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EP-3814821-B1 - OPTICAL CONNECTOR

EP3814821B1EP 3814821 B1EP3814821 B1EP 3814821B1EP-3814821-B1

Inventors

  • KIM, HEE DAE
  • KIM, IL

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20190621

Claims (15)

  1. An optical connector comprising: a base substrate (10); an optical device (30) on the base substrate (10); an optical fiber (50) optically aligned with the optical device (30); and a reflective injection-molded part (100) arranged on the base substrate (10) to cover the optical device (30) and providing a reflective surface (110c) in an optical path between the optical device (30) and the optical fiber (50), wherein the reflective injection-molded part (100) comprises: a prism (110) providing the reflective surface (110c); an alignment leg (180) supporting the prism (110) in a state in which the prism (110) is at a height from the base substrate (10); a main block (150) on a side of the prism (110), the side of the prism (110) being opposite the base substrate (10); and a plurality of support ribs (120) branching off at intermittent positions along the main block (150) and supporting the prism (110) with respect to the main block (150), characterized in that the main block(150) is a portion occupying the largest volume of the reflective injection-molded part (100).
  2. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein an end portion of the optical fiber (50) is inserted in an alignment groove (40') of a fiber guide (40) arranged on the base substrate (10).
  3. The optical connector of claim 2, wherein a clearance (T) is provided between the reflective injection-molded part (100) and the alignment groove (40') of the fiber guide (40).
  4. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein an end portion of the optical fiber (50) is inserted in an alignment groove (40') of a fiber guide (40) arranged on the base substrate (10), and a front alignment guide (20a) is provided on the base substrate (10) to align the fiber guide (40), the optical device (30), and the reflective injection-molded part (100) with each other.
  5. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the reflective injection-molded part (100) further comprises an oblique surface (120d, 150c) inclined with respect to the base substrate (10).
  6. The optical connector of claim 5, wherein at least one oblique surface (120d, 150c) is provided on each of the alignment leg (180), the main block (150), and the plurality of support ribs (120) of the reflective injection-molded part (100).
  7. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the alignment leg (180) comprises a pair of alignment legs (180) at both end positions of the prism (110).
  8. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the alignment leg (180) is directly on the base substrate (10).
  9. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the alignment leg (180) comprises: a lower block (182) which is directly in contact with the base substrate (10); and an upper block (181) provided on a side of the lower block (182), the side of the lower block (182) being opposite the base substrate (10)
  10. The optical connector of claim 9, wherein the alignment leg (180) further comprises first and second end portions (180a, 180b) forming both longitudinal ends of the alignment leg (180), the lower block (182) comprises an oblique surface (182a) of the first end portion (180a) and a position alignment surface (182b) of the second end portion (180b), and the upper block (181) comprises a first oblique surface (181a) of the first end portion (180a) and a second oblique surface (181b) of the second end portion (180b), the second oblique surface being inclined in a direction opposite a direction in which the first oblique surface (181a) is inclined.
  11. The optical connector of claim 10, wherein a rear alignment guide (20b) is provided on the base substrate (10), and the rear alignment guide (20b) aligns the reflective injection-molded part (100) while making contact with the reflective injection-molded part (100), and optionally: the lower block (182) and the upper block (181) adjoin each other with a discontinuous boundary there between, and the discontinuous boundary is higher than the rear alignment guide (20b).
  12. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein a separation space (A) adjoining the reflective surface (110c) of the prism (110) is formed between neighboring support ribs (120) of the plurality of support ribs (120), and optionally: the separation space (A) is open through a front side of the reflective injection-molded part (100) and forms a window (W) in the front side of the reflective injection-molded part (100).
  13. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the prism (110) comprises a horizontal surface (110a) facing the optical device (30) and parallel to the base substrate (10), a vertical surface (110b) facing an end surface of the optical fiber (50) and perpendicular to the base substrate (10), and the reflective surface (110c) obliquely extending to connect the horizontal surface (110a) and the vertical surface (110b) to each other, and optionally: the main block (150) comprises a vertical surface (150b) extending in parallel to the vertical surface (110b) of the prism (110), an oblique surface (150c) obliquely extending from a side of the vertical surface (150b) of the main block (150), and a horizontal surface (150a) extending from another side of the vertical surface (150b) of the main block (150) in parallel to the base substrate (10) and adjoining the plurality of support ribs (120), the plurality of support ribs (120) comprise first oblique surfaces (120d) adjoining the reflective surface (110c) of the prism (110), vertical surfaces (120b) extending from the vertical surface (110b) of the prism (110) in parallel to the vertical surface of the prism (110), horizontal surfaces (120a) adjoining the horizontal surface (150a) of the main block (150) and extending in parallel to the horizontal surface (150a) of the main block (150), and second oblique surfaces (120c) obliquely extending from the main block (150) toward the prism (110) to connect the horizontal surfaces (120a) to the first oblique surfaces (120d).
