JP2004012931A - Clamping device of ferrule, and microinterferometer device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably measure and analyze a ferrule by a microinterferometer device by surely holding the ferrule in a cylindrical member with first and second supporting pieces extended into the cylindrical member composing an optical connector plug. <P>SOLUTION: In the clamping device 300, the first supporting piece 323 provided at a supporting part 320 and the second supporting piece 333 provided at a displacement part 330 are extended toward the inner side of the cylindrical member 410 from a tip end outer side. The displacement part 330 is provided with a pressed piece 337 overhangingly extending toward the upper side of the second supporting piece 333. The ferrule 420 is held with the first and second supporting pieces by pressing the pressed piece 337 with a tip surface of a screw shaft part 341 of a pressing member 340. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention uses a microscopic interferometer (also referred to as an "interference microscope") to analyze the shape and the like of the tip of a ferrule when the ferrule housed in an optical connector plug is placed in front of an objective lens. The present invention relates to a ferrule clamping device used to hold the ferrule at a predetermined position, and a microinterferometer device provided with the clamp device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, research and development of optical fibers used for optical communication have been actively pursued. This type of optical fiber is composed of, for example, a core having an outer diameter of about 10 μm and a cladding layer having an outer diameter of about 125 μm provided on the outer periphery thereof, and having a ferrule at a connection end thereof for connecting the optical fibers. It has been known.
[0003]
The ferrule is a cylindrical component that forms an optical connector and holds and fixes an end of the optical fiber for connecting the optical fiber. After the optical fiber is inserted into the center of the outer diameter of the ferrule and fixed with an adhesive or the like, the tip is polished to a mirror surface, and the two ferrules are held by abutting the tip surfaces of the two ferrules. It is configured to be able to connect the two optical fibers.
The tip surface of this ferrule is known to be polished to a plane orthogonal to the optical axis, or to a plane oblique to the optical axis. Attention has been paid to one that has been subjected to PC (physical contact) polishing, which makes the tip surface spherical, so that the tip surface is elastically deformed by the pressing force at the time of abutting and the adhesion between the ferrule tip surfaces can be enhanced. I have.
[0004]
By the way, in order to reduce optical loss due to optical fiber connection, various high-precision standards are defined by JIS for ferrules. Standards on the order of μm are set, covering six items, such as a dimensional error and a positional error between the apex of the spherical tip surface of the ferrule and the center of the optical fiber core (the outer center of the fiber).
[0005]
A micro-interferometer device may be used to check whether the manufactured ferrule conforms to the standard. The microinterferometer observes interference fringes obtained by interfering the reference light with the object light that carries phase information such as the surface shape and refractive index distribution of a minute subject, and observes the shape and changes in the interference fringes. Is configured to obtain phase information of the subject by measuring and analyzing.
[0006]
When inspecting a manufactured ferrule using such a microinterferometer device, a clamp device is required at a predetermined position in front of the objective lens of the microinterferometer device to hold the ferrule to be inspected with high positional accuracy. It becomes. Usually, since the ferrule is housed inside the cylindrical member constituting the optical connector plug, the ferrule clamping device can clamp the ferrule housed inside such a cylindrical member. Has become.
[0007]
FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of such a ferrule clamping device. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional clamp device holding a ferrule. The ferrule 420 shown in FIG. 7 is formed by holding and fixing an end of an optical fiber (not shown), and is accommodated inside a tubular member 410 constituting the optical connector plug 400. The clamp device 500 includes a supporting portion 510 that supports the ferrule 500 from one side, a displacing portion 520 that is displaceable with respect to the supporting portion 510, and a pressing member that presses the displacing portion 520 to displace it. 530.
[0008]
The displacement portion 520 is disposed so as to face the support portion 510 with the ferrule 420 interposed therebetween, and is displaced between a clamp position in contact with the other side surface of the ferrule 420 and a clamp release position away from the other side surface. It is configured. Further, the pressing member 530 includes a screw shaft portion 531 that is screwed into the screw hole 511 formed in the support portion 510, and a lever member 532 for rotating the screw shaft portion 531 around its axis C. The displacement portion 520 is configured to be pressed downward while the spherical tip surface of the screw shaft portion 531 is in contact with the upper surface of the displacement portion 520.
