CN112505847B

CN112505847B - Optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, optical fiber splitting box and optical distribution network

Info

Publication number: CN112505847B
Application number: CN202011347397.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 魏素; 朱桦; 李书
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-26
Filing date: 2020-11-26
Publication date: 2022-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-26
Also published as: CN112505847A; WO2022110888A1

Abstract

The application discloses beam splitter, optic fibre divide fine case and optical distribution network of splitting ratio adjustable. The optical splitter includes a first structural member, a second structural member, and an adjusting member. The first structural member includes a lens and a slot; the second structural member comprises two lenses and two slots, and the two lenses are relatively offset in the first direction. The slots are used for accommodating optical fibers. The first structural component or the second structural component is connected with the adjusting component, and when the adjusting component moves, the relative offset of the first structural component and the second structural component in the first direction can be changed, so that the proportion of the light beam projected to the second structural component by the first structural component is changed. In the application, the splitting ratio of the two paths of light can be freely adjusted only by moving the adjusting part in the light splitter, so that the desired splitting ratio is achieved. The optical splitter can meet different optical splitting requirements, and does not need to introduce optical splitters of different types to split two light beams, so that the problem of misuse caused by difficulty in distinguishing the optical splitters in various types is solved.

Description

Optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, optical fiber splitting box and optical distribution network

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of optical access networks, in particular to an optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio, an optical fiber splitting box and an optical distribution network.

Background

An Optical splitter, also called an Optical splitter, is a commonly used Passive Optical Network (PON) Passive Optical fiber branching device. As a passive device for connecting an Optical cable Terminal (OLT) and an Optical Network Unit (ONU), an Optical splitter may distribute downstream data to the ONU, or may concentrate upstream data to the OLT. At present, the Optical splitter can be applied to various node products in an Optical Distribution Network (ODN), such as an Optical Distribution Frame (ODF), an Optical cable cross-connect cabinet (FDT), an Optical Fiber Access Terminal (FAT), a splice Closure (Closure), and the like.

In some application scenarios, the ODN needs to implement the distribution of light using an unequal network including multiple levels of FAT. In order to make the anisometric network support the maximum number of users, the optical power of the endmost port of the optical splitter in each stage of the FAT can be kept as uniform as possible. This requires that the unequal differences tend to be larger for the optical splitters closer to the OLT and smaller for the optical splitters further from the OLT in the unequal ratio network. For example, in the ODN shown in fig. 1, in order to equalize the light intensity received by 32 users, the splitting ratios of the 4-level unequal ratio splitter 101, the splitter 102, and the splitter 103 used in the FAT of the first three levels in the FAT are 3:1, 2:1, and 1:1, respectively. It can be seen that in the face of a specific splitting requirement, it is necessary to use splitters with different splitting ratios in an unequal ratio network.

The splitting ratio of each type of splitter produced in the prior art is usually fixed, so that in order to achieve a specific splitting requirement, a plurality of different types of splitters are required in the ODN. In the actual networking process, the optical splitters of different models are difficult to distinguish, and if the models of the optical splitters are used wrongly, the light splitting effect will be seriously deviated from the expectation.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a beam splitter with an adjustable beam splitting ratio, an optical fiber splitting box and an optical distribution network, which are used for solving the problem of misuse caused by the fact that a plurality of types of the beam splitter are difficult to distinguish.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio, comprising: a first structural member, a second structural member and an adjusting member; the first structural member or the second structural member is connected with the adjusting member;

the first structural member includes: a first lens and a first slot; the second structural member includes: the lens comprises a second lens, a second slot, a third lens and a third slot; the first slot is positioned at one side of the first lens, the second slot is positioned at one side of the second lens, and the third slot is positioned at one side of the third lens;

the second lens and the third lens are offset in a first direction; the first slot, the second slot and the third slot are respectively used for accommodating a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber and a third optical fiber; the first lens receives light from the first optical fiber and splits the received light into at least one of the second lens and the third lens; the second lens is used for transmitting the light received from the first lens to the second optical fiber; the third lens is used for transmitting the light received from the first lens to the third optical fiber; when the adjusting member moves, the adjusting member is used for changing the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction so as to adjust the splitting ratio of the light transmitted by the first optical fiber on the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber.

Optionally, the optical splitter further comprises: a third structural member having an inner groove for receiving one of the first structural member and the second structural member and connecting the other of the first structural member and the second structural member; the adjusting piece is connected with a structural piece accommodated in the inner groove;

in the first direction, the inner tank has a dimension that is greater than an outer wall dimension of a structure that the inner tank receives.

Optionally, the third structural member is further provided with a first through hole, and the first through hole is communicated with the inner groove; the adjusting piece penetrates through the first through hole.

Optionally, the axis of the first through hole is parallel to the first direction; the adjusting member changes the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction when moving along the axis of the first through hole.

Optionally, the optical splitter further comprises: a fastener; the third structural member comprises an extension part, and the first through hole penetrates through the extension part; the extension part is also provided with a second through hole which is communicated with the first through hole; the fastener passes through the second through hole;

when the fastener fastens the adjuster and the extension, the adjuster is fixed with the third structural member; when the fastener loosens the adjusting piece and the extending portion, the adjusting piece is movable in the first direction or a direction opposite to the first direction with respect to the third structural member.

Optionally, the optical splitter further comprises: a reference member; the reference piece is connected with a structural piece accommodated in the inner groove; the reference piece comprises a plurality of scales, and different scales respectively correspond to different splitting ratios.

Optionally, the third structural member further comprises: a third through hole; the reference piece penetrates through the third through hole; when the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction is changed, the reference member moves along the axis of the third through hole and indicates the current splitting ratio with a scale displayed on the outside of the third structural member.

