JP2002139684A - Optical switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique with which positional accuracy for facing optical fibers each other is improved, without having to upgrade required accuracy for parts composing a mechanism for moving the optical fiber and the optical fiber is moved at higher speed, in an optical switch device. SOLUTION: In the optical switch device, a moving side optical fiber 52 is moved by bending deformation of a support arm 60, which is arranged so as to extend orthogonally in the extending direction of an optical fiber arraying surface 71 of a positioning pedestal 70 and is positioned to plural fixed side optical fibers 51, which are arranged on the optical fiber arraying surface 71, and whereby both optical fibers are optically connected, and the optical switch device is provided in which the plurality of above optical switch devices are collected as a unit optical switch device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an optical switch device used for switching an optical communication line, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of optical switch device,
As shown in FIG. 10, a positioning table 4 on which a plurality of fixed-side optical fibers 1 are arranged in a horizontal direction, and a carriage 10 on which a moving-side optical fiber 2 is attached, move the carriage 10 in the horizontal direction. In some cases, the distal end of the movable optical fiber 2 faces the distal end of the fixed optical fiber 1 and is connected. FIG. 10 shows a feed screw 6 arranged in a horizontal direction and a motor 7 for driving the feed screw 6 to rotate.
The carriage 10 is screwed into the feed screw 6 and moves in the lateral direction.

[0003]

However, FIG.
Has the following problems. (1) Since the feed screw 6 and the motor 7 are arranged in the horizontal direction parallel to the movement axis of the carriage 10, the size of the apparatus tends to increase in the horizontal direction. (2) Since the feed position accuracy of the carriage 10 depends on the rotational accuracy of the motor 7, the processing accuracy of the feed screw 6, and the like, the required accuracy for these is high, and it is difficult to reduce the cost of the product. (3) In a structure in which the axial direction of the ferrule 3 mounted on the carriage 10 and into which the moving-side optical fiber 2 is inserted is perpendicular to the feed screw 6, the rotation of the feed screw 6 by the motor 7 is changed to the linear movement of the carriage 10. When the moving speed is increased to perform the conversion, the stress acting on the feed screw 6 and the threaded portion of the carriage 10 with respect to the feed screw 6 increases, and the transfer screw 6 is easily damaged. Therefore, it is not suitable for increasing the moving speed. (4) The feed screw method uses a slide shaft or a guide to increase the movement accuracy of the carriage 10.
The number of parts increases and the cost also increases. (5) The feed screw 6 has a relatively short life because it is configured to rotate the drive screw 6 by repeatedly applying a driving force to the feed screw 6 by the motor 7.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to reduce the number of components requiring precision, to reduce the cost, and to reduce the moving accuracy of the optical fiber. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical switch device capable of realizing a high-speed switching operation without the need.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an optical switch device for selectively connecting the tip of a movable optical fiber to the tip of a plurality of fixed optical fibers, and connecting the optical fiber to the optical fiber array surface. A positioning table on which a plurality of fixed-side optical fibers are positioned and arranged; and a base end portion extending and arranged perpendicular to the extending direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface and being one end in the extending direction. And a flexible support arm to which the movable side optical fiber held at the distal end of the support arm facing the base end is formed by bending the support arm. An optical switch device is characterized in that the optical switch device is selectively aligned with respect to the fixed-side optical fiber on the arrangement surface and optically connected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical switch device according to the first aspect, the fixed side optical fiber and the movable side optical fiber face each other on the optical fiber array surface of the positioning table. A plurality of positioning grooves for connecting and positioning are formed in parallel, and the moving optical fiber whose positioning has been completed by bending deformation of the support arm is pressed by a pressing mechanism for pressing the moving optical fiber against the positioning groove by a hammer. By being pressed against the positioning groove, the moving side optical fiber is optically connected to the fixed side optical fiber previously positioned and fixed in the positioning groove in a state of facing the fixed side optical fiber. In the invention according to claim 1, for example,
After the positioning of the movable optical fiber is completed due to the bending deformation of the support arm, the movable optical fiber is pressed into the positioning groove by moving the positioning table or the support arm so as to face the fixed optical fiber. Although it is possible to adopt a configuration for optical connection, etc., in the invention according to claim 2, since the moving side optical fiber is pressed against the positioning groove by a hammer, it can be configured with a very simple mechanism. This is advantageous for miniaturization and high density of the optical switch device, and it is easy to reduce the cost.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical switch device comprising a plurality of the optical switch devices according to the first or second aspect as a unit optical switch device. In this case, it is possible to easily realize the miniaturization and space saving of the optical switch device corresponding to the switching (switching connection and the like).