  14. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the reflective injection-molded part (100) further comprises a fiber guide (240) to align an end portion of the optical fiber (50), and optionally: a clearance is provided between the fiber guide (240) and the prism (110), and the reflective injection-molded part (100) further comprises connection blocks (230) provided on both sides of the clearance to connect the fiber guide (240) and the main block to each other.
  15. The optical connector of claim 1, wherein the reflective injection-molded part further comprises a fiber guide (240) to align an end portion of the optical fiber (50), and a front alignment guide (20a) configured to align the optical device (30) and a rear alignment guide (20b) configured to align the reflective injection-molded part (100) are provided on the base substrate (10), and optionally: the front alignment guide (20a) comprises a first guide wall (21) and a second guide wall (22) which face each other with the optical device (30) there between, and openings (g1, g2) are formed at center positions of the first and second guide walls.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0074918, filed on June 28, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. BACKGROUND 1. Field One or more embodiments relate to an optical connector. 2. Description of the Related Art Optical connectors may be used to transmit digital visual interface (DVI) signals or high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) signals and may require a structure in which a plurality of optical devices and a plurality of optical fibers are optically aligned to provide a plurality of communication channels. JP H10 160959 A discloses an optical multiplexing and demultiplexing structure which demultiplexes or multiplexes the lights of different wavelengths transmitted in an optical fiber. The optical fiber is provided with a cut part in a V-shaped flank shape having a vertical surface perpendicular to the optical axis as one end surface and a slanting surface slanting the optical axis as the other surface across the core part of the optical fiber. A reflecting filter, which selectively reflects only the specific light transmitted in the optical fiber, is provided on the slanting surface to demultiplex the light. US 2006/164738 A1 discloses an optical path converting type optical coupling element, wherein a resin molding body has two faces perpendicular to each other, and also has a total reflecting face having an angle of approximately 45° with respect to these two faces. Plural collimating lenses and a spacer are integrally formed on one face. Plural collimating lenses and a spacer are also integrally formed on the other face. A wall taking-away portion is concavely arranged between the two faces so as to be located on the rear face side of the total reflecting face. Guide holes for inserting guide pins thereinto and connected to optical connectors, are bored on the two faces of the resin molding body. SUMMARY According to the invention, there is provided an optical connector as defined in the appended set of claims. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an optical connector according to an embodiment;FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the optical connector shown in FIG. 1;FIGS. 3 and 4 are different perspective views illustrating portions shown in FIG. 1;FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a reflective injection-molded part shown in FIG. 1;FIGS. 6 and 7 are cut-away views taken along lines VI-VI and VII-VII in FIG. 5 to illustrate the reflective injection-molded part;FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the optical connector shown in FIG. 1;FIGS. 9A and 9B are views respectively illustrating different operations of the optical connector shown in FIG. 8 when the optical connector operates at transmitting end sides of optical fibers and at receiving end sides of optical fibers;FIG. 10 is a side view of the optical connector shown in FIG. 1 for illustrating an alignment leg;FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a forming process of the reflective injection-molded part;FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an optical connector according to another embodiment;FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the optical connector shown in FIG. 12;FIGS. 14 and 15 are perspective views illustrating portions of the optical connector shown in FIG. 12; andFIGS. 16 and 17 are different perspective views illustrating a reflective injection-molded part shown in FIG. 12. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, the embodiments are merely described below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of the present description. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as "at least one of," when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. According to one or more embodiments, an optical connector includes all features of claim 1. For example, an end portion of the optical fiber may be inserted in an alignment groove of a fiber guide arranged on the base substrate. For example, a clearance may be provided between the reflective injection-molded part and the alignment groove of the fiber guide. For