Optionally, the third structural member further comprises: a fourth through hole communicating with the inner groove;

the first optical fiber is inserted into the first slot of the first structural member positioned in the inner groove through the fourth through hole; or the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber penetrate through the fourth through hole and are inserted into the second slot and the third slot of the second structural member positioned in the inner slot.

Optionally, the adjusting member includes a plurality of scales, and different scales respectively correspond to different splitting ratios.

Optionally, the inner tank is specifically configured to receive the first structural member, and the third structural member is coupled to the second structural member.

Optionally, the inner tank is specifically configured to receive the second structural member, and the third structural member is coupled to the first structural member.

Optionally, the adjusting part is connected with a stepping motor, the stepping motor is connected with a driver, and the driver is connected with the controller;

the controller is used for sending a pulse signal and a direction signal to the driver, the number of pulses in the pulse signal is matched with the target moving distance of the adjusting piece, and the direction signal is matched with the target moving direction of the adjusting piece; the target moving direction is the first direction or the reverse direction of the first direction;

the driver is used for driving the stepping motor to rotate according to the pulse signal and the direction signal;

the adjusting part is used for moving the target moving distance along the target moving direction under the driving of the stepping motor, so that the splitting ratio of the optical splitter can be adjusted.

Optionally, the adjustment member is a handle.

Optionally, the second through hole is a threaded through hole and the fastener is a screw.

Optionally, the reference member is a scale.

Optionally, the first lens is configured to provide the light beam transmitted by the first optical fiber to at least one of the second lens and the third lens after diverging, and/or is configured to receive the light beam transmitted by at least one of the second lens and the third lens, and provide the light beam to the first optical fiber after converging;

the second lens is used for converging the light beam received from the first lens and providing the light beam to the second optical fiber, and/or is used for diverging the light beam transmitted by the second optical fiber and providing the light beam to the first lens;

the third lens is used for converging the light beam received from the first lens and providing the light beam to the third optical fiber, and/or is used for diverging the light beam transmitted by the third optical fiber and providing the light beam to the first lens.

Optionally, the first lens is configured to collimate the light beam transmitted by the first optical fiber into a parallel light beam to at least one of the second lens and the third lens;

when the second lens receives the parallel light beam from the first lens, the second lens is used for converging the received parallel light beam to the second optical fiber;

when the third lens receives the parallel light beam from the first lens, the third lens is used for converging the received parallel light beam to the third optical fiber.

Optionally, one end of the first optical fiber inserted into the first slot is aligned with an optical axis of the first lens;

one end of the second optical fiber inserted into the second slot is aligned with the optical axis of the second lens;

one end of the third optical fiber inserted into the third slot is aligned with an optical axis of the third lens.

Optionally, the first structural member is processed by optical plastic injection molding; the second structural part is processed in an optical plastic injection molding mode.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an optical fiber distribution box FAT, including: in the optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio provided in the first aspect, the first optical fiber, the second optical fiber, and the third optical fiber are respectively inserted into the first slot, the second slot, and the third slot of the optical splitter;

the FAT further includes: and the other end of the third optical fiber is connected with an equal-ratio optical splitter.

In a third aspect, the present application provides an optical distribution network ODN, including: the optical cable terminal equipment OLT, the FAT provided by the second aspect and the optical network unit ONU;

a first optical fiber in the FAT is connected with the OLT; and the light splitting port of the equal-ratio light splitter in the FAT is connected with the ONU through an optical fiber.

According to the technical scheme, the embodiment of the application has at least the following advantages:

the light splitter provided by the application has the performance of adjusting the splitting ratio. The optical splitter includes a first structural member, a second structural member, and an adjusting member. The first structural member includes: a first lens and a first slot; the second structural member includes: the lens comprises a second lens, a second slot, a third lens and a third slot; the first slot is positioned on one side of the first lens, the second slot is positioned on one side of the second lens, and the third slot is positioned on one side of the third lens. The second lens and the third lens are relatively offset in the first direction. The first slot, the second slot and the third slot are used for accommodating a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber and a third optical fiber respectively. The first structural member or the second structural member is connected with the adjusting member, and the adjusting member can be used for changing the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction when moving. In this way, the ratio of the light beam projected by the first lens to the second lens and the third lens is changed, and the adjustment of the splitting ratio is realized, for example, from 3:1 to 2: 1. Therefore, in the technical scheme of the application, the splitting ratio of the two paths of light can be freely adjusted by only moving the adjusting piece in the light splitter, so that the desired splitting ratio is achieved. The optical splitter can meet different optical splitting requirements, optical splitters of different types do not need to be introduced to split light beams into two, and the problem of misuse caused by the fact that the optical splitters are numerous and difficult to distinguish is solved. For example, the beam splitter 101, the beam splitter 102, and the beam splitter 103 shown in fig. 1 may be replaced with the beam splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the present application.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ODN;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a fused biconical taper beam splitter;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a planar waveguide type optical splitter;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a light splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a second structural member provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating several different splitting ratio effects achieved by adjusting the adjusting element of the splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiments of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram of a connection for automatically controlling the movement of an adjustment member according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9B is a schematic structural diagram of another optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a FAT according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an ODN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, an application scenario of the optical splitter is described below. Fig. 1 illustrates an ODN, and as shown in fig. 1, one side of the ODN is an OLT and the other side is an ONU. The OLT and Optical Distribution Frame (ODF) are located in a Central Office (CO). The direction from the OLT to the ONU is a downlink transmission direction; the direction from the ONU to the OLT is the upstream transmission direction. Taking the downlink transmission direction as an example, in the downlink transmission direction, the optical signal of the OLT passes through the ODF and then reaches the Hub (Hub Box) through the feeder cable, and the signal of the Hub Box reaches the FAT stages, i.e., the first stage FAT 001, the second stage FAT 002, the third stage FAT 003, and the fourth stage FAT 004, through the distribution cable. The ODN illustrated in fig. 1 is only exemplified by four-level FAT, and is not limited to the number of levels of FAT in practical applications. The signals distributed from the end of each level of FAT reach an Access Terminal Box (ATB) through an Access cable, are transmitted to the ONU by the ATB, and are distributed to each user device at the user side by the ONU. In the embodiment of the present application, the user equipment connected to the ONU is not limited, and may be, for example, a mobile phone, a television, or a personal computer.

