JP2001051127A - End face grinding method for optical fiber and fixing jig - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grinding method capable of easily, accurately and simultaneously grinding tips of plural optical fibers in a lump, and to provide a fixing jig therefor. SOLUTION: In this end face grinding method, tip part vicinities of plural optical fibers 12a are retained by a tip part restriction member 26 at even intervals, and tip parts of the respective optical fibers 12 are contacted with a grinder 31 and ground. At that time, simultaneously with the grinding of the tip parts, the tip part restriction member 26 is ground. Then, the tip part restriction member 26 is removed. A fixing jig 19 for the grinding method has an optical fiber ribbon insertion hole 25 for inserting an optical fiber ribbon 10, plural guide grooves 23 for individually guiding the plural optical fibers 12 provided in the optical fiber ribbon 10, plural minute holes 24 for inserting the respective optical fibers 12 through it, and a window 22 for pouring wax 26 or the like into a guide groove 23 part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for polishing a plurality of optical fibers provided on, for example, an optical fiber tape and a fixing jig used in the method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for polishing a plurality of optical fibers. The present invention relates to a method for performing polishing processing simultaneously and collectively and a fixing jig used in the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for connecting a plurality of optical fibers, there is a connection method using a refractive index matching gel agent such as a mechanical price. Alternatively, in the case of a simple optical connector mounted on the spot, the tip of the optical fiber is not required to be polished, so the tip of the optical fiber is cut with a cutter, and the sheath is used after removing a necessary length.

[0003] However, in the case where an appropriate low connection loss is required without using a refractive index matching gel agent, the precision of polishing is required in the conventional method of cutting and connecting with a cutter, so that precise polishing is required. Met.

[0004]

The polishing method of cutting and polishing an optical fiber, which has been conventionally performed, has poor accuracy.
It was difficult to make a connection with low connection loss without a refractive index matching gel material. Nor could it be cut diagonally and polished.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the vicinity of the distal ends of a plurality of optical fibers is controlled by a distal end restraining member. When the tip is polished by holding the tip of each optical fiber in contact with the polishing plate, the tip of each optical fiber is polished at the same time as the tip of the optical fiber is polished by polishing the tip of each optical fiber. , More accurate,
Polishing of each optical fiber with more uniform quality can be performed.

Thereafter, the distal end restricting member is removed from the distal end of each of the optical fibers, so that the optical fiber can be used for various connection portions.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method of polishing the tip surfaces of a plurality of optical fibers, each of the optical fibers from which the coating has been removed is made to have a predetermined length, and the tip side corresponds to the optical fiber diameter. Each optical fiber is integrally fixed to the optical connector by wax etc. in a state where each optical fiber is protruded to a fixed length from the optical connector tip surface by passing through each of the above fine holes of the optical connector having a plurality of micro holes to be made. And at the same time, keeping the distance between the distal ends of the optical fibers equal, sandwiching the optical connector section with a chuck of a polishing machine, and simultaneously bringing the distal ends of the optical fibers into contact with the polishing board of the polishing machine to simultaneously polish. Since the method for polishing the end face of an optical fiber for removing the wax or the like from the tip of each optical fiber, an optical connector or the like which has been conventionally used is used as a fixing jig. Rukoto can be.

In the polishing step, the optical connector and the like are directly mounted on the polishing chuck attached to the polishing machine for polishing, so that a special dedicated jig is not required.

The polishing method can be applied not only to planar polishing but also to oblique polishing and the like. The oblique polishing referred to here is a method of preventing the Fresnel reflection or the like, and inclining the front end surface of the optical fiber to make the reflected light be more than the critical angle.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, as a fixing jig used in the method for polishing an end face of an optical fiber, an insertion hole for inserting an optical fiber and a plurality of guides for individually guiding the optical fiber are provided. It is provided with a groove, a plurality of fine holes that penetrate the distal end side of each of the optical fibers, and a window through which wax or the like is poured into the guide groove.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the tip of each optical fiber is processed and polished by using an MT optical connector (plastic multi-core optical fiber connector, F12 type multi-core optical fiber connector JISC5981) as a fixing jig for a 4-core optical fiber tape. Here is an example. FIG. 1A shows an optical fiber tape 10 which has been pre-processed.
1 is exposed, and the end of each optical fiber 11 is removed by a necessary length to form a bare optical fiber 12, and the position of the end of each optical fiber 12 is made uniform.

FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c) show the optical fibers 1 respectively.
M as a fixing jig for fixing when polishing the tip of No. 2
A T-optical connector 19 is shown, comprising a large block 20 and an integral small block 21. An insertion hole 25 for inserting the optical fiber tape 10 and the like is provided in the end face of the large block 20 with an opening. I have. This MT optical connector 1
Reference numeral 9 is made of, for example, a thermosetting resin (epoxy with a filler) or a thermoplastic resin such as PPS (polyphenyl sulfide).

A plurality of guide grooves 23 for individually guiding the optical fibers 11 are formed in parallel with each other from the deep portion of the insertion hole 25 to the inside of the small block 21. On the end face, a plurality of micro holes 24 are continuously provided in the respective guide grooves 23 to allow the respective optical fibers 12 to pass therethrough. Guide groove 23
A window 22 is provided at an upper part of the window 22 for pouring a suitable restraining member made of wax or the like in order to integrally fix the optical fiber core wires 11 positioned in the guide grooves 23 and the MT optical connector 19 integrally. is there.

The above wax is used for the MT optical connector 19.
Any material may be used as long as it has a function that can integrally fix the optical fiber 11 and the like, and can be removed later by appropriate treatment. For example, it may be an alcohol wax (trade name).

In the above configuration, the pre-processed optical fiber tape 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 25 of the MT optical connector 19.
In addition to aligning and positioning each optical fiber with each guide groove 23, each optical fiber 12 is inserted into each fine hole 24, and the distal end thereof is protruded from the end face of the small block 21 by an appropriate length. Deploy.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, wax 26 as a restraining member is injected from the window 22 so as to fill the hatched portions in FIG. The MT optical connector 19 is integrally fixed.

The optical fibers 12 are held parallel to each other and at equal intervals by the wax flowing out of the micro holes 24 or the wax applied to the tip end of each optical fiber 12. In other words, the distal ends of the optical fibers 12 are fixedly held by the restricting members located at the distal ends of the optical fibers 12 so that the distance between the optical fibers 12 does not change.

FIG. 3 shows the optical fiber tape 10 and the MT optical connector 19, which are integrally fixed, are arranged so that the tip of each optical fiber 12 faces the polishing surface 31F of the polishing board 31 in a polishing machine (not shown). Then, the portion of the small block 21 of the MT optical connector 19 is sandwiched and fixed by the polishing chuck 30 of the polishing machine, and the end surface of each optical fiber 12 is polished.

In the above configuration, the polishing machine 31 is rotated,
When the tips of the optical fibers 12 integrally constrained by the wax 26 as the tip constraining member are brought into contact with the polishing surface 31F of the polishing disc 31, the wax 26 and the tips of the optical fibers 12 are simultaneously polished. The wax 26 does not interfere with polishing.

At this time, by holding the axis of each optical fiber 12 perpendicular to the friction surface 31F of the polishing board 31, the end face can be polished at right angles to the axis.
In addition, by polishing each optical fiber 12 at an angle with respect to the polishing surface 31F, the end face can be polished to an inclined surface.

After simultaneously polishing the tip of each optical fiber 12 as described above, the MT optical connector 19 was appropriately heated as shown in FIG. 4 and used to fix the optical fiber tape 10 and the MT optical connector 19. The wax 26
Is melted, and then the optical fiber tape 10 is separated from the MT optical connector 19, thereby removing the wax 26.

Thereafter, the optical fiber tape 10 which has been polished as described above is fixed to another MT optical connector 19b as appropriate to be used as an optical connector or an optical switch.

The MT optical connector may be another optical connector or a dedicated optical connector, but may be made of a material having heat resistance for the heat treatment.

In the above description, the optical fiber tape having a plurality of optical fibers has been described as a single layer. If possible, it is possible to simultaneously polish the tips of a plurality of optical fibers in a plurality of optical fiber tapes according to the above description.

In this case, since a plurality of optical fiber tapes can be applied, the number of times of polishing can be reduced by performing a desired number of batches of polishing, which has been conventionally performed a plurality of times. A plurality of pieces of uniform quality can be processed simultaneously.

