U.S. patent application number 15/011781 was filed with the patent office on 2017-04-06 for optical fiber adapter with shutter member.
The applicant listed for this patent is PROTAI PHOTONIC CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to YU-KAI CHEN, JYH-CHERNG YANG.
Application Number | 20170097485 15/011781 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56296572 |
Filed Date | 2017-04-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170097485 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YANG; JYH-CHERNG ; et
al. |
April 6, 2017 |
OPTICAL FIBER ADAPTER WITH SHUTTER MEMBER
Abstract
An optical fiber adapter according to the present disclosure
includes a main body, an inner housing, an elastic shutter member
and a spring. The main body has an axial accommodation room defined
by a first wall, a second wall, a third wall and a fourth wall. The
accommodation room has opposing first and second openings in the
axial direction. The inner housing is placed within the
accommodation room and includes a hollow cylinder extending from
the front surface of a flange. The shutter member is positioned
within the accommodation room and includes a base portion, a
shutter plate and a connecting portion. The connecting portion
connects the base portion with the shutter plate. The shutter plate
extends from the connecting portion and arrives in front of an
opening of the hollow cylinder. The shutter plate is movable with
respect to the base portion. The spring is positioned within the
accommodation room to push the shutter member toward the first
opening of the accommodation room.
Inventors: |
YANG; JYH-CHERNG; (TAIPEI
CITY, TW) ; CHEN; YU-KAI; (TAIPEI CITY, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PROTAI PHOTONIC CO., LTD. |
NEW TAIPEI CITY |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
56296572 |
Appl. No.: |
15/011781 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 6/3849 20130101;
G02B 6/4296 20130101; G02B 2006/4297 20130101; G02B 6/3825
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G02B 6/42 20060101
G02B006/42; G02B 6/38 20060101 G02B006/38 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 2, 2015 |
TW |
104132519 |
Claims
1. An optical fiber adapter for optically coupling two optical
fiber connectors with each other, the optical fiber adapter
comprising: a main body having an accommodation room defined by a
first wall, a second wall, a third wall and a fourth wall, the
first wall facing the third wall and connecting with the second and
fourth walls, wherein the accommodation room has opposing first and
second openings in an axial direction to respectively allow the two
optical fiber connectors to insert into the accommodation room to
mate with each other; an inner housing positioned within the
accommodation room, the inner housing comprising: a flange having a
front surface; and a hollow cylinder extending from the front
surface of the flange toward the first opening of the accommodation
room, the hollow cylinder having an opening facing the first
opening of the accommodation room; an elastic shutter member
positioned within the accommodation room, the shutter member
comprising: a base portion, wherein the base portion is moved
toward the second opening with the insertion of the optical fiber
connector into the accommodation room from the first opening; a
shutter plate; and a connecting portion connecting the base portion
with the shutter plate; and wherein the shutter plate is pivotally
movable about the connecting portion, the base portion is
configured to pull the shutter plate to slide on an lateral surface
of the hollow cylinder, and the shutter plate is further configured
to extend from the connecting portion to a position in front of the
opening of the hollow cylinder when no one optical fiber connector
is inserted into the accommodation room from the first opening; a
spring positioned within the accommodation room to push the base
portion toward the first opening of the accommodation room.
2. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
guiding groove is formed on each of the second and fourth walls for
the base portion to slide therein.
3. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, wherein an
access opening is formed on the first wall to allow the inner
housing to place within the accommodation room of the main body,
the optical fiber adapter further comprising: a cover plate
positioned to cover the access opening on the first wall.
4. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 3, wherein an
accommodation groove is formed on the cover plate to receive the
spring.
5. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
base portion comprises: a base plate; and a protrusion sheet
coupled to the base plate to push against the spring.
6. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
base portion comprises: a base plate; two connecting sheets
vertically coupled to two opposing sides of the base plate,
respectively; and two guiding sheets vertically coupled to the two
connecting sheets, respectively, wherein the guiding sheets are
configured to respectively slide in the guiding grooves.
7. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
base portion comprises: a base plate; and two hooks coupled to the
base plate, wherein the hooks are configured to hook on to the
cover plate to prevent the shutter member from being pulled out of
the accommodation room from the first opening.
8. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
base portion is further configured to pull the shutter plate to
move past the flange of the hollow cylinder.
9. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
base portion comprises: a base plate; and a push plate vertically
coupled to the base plate, wherein the push plate is configured to
be in contact with the optical fiber connector inserted into the
accommodation room from the first opening to push the base plate
toward the second opening.
10. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: a transparent sheet coupled to the shutter plate to
cover the opening of the hollow cylinder.
11. The optical fiber adapter as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: a bump formed on the shutter plate to cover the opening
of the hollow cylinder.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application is based on and claims priority to
Taiwanese Application Number 104132519, filed Oct. 2, 2015, the
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in
its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The disclosure relates to an optical fiber adapter, and more
particularly, to an optical fiber adapter with a shutter
member.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recently, the optical fiber has been widely used as signal
transmission media because of its high bandwidth and low loss
nature. In order to transmit over a longer distance without the
need of repeaters, it is common to use a high power diode laser to
launch a laser beam into the optical fiber. However, the high power
laser beam used to carry information is usually invisible. In other
words, the human eyes will be unable to sense the high power laser
beam if it leaves from the open end of a fiber cable. Thus, it is
required to obstruct the high power laser beam to avoid hurting the
eyes when the laser beam leaves from an optical fiber.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional optical fiber adapter
100 includes a housing 110 having a plurality of side walls 160.
The side walls 160 define a receiving recess 120. One of the side
walls 160 is provided with a slot 130 for mating with the key 192
of an optical fiber connector 190 when the connector 190 is
inserted into the receiving recess 120. In addition, the outer
surfaces of two opposite side walls 160 are provided with recesses
140 that a clip (not shown in the figure) may be disposed thereon
to facilitate the adapter 100 to be mounted on a panel.
[0007] In general, the adapter 100 further has another set of side
walls 160 that defines another receiving recess 120. The two
receiving recesses 120 are opposite and may respectively receive a
connector 190. Of course, the two receiving recesses 120 of the
adapter 100 may be designed to mate with two different types of
connectors. The connector 190 is always attached to one end of an
optical fiber cable 194 and a light beam may propagate down the
optical fiber cable 194 and emit from the ferrule 196 of the
connector 190. Likewise, a light beam may be coupled into the
optical fiber cable 194 from the end face of the ferrule 196.
[0008] When the adapter 100 is used to couple two connectors 190
together, the two connectors 190 are respectively inserted into the
receiving recesses 120. The ferrules 196 of the connectors 190 thus
slide into a hollow sleeve (not shown in the figure) and are
brought into axial alignment and contact with each other. A light
beam will be able to propagate from the optical fiber cable 194 of
a connector 190 through the interface between the two ferrules 196
and then reach the optical fiber cable 194 of the other connector
190, and vice versa.
[0009] When one connector 190 is disconnected from the adapter 100,
the light beam originally propagating from the connector 190 still
kept in the adapter 100 to the presently disconnected connector 190
will now leave the ferrule 196 and emit from the receiving recess
120. If the emitted light beam is high power and not obstructed, a
lasting exposure to such light beam is harmful to people,
particularly to the eyes. Thus, to avoid exposing to the high-power
light beam, it is common to use a cap 180 to block up the unused
receiving recess 120. This may obstruct the light beam and also
prevent the receiving recess 120 from dust. If a connector 190
would like to be mated with the adapter 100, the cap 180 is
required to be removed. However, the cap 180 is apt to get lost and
it is still possible to expose the eyes to the light beam during
mating.
[0010] Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional optical fiber adapter
200 is generally the same as the adapter 100 but further includes a
cover 250 pivotally connected to the housing 110. The cover 250
covers the receiving recess 120 in its closed position. A spring
260 may force the cover 250 to be pivoted to its closed position
when the receiving recess 120 is not mated with a connector 190.
Thus, the cover 250 is capable of obstructing the light beam
emitted from the receiving recess 120 in its closed position. If a
user would like to mate a connector 190 with the adapter 200, he is
first required to lift the cover 250 from its closed position and
then to insert the connector 190 into the receiving recess 120.
Upon pulling out the connector 190, the cover 250 is pivoted to
cover the receiving recess 120 through the spring 260. As a result,
the user has no chance to expose to the high-power light beam.
However, the construction of the adapter 200 is much more complex
than that of the adapter 100.