[0009]
Then, the clamp device 500 displaces the ferrule 420 from the support portion 510 by pressing the displacement member 520 pressed by the pressing member 530 from the clamp release position to the clamp position and abutting the other side surface of the ferrule 420. It can be gripped by the displacement part 520.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional clamping device 500 as shown in FIG. 7 has the following problem. In other words, the ferrule 420 accommodated inside the tubular member 410 has a tip portion projecting from the tip of the tubular member 410, but the projecting length is often very short. In the clamp device 500, in order to secure a chuck allowance for the ferrule 420, a part of the support portion 510 and a part of the displacement portion 520 are extended inward of the cylindrical member 410, but pass through the pressing point P of the pressing member 530. The line of action of the force (coincident with the axis C) is located outside the distal end of the tubular member 410. For this reason, the position of the line of action of the force may deviate from the support range of the ferrule 420 by the support portion 510 (the range between points S and T in FIG. 7). When the displacement member 520 is pressed by the pressing member 530 in such a state, the displacement portion 520 is twisted (in FIG. 7, a twist in the direction of rotating the displacement portion 520 clockwise), and the ferrule 420 is stabilized. Or it is difficult to grasp the object with high accuracy in a predetermined posture.
[0011]
In a ferrule clamping device used in a microscopic interferometer device, if the ferrule is in an instable gripping state, the position of the ferrule is shifted during observation, which may adversely affect measurement analysis. Even when the ferrule is not held in a predetermined posture, highly accurate measurement analysis cannot be performed.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a ferrule clamping device capable of securely holding a ferrule housed in a cylindrical member constituting an optical connector plug at a predetermined position, and the above-described cylinder. An object of the present invention is to provide a microinterferometer device capable of stably performing a measurement analysis of a ferrule housed in a member.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, a ferrule clamping device of the present invention is a ferrule clamping device for holding a ferrule housed inside a cylindrical member constituting an optical connector plug, wherein the ferrule is disposed from one side. A support portion having a first support piece to be supported, and a support portion disposed to face the first support piece with the ferrule supported by the first support piece interposed therebetween, and abutting on the other side surface of the ferrule A displacement portion having a second support piece that is displaced between a clamp position and a clamp release position away from the other side surface; and a pressing member that presses the displacement portion to displace the second support piece. The first and second support pieces are opposed to each other across the ferrule, and extend inward from the outer end of the cylindrical member along the axial direction of the ferrule. The displaced portion is provided with a pressed piece extending so as to face the second support piece with one side wall of the cylindrical member interposed therebetween, and the pressing member is While the pressing point of the pressing member is in contact with the pressed piece, the pressed piece is pressed toward the ferrule to displace the second support piece from the clamp release position to the clamp position. The ferrule is gripped by the second support piece and the first support piece, and the ferrule is released by releasing the pressing to release the grip of the ferrule by the first and second support pieces. It is characterized by the following.
[0014]
In the ferrule clamping device of the present invention, the line of action of the force of the pressing member passing through the pressing point is formed so as to pass through a substantially central portion of a support range of the ferrule by the first support piece. Is preferred.
[0015]
Further, the second support piece may have, on a surface of the second support piece facing the first support piece, a convex portion abutting on the other side surface of the ferrule.
[0016]
The displacement portion is formed so as to be movable along a guide shaft extending in the direction of displacement of the second support piece, and the second support piece is released by a biasing member. It can be biased to be located at a position.
[0017]
In addition, the pressing member is rotatably screwed into a screw hole formed in the support portion, and a screw shaft portion that presses the pressed piece with a tip portion having the pressing point, and rotates the screw shaft portion. And a lever member to be pressed.
[0018]
Further, a stopper portion for regulating a rotation range of the lever member may be provided.
[0019]
Further, the microinterferometer apparatus of the present invention is a microinterferometer apparatus for observing interference fringes obtained by interfering reference light and object light carrying phase information of a subject. A ferrule clamping device is provided.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
<Microscopic interferometer>
First, the overall configuration of a microscopic interferometer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a microscopic interferometer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The microinterferometer apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 5 has a main body housing including a bottom plate 2, a front plate 3 (partially cut away), a rear plate 4, a partition plate 5, and a cover case 6 (partially cut away). And a power supply unit 7, a control box 8, and an interferometer main unit 10.
