CA1322457C - Grinder for optical connector ferrule and method for grinding the ferrule - Google Patents
Grinder for optical connector ferrule and method for grinding the ferruleInfo
- Publication number
- CA1322457C CA1322457C CA000515499A CA515499A CA1322457C CA 1322457 C CA1322457 C CA 1322457C CA 000515499 A CA000515499 A CA 000515499A CA 515499 A CA515499 A CA 515499A CA 1322457 C CA1322457 C CA 1322457C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- material layer
- ferrule
- elastic material
- grinder
- grinding
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
- B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- B24B19/00—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group
- B24B19/22—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground
- B24B19/226—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group characterised by a special design with respect to properties of the material of non-metallic articles to be ground of the ends of optical fibres
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
- B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- B24B11/00—Machines or devices designed for grinding spherical surfaces or parts of spherical surfaces on work; Accessories therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
- B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- B24B7/00—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor
- B24B7/10—Single-purpose machines or devices
- B24B7/16—Single-purpose machines or devices for grinding end-faces, e.g. of gauges, rollers, nuts, piston rings
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A grinder consists of a low elastic material layer and grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of said low elastic material layer, and the hardness of the low elastic material layer are set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60° . When the fore-most end of the ferrule contacts relatively on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground by the recess thus formed to a cover sphere shape.
A grinder consists of a low elastic material layer and grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of said low elastic material layer, and the hardness of the low elastic material layer are set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60° . When the fore-most end of the ferrule contacts relatively on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground by the recess thus formed to a cover sphere shape.
Description
13~2~
r~his invention relates to a grinder for an optical connector ferrule whereby the foremost end of the ferrule may be ground to a convex spherical shape for use in the mutual connection of optical fibres or optical fibre and other optical parts. The invention also relates to a method for grinding the ferrule.
The optical connector is usually used when it is necessary to obtain a reproducible connection between optical fibres or optical fibre and other optlcal parts.
The general optical connector consists of a ferrule and other parts, and when such an optical connector is connected with an optical fibre, it is common to put a ferrule around the outer periphery of the optical fibre end and, after the foremost ends of the ferrule and optical fibre are ground, these are interconnected with other connector parts.
In the above practice, the reason for grinding the foremost ends of the ferrule and the optical fibre is, as is well known, to reduce the contact loss.
In this practice, when each of the optical fibres is connected through an optical connector, it is undertaken to reduce the contact loss by direct and physical contact of each of the optical fibres.
~n order to achieve the desired result it is ~ 25 necessary to grind the foremost end of the ferrule to a; convex spherical shape and to have the core of the optical fibre in the axial centre of the foremost end of the ferrule protruded beyond the other parts.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whicho Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a grinder according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a grinder according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
Figs. 3 and ~ respectively show a side view and a plan view of a grinding apparatus using the grinder shown in Fig. 1 or 2;
qr~
d~
~ 3~2'~7 Fig. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of the foremost end of the ferrule and the hardness of the low elastic material layer;
Fig. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of the foremost end of the ferrule and the contact loss; and Fig. 7 illustrates a conventional, grinding method of the prior art.
In the conventional apparatus of Fig. 7, the grinder l having a concave grinding surface lA is rotated by a driving apparatus (not shown), a ferrule 2 of the optical connector is rotated also by a driving apparatus (not shown) and the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is simultaneously swung (pendulum movement) by a ferrule swiny apparatus (not shown). In the movement described above, the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is pushed onto the above-mentioned concave grinding surface lA so that the foremost end of the ferrule 2 may be ground in a convex spherical shape.
In the above conventional method, the driving apparatus for the grinder and ferrule as well as the ferrule swing apparatus are too expensive and keep the grinding costly,, To make the matter worse, it is imperative to control four systems, i~e., rotation of the grinder, rotation of the ferrule, swing of the ferrule and pushing-force of the ferrule on ths grinder. These controls make the operation quite difficult and, as for the swing of the ferrule, inter alia, high workmanship is required in order to form the foremost end of the ferrule into a desired convex spherical shape.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a grinder for an optical connector ferrule suitable for grinding the foremost end of the ferrule into a conve,x spherical shape.