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an optical switch device 50 according to this embodiment.
2A is a side view showing the deformation behavior of the support arm 60 of the optical switch device 50. FIG. FIG. 2B is a comparative example of FIG.

The optical switch device 50 has an optical fiber array surface 71 in which a plurality of positioning grooves 72 (see FIG. 3) for positioning and holding a plurality of fixed side optical fibers 51 are arranged in parallel. Positioning table 7 equipped with
0 and an extending direction of the optical fiber arranging surface 71 (extending direction of the extending surface). Holds the moving-side optical fiber 52, and a base end (a base end connecting portion 62 described below; hereinafter, “base end connecting portion”) is a frame 53.
A flexible support arm 60 fixed to the
By rotating and driving a drive gear 57 meshed with a rack 56 provided at the front end connecting portion 61 of the first arm, the front end connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60 is moved, and the A motor 58 for selectively aligning the movable optical fiber 52 with the plurality of fixed optical fibers 51 arranged on the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 of the positioning table 70, and bending deformation of the support arm 60 ( The distal end of the movable optical fiber 52, which is aligned with the fixed optical fiber 51 to be connected while being slightly lifted from the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 by the bending deformation, is brought into contact with the positioning table 70. Of the fixed side optical fiber 51 held in the positioning groove 72 to be optically connected. Bas pressing mechanism 90 is provided with a, and (4, 5, FIG. 6 (a), (b) see. FIG. 1, in FIG. 2 (a), the not shown). As the positioning groove 72, various configurations such as a V groove, a U groove, a round groove (a groove having a semicircular cross section) can be adopted (FIG. 3 illustrates the V groove).
The support arm 60, the rack 56, the drive gear 57, and the motor 58 are provided by a traversing mechanism 4 that moves the movable optical fiber 52 to a desired fixed optical fiber 51.
1.

Specifically, the movable optical fiber 52 is inserted and fixed in a ferrule 63 attached to a distal end connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60. The distal end protruding from the ferrule 63 is fixed to the fixed side. In a state substantially parallel to the extension direction of the side optical fiber 51, the positioning table 7
It has been extended to zero. The support arm 60 is disposed opposite the other side of the positioning table 70 opposite to the one side where the fixed-side optical fiber 51 is introduced. Width direction,
That is, the positioning grooves 72 extend in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the positioning grooves 72 on the optical fiber arrangement surface 71. By driving the motor 58, the tip connecting portion 61 is moved in the width direction of the positioning table 70,
The moving side optical fiber 52 held by the distal end connecting portion 61
Are aligned with the desired fixed-side optical fiber 51.

In this embodiment, the support arm 60 has a pair of belt-like plates 65A, 65A opposed to each other parallel to each other at intervals in the plate thickness direction.
A, the leading end and the proximal end of 65A are connected to each other,
62. The support arm 60
The plates 65 </ b> A, 65 </ b> A are arranged so that the plate thickness direction is parallel to the width direction of the positioning table 70. The connecting portion 61 on the distal end side corresponds to the distal end of the support arm according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the distal end connecting portion 61 is referred to as “the distal end portion 61”.
Alternatively, it may be referred to as “support arm tip 61”. The support arm 60 is obtained by integrally shaving a pair of plates 65A, 65A and distal and proximal connection portions 61, 62 from a metal base material such as SK material (tool steel). Only the cantilever is supported in a state fixed to the frame 53, and the tip connecting portion 61 is bent along the arrangement direction of the fixed-side optical fibers 51 (the width direction of the positioning table 70) by bending deformation of the pair of plates 65 </ b> A. It is arranged so that it can be translated.

The positioning table 70 is also fixed to the frame 53. The positioning table 70 is provided in a casing 105 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) filled with a refractive index matching agent such as silicone oil. I have. The distal end of the fixed-side optical fiber 51 and the distal end of the movable-side optical fiber 52 are inserted into the casing 105 while ensuring the liquid tightness of the casing 105.