[0022]
The interferometer body 10 includes an objective lens unit 11, a piezo unit 12, a half mirror / light source unit 13, an imaging lens unit 14, a mirror box 15, and a CCD camera unit 16. Among them, the imaging lens unit 14, the mirror box 15, and the CCD camera unit 16 are mounted on a fixed base 17 fixed to the partition plate 5, and include the objective lens unit 11, the piezo unit 12, and the half mirror / light source unit. Reference numeral 13 is attached to a focus table 18 (shown partially cut away).
[0023]
The focus table 18 includes two upper and lower guide shafts 19A and 19B (one of which extend in a front-rear direction (directions indicated by arrows F and B in the drawing) between the front plate 3 and the fixed table 17 in parallel with each other. (Partly broken away) is slidably supported in the front-rear direction. A coil spring 9 is disposed between the fixed base 17 and the focus base 18. The focus base 18 is attached forward (in the direction of arrow F in the figure) by the elasticity of the coil spring 9. It is being rushed.
[0024]
The front plate 3 is provided with a focus adjustment screw 20 for moving the focus table 18 to adjust the focus of the interferometer body 10. The focus adjusting screw 20 is screwed into a screw hole (not shown) formed in the front plate 3 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction by rotation around its own axis, and the screw shaft 21 is rotated. And a knob portion 22 for causing the user to perform the operation. The distal end surface of the screw shaft portion 21 is in contact with a hemispherical convex portion 18 a provided on the front surface of the focus base 18. For this reason, the focus adjustment screw 20 moves the focus table 18 in the front-rear direction along the guide shafts 19A and 19B by rotating the knob 22 to change the length of protrusion of the screw shaft 21 from the front plate 3. The focus adjustment can be performed.
[0025]
The interferometer body 10 having the above-described configuration divides illumination light from a light source (not shown) into a reference light and a minute subject (not shown) held at a predetermined position in front of the objective lens unit 11. The object light reflected from the subject interferes with the reference light, passes the interference light through an imaging lens system (not shown) in the imaging lens unit 14, and The interference fringes are imaged. Then, by measuring and analyzing the shape and change of the obtained interference fringes, it is possible to perform three-dimensional measurement and physical property measurement of the surface shape of the subject. In addition, as the interferometer main body 10, various types such as a Millow type, a Michelson type, and a Linique type can be used.
[0026]
The front plate 3 is provided with a tilt adjusting device 100. The tilt adjusting device 100 has an L-shaped first base member 110 fixed to the front plate 3 and has an L-shape similar to the first base member 110, and is opposed to the first base member 110. And a second base member 120 arranged. The second base member 120 is supported so as to be tiltable with respect to the first base member 110 about the fulcrum part 130, and is supported by the first tilt adjustment screw 140 and the second tilt adjustment screw 150. The tilt with respect to the first base member 110 can be adjusted by tilting around an axis extending substantially vertically from the axis 130 and around an axis extending substantially horizontally from the fulcrum 130.
[0027]
A clamp device holder 200 is attached to the second base member 120 of the tilt adjustment device 100. The clamp device holder 200 includes an upper portion 210, a lower portion 220, and a connecting portion 230 connecting them, and the upper portion 210 is fixed to the second base member 120 by three mounting screws 240. ing. The upper part 210 of the clamp device holder 200 is located on the front side of the objective lens unit 11, and a holding recess 221 is formed at the center thereof. The clamp device 300 is placed in the holding recess 221. keeping. In addition, a power switch 30 for turning on / off the power of the microscopic interferometer apparatus 1 is provided on the front plate 3.
[0028]
<Configuration of Clamping Device (First Embodiment)>
Hereinafter, the clamp device 300 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sectional view of a ferrule clamping device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 3 is a partial front view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part thereof taken out. . FIG. 1 shows a state in which the ferrule is held.
The illustrated clamp device 300 is for holding the ferrule 420 housed inside the cylindrical member 410 shown in FIG. 1 at a predetermined position in front of the objective lens unit 11 of the microinterferometer device 1 shown in FIG. is there.
