Patent Description:
An optical fiber is an optical transmission tool. To enable the optical fiber to be connected to various electronic devices and enable information transmitted by the optical fiber to be used by the electronic devices, connectors have to be used as a medium between the optical fiber and the electronic devices to achieve the purpose of connection.

Taking an existing LC (Lucent Connector) optical fiber connector as an example, it cannot be easily held due to its small size, thus causing problems to users during disassembly. When the optical fiber connector is applied to a high-density connection environment, such as a high-density server case, because components in the case are all configured compactly, obstacles are formed in the periphery of the optical fiber connector, thus hindering its disassembly path and deepening the users' difficulty in disassembly.

Therefore, how to use simple components to address the problem that the optical fiber connector cannot be easily disassembled in the above operating environment really needs to be considered by a person skilled in the art.

<CIT> discloses an optical fiber connector including a connector body and an actuating device. The connector body is adapted to connect with an adapter, and includes a main body portion having a tubular section, a resilient retaining arm portion extending inclinedly from the main body portion, and a pressing plate portion extending inclinedly from the main body portion. The actuating device includes a handle unit and two flexible rods extending from the handle unit and through the tubular section in the main body portion to connect with a free end of the pressing plate portion. The handle unit can be pulled to move the free end of the pressing plate portion to press a free end of the resilient retaining arm portion, thereby allowing for removal of the connector body from the adapter.

The present invention is provided by the appended claims. The following disclosure serves a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, the disclosure is directed to an optical fiber connector, which, by means of a pull handle and a linkage mechanism, enables users to easily remove a buckling state of a connector housing module for separation.

The optical fiber connector of the disclosure includes a connector housing module, a fastener, a linkage member, and a pull handle. The connector housing module includes at least one clip arm, and the connector housing module is adapted to be inserted into a target object and buckled to the target object by the clip arm. The fastener buckles the connector housing module. The linkage member is pivotally connected to the fastener and movably abuts against the clip arm. The pull handle movably passes between the fastener and the linkage member to be connected to the linkage member. When the connector housing module is inserted into the target object, the pull handle is adapted to be forced to drive the linkage member to pivot relative to the fastener and press against the clip arm, so as to remove a buckling state between the clip arm and the target object and pull the connector housing module out of the target object.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a connection structure of the fastener and the connector housing module, a connection structure of the linkage member and the fastener, and a connection structure of the pull handle and the linkage member are all detachable connection structures.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the connector housing module includes at least one connector, and the fastener includes at least one channel for the at least one connector to pass through.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the channel has an open contour.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the connector includes a first body, the fastener buckles the first body from a top side downwards to make the first body pass through the channel, and the clip arm extends on the top side.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fastener buckles the connector housing module from a top side downwards, the clip arm extends on the top side, the linkage member is pivotally connected to the fastener on the top side and abuts against the clip arm, and the pull handle is connected to the linkage member on the top side.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fastener further includes a limiting portion on the top side, and the pull handle passes between the linkage member and the fastener and then passes through the limiting portion to buckle the linkage member.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the pull handle is flexible. After the pull handle passes between the linkage member and the fastener and through the limiting portion, the pull handle deformably forms a bend which extends away from the fastener until buckling the linkage member.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a curvature of the bend changes as the pull handle is pulled under a force.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the linkage member includes a second body, a pivot shaft, and a pressing portion. The pivot shaft and the pressing portion are located on two opposite sides of the second body. The fastener further includes a pivot connection portion located on the top side, the pivot shaft is pivotally connected to the pivot connection portion, and the pressing portion abuts against the clip arm. When the clip arm is pressed by the linkage member to remove the buckling state, a pivoting direction of the second body is opposite to a pressed direction of the clip arm.

Based on the above, in an optical fiber connector, a connector housing module is provided with a fastener, a linkage member, and a pull handle, where the linkage member abuts against at least one clip arm of the connector housing module, the linkage member is pivotally connected to the fastener, and the pull handle is connected to the linkage member. Accordingly, when the pull handle is forced to move, it drives the linkage member to pivot relative to the fastener, so that the linkage member can press against the clip arm to successfully remove a buckling state between the clip arm and a target object. Meanwhile, the forced pull handle may also pull the connector housing module out of the target object and complete an action of separating the connector housing module from the target object.

