JP2003177255A - Repeater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a repeater that is installed on a post or the like, that maintains a trunk line optical fiber and a plurality of branch line optical fibers to have more than a specific radius of curvature without bending, and that is easily set inside the envelope of the repeater. <P>SOLUTION: An optical fiber storing part is provided in the housing for the envelope of a repeater, a signal-relaying junction circuit is stored inside a cover that hermetically seals the housing, and the optical fibers that are drawn into the repeater are stored and wound in the storing part. Each optical fiber is put through guide members that are installed between the housing and the cover and that are made of a tubular flexible member for the purpose of inserting optical fibers inside. The guide members are then installed in the junction circuit part, and each optical fiber is installed keeping more than a specific radius of curvature. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a repeater mounted on, for example, a pole or a message wire to relay a signal between a trunk optical fiber and a plurality of branch optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in order to realize high-speed and large-capacity information communication for general subscribers, an optical communication system for pulling an optical fiber into each home has been studied. For example, a method has been proposed in which a signal is branched from a trunk optical fiber to a plurality of branch optical fibers via a repeater (branching device) installed on a pole, and these branch optical fibers are led to each home.
Such a method is called FTTH (fiber to the home).

Incidentally, this type of repeater is, for example,
The optical signal transmitted via the trunk optical fiber is converted into an electric signal, the electric signal is amplified / branched to be converted into an optical signal, and the optical signal is transmitted to a plurality of branch optical fibers. Have a function. In addition, this type of repeater converts signals transmitted from each home through each branch optical fiber into electric signals, amplifies / combines these electric signals, and converts them into optical signals. It also has a function of transmitting to an optical fiber. The conversion from the optical signal to the electric signal, the processing such as amplification, and the conversion from the electric signal to the optical signal are performed by the relay circuit unit included in the relay.

[0004]

By the way, such a repeater is installed on a pillar or the like on which the trunk optical fiber is stretched, with the repeater circuit unit being housed in an envelope. Then, the connection of the trunk optical fiber and the branch optical fiber to the repeater is performed on a pillar or the like on which the repeater is installed. Therefore, the envelope of the repeater includes, for example, a housing and a lid that is attached to the housing so that the optical fiber can be connected to the relay circuit section with the lid open. And need to. In such an optical fiber laying / connection, it is not allowed to bend the optical fiber, nor is it allowed to be bent at a radius of curvature or less.

Therefore, the trunk optical fiber and the branch optical fiber which are drawn into the envelope of the repeater and laid / connected therein are prevented from being bent, and each optical fiber has a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more. Need to bend at
It is required to realize an easy repeater that allows such optical fibers to be installed and connected. The present invention has been made to meet the above requirements, is installed outdoors such as on a pillar, the trunk optical fiber and a plurality of branch optical fibers, maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more without bending, An object of the present invention is to provide a repeater that can be easily laid and connected inside the envelope of the repeater and has good workability of optical fiber connection.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in claim 1, a relay circuit section for relaying a signal between a trunk optical fiber and a plurality of branch optical fibers, and its A relay device having a waterproof structure, which comprises an enclosure for accommodating and sealing the relay circuit section inside, and which is installed outdoors, wherein the envelope pulls in each of the optical fibers, and A box-shaped housing provided with an optical fiber housing portion for respectively winding and housing an optical fiber; and a box-shaped lid body that is openably and closably attached to the housing to house the relay circuit portion, It is composed of a tube-shaped flexible member that is laid between the housing and the lid and has an optical fiber inserted therein, and the optical fibers are arranged between the optical fiber housing portion and the relay circuit portion in a predetermined manner. Guiding while maintaining the radius of curvature above the value Repeater is provided with a de member.