[0029]
The tubular member 410 constitutes an optical connector plug 400 (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as “plug 400”) joined to a mating plug (not shown) through a sleeve (not shown), An inner cylinder 412 and an outer cylinder 411 arranged to be slidable in the front-rear direction with respect to the inner cylinder 412 are provided, and the ferrule 420 is accommodated therein.
[0030]
The ferrule 420 holds one end of a single-mode optical fiber 430 at the center of the outer diameter of the ferrule main body 421, and includes a cylindrical portion 422 and a flange 423 at the rear end of the ferrule main body 421. Retainers are attached. The ferrule main body 421 is made of zirconia ceramic, and its front end surface 424 is PC-polished into a convex spherical shape.
The ferrule 420 is housed in the cylindrical member 410 with the coil spring 425 attached to the cylindrical portion 422, and the spring retaining ring 413 restricts the rearward removal. Further, the ferrule 420 is urged forward (to the right in FIG. 1) with a constant pressure by the elasticity of the coil spring 425, so that the front end surface 424 is in close contact with the front end surface of the unillustrated mating ferrule. It is configured to be easy.
[0031]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamping device 300 includes a base 310 formed in a substantially annular shape, a support 320 formed in a disk shape thicker than the base 310, It comprises a displacement part 330 arranged to be vertically movable with respect to the support part 320 and a pressing member 340 for pressing the displacement part 330 from above.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 2, the base 310 has three screw holes 311 and a notch 312 for positioning. The screw hole 311 is for a screw for attaching the clamp device 300 to the clamp device holder 200 (see FIG. 5), and the notch 312 is provided for a positioning pin ( However, if the clamp device 300 is set so as to enter the notch 312, the clamp device 300 can be positioned with respect to the clamp device holder 200. In addition, a recess 313 is provided at the top of the base 310.
[0033]
The support part 320 is formed integrally with the base part 310, and a rectangular window part 321 is provided in the center part slightly upward. In addition, a semicircular recess 322 adjacent to the lower side of the window 321 is provided on the front surface of the support portion 320, and inside the recess 322 extends forward along the axis L of the clamp device 300. One support piece 323 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral surface of the first support piece 323 is formed in a semi-cylindrical surface, and the inner peripheral surface is formed in a V-shaped groove shape. The cross section of the first support piece 323 illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown along a position where the first support piece 323 and the ferrule 420 abut.
[0034]
The displacement section 330 is formed separately from the base section 310 and is disposed in the window 321 of the support section 320. Further, a semicircular concave portion 332 formed symmetrically with the concave portion 322 of the support portion 320 is provided on the front surface of the displacement portion 330, and the axis L of the clamp device 300 is sandwiched in the concave portion 332. Thus, a second support piece 333 is provided which extends forward in a state facing the first support piece 323. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral surface of the second support piece 333 is formed in a semi-cylindrical surface, and the inner peripheral surface is formed in a trapezoidal groove shape.
[0035]
As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the displacement portion 330 moves vertically along guide shafts 334A and 334B extending vertically at the left end and the right end inside the window 321 of the support portion 320. I can do it. As shown in FIG. 4, a coil spring 335 (only the guide shaft 334B side is shown) that urges the displacement portion 330 upward is attached to the two guide shafts 334A and 334B. A spring seat recess 336 that holds the upper end of the coil spring 335 is provided. Due to the elasticity of the coil spring 335, the second support piece 333 of the displacement section 330 is supported on one side by the first support piece 323 of the support section 320 when the displacement section 330 is not pressed by the pressing member 340. The ferrule 420 is located at a clamp release position away from the other side surface of the ferrule 420 in the closed state. Note that the coil spring 335 may be provided at a different position from the guide shafts 334A and 334B. Further, another elastic member such as rubber can be used as means for urging the displacement portion 330 upward.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 1, the pressing member 340 is screwed into a screw hole 324 penetrating from the bottom surface of the concave portion 313 formed on the top of the base portion 310 to the window portion 321 formed on the support portion 320. Lever having a screw shaft portion 341 to be screwed, a screw base portion 342 having a diameter slightly larger than the screw shaft portion 341, and a screw shaft portion 344 screwed into a screw hole 343 formed in the screw base portion 342 at a distal end portion. And a member 345. By rotating the lever member 345 about the axis C of the screw shaft 341, the pressing member 340 is moved in a state where the spherical tip surface of the screw shaft 341 is in contact with the displacement unit 330. 330 is pressed downward, and the second support piece 333 can be displaced from the clamp release position to the clamp position in contact with the other side surface of the ferrule 420 against the coil spring 335. I have.