Here, the fixed optical fiber 51 is a single-core optical fiber or the like branched from a multi-core optical fiber such as 16 fibers, and is a bare fiber in which the coating at the tip of each optical fiber is removed. Each of them is inserted one by one into the positioning groove 72 of the positioning table 70. The movable optical fiber 52 is a single-core optical fiber or a single-core optical fiber, and the distal end side of the ferrule 63 is a bare fiber with the coating removed, and is held free. Have been.

When the support arm 60 is positioned at the center in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 of the positioning table 70 as shown by a broken line in FIG. Is set to From this state, the distal end connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60 is swung in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 as shown by a solid line in FIG. Thus, the movable optical fiber 52 can be selectively positioned with respect to the fixed optical fiber 51.
The distal end connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60 is
1 in the width direction, the drive gear 57
To rotate. Then, the rack 56 meshed with the drive gear 57 is sent in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71, and the distal end connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60 is moved.
Is precisely controlled. As the motor 58,
A stepping motor or the like is employed (here, a stepping motor).

A spring 76 shown in FIG. 2A urges the head portion 75 to one end of the moving range of the head portion 75. Even if the feeding and stopping are repeated or the transverse feeding direction is reversed, occurrence of backlash can be prevented, and the moving accuracy of the moving optical fiber 52 can be secured. It should be noted that the elimination of the backlash due to the lateral feed of the support arm tip 61 is not limited to the above-described configuration using the spring 76, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, although not shown, when the installation position of the support arm 60 is changed so that the support arm 60 is not deformed when positioned at one end in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, With the spring force generated by the deformation of the support arm 60 due to the feed, the occurrence of backlash due to the lateral feed is prevented,
The moving accuracy of the moving side optical fiber 52 can be secured.

The support arm 60 has a structure in which the distal ends of a pair of parallel plates 65A, 65A are connected by a connecting portion 61 and the base end connecting portion 62 is fixed to the frame 53. When the distal end connecting portion 61 is swung in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, the intermediate portion in the length direction of the pair of plates 65A, 65A bends and deforms, so that the distal end connecting portion 61 maintains a constant posture. It will be translated as it is. Thereby, the moving side optical fiber 52 is perpendicular to the optical fiber arrangement surface 71,
In addition, in a plane extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fixed-side optical fiber 51 and each positioning groove 72 on the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, each positioning groove 72 on the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, The fixed optical fiber 51 is translated while maintaining a state parallel to the longitudinal direction. When the tip connecting portion 61 is swung in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, the bending deformation of the pair of plates 65A, 65A causes no bending strain to be given to the support arm 60 (FIG. 2A). The position of the distal end connecting portion 61 is slightly longer than that of the optical switch arrangement surface 71 (FIG. 2).
(Slightly lower in (a)), but this deviation is extremely small in the support arm 60 having a length of about several mm, and does not affect the engagement state of the drive gear 57 and the rack 56 at all. Further, when it is desired to obtain a particularly high precision using the short support arm 60 having a short extending direction dimension, a force is applied between the rack 56 and the drive gear 57 using a biasing means such as a spring. Is also good.

The operation principle will be described using a comparative example with reference to FIG. FIG. 2B shows a comparative example. As shown in the example of the present invention in FIG. 2A, the head part 75 (support arm 6) is supported by the support arm 60 having the structure in which the tips of the pair of plates 65A, 65A are connected by the connection part 61.
When the support arm 60 bends and deforms, the pair of plates 65 on the compression side and the extension side are supported.
A, 65A are restrained at both ends, so both plates 6
Similarly, 5A and 65B are flexed and deformed at the intermediate portion in the length direction, and the head portion 75 of the distal end connecting portion 61 moves in parallel by the dimension δ. The head 75 moves in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71 while maintaining a fixed attitude with respect to the fixed optical fiber 51 on the positioning table 70.

This can be clearly understood by considering a case where the tips of the pair of plates 65A, 65A are not restricted to each other as in the comparative example of FIG. 2B. That is, the tips of the pair of plates 65A, 65A are free,
If the plates 65A, 65A are bent and deformed in this state, the lengths of the tips of the pair of plates 65A, 65A are shifted (portion indicated by the dimension S). However, FIG.
The support arm 60 of the present invention shown in FIG.
Since the distal ends of 5A and 65A are mutually restrained by the connecting portion 61, bending deformation as shown in FIG. 2B is not possible in reality, and bending is performed only as shown in FIG. 2A.