In the case of the repeater configured as described above, by opening the lid, the outer enclosure is composed of a box-shaped casing and a box-shaped lid that is attached to the casing so as to be openable and closable. Each of the optical fibers can be drawn inside the housing of the container. Then, each of the drawn optical fibers is stored in the optical fiber storage portion provided in the housing while maintaining the radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more. Further, the optical fiber connected to the relay circuit section housed in the lid body from the optical fiber housing section is inserted into a guide member made of a tubular flexible member and has a curvature radius of a predetermined value or more. Will be installed and maintained. Further, when the optical fiber is laid in this way, the optical fiber will not be bent.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lid is tiltably supported on one side of the housing via a hinge, and is connected from the optical fiber housing portion to a relay circuit portion housed in the lid. The guide member made of a tubular flexible member that guides the optical fiber is laid along the side of the housing on which the hinge is provided, and one end of the guide member extends along the inner wall surface of the housing. The optical fiber housing portion and the other end side along the inner wall surface of the lid body to the vicinity of the relay circuit portion, and the radius of curvature of each optical fiber is set to a predetermined value or more. Each optical fiber can be installed and installed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a protection member is wound around the guide member at a portion where the guide member is laid along the inner wall surface of the lid from the side portion of the housing. When the body is closed, each optical fiber is prevented from being damaged by the guide member being sandwiched between the lid body and the housing. In claim 4, the box-shaped housing is provided with optical fiber lead-in portions on left and right side wall surfaces located on both sides of a lower side portion that tiltably supports the lid body, and the optical fiber housing portion is A first optical fiber winding section for accommodating and winding each optical fiber drawn from one side wall surface of each side wall surface, and each optical fiber drawn from the other side wall surface of each side wall surface Since the second optical fiber winding portion for storing and winding the optical cable in the direction opposite to the winding direction of the first optical fiber winding portion is provided, each optical fiber drawn from each side wall surface Each optical fiber drawn from each side wall surface can be wound around the same optical fiber winding portion, and it is possible to prevent the installation of each optical fiber from being complicated.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, referring to the drawings, an FTTH repeater according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "repeater").
Will be explained. This repeater is provided, for example, on a pillar to branch a trunk optical fiber into 16 branch optical fibers, and has a box-shaped casing and a box-shaped casing attached to the casing so as to be openable and closable. An envelope including a lid, an optical fiber storage unit attached to the housing for storing the trunk optical fiber and a plurality of branch optical fibers, and a relay circuit unit stored inside the envelope. Consists of.

Each optical fiber drawn into the repeater is once housed in the optical fiber housing section and then connected to the relay circuit section. The relay circuit unit includes, for example, a main circuit board that performs signal transmission between a trunk optical fiber and a branch optical fiber, a plurality of sub circuit boards that interface with the trunk optical fiber or branch optical fiber, and those sub boards. And a control circuit board for controlling the operation.

FIG. 1 shows an overall schematic structure of a repeater 1 according to the present invention with an envelope opened, 10 being an envelope and 20 being a relay circuit housed in the envelope. Reference numeral 30 denotes an optical fiber storage portion. The envelope 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in a front view, a bottom view, a left side view and a right side view, respectively, in (d), it has an outer shape as a whole in which a plurality of heat radiation fins are projectingly formed in parallel on the outer surface. This envelope 10 is a box-shaped casing 1 that is attached to a telephone pole or the like.
1 and a box-shaped lid 12 provided at the opening of the housing 11 so as to be openable and closable. The housing 11 and the lid 12 are manufactured as an aluminum die-cast housing and lid. The housing 11 and the lid 12 are integrally joined by abutting the end faces of the rectangular openings thereof with each other through a waterproof packing material (not shown) such as rubber, and the relay circuit section is provided therein. A hermetically sealed space for housing 20 and the optical fiber housing 30 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of hinge mechanisms 14 are attached to the opening edge of the housing 11 so that the tips of the bolts 13 are screwed together and the bolts 13 are supported so as to be tiltable toward the outside. Are provided along the periphery thereof. On the other hand, a plurality of ends for fixing the lid 12 to the housing 11 are coupled to the heads of the bolts 13 on the end faces of the openings of the lid 12 and the bolts 13 are screwed into the hinge mechanism 14. The seats 15a and 15b are provided along the periphery thereof.

By the way, the upper edge of the lid 12 (the envelope 1
The seat 15a provided on the upper surface side of 0 has a structure in which a U-shaped groove is formed so that the bolt 13 can be laterally attached / detached from the end thereof. On the other hand, the receiving seat 15b provided at the lower end side edge portion (bottom surface side of the envelope 10) of the lid body 12 has a structure in which a hole communicating with the shaft portion of the bolt 13 is formed,
It plays a role of connecting the lid body 12 to the housing 11 via bolts 13. As a result, the lid 12 is attached to the seat 1
2 (c) by loosening the bolt 13 engaged with 5a.
As shown in, it can be opened forward.

A plurality of cable inlets 16 are provided on the left side surface of the housing 11 for receiving a plurality of optical fibers.
Similarly, a plurality of cable introduction ports 16d to 16e are provided on the right side surface of the casing 11, respectively. Further, a connector 17 for supplying power is provided on the left side surface of the housing 11, and a leg portion 18 serving as a mounting portion for a utility pole or the like is provided on the back surface of the housing 11. In addition, reference numeral 19 in the drawing denotes a display for operation monitoring provided on the lower end side edge portion of the lid body 12 (bottom surface side of the envelope 10).

