JP2003053653A - Ferrule end face polishing device for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ferrule end face polishing device for an optical fiber for stably imparting a prescribed polishing load to a ferrule polishing end face and preventing damage from being generated in an optical fiber cord. SOLUTION: A polishing load mechanism 7 of this ferrule end face polishing device 1 for an optical fiber is provided with a load adding/removing shaft 9 for pressurizing or depressurizing a ferrule holding tool 3 on a polishing surface plate 4 and a cylindrical bearing 10 therefor, running blocks 13A and 13B fixed at an upper end 9A of the load adding/removing shaft 9, a wire 11 which is fixed at one end, is connected to a suspended weight 8 at the other end, slides the fixed blocks 12A and 12B, and pressurizes or depressurizes the running block 13, a polishing load adding/removing means 14 which slides the wire 11, moves the suspended weight 8 and the running block 13 in directions opposite each other of upper and lower directions, and adds/removes polishing load W to/from an end face of a ferrule 2, a running block protective cover 15 for surrounding the running block 13, and a protecting cover 16 for surrounding the fixed blocks 12A and 12B and the running block protective cover 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus, and in particular, when polishing the end face of an optical fiber ferrule, a proper polishing load can be stably applied to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule. The present invention relates to an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus having a polishing load mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When polishing an end face of an optical fiber ferrule in which an optical fiber is inserted and fixed, it is necessary that a proper polishing load be stably applied to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule during polishing of the end face. . Therefore, the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus is provided with a polishing load mechanism so that an appropriate polishing load is applied to the optical fiber ferrule end face. FIG. 2 shows a schematic explanatory view of an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus 30 having a conventional polishing load mechanism.
A plurality of ferrules 31 in which the optical fibers f are inserted and fixed are supported and fixed to a disc-shaped ferrule holder 32, and the ferrule holder 32 polishes the tip surface of the ferrule 31 to the polishing surface plate 3
The polishing surface plate 33 is pressed against the polishing surface 33A of
Placed on top. The optical fiber cord F led out from the rear end of the ferrule 31 is placed on the optical fiber cord base 43 provided on the polishing device frame 37 so as not to interfere with the polishing. A polishing load mechanism 36 applies a polishing load W to the ferrule holder 32 placed on the polishing platen 33, and the tip surface of the ferrule 31 is pressed against the polishing platen polishing surface 33A by the polishing load W. With the polishing load W being applied to the tip surface of the ferrule 31, the polishing platen 33 is driven by the driving means 3
The tip surface of the ferrule 31 is polished by rotating the rotating shaft 34 about 5 as a center. The configuration of the polishing load mechanism 36 is such that the polishing platen is moved upward in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing surface 33A above the polishing platen 33 at the tip of the polishing device frame 37 protruding above the polishing platen 33. Polishing load imparting shaft 38 arranged so as to press or release the center of the ferrule holder 32 placed on the polishing surface 33A.
And a load shaft 40 arranged to apply a polishing load to the polishing load applying shaft 38, and a load fitted to the load shaft 40 and freely slidable to a load position on the shaft to adjust the polishing load according to the load position. The weight 42 and the rotation support point 4 on the tip end side of the load shaft 40
3 and a load addition / removal lever 44 that is provided orthogonal to the load shaft 40 and that supports the load shaft 40 rotatably from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction about the rotation support point 43. The load shaft 4 centered on the load applying portion 39 of the polishing load mechanism 36
The structure of 0 and the polishing load applying shaft 38 will be described in more detail. A hemispherical load applying portion 39 is provided at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38.
The load shaft 40 is provided with a fulcrum shaft 41 for pressing the load applying portion 39 of the polishing load applying shaft 38. The polishing load W is added to and removed from the tip surface of the ferrule 31 as follows. The load addition / removal lever 44 is pushed up vertically above the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing device 30 about the rotation support point 43, whereby the fulcrum shaft 4 of the load shaft 40 is moved.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a hemispherical load applying portion 3 at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38.
9 is pressed by the polishing load W, the polishing load applying shaft 38 presses the ferrule holder 32, and the tip surface of the ferrule 31 held by the ferrule holder 32 is applied to the polishing surface plate polishing surface 33A by the polishing load W. Pressed with. Further, by tilting the load addition / removal lever 44 toward the front side of the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing device 30 around the rotation support point 43, the load shaft 40 stands upright and the fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 has a hemispherical shape. The polishing load applying shaft 3 is separated from the load applying unit 39.
The polishing load W of the load shaft 40 pressing 8 is released,
The polishing load applying shaft 38 moves upward away from the surface of the ferrule holder 32, and the polishing load W applied to the tip surface of the ferrule 31 is released.