Accordingly, a simple driving and linkage mechanism formed by the pull handle, the fastener, and the linkage member enables the users to unlock and pull out the connector housing module by applying a force in a single direction, which effectively overcomes the high-density environment of the optical fiber connector with a simple structure and actions, and thus improves the operation convenience of the optical fiber connector.

In order to make the aforementioned and other objectives and advantages of the disclosure comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

<FIG> is a schematic view of an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the disclosure. <FIG> and <FIG> are exploded views of an optical fiber connector from different perspectives. Referring to <FIG> together, in the present embodiment, an optical fiber connector <NUM> is, for example, an LC optical fiber connector, including a connector housing module PM, a fastener <NUM>, a linkage member <NUM>, a pull handle <NUM>, and a cable module <NUM>. Herein, the connector housing module PM is formed by two connectors 110A and 110B and adapted to butt a corresponding target object <NUM> mutually, and the connector housing module PM includes at least one clip arm (as shown in the present embodiment, the connectors 110A and 110B each include a clip arm <NUM>). The connector housing module PM is adapted to be inserted into the target object <NUM> and buckle the target object <NUM> (not shown) by the clip arm <NUM> to maintain the stability during signal transmission. In the present embodiment, the target object <NUM> may be another connector housing module or adapter.

It should be noted that the number of the connectors is not limited in the disclosure. Meanwhile, structural characteristics and associated plug and pull actions of the LC optical fiber connector can be known from the prior art, and thus those unrelated to the disclosure are not detailed. Moreover, rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are also used as a basis for describing components in the disclosure. By taking a Z axis as an example, a positive Z-axis direction is described as above, upward or a top side in the present embodiment, while a negative Z-axis direction is described as below, downward or a bottom side in the present embodiment, to serve as clear descriptions of relative positions and corresponding relationships of the components.

In the present embodiment, the connectors 110A and 110B include the same component composition, respectively including a first body <NUM>, an optical fiber <NUM> disposed in the first body <NUM>, a protruding portion <NUM> disposed aside the first body <NUM>, and a clip arm <NUM> disposed on a top side of the first body <NUM>. The clip arm <NUM> extends towards the negative X-axis direction and the positive Z-axis direction on the top side.

In the present embodiment, the fastener <NUM> is an integral gate structure, including a third body <NUM>, a pair of channels 121A and 121B, a buckling portion <NUM> located in the channels 121A and 121B, and a pivot connection portion <NUM> and a limiting portion <NUM> located on the top side, where the fastener <NUM> buckles the connectors 110A and 110B from the top side of the optical fiber connector <NUM> downwards. Therefore, the channels 121A and 121B of the fastener <NUM> in the present embodiment facilitate the connectors 110A and 110B to correspondingly pass to be connected to the cable module <NUM>, and the channels 121A and 121B each have an open contour facing downwards. It can be clearly known from the schematic assembly in <FIG> and <FIG> that the open contour facilitates the fastener <NUM> to buckle the first bodies <NUM> of the connectors 110A and 110B by the buckling portion <NUM> near the opening, and meanwhile, the third body <NUM> of the fastener <NUM> further abuts against the protruding portion <NUM> located aside the first body <NUM>. Accordingly, the connectors 110A and 110B are integrated by the fastener <NUM> and may be considered as a single component. Herein, a connection structure of the fastener <NUM> and the connector housing module PM forms a detachable connection structure due to the open contour. The detachable connection structure means that the users can complete the disassembly of the components without using an additional tool and without damaging the structure. This facilitates the users to replace the connectors 110A and 110B according to their needs. For example, positions of the connectors 110A and 110B with different polarity have to be changed according to states of another connector housing module or adapter, which can be easily disassembled and simplified due to the fastener <NUM>.