Another ob~ect of the invention is to provide a handy-t~-use grinder for an optical connector ferrule, with sufficient stren,gth.
Still another object o~ the present invention is to ~IL i . .
~ 3 ~ 7 provide an easily controlled method for grinding the optical connector ferrule into a desired convex spherical shape.
The invention is characterized in that the grinder consists of a base elastic material layer and a grinding layer laid on said base elastic material layer, the hardness of which is set in the range of more than JIS-A
hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
When the foremost end of the ferrule of the optical connector is ground, the grinder and ferrul2 are rotated and the foremost end of the ferrule of the optical connector is pushed on the surface of the grinder. In this case, the ferrule is kept perpendicular to the surface of the grinder, while the foremost end of the ferrule is ground.
In the grinder, as the grinding layer is laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer and the elastic material layer is transformable, when the foremost en~ of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, as mentioned above, the surface of the grinder where the end of the ~errule is pushed yields, and by the recess thus formed, the foremost end of the ferrule is ground to a desired shape.
More particularly, under the pushing-force of the foremost end of the ferrule, a part of the grinding layer and the base elastic material layer elastically transforms and the grinding surface of the grinder presents a concave spherical shape, and the foremost end of the ferrule is ground simultaneously with its being pushad on the grinding surface, thus the foremost end of the ferrule is finished in a shape complementary to the concave sphere, i.e., convex spherical shape.
In this instance, the radius of the convex sphere at the foremost end of the ferrule is detPrmined mainly by the hardness of the base elastic material layer and the pushing-force of the foremost end of the ferrule on the surface of the grinder, and as the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than ~, .
~ 3 ~ 7 JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60, an acceptable convex spherical shape may be obtained.
According to another aspect of the invention, the grinder in order to grind the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape, the grinder consists of a base elastic material layer, a grinding layer laid integrally on the base elastic material layer and a hard material layer laid under the reverse side of the base elastic material layer, and the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
When a grinder according to this second aspect of the invention is used in a manner similar to that of the first aspect, an acceptable conve~ spherical shape of the foremost end of the ferrule o~ the optical connector is obtained, and moreover, as this second grinder is provided with the hard material layer, the rigidity of the grinder is obtained and the grinder is easily mounted on the grinder-driving apparatus.
Accordin~ to a third aspect of the invention, a method of grinding the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape using a grinder consisting of a base elas~ic material layer, and a grinding layer laid integrally on the base elastic material layer set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60 enables grinding sf the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape by rotation of the grinder and the ferrule about a~ial centres and yielding of the grinding surface of the grinder by pushing the foremost end of the ferrule perpendicular to the grinding surface.
In the latter method, the grinder with a grinding surface set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50D
and less than Shore hardness 60 is used and as the foremost end of the ferrule i5 ground while keeping the grinding surfacs of the grinder yielded by the pushing of the foremost end of the ferrule, it is only necessary to contact the end and the grinding surface with an ~ 3 ~ 7 appropriate pushing-force, and it is not necessary to move the foremost end of the ferrule in any particular motion and a simple control of the pushing-force is only required to obtain a desired convex spherical shape of the foremost end of the ferrule.
DESCRIPTION OF T~E PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The grinder 3 shown in Fig. 1 represents a first embodiment of the invention and it consists of a base elastic material layer 4 and a grinding surface 5 laid integrally on the surface of the base elastic material layer 4.
The base elastic material layer is composed of a soft rubber, soft plastics or their composites, and its hardness is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
The grinding surface 5 consists of, for example, diamond wrapping film.
Th~ base elastic material layer 4 and the grinding surface 5 are laid integrally by means of adhesives or heat-fusing such as hot-pressing and hot-melting, or by fastening using bolts and nuts or various clips.
In the above, conventional adhesives and heat-fusing means may be used.
However, in the fastening means, use of bolts and nuts enables an integral laying of the base elastic material layer 4 and the grinding layer 5 through the bolts passing therethrough and nuts fastened to the bolts, while clips enable pexipheral binding of both layexs.
