Optical fibre connector

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to providing an optical information transmission connection between at least one end of an optical fiber connector with a socket for receiving at least one optical fiber end sleeve and a spring-loaded connector plug, in particular a motherboard and drawer panel.

80308-7973 / SE • »« · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ···

Optical fiber signal transmission is relatively common in electronics because of its significant advantages over electric signal transmission. Such advantages include the very high transmission bandwidth and speed, and the insensitivity of light signals to electrical and magnetic fields and other sources of interference. Frequent fiber-optic signaling is common between printed circuit boards with electronic circuits, usually between the motherboard (base panel) and the drawer panel, where electrical wires are usually connected in addition to the fiber-optic connection.

An optical fiber is generally enclosed in a cable having a core of coated glass or plastic optical fiber surrounded by reinforcing fibers and a plastic sheath. In a cable, optical fibers conduct light signals with a diameter of at least eight microns. The optical fiber is coated with a plastic or glass material and serves to retain and reflect light in the core glass fiber. This is achieved by distinguishing the refractive index from the core fiber. The outer diameter of the coating is between 20 and 125 microns. Because of the small diameter of the optical fiber (up to eight microns) and the light exiting the fiber at this small end surface, it is necessary to arrange and maintain the interconnected optical fibers in an axial position with a high degree of assembly accuracy. For precise positioning, the end of the optical fiber is secured in an end sleeve which is a tube into which the optical fiber is glued so that the end of the fiber extends over the tube and the end surface of the tube and the fiber are polished and polished together. In the connector, the end sleeves thus formed of the two fiber optic filaments to be connected are placed opposite each other in a common positioning tube, which ensures unity. In the positioning tube, the polished end surfaces of the two end sleeves must meet, lie on top of each other, but at least the gap between the two end surfaces must be negligibly small and constant. This means that the two end sleeves need to be clamped together. Spiral springs are used in this connection to support the end sleeves axially. The use of springs allows the end surfaces of the end sleeves to move together without changing their relative position, which also requires that the end sleeves fit loosely in the positioning tube.

In fiber-optic connectors between printed circuit boards, the problem is that the distance between the connector halves when the connector is plugged in is affected by other factors, such as the distance between the electrical connectors between the panels. Hybrid connectors are often used to connect between panels (motherboard and drawer panel), which integrate the optical connector and galvanic electrical connector series. In electrical connectors, the problem of varying spacing between connectors is less troublesome, and a gap of two to three millimeters can be bridged by choosing a longer tap that penetrates into the socket, allowing proper connection over a sufficient distance. There is no such solution when connecting fiber optic cables, because the end surfaces of the two connecting terminals must always lie on each other in the longitudinal direction. Pressing the springs to provide the correct connection distance may result in either a too small or too large spring force damaging or deflecting the light guide. The spring force on the panel-mounted connectors is taken up by the panels, and the high spring forces can bend or change the position of the panels, so that the spring forces also vary depending on how the panels are secured.

Some of the above problems are solved by the compact and self-regulating optical fiber connector solution described in Compact and Self-Retaining Multi-Ferrule Optical Back Panel Connector c. Journal of Light Wave Technology, VOL. 10, No. 10, October 1992. Said literature discloses an optical fiber connector having one connector mounted on a mother board and the other connector on a printed circuit drawer panel having two connector halves. In addition, a lock release means is provided on the connector plug. The fiber optic end end springs of the connector rest on the interlocked connector halves, so that they do not directly load the two connected panels. With the connector panel fixed on the motherboard, the connector body of the connector plug is locked in the outer housing * «·· with longitudinal play so that the connection can tolerate certain longitudinal dimensional inaccuracies. However, the problem remains that the fiber optic cables leading to the connector halves are heavy and rigid, have a relatively high force on the connector springs, and load and pull the connector plug when connecting a plurality of optical fibers between two panels.

The end sleeves of the connecting threads are movable in the longitudinal direction, that is, playable in the connecting body and / or. arranged in the positioning tube. This degrades the conditions for achieving and maintaining unity. The advantage that the plug body is provided with toys in the outer plug housing is reduced by the fact that the rigid and heavy cable increases the frictional force and tightens the plug body in the outer plug housing.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these shortcomings of the prior art by providing an optical fiber connector which greatly reduces the effect of mounting size differences on the goodness and safety of the connection and allows for greater tolerance in mounting, independent of mounting force due to mounting inaccuracies. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool-lockable and detachable connector, an optical fiber connector that can be coupled to an electrical connector and is capable of supporting its connection tolerance without affecting the optical coupling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide at least one side of a fiber optic connector with at least one fiber optic connector end socket receiving receptacle and a spring-loaded connector plug, characterized in that the locking of the connector with the plug body , supported by the spring, it is provided with a latch release rib that does not increase the spring load of the connected end sleeve and a long latch locking the plug body in the socket allowing play on the outer housing of the plug.