As described above, the number of the connectors is not limited in the disclosure, this indicates that the number of channels of the fastener may also change correspondingly with the number of the connectors. In other embodiments not shown, the optical fiber connector may include only a single channel of the fastener corresponding to a single connector. The optical fiber connector may also include a plurality of side-by-side connectors, and the fastener also includes a plurality of channels corresponding to each other and side by side.

In the present embodiment, the linkage member <NUM> includes a second body <NUM>, a pair of pivot shafts <NUM>, a buckling portion <NUM>, and pressing portions <NUM> located on two opposite sides of the buckling portion <NUM>. The pivot shafts <NUM> are pivotally connected to the pivot connection portion <NUM> of the fastener <NUM> by detachable buckling, and thus the linkage member <NUM> can pivot around the Y axis relative to the fastener <NUM>. The pressing portions <NUM> and the buckling portion <NUM> are located on a same side of the second body <NUM> and opposite the pivot shafts <NUM>. When the linkage member <NUM> pivots, the pressing portions <NUM> and the buckling portion <NUM> may be regarded as movable free ends. It should also be mentioned that the pressing portions <NUM> correspond to and are movably joined on (abut against) ends <NUM> of the clip arms <NUM> of the connectors 110A and 110B.

Moreover, the pull handle <NUM> movably passes between the fastener <NUM> and the linkage member <NUM> on the top side to be connected to the linkage member <NUM>. In detail, the linkage member <NUM> further includes a notch <NUM> located on a bottom side of the second body <NUM> to form an opening between the notch <NUM> and the fastener <NUM> when the linkage member <NUM> is pivotally connected to the fastener <NUM>. Meanwhile, the fastener <NUM> further includes a limiting portion <NUM> on the top side, which may also form another opening with the third body <NUM>. The pull handle <NUM> includes a gripping portion <NUM>, a strip portion <NUM>, and a buckling portion <NUM>, where the strip portion <NUM> extends from the gripping portion <NUM> and is flexible. Therefore, as in the schematic assembly in <FIG> and <FIG>, the strip portion <NUM> movably passes the opening formed between the notch <NUM> and the fastener <NUM> and the another opening formed by the limiting portion <NUM> and the third body <NUM> in sequence, that is, after the strip portion <NUM> moves through a channel <NUM> substantially located on a top side of the third body <NUM>, the buckling portion <NUM> (e.g., a buckling rod) on one end of the strip portion <NUM> may buckle the buckling portion <NUM> (e.g., a buckling slot) of the linkage member <NUM> and cause a part of the strip portion <NUM> passing through the limiting portion <NUM> to form a bend. In other words, after the pull handle <NUM> passes between the linkage member <NUM> and the fastener <NUM> and through the limiting portion <NUM>, the pull handle <NUM> deformably forms a bend which extends away from the fastener <NUM> until buckling the linkage member <NUM>.

It should be noted that a detachable connection structure is formed between the pivot shaft <NUM> of the linkage member <NUM> and the pivot connection portion <NUM> of the fastener <NUM>, and a detachable connection structure is also formed between the buckling portion <NUM> of the pull handle <NUM> and the buckling portion <NUM> of the linkage member <NUM>. In other words, in addition to the fastener <NUM> and the connector housing module PM, an effect of facilitating the users to disassemble may also be achieved between the fastener <NUM> and the linkage member <NUM> and between the pull handle <NUM> and the linkage member <NUM> by means of a detachable connection structure.

Based on the collocational settings of the pull handle <NUM>, the fastener <NUM>, the linkage member <NUM>, and the clip arm <NUM>, the components may generate linkage relations. That is, when a user applies a force to pull the pull handle <NUM>, it drives the linkage member <NUM> to pivot relative to the fastener <NUM>, and meanwhile, press against the clip arm <NUM>, so as to facilitate the provision of an unlocking effect for the clip arm <NUM>.