In this configuration, when the movable optical fiber 52 is aligned with the fixed optical fiber 51 arranged at a constant pitch by the positioning groove on the positioning table 70, the position of the fixed optical fiber 51 is determined. However, the driving amount of the motor 58 for moving the moving optical fiber 52 between the adjacent fixed optical fibers 51 is constant. In this case, the driving amount of the motor 58 per pitch is fixed to correspond to the arrangement pitch of the fixed-side optical fibers 51, and the number of moving pitches of the moving-side optical fiber 52 (the fixed position adjusted before the movement). Fixed optical fiber 5 from the side optical fiber 51 to the fixed optical fiber 51 of the moving destination
Equivalent to one. In the case of moving from the fixed side optical fiber 51 that has been aligned before the movement to the x-th fixed side optical fiber 51, the motor 58 may be driven by a number corresponding to the moving pitch number x). Motor 58 for aligning moving side optical fiber 52 with respect to 51
There is an advantage that the drive control of the device can be simplified.

After the movable optical fiber 52 is selectively positioned with respect to the fixed optical fiber 51 according to the above principle, in this state, the pressing mechanism 90 is driven to position the distal end of the movable optical fiber 52. It is pressed into the positioning groove of the table, and is opposed to the distal end surface of the fixed-side optical fiber 51 held in the positioning groove. Then, the distal end surfaces of the movable optical fiber 52 and the fixed optical fiber 51 face each other or face each other with a small gap therebetween, and the optical fibers 51 and 52 are properly optically connected due to the presence of the refractive index matching agent. .

Here, the pressing mechanism 90 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the pressing mechanism 90 includes:
L-shaped arm 93 whose bending portion is rotatably supported by pin 94
The moving side optical fiber 52 is positioned at the tip 93a of the positioning table 7.
A hammer 91 that presses against the 0 positioning groove is provided, and a base end 93 b of the L-shaped arm 93 is connected to a drive rod 95 protruding from a solenoid 92. Here, the hammer 91 is formed by bending a rod-shaped metal into a spring body, and is flattened to such an extent that the tip can be pressed without damaging the optical fiber. The hammer 91 is inserted into the casing 105 with only the tip 93a kept in a liquid-tight state by a flexible sealing material.

The driving rod 95 always projects from the solenoid 92 by a spring 96 (FIG. 6).
(A) and (b), the drive rod 95 is in the protruding state and the L-shaped arm 93 is in the spring state unless the solenoid 92 is driven to reduce the protrusion amount of the drive rod 95. The state shown in FIG. 6B, that is, the state where the hammer 91 is pressed toward the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70, is maintained by the urging force 96.

The positioning table 70 is pressed by the pressing mechanism 90.
To move the movable optical fiber 52 pressed into one of the positioning grooves to another positioning groove to optically connect with the fixed optical fiber 51, the solenoid 92 is driven to project the amount of the drive rod 95. The L-shaped arm 93 is rotated to reduce the distance, the hammer 91 is separated from the positioning table 70, and the state of holding the moving-side optical fiber 52 is released.
The state shown in FIG. The moving-side optical fiber 52 (specifically, the distal end protruding from the ferrule 63) is raised from the positioning table 70 to a position where it can move laterally without interfering with each positioning groove of the positioning table 70 due to its own rigidity. Become. Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, the movable optical fiber 52 is aligned with the desired fixed optical fiber 51 positioned on the positioning table 70, and
When the driving force of the solenoid 92 is released in a standby state at a position slightly raised from the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 of the driving rod 9, the driving rod 9 is biased by the spring 96.
5 is pushed out of the solenoid 92 in a protruding state, and FIG.
As shown in (b), the L-shaped arm 93 rotates in the direction of the arrow (b), and the hammer 91 stands by at the position slightly floating above the optical fiber array surface 71.
2 is pressed into the positioning groove of the positioning table 70, whereby the moving side optical fiber 52 and the fixed side optical fiber 51 are optically connected. In this state, the state in which the hammer 91 presses the movable-side optical fiber 52 against the positioning groove is stably maintained by the urging force of the spring 96 until the solenoid 92 is driven again, and the desired optical connection state is stabilized. (For example, stable connection loss).

The pressing mechanism is not limited to the above-described structure, and may be any structure that can freely press and release the moving-side optical fiber to the positioning groove, and various structures can be adopted. .