Preferably, the end sleeve of each fiber optic fiber is arranged in a separate plug body.

Preferably, the locking of the plug body in the outer housing is provided by a locking latch, the outer surface of the plug body disposed in the outer housing cavity and the inner surface of the housing housing cavity are formed by a loose fit allowing longitudinal relative displacement.

Advantageously, the forward sliding of the plug body in the outer housing is delimited by a bridge portion formed on the front portion of the outer housing and extending into the rear surface of the plug body, and transverse ribs abutting on the surface of the plug body.

Preferably, the locking of the plug body to the outer casing by means of a force exerted thereon by the live members of the plug body is solved by an associated flexible locking tab on the outer casing.

Preferably, the resilient latch bolt is an integral part of the plug body plug housing.

Preferably, the locking tab for locking the plug body in the outer housing is inserted into the opening of the outer housing for receiving the locking rib.

Preferably, the latch release rib is formed in the plug receptacle opening of the socket at a height corresponding to the center of the opening, with the inner surface pressed into the latch tongue until the latch is released.

Preferably, the locking socket of the connection socket extends towards the opening for receiving the plug connector, and at its free end is provided with a locking latch that engages the socket rib.

Preferably, at least one pair of latches is provided per end sleeve.

Preferably, the outer plug housing is provided with a guide portion formed by an upper surface beginning with a sloping surface, which engages the wings of the socket latch bolt to disengage the latch body and socket latch when the plug is pulled out.

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Preferably, the outer plug housing of the plug connector has at least one pair of longitudinal guide portions separated by a slot for receiving the locking rib.

Preferably, a pair of guide portions are formed on two opposed surfaces of the outer plug housing.

The invention further provides an optical fiber connector having a plug connector and a socket having a plug body movably disposed within an outer housing and movably disposed within the limits defined by the first and second limiting members, characterized by a second, relative to backward movement of the plug body. a limiting element allowing the outer housing to be moved without increasing the spring force of the optical fiber, it is designed as a detachable latch.

Preferably, the second limiting member is a resilient locking tab that rests on the front surface of the shoulder and protrudes backwards and can be bent out of the movement path of the shoulder.

Preferably, the connection socket is provided with a release latch for deflecting the flexible latch bolt.

Preferably, the locking socket of the connection socket extends towards the opening receiving the plug connector and has a locking latch at its free end, adapted to receive the latch on the outer stopper housing surrounding the plug body and engage with the lining of the first stop member of the plug body.

Preferably, when the plug is plugged into the connector socket, in which the latch rests on the rear surface of the socket rib, there is a free space between the end face of the plug body and the opposite end surface of the socket to allow further movement of the outer socket.

Preferably, the locking socket includes a locking latch for deflecting the latch tongue in the socket receiving port of the socket, through which the outer plug body engaging with the plug body is advanced to a first characteristic position where the locking latch connected to the rib of the plug body by keeping the plug body in a constant, connected state, and then to a second characteristic position in which the latch is still engaged with the plug body rib while the latch release rib keeps the latch pressed while bypassing the second stop member between the plug body and the outer plug housing.

The invention further provides an optical fiber connector, an end sleeve adapter center portion, a plug receiving cavity, and a connector receptacle having a locking socket for locking the connector in the cavity, with latch tongues extending toward the opening of the cavity, and a plug body having a locking rib and a plug connector having an optical fiber end positioned in the plug body, characterized in that the outer plug body and the plug body are connected by a releasable connection allowing relative movement of the outer plug body; .

