阅读说明：本技术 用于构造光学的插接连接部的联结器 (Coupling for producing an optical plug connection ) 是由 O.多布勒 于 2019-07-17 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于构造在两个光学的插接连接件(3、4)之间的光学的插接连接部(2)的联结器(1),其中,所述联结器(1)具有引导套筒(5)和套筒容纳笼(6),所述套筒容纳笼带有用于容纳所述引导套筒(5)的内部空间(7),其中,所述套筒容纳笼(6)具有在所述套筒容纳笼(6)的纵向轴线(8)上彼此对置地布置的插入开口(9、10),所述插入开口用于使相应的光学的插接连接件(3、4)的相应一个包头(11、12)沿相应地平行于所述纵向轴线(8)的方向插入到所述引导套筒(5)中,其中,所述插入开口(9、10)分别至少局部地由所述套筒容纳笼(6)的纵向止挡部(13)包围以用于防止所述引导套筒(5)从所述套筒容纳笼(6)的内部空间(7)中拉出,并且所述套筒容纳笼(6)具有两个套筒容纳笼部件(14、15),并且所述套筒容纳笼部件(14、15)的卡锁连接部件(16、17)构造成能通过所述套筒容纳笼部件(14、15)沿平行于所述纵向轴线(8)的方向推移到彼此上来卡入到彼此中。(Coupling (1) for an optical plug connection (2) between two optical plug connections (3, 4), wherein the coupling (1) has a guide sleeve (5) and a sleeve receiving cage (6) with an interior (7) for receiving the guide sleeve (5), wherein the sleeve receiving cage (6) has insertion openings (9, 10) which are arranged opposite one another on a longitudinal axis (8) of the sleeve receiving cage (6) and are used for inserting a respective ferrule (11, 12) of a respective optical plug connection (3, 4) into the guide sleeve (5) in a direction which is respectively parallel to the longitudinal axis (8), wherein the insertion openings (9, 10) are each at least partially surrounded by a longitudinal stop (13) of the sleeve receiving cage (6) for preventing the guide sleeve (5) from being pushed out of the ferrule The cartridge receiving cage (6) is pulled out of the interior (7) thereof, and the cartridge receiving cage (6) has two cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15), and the latching connection parts (16, 17) of the cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15) are configured to be able to be latched into one another by the cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15) being pushed onto one another in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (8).)

1. Coupling (1) for an optical plug connection (2) between two optical plug connections (3, 4), wherein the coupling (1) has a guide sleeve (5) and a sleeve receiving cage (6) with an interior (7) for receiving the guide sleeve (5), wherein the sleeve receiving cage (6) has insertion openings (9, 10) which are arranged opposite one another on a longitudinal axis (8) of the sleeve receiving cage (6) and are intended for inserting a respective one of the ferrule heads (11, 12) of a respective optical plug connection (3, 4) into the guide sleeve (5) in a direction which is in each case parallel to the longitudinal axis (8), wherein the insertion openings (9, 10) are in each case at least partially surrounded by a longitudinal stop (13) of the sleeve receiving cage (6) in order to prevent the guide sleeve (5) from being pushed out of the sleeve (5) The cartridge receiving cage (6) is pulled out of the interior (7) thereof, and the cartridge receiving cage (6) has two cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15), and the cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15) each have a latching connection part (16, 17) for forming a latching connection (18), characterized in that the latching connection parts (16, 17) are designed to be able to be latched into one another by pushing the cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15) onto one another in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (8) in order to fix the cartridge receiving cage parts (14, 15) to one another.

2. Coupling (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide sleeve (5) is configured elastically deformable for the purpose of the captive fixing of the ferrule (11, 12) and/or the guide sleeve (5) is configured as a longitudinally slotted tube and/or the guide sleeve (5) has an insertion opening (19, 20) on the ends opposite one another for the insertion of a respective one of the ferrules (11, 12).

3. Coupling (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide sleeve (5) is supported with play in the inner space (7) of the sleeve-receiving cage (6) in the snapped-in state of the snap-in connection (18).