[0011] Referring to FIG. 3, a conventional protection cap 300 for
the optical fiber adapter 100 includes a hollow housing 310 with
two opposing openings and a cover 350 pivotally connected to the
housing 310. The cover 350 is pivoted to cover one of the two
openings through a spring 360. The protection cap 300 may be put on
the adapter 100 and cover the outer surfaces of the side walls 160
and the receiving recess 120 of the adapter 100. When a user would
like to mate a connector 190 with the adapter 200, he is required
to lift the cover 350 from its closed position and then to insert
the connector 190 into the receiving recess 120. Likewise, upon
pulling out the connector 190, the cover 350 is pivoted to cover
the receiving recess 120 by the spring 360. As a result, the user
has no chance to expose to the high-power light beam emitted from
the receiving recess 120. However, the structure of the protection
cap 300 is somewhat complex and therefore it is not inexpensive.
The introduction of the protection cap 300 to obstruct the light
beam will cost much.
[0012] Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a solution to
solve the aforesaid problems.
SUMMARY
[0013] The present disclosure provides a shutter member for an
optical fiber adapter that may obstruct the light beams emitted
from the accommodation room thereby preventing the eyes from
exposure to the light beams.
[0014] In one embodiment, the optical fiber adapter of the present
disclosure includes a main body, an inner housing, an elastic
shutter member and a spring. The main body has an axial
accommodation room defined by a first wall, a second wall, a third
wall and a fourth wall. The accommodation room has opposing first
and second openings in the axial direction. The inner housing is
placed within the accommodation room and includes a hollow cylinder
extending from the front surface of a flange. The shutter member is
positioned within the accommodation room and includes a base
portion, a shutter plate and a connecting portion. The connecting
portion connects the base portion with the shutter plate. The
shutter plate extends from the connecting portion and arrives in
front of an opening of the hollow cylinder. The shutter plate is
movable with respect to the base portion. The spring is positioned
within the accommodation room to push the shutter member toward the
first opening of the accommodation room.
[0015] The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and
advantages of the disclosure will be more readily apparent from the
following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view illustrating a
conventional optical fiber adapter and a conventional optical fiber
connector.
[0017] FIG. 2 is an elevated perspective view of a conventional
optical fiber adapter with a cover for obstructing the light beams
emitted from the receiving recess.
[0018] FIG. 3 is an elevated perspective view of a conventional
protection cap for an optical fiber adapter.
[0019] FIG. 4 is an elevated perspective view of a conventional LC
type optical fiber connector.
[0020] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the optical fiber adapter of
the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 6 is an elevated perspective view of the main body of
the optical fiber adapter of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 7 is an elevated perspective view of the inner housings
of the optical fiber adapter of the present disclosure.
[0023] FIGS. 8a to 8d are different elevated perspective views of
the shutter member of the optical fiber adapter of the present
disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 9 is an elevated perspective view of the cover plate
and spring of the optical fiber adapter of the present disclosure,
wherein the spring is attached to the cover plate.
[0025] FIG. 10 is an elevated perspective view of the optical fiber
adapter of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate how to mate an optical fiber
connector with the optical fiber adapter of the present
disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 13 illustrates that the hook at the shutter member of
the optical fiber adapter hooks on to the block at the cover plate
according to the present disclosure.
[0028] FIG. 14 illustrates that a transparent sheet is coupled to
the shutter member of the optical fiber adapter of the present
disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber
adapter of the present disclosure, wherein the transparent sheet is
coupled to the shutter member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0030] Referring to FIG. 4, a conventional LC type optical fiber
connector 400 has a generally rectangular shape with a square cross
section. The connector 400 includes a rectangular hollow housing
410 comprised of a top side-wall 411, a bottom side-wall 412, a
right side-wall 413 and a left side-wall 414, wherein the right
side-wall 413 is opposite to the left side-wall 414 and connects
with the bottom side-wall 412 and the top side-wall 411. A latch
420 is molded into the top side-wall 411 and includes a living
hinge 425 which allows the tab 426 to be moved up and down in a
direction perpendicular to the central axis 450-450 of the
connector 400. The latch 420 also includes a pair of protrusions
421 that are positioned on opposing sides of the tab 426. In
addition, a ferrule 440 protrudes from a circular opening 416 on
the front end of the housing 410. A spring is located inside the
housing 410 to allow the ferrule 440 to move back and forth through
the opening 416 (not shown in the figure). A pair of protrusions
460 is positioned on the right side-wall 413 and left side-wall
414, respectively.