In the respective levels of FAT shown in fig. 1, the first level FAT 001, the second level FAT 002, and the third level FAT 003 each include a one-to-two splitter and an one-to-eight equal ratio splitter, and the fourth level FAT 004 includes only one-to-eight equal ratio splitter. A two-into-one splitter, i.e. a splitter that splits a beam into two beams or combines two beams into one beam. Similarly, an octal splitter refers to a splitter that splits a beam of light into 8 beams, or combines 8 beams into one beam. The equal ratio light splitter specifically means that one light beam is divided into a plurality of light beams in equal ratio.

For any one of the first stage FAT 001, the second stage FAT 002 and the third stage FAT 003, the input end of the one-to-eight equal ratio optical splitter in the downlink transmission direction is connected to one output end of the one-to-two optical splitter. In the ODN shown in fig. 1, optical signals can be distributed to 32-subscriber ONUs in total. In order to support the maximum number of users by the ODN, it is necessary to make the port optical powers of the optical splitters at different positions as uniform as possible, which requires that the split ratio difference of the one-to-two optical splitter close to the OLT is larger, and the split ratio difference of the one-to-two optical splitter far from the OLT is smaller. In order to equalize or approximate the light intensity received by 32 users in fig. 1, it is necessary that the splitting ratios of the one-to-two

splitters

101, 102, and 103 in the first-stage FAT 001, the second-stage FAT 002, and the third-stage FAT 003 be 3:1, 2:1, and 1:1 in this order.

The splitting ratio of the currently commonly used splitter is fixed, and the commonly used splitter comprises: fused Biconical Taper (FBT) type splitters and Planar waveguide (PLC) type splitters. The fusion-draw technique is to closely hold two treated optical fibers and heat them on a draw-taper machine to melt and draw them. When the area of the fiber core in the fusion zone is too small to maintain the respective guided modes, the fusion zone forms a new composite waveguide, the signal is coupled into two fundamental modes of the waveguide, the two modes fluctuate with the stretching length to cause energy transfer, a part of the light in one optical fiber is coupled into the other optical fiber, and finally a special waveguide structure in the form of a bicone is formed in the heating zone. The splitting ratio varies with the angle of fiber twist and the length of the stretch. Fig. 2 illustrates an FBT type optical splitter.

The PLC type optical splitter is an integrated waveguide optical power distribution device based on a quartz substrate. Figure 3 illustrates a PLC type optical splitter. The common feature of both FBT and PLC spectrometers is that once formed, the splitting ratio is fixed and unadjustable. Therefore, in the scenario illustrated in fig. 1, if an FBT splitter or a PLC splitter is used, different types of splitters need to be configured to meet the requirement of 3:1, 2:1, and 1:1 for splitting. The multiple models are difficult to distinguish in the actual networking scene, and if the model of the optical splitter is used by mistake, the signal transmission effect deviates from the expectation, and the user experience is lowered.

In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides an optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, which can be applied not only in FAT, but also in other node products of ODN, such as ODF, FDT, and Closure (Closure). The light splitting ratio of the light splitter is adjustable, so that the light splitter with various types does not need to be configured, and the light splitting ratio of the light splitter only needs to be adjusted at a specific position to reach the specific light splitting ratio. The following describes a specific implementation of the optical splitter with reference to the embodiments and the drawings.

Referring to fig. 4, the drawing is a schematic structural diagram of a light splitter 40 with adjustable splitting ratio according to an embodiment of the present application. The spectroscope 40 includes: a first structural member 41, a second structural member 42, and an adjustment member 43. Wherein the first structural member 41 is connected with the adjusting piece 43. Furthermore, the adjusting member 43 can be connected to the second structural member 42, see the schematic structural diagram of the optical splitter 50 shown in fig. 5. Referring to fig. 4 and 5, in the optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiment of the present application, the adjusting member 43 may be connected to only one of the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42.

The first structural member 41 includes: a first lens 411 and a first slot 412 positioned at one side of the first lens 411. The first slot is used for accommodating an optical fiber, and for the sake of distinction, the optical fiber is referred to as a first optical fiber in the embodiment of the present application.

The second structural member 42 includes: a second lens 421, a second insertion groove 422, a third lens 423, and a third insertion groove 424. The second slot 422 is located at one side of the second lens 421, and the third slot 424 is located at one side of the third lens 423. The second slot 422 and the third slot 424 are used for accommodating optical fibers, and for the sake of convenience of distinction, in the embodiment of the present application, the optical fiber accommodated by the second slot 422 is referred to as a second optical fiber, and the optical fiber accommodated by the third slot 424 is referred to as a third optical fiber.

The optical splitter with the adjustable splitting ratio provided by the embodiment of the application is specifically a one-to-two optical splitter, and can split one path of light into two paths of light for transmission. Of course, in other application scenarios, the optical splitter with an adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiment of the present application may also combine two beams of light into one path for transmission. The two-in-one and two-in-one can be performed in time-sharing or simultaneously. As can be seen from the above description, the number of lenses and the number of slots included in the second structural member 42 and the first structural member 41 are different. One beam of light enters from the first structural member 41 and is split into two beams passing through the second structural member 42; in the opposite direction of travel, the two beams enter from the second structure and are combined into one beam after entering the first structure 41.