This optical switch device has the following structural advantages. That is, since the mechanism for moving the moving-side optical fiber 51 in parallel uses only the support arm 60 connecting the pair of plates 65A and 65A as described above, the conventional drive screw is driven to rotate. The method of converting the carriage into a linear movement (hereinafter referred to as a "feed screw method") requires a smaller number of parts and has a very simple structure as compared with the necessity of parts for guiding the carriage such as a slide shaft. In addition, miniaturization, space saving, and cost reduction can be achieved. In addition, the rotation of the driving gear 57 provided with the rotation axis arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the moving side optical fiber 52 held by the distal end connecting portion 61 is transmitted to the rack 56, and
0, the distal connecting portion 61 of the support arm 60 is moved in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71, and the distal connecting portion 6 is moved.
Since the moving side optical fiber 52 held at 1 is configured to be aligned with the target fixed side optical fiber 51,
It is easier to secure the movement accuracy compared to the configuration in which the moving optical fiber is moved by rotating the feed screw perpendicular to the axial direction of the ferrule, and the rack is more compared to the feed screw and carriage used in the feed screw method. 56 and drive gear 57
Has very little wear and has the advantage of extending its life. Maintenance costs can also be reduced. Further, in the lateral feed mechanism 41, even if the support arm tip 61 is moved at high speed, the positional accuracy does not decrease, so that the stability of the optical connection can be secured and the moving optical fiber 52 can be moved at high speed. , Optical fiber 51,
Switching operation such as switching connection between the 52 can be speeded up.

Further, since the movable optical fiber 52 is translated in parallel by bending deformation of the pair of plates 65A, 65A, a minute displacement can be easily given to the movable optical fiber 52 with excellent resolution. Therefore, even if the arrangement pitch of the fixed-side optical fibers 51 is set to be extremely small, the movable-side optical fibers 52 can be accurately aligned, and as a result, the arrangement pitch of the fixed-side optical fibers 51 is reduced. , High density can be realized.

As for the support arm 60, a pair of plates 65A, 65A and a connecting block can be separately manufactured and then assembled as a single unit by welding, screws, or the like. In the case of (1), since the support arm 60 is processed from an integral metal material from the beginning, the structure is further simplified, and the precision of the parts is increased.
In addition, since it becomes resistant to vibration and there is no difference in thermal expansion on the support arm 60, it is possible to eliminate the influence of thermal expansion by unifying the material with the surrounding structural materials.

Next, a description will be given of an optical switch device 100 having the above-described optical switch device 50 as one unit (hereinafter, referred to as a "unit optical switch device 50") and a large number of the optical switch devices 50 assembled. FIG. 4 shows the optical switch device 10.
0 is a plan view, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the same. The optical switch device 100 has a plurality of unit optical switch devices 50 arranged on a base frame 103. The unit optical switch devices 50 are arranged so that the longitudinal directions of the positioning grooves 72 on the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70 are aligned in parallel. However, the positioning bases 70 of the unit optical switch devices 50 are arranged and housed in the same casing 105. The optical switch device 100 is formed by arranging a plurality of unit optical switch devices 50 and arranging them. However, as described above, the unit optical switch devices 50 themselves are reduced in size and soot. Even in the case of multi-core support, of course, the overall size and space can be easily reduced. It is needless to say that a plurality of unit optical switch devices 50 having the configuration in which the positioning table 70 is accommodated in the individual casings can be assembled to constitute an optical switch device compatible with multiple cores.

(Another Embodiment) Next, in the above-described embodiment, the traversing mechanism 41 of the movable optical fiber 52 is shown in FIG.
An embodiment in which the horizontal feed mechanism 42 shown in FIG. The parts other than the transverse feed mechanism have the same configuration without any change. As shown in FIG. 7, the lateral feed mechanism 42 of the moving optical fiber 52 in this optical switch device.
Are arranged so as to extend perpendicularly to the direction in which the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70 extends (the direction in which the extension surface extends), hold the moving-side optical fiber 52 at the distal end portion 81, and The support arm 80 has a base end 82 fixed to a frame 53 and a drive gear 57 meshed with a rack 83 provided at a distal end 81 of the support arm 80. By moving the distal end portion 81 of the optical fiber 80, the moving side optical fiber 52 held by the distal end portion 81 is moved to the plurality of fixed side optical fibers 51 arranged on the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70. And a motor 58 for selectively performing positioning.