If required, a board-like hard material layer may be removably laid under the base elastic material layer 4.
~5 When the foremost end of the optical connector ferrule 2 is pushed on the surface of the grinder 3, tha surface yields and the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground into a desired convex spherical shape by the recess thus fo~ed.
The grinder of Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of 'r ~v ~ 3 ~ 7 the present invention, which has not only the base elastic material layer 4 and grinding surface 5 laid integrally, but also has a hard material layer 20 laid integrally on the reverse side of the base elastic material layer 4.
The base elastic material layer 4 and grinding surface 5 of Fig. 2 are as described with reference to Fig. 1 and the hardness of the base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
The hard material layer 20 consists of metal, hard rubber, hard plastics, FRP, reinforced glass, ceramics, or their composite.
As a means to lay the base elastic material layer 4, the grinding layer 5 and the hard material layer 20 integrally, the above-mentioned adhesives, heat-fusing means or fastening means are employed.
Figs. 3 and 4 show a grinding apparatus in which the grinder 3 of Fig. 1 is mounted.
The grinding apparatus has a rotatable disk 6 driven horizontally and the rotary drive shaft 7 of the disk 6 is driven by a motor through transmission means ~not shown).
On the upper side of the rotatable disk 6, the grinder 3 having the above-mentioned properties is mounted.
A stand 8 is mounted perpendicularly adjacent to the rotatable disk 6, and a support 9 is provided to reciprocate horizontally in an arc over and beyond the grinder 3.
The support 9 holds rotata~ly a ~errule holder 10 at its upper end and on the support 9 a ferrule rotation means 1~ is mounted to rotate the ferrule holder 10 about its axis.
The ferrule rotation means 12 consists of a motor 14 supported on the support 9 by a bracket 13, a pulley 16 supported by a power shaft 15 of the motor 14, and an endless belt 17 running between the pulley 16 and the pulley portion 10A o~ the ferrule holder 10.
The optical connector ferrule 2 is mounted around ~A
-~2~7 the periphery of the foremost end of the optical fibre 11, and pushed on the surface of the grinder 3 passing rotatably through the support 9. The ferrule 2 is set removably to the centre of the ferrule holder 10.
When method of the present invention is practiced with the grinding apparatus of Figs. 3 and 4 having the grinder 3 set and the ferrule 2 of the optical connector mounted, the grinding of the ferrule is done as follows.
First, the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is pushed on the surface of the grinder 3 to cause the surface to yield by the pushing-force of the ferrule 2.
Then, in the condition mentioned above, the ferrule ~ held by the ferrule holder 10 is rotated more than 360 degrees by means of the ferrule rotation means 12 and at the same time, the grinder 3 is rotated in a desired direction, for example, anti cloc~wise.
Thus, when the surface of the grinder 3 yields under the foremost end of the ferrule 2, the sharp edge portion of the ferrule is ground off by the recess of the grinder 3 and as the recess regains its original shape gradually the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is ground into a convex spherical shape.
While grinding, it is preferable to change the position of the ferrule 2 by moving the support 9. By changing the position of the ferrule, any partial and limited wear of the grinder 3 is prevented.
In grinding the ferrule, the radius of the for~most end of the ferrule is determined by the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4, the pushing-force of the ferrule 2 on the surface o~ the grinder 3 and the like.
Fig. 5 shows graphically the relationship between the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 consisting of 1 mm urethane and the radius of the convex spherical sur~ace. In Fig. 5, the upper curve A shows the relationship for a plastic ferrule and the lower curve B
shows the relationship for a metal-ceramic composite ferrule.
The hardness range of the base elastic material ~' ,. ,'''' ~
layer 4 may be express~d properly by using both the JIS-A
hardness and Shore hardness and in the example of Fig. 5, the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is shown by the both hardnesses.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between the radius of the convex spherical surfaca and the connector contact loss.
Referring to ~ig. 6, it is obvious to obtain stable physical contact when the radius is less than 250 mm for the plastic ferrule, and when the radius is less than 150 mm for the metal-plastic composite ferrule.
