Optical connector plug and optical connector

1. An optical connector plug comprising:

a plug frame for holding a ferrule in which an optical fiber is held;

a plug housing having a plug frame holding hole in which the plug frame is held in a manner that allows the plug frame to move axially, the plug frame holding hole piercing through the entire length of the plug housing;

a shielding plate whose proximal end is held to one side of an inner surface of the plug frame holding hole of the plug housing in a manner that allows the shielding plate to tilt, and whose distal end moves between a shielding position, at which the shielding plate shields a front end face of the ferrule, and an unshielding position, at which the shielding plate allows the plug frame to move;

an operating plate whose proximal end is held, in a tiltable manner, to the one side of the inner surface of the plug frame holding hole at a position nearer to the center of the optical connector plug than the shielding plate, and whose distal end is in contact with or is engaged with the shielding plate to tilt along with the shielding plate, the plug frame being capable of retracting, upon movement of the shielding plate to the shielding position, to a housing position at which no interference occurs with the shielding plate and the operating plate; and

biasing and holding means for biasing and positioning the shielding plate and the operating plate in a manner that brings the shielding plate to the shielding position as the plug frame moves to the housing position,

wherein, when the plug frame is moved toward a front end of the plug housing, the operating plate is tilted by this movement of the plug frame, and the tilted operating plate pushes the shielding plate to the unshielding position, allowing the plug frame to move to an optical connection position with respect to the plug housing.

2. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding plate and the operating plate are positioned at the shielding position as the distal end of the shielding plate comes into contact with the other side of the inner surface of the plug frame holding hole that is opposite to the side where the proximal end of the shielding plate is held.

3. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding plate and the operating plate are positioned and held at the shielding position by engagement of the shielding plate with the operating plate at the shielding position.

4. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the distal end of the operating plate is in contact with the shielding plate, and

wherein the biasing and holding means comprises operating plate biasing means for biasing the operating plate in a direction that causes a shift from the shielding position to the unshielding position, and shielding plate biasing means for biasing, with a larger biasing force than that of the operating plate biasing means, the shielding plate in a direction that causes a shift from the unshielding position to the shielding position.

5. An optical connector plug according to claim 3 ,

wherein the distal end side of the operating plate is engaged with the shielding plate, and

wherein the biasing and holding means biases one of the shielding plate and the operating plate in a direction that causes a shift from the unshielding position to the shielding position.

6. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding plate and the operating plate are held in the plug housing.

7. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the shielding plate and the operating plate are held by a shielding plate frame to constitute a shielding plate assembly, and

wherein the shielding plate assembly is fixed to the plug housing.

8. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the shielding plate is held such that the shielding plate is rotatable about a shielding plate axis provided on the proximal end side of the shielding plate, and

wherein the operating plate is held such that the operating plate is rotatable about an operating plate axis provided on the proximal end side of the operating plate.

9. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding plate and the operating plate are made from leaf springs to function as the biasing and holding means themselves.

10. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein the plug housing has a shape that enables the plug housing to engage with one of SC type and MU type optical connector adapters.

11. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 , wherein placement of the shielding plate and the operating plate is such that the shielding plate and the operating plate do not come into contact with the front end face of the ferrule when moved from the unshielding position to the shielding position.

12. An optical connector plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the distal end of the operating plate has a contact concave portion, and

wherein placement of the operating plate is such that the contact concave portion comes into contact with an outer wall of the ferrule when the plug frame is at the housing position and the operating plate is moved to the ferrule side.

13. An optical connector comprising the optical connector plug as set forth in claim 1 .