Preferably, when the plug is plugged into the socket, in which the latch rests on the rear surface of the socket rib, the clearance between the end face of the socket body and the opposite end surface of the socket cavity is provided with it is connected with a flexible locking tongue, a locking tab for deflecting the resilient latch bolt is provided on the coupling socket, wherein the locking latch is in a fully extended condition of the outer plug housing, away from the rib of the plug body; lowering the plug body against the spring until the latch line and the rib of the plug body meet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the following examples. In the drawing it is

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<td>Figure 1</td><td>a perspective view of a receptacle and plug connector of a known optical fiber , a</td>

<td>Figure 2</td><td>Figure 1 is a perspective view of the plug connector of Figure 1 with an outer plug housing removed from the plug body, a</td>

<td>Figure 3</td><td>Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the mounted plug body, a</td>

<td>Figure 4</td><td>1 is an exploded view of the receptacle shown in FIG</td>

<td>Figure 5</td><td>Figures 1, 4 are longitudinal sectional views, a</td>

<td>Figure 6</td><td>the longitudinal section of the optical fiber connector according to the invention, a</td>

<td>Figure 7</td><td>the plug of the optical fiber connector of the present invention perspective view with outer plug housing removed from plug body, a</td>

<td>Figure 8</td><td>Figure 7 is a more detailed perspective view of the front of the plug connector shown in Figure 7, a</td>

<td>Figure 9</td><td>the first characteristic of plugging into the socket,</td>

<td>Figure 10</td><td>a second characteristic of plugging into a socket,</td>

<td>Figure 11</td><td>the third characteristic of the plug connection to the socket,</td>

<td>Figure 12</td><td>the fourth characteristic condition of the plug connection,</td>

<td>Figure 13</td><td>the fifth characteristic condition of the plug connection,</td>

<td>Figure 14</td><td>the first characteristic condition for the release of the plug,</td>

<td>Figure 15</td><td>a second characteristic condition for releasing the plug,</td>

<td>Figure 16</td><td>the third characteristic state of the plug release,</td>

<td>Figure 17</td><td>the fourth characteristic condition for releasing the plug,</td>

18th Figure 3A is another longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the optical fiber connector of the present invention when connected

19th Fig. 1A front view of a fiber optic connector socket combined with an electrical connector, a

20th Fig. 19 is a bottom view of the combined socket of Fig. 19, a

21st Figure 19 is a side view of the combined socket of Figure 19.

Figures 1-5 illustrate a known optical fiber connector which forms the starting point for the present invention. The known connector comprises a connector plug 2 and a connector socket 4, wherein the connector plug 2 has a plug body 6 arranged in an outer plug housing 8.

The plug 2 is illustrated in more detail in Figures 2 and 3. In the cavity 20 of the housing 10 of the plug body 6 is provided an end sleeve 12 enclosing the end of the optical fiber, a spring 14 supporting it, an insulating tube 16 and a insert body 18 which are mounted at the rear end of the housing 10. The plug housing 10 is covered by a front end 22 of the insert body 18 extending from the rear to the insert flange 26. The piston portion 24 of the ceramic end sleeve 12 is slidably and slidably engaged with the cylindrical inner wall of the cavity 20, which rests on the rear shoulder of the piston portion and the front insert end 22 of the insert body 18, pushing the end sleeve 12 forward. The insulating tube 16 protects the optical fiber 28 threaded through the insert body 18 and terminating in the end sleeve 12 over the length of the spring. The two longitudinal edges 34 of the housing 10 are bevelled with surfaces 34 which allow only one type of insertion when the housing 6 is inserted into the outer housing 8. The front portion of the lower and upper side panels of the housing 10 has a lower surface 36 relative to the corresponding surface 30 of the rear portion, from which a transverse rib 38 protruding to the plane of the surface 30 closes at its rear end. Behind the rib 38, the lower surface passes through the rising surface portion 42 into the surface 30 and into a raised latch 44. The two opposing sides of the plug housing 10 are of the same design.

The outer plug housing 8 for receiving the plug body 6 of the plug 2 has a loose fit for receiving the plug body 6 into which the plug body 6 can be pushed in and locked from behind. The two cavity surfaces 52 breaking the two corners of the cavity 50 correspond to the surfaces 34 of the plug housing 10, allowing only one type of assembly. At the front surface 56 of the outer plug housing 8, the plug housing cavity terminates in an opening 54. The opening 54 is delimited by two sidewalls 58 on two sides which are connected by the other two lower and upper bridge portions 60 forming opposite sides. The side walls 58 extending rearwardly of the face surface 56 are bounded on two sides (bottom and top in the figure) by the leading surfaces 62 extending longitudinally from the face surface and the subsequent upper surfaces 64 having a sloping surface 66 and a recess 68 in the bottom surface. around the edges of the side walls 58, the upper surface 64 remains ribbon-like, the recesses being formed from the inner side in the lower and upper surfaces of the figure, is defined by a locking slot 54 formed as a through opening. The rear wall of the latch 54 has a recess 70 for receiving a latch 44 protruding from the surface of the plug housing 10. In addition, on the side of the outer housing 8 there is a protrusion 72 which secures the plug 2 to be inserted into the socket 4.