[0037]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the displacement portion 330 extends so as to face the second support piece 333 with one side wall of the tubular member 410 held by the clamp device 300 interposed therebetween. A pressed piece 337 is provided. In the pressing member 340, the line of action (coincident with the axis C) passing through the pressing point P (the contact point between the spherical tip surface of the screw shaft portion 341 and the pressed piece 337) is the same as that of the cylindrical member 410. It is arranged so as to pass through the inside, intersect with the pressed piece 337, and further pass within the support range of the ferrule 420 by the first support piece 323 (the range between points S and T in FIG. 1). . As shown in FIG. 2, the lever member 345 of the pressing member 340 is rotated by a stopper portion 314 formed by left and right walls of a concave portion 313 provided at the top of the base 310 of the clamp device 300. The range is being regulated.
[0038]
<Operation of clamp device>
The clamp device 300 configured as described above holds the optical connector plug 400 as follows. First, the plug 400 is clamped by inserting the tip of the ferrule 420 between the first support piece 323 of the support part 320 of the clamp device 300 and the second support piece 333 of the displacement part 330. Press against the front of 300. Next, the lever member 345 of the pressing member 340 is rotated to press the pressed piece 337 of the displacement portion 330 by the tip end surface of the screw shaft portion 341 of the pressing member 340, and the second support piece 333 of the displacement portion 330 is pressed. Is displaced from the clamp release position to the clamp position, and the tip of the ferrule 420 is gripped by the second support piece 333 and the first support piece 323. Thereby, the plug 400 is held by the clamp device 300 in a state where the axis (not shown) of the ferrule 420 matches the axis L of the clamp device 300.
[0039]
In this holding state, the first support piece 323 and the second support piece 333 of the clamp device 300 extend from the outer side of the distal end of the tubular member 410 toward the inner side in a state of facing each other. Therefore, it is possible to lengthen the chuck allowance of the ferrule 420 by the first and second support pieces 323 and 333. Further, the spherical tip surface of the screw shaft portion 341 of the pressing member 340 presses the pressed piece 337 of the displacement portion 330 that extends (overhangs) over the second support piece 333 and extends. Thus, the line of action of the force of the pressing member 340 passes through the inside of the tubular member 410, intersects with the pressed piece 337, and further passes within the range of the ferrule 420 supported by the first support piece 323. For this reason, even if the displacement part 330 is pressed by the pressing member 340, the displacement part 330 is twisted (this occurs when the line of action of the force passes outside the support range of the ferrule 420 by the first support piece 323, FIG. 1). In this case, the ferrule 420 can be securely gripped without causing twisting in the direction of rotating the displacement portion 330 clockwise.
[0040]
When removing the plug 400 from the clamp device 300, the lever member 345 of the pressing member 340 is rotated in the opposite direction to release the pressing of the displacement portion 330 by the distal end surface of the screw shaft portion 341. The ferrule 420 may be released by moving the second support piece 333 to the clamp release position and releasing the gripping of the ferrule 420 by the second support piece 333 and the first support piece 323.
[0041]
<Configuration of Clamping Device (Second Embodiment)>
Next, a clamp device for a ferrule according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a clamp device for a ferrule according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, only differences from the first embodiment will be described.
[0042]
The clamp device 300A shown in FIG. 6 differs from the clamp device 300 of the first embodiment in the following points. First, the pressed piece 337 is formed to be longer than that of the first embodiment, and the pressing member 340 has a line of action (coincident with the axis C) of the force passing through the pressing point P of the first member. The ferrule 420 is arranged so as to pass through a substantially central portion of a support range of the ferrule 420 by the support piece 323 (a range between points S and T in FIG. 6). This makes it possible to equalize the contact state between the first support piece 323 and the ferrule 420 within the above-described support range, and therefore, compared to the clamp device 300 of the first embodiment. It is possible to hold the ferrule 420 more stably.