[0031] Reference is now made to FIG. 5, the optical fiber adapter
according to the present disclosure may be an LC duplex type
optical fiber adapter and includes a unitary molded plastic main
body 500, a pair of inner housings 600, an elastic shutter member
700, a cover plate 900 and a spring 990. Reference is made to FIG.
6, the main body 500 is substantially rectangular and has an
accommodation room defined by a top wall 511, a bottom wall 512, a
right wall 513 and a left wall 514, wherein the top wall 511 faces
the bottom wall 512 and connects with the right wall 513 and left
wall 514. The accommodation room is divided into two halves by a
compartment wall 515 that is parallel to the right wall 513 and
left wall 514 and connects with the top wall 511 and bottom wall
512. A break 516 is formed in the middle section of the compartment
wall 515. The half of the accommodation room defined by the top
wall 511, bottom wall 512, compartment wall 515 and right wall 513
is named as the right accommodation room 526 and the other half of
the accommodation room defined by the top wall 511, bottom wall
512, compartment wall 515 and left wall 514 is named as the left
accommodation room 528. The right accommodation room 526 has
opposing first right opening 526a and second right opening 526b in
an axial direction. Similarly, the left accommodation room 528 has
opposing first left opening 528a and second left opening 528b in
the axial direction. An access opening 550 is formed within the top
wall 511 to allow the inner housings 600 to place within the
accommodation room of the main body 500. A guiding groove 536 is
formed within each of the right and compartment walls 513, 515 in
the right accommodation room 526. The two guiding grooves 536
extend from the first right opening 526a toward the second right
opening 526b in the axial direction and arrive at the break 516. A
guiding groove 538 is formed within each of the left and
compartment walls 514, 515 in the left accommodation room 528. The
two guiding grooves 538 extend from the first left opening 528a
toward the second left opening 528b in the axial direction and
arrive at the break 516.
[0032] Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which illustrates the inner
housings 600 of the present disclosure. The two inner housings 600
have the same shape and are constructed of plastics by an injection
molding process. Each of the inner housings 600 includes two
parallel hollow cylinders 610 extending in the axial direction from
the front surface 622 of a generally rectangular flange 620. The
hollow cylinder 610 has a front opening 612 opposite to a rear
opening located at the flange 620. The two inner housings 600 may
be connected together at their respective flanges 620 so as to
connect the two cylinders 610 with the other two cylinders 610 to
define two common cylinders. The two flanges 620 together define a
thickness that is equal to the width of the break 516. When the two
inner housings 600 are placed within the main body 500, the two
cylinders 610 of one inner housing 600 are respectively aligned
with the two cylinders 610 of the other inner housing 600 to define
the two common cylinders.
[0033] Reference is made to FIGS. 8a to 8d, which illustrate the
elastic shutter member 700 of the present disclosure. The shutter
member 700 is integrally formed with metal and includes a shutter
plate 710, a connecting portion 720 and a base portion 730. The
connecting portion 720 connects the shutter plate 710 with the base
portion 730 and is generally U-shaped. That is, the connecting
portion 720 is curved and has a notch 722. The shutter plate 710
may contain a single plate or several plates. The shutter plate 710
extends downward from one of sides of the connecting portion 720.
The shutter plate 710 may be pivotally moved relative to the base
portion 730 about the connecting portion 720. The shutter plate 710
is bent close to the base portion 730 with a push force and quickly
moves back when the push is withdrawn. The connecting portion 720
will deform when the shutter plate 710 is moved close to the base
portion 730. The shutter plate 710 is formed with a circular bump
712, which is configured to face and is sized to cover the front
opening 612 of one of the cylinders 610 of the inner housing 600.
