure enables quick polarity change by separating the rear member  5  from the outer housing  2  and rotating the outer housing  2  about its axis 180 degrees. The polarity key  6  can be driven to be unfastened from the mated adapter or receptacle by pulling the release pull lever  7  backward. Therefore, the optical fiber connector according to this disclosure is designed to be pulled by a user, and can be operated by the user without the application of excessive force. The product life of the optical fiber connector can therefore be extended. Moreover, such operation of the release pull lever  7  makes the optical fiber connector suitable for use in a dense optical fiber connectors array with a small space, so it can indeed achieve the purpose of the disclosure. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.