As a pressing mechanism for pressing the movable optical fiber 52 into the positioning groove 72 of the positioning table 70, a pressing mechanism 90 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) exemplified in FIGS. However, also in this embodiment, the pressing mechanism is not limited to the pressing mechanism 90, and various configurations can be adopted. As the pressing mechanism, the bending movement of the support arm 80 causes the movable optical fiber 52 () to be positioned at a position slightly raised from the positioning groove 72 in which the fixed optical fiber 51 to be connected is housed and waited. 9) can be pushed into the positioning groove 72 of the positioning table 70 and optically connected to the distal end of the fixed-side optical fiber 51 held in the positioning groove 72. Good.

The support arm 90 is specifically made of a leaf spring, and a ferrule 84 into which the movable optical fiber 52 is inserted and fixed, and the rack 83 are mounted on a distal end portion 81. The support arm 90 is arranged so that its thickness direction is parallel to the width direction of the positioning table 70. When the motor 58 is driven to rotate the drive gear 57, as shown in FIG. 8, the rack 83 engaged with the drive gear 57 causes the optical fiber of the positioning table 70 to move along a gentle arc-shaped trajectory (see FIG. 9). The head is provided at the distal end portion 81 of the support arm 80 by being laterally fed in a direction substantially parallel to the width direction of the arrangement surface 71 and being bent (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “bending deformation”) of the support arm 90. 85 (tip 81 of support arm 80, ferrule 84,
The portion including the rack 83) is moved along the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71. Thus, the movable optical fiber 52 held by the distal end portion 81 of the support arm 90 is aligned with the desired fixed optical fiber 51 on the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70 by driving the motor 58. Is done. Here, the movement of the movable optical fiber 52 due to the bending deformation of the support arm 90 is caused by the optical fiber arrangement surface 7.
This is a parallel movement maintaining the parallelism with respect to the fixed optical fiber 51 and the positioning groove 72 on the upper side.

In the lateral feed of the head 85 utilizing the bending deformation of the support arm 90, the movement trajectory of the head 85 draws an arc (see FIG. 9). The movement trajectory of the moving-side optical fiber 52 has the largest rise from the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 near the center in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, and the optical fiber arrangement surface near both ends in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71. Lift from 71 is small. The lateral feed mechanism 42 of the optical switch device employs a rack 83 curved in an arc shape corresponding to the movement locus of the head portion 85. The rack 83 is connected to the drive gear 5 disposed at a fixed position.
7 by the rotation drive of the positioning table 70.
The moving-side optical fiber 52 is aligned with the desired fixed-side optical fiber 51 positioned at. Specifically, the tip of the movable optical fiber 52 protruding from the ferrule 84 is positioned at a position slightly raised from the positioning groove 72 in which the desired fixed optical fiber 51 to be connected is positioned. . The positioning table 70 employed here includes the fixed-side optical fiber 51.
Is set to be wider at the center in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71, and gradually narrower toward both ends in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71, and between the fixed optical fibers 51 adjacent to each other. The driving amount of the motor 58 required for moving the moving side optical fiber 52 is adjusted to be constant.

In FIG. 7 and the like, when the support arm 80 is positioned at the center in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70, the support arm 80 is set so as to be straight without deformation. From the state where there is no deformation, the optical fiber is swung on both sides in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 within a range of at most about 1 mm. The spring 86 shown in FIG.
Is for urging the head portion 85 to one end side of the moving range of the head portion 85. The transverse feed mechanism 42 repeats the lateral feed of the support arm distal end portion 81 and stops, or the lateral feed direction. , The occurrence of backlash can be prevented, and the moving accuracy of the moving side optical fiber 52 can be secured. In addition, the elimination of the backlash due to the lateral feed of the support arm tip 81 is not limited to the configuration using the spring 86 described above, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, although not shown, if the installation position of the support arm 80 is changed so that the support arm 80 is not deformed when positioned at one end in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71, the tip 81 The backlash caused by the lateral feed is prevented by the spring force generated by the bending deformation of the support arm 80 due to the lateral feed, and the movement accuracy of the moving optical fiber 52 can be secured.