The conditions to obtain the above-mentioned preferred values for the radius are to set the hardness of the base elastic material layer in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
If the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is less than JIS-A hardness 50, it has been confirmed that the foremost end of the ferrule is not properly ground.
From the above results, it has been concluded that the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is to be in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
Likewise, in the case of practising method of the invention using the grinder 3, or when the grinder 3 is used as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a stable physical contact can be secured to accomplish the grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape with ease.
In the method of Figs. 3 and 4, the grinder 3 is placed in a fixed po~ition and the foremost end of the ferrule ~ is pushed on the ~urface of the grinder 3;
however it is also appropriate to place the foremost end of the ferrule 2 in position and the surface of the grinder 3 may be pushed thereon, they may be pushed relatively together to obtain the most suitable force or pressure.
As the grinder of Fig. 1 consists of the grinding ~ 3 ~ 7 layer integrally laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer which is characterized by its hardness, when the foremost end of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and a desirable grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape can be obtained using the recess property.
As the grinder of Fig. 2 consists of the hard material reinforcing layer integrally laid on the reverse side of the base elastic material layer in addition to the grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer which is characterized by its hardness, when the foremost end of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and a desirable grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape can be obtained using the recess property, and the strength of the grinder is secured and enhances the handling efficiency.
As, according to the grinding method of the invention to grind the foremost end of the ferrule, it is only required to rotate the grinder and the ferrule and to push the foremost end of the ferrule on the surface of the grinder, thus eliminating swinging of the ferrule, the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground into a desirable convex spherical shape with ease and with a simple construction of the apparatus.
~,A
r~his invention relates to a grinder for an optical connector ferrule whereby the foremost end of the ferrule may be ground to a convex spherical shape for use in the mutual connection of optical fibres or optical fibre and other optical parts. The invention also relates to a method for grinding the ferrule.
The optical connector is usually used when it is necessary to obtain a reproducible connection between optical fibres or optical fibre and other optlcal parts.
The general optical connector consists of a ferrule and other parts, and when such an optical connector is connected with an optical fibre, it is common to put a ferrule around the outer periphery of the optical fibre end and, after the foremost ends of the ferrule and optical fibre are ground, these are interconnected with other connector parts.
In the above practice, the reason for grinding the foremost ends of the ferrule and the optical fibre is, as is well known, to reduce the contact loss.
In this practice, when each of the optical fibres is connected through an optical connector, it is undertaken to reduce the contact loss by direct and physical contact of each of the optical fibres.
~n order to achieve the desired result it is ~ 25 necessary to grind the foremost end of the ferrule to a; convex spherical shape and to have the core of the optical fibre in the axial centre of the foremost end of the ferrule protruded beyond the other parts.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whicho Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a grinder according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a grinder according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
Figs. 3 and ~ respectively show a side view and a plan view of a grinding apparatus using the grinder shown in Fig. 1 or 2;
qr~
d~
~ 3~2'~7 Fig. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of the foremost end of the ferrule and the hardness of the low elastic material layer;
Fig. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of the foremost end of the ferrule and the contact loss; and Fig. 7 illustrates a conventional, grinding method of the prior art.
In the conventional apparatus of Fig. 7, the grinder l having a concave grinding surface lA is rotated by a driving apparatus (not shown), a ferrule 2 of the optical connector is rotated also by a driving apparatus (not shown) and the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is simultaneously swung (pendulum movement) by a ferrule swiny apparatus (not shown). In the movement described above, the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is pushed onto the above-mentioned concave grinding surface lA so that the foremost end of the ferrule 2 may be ground in a convex spherical shape.
In the above conventional method, the driving apparatus for the grinder and ferrule as well as the ferrule swing apparatus are too expensive and keep the grinding costly,, To make the matter worse, it is imperative to control four systems, i~e., rotation of the grinder, rotation of the ferrule, swing of the ferrule and pushing-force of the ferrule on ths grinder. These controls make the operation quite difficult and, as for the swing of the ferrule, inter alia, high workmanship is required in order to form the foremost end of the ferrule into a desired convex spherical shape.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a grinder for an optical connector ferrule suitable for grinding the foremost end of the ferrule into a conve,x spherical shape.