The plug body 6 can be inserted from the rear into the outer plug housing 8, where it is locked movably longitudinally by sliding the latch 44 into the cutout 70 and limiting the relative backward movement of the plug body 6 in the outer plug housing 8. The ribs 38 are bordered by the rear edge of the bridge portion 60 of the outer plug housing 8 (Fig. 1).

1, 4 and 5: The connector 4 consists of two identical halves 80 which are held together by an adhesive 82 or by ultrasonic welding at their flanges 82 and which also comprise two fasteners 84 which are longitudinal A guide sleeve 85 is clamped in its directional guide 88. The positioning sleeve 85 for the guide portion 88 of the fasteners 84 •. ··: · is inserted into its opening, which has an inner shoulder 90 extending longitudinally to fix the sleeve on the outer end of the opening 86.

Further, a pair of latches 91 extends longitudinally from the body of the fasteners 84, which is a locking latch 92 facing each other at the free end of the latches 91 with flaps 94 on each side. In addition, a slot opening 98 is provided in the sidewall of the socket halves 80 for the positioning plug 72 of the plug 2. The socket 4 is secured in the opening of the mother panel 100 by a spring-loaded metal fastening plate 95 which engages the mother panel 100 on its flange 82 by pulling it on one of the socket sides 80 of the socket 4 and anchoring its tongue (Fig. 5).

In the following, the process of inserting and pulling the plug 2 into the plug socket 4 will be described in more detail as it is part of the description of the invention. The plug 2 penetrates into the opening 99 of one half of the socket 4 (Fig. 5) such that the end socket 12 of the plug 2 penetrates into the socket 85. The flap 94 (Fig. 4) of the latch bolt 91 of the fastener 84 is so long that it is guided on the guide surface 62 of the outer plug housing 8. Fig. 2) slides up but is shorter than the width of the opening (Fig. 2) between the walls of the recesses 58 between the side walls 58 of the outer plug housing 8. Thus, during the insertion of the plug 2, the wings 94 sliding on the guide surfaces 62 spread the locking tabs 91 and then the wings 94 slide down the inclined surface 66 and settle on the bottom surface 68. With this movement, the latch tongue 91 engages in a recess 92 behind the rib 38 of the housing 10. The spring force of the spring supporting the end sleeve 12 pushes the plug body 6 backward, so that, when connected, the latch 92 is above the rear surface of the rib 38, limiting the relative backward movement of the plug body 6. Therefore, the plug 2 cannot be pulled out of the socket 4 by the insert body 18 or the optical cable 7.

The plug 2 can be pulled out of the socket 4 by the outer plug housing 8. The outer plug housing 8 can be retracted with the plug body 6 unchanged so that the rear edge of the bridge portion 60 of the outer plug housing 8 is exposed at the leading edge of the rib 38 while the flaps 94 extend over the slope 66 to release the latch 92 behind the rib 38. pull out the plug completely.

Compared to the known solution described above, using its elements in the fiber optic connector of the present invention, significant progress has been made in the connection and connection of the connectors and / or drawers fixed on the mother and drawer panels. improving the suitability of connectors combined with an electrical connector. European Patent Publication No. 0422785 describes an electrical connector between a mother and a drawer panel for attaching an optical fiber connector of the present invention. The inventors propose a solution whereby the fiber optic connector plug is connected to the electrical panel socket mounted on the drawer panel and the optical fiber connector socket is connected to the electrical panel plug mounted on the mother panel.

For connection according to the above disclosure, a connector is longitudinal, e.g. A 2.5 mm play is required, which cannot be provided by the optical fiber connector of Figures 1-5 described above, and the resulting spring forces would place too much stress on the mother and drawer panel. For example, if you use a 2. The plug in Fig. 1b is mounted directly on the drawer panel and plugged in at the same time with the electrical plug, the position where the fiber optic connector is fully inserted into the socket, where the latch 92 above the back of the rib 38 may require additional drawer 2.5 mm to connect the electrical connector due to the aforementioned tolerance factors. Although this movement is accomplished by compressing the spring 14, the increased spring pressure represents an unacceptable load on the end sleeves and on the panels holding the coupling halves which absorb these spring forces.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an optical fiber connector according to the invention for direct connection of two panels and for combination with an electrical connector (hybrid connector). The new plug connector 2, plugged into the new socket 204 on the motherboard 100, is the same as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and the left side of the socket 204 is substantially the same as one half of the known socket 4.