The second lens 421 and the third lens 423 are relatively offset in the first direction. In one example, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the optical axis of the second lens 421 and the optical axis of the third lens 423 are parallel to each other, the distance between the two optical axes in the first direction is not equal to 0, and the two optical axes are both perpendicular to the first direction, so that the second lens 421 and the third lens 423 are considered to be relatively shifted in the first direction. The optical axis specifically refers to a line connecting geometric centers of two surfaces of the lens. In other examples, the optical axis of the second lens 421 and the optical axis of the third lens 423 may have an included angle (e.g., included angle within 10 degrees), such as the second structural member 42 shown in fig. 6, in which the second lens 421 and the third lens 423 are also offset relative to each other in the first direction.

As shown in fig. 4, since the adjusting member 43 is connected to the first structural member 41, when the adjusting member 43 moves, the first structural member 41 is moved, so as to change the relative offset between the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 in the first direction. Similarly, as shown in fig. 5, since the adjusting member 43 is connected to the second structural member 42, when the adjusting member 43 moves, the second structural member 42 is moved, so as to change the relative offset between the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 in the first direction. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating several different splitting ratio effects achieved by adjusting the adjusting element of the splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiment of the present application.

As can be seen from the above description, in practical applications, the first slot 412, the second slot 422 and the third slot 424 are used for accommodating the first optical fiber, the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber, respectively. Therefore, the relative offset between the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 in the first direction is changed to adjust the splitting ratio of the light transmitted by the first optical fiber in the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber. In the optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first lens 411 receives light from the first optical fiber and splits the received light to at least one of the second lens 421 and the third lens 423; the second lens 421 is used to transmit the light received from the first lens 411 to a second optical fiber; the third lens 423 serves to transmit light received from the first lens 411 to a third optical fiber. For the optical splitter provided in the embodiment of the present application, the splitting ratio specifically means: after entering the optical splitter from the first optical fiber, the light passes through the first lens 411 to reach the second lens 421 and the third lens 423, and finally, the ratio of the light intensity output by the second optical fiber to the light intensity output by the third optical fiber is obtained. In some implementation scenarios, the splitting ratio may also be obtained when the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber are not inserted into the optical splitter, and the splitting ratio may be defined as: after entering the optical splitter from the first optical fiber, the light passes through the first lens 411 to reach the second lens 421 and the third lens 423, and finally, the ratio of the light intensity output by the second lens 421 to the light intensity output by the third lens 423 is obtained.

As can be seen from the above description and the introduction, in the solution of the present application, the adjustment member 43 in the optical splitter is only required to move to freely adjust the splitting ratio of the two paths of light, so as to achieve the desired splitting ratio. The optical splitter can meet different optical splitting requirements, optical splitters of different types do not need to be introduced to split light beams into two, and the problem of misuse caused by the fact that the optical splitters are numerous and difficult to distinguish is solved. For example, the beam splitter 101, the beam splitter 102 and the beam splitter 103 shown in fig. 1 can be replaced by the beam splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided by the present application, so as to meet the splitting requirements of different splitting ratios of 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1, for example.

In practical applications, the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 are independent from each other in the splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiments of the present application. Taking the beam splitter 40 shown in fig. 4 as an example, the second structure 42 may be fixed in the installation scenario. Similarly, the first structural member 41 in the splitter 50 shown in fig. 5 may be fixed in the installation scenario. In other implementations, in consideration of the complexity of the environment in the installation scenario, in order to prevent dust, reduce external interference, and improve portability and integrity, the optical splitter with adjustable splitting ratio provided in the embodiments of the present application may further include a third structural component. An internal groove may be provided in the third structural element to receive either the first structural element 41 or the second structural element 42. The following describes this implementation in detail with reference to the drawings and examples.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another optical splitter 80 with an adjustable splitting ratio according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the spectroscope 80 includes: a first structural member 41, a second structural member 42, an adjustment member 43, and a third structural member 44. Wherein the third structural member 44 is provided with an inner groove 441, the inner groove 441 accommodating the first structural member 41. The third structural member 44 is also connected to the second structural member 42. In the example of fig. 8, the adjusting member 43 is connected to the first structural member 41.

In practical applications, the third structural member 44 and the second structural member 42 may be connected in various ways, such as fixedly or detachably. The fixed connection may be, for example, welding, bonding, or the like. The detachable connection is exemplified by a screw connection or a snap connection. When the third structural member 44 is connected to the second structural member 42, the third structural member 44 is not separated from the second structural member 42 and does not move relative to the second structural member 42 during the operation of the optical splitter 80. Similarly, the connecting manner of the adjusting member 43 and the first structural member 41 includes various manners, such as fixed connection or detachable connection. When the adjusting member 43 is connected to the first structural member 41, the adjusting member 43 is not separated from the first structural member 41 and does not move relatively to the first structural member 41 during the use of the optical splitter 80.

The third structural member 44 illustrated in fig. 8 has a tubular shape surrounded on four sides, and the outer wall of the second structural member 42 contacts the inner wall of the third structural member 44 to be connected. In practical applications, the third structural member 44 may have another shape, and the connection position between another structural member (the second structural member 42 in fig. 8) not located in the inner groove 441 and the third structural member 44 may be another position. For example, the third structural member 44 includes an extension along the axial direction of the inner groove 44, to which the outer wall of the second structural member 42 is attached. Therefore, the third structural member 44 and the connection position of the third structural member 44 and another structural member not located in the inner groove 441 are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In the example of fig. 8, the inner groove 441 of the third structural member 44 is required to accommodate not only the first structural member 41 but also the movement of the first structural member 41 with the adjusting member 43. Therefore, in the first direction, the size of the inner groove 441 is larger than the outer wall size of the first structural member 41. For example, the inner groove 441 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the dimension of the inner groove 441 in the first direction is 6cm, and the outer wall of the first structural member 41 is also formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the dimension of the outer wall thereof in the first direction is 3.5 cm. In this way, the inner groove 441 has a larger dimension in the first direction relative to the first structural member 41, allowing the first structural member 41 to move in or opposite to the first direction relative to the second structural member 42.