In the above description, a case where a plurality of optical fibers in an optical fiber tape are polished simultaneously has been described. For example, when a plurality of single-core optical fibers are aligned and polished simultaneously, each single-core optical fiber is polished. After the fibers are aligned and inserted into the insertion holes of the fixing jig, and the optical fibers of each single-core optical fiber are made to protrude from each of the micro holes, the optical connector and each single unit are connected to each other by using wax as a restraining member as described above. By integrally fixing the core optical fiber, the tips of the optical fibers in the plurality of single-core optical fibers can be simultaneously polished under the same conditions as described above.

Therefore, for example, by simultaneously polishing single-fiber optical fibers that form a pair by this polishing method, the number of times of processing can be reduced, and a pair of optical connectors that are more matched than those individually polished can be formed. It is easy to create.

[0028]

As will be understood from the above description, in the invention according to the first aspect, the distal ends of the plurality of optical fibers are restrained and held in parallel with each other by the distal end restraining member, and the optical fibers are connected to the optical fibers. Since the tip restraint member is polished simultaneously and the restraint member is removed thereafter, a plurality of optical fibers can be simultaneously polished under the same conditions with a simple configuration.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method of polishing the end surfaces of a plurality of optical fibers, each of the optical fibers from which the coating has been removed is cut into a predetermined length and aligned, and the ends are bare optical fibers. Then, each optical fiber is fixed to the optical connector with wax or the like in a state where each optical fiber is protruded to a predetermined length from the optical connector tip surface through an optical connector having a hole engaging with the optical fiber diameter, and the optical fiber is fixed. By holding the optical connector portion between the chucks and simultaneously polishing the optical fiber at once with a polishing machine, the polishing surface at the tip of each optical fiber is uniform, and it is easy to process with little variation in accuracy.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3,
When an optical fiber is inserted into the insertion hole provided in the fixing jig, each optical fiber is guided by a plurality of guide grooves, and each optical fiber projects from the fine hole. The optical fiber can be easily attached and set to the fixing jig while maintaining the relationship of (1).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of a pre-processed optical fiber tape and an MT optical connector as a fixing jig.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view showing a state where an optical fiber tape is fixed to the MT optical connector.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a polishing process.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of separating the MT optical connector and the optical fiber tape by heating, and engaging the optical fiber tape with another MT optical connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Optical fiber tape 12: Optical fiber 19: MT optical connector (fixing jig) 20: Large block 21: Small block 22: Window 23: Guide groove 24: Micro hole 25: Insertion hole 30: Polishing chuck 31: Polishing Board

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Furukawa 1440, Mukurosaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Fujikura Co., Ltd. Sakura Plant (72) Inventor Yukio Hayashi 1440, Mukurosaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Fujikura Co., Ltd. Sakura Plant F-term (reference) 2H036 JA02 QA23 QA24 2H038 CA22

Claims (3)

[Claims] When a plurality of optical fibers are held in the vicinity of the distal ends thereof at equal intervals by a distal end restraining member, and when the distal ends of the optical fibers are brought into contact with a polishing board to polish the distal ends, each of the optical fibers is subjected to polishing. A method for polishing an end face of an optical fiber, comprising: polishing the tip restraining member simultaneously with polishing the tip of the optical fiber; and thereafter removing the tip restraining member from the tip of each optical fiber. 2. A method for polishing the tip surfaces of a plurality of optical fibers, wherein each of the optical fibers from which the coating has been removed is provided with a predetermined length, and the tip side is provided with a plurality of fine holes corresponding to the optical fiber diameter. Through the micro-holes of the optical connector
With each optical fiber protruding from the distal end surface of the optical connector to a predetermined length, each optical fiber is integrally fixed to the optical connector with wax or the like, and the distance between the distal ends of the optical fibers is equally maintained, and After sandwiching the connector portion with the chuck of the polishing machine, and simultaneously bringing the tips of the optical fibers into contact with the polishing board of the polishing machine and polishing them at the same time, removing the wax and the like from the tips of the optical fibers, and removing the optical connector. A method for polishing an end face of an optical fiber, comprising removing the fiber. 3. A fixing jig used in the method for polishing an end face of an optical fiber, an insertion hole for inserting an appropriate number of optical fibers, a plurality of guide grooves for individually guiding the optical fibers, An optical fiber fixing jig, comprising: a plurality of fine holes that penetrate the distal end side of each optical fiber; and a window through which wax or the like of a distal end restraint member flows into the guide groove.