The base portion 730 includes a base plate 740. The base plate 740
is generally of rectangular shape and has a pair of longitudinal
sides 742 connecting with a pair of transverse sides 741, wherein
the longitudinal sides 742 may extend in the axial direction. One
of the transverse sides 741 is connected to the connecting portion
720 and the other transverse side 741 is connected to a push plate
750. The push plate 750 has a rectangular shape and extends
downward from and perpendicular to the base plate 740. An
indentation 752 is formed at the intersection of the push plate 750
and base plate 740 by pressing. The indentation 752 may reinforce
the mechanical strength of the push plate 750 so that the push
plate 750 is not apt to be bent. In addition, two reinforcing
sheets 754 respectively extend vertically from two opposing sides
of the push plate 750. The reinforcing sheets 754 extend toward and
substantially perpendicular to the base plate 740. The reinforcing
sheets 754 may also reinforce the mechanical strength of the push
plate 750. A protrusion sheet 743 protrudes upward from the base
plate 740. Two hooks 744 are coupled to the base plate 740. The two
hooks 744 may be two elastic sheets. The elastic sheets 744 are
elongated and protrude upward at an angle inclined to the base
plate 740. The hook 744 has a fixed end 745 and a free end 746
opposite to the fixed end 745. The fixed end 745 is closer to the
connecting portion 720 than the free end 746 is. The fixed end 745
is coupled to the base plate 740 and functions as a pivot such that
the hook 744 may be pivotally moved relative to the base plate 740.
Two guiding sheets 770 are respectively coupled to the longitudinal
sides 742 of the base plate 740. The guiding sheets 770 are
elongated and substantially parallel to the base plate 740. The
guiding sheets 770 may be respectively coupled to the base plate
740 through two connecting sheets 760. The connecting sheets 760
are vertically connected to the base plate 740 and the guiding
sheets 770, respectively.
[0034] Reference is made to FIG. 9, which illustrates the cover
plate 900 and spring 990 of the present disclosure. The cover plate
900 has a rectangular shape and is constructed of plastics by an
injection molding process. The cover plate 900 is formed with two
accommodation grooves 910 extending in the axial direction to
receive the spring 990. In FIG. 9, the spring 990 is placed within
one of the two accommodation grooves 910. The protrusion sheet 743
of the shutter member 700 may move to push against the spring 990.
Two stop blocks 920 are located on two opposite sides of each of
the accommodation grooves 910. The cover plate 900 is provided with
a plurality of engagement portions 930, such as hooks extending in
the axial direction to respectively engage with the right, left and
compartment walls 513, 514, 515. In addition, a rectangular
protrusion 940 is formed on the center of the cover plate 900 to be
positioned corresponding to the break 516 in the compartment wall
515.
[0035] When desiring to assemble the optical fiber adapter of the
present disclosure, the two inner housings 600 are first connected
together at their respective flanges 620. Afterward, the inner
housings 600 are inserted into the main body 500 through the access
opening 550 in such a manner that the two flanges 620 are inserted
into the break 516 in the compartment wall 515. The cover plate 900
provided with the spring 990 is pushed down to cover the access
opening 550 such that the engagement portions 930 respectively
engage with the right, left and compartment walls 513, 514, 515 of
the main body 500. Also, the protrusion 940 of the cover plate 900
is located in the break 516 to press on the flanges 620 of the two
inner housings 600. Subsequently, the shutter member 700 is
inserted into the left accommodation room 528 through the first
left opening 528a in such a manner that the connecting portion 720
is leading and the two guiding sheets 770 are respectively inserted
into the two guiding grooves 538. The shutter member 700 continues
to be pushed toward the second left opening 528b. Meanwhile the
guiding sheets 770 respectively slide in the guiding grooves 538
and the two hooks 744 are respectively pressed to deform by the two
stop blocks 920 on the cover plate 900. After the hooks 744 pass
the stop blocks 920, the hooks 744 will spring up to their original
positions and the protrusion sheet 743 will push against one end of
the spring 990. FIG. 10 illustrates the optical fiber adapter of
the present disclosure.
[0036] Reference is made to FIG. 11, when an optical fiber
connector 400 of FIG. 4 is not inserted into the main body 500 from
the first left opening 528a, the spring 990 will push against the
protrusion sheet 743 to move the shutter member 700 toward the
first left opening 528a. Meanwhile, the circular bump 712 on the
shutter plate 710 will be located in front of and come in contact
with the front opening 612 of the cylinder 610 facing the first
left opening 528a in the left accommodation room 528. When an
optical fiber connector 400 of FIG. 4 is inserted into the main
body 500 from the second left opening 528b (not shown in the
figure), the light beams that emit from the optical fiber connector
400 and then propagate out from the front opening 612 of the
cylinder 610 will be obstructed by the shutter plate 710. As a
result, the occurrence of exposure to the harmful light beams may
be avoided. In addition, the shutter plate 710 covers the front
opening 612 of the cylinder 610 and therefore may prevent the
interior of the cylinder 610 from dust.