Another ob~ect of the invention is to provide a handy-t~-use grinder for an optical connector ferrule, with sufficient stren,gth.
Still another object o~ the present invention is to ~IL i . .
~ 3 ~ 7 provide an easily controlled method for grinding the optical connector ferrule into a desired convex spherical shape.
The invention is characterized in that the grinder consists of a base elastic material layer and a grinding layer laid on said base elastic material layer, the hardness of which is set in the range of more than JIS-A
hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
When the foremost end of the ferrule of the optical connector is ground, the grinder and ferrul2 are rotated and the foremost end of the ferrule of the optical connector is pushed on the surface of the grinder. In this case, the ferrule is kept perpendicular to the surface of the grinder, while the foremost end of the ferrule is ground.
In the grinder, as the grinding layer is laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer and the elastic material layer is transformable, when the foremost en~ of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, as mentioned above, the surface of the grinder where the end of the ~errule is pushed yields, and by the recess thus formed, the foremost end of the ferrule is ground to a desired shape.
More particularly, under the pushing-force of the foremost end of the ferrule, a part of the grinding layer and the base elastic material layer elastically transforms and the grinding surface of the grinder presents a concave spherical shape, and the foremost end of the ferrule is ground simultaneously with its being pushad on the grinding surface, thus the foremost end of the ferrule is finished in a shape complementary to the concave sphere, i.e., convex spherical shape.
In this instance, the radius of the convex sphere at the foremost end of the ferrule is detPrmined mainly by the hardness of the base elastic material layer and the pushing-force of the foremost end of the ferrule on the surface of the grinder, and as the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than ~, .
~ 3 ~ 7 JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60, an acceptable convex spherical shape may be obtained.
According to another aspect of the invention, the grinder in order to grind the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape, the grinder consists of a base elastic material layer, a grinding layer laid integrally on the base elastic material layer and a hard material layer laid under the reverse side of the base elastic material layer, and the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
When a grinder according to this second aspect of the invention is used in a manner similar to that of the first aspect, an acceptable conve~ spherical shape of the foremost end of the ferrule o~ the optical connector is obtained, and moreover, as this second grinder is provided with the hard material layer, the rigidity of the grinder is obtained and the grinder is easily mounted on the grinder-driving apparatus.
Accordin~ to a third aspect of the invention, a method of grinding the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape using a grinder consisting of a base elas~ic material layer, and a grinding layer laid integrally on the base elastic material layer set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60 enables grinding sf the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape by rotation of the grinder and the ferrule about a~ial centres and yielding of the grinding surface of the grinder by pushing the foremost end of the ferrule perpendicular to the grinding surface.
In the latter method, the grinder with a grinding surface set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50D
and less than Shore hardness 60 is used and as the foremost end of the ferrule i5 ground while keeping the grinding surfacs of the grinder yielded by the pushing of the foremost end of the ferrule, it is only necessary to contact the end and the grinding surface with an ~ 3 ~ 7 appropriate pushing-force, and it is not necessary to move the foremost end of the ferrule in any particular motion and a simple control of the pushing-force is only required to obtain a desired convex spherical shape of the foremost end of the ferrule.
DESCRIPTION OF T~E PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The grinder 3 shown in Fig. 1 represents a first embodiment of the invention and it consists of a base elastic material layer 4 and a grinding surface 5 laid integrally on the surface of the base elastic material layer 4.
The base elastic material layer is composed of a soft rubber, soft plastics or their composites, and its hardness is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
The grinding surface 5 consists of, for example, diamond wrapping film.
Th~ base elastic material layer 4 and the grinding surface 5 are laid integrally by means of adhesives or heat-fusing such as hot-pressing and hot-melting, or by fastening using bolts and nuts or various clips.
In the above, conventional adhesives and heat-fusing means may be used.