For the third structural member 44 illustrated in fig. 8, it may also be provided with a first through hole 442, the first through hole 442 communicating with the inner groove 441. As described in the previous embodiment, the adjusting member 43 is connected to the first structural member 41 in the inner groove 441 in the optical splitter 80 illustrated in fig. 8, and in order to ensure the effective control of the movement of the first structural member 41 by the adjusting member 43, the adjusting member 43 may be connected to the first structural member 41 through the first through hole 442. The size of the first through-hole 442 matches the size of the adjusting member 43.

In practical applications, the specific shape of the adjusting member 43 is not limited. Taking fig. 8 as an example, the adjusting member 43 may be in the form of a handle. The handle includes a grip 431 and a stem 432, wherein the stem 432 passes through the first through bore 442. Grip 431 is connected to stem 432.

In some possible embodiments, the axis of the first through hole 442 is parallel to the first direction, and the relative offset between the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 in the first direction can be changed when the adjusting member 43 moves along the axis of the first through hole 442. For example, when the adjusting member 43 moves in a first direction along the axis of the first through hole 442, the first structural member 41 is driven to move in the first direction; when the adjusting member 43 moves along the axis of the first through hole 442 in the opposite direction of the first direction, the first structural member 41 is driven to move in the opposite direction of the first direction. It will be appreciated that movement of the first structural element 41 in or opposite to the first direction can change the relative offset with respect to the second structural element 42 in the first direction. In other possible embodiments, if the axis of the first through hole 442 is not parallel to the first direction but has an included angle other than 90 degrees, the relative offset between the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction can be changed when the adjusting member 43 moves along the axis of the first through hole 442. The axis of the first through hole 442 is parallel to the first direction only as a preferred embodiment, and if the axis of the first through hole 442 is parallel to the first direction, the adjustment of the splitting ratio of the beam splitter 80 is more achieved and the controllability is stronger.

In the optical splitter provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first through hole 442 of the third structural member 44 is not necessarily a through hole. Whether the first through-hole 442 is opened or not depends on the size and shape of the third structural member 44.

In some possible embodiments, as shown in fig. 8, the splitter 80 also includes a fastener 45. The third structural member 44 includes an extension 443 shown in fig. 8. The first through hole 442 penetrates the extending portion 443, and the extending portion 443 is further provided with a second through hole 444. The first through hole 442 communicates with the second through hole 444. The fastener 45 passes through the second through hole 444 of the extension. While the extension 443 is located on the outer wall of the third structural member 44 in fig. 8, in other possible embodiments, the extension 443 may also be located on the inner wall of the third structural member 44. Therefore, the position of the extending portion 443 in the third junction member 44 is not limited here.

Illustratively, the fastener 45 is a screw and the second through-hole 444 is a threaded through-hole. The internal threads of the second through-hole 444 mate with the external threads of the screw. Taking a screw as an example, when the screw is screwed into the second through hole 444, the adjusting member 43 and the extending portion 443 can be fastened, so that the adjusting member 43 and the third structural member 44 are fixed. At this time, the adjuster 43 cannot move along the axis of the first through-hole 442, and the spectroscope 80 achieves a specific splitting ratio. When the screw is screwed out of the second through hole 444, the adjusting member 43 and the extending portion 443 are loosened, so that the adjusting member 43 can move in the first direction or the direction opposite to the first direction relative to the third structural member 44, and the splitting ratio of the optical splitter 80 can be adjusted.

In the embodiment of the present application, the adjustment member 43 of the optical splitter is connected to a stepping motor. A stepper motor is an electric motor that converts electrical pulse signals into corresponding angular or linear displacements. When the stepping motor is driven and controlled, and the rotor moves, the adjusting piece 43 can be driven to move, so that the splitting ratio of the optical splitter is adjusted. This implementation is described in detail below.

Fig. 9A is a schematic connection diagram for automatically controlling the movement of the adjusting member according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 9A, in one possible implementation, the adjusting member 43 is connected to a stepping motor 91, the stepping motor 91 is connected to a driver 92, and the driver 92 is connected to a controller 93.

The controller 93 is configured to send a pulse signal and a direction signal to the driver 92, wherein the number of pulses in the pulse signal matches the target moving distance of the adjusting member 43, and the direction signal matches the target moving direction of the adjusting member 43. The target moving direction is the moving direction of the adjusting member 43 required to achieve a specific splitting ratio. In some possible implementations, the target movement direction is the first direction or a direction opposite to the first direction. As an example, one pulse number represents a required movement distance of the regulating member of 50 μm. Therefore, if the target moving distance is 50mm, the number of pulses needs to reach 100.

The driver 92 is used for driving the stepping motor 91 to rotate according to the pulse signal and the direction signal. Specifically, the rotor of the stepping motor 91 is driven to rotate by a corresponding angular displacement or advance by a corresponding linear displacement. The adjusting part 43 is used for moving the target moving distance along the target moving direction under the driving of the stepping motor 91, so as to adjust the splitting ratio of the optical splitter.

Automatic control of the adjustment member 43 is achieved by the controller 93, the driver 92 and the stepping motor 91. In addition, this embodiment also enables remote adjustment of the splitter split ratio if the controller 93 is remotely connected to the driver 92.