[0003]

The polishing load mechanism 3 described above is used.
No. 6 had the following defects in structure.

(1) The polishing load W applied to the tip surface of the ferrule 31 is set by moving the position of the load weight 41 fitted to the load shaft 40. Therefore, the distance L1 from the rotation support point 42 of the load adjusting lever 43 to the fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 and the distance L2 from the fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 to the load weight 42 of the load shaft 40 are highly accurate. If it is not set, the polishing load applied to the distal end surface of the ferrule 31 will be different from the predetermined appropriate polishing load W, and the polishing quality of the ferrule end will be deteriorated.

(2) Since the ferrule holders 32 have different thicknesses, due to the difference in the thickness of the ferrule holders 32 used, the fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 is pressed during the ferrule end face polishing. The point deviates from the center point of the hemispherical surface of the load applying portion 39 at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38 to be originally pressed, the polishing load applying shaft 38 descends from the original set position, and the position angle of the load adjusting lever 43 inclines from the horizontal position. Will be done. As a result, the load applied from the load shaft 40 to the polishing load applying shaft 38 fluctuates, the polishing load applied to the tip surface of the ferrule 31 becomes different from the predetermined polishing load W, and the polishing quality of the end surface of the ferrule deteriorates. This caused the end face polishing failure of the ferrule. In order to prevent this, according to the thickness of the ferrule holder 32, the pressing point of the fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 is adjusted to come to the hemispherical center apex of the load fulcrum 39 at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38 each time. However, this is also a problem that reduces the polishing work efficiency.

(3) Further, the load applying part 39 at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38, which is a central part for transmitting the polishing load, is formed in a hemispherical surface, and the central vertex of the hemispherical surface of the load applying part 39 is the load axis. The fulcrum shaft 41 of 40 pressurizes. Therefore, due to vibration during polishing of the ferrule end surface,
The fulcrum shaft 41 of the load shaft 40 is easily disengaged from the center apex of the hemispherical load fulcrum 39 at the upper end of the polishing load applying shaft 38, and the polishing load applying shaft 38 is easily moved up and down. As a result, the vertical movement of the polishing load imparting shaft 38 causes an inclination variation of the load adding / removing lever 44 from the horizontal position, and the load shaft 40 is added to the polishing load imparting shaft 38 as in the problem (2) to be solved. The load applied is likely to fluctuate, the polishing load applied to the tip surface of the ferrule 31 becomes unstable, and this also causes the deterioration of the polishing quality of the ferrule end surface.

(4) Further, since the structures such as the load adjusting lever 44, the load shaft 40 and the load weight 42 are exposed, the optical fiber cord F led out from the rear end of the ferrule 31 is bent. Even if the optical fiber cords 43 are collectively placed on the fiber cord base 43, the middle part of the optical fiber cords F that are led out is easily pinched by structures such as the load addition / removal lever 44, the load shaft 40, or the weight weight 42, and the optical fiber cords F are damaged or broken. There was a problem that caused it.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to stably apply a proper polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule when polishing the end face of the optical fiber ferrule, and to prevent damage to the optical fiber cord during the end face polishing. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus which is safe and has a polishing load mechanism which is excellent in polishing quality without causing disconnection.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect, an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus of the present invention is configured to rotate an end face of an optical fiber ferrule held and fixed by a ferrule holder. In an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing device that presses and polishes a surface plate while applying a polishing load, a polishing load mechanism that applies and releases a polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule includes a hanging weight for polishing load and the polishing surface plate surface. And a load addition / removal shaft that is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction and that applies or releases the ferrule holder to the polishing platen surface to apply or release the polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule, and the load addition / removal shaft slides. A cylindrical bearing, a moving pulley fixedly provided on the upper end of the load adjusting shaft, one end connected to the hanging weight, and the other end fixed to fix the hanging weight. A wire that holds the load addition / removal shaft movably in the up-down direction with respect to the surface of the polishing platen through the moving pulley, and first and second constant pulleys that slide the wire. Polishing means for moving the hanging weight and the load adding / removing shaft so that the hanging weight and the load adding / removing shaft are interlocked with each other in the vertical direction to add or remove the polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule of the ferrule holder; A moving pulley protection cover that surrounds the pulley,
A structural feature is that the protective cover is provided to surround the first and second constant pulleys and the movable pulley protective cover.