[0043]
Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the second support piece 333 (the surface facing the first support piece 323), a projection 338 is formed at a position where the line of action of the force passes, and the second support piece 333 is formed. 333 is configured to contact the ferrule 420 only at the contact point Q of the protrusion 338 (the contact point between the tip of the protrusion 338 and the ferrule 420). In the above-described first embodiment, the second support piece 333 of the displacement portion 330 contacts the other side surface of the ferrule 420 over the entire inner peripheral surface. It is difficult to make uniform contact, and there is a high possibility that point contact will occur. In such a case, it is difficult to know at which position the point contact is being made. In the second embodiment, since the position where the second support piece 333 contacts the other side surface of the ferrule 420 can be reliably grasped, the grip state of the ferrule 420 can be simulated in advance. Easy to design. In addition, since the inner peripheral surface of the second support piece 333 does not need to be polished with high precision and smooth, the fabrication is easy.
[0044]
As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
[0045]
For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the clamp devices 300 and 300A are described as holding the ferrule 420 whose tip surface is PC-polished, but the clamp devices 300 and 300A have the tip surface with respect to the optical axis. It is also possible to hold a ferrule polished to a vertical plane and a ferrule polished to a plane whose tip surface is oblique to the optical axis. In addition, the ferrule of the type whose tip surface is polished obliquely has a feature in the shape of the tip portion of the plug so that the direction of the oblique tip surface can be determined from the appearance of the plug holding the ferrule. I have it. When such a plug is held by the above-described clamp devices 300 and 300A, an adapter plate conforming to the tip shape of the plug is mounted on the front surface of the plug and the clamp devices 300 and 300A. A screw portion 325 (not shown in FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 2 is provided for mounting such an adapter plate.
[0046]
Further, in each of the above embodiments, the lever member 345 of the pressing member 340 is configured as a rigid body. However, the lever member 345 bends and deforms when a predetermined rotation or more is applied to the lever member 345. Alternatively, a part of the lever member 345 may be formed of a member that can be elastically deformed. A coil spring or the like can be used as such an elastically deformable member.
[0047]
Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the displacement part 330 is formed separately from the support part 320, but the whole or part of the displacement part is formed so as to be elastically deformable, and is displaced by elastic deformation. For example, the displacement section and the support section can be formed integrally.
[0048]
In the second embodiment, only one convex portion 338 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the second support piece 333 is formed at a position where the line of action of the force of the pressing member 340 passes. For example, a plurality of such protrusions may be provided symmetrically with respect to a position through which the line of action of the force passes.
[0049]
Further, in each of the above embodiments, the ferrule 420 is made of zirconia ceramic and holds the single-mode type optical fiber 430 at the axis thereof, but the ferrule is made of stainless steel, plastic, or the like. The optical fiber may be formed of another material, and the holding optical fiber may be of a multi-mode type.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the ferrule clamping device of the present invention, the first support piece that supports the ferrule from one side and the first support piece are disposed so as to face the first support piece. A second support piece displaceable between a position abutting on the other side surface and a position away from the other side surface is formed so as to extend inward from the outer end of the cylindrical member toward the inner side along the axial direction of the ferrule. The displacement portion having the second support piece is provided with a pressed piece extending so as to face the second support piece with one side wall of the tubular member interposed therebetween, and the pressed piece is pressed. Since the ferrule is gripped by the first and second support pieces by being pressed toward the ferrule by the member, the following effects are obtained.
[0051]
Since the first and second support pieces extend into the tubular member, a sufficient chuck allowance can be ensured even for a ferrule whose projection length from the tip of the tubular member is short. In addition, since the pressed piece formed on the displacement portion is pressed, the line of action of the pressing force can pass through the range of support of the ferrule by the first support piece. It is possible to stably and reliably hold the ferrule accommodated in the cylindrical member in a predetermined posture with high accuracy without causing twisting.