4. Coupling (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one of the sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) has at least one protruding lug (21) and the other of the sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) has at least one lug receiving portion (22) corresponding to the lug (21), wherein the lug (21) can be pushed into the lug receiving portion (22) when the sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) are pushed onto each other in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (8).

5. Coupling (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the projection (21) in the snapped-in state of the snap-in connection (18) bears locally with a form fit in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (8) and/or in a circumferential direction (23) around the longitudinal axis (8) against a corresponding wall section (24) of the other one of the sleeve receptacle cage parts (14, 15) bounding the projection receptacle (22).

6. Coupling (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein each of the sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) has at least one protruding boss (21) and at least one boss receiver (22), respectively.

7. Coupling (1) according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the snap-lock connection (16, 17) is configured at the projection (21), preferably in the middle third of the projection (21) as seen along the longitudinal axis (8).

8. Coupling (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that at least one of the sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) has two or three or more protruding lugs (21) and the other of the sleeve receiving parts (14, 15) has a number of lug receiving portions (22) corresponding to the number of lugs (21).

9. Coupling (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at preferably exactly one of said sleeve receiving cage parts (14, 15) a wall (25) is arranged, preferably moulded, projecting outwardly from said sleeve receiving cage part (14, 15) normal to said longitudinal axis (8).

10. Optical plug connection (2) with two optical plug connections (3, 4) and a coupling (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a respective ferrule (11, 12) of the respective optical plug connection (3, 4) is inserted into the guide sleeve (5) through one of the insertion openings (9, 10) of the sleeve receiving cage (6) in a direction respectively parallel to the longitudinal axis (8), wherein the guide sleeve (5) aligns the ferrules (11, 12) of the optical plug connections (3, 4) with their respective optical conductors (26, 27) relative to one another.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a coupling for an optical plug connection between two optical plug connectors, wherein the coupling has a guide sleeve and a sleeve receiving cage with an interior for receiving the guide sleeve, wherein the sleeve receiving cage has insertion openings arranged opposite one another on a longitudinal axis of the sleeve receiving cage for inserting a respective ferrule of a respective optical plug connector into the guide sleeve in a direction respectively parallel to the longitudinal axis, wherein the insertion openings are each at least partially surrounded by a longitudinal stop of the sleeve receiving cage for preventing the guide sleeve from being pulled out of the interior of the sleeve receiving cage, and wherein the sleeve receiving cage has two sleeve receiving cage parts, and the sleeve receiving cage parts each have a latching connection part for forming a latching connection.

Background

In the case of conventional, commercially available optical plug connectors, it is generally provided that the ferrule encloses at least one optical fiber. At a front end portion of the ferrule, the optical conductor is exposed. In order to be able to connect two optical plug connectors to one another in such a way that optical signals can be transmitted from the optical fiber of one ferrule to the optical fiber of the other ferrule, the ferrule and the optical fiber arranged in the ferrule must be arranged very precisely relative to one another. In general, the ferrules of the two optical plug connectors to be connected to one another are connected to one another by means of corresponding couplings in such a way that the front ends of the ferrules and the light conductors arranged therein directly rest on one another and are aligned accordingly. To ensure this, couplings for forming an optical plug connection between two optical plug connectors are known from the prior art, which have a sleeve receiving cage, in the interior of which a guide sleeve is arranged. By introducing the ferrules into the mutually opposite insertion openings of the guide sleeve, the ferrules and thus the optical fibers arranged therein are arranged so precisely relative to one another that the light transmission from one optical plug connector to the other is effective. The ferrule of the optical plug connector is usually mounted movably, preferably spring-loaded, in a corresponding housing of the optical plug connector, so that the guide sleeve can ensure a corresponding alignment of the ferrules with respect to one another. Usually, the bag head is held captive in the guide sleeve. In the prior art, it can happen that the guide sleeve is accidentally pulled out of the sleeve receiving cage together with the optical plug connector and thus the ferrule when the ferrule is pulled out of the coupling. To prevent this, the sleeve receiving cage, which is in most cases embodied as a cutout, has longitudinal stops which are intended to constrain the ferrule in the interior space of the sleeve receiving cage. The production of this longitudinal stop in the form of a cutout is often associated with increased tooling complexity when the coupling and the sleeve receiving cage are produced in a casting and/or injection molding process. In order to be able to remove the mold, the longitudinal stop or the cut-out is often of relatively flat design, so that in practice it sometimes happens that the guide sleeve and the ferrule are accidentally pulled out of the sleeve receiving cage when the optical plug connection is disengaged.