By pressing the moving optical fiber 52 positioned at a position slightly raised from the positioning groove 72 into the positioning groove 72 by a pressing mechanism, the optical fibers 51 and 52 are optically connected to each other, and the pressing force by the pressing mechanism is applied. Is released, the movable optical fiber 52 is straightened by its own rigidity, so that the optical fiber 52 slightly rises from the optical fiber array surface 71 of the positioning table 70 and can be traversed without interfering with the positioning groove 72. Is the same as that of the optical switch device 50 described above.

Also in the optical switch device of this embodiment, the mechanism for laterally moving the moving side optical fiber 51 uses only the support arm 80 composed of a single leaf spring. The method of converting the drive into linear movement of the carriage (hereinafter referred to as “feed screw method”) requires fewer parts and has a very simple structure compared to the necessity of parts for guiding the carriage such as a slide shaft. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size, space, and cost. In addition, the rotation of the drive gear 57 provided with a rotation axis arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction (the axial direction of the ferrule 84) of the movable optical fiber 52 held at the distal end portion 81 is transmitted to the rack 83. The supporting arm 80 is flexed and deformed, and the distal end portion 81 of the supporting arm 80 is laterally fed to move the optical fiber 52 held by the distal end portion 81.
Is positioned with respect to the target fixed-side optical fiber 51, so that it is easier to secure the movement accuracy as compared with a configuration in which the moving-side optical fiber is moved by rotating a feed screw perpendicular to the axial direction of the ferrule. In addition, the wear of the drive gear 57 and the rack 83 is very small as compared with the feed screw or carriage of the feed screw type, and the life can be extended. Further, in this lateral feed mechanism 42, even if the support arm tip portion 81 is moved at high speed, the positional accuracy does not decrease, so that the stability of the optical connection can be secured and the moving side optical fiber 52 can be moved at high speed. The switching operation such as switching connection between the optical fibers 51 and 52 can be speeded up.

The support arm 80, which is a single leaf spring,
Since the movable optical fiber 52 is laterally fed by the flexural deformation of, the minute displacement can be easily given to the movable optical fiber 52 with excellent resolution. Therefore, even if the arrangement pitch of the fixed-side optical fibers 51 is set to be extremely small, the movable-side optical fibers 52 can be accurately aligned, and as a result, the arrangement pitch of the fixed-side optical fibers 51 is reduced. , High density can be realized.

By arranging a plurality of optical switch devices as unit optical switch devices, an optical switch device corresponding to multiple cores (the optical switch device 1 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5) can be used.
00). In addition, it goes without saying that the multi-fiber optical switch device can be realized with a high density, and can be reduced in space and size.

In any of the transverse feed mechanisms, the dimension of the support arms 60 and 80 in the extending direction, that is, the base end 6
When the protrusion dimension from the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 is increased, the amount of bending deformation with respect to the moving distance of the distal end portions 61 and 81 in the width direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 decreases, and the moving side optical fiber 52 from the optical fiber arrangement surface 71 decreases. There is an advantage that the separation distance can be stabilized.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately changed. For example, the specific shape of the support arm is not limited to a combination of a pair of plates having a mere rectangular plate shape or a plate plate having a single rectangular plate shape. Various types such as those having holes and the like can be adopted. In FIGS. 1 and 7, the positioning table 70 is arranged so that the optical fiber array surface 71 is substantially horizontal, and is moved by the lateral feed mechanisms 41 and 42 along the optical fiber array surface 71. Although the configuration in which the distal end of the optical fiber 52 is moved is illustrated, the installation direction of the positioning table 70 is not particularly limited, and may not be the direction in which the optical fiber array surface 71 is horizontal. Further, in the above-described embodiment, “transverse feed” refers to regardless of the direction of the optical fiber arrangement surface 71,
Moving side optical fiber 5 in the width direction of optical fiber array surface 71
2 and also includes movement in the width direction of the optical fiber array surface 71 set in a direction other than horizontal. The configuration for transmitting the rotational driving force generated by a driving source such as a motor to the support arm is not limited to the configuration illustrated in the above-described embodiment, and may include, for example, a configuration in which a reduction gear is incorporated in the middle. Can also be adopted. If the transmission system for transmitting the rotational driving force of the driving source incorporates a speed reduction mechanism including the gears for deceleration, the driving force of the stepping motor can be substantially increased. There is an advantage that the moving-side optical fiber can be reliably moved without being affected by the driving resistance of the traversing mechanism. Although the stepping motor has excellent driving accuracy, it has a disadvantage that the driving torque is relatively small,
By employing the speed reduction mechanism, the movement of the moving-side optical fiber can be reliably performed with high accuracy. Various configurations such as an electric motor other than a stepping motor can be adopted as a drive source for driving the lateral feed mechanism. However, since the drive amount can be controlled with high accuracy, it is not necessary to separately provide a mechanism for adjusting the drive amount with high accuracy, and it is easy to reduce the size. Are suitable. The number of moving-side optical fibers moved by one transverse feed mechanism is not limited to one, and may be two or more. For example, a plurality of pairs of optical fibers can be switched at the same time by supporting a plurality of moving-side optical fibers on the support arm and moving them collectively.