[0037] Reference is made to FIGS. 11 and 12, there is no need to
detach the shutter member 700 from the main body 500 prior to
inserting an optical fiber connector 400 into the left
accommodation room 528 from the first left opening 528a. When the
optical fiber connector 400 of FIG. 4 is inserted into the main
body 500 from the first left opening 528a, the living hinge 425 of
the latch 420 at the optical fiber connector 400 will confront the
push plate 750 of the shutter member 700. Meanwhile, the guiding
sheets 770 of the shutter member 700 will respectively slide in the
two guiding grooves 538 so that the shutter member 700 may be moved
toward the second left opening 528b smoothly. The protrusion sheet
743 will slide in the accommodation groove 910 and press against
the spring 990. The shutter plate 710 will be bent by the cylinder
610 and slide on a lateral surface of the cylinder 610 facing the
first left opening 528a in the left accommodation room 528. When
the optical fiber connector 400 is moved to being in place, the
shutter plate 710 is pushed past the flange 620 facing the first
left opening 528a and arrives at a position between the cover plate
900 and the cylinder 610 facing the second left opening 528b in the
left accommodation room 528. Upon pulling out the optical fiber
connector 400 from the main body 500, the pressed spring 990 will
spring up to push the shutter member 700 toward the first left
opening 528a to its original position and the elastic shutter plate
710 will quickly spring up to an original position to cover the
front opening 612 of the cylinder 610 and therefore obstruct the
light beams emitted therefrom as a result of elasticity. As a
result, the occurrence of exposure to the harmful light beams may
be avoided.
[0038] Reference is made to FIG. 13, after the hooks 744 have
passed the stop blocks 920, the hooks 744 will respectively hook on
to the stop blocks 920 in such a manner that the free ends 746 of
the hooks 744 respectively come in contact with the lateral
surfaces of the stop blocks 920 when a pull force is exerted on the
shutter member 700. Therefore, this arrangement may prevent the
shutter member 700 from being pulled out of the main body 500 from
the first left opening 528a.
[0039] Reference is now made to FIGS. 14 and 15, a transparent
sheet 714 such as a plastic sheet may be attached to the shutter
plate 710. The transparent sheet 714 is provided to come in contact
with and cover the front opening 612 of the cylinder 610 when no
one optical fiber connector is inserted from the first left opening
528a into the main body 500. This arrangement may help verify
whether the optical path is unobstructed. More specifically, when
an optical fiber connector has been inserted from the second left
opening 528b into the main body 500 to mate with the optical fiber
adapter of the present disclosure (not shown in the figure), a
visible light beam may be coupled to the optical fiber connector.
If the optical path is unobstructed, the visible light beam will
emit from the front opening 612 of the cylinder 610 and be then
incident on the shutter plate 710. The shutter plate 710 may
scatter the visible light beam and a part of the scattered visible
light beam will emit from the edges of the transparent sheet 714 so
that an operator may see the scattered visible light beam through
the first left opening 528a. Accordingly, it is verified that the
optical path is unobstructed.
[0040] According to the optical fiber adapter of the present
disclosure, the shutter plate 710 provided with the transparent
sheet 714 may obstruct the propagation of the high-power light
beams emitted from the cylinder 610 to prevent the eyes from direct
exposure to the high-power light beams. In addition, the shutter
plate 710 provided with the transparent sheet 714 covers the front
opening 612 of the cylinder 610 and therefore may prevent the
interior of the cylinder 610 from dust.
[0041] Although the shutter member 700 is installed in the left
accommodation room 528 of the main body 500 as described in the
present disclose, it will be appreciated that the shutter member
700 may be arranged in either or both of right and left
accommodation rooms 526, 528. In addition, it will also be
appreciated that although the disclosure has been explained with
the LC duplex adapter, the shutter member 700 of the present
disclosure may be used in LC simplex adapter, SC duplex adapter, SC
simplex adapter, or other types of adapters.
[0042] Although the preferred embodiments of the disclosure have
been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
* * * * *