Couplings of the type mentioned above, in which the sleeve-receiving cage consists of two sleeve-receiving cage parts which can be connected to one another via a latching connection, are also known in the prior art. In this connection, reference is made to WO2011/128375 a 1. In this document, it is provided that the sleeve receiving cage is composed of a main part and a cover which can be pushed laterally onto this main part, wherein the cover can be fastened to the main part by means of a latching connection. In the case of a separate covering, in the case of the coupling shown in WO2011/128375 a1, the guide sleeve can be inserted into the main part of the sleeve-receiving cage, as can be seen particularly well in fig. 2 of WO2011/128375 a 1.

The possibility of laterally introducing the guide sleeve into the interior of the sleeve receiving cage allows the longitudinal stop to be configured in such a way that the guide sleeve can no longer be accidentally pulled out of the sleeve receiving cage together with the ferrule.

This solution (as it is done in WO2011/128375 a 1) can only be achieved in the case of couplings in which the sleeve-receiving cage is laterally accessible.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to improve a coupling of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the sleeve receiving cage can be fitted in the coupling as simply as possible without the lateral accessibility that is necessary in the prior art.

This object is achieved by a coupling according to patent claim 1.

It is thereby provided that the detent connection parts for fixing the sleeve receiving cage parts to one another are configured to be able to snap into one another by pushing the sleeve receiving cage parts onto one another in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis.

In accordance with the invention, it is thus provided that the detent connection is formed on the sleeve receiving cage part in such a way that the two sleeve receiving cage parts can be connected to one another by simple displacement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. The connection of the sleeve receiving cage parts to the sleeve receiving cage is effected by simply snapping the latching connection parts into one another, so that the latching connection is formed thereby. This latching connection can, but need not, be designed so as to be releasable, since the assembly process, i.e. the splitting of the sleeve receiving cage part into the sleeve receiving cage, usually only has to be carried out once during the assembly of the coupling or during the assembly of the coupling. In accordance with the invention, it is possible to insert at least one of the sleeve receiving cage parts into the coupling, preferably into a corresponding plug receiving space of the coupling, in a direction in which, after the coupling has been completely assembled, at least one of the optical plug connectors is also inserted into the coupling, in order to form the optical plug connection. The routing properties in the coupling, which must be present anyway for introducing the optical plug connector into the coupling, are thus used for splicing the sleeve receiving cage parts or for constructing the sleeve receiving cage. Additional lateral accessibility (as is required in the above-mentioned prior art) is therefore no longer necessary in the present invention. With such a two-part or generally multi-part design of the sleeve receiving cage, which is realized by two or more sleeve receiving cage parts, the longitudinal stop, which is usually also designed as a cutout in the present invention, can be designed in a simple manner such that it is reliably prevented that the guide sleeve is accidentally pulled out of the sleeve receiving cage together with the ferrule in the assembled state of the sleeve receiving cage.

For the sake of completeness, an optical plug connection is understood to mean a plug connection in which at least two optical plug connectors or the ferrules thereof are connected to one another in such a way that the optical fibers present in the ferrules are aligned with one another in such a way that an optical signal can be transmitted from one of the optical plug connectors to the other of the optical plug connectors. The coupling is a component into which the optical plug connector is pushed in order to form the optical plug connection. The optical plug connector can have one, but also a plurality of such couplings according to the invention and can of course be designed very differently. The coupling according to the invention is generally used for connecting two optical plug connectors to one another. However, it is also conceivable for the coupling with a plurality of sleeve receiving cages and a plurality of guide sleeves to be designed, for example, such that more than two optical plug connectors can be connected to one another, preferably in pairs. Thereby, the number of structural components is increased accordingly. In the patent claims, only a minimum number of corresponding components is specified in each case. But this is a simplistic simplification in plain language. The invention can also be constructed with a correspondingly large number of such structural components. Where feasible and technically meaningful, the words "a" and "an" in the patent claims can be read in the sense of "at least one", "two" can be read in the sense of "at least two", etc.