Now, as shown in FIG. 1, a relay circuit section 20 is housed inside the lid body 12 described above. The relay circuit unit 20 has the main circuit board 21, a plurality of sub circuit boards 22, and a control circuit board 23 described above, and these circuit boards 21, 22 and 23 are assembled into a chassis (not shown) of a predetermined structure. It is composed of complicated. Trunk optical fiber 40a and branch optical fibers 40b to 40 that are drawn into the housing 11.
After being stored in the optical fiber storage section 30, the e is connected to the relay circuit section 20. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the optical fiber storage unit 30 stored in the housing 11, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional structure of the housing 11 of the repeater 1 (see FIG. 3A-
It is a figure which shows the A cross section. This optical fiber storage unit 30
Is mainly composed of an optical fiber housing part substrate 31, a first optical fiber winding part 32 and a second optical fiber winding part 33, and the first optical fiber winding part 32 is an optical fiber housing part substrate 31. The second optical fiber winding part 33 is placed on the first optical fiber winding part 32. The optical fiber housing substrate 31 is attached to the inner bottom surface of the housing 11 with a bolt (not shown) via a spacer 34.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first optical fiber winding portion 32 has a substantially semicircular shape at its end portions 32a and 32b, and is flat between the end portions 32a and 32b. The side surface portions 32c and 32d are connected. Similarly, the second optical fiber winding portion 33 has substantially semicircular end sides 33a and 33b, and the end sides 33a and 33b are connected by flat side surface portions 33c and 33d.

As shown in FIG. 5, the opening of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 is closed by the optical fiber housing substrate 31, and the side opposite to the opening is a ceiling. It is closed by a plate portion 32e, and the optical fiber housing substrate 31 and the side surface portion 32c are tiltably connected by a butterfly plate 35. Further, on the outer side of the top plate portion 32e of the first optical fiber winding portion 32, the second optical fiber winding portion 33 has an opening portion thereof, and the top plate portion 32e of the first optical fiber winding portion 32. Is placed so as to be closed by the top plate portion 33e on the side facing the opening, and the side surface portion 32c of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 and the second optical fiber winding portion are closed. Side 33c of the part 33
And are hingedly connected by a butterfly plate 36.

On the other hand, a seat 32f is provided on the side where the side surface portion 32d of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 contacts the optical fiber housing substrate 31, and this seat 32f is provided, for example.
Is abutted on the optical fiber housing substrate 31 and fixed by a bolt, so that the opening of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 is closed by the optical fiber housing substrate 31. Similarly, on the side where the side surface portion 33d of the second optical fiber winding portion 33 contacts the side surface portion 32d of the first optical fiber winding portion 32, a seat 33f is provided, and this seat 33f is By abutting against the seat 32g provided on the side surface portion 32d of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 and being fixed by the bolt,
The opening of the second optical fiber winding portion 33 is closed by the top plate portion 32e of the first optical fiber winding portion 32.