According to a second aspect, in the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus of the present invention, in the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus having the above configuration, the polishing load adding / removing means is provided so as to be rotatable around a support point. A load adjusting arm,
A spring member urged in a direction to pull the load adjusting arm, and a sliding member fixed to the wire and moving integrally with the wire, and sliding the sliding member by the load adding arm. The wire is slid by, and the polishing load is added to and removed from the end face of the optical fiber ferrule.

According to a third aspect, in the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus of the present invention, in the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, the moving pulley is composed of two moving pulleys. The structural feature is that they are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction.

[0012]

In the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a polishing load is applied to the polishing end face of the optical fiber ferrule, the hanging weight moves upward by using the polishing load adding and removing means. Slide the wire in the direction. By the sliding of the wire, the moving pulley is pressed by the wire and moves downward. As a result, the load adding / removing shaft fixedly mounted on the movable pulley is pushed downward toward the surface of the polishing platen and presses the ferrule holder mounted on the polishing platen. As a result, the polishing end face of the optical fiber ferrule held by the ferrule holder is pressed against the polishing surface of the polishing platen with a predetermined polishing load determined by the hanging weight. Next, when releasing the polishing load applied to the polishing end face of the optical fiber ferrule, the polishing load adding / removing means slides the wire in the direction in which the hanging weight moves downward. With the sliding of the wire, the pressing force of the wire pressing the moving pulley is reduced, the moving pulley moves upward, and the load addition / removal shaft fixed to the moving pulley is moved from the ferrule holder. The polishing load is released upward, and the polishing load pressing the ferrule holder, that is, the polishing load pressing the optical fiber ferrule polishing end face is released. (1) As described above, since the hanging weight and the moving pulley that are interlocked with each other in the upside-down direction are connected by the wire, the ferrule holder, that is, the polishing load for pressing the polished end face of the optical fiber ferrule is the weight of the hanging weight. The polishing load determined by the load weight is always stably added without being affected by the distance between the load fulcrum shaft and the weight as in the conventional polishing load mechanism described above. (2) In addition, the polishing load that presses the polished end face of the optical fiber ferrule is configured such that the pressing force of the wire that suspends the hanging weight at one end is applied to the load addition / removal shaft as it is through the moving pulley. Even if there is vibration inside the ferrule holder or the thickness of the ferrule holder used is different, the load addition / removal axis is displaced in response to such vibration during polishing and the difference in the thickness of the ferrule holder. However, the polishing load of the load adding / removing shaft that presses the ferrule polishing end face does not change at all. (3) Further, since the moving pulley is surrounded by a moving pulley protection cover, and the moving pulley protection cover and the first and second constant pulleys are entirely surrounded by the protection cover, the optical fiber is The optical fiber cord led out from the ferrule terminal will never be caught or caught in a structure such as a load adding / removing shaft, a moving pulley, a fixed pulley, a polishing load adding / removing means or the like to cause damage or disconnection accident.

In the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the polishing load adding / removing means is fixed to the load adding / removing arm to which the pulling force is always applied by the spring member in the rotating direction and the wire. The wire is slid to the load adjusting position by the load adjusting arm urged by the spring member. Therefore, even if there is a difference in vibration during polishing of the end surface or the thickness of the ferrule holder,
The pressing force of the moving pulley that presses the load addition / removal shaft and is absorbed by the spring force of the spring member, that is, the polishing load that presses the polishing end face of the optical fiber ferrule, is always stable.