The sleeve receiving cage is a structural component of the coupling surrounding the interior space, in which structural component the guide sleeve is situated in the fully assembled state of the coupling. Accordingly, the sleeve receiving cage can also be referred to as a sleeve receiving housing or a sleeve receiving body or the like. The guide sleeve serves to correctly align or in other words center the ferrule of the optical plug connector to be connected to one another with respect to one another. Accordingly, the guide sleeve can also be referred to as a centering sleeve. The insertion openings of the sleeve receiving cage are arranged opposite one another and lie on a longitudinal axis of the sleeve receiving cage, whereby the longitudinal axis is also predetermined in this case. In the state in which the optical plug connector is inserted into the coupling for forming the optical plug connection, the light conductor in the ferrule lies in a preferred embodiment on this longitudinal axis of the sleeve receiving cage. For the sake of completeness, it is pointed out that the longitudinal axis is not a physical, i.e. physically present, structural component but an imaginary straight line on which the insertion opening is arranged.

The longitudinal stop of the sleeve receiving cage, which restrains the guide sleeve in the interior of the sleeve receiving cage, at least partially surrounds the insertion opening of the sleeve receiving cage and is expediently embodied as a cutout. The sleeve receiving cage part and the corresponding coupling housing of the coupling can be embodied from plastic, but also from metal or also from ceramic. Particularly preferably, this structural part is produced cost-effectively as an injection-molded part. One of the sleeve receiving cage parts can also be embodied in one piece with the coupling housing of the coupling. The guide sleeve can be produced, for example, from metal, ceramic or also from plastic. The guide sleeve is expediently designed to be elastically deformable for the purpose of fixing the ferrule in a clamping manner. In a preferred embodiment, the guide sleeve can be embodied as a tube, i.e. as a cylindrical circumferential body, in particular a cylinder. The elasticity of the guide sleeve can be individually given by the material. However, as is known per se in the prior art, a longitudinal slit can also be present in the guide sleeve in order to impart the required elastic deformability to the guide sleeve. The preferred embodiment of the guide sleeve is designed as a longitudinally slotted tube. The insertion openings for inserting or introducing a respective ferrule of an optical plug connector into the guide sleeve are expediently each located at the ends of the guide sleeve lying opposite one another. In a preferred variant, the guide sleeve is mounted in the interior of the sleeve receiving cage with play in the latched state of the latching connection, or in other words movably relative to the sleeve receiving cage. Preferably, said gap is present not only in a direction along the longitudinal axis of said sleeve receiving cage but also in a direction orthogonal to the aforementioned direction. In particular, when the ferrule is introduced into the guide sleeve, the guide sleeve can then be moved within the sleeve receiving cage relative to the sleeve receiving cage in order to thereby ensure an optimal alignment of the two ferrules of the optical plug connectors to be connected to one another. Alternatively or additionally, however, it is also possible in this context for the sleeve receiving cage to be arranged movably and thus with play in the coupling housing of the coupling. For the sake of completeness, it is pointed out that in the variant in which the guide sleeve is mounted with play in the interior of the sleeve receptacle, the longitudinal stop which surrounds the insertion opening of the sleeve receptacle can also be designed in such a way that it is reliably ensured that the guide sleeve cannot be accidentally pulled out of the sleeve receptacle or its interior together with the ferrule.

The coupling according to the invention is particularly preferably designed for connecting optical plug connectors of the PC (physical contact) type to one another. Of course, the invention can also be used to construct optical plug connections with other types of optical plug connectors.