However, in the fastening means, use of bolts and nuts enables an integral laying of the base elastic material layer 4 and the grinding layer 5 through the bolts passing therethrough and nuts fastened to the bolts, while clips enable pexipheral binding of both layexs.
If required, a board-like hard material layer may be removably laid under the base elastic material layer 4.
~5 When the foremost end of the optical connector ferrule 2 is pushed on the surface of the grinder 3, tha surface yields and the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground into a desired convex spherical shape by the recess thus fo~ed.
The grinder of Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of 'r ~v ~ 3 ~ 7 the present invention, which has not only the base elastic material layer 4 and grinding surface 5 laid integrally, but also has a hard material layer 20 laid integrally on the reverse side of the base elastic material layer 4.
The base elastic material layer 4 and grinding surface 5 of Fig. 2 are as described with reference to Fig. 1 and the hardness of the base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
The hard material layer 20 consists of metal, hard rubber, hard plastics, FRP, reinforced glass, ceramics, or their composite.
As a means to lay the base elastic material layer 4, the grinding layer 5 and the hard material layer 20 integrally, the above-mentioned adhesives, heat-fusing means or fastening means are employed.
Figs. 3 and 4 show a grinding apparatus in which the grinder 3 of Fig. 1 is mounted.
The grinding apparatus has a rotatable disk 6 driven horizontally and the rotary drive shaft 7 of the disk 6 is driven by a motor through transmission means ~not shown).
On the upper side of the rotatable disk 6, the grinder 3 having the above-mentioned properties is mounted.
A stand 8 is mounted perpendicularly adjacent to the rotatable disk 6, and a support 9 is provided to reciprocate horizontally in an arc over and beyond the grinder 3.
The support 9 holds rotata~ly a ~errule holder 10 at its upper end and on the support 9 a ferrule rotation means 1~ is mounted to rotate the ferrule holder 10 about its axis.
The ferrule rotation means 12 consists of a motor 14 supported on the support 9 by a bracket 13, a pulley 16 supported by a power shaft 15 of the motor 14, and an endless belt 17 running between the pulley 16 and the pulley portion 10A o~ the ferrule holder 10.
The optical connector ferrule 2 is mounted around ~A
-~2~7 the periphery of the foremost end of the optical fibre 11, and pushed on the surface of the grinder 3 passing rotatably through the support 9. The ferrule 2 is set removably to the centre of the ferrule holder 10.
When method of the present invention is practiced with the grinding apparatus of Figs. 3 and 4 having the grinder 3 set and the ferrule 2 of the optical connector mounted, the grinding of the ferrule is done as follows.
First, the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is pushed on the surface of the grinder 3 to cause the surface to yield by the pushing-force of the ferrule 2.
Then, in the condition mentioned above, the ferrule ~ held by the ferrule holder 10 is rotated more than 360 degrees by means of the ferrule rotation means 12 and at the same time, the grinder 3 is rotated in a desired direction, for example, anti cloc~wise.
Thus, when the surface of the grinder 3 yields under the foremost end of the ferrule 2, the sharp edge portion of the ferrule is ground off by the recess of the grinder 3 and as the recess regains its original shape gradually the foremost end of the ferrule 2 is ground into a convex spherical shape.
While grinding, it is preferable to change the position of the ferrule 2 by moving the support 9. By changing the position of the ferrule, any partial and limited wear of the grinder 3 is prevented.
In grinding the ferrule, the radius of the for~most end of the ferrule is determined by the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4, the pushing-force of the ferrule 2 on the surface o~ the grinder 3 and the like.
Fig. 5 shows graphically the relationship between the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 consisting of 1 mm urethane and the radius of the convex spherical sur~ace. In Fig. 5, the upper curve A shows the relationship for a plastic ferrule and the lower curve B
shows the relationship for a metal-ceramic composite ferrule.
The hardness range of the base elastic material ~' ,. ,'''' ~
layer 4 may be express~d properly by using both the JIS-A
hardness and Shore hardness and in the example of Fig. 5, the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is shown by the both hardnesses.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between the radius of the convex spherical surfaca and the connector contact loss.