In the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the moving pulley of the polishing load mechanism is formed by arranging two small diameter moving pulleys side by side in the lateral direction. There is an advantage that the size of the pulley can be reduced, and the entire optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus can be downsized.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus of the present invention. The optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus 1 includes a disk-shaped ferrule holder 3 for supporting and fixing a plurality of ferrules 2 in which optical fibers f are inserted and fixed, and a ferrule holder 3 is placed and supported and fixed on the ferrule holder 3. The polishing surface plate 4 for polishing the end surface of the ferrule 2 thus prepared, the driving means 6 for rotating the polishing surface plate 4 about the rotation shaft 5, and the end surface of the ferrule 2 supported and fixed to the ferrule holder 3. It comprises a polishing load mechanism 7 for pressing and releasing the polishing surface W of the surface plate 4 with a polishing load W. Reference numeral 20 is an optical fiber cord mounting base for collectively placing the optical fiber cords F led out from the rear end of the ferrule 2. Here, the polishing load mechanism 7, which is the center of the present invention, will be described in more detail. The polishing load mechanism 7 moves vertically with respect to the hanging weight 8 for polishing load and the polishing surface plate polishing surface 4A, and the polishing load W is applied to the end surface of the ferrule 2.
A load adding / removing shaft 9, a cylindrical bearing 10 for sliding the load adding / removing shaft 9 in the vertical direction, one end for hanging the polishing load hanging weight 8 and the other end for a fixed point Y near the cylindrical bearing 10. A wire 11 that supports the fixed load / unload shaft 9 movably in the vertical direction with respect to the polishing surface plate polishing surface 4A, first and second constant pulleys 12A and 12B that slide the wire 11, and load / load shaft 9 Fixed to the upper end 9A of each of the movable sheaves 13A and 1A arranged in parallel and vertically moving integrally with the load adding / removing shaft 9.
3B, the wire 11 is slid to move the hanging weight 8 in the vertical direction, and the load adjusting shaft 9 is moved in the vertical direction opposite to the hanging weight 8 via the moving pulleys 13A and 13B, and the ferrule holder 3 has a polishing load W. Polishing load adding and removing means 14 for adding and removing
And a movable pulley protection cover 15 that surrounds the movable pulleys 13A and 13B, and a protective cover 16 that surrounds the first and second constant pulleys 12A and 12B and the movable pulley protection cover 15. Further, the polishing load adding / removing means 14 is a sliding member 17 fixed to the wire 11 between the constant pulleys 12A and 12B and sliding integrally with the wire 11, and a load applying position provided between the constant pulleys 11A and 11B. A load adjusting arm 18 rotatably provided around a support point P that slides while pressing the sliding member 17 between X1 and the load release position X2, and a direction of the load adding and removing arm 18 toward the support point P. And a spring member 19 which is biased so as to be pulled.

In such a structure, polishing of the end face of the optical fiber ferrule is performed as follows. First,
The ferrule holder 3 has a plurality of ferrules 2 with the optical fibers f inserted and fixed.
Then, the ferrule holder 3 is placed on the polishing platen 4 such that the polishing tip surface of the ferrule 2 is pressed against the polishing surface 4A of the polishing platen 4. At this time, the optical fiber cords F led out from the rear end of the ferrule 2 are collectively placed on the optical fiber cord mount 20 provided on the protective cover 16 so as not to interfere with the polishing process. Next, the load adding / removing arm 18 of the polishing load adding / removing means 14 is rotated, and the wire 11 is slid while pushing the sliding member 17 to the load applying position X1 by the load adding / removing arm 18. Load application position X
By sliding the wire 11 up to 1,
The hanging weight 8 hung at one end of the moving pulley 13 is lifted, and accordingly, the wire 11 presses the moving sheaves 13A and 13B downward, and the load adding / removing shaft 9 is also pushed down together with the moving sheaves 13A and 13B. The load applying shaft 9 pushed down presses the ferrule holder 3 placed on the polishing platen 4. As a result, the polishing tip surface of the ferrule 2 held and fixed by the ferrule holder 3 has a polishing load W.
It is pressed against the polishing surface plate polishing surface 4A. By rotating the polishing platen 4 in this state, the tip surface of the ferrule 2 is polished with the polishing load W being stably applied. Next, when the polishing of the end face of the optical fiber ferrule is completed and the polishing load W on the tip face of the ferrule 2 is released, the load adding / removing arm 18 is rotated in the opposite direction to the load of the sliding member 17. Push back to release position X2. This allows
The hanging weight 8 hung on one end of the wire 11 by sliding the wire 11 is lowered downward, and the movable pulleys 13A and 13B and the load adding / removing shaft 9 which are pressed by the wire 11 are raised upward from the ferrule holder 3. The polishing load W pressing the ferrule holder 3 is released, the rotation drive of the polishing platen 4 is stopped, and the polishing operation is completed.

Table 1 shows the polishing evaluation results of the end face polishing of the ferrule using the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing device 1 of the present invention and the conventional optical fiber ferrule end face polishing device 30 of FIG.