A preferred variant of the invention provides that at least one of the sleeve receiving cage parts has at least one projecting lug and the other of the sleeve receiving cage parts has at least one lug receiving part corresponding to the lug, wherein the lug can be pushed into the lug receiving part when the sleeve receiving cage parts are pushed onto each other in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. By pushing the projections into the projection receptacles, an automatic alignment of the sleeve receiving cage parts relative to one another can be achieved when the projections are pushed onto one another. The projection can also be referred to as a projection of the sleeve receiving part. The projection receiver is usually designed as a recess in the corresponding wall of the sleeve receiver, into which recess the projection or the projection can be pushed. The projections and the projection receptacles can in principle have different shapes. A preferred variant provides that the projection tapers toward its free end. It is also expedient for the projection to be designed symmetrically with respect to an axis of symmetry which, in the assembled state of the sleeve receiving cage, runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve receiving cage. This applies appropriately to the projection receivers.

In a preferred variant of the invention, the projections of the sleeve receiving cage parts and the projection receptacles associated therewith expediently bear against one another in a partially form-fitting manner in the assembled state of the sleeve receiving cage. In this context, it is preferably provided that the projection partially bears in a form-fitting manner against a corresponding wall section of the other of the sleeve receiving cage parts that delimits the projection receptacle in the state in which the detent connection is snapped in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and/or in a circumferential direction around the longitudinal axis. In a preferred variant, it is also provided that the respective sleeve receiving cage parts to be connected to one another each have at least one projecting lug and at least one lug receiver. The projection receptacles can be arranged, for example, between two projections of the respective sleeve-receiving cage part. It is also expedient for the detent connection to be formed at the projection, preferably in the middle third of the projection, as viewed along the longitudinal axis. In this embodiment, the projection thus projects in two directions parallel to the longitudinal axis beyond the respective latching connection of the sleeve receiving cage part. When the detent connection is formed on the projection, a preferred variant provides that the projection is released in the region of the detent connection. In this case, the release means that the projection does not abut against anything in the region of the detent connection in such a way that it can be deflected out elastically, i.e. ejected, when the detent connection is engaged in and disengaged from this region. It can also be said that the projection is released in the region of the latching connection for being deflected out elastically.

In principle, it is conceivable for one of the sleeve receiving cage parts to have only projections and for the other of the sleeve receiving cage parts to have only sleeve receivers, or for both sleeve receiving cage parts to have only projections and projection receivers. However, a preferred variant of the invention provides that at least one of the sleeve receiving cage parts has two or three or more projecting lugs and another of the sleeve receiving parts has a number of lug receivers corresponding to the number of lugs.

It can be provided that at one of the sleeve receiving cage parts a wall is arranged which projects outwards from the sleeve receiving cage part normal to the longitudinal axis. In principle, this can also be the case at two or all of the sleeve-receiving cage parts to be connected to one another. However, it is generally sufficient that this is achieved at exactly one of the sleeve receiving cage parts. The outwardly projecting wall can be moulded to, i.e. can be part of, the sleeve receiving cage member. The wall can be used to connect the sleeve-receiving cage component with a coupler housing of the coupler. One of the sleeve receiving cage parts can also be firmly, preferably integrally, connected to the coupling housing via the wall. According to the invention, the further sleeve receiving cage parts can now be fixed at the sleeve receiving cage parts fixed at the coupling housing via the walls by being pushed onto each other in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. In a preferred variant, the latching connection of the one of the sleeve receiving cage parts is formed at a wall molded onto the sleeve receiving cage part. The wall can be part of a coupler housing of the coupler as already explained before. The wall can circumferentially surround the sleeve-receiving cage member in a closed position.

The connector housing of the connector expediently has opposite receiving channels for a respective one of the optical plug connectors. The optical plug connector can be detachably fixed in a receiving channel at the coupling housing by corresponding connecting means, such as, for example, a latching means, a screw-on means or the like, as is known per se.

In addition to the coupling itself, the invention also relates to an optical plug connection with two optical plug connectors and a coupling according to the invention, wherein a respective ferrule of a respective optical plug connector is inserted through one of the insertion openings of the sleeve receiving cage in a direction respectively parallel to the longitudinal axis into the guide sleeve, wherein the guide sleeve aligns the ferrules of the optical plug connectors with their respective optical conductors relative to one another.