Referring to ~ig. 6, it is obvious to obtain stable physical contact when the radius is less than 250 mm for the plastic ferrule, and when the radius is less than 150 mm for the metal-plastic composite ferrule.
The conditions to obtain the above-mentioned preferred values for the radius are to set the hardness of the base elastic material layer in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
If the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is less than JIS-A hardness 50, it has been confirmed that the foremost end of the ferrule is not properly ground.
From the above results, it has been concluded that the hardness of the base elastic material layer 4 is to be in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50 and less than Shore hardness 60.
Likewise, in the case of practising method of the invention using the grinder 3, or when the grinder 3 is used as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a stable physical contact can be secured to accomplish the grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape with ease.
In the method of Figs. 3 and 4, the grinder 3 is placed in a fixed po~ition and the foremost end of the ferrule ~ is pushed on the ~urface of the grinder 3;
however it is also appropriate to place the foremost end of the ferrule 2 in position and the surface of the grinder 3 may be pushed thereon, they may be pushed relatively together to obtain the most suitable force or pressure.
As the grinder of Fig. 1 consists of the grinding ~ 3 ~ 7 layer integrally laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer which is characterized by its hardness, when the foremost end of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and a desirable grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape can be obtained using the recess property.
As the grinder of Fig. 2 consists of the hard material reinforcing layer integrally laid on the reverse side of the base elastic material layer in addition to the grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of the base elastic material layer which is characterized by its hardness, when the foremost end of the ferrule is pushed on the surface of the grinder, the surface yields, and a desirable grinding of the foremost end of the ferrule into a convex spherical shape can be obtained using the recess property, and the strength of the grinder is secured and enhances the handling efficiency.
As, according to the grinding method of the invention to grind the foremost end of the ferrule, it is only required to rotate the grinder and the ferrule and to push the foremost end of the ferrule on the surface of the grinder, thus eliminating swinging of the ferrule, the foremost end of the ferrule can be ground into a desirable convex spherical shape with ease and with a simple construction of the apparatus.
~,A
Claims (14)
1. A grinder for grinding the foremost end of a ferrule of an optical connector into a convex spherical shape comprising a base elastic material layer and a grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of said base elastic material layer, wherein the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A
hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60°.
hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60°.
2. A grinder according to claim 1, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid together by means of adhesives.
3. A grinder according to claim 1, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid by means of thermal-fusing.
4. A grinder according to claim 1, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid by means of fasteners.
5. A grinder according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said base elastic material layer consists of rubber, plastics or composite materials thereof.
6. A grinder for grinding the foremost end of a ferrule of an optical connector into a convex spherical shape comprising a base elastic material layer, a grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of said base elastic material layer and a hard material layer laid integrally on the reverse side of said base elastic material layer, wherein the hardness of said base elastic material layer is set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60°.
7. A grinder according to claim 6, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid by means of adhesives.
8. A grinder according to claim 6, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid by means of thermal fusing.
9. A grinder according to claim 6, wherein said base elastic material layer and said grinding layer are integrally laid by means of fasteners.
10. A grinder according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said base elastic material layer consists of rubber, plastics, or composite materials thereof.
11. The grinder according to claim 9, wherein said base elastic material layer consists of rubber, plastics, or composite materials thereof.
12. The grinder according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said hard material layer consists of hard rubber, hard plastics, FRP, reinforced glass, ceramics, or composite materials thereof.
13. A grinder according to claim 9, wherein said hard material layer consists of hard rubber, hard plastics, FRP, reinforced glass, ceramics, or composite materials thereof.