Furthermore, the adjustment member 43 can also be moved when manually controlled by the personnel at the wiring site. The movement of the adjusting member 43 is controlled to adjust the splitting ratio of the splitter. The splitting ratio of the splitter with the adjustable splitting ratio can be obtained by measurement during or before actual use of the splitter. For example, the ratio of the light intensity output by the second lens 421 to the light intensity output by the third lens 423 is measured, or the ratio of the light intensity output by the second optical fiber to the light intensity output by the third optical fiber is measured. When the actual splitting ratio differs from the desired splitting ratio, the adjustment of the splitting ratio of the spectrometer is achieved by moving the adjustment member 43. For example, the split ratio is adjusted from 4.3:1 to 4: 1. After the adjustment is completed, the actual splitting ratio is ensured to be consistent with the expected splitting ratio, and the light splitter is reused to achieve the expected application effect.

The arrangement and installation of the optical splitter are slow and time-consuming due to the fact that the actual splitting ratio is measured and then temporarily adjusted before or during use. In order to improve the efficiency, a plurality of commonly used splitting ratios can be calibrated in advance, so that the splitting ratio of the optical splitter can be accurately adjusted conveniently and quickly. Therefore, the optical splitter in the embodiment of the present application may further include a reference. When the splitting ratio of the splitter is adjusted, the adjusting member 43 is controlled to move according to the reference member. The following describes this implementation in detail with reference to the drawings and examples.

As shown in fig. 8, the reference member 46 of the spectroscope 80 is connected to the first structural member 41 accommodated in the inner groove 441. The connection mode can be fixed connection or detachable connection. The reference member 46 includes a plurality of scales, and different scales correspond to different splitting ratios, respectively. For example, the reference 46 includes different scales that identify 4:1, 3:2, 3:1, 2:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:3, 1:4, etc. spectral ratios. In some other implementations, the scale of the reference member 46 may also indicate the movement position of the structural member (the first structural member 41 in the example of fig. 8) connected thereto. Since each of the moved positions of the first structural member 41 corresponds to a unique splitting ratio, it also corresponds to different scales corresponding to different splitting ratios. The worker can specifically control the adjusting member 43 to move according to the corresponding relationship between the moving position of the first structural member 41 and the splitting ratio of the splitter, and by combining with the currently displayed scale of the reference member 46, so as to achieve the desired splitting ratio.

In the embodiment of the present application, as a possible implementation, the reference member 46 may be a scale, as shown in fig. 8. In addition, in other possible implementations, the reference 46 may also be an adjustment knob with scale or a rotary dial or the like. The specific implementation of the reference member 46 is not limited herein.

For the spectroscope with adjustable splitting ratio including the reference member 46, as shown in fig. 8, the third structural member 44 may be further provided with a third through hole 445. As mentioned above, in fig. 8 the reference member 46 is connected to the first structural member 41 located in the inner groove 441. The reference piece 46 passes through the third through hole 445. In order to accurately indicate the current splitting ratio or the current position of the first structural member 41, when the relative displacement of the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 41 in the first direction is changed, the reference member 46 may be moved along the axis of the third through hole 445, similarly to the adjusting member 43, and indicate the current splitting ratio with a scale displayed outside the third structural member 44.

In one possible implementation, the outer wall 446 of the third structural member 44 adjacent to the reference 46 is used as a reference for the alignment scale. For example, when the scale a shown in fig. 8 is aligned with the outer wall 446, it indicates that the current splitting ratio of the splitter 80 is the splitting ratio corresponding to the scale a. In addition, other positions can be used as references for the alignment scales according to actual requirements or specific forms of the third structural member 44. For example, the trailing end 4431 of the extension 443 in fig. 8 is taken as a reference for aligning the scale.

In the optical splitter provided in the embodiment of the present application, the third through hole 445 of the third structural member 44 is not necessarily a through hole. Whether the third through hole 445 is opened or not depends on the size and shape of the third structural member 44.

In the above embodiment, an additional reference 46 is employed to indicate the current split ratio. In other embodiments of the present application, the adjusting member 43 itself can also have the function of the reference member 46, and the third through hole 445 does not need to be additionally opened for the third structural member 44. For example, the adjusting member 43 is also provided with scales, and different scales correspond to different splitting ratios respectively. The scheme saves the consumable of the optical splitter and also reduces the complexity of the whole optical splitter.

In the above technical solution, the spectrometer includes the adjusting part 43 or the reference part 46 calibrated with the scale of the splitting ratio, so that when the spectrometer is arranged and installed, a worker can quickly and accurately adjust the spectrometer to the desired splitting ratio, thereby achieving the desired application effect. The problem of the time consuming too long that the interim test divides the light ratio and adjust and lead to in the use is overcome.

In order to avoid the first structural member 41 from being separated from the inner groove 441 and to reduce the entry of foreign objects (such as dust, gravel, etc.) into the inner groove 441, in one possible implementation, the inner groove 441 is not fully open, and the third structural member 44 is further opened with a fourth through hole 447. In the example of fig. 8, since the fourth through hole 447 communicates with the inner groove 441, and the structural member accommodated by the inner groove 441 is embodied as the first structural member 41, the radial dimension of the fourth through hole 447 may be greater than or equal to the diameter of the first optical fiber. The first optical fiber is inserted into the first slot 412 of the first structural member 41 through the fourth through hole 447. The area of the third structural member 44 around the fourth through hole 447 serves to protect the structural members (the first structural member 41 in the example of fig. 8) in the inner groove 441 and reduce the intrusion of foreign objects into the inner groove 441 to interfere with or wear the first structural member 41.

Because the optical fiber is flexible and bendable, even if the size of the fourth through hole 447 in the first direction is equal to or only slightly larger than the diameter of the first optical fiber, the first structural member 41 can still move freely under the driving of the adjusting member 43 without being restricted by the fourth through hole 447. Further, in order to prevent the structural member (the first structural member 41 in the example of fig. 8) in the inner groove 441 from being separated from the inner groove 441 during operation, the size of the fourth through hole 447 to be opened may be required to be smaller than the size of the outer wall of the first structural member 41.