The optical fiber arranged in the ferrule can be an optical fiber, but other optical fibers known per se for transmitting optical signals can also be used.

Drawings

Further features and details of preferred embodiments of the invention are explained below in an exemplary manner by means of embodiment variants according to the invention shown in the figures. Wherein:

fig. 1 shows an external view in perspective towards a coupling according to the invention;

fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section through this coupling according to fig. 1 in the state of complete assembly of the sleeve-receiving cage;

fig. 3 and 4 show the respective longitudinal section for fig. 2 during the assembly process from two different perspectives;

fig. 5 shows an exploded illustration of an optical plug connection with a coupling according to fig. 1;

fig. 6 shows an exploded illustration of the coupling according to fig. 1;

fig. 7 shows a longitudinal section through an optical plug connection with a coupling according to the invention before the optical plug connection is pushed into the coupling;

fig. 8 shows a longitudinal section through a correspondingly completely designed optical plug connection, in which the optical plug connector is inserted into the coupling;

fig. 9 to 12 show detailed illustrations of the sleeve-receiving cage;

FIG. 13 shows a longitudinal section through interconnected sleeve-receiving cage components (without guide sleeves), an

Fig. 14 shows a longitudinal section through the interconnected sleeve receiving cage parts, wherein the guide sleeve is arranged in the interior space of the sleeve receiving cage.

Detailed Description

The coupling 1 shown in fig. 1 for producing an optical plug connector 2 is a simple embodiment for connecting two optical plug connectors 3 and 4 to one another in a light-conducting manner. For this purpose, the optical plug connectors 3 and 4 are introduced on the sides opposite one another into the corresponding plug receptacles 28 of the connector housing 30. The latches 31 shown in fig. 5, which are formed at the respective optical plug connectors 3 and 4, can be snapped into the latching openings 29 in order to thereby releasably fix the respective optical plug connector 3 or 4 in the respective plug receptacle 28 of the connector housing 30. This is known per se and does not need to be explained further. Instead of the latching connection between the latch 31 and the locking opening 29, it is of course also possible to provide other means known per se from the prior art in order to secure the respective optical plug connector 3 or 4 in the plug receptacle 28 against unintentional withdrawal. This type of locking is usually designed so as to be releasable in each case, so that the optical plug connectors 3 and 4 can also be pulled out of the coupling housing 30 again in order to release the optical plug connection 2.

The variant shown here in this exemplary embodiment is a very simple design of the coupling 1 according to the invention, in which case only two optical plug connectors 3 and 4 are connected to one another. As already explained above, the coupling 1 according to the invention can also be designed such that more than two optical plug connectors 3 and 4 can be connected to one another, in particular in pairs. It is of course also possible to realize an optical plug connection 2 in which a plurality of such couplings 1 are used in order to connect a correspondingly high number of optical plug connections 3 and 4, preferably in pairs, to one another in a light-conducting manner.

Fig. 2 to 4 each show a longitudinal section through the coupling 1 from fig. 1. In fig. 2, the sleeve-receiving cage 6 is completely assembled. The sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are pushed up onto each other, i.e. in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8, to such an extent that the respective latching connection parts 16 and 17 of the sleeve receiving cage parts snap into each other for the formation of the latching connection 18. Fig. 3 and 4 show the situation from two different perspectives before the sleeve-receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are pushed onto each other in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the wall 25 projecting outwardly from the sleeve receiving cage part 14 in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis 8 is integrally molded to the sleeve receiving cage part 14 and is also an integral part of the coupling housing 30, so that the sleeve receiving cage part 14 is integrally connected to the coupling housing 30. As already explained above, this need not necessarily be the case. The two sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 can also be designed initially separately from the wall 25 and can only be connected to one another and to the coupling housing 30 or the wall 25 by snapping-in the latching connection 16 and 17 of the sleeve receiving cage parts. In fig. 2, it can be seen in each case that the latching connections 18 (by means of which the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are connected to form the sleeve receiving cage 6) are formed in the region of the wall 25. However, this need not necessarily be the case. The detailed construction of the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 is explained in more detail below with reference to fig. 9 to 12.