14. A method for grinding an optical connector ferrule using a grinder consisting of a base elastic material layer and a grinding layer integrally laid on the surface of said base elastic material layer, the hardness of said base elastic material layer being set in the range of more than JIS-A hardness 50° and less than Shore hardness 60°, consisting of the steps of:
rotating said grinder and said ferrule relatively to one another about respective axes thereof, and pushing the foremost end of said ferrule held perpendicular to the surface of said grinder on said surface, to grind the foremost end of the ferrule of said optical connector into a convex spherical shape.
rotating said grinder and said ferrule relatively to one another about respective axes thereof, and pushing the foremost end of said ferrule held perpendicular to the surface of said grinder on said surface, to grind the foremost end of the ferrule of said optical connector into a convex spherical shape.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP60-173476 | 1985-08-07 | ||
| JP60173476A JPS6234762A (en) | 1985-08-07 | 1985-08-07 | Polishing machine for convex endface of optical connector core |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1322457C true CA1322457C (en) | 1993-09-28 |
Family
ID=15961193
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000515499A Expired - Fee Related CA1322457C (en) | 1985-08-07 | 1986-08-07 | Grinder for optical connector ferrule and method for grinding the ferrule |
Country Status (8)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0231397B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS6234762A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR930007108B1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU6200086A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1322457C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3684135D1 (en) |
| NZ (1) | NZ217135A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1987000785A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP2566757B2 (en) * | 1986-05-19 | 1996-12-25 | ヤマハ発動機株式会社 | Fuel cell |
| JPS63278759A (en) * | 1987-05-08 | 1988-11-16 | Toyo Shinku Kako Kk | Polishing device for curved surface of cylindrical member |
| JPS63300852A (en) * | 1987-05-29 | 1988-12-08 | Seiko Giken:Kk | Polisher for edge surface of optical fiber |
| JPH01183355A (en) * | 1988-01-14 | 1989-07-21 | Sankyo Seiki Mfg Co Ltd | Optical fiber connector polishing device |
| US5107627A (en) * | 1990-09-04 | 1992-04-28 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Methods of and apparatus for polishing an article |
| US5185966A (en) * | 1990-09-04 | 1993-02-16 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Methods of and apparatus for polishing an article |
| JP3116124B2 (en) * | 1991-08-23 | 2000-12-11 | 東京特殊電線株式会社 | Optical fiber connector |
| JPH05157940A (en) * | 1991-12-06 | 1993-06-25 | Fujikura Ltd | Automatically polishing machine for optical connector |
| JPH0727754U (en) * | 1993-10-22 | 1995-05-23 | 鐘紡株式会社 | Equipment for polishing |
| JP5921790B1 (en) * | 2014-07-07 | 2016-05-24 | バンドー化学株式会社 | Polishing film |
| US10866368B2 (en) | 2018-08-31 | 2020-12-15 | Corning Incorporated | Apparatus for processing a ferrule and associated method |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS56139872A (en) * | 1980-04-03 | 1981-10-31 | Nippon Telegr & Teleph Corp <Ntt> | Machining method of semispherical face |
| DE3346916A1 (en) * | 1983-12-24 | 1985-07-04 | Elbel-Raberain, Anne-Marie, 7530 Pforzheim | METHOD FOR PRODUCING ELASTIC GRINDING BODIES |
-
1985
- 1985-08-07 JP JP60173476A patent/JPS6234762A/en active Pending
-
1986
- 1986-08-07 CA CA000515499A patent/CA1322457C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1986-08-07 WO PCT/JP1986/000406 patent/WO1987000785A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1986-08-07 KR KR1019870700291A patent/KR930007108B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1986-08-07 NZ NZ217135A patent/NZ217135A/en unknown
- 1986-08-07 AU AU62000/86A patent/AU6200086A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1986-08-07 EP EP86904925A patent/EP0231397B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1986-08-07 DE DE8686904925T patent/DE3684135D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE3684135D1 (en) | 1992-04-09 |
| KR870700454A (en) | 1987-12-29 |
| KR930007108B1 (en) | 1993-07-30 |
| NZ217135A (en) | 1989-01-06 |
| EP0231397B1 (en) | 1992-03-04 |
| JPS6234762A (en) | 1987-02-14 |
| WO1987000785A1 (en) | 1987-02-12 |
| EP0231397A4 (en) | 1989-03-13 |
| EP0231397A1 (en) | 1987-08-12 |
| AU6200086A (en) | 1987-03-05 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKLA | Lapsed |