JP2000190186A - Ferule outer diameter grinding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ferule outer diameter grinding device capable of generating a high precision coaxialness of a fiber inserting hole with good workability. SOLUTION: A stationary core push center 16a and a movable core push center 16b are engaged with the two ends of a fiber inserting hole 11a, and a ferule 11 is supported rotatably by the two centers 16a and 16b, and the periphery of the ferule 11 is touched by a rubber roller 13 for transmitting the rotation to the ferule 11 and a grinder element 14 positioned opposing to the roller 13 and rotating in the opposite direction to the rotation of the roller 13, and the periphery of the ferule 11 is ground by the grinder element 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outer diameter grinding device for grinding the outer periphery of a ferrule used as a component of an optical fiber connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, optical communication is expected as a next-generation communication technology due to its large capacity and high speed, and optical fibers are gradually being introduced to us.

A ferrule is formed of a zirconia ceramic material or the like into a cylindrical shape and is used as a main connector part of an optical fiber. A fiber insertion hole into which the optical fiber is inserted is formed in the ferrule in the axial direction. An optical fiber is inserted into the fiber insertion hole.

[0004] Optical fibers are connected to each other by inserting a ferrule into a split sleeve and directly abutting the optical fibers within the sleeve. For this reason, a high coaxiality is required for the fiber insertion hole in order to ensure that the optical fibers are mutually butted and do not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber.

Conventionally, as a method of obtaining the coaxiality of a fiber insertion hole by grinding the outer periphery of a ferrule, there is a method shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the ferrule 1 is formed by an injection molding method, an extrusion molding method, a press molding method, or the like, and a fiber insertion for inserting and holding and fixing an optical fiber (not shown) in the axial direction. Hole 1a
Is formed, and at one end of the ferrule 1, a chamfered portion 1b for facilitating insertion of an optical fiber is formed.

A wire 2 having an appropriate tension is penetrated into the fiber insertion hole 1a, and the ferrule 1 is sandwiched between the adjusting wheel 3 and the grindstone 4 from both sides in the radial direction. The ferrule 1 is pressed and supported by the adjustment wheel 3 and the abutting member 9 side by the wire 2, and the ferrule 1 is driven to rotate by the adjustment wheel 3 and the outer periphery is ground by the grindstone 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, one end of the ferrule 1 is clamped by a screw 5, and both ends of the fiber insertion hole 1a are supported by a pair of centers 6 and 6.
The turning plate 7 is attached to the main shaft 8, and the turning plate 7 and the turn 5 are connected by the connecting rod 10, so that the rotation of the main shaft 8 is transmitted to the ferrule 1 via the turn plate 7 and the turn 5 sequentially. The outer periphery of the ferrule 1 is ground by the grindstone 4 (see FIG. 5A). Then, in order to grind the unground portion 1c of the clamp portion of the ferrule 1, the other end portion of the ferrule 1 is clamped with the turning metal 5, and the unground portion 1c is ground while rotating the ferrule 1 (FIG. 5).
(B)).

[0008]

By the way, in the ferrule grinding method as proposed above, when the ferrule 1 is supported by the wire 2 and driven by the adjusting wheel 3 to grind the outer periphery of the ferrule 1, a fiber insertion hole is required. Since the reference hole 1a is used as the reference hole, if there is a gap α between the inner surface of the fiber insertion hole 1a and the wire 2, there is a problem that coaxiality is not obtained.

Further, when the ferrule 1 is clamped by the turning metal 5 and is rotated by the main shaft 8, an unground portion 1c is formed in the clamp portion, so that the grinding must be performed twice, so that the workability is reduced. However, there is a problem that the cylindricity of the ferrule 1 becomes difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object the object of the present invention is to provide a high precision coaxiality of a fiber insertion hole outside a ferrule which can be obtained with good workability. An object of the present invention is to provide a diameter grinding device.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention provides a ferrule having a fiber insertion hole for inserting an optical fiber, a fixed core pushing center for holding one end of the fiber insertion hole so that the ferrule can rotate, and another end of the fiber insertion hole. A rotatable centering center for rotatably holding the ferrule, a rotating roller made of an elastic member that contacts the outer periphery of the ferrule and rotates the ferrule, and the ferrule disposed at a position facing the rotating roller. And a grindstone for grinding the outer periphery of the wheel.

Therefore, according to the present invention, both ends of the ferrule are supported by the centering center, and the ferrule is driven to rotate by the rotating roller and ground by the grindstone. Therefore,
A high-precision coaxiality is obtained in the fiber insertion hole, the cylindricity of the ferrule is improved, and the workability is improved.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In describing the embodiments, those having the same functions will be denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating an outer diameter grinding device for a ferrule according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (a).
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view for explaining a ferrule outer diameter grinding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a ferrule outer diameter grinding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ferrule 11 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a fiber insertion hole 11a for inserting, holding, and fixing an optical fiber in the axial direction thereof, and one end of the ferrule 11 facilitates insertion of the optical fiber. Chamfering part 11
b is formed.