Fig. 5 shows an exploded representation of the entire optical plug connection 2 with two optical plug connections 3 and 4 known per se, two sleeve-receiving cage parts 14 and 15 and the guide sleeve 5 in longitudinal section. Fig. 5 also shows the ferrule 12 of the optical plug connector 4 with its optical fiber 27 arranged centrally in the ferrule 12. Accordingly, the ferrule 11 with the corresponding optical fiber 26 is formed on the optical plug connector 3, but this cannot be seen in fig. 5. In this regard, reference is made to fig. 7 and 8, which are further explained below. The optical plug connectors 3 and 4 can be implemented as is known per se in the prior art. The optical plug connector is therefore only schematically illustrated here. As mentioned, optical plug connectors of the PC (physical contact) type, for example, can be involved.

Fig. 6 shows a representation similar to fig. 5, wherein, however, the optical plug connectors 3 and 4 are omitted and only the structural parts of the coupling 1 are shown.

Fig. 7 shows a longitudinal section through the optical plug connectors 2 and 3 and the coupling 1 before the optical plug connectors 2 and 3 are pushed into the plug receptacle 28. Fig. 8 shows a longitudinal section through the completely constructed optical plug connection 2, in which the optical plug connectors 3 and 4 are pushed into the plug receptacle 28 of the coupling housing 30 opposite one another to such an extent that the ferrules 11 and 12 of the optical plug connectors are pushed through the insertion openings 9 and 10 of the sleeve receiving cage 6 on the opposite sides through the insertion openings 19 and 20 of the guide sleeve 5 and thus into the guide sleeve 5. The guide sleeve 5 aligns the ferrules 11 and 12 relative to one another in such a way that the optical conductors 26 and 27 of the respective ferrules 11 and 12 are arranged opposite one another in such a way that optical signals can be transmitted via the optical plug connection 2 without problems. The guide sleeve 5 is responsible for the respective centering of the ferrule 11 and 12, so that the optical fibers 26 and 27 of the ferrule are optimally aligned with one another. In this case, the ferrule 11 and 12 is held captive in the correspondingly elastically designed guide sleeve 5. The guide sleeve 5 is located in the inner space 7 of the sleeve-receiving cage 6. The longitudinal stops 13 of the sleeve receiving cage 6 surrounding the insertion openings 9 and 10 prevent: the guide sleeve 5 can be pulled out of the sleeve receiving cage 6 together when the optical plug connection 2 is detached from one of the ferrules 11 or 12. In the fully connected state according to fig. 8, the optical conductors 26 and 27 of the ferrule 11 and 12 are located on the longitudinal axis 8 as shown here in the preferred embodiment.

Only these two sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are shown in fig. 9 to 12. Fig. 9 and 10 show the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15, which are connected to one another to form the sleeve receiving cage 6, from two different perspective views. Fig. 11 and 12 show from these views the respective states in which the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are still separated from one another.

As already explained, in this exemplary embodiment it is provided that the wall 25, which is located at a right angle to the longitudinal axis 8, is formed in one piece on one of the sleeve receiving cage parts, in this case on the sleeve receiving cage part 14. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the two sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 each have a projection and a projection receiver 22 arranged between the projections. When the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are pushed onto each other in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8, the respective projections 21 are pushed into the projection receivers 22 corresponding thereto, which automatically also takes care of the respective alignment of the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 in the circumferential direction 23 at each other. As can be seen well in fig. 11 and 12, the latching connection 17 of the sleeve receiving cage part 15, which is embodied here as a projecting latching projection, is embodied in the middle third of the projection at the respective projection 21. That is to say, the projections 21 extend on both sides of the respective latch connection 17. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the detent connection 16 of the sleeve receiving cage part 14 is formed in the wall 25, which is here part of the sleeve receiving part 14, as can be seen particularly well in fig. 13 and 14. This need not be the case. The latching connection 16 of the sleeve receiving cage part 14 can also be formed at another point of the sleeve receiving cage part 14. The latching connection 17 of the sleeve receiving cage part 15 can then be formed at the corresponding location, whereby one or more latching connections 18 can be formed by snapping the latching connection 16 and 17 into one another.