-Ferrule end face polishing evaluation test-For the ferrule end face polishing processing, 1 for each ferrule holder.
The evaluation was performed by holding and fixing two optical fiber ferrules and performing a polishing step of polishing the ferrule end surface into a convex spherical surface, and comparing the radius of curvature and the amount of curvature eccentricity of each of the 12 ferrule end surfaces after polishing. The polishing load was 1 kg each.

[0020]

[Table 1] -Ferrule end face polishing evaluation test results-

As is clear from the evaluation results in Table 1 above,
When the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus 1 of the present invention and the conventional optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus 30 are compared, the radius of curvature and the curvature eccentricity of 12 test ferrules polished by the optical fiber ferrule end surface polishing apparatus 1 of the present invention are compared. As compared with the conventional optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus 30, the amount shows a stable value with very little variation, and it can be seen that the curvature eccentricity amount is extremely small. In the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus 1 of the present invention, this is because the polishing load W is evenly applied to each ferrule 2 held and fixed by the ferrule holder 3, and the polishing load W applied to each ferrule 2 is It shows that it does not change during the polishing process and is always stable.

[0022]

According to the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus of the present invention, the polishing load mechanism connects the hanging weight and the moving pulley with the wire, and changes the load of the hanging weight into the pressing force of the wire and through the moving pulley. The structure is applied as it is to the end face of the ferrule. Further, the structure of the polishing load mechanism is surrounded by a protective cover. With this configuration, (1) the polishing load applied to the ferrule end surface is
It is uniquely determined only by the weight of the load weight, regardless of the accuracy of the distance between the load weight and the load applying fulcrum as in the conventional case. (2) The polishing load on the end face of the ferrule is not affected by the variation in the thickness of the ferrule holder and the vibration during polishing of the ferrule end face, and a predetermined proper polishing load is always applied stably. (3) It is possible to prevent an accident that the optical fiber cord led out from the rear end of the optical fiber ferrule is caught or caught by the structure of the polishing load mechanism and is broken or damaged. Therefore, according to the optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to stably provide an optical fiber ferrule having excellent end face polishing quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of an optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Optical fiber ferrule end face polisher 2 ferrules 3 ferrule holder 4 Polishing surface plate 4A Polishing surface plate Polishing surface 5 rotation axes 6 Drive means 7 Polishing load mechanism 8 hanging weight 9 Load control axis 9A load control shaft upper end 10 Cylindrical bearing 11 wires 12A, 12B fixed pulley 13A, 13B movable pulley 14 Polishing load adjusting means 15 Movable pulley protection cover 16 Protective cover 17 Sliding member 18 Load control arm 19 Spring member 20 Optical fiber cord stand F optical fiber cord P load control arm support point W polishing load X1 load application position X2 load release position Y wire fixing point

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus for polishing the end face of an optical fiber ferrule held and fixed to a ferrule holder by applying a polishing load to a rotating polishing platen while applying a polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule. A polishing load mechanism for applying and releasing a hanging load for polishing load, and the optical fiber ferrule by pressing or depressurizing the ferrule holder provided on the polishing platen surface so as to be vertically movable with respect to the polishing platen surface. A load adding / removing shaft for applying or releasing a polishing load to the end surface, a cylindrical bearing on which the load adding / removing shaft slides, a movable pulley fixedly mounted on the upper end of the load adding / removing shaft, and one end connected to the hanging weight. The other end is fixed to hold the hanging weight so that it can move in the vertical direction, and the load addition / removal shaft can move in the vertical direction with respect to the surface of the polishing platen via the moving pulley. Function-holding wire, first and second constant pulleys for sliding the wire, and sliding the wire to interlock the hanging weight and the load adding / removing shaft with each other in the up-and-down direction so as to hold the ferrule. Polishing load adding and removing means for adding and removing a polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule of the tool, and a movable pulley protection cover that surrounds the movable pulley,
An optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus comprising: a protective cover that surrounds the first and second constant pulleys and the movable pulley protective cover. 2. The polishing load adjusting means is rotatably provided around a support point, a load adjusting arm, a spring member biased in a direction to pull the load adjusting arm, and fixed to the wire. And a sliding member that moves integrally with the wire, and the wire is slid by sliding the sliding member by the load addition / removal arm to add or remove a polishing load to the end face of the optical fiber ferrule. The optical fiber ferrule end face polishing apparatus according to claim 1, which has. 3. The optical fiber ferrule according to claim 1, wherein the movable pulley is composed of two movable pulleys, and the two movable pulleys are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction. End surface polishing device.