In the example of fig. 8, the inner groove 441 of the third structural member 44 receives the first structural member 41, and the third structural member 44 connects the second structural member 42. In other possible embodiments, the inner groove 441 of the third structural member 44 can also be used to accommodate the second structural member 42, and the third structural member 44 is connected to the first structural member 41, see the splitter 90 with adjustable splitting ratio shown in fig. 9B. At this time, the adjusting member 43 and the reference member 46 (wherein the reference member 46 is an optional, unnecessary fitting) are connected to the second structural member 42. The function and function of the first, second and third through

holes

442, 444, 445 is unchanged, reference being made to the embodiment described above in connection with fig. 8. While the function and function of the fourth through hole 447 is changed.

Specifically, when the inner groove 441 is specifically configured to receive the second structural member 42, the second and third optical fibers are each inserted into the second and

third slots

422, 424 of the second structural member 42 through the fourth through hole 447. Alternatively, in another possible implementation manner, the third structural member 44 is further provided with a fifth through hole (not shown in the figure), one of the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber is inserted into the corresponding slot from the fourth through hole 447, and the other optical fiber is inserted into the corresponding slot from the fifth through hole.

In the embodiment of the present application, as a possible implementation manner, the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 are respectively processed by injection molding of optical plastic. The processing mode ensures the integration of the lens and the outer frame of the structural member in the structural member, and avoids the assembly of the lens. In addition, the mass production cost of the processing mode is low, and the popularization and the application of the light splitting ratio adjustable light splitter provided by the technical scheme are facilitated. The above processing method is merely an example, and the processing method of the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42 is not limited herein.

In addition, in order to ensure successful transmission of light between the first structural member 41 and the second structural member 42, the outer frame 413 of the first structural member 41 accommodating the first lens 411 and the outer frame 425 of the second structural member 42 accommodating the second lens 421 and the third lens 423 use optically transparent plastics. In order to improve the transmission efficiency of light in the optical splitter and reduce unnecessary loss, the light transmittance of the optical plastic may be required to meet specific requirements, for example, the optical plastic with the light transmittance of more than 60% is selected.

In a possible implementation manner, for the connection relationship between the second structural member 42 and the third structural member 44 shown in fig. 8, the second structural member 42 and the third structural member 44 may be separately formed and then assembled together, or may be integrally formed, and no additional assembling operation is required. The first structural member 41, the adjusting member 43 and the optionally configured reference member 46 may be separately formed and then assembled together, or may be integrally formed without additional assembling operations. Similarly, for the connection relationship between the first structural member 41 and the third structural member 44 shown in fig. 9B, the first structural member 41 and the third structural member 44 may be separately formed and then assembled together, or may be integrally formed, and no additional assembling operation is required. The second structural member 42, the adjustment member 43 and the optionally configured reference member 46 may be separately formed and then assembled together, or may be integrally formed without additional assembly operations.

The splitting ratio adjusting section of the light splitter is 0: 1-1: 0. The splitting ratio of 0:1 means that the light beam of the first optical fiber can be transmitted to the third optical fiber only through the first lens 411 and the third lens 423, and the first optical fiber can receive the light beam from the third lens 423 only through the first lens 411. And the splitting ratio of 1:0 means that the light beam of the first optical fiber can be transmitted to the second optical fiber only through the first lens 411 and the second lens 421, and the first optical fiber can receive the light beam from the second lens 421 only through the first lens 411. The remaining splitting ratios between 0:1 and 1:0, e.g., 3:2 and 1:1, etc., indicate that the splitter is capable of splitting one light beam from the first optical fiber into two light beams for the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber, respectively, and of supplying the two light beams from the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber to the first optical fiber in common.

For ease of understanding, the functions of the first lens 411, the second lens 421, and the third lens 423 are described below.

In the downstream transmission direction of the application scene where the optical splitter is located, the first lens 411 is used for diverging the light beam transmitted by the first optical fiber and providing the light beam to at least one of the second lens 421 and the third lens 423; the second lens 421 is used for converging the light beam received from the first lens 411 and providing the light beam to the second optical fiber; the third lens 423 is used for converging the light beam received from the first lens 411 and providing the light beam to the third optical fiber.

In the upstream transmission direction of the application scene where the optical splitter is located, the first lens 411 is configured to receive a light beam transmitted by at least one of the second lens 421 and the third lens 423, and provide the light beam to the first optical fiber after converging the light beam; the second lens 421 is used for providing the beam transmitted by the second optical fiber to the first lens 411 after diverging; the third lens 423 is used for diverging the light beam transmitted by the third optical fiber and providing the light beam to the first lens 411.

In the example of fig. 7, the first lens 411, the second lens 421 and the third lens 423 are all convex-concave lenses, and the convex surface of the second lens 421 and the convex surface of the third lens 423 are all opposite to the convex surface of the first lens 411. The specific parameters (e.g., radius of curvature, etc.) of each of the convex and concave surfaces are not limited herein. Any one of the first lens 411, the second lens 421, and the third lens 423 may be a single lens or a combined lens including a plurality of lenses. The implementation of the first lens 411, the second lens 421, and the third lens 423 is not limited herein.

In one possible implementation, the first lens 411 may be specifically a collimating lens for ease of adjustment and focusing. In the downstream transmission direction of the application scenario where the optical splitter is located, the first lens 411 collimates the light beam from the first optical fiber and provides the collimated light beam to the second lens 421 and/or the third lens 423.

In order to achieve a desired light splitting effect and improve light transmission efficiency, as a preferred implementation, one end of the first optical fiber inserted into the first slot 412 is aligned with an optical axis of the first lens 411. The method specifically comprises the following steps: the core of the first optical fiber inserted into one end of the first slot 412 is aligned with the optical axis of the first lens 411. Similarly, one end of the second optical fiber inserted into the second slot 422 is aligned with the optical axis of the second lens 421; one end of the third optical fiber inserted into the third insertion groove 424 is aligned with the optical axis of the third lens 423.