Proceeding from fig. 11 and 12, in this exemplary embodiment the sleeve receiving cage part 15 is pushed up onto the sleeve receiving cage part 14 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8, as a result of which the latching connection parts 16 and 17 and thus the configuration of the latching connections 18 take place, as a result of which the assembly of the sleeve receiving cage 6 can be carried out in a simple manner. The guide sleeve 5, which is not shown in fig. 9 to 12, is of course introduced in advance in such a way that it is arranged in the interior 7 of the completely assembled sleeve receiving cage 6.

Fig. 13 shows a longitudinal section through the completely assembled sleeve-receiving cage 6, wherein the guide sleeve 5 in the interior 7 is not shown. It can be seen well here how the projection 21 of the respective sleeve receiving cage part 14 or 15 engages into the projection receiving 22 of the respective other sleeve receiving cage part 14 and 15. It can be seen firstly that, in the snapped-in state of the detent connection 18 shown in fig. 13, the projection 21 bears in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 and in this example also in a circumferential direction 23 around the longitudinal axis 8 in a locally form-fitting manner against a wall section 24 of the respective other sleeve receptacle cage part 14 and 15 which delimits the projection receptacle 22. When the latch connections 18 are configured correspondingly by engaging the latch connection parts 16 and 17 into one another, the sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15 are fixed firmly to one another not only in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 but also in the circumferential direction 23 by this form fit.

As already explained above, the projection 21 is suitably released in the region 33 of the latch connection 17. This release, i.e. not abutting any other object, in particular not abutting the wall section 24, has the advantage or should be implemented such that the projection 21 can be deflected out elastically, i.e. in other words ejected, when the latching connection 16 and 17 is latched in and out in this region 33.

Fig. 14 additionally shows the guide sleeve 5 in the interior 7 of the sleeve-receiving cage 6. In this longitudinal section, the longitudinal slot 32 of the guide sleeve 5 can be seen well, which effects an elastic expansion of the guide sleeve 5 when the shell heads 11 and 12 are pushed through the insertion openings 9 and 10 of the sleeve receiving cage 6 into the insertion openings 19 and 20 of the guide sleeve 5. The longitudinal stops 13, which are configured as cutouts at the respective sleeve receiving cage parts 14 and 15, surround the insertion openings 9 and 10 and prevent: the guide sleeve 5 can be pulled out of the inner space 7 together with one of the ferrules 11 and 12 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 8. Fig. 14 also shows that, in a preferred embodiment, as shown here, the guide sleeve 5 is also mounted in the interior 7 of the sleeve-receiving cage 6 with play and thus movably in the latched state of the latching connection 18. By means of this movability in the interior 7, the guide sleeve 5 can optimally align the ferrules 11 and 12 of the optical plug connectors 3 and 4 to be connected to one another relative to one another. As already explained above, it can alternatively or also additionally be provided that the entire sleeve receiving cage 6 is mounted movably on the coupling housing 30. In this embodiment, it is possible here for the guide sleeve 5 to be supported without play, i.e. securely, in the interior 7 of the sleeve-receiving cage 6.

List of reference numerals

1 coupler

2 optical plug connection

3 optical plug connector

4 optical plug connector

5 guide sleeve

6 sleeve accommodating cage

7 inner space

8 longitudinal axis

9 insertion opening

10 insertion opening

11 wrapping the head of a bag

12 packet header

13 longitudinal stop

14 sleeve cage member

15 sleeve receiving cage member

16 latch connection

17 latch connection

18 latch connection

19 introduction opening

20 introduction opening

21 raised part

22 lobe receiving portion

23 circumferential direction of

24-wall section

25 wall

26 optical conductor

27 optical conductor

28 plug-in unit housing

29 locking hole

30 coupler housing

31 lock bolt

32 longitudinal seam

Region 33.