It is to be noted that by using a magic tape (registered trademark), one end of which is attached to the optical fiber housing substrate 31, and the other end of which is attached to the outer surface of the top plate portion 33e of the second optical fiber winding portion 33. , First and second optical fiber winding section 3
You may make it fix 2 and 33 with respect to the optical fiber accommodating part board 31. In this way, as shown in FIG. 5B, the second optical fiber winding portion 33 can be freely tilted from the first optical fiber winding portion 32, and similarly,
As shown in FIG. 5C, the first optical fiber winding portion 32
Can be tilted freely from the optical fiber housing substrate 31.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), winding frames 32h and 33 for winding the optical fiber are respectively provided on the top plate portions 32e and 33e of the optical fiber winding portions 32 and 33, respectively.
h is provided. The end portion side of the winding frame 32h is, as shown in FIG. 3, an end portion side 32 of the first optical fiber winding portion 32.
A semi-circular wall portion having a predetermined radius and having substantially the same center point as a and 32b is formed, and the semi-circular wall portions are connected to each other with a flat wall portion. Here, the semi-circular wall portion, the optical fiber wound around the semi-circular wall portion,
It has a radius that does not hinder the optical signal transmission. As shown in FIG. 5A, the winding frame 32h has a height slightly lower than the thickness of the first optical fiber winding portion 32, and the first optical fiber winding portion 32 stores the optical fiber. The height is such that the shielding plate 32i can be inserted into the opening portion of the first optical fiber winding portion 32 when it is closed and fixed by the partial substrate 31. The winding frame 33h is similarly configured, and the shielding plate 33i can be inserted into the opening of the second optical fiber winding portion 33.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the winding of the optical fiber is defined between the flat wall portion of the winding frame 32h and the side surface portions 32c and 32d of the first optical fiber winding portion 32. A plurality of partition plates 32j are provided. These partition plates 32j are parallel to each other in the vicinity of the positions (four positions) where the flat-shaped wall portion and the semicircular-shaped wall portion of the winding frame 32h are in contact with each other, and parallel to the flat-shaped wall portion side. Is provided. These partition plates 32j are wound around the first optical fiber winding part 32, for example, by winding a trunk optical fiber between the winding frame 32h and the innermost partition plate of the partition plate 32j. The winding of the fiber can be defined. The winding frame 33h of the second optical fiber winding portion 33, the partition plate 33
j is similarly formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a guide member 41a made of a tubular flexible member for inserting the optical fibers 40a to 40c drawn out from the optical fiber winding section 32 is provided with a seat 15b. It is laid along the side portion of the casing 11, and one end side thereof is laid along the inner wall surface of the casing 11 up to the vicinity of the optical fiber housing portion 30 while maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more. One end side is the support member 4
It is fixed to the housing 11 at 2a. On the other hand, the other end is the lid 12
It is laid along the inner wall surface up to the vicinity of the relay circuit section 20 while maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more, and the other end side is fixed to the lid body 12 by a support member 42b.

On the other hand, the guide member 4 for inserting the optical fibers 40d and 40e drawn out from the optical fiber winding portion 33.
As shown in FIG. 6, 1b is the second optical fiber winding part 3
3 is installed from the end side 33a toward the end side 33b along the side of the housing 11 in which the seat 15a is provided while maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more, and further outside the end side 33b. After reaching the side portion of the housing 11 provided with the receiving seat 15b, which is laid in a circular arc shape, is laid along the side portion of the housing 11 and along the inner wall surface of the lid body 12. It is installed up to the vicinity of the relay circuit section 20 while maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more. Here, one end of the guide member 41b on the side of the end portion 33a is fixed to the housing 11 by a supporting member 42c, while the other end is fixed to the lid 12 by a supporting member 42d.

Further, at the portions where the guide members 41a and 41b are laid along the inner wall surface of the lid 12 from the side portions of the housing 11, the guide members 41a and 41b are further wrapped with protective members 44a and 44b, respectively. It is preferable to rotate (Fig. 6). Then, when the lid 12 is closed, the lid 1
It is possible to prevent the main optical fiber 40a and the branch optical fibers 40b to 40e from being damaged by the guide members 41a and 41b sandwiched between the housing 2 and the housing 11. In FIG. 6, for example, the guide member 41 has a spiral shape.
The protective member wound around the surfaces of a and 41b is the protective member 4
4a and 44b are used.

Next, the storage of the trunk optical fiber 40a drawn into the repeater 1 by the optical fiber storage portion 30 and the installation by the guide member will be described. A trunk optical fiber laid over a message wire or the like is drawn into the repeater 1 installed on a pillar or the like. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the trunk optical fiber 40a is provided on the left side surface of the housing 11 and is drawn into the housing 11 from the cable introduction port 16a that is waterproofed by waterproof packing (not shown). The first optical fiber winding section 32 of the optical fiber storage section 30 stores and winds the optical fiber. At this time, the trunk optical fiber 40a is drawn into the end side 32a located on the end side of the first optical fiber winding section 32 and located on the side of the cable introduction ports 16a to 16c, and the first optical fiber winding 40a. It is wound by the winding portion 32 and is drawn out from the end portion side 32b located on the cable introduction ports 16d to 16e side.

More specifically, in winding the main optical fiber 40a around the first optical fiber winding portion 32, first, referring to FIG.
As shown in (c), the first optical fiber winding portion 32 is tilted, and the trunk optical fiber 40a is wound around the winding frame 32h and stored. By such winding, the trunk optical fiber 40
The tip side of a can be set to a length suitable for connecting the relay circuit section 20 to the main circuit board 21, and can be pulled out from the first optical fiber winding section 32.

Furthermore, after the branch optical fibers 40b and 40c are wound in the same manner as the trunk optical fiber 40a,
The receiving seat 32f is fixed to the optical fiber housing substrate 31 with a bolt. Thus, the trunk optical fiber 40a drawn from the first optical fiber winding portion 32, each branch optical fiber 40
b and 40c are inserted into the guide member 41a. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the connector 43a attached to the tip of the trunk optical fiber 40a is connected to the main circuit board 21 of the relay circuit unit 20, and each branch optical fiber 40
a connector 43b attached to the tip of b, 40c,
43c is connected to the sub circuit board 22 of the relay circuit section 20.