[0041]

As described above, according to the optical switch device of the present invention, the movable side optical fiber is formed by bending deformation of the support arm extending perpendicular to the extending direction of the optical fiber array surface of the positioning table. Is moved, and the optical fiber is connected to the fixed-side optical fiber on the optical fiber array surface, and the optical connection is made. The moving speed of the moving side optical fiber can be increased, and excellent moving accuracy can be ensured. Further, simplification of the structure and reduction in the number of parts can reduce costs and reduce the size. Therefore, even when a plurality of optical switch devices are assembled as a unit optical switch device to constitute a multi-core optical switch device,
This multi-core optical switch device can be reduced in size, space, and cost. Further, by adopting a pressing mechanism for pressing the moving side optical fiber against the positioning groove by a hammer, the pressing mechanism is also simplified, downsized,
There is an advantage that the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lateral feed mechanism of an optical switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a side view showing a deformation behavior of a support arm of the lateral feed mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a comparative example of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a positioning table applied to the optical switch device of FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a plurality of optical switch devices each including the traversing device of FIG. 1 integrated as a unit optical switch device;
It is a top view which shows the optical switch apparatus comprised so that it may correspond to many cores.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the multi-core optical switch device of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are side views showing the operation of the lateral feed mechanism of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 6A shows a state in which the pressing of the moving-side optical fiber against the positioning groove is released, and FIG. The state which pressed the fiber is shown.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the transverse feed mechanism applied to the optical switch device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a deformation behavior of a support arm in the lateral feed mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a movement locus of a moving-side optical fiber in the lateral feed mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the principle of a conventional optical switch device.

[Explanation of symbols]

50: Optical switch device, 51: Fixed side optical fiber, 52
... Moving-side optical fiber, 60... Support arm, 61... Tip connecting portion, 62... Base connecting portion, 70. Locating stand, 71. , 82: base end portion, 90: pressing mechanism, 91: hammer, 100: optical switch device.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Nomura 1440 Mutsuzaki, Sakura-shi, Chiba F-term in Fujikura Sakura Works (reference) 2H041 AA14 AB19 AC04 AZ03

Claims (3)

[Claims] An optical switch device for selectively connecting a tip of a movable optical fiber (52) to a tip of a plurality of fixed optical fibers (51) and connecting the optical fiber array surface (71). A positioning table (70) in which a plurality of fixed-side optical fibers are positioned and arranged; and a positioning table (70) arranged to extend perpendicularly to the extending direction of the optical fiber array surface, and at one end in the extending direction. A certain base end (62, 8
2) a flexible support arm (60, 8) to which is fixed.
0), and the movable optical fiber held at the distal end (61, 81) of the support arm facing the base end is bent by the bending deformation of the support arm. An optical switch device (50), characterized in that the optical switch device (50) is selectively positioned and optically connected to a fixed side optical fiber. 2. A positioning groove (7) for positioning the fixed-side optical fiber and the moving-side optical fiber so that they can be optically connected to each other in a state where the fixed-side optical fiber and the movable-side optical fiber face each other.
2) are formed in parallel, and the moving-side optical fiber whose alignment has been completed by bending deformation of the support arm is pressed by a pressing mechanism (90) for pressing the moving-side optical fiber into the positioning groove with a hammer (91). By pressing against the positioning groove,
2. The optical switch device according to claim 1, wherein said movable side optical fiber is optically connected to said fixed side optical fiber which is preliminarily positioned and fixed in said positioning groove while facing said fixed side optical fiber. . 3. An optical switch device (100), wherein a plurality of the optical switch devices according to claim 1 or 2 are assembled as a unit optical switch device.