[0052]
Further, according to the microscopic interferometer apparatus according to the present invention, since the clamp apparatus according to the present invention having the above-mentioned features is provided, the ferrule housed inside the cylindrical member constituting the optical connector plug can be used as an objective. It can be stably and reliably held at a predetermined position in front of the lens system with a predetermined posture with high accuracy. This makes it possible to stably and accurately perform the ferrule measurement analysis.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a clamp device for an optical connector plug according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the clamp device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of the clamp device shown in FIG. 1 taken out. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a microscopic interferometer equipped with the clamp device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional ferrule clamping device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional ferrule clamping device.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microinterferometer device 2 Bottom plate 3 Front plate 4 Rear plate 5 Partition plate 6 Cover case 7 Power supply unit 8 Control box 9 Coil spring 10 Interferometer main unit 11 Objective lens unit 12 Piezo unit 13 Half mirror / light source unit 14 Imaging lens unit Reference Signs List 15 mirror box 16 CCD camera unit 17 fixing base 18 focus base 18a convex parts 19A, 19B guide shaft 20 focus adjustment screw 21 screw shaft part 22 knob part 30 power switch 100 tilt adjustment device 110 first base member 120 second base Member 130 Support point 140 First tilt adjusting screw 150 Second tilt adjusting screw 200 Clamp device holding Tool 210 Upper step 220 Lower step 221 Holding recess 230 Connecting section 240 Mounting screw 300, 300A Clamping device (first and second embodiments)
310 Base 311 Screw hole 312 Notch 313 Depression 314 Stopper 320 Support 321 Window 322 Depression 323 First support piece 324 Screw hole 325 Screw 330 Displacement 332 Depression 333 Second support piece 334A, 334B Guide shaft 335 Coil spring 336 Spring recess 337 Pressed piece 338 Convex portion 340 Pressing member 341 Screw shaft 342 Screw base 343 Screw hole 344 Screw shaft 345 Lever member 400 Optical connector plug 410 Cylindrical member 411 Outer cylinder 412 Inner cylinder 413 Spring retaining ring 420 Ferrule 421 Ferrule main body 422 Cylindrical portion 423 Flange portion 424 Tip surface 425 Coil bar 430 optical fiber 500 clamping device (conventional example)
510 Support part 511 Screw hole 520 Displacement part 530 Press member 531 Screw shaft part 532 Arrows C, L indicating directions of lever members F, B Axis lines S, T Point P indicating support range of first support piece P Press point Q Contact point

Claims (7)

In a ferrule clamping device for holding a ferrule housed inside a cylindrical member constituting an optical connector plug,
A support having a first support piece for supporting the ferrule from one side,
A clamp position, which is disposed so as to face the first support piece with the ferrule supported by the first support piece interposed therebetween, and which is in contact with the other side surface of the ferrule, and a clamp release position which is separated from the other side surface. A displacement portion having a second support piece that displaces between them,
A pressing member that presses the displacement portion to displace the second support piece,
The first and second support pieces are formed so as to extend inward from the outer end of the cylindrical member along the axial direction of the ferrule in a state where the first and second support pieces face each other with the ferrule interposed therebetween. And
The displacement portion is provided with a pressed piece that extends so as to face the second support piece with one side wall of the tubular member interposed therebetween,
The pressing member presses the pressed piece toward the ferrule while the pressing point of the pressing member is in contact with the pressed piece, thereby moving the second support piece from the clamp release position. The ferrule is gripped by the second support piece and the first support piece by being displaced to a clamp position, and the ferrule is released from being gripped by the first and second support pieces by releasing the pressing. A ferrule clamping device characterized by being formed as described above. 2. The ferrule according to claim 1, wherein an action line of the force of the pressing member passing through the pressing point is formed so as to pass through a substantially central portion of a support range of the ferrule by the first support piece. Clamping device. The said 2nd support piece has a convex part which contacts the said other side surface of the said ferrule in the surface which opposes the said 1st support piece of this 2nd support piece, The characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The device for clamping a ferrule according to claim 1 or 2. The displacement portion is formed so as to be movable along a guide shaft extending in a displacement direction of the second support piece, and the second support piece is moved to the clamp release position by an urging member. The ferrule clamping device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the device is urged to be positioned. The pressing member is rotatably screwed into a screw hole formed in the support portion, and a screw shaft portion for pressing the pressed piece with a tip portion having the pressing point, and a lever for rotating the screw shaft portion. The ferrule clamping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a member. 6. The clamping device for a ferrule according to claim 5, further comprising a stopper for restricting a rotation range of the lever member. In a micro interferometer apparatus for observing interference fringes obtained by interfering object light and reference light carrying phase information of the subject,
A microinterferometer device comprising the ferrule clamping device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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