Similarly, branch optical fibers 40d and 40e introduced into the repeater 1 through the cable introduction ports 16d and 16e.
Is stored and wound in the second optical fiber winding portion 33, inserted into the guide member 41b, and connected to the relay circuit portion 20. Therefore, each of the optical fibers 40a to 40e is attached to the guide member 4
By the action of 1a and 41b, it is installed while maintaining the radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more.

Further, as described above, the respective optical fibers wound around the first optical fiber winding portion 32 and the second optical fiber winding portion 33 are wound in opposite directions, so that the guide member is formed. It can be installed without any complications. The support members 42a to 42d described above are, for example, the guide member 4
It is configured such that a holding metal fitting for holding the outer periphery of 1a is connected to the housing 11 or the lid 12 via a spacer.

In this way, it is possible to easily connect each optical fiber to the repeater on a pillar, prevent bending of each optical fiber, and bend each optical fiber within a predetermined radius of curvature. It is also prevented. Further, as described above, since the trunk optical fiber and each branch optical fiber can be easily connected to the relay circuit section, the work of installing the repeater and the workability of maintaining the repeater are improved.

The guide member for inserting and guiding the optical fiber drawn out from the optical fiber housing is provided on the housing and / or the lid body by more supporting members in addition to the supporting members on one end side and the other end side. It may be fixed by a fixing means. By fixing each guide member in this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent the optical fiber from being bent at a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or less.

As described above, the repeater according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified and implemented without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0034]

As described above, according to the repeater of the present invention, the trunk optical fiber and the plurality of branch optical fibers are prevented from bending in the repeater installed outdoors on a pole or the like.
In addition, it is possible to obtain a practically very important effect that the radius of curvature can be surely maintained to be equal to or more than a certain radius, and can be easily installed inside the envelope of the repeater, and the maintenance workability of the repeater can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall schematic structure of a repeater according to the present invention with an envelope opened.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic external configuration of an envelope in the repeater shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a housing of the repeater shown in FIG. 1 and an optical fiber housing portion housed therein.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross-sectional structure of the casing of the repeater shown in FIG. 3 (cross section in FIG. 3A-A).

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure of an optical fiber storage portion.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which each optical fiber inserted into a guide member is laid on a lid along a side portion of a housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 repeater 10 envelope 11 housing 12 Lid 14 Hinge mechanism 20 Relay circuit section 30 Optical fiber storage 32 First Optical Fiber Winder 33 Second optical fiber winding device 41a, 41b guide member 44a, 44b protection member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A relay circuit unit for relaying a signal between a trunk optical fiber and a plurality of branch optical fibers, and an enclosure for accommodating and sealing the relay circuit unit inside, and installed outdoors. A repeater having a waterproof structure, wherein the envelope is a box-shaped casing provided with an optical fiber storage portion for retracting the optical fibers and winding and storing the optical fibers, respectively. A box-shaped lid body that is openably and closably attached to the housing to accommodate the relay circuit section, and is laid between the housing body and the lid body, and has an optical fiber inserted therein. 6. A repeater comprising a flexible member, and a guide member for guiding each of the optical fibers between the optical fiber housing portion and the relay circuit portion while maintaining a radius of curvature of a predetermined value or more. 2. The lid is tiltably supported on one side of the housing via a hinge, and the guide member extends along a side of the housing on which the hinge is provided. And one end side thereof is laid along the inner wall surface of the casing to the vicinity of the optical fiber storage portion, and the other end side is laid along the inner wall surface of the lid body to the vicinity of the relay circuit portion. The repeater according to claim 1, which is installed. 3. A protection member for the guide member is wound around a portion of the guide member that is laid along the inner wall surface of the lid from the side portion of the housing. The repeater according to item 2. 4. The box-shaped housing is provided with optical fiber lead-in portions on left and right side wall surfaces located on both sides of a lower side portion that supports the lid body in a tiltable manner. The accommodating portion includes a first optical fiber winding portion that winds an optical fiber drawn from one side wall surface of each side wall surface, and an optical fiber drawn from another side wall surface of each side wall surface. The repeater according to claim 1, further comprising: a second optical fiber winding portion that winds the optical cable in a direction opposite to a winding direction of the first optical fiber winding portion.