<FIG> is a top view of an optical fiber connector. <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view of the optical fiber connector in <FIG>, which is illustrated along a profile A-A of <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic view of another state of the optical fiber connector in <FIG>. Referring to <FIG> together, specifically, <FIG> and <FIG> are simple schematic views showing that the optical fiber connector <NUM> is inserted into and buckled to the target object <NUM>, that is, when the optical fiber connector <NUM> is inserted into the target object <NUM>, a buckling portion <NUM> on the clip arm <NUM> generates a buckling relation with the target object <NUM>. Next, as shown in <FIG>, the user may hold the gripping portion <NUM> of the pull handle <NUM> to apply a force F1 to pull the pull handle <NUM> towards the negative X-axis direction, such that the strip portion <NUM> can drive the second body <NUM> of the linkage member <NUM> to rotate clockwise around the Y axis. Thus, the linkage member <NUM> presses against the clip arms <NUM> of the connectors 110A and 110B and causes them to rotate anticlockwise around the Y axis opposite to the rotation direction of the linkage member <NUM> until the buckling portion <NUM> moves away from the target object <NUM> towards the negative X-axis direction (as shown in <FIG>). In this case, the buckling relation between the clip arm <NUM> and the target object <NUM> is removed, and the optical fiber connector <NUM> can be successfully pulled out of the target object <NUM> upon application of the force F1.

In addition, by comparing <FIG> with <FIG>, with the limiting effect provided by the limiting portion <NUM> of the fastener <NUM>, a partial bend of the strip portion <NUM> of the pull handle <NUM> connected to the linkage member <NUM> varies as the user pulls the pull handle <NUM>, and it can be known from a bend 142a shown in <FIG> and a bend 142b shown in <FIG> that its curvature varies with whether the pull handle is pulled (whether the force F1 is applied).

Based on the above, in the above embodiment of the disclosure, in an optical fiber connector, a connector housing module is provided with a fastener, a linkage member, and a pull handle, where the linkage member abuts against at least one clip arm of the connector housing module, the linkage member is pivotally connected to the fastener, and the pull handle is connected to the linkage member. Accordingly, when the pull handle is forced to move, it drives the linkage member to pivot relative to the fastener, so that the linkage member can press against the clip arm to successfully remove a buckling state between the clip arm and a target object. Meanwhile, the forced pull handle may also pull the connector housing module out of the target object and complete an action of separating the connector housing module from the target object.

Accordingly, a simple driving and linkage mechanism formed by the pull handle which is flexible, the fastener, and the linkage member enables the users to unlock and pull out the connector housing module by applying a force in a single direction, which can effectively overcome the high-density environment of the optical fiber connector with a simple structure and actions regardless of surrounding obstacles caused by the high-density environment, and thus improve the operation convenience of the optical fiber connector.

Claim 1:
An optical fiber connector (<NUM>) comprising:
a connector housing module (PM) comprising at least one clip arm (<NUM>), the connector housing module (PM) being adapted to be inserted into a target object (<NUM>) and buckled to the target object (<NUM>) by the clip arm (<NUM>);
a fastener (<NUM>) buckling the connector housing module (PM);
a linkage member (<NUM>) pivotally connected to the fastener (<NUM>) and movably abutting against the clip arm (<NUM>); and
a pull handle (<NUM>) movably passing between the fastener (<NUM>) and the linkage member (<NUM>) to be connected to the linkage member (<NUM>), wherein when the connector housing module (PM) is inserted into the target object (<NUM>), the pull handle (<NUM>) is adapted to be forced to drive the linkage member (<NUM>) to pivot relative to the fastener (<NUM>) and press against the clip arm (<NUM>), so as to remove a buckling state between the clip arm (<NUM>) and the target object (<NUM>) and pull the connector housing module (PM) out of the target object (<NUM>);
wherein
a connection structure of the fastener (<NUM>) and the connector housing module (PM), a connection structure of the linkage member (<NUM>) and the fastener (<NUM>), and a connection structure of the pull handle (<NUM>) and the linkage member (<NUM>) are all detachable connection structures, characterised in that
the linkage member (<NUM>) comprises a body (<NUM>), a pivot shaft (<NUM>), the fastener (<NUM>) further comprises a pivot connection portion (<NUM>) located on the top side, the pivot connection portion (<NUM>) has an open contour away from the clip arm (<NUM>), and the pivot shaft (<NUM>) is pivotally connected to the pivot connection portion (<NUM>) by detachable buckling.