The plug connector 102 shown in Fig. 6 in the pre-connection state and in the disassembled state in Fig. 7 is similar to the plug 2 but has many differences. The outer housing 104 of the plug connector 102 is mounted on a drawer panel 101. In the cavity 111 of the outer housing 104 of the plug connector 102, the plug body 106 is movably reciprocated in a reciprocating manner. In the cavity 110 of the plug body 109 of the body 106 (Fig. 7). An end sleeve 116 supported by a spring 112 is disposed centrally, which spring 112 supports the end sleeve 116 by its mounted plunger 114 which is loosely fitting to the cavity wall 110. The optical fiber is stuck in the longitudinal bore of the end sleeve 116.

The front portion of the housing 109 of the plug body 106 shown in Figure 7 forms a cover 118 which surrounds and partially covers the end sleeve 116. The plug housing 109, like the plug housing 10, has a transverse locking rib 128, which has a recess 126 for the locking nose of the base. As opposed to the rigid latch 44 of Fig. 1, the plug body 106 has a resilient latch 150 which depresses the latch. The latch 150 is either clamped around the plug housing 109 or formed as an integral part of the plug body 106. The rear portion 119 of the outer plug housing 104 is provided with holes for attachment to the panel and is therefore wider than the front portion.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a guide portion 120 is provided on the lateral surface of the front portion of the outer plug housing 104 with a rearwardly extending guide surface 124 and extending along a longitudinal upper surface 125 for the socket locking nose flaps which extends rearwardly 104, forming a recess on both sides of the opening 127 of the plug housing. The opening 127 is closed at the front by a bridge portion 131 which connects the two sides of the outer plug housing 104, the rear surface of which is an abutment surface connected to the rib 128, which limits the relative forward movement of the plug body 106. The outer surface 151 of the plug housing 109 (Fig. 6) is slidably engaged with the inner surface 153 of the cavity 111 of the outer plug housing 104.

The relative backward movement of the plug body 106 is limited by the resilient latch bolt 150 which strikes the shoulders 152 of the outer plug body 104. When the plug is at rest, the locking bolt 150 is held against the shoulders 152 of the plug housing by the spring force 122 of the end sleeve 116, which is supported by the plug housing 109. When plugged in, pushing the outer housing 104, the shoulders 152 transfer the movement to the latch 150, thereby pushing the plug body 106 into the socket. The end of the end sleeve 116 is ahead of the end surface of the cover 118 (and the other end sleeve 12 is relative to the end surface 35 of the other connector plug).

The socket 204 shown in Figure 6 is much similar to the socket 4 of the known design. The motherboard 80 socket side 204 of the socket 204 and its fasteners 84 may be exactly the same in function and connection dimensions. However, the drawer side 280 of the socket 204 differs from the known one on one hand and on the other hand in that it has a locking rib 248 in its receptacle opening having a profile extending between the two guide portions 120 of the outer socket being able to keep the flexible latch bolt 150 in the unlocked, depressed state when the outer plug housing 104 is fully extended. There are also other fasteners 284 of the socket 280 having two locking tabs 291 longer than the locking tabs 91 on the other side, the significance of which is discussed below.

The connection process is illustrated in Figures 9, 13. In Figure 9, the plug 102 is shown in a partially plugged state in the cavity 213 of the socket 204, in which the end sleeve 116 has slightly penetrated the insertion sleeve 85 and the latches 292 that have passed through the guide portions by wings 294 on the upper surface 125.

• · · ·· « ;·· ··· &gt; . . ·. .:. ··:·

In Fig. 10, the plug connector 102 is shown in an already engaged state in which the latches 292 are recessed into a recess 126 behind the rib 128 of the plug housing 109 and latches the plug housing 109 against its pull-out on its rear surface. In this position, the latches 291 engage the latch 292 through the opening 127 of the outer plug housing 104 behind the rib 128 while the latches 294 are flush with the bottom surface 121 of the recesses adjacent the opening 127. Further, in this position, the spring-supported end sleeve 116 has already bumped into the front face of the opposite end sleeve 12, and the middle portion 288 of the base has been partially penetrated into the end cover 116 of the end sleeve 116 forming the front portion of the plug housing. It is important to note that in this ready-to-use, plugged-in condition, there is a distance between the end face 289 of the cover 118 and the end face 289 of the socket 204, which differs from the prior art.