The method of grinding the ferrule 11 is as follows. First, a ferrule 11 which is a work is placed between a fixed centering center 16a made of a diamond tool and a movable centering center 16b.
Supply. At this time, the movable centering center 16b is fixed to the rear end of the movable centering center 16b.
A movable core pushing center pressing spring 19 that presses toward the 6a side is provided (see FIG. 1).

Next, the tip of the movable centering center 16b is inserted into the chamfered portion 11b of the ferrule 11, and the ferrule 11 is moved toward the fixed centering center 16a while pushing the ferrule 11 with the movable centering center 16b. The tip of the fixed core pushing center 16a is inserted into the fiber insertion hole 11a. As a result, the ferrule 11 is sandwiched between the fixed centering center 16a and the movable centering center 16b by an appropriate pressing force of the movable centering center pressing spring 19, and is rotatably supported.

Thereafter, the grinding wheel 14 is attached to the peripheral surface of the ferrule 11.
And the rubber roller (rotary roller) 13 ground by the grindstone 14 is brought into contact with each other. In this case, the ferrule 11 is pressed into contact with the rubber roller 13 so strongly that a recess is formed, so that a sufficient frictional force is obtained on the contact surface between the ferrule 11 and the rubber roller 13, and the rubber roller 13 is rotated. Thereby, the ferrule 11 rotates, and the outer circumference of the ferrule 11 is ground by the grindstone 14 rotating in the same direction as the rotation direction of the ferrule 11 (FIG. 2A,
(B)).

When the grinding of the ferrule 11 is completed, the grinding wheel 14 and the rubber roller 13 are separated from the ferrule 11, and
The discharge gripper 18 having the pair of vacuum suction portions 18a and 18b waits near the ferrule 11. Thereafter, at the same time as the movable core pushing center 16b is separated from the ferrule 11, one of the ferrules 11 is sucked by the vacuum suction portion 18a of the discharge gripper 18. Then, the discharge ejector 17 pushes the ferrule 11 in a direction away from the fixed center pushing center 16a. As a result, the ferrule 11 is separated from the fixed center pressing center 16a and, at the same time, is sucked and discharged by the vacuum suction part 18b. Hereinafter, the above-described operation is repeatedly performed, and the outer peripheral grinding of the ferrule 11 is continuously performed.

As described above, according to the ferrule outer diameter grinding apparatus of the present embodiment, both ends of the ferrule 11 are supported by the fixed and movable centering centers 16a and 16b, and the ferrule 11 is driven to rotate by the rubber roller 13, Since the ferrule 11 is ground by the grindstone 14, the cylindricity of the ferrule 11 is improved, the coaxiality with high precision is obtained in the fiber insertion hole 11a, and the workability is improved.

The fixed and movable centering center 16
By forming the a and b with a diamond tool, the wear resistance of the fixed and movable centering centers 16a and 16b is improved, the friction coefficient is reduced, and the ferrule 11 is formed.
Is rotated smoothly.

The rubber roller 13 and the ferrule 1
By grinding 1 with the same grindstone 14, the cylindricity of the rubber roller 13 and the ferrule 11 becomes the same,
The contact surface between the rubber roller 13 and the ferrule 11 is evenly adhered. As a result, the rotation of the rubber roller 13 is efficiently and evenly transmitted to the ferrule 11.

Rubber roller 1 worn by repeated use
By grinding 3 with a grindstone 14, an appropriate surface roughness for the rubber roller 13 can be obtained. Thereby, the frictional force between the rubber roller 13 and the ferrule 11 is improved, and the rotation of the rubber roller 13 is efficiently transmitted to the ferrule 11,
The ferrule 11 rotates well.

Although the outer diameter grinding device for ferrules according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the outer diameter grinding device for ferrules described in the above embodiment, but is applicable to the present invention. Various changes can be made in the design without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the appended claims.

[0026]

As will be understood from the above description, according to the ferrule outer diameter grinding apparatus of the present invention, both ends of the ferrule are supported by the centering center, the ferrule is driven to rotate by a rotating roller, and is driven by a grindstone. Since the grinding is performed, a high-precision coaxiality can be obtained in the fiber insertion hole, the cylindricity of the ferrule is improved, and the ferrule can be easily ground with good workability. Therefore, a ferrule having high-precision coaxiality and cylindricity can be efficiently manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outer diameter grinding device for a ferrule according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a ferrule outer diameter grinding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
(A) is XX sectional drawing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a ferrule outer diameter grinding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional ferrule outer diameter grinding device, and FIG. 4B is a side view illustrating a conventional ferrule outer diameter grinding device.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views illustrating another conventional ferrule outer diameter grinding apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Ferrule 11a Fiber insertion hole 11b Chamfered part 13 Rubber roller 14 Grinding stone 16a Fixed centering center 16b Movable centering center 17 Discharge ejector 18 Gripper 18a, 18b Vacuum suction part 19 Pressing spring for movable centering center

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ferrule having a fiber insertion hole for inserting an optical fiber, a fixed core pushing center for holding one end of the fiber insertion hole such that the ferrule is rotatable, and A movable centering center for holding the end so that the ferrule is rotatable; a rotating roller made of an elastic member that contacts the outer periphery of the ferrule to rotate the ferrule; and An outer diameter grinding device for a ferrule, comprising: a grindstone for grinding an outer periphery of a ferrule.