Patent ID: 8079111

Claim:
An optical connector cleaning tool that wipes clean a joining end surface of an optical connector using a feeding movement of a cleaning medium, comprising: a tool main body including a cleaning medium feeding mechanism that feeds out or takes up the cleaning medium; and an insertion portion that protrudes from the tool main body and is capable of being inserted into a connector positioning housing that houses the optical connector, wherein said insertion portion includes a cleaning medium pressing mechanism onto which a portion of the cleaning medium that has been pulled out from the tool main body is wound; wherein the cleaning medium pressing mechanism has a head component including a cleaning medium pressing surface that secures a contact surface area for the cleaning medium to be in contact with the joining end surface of the optical connector, and has a head supporting portion that supports the head component on a tilt relative to the direction in which the cleaning medium pressing surface is pressing against the optical connector, and the head supporting portion includes a supporting portion main body mounted on a protruding portion that protrudes from the tool main body, and a circular arc-shaped or waveform tilt spring that protrudes from a front end of the supporting portion main body in the direction of the pressing against the optical connector, and the head component is supported at a protruding distal end of the tilt spring such that it can be tilted by an elastic deformation of the tilt spring, and the head component extends so as to project outwards from the protruding distal end of the tilt spring to a spring apex portion side, which is the side of a curve apex portion that is closest to the head component of the tilt spring, and to a spring rear side, which is the opposite side therefrom, and wherein, without elastic deformation of the tilt spring, the cleaning medium pressing surface has a tilted orientation with respect to an insertion direction of the insertion portion, so that an end portion of the cleaning medium pressing surface on the spring apex portion side of the head component tilts away from the insertion direction, and an end portion of the cleaning medium pressing surface on the spring rear side of the head component tilts toward the insertion direction.