The small tolerance for distance D between the mother panel 100 and the drawer panel 101 in a conventional connector with an outer plug housing mounted on the drawer panel would cause a significant increase in the spring force on the end sleeves. This can be avoided according to the invention by releasing the locking between the latch 150 and the shoulder 152. In fact, the spring compression movement and force is transferred from the outer plug housing 150 through the latch bolt 150 to the spring supporting plug housing 109 which is pushed forward by the rib 128 removed from the latch 292. In this case, when the latch bolt 150 engages the shoulder 152 and the distance between the two interconnected panels is compressed less than the distance D, the following kinetic chain is produced: end sleeve 116, piston 114, spring 112, plug 109, latch bolt 150, outer latch 104 drawer panel, 100 female panels, 204 sockets, 92 latches, 6 plugs, 14 springs, 24 piston parts, 12 end sleeves. It can be seen from the above that the spring forces are absorbed by the two panels, which is an undesirable condition: they can cause the panels to bend and slip over a larger number of connectors, which require mechanical reinforcement and fixing elements to prevent them.

• · ·

<img file="HUT68028A_D0002.tif" />

The above conditions can be avoided by loosening the connection between the latch bolt 150 and the shoulder 152. According to an example of the invention, this is achieved by connecting the socket 204 to the center of the plug with two profile latching ribs 248 facing the centerline, the inner surface of which is formed at the height of the upper surface of the bridge portion 131 of the outer moving between two guide portions 120 at the height of the outer surface 151 of the base of the latch bolt 150, pushes the latch 150 when the outer plug housing 104 is inserted.

All. 1 to 4 illustrate the plug connector fixed to the drawer panel with the outer plug housing in which the latch release ribs 248 slide into the outer surface 151 to hold the latches 150 pressed so that they slide under the shoulders 152, lowering the outer plug housing. All. FIG. 4A is a view showing the instantaneous state in which the latch tongue 150 no longer supports the outer plug housing shoulder and from which the spring moves the plug body backward until the socket latches against the transverse rib of the plug body.

Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the associated power loop: end sleeve 116, plunger 114, spring 112, plug 109, latch bolt 29, plug 6, spring 14, piston portion 12, end sleeve 12.

The above loop does not burden the two interconnected panels because the latch bolt 150 is unlocked. The outer plug housing 104 together with the drawer panel 101 may travel substantially without resistance on the plug body connected to the socket to the position shown in FIG. 13 and back on a path providing clearance T between the two panels while the locking body 292 keeps it connected.

To release the plug, pull the plug 106 out of the socket 204 by moving the drawer panel 101 (Fig. 14). On the sloping surface 122 of the outer plug housing 104 moving backward with the drawer panel 101, the wings 294 of the latch 291 slide upwardly to move the latch 292 from behind the rib 128 (Fig. 15), the wings 294 ··· ··· , slide over the upper surface 125 (Fig. 16), and finally slide down the front guide surface 124 of the outwardly moving outer plug housing. The plug 102 can then be completely pulled out of the socket (Fig. 17) while the latch bolt 150 jumps back over the shoulder 152, locking the outer plug housing 104 against the feed forward so that the plug 102 is re-plugged into the pre-insertion state. he was back in a fit condition.

Fig. 18 shows a further embodiment of the plug connector 102 '. In this example, the resilient latches 150 'of the plug connector are formed of an integral part of the plug housing 109 and have a guide surface 149' that contacts the latch release rib 248 of the socket by force-releasing the outer plug casing. The 18th. Fig. 1A shows another exemplary latch bolt arrangement 91 'which has a reversed position 91' and is provided with wings 94 '.

Thus far, the present invention has been illustrated by an example of a strong optical cable connection. Figures 19 to 21 illustrate a plurality of combined electrical and optical cable connectors. The connector housing 304 of the plug connector housing 300 includes an optical fiber connector housing 302 for connecting a group electrical connector housing 301 and a plurality of individual plug bodies 106 (FIG. 7). Each socket 311 has guide surfaces 320 for securing the plug body 106. The connector may be secured to the drawer panel by its lower surface 330 on the housing 304 housing the positioning rods 332. The compartments of the electrical connection housing 301 are provided with contact inserts 340 (Fig. 20), which according to EP 0 422 785. European design.

The foregoing are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention. There are many other embodiments of the invention which may differ from the examples in the design of the latches, the number of connectors, the design of the plug and socket, and other features.