Several implementations of the splitter with adjustable splitting ratio are described above. On the basis of the optical splitter described above, correspondingly, the present application also provides a FAT. The FAT type optical splitter comprises the optical splitter with the adjustable splitting ratio, and a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber and a third optical fiber are respectively inserted into a first slot, a second slot and a third slot of the optical splitter. In the scenario illustrated in fig. 1, an equal ratio splitter is typically included in the FAT that includes an unequal ratio splitter. Therefore, the FAT provided in the embodiment of the present application is further connected to an equal ratio splitter at the other end of the third optical fiber. The equal ratio optical splitter can be configured according to actual requirements, for example, signals are divided into 32 users in total, and the equal ratio optical splitter used can be a 1-to-8 equal ratio optical splitter. The number of branches of the equal ratio splitter is not limited here. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of the FAT.

On the basis of the FAT provided by the foregoing embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides an ODN. As shown in fig. 11, the ODN includes: OLT, the aforementioned FAT (structure see fig. 10), and ONU. The first optical fiber of the FAT is directly or indirectly connected with the OLT, and the light splitting port of the equal-ratio light splitter in the FAT is directly or indirectly connected with the ONU through the optical fiber.

Since the FAT and ODN described above use the splitter with adjustable splitting ratio described in the foregoing embodiments, the splitter can meet various different splitting requirements, and therefore, it is not necessary to introduce multiple splitters of different models to split the light beam into two. Therefore, the problem of misuse caused by the fact that the types of the one-splitting optical splitters are numerous and difficult to distinguish is solved.

It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" for describing an association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships, e.g., "a and/or B" may indicate: only A, only B and both A and B are present, wherein A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, comprising: a first structural member, a second structural member and an adjusting member; the first structural member or the second structural member is connected with the adjusting member;

the second lens and the third lens are offset in a first direction; the first slot, the second slot and the third slot are respectively used for accommodating a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber and a third optical fiber; the first lens receives light from the first optical fiber and splits the received light into at least one of the second lens and the third lens; the second lens is used for transmitting the light received from the first lens to the second optical fiber; the third lens is used for transmitting the light received from the first lens to the third optical fiber; when the adjusting member moves, the adjusting member is used for changing the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction so as to adjust the splitting ratio of the light transmitted by the first optical fiber on the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber;

the optical splitter further includes: a third structural member having an inner groove for receiving one of the first structural member and the second structural member and connecting the other of the first structural member and the second structural member; the adjusting piece is connected with a structural piece accommodated in the inner groove;

2. The beam splitter according to claim 1, wherein the third structural member is further provided with a first through hole communicating with the inner groove; the adjusting piece penetrates through the first through hole.

3. The beam splitter of claim 2, wherein an axis of the first through hole is parallel to the first direction; the adjusting member changes the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction when moving along the axis of the first through hole.

4. The optical splitter according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising: a fastener; the third structural member comprises an extension part, and the first through hole penetrates through the extension part; the extension part is also provided with a second through hole which is communicated with the first through hole; the fastener passes through the second through hole;

5. The optical splitter of claim 1, further comprising: a reference member; the reference piece is connected with a structural piece accommodated in the inner groove; the reference piece comprises a plurality of scales, and different scales respectively correspond to different splitting ratios.

6. The optical splitter of claim 5, wherein the third structural member further comprises: a third through hole; the reference piece penetrates through the third through hole; when the relative offset of the first structural member and the second structural member in the first direction is changed, the reference member moves along the axis of the third through hole and indicates the current splitting ratio with a scale displayed on the outside of the third structural member.

7. The optical splitter of claim 1, wherein the third structural member further comprises: a fourth through hole communicating with the inner groove;

8. The spectrometer of claim 1, wherein the adjustment member includes a plurality of scales, and different scales correspond to different splitting ratios, respectively.

9. The beamsplitter of any of claims 1-3, 5-8, wherein the inner groove is configured to receive the first structure, and the third structure is coupled to the second structure.

10. The beamsplitter of any of claims 1-3, 5-8, wherein the inner groove is configured to receive the second structure, and the third structure is coupled to the first structure.

11. The optical splitter according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 8, wherein the adjusting member is connected to a stepping motor, the stepping motor is connected to a driver, and the driver is connected to a controller;

12. The beamsplitter of any of claims 1-3 and 5-8, wherein the adjustment member is a handle.

13. The splitter of claim 4, wherein the second through hole is a threaded through hole and the fastener is a screw.

14. A spectrometer according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the reference member is a scale.

15. The optical splitter according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 8, wherein the first lens is configured to provide the light beam transmitted by the first optical fiber to at least one of the second lens and the third lens after diverging, and/or is configured to receive the light beam transmitted by at least one of the second lens and the third lens and provide the light beam to the first optical fiber after converging;

16. The optical splitter of any one of claims 1-3 and 5-8, wherein the first lens is configured to collimate the light beam transmitted by the first optical fiber into a parallel light beam to at least one of the second lens and the third lens;

17. The optical splitter according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 8,

one end of the first optical fiber inserted into the first slot is aligned with an optical axis of the first lens;

18. The optical splitter of any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 8, wherein the first structural member is formed by injection molding of an optical plastic; the second structural part is processed in an optical plastic injection molding mode.

19. An optical fiber distribution box (FAT), comprising: the adjustable splitting ratio splitter of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the first, second and third slots of the splitter are respectively inserted with the first, second and third optical fibers;

20. An Optical Distribution Network (ODN), comprising: optical cable termination equipment OLT, the FAT and the optical network unit ONU of claim 19;