JP2004361909A - Optical fiber connecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber connecting apparatus which gives no influence on the stability of the optical fiber position even when the optical fiber is repeatedly inserted into and pulled from the optical fiber connecting apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A treated optical fiber stub 206 is preliminarily assembled in the optical fiber connecting apparatus 200 so that an optical fiber can be coupled with the optical fiber stub 206 even when the optical fiber is not subjected to any treatment. On assembling, by firmly fixing the housing of the optical fiber connecting apparatus 200 to a snap ring 104 and the optical fiber stub 206, the diameter ϕ of each element is controlled and loss in light due to expansion of the snap ring 104 is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical communication element, and particularly to an optical fiber connection device.

  With the widespread use of computers and the rapid development of Internet technology, the relationship between the Internet and people's lives has become increasingly closer. The use of the Internet has made it possible to quickly access materials and online services, and at the same time, with the increase in the amount of data to be transmitted, the demand for communication broadband has increased due to advances in communication technology. Because of this characteristic of high data traffic, optical fiber communication is expected to have great potential in the communication field.

  However, there are still many technical problems to be solved in optical fiber communication, such as high cost. The manufacturing costs were very high because the elements used by optical fibers required very high precision. For example, special metals or ceramic materials used in optical fiber splicers can only be processed by using special machines, but these processing machines are very expensive. Even if all the parts were obtained, the problems of the assembling time and cost of the optical fiber and the connector were not improved due to the above-mentioned cause. This is also one of the main reasons why the penetration rate of optical fibers is not increasing at present.

  Also, when used in personal home or office work, the reliability of the connector is very important. Local networks used at home or in the office, unlike specialized server rooms, are not maintained by special professionals or strict usage requirements. Therefore, when the user himself inserts / extracts or replaces the optical fiber, the optical fiber may be pulled and the original position designed in the connector may be shifted. If the connector is not specially designed, the optical fiber cannot be accurately positioned in the connector, causing a problem in stability.

  FIG. 1A is a side view of a conventional optical fiber connection device, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional optical fiber connection device. The optical fiber connection device 100 includes an iron part 102 and a snap ring (sleeve) 104. The iron part 102 is used as a housing, which is a tubular structure of the optical fiber connection device 100. A hollow channel is provided in the iron part 102, and one side of the hollow channel is connected to the optical fiber 150 with one side as an input side, and the other side is connected to another optical fiber element with the other side as an output side.

  As light passes through the interface between different mediators, reflection losses occur. For example, when light is incident on air having a refractive index of 1 from an optical fiber made of glass having a refractive index n of 1.5, the reflection loss due to the glass-air interface becomes 4%. That is, 4% of the light is reflected and only 96% of the light is actually transmitted. In order to prevent the loss due to this reflection, it is usually necessary to perform a special treatment on the cut surface 150a located on the output side. For example, this process cuts the cut surface 150a to form a special angle between the cut surface 150a and the main body of the optical fiber 150, thereby reducing the above-mentioned loss due to reflection.

  In general, the optical fiber 150 and the optical fiber connection device 100 are first combined, and then the processing is performed on the cut surface 150a so that no damage occurs when the cut surfaces 150a are combined. However, when performing processing such as cutting on the cut surface 150a, for example, there is a possibility that damage may occur. If the combination of the optical fiber 150 and the optical fiber connection device 100 has already been completed, the relative positions of the two are fixed, and it is difficult to cut or replace a new optical fiber. And manufacturing costs increased.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connecting device in which the number of optical fiber stubs is increased to improve the processing difficulty and cost of the optical fiber in the optical fiber connecting device.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connecting device which improves the optical loss due to insufficient stability, which has occurred in the conventional connecting device, by strongly fixing the elements.

  It is still another object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connecting device that reduces the manufacturing cost by increasing the yield of the optical fiber connecting device and shortens the manufacturing time.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical fiber connection device. Pre-assembly of previously processed optical fiber stubs into an optical fiber splicer allows the optical fiber to be coupled to the optical fiber stub without any processing. Then, when assembling, the housing of the optical fiber connection device is strongly fixed to the snap ring and the optical fiber stub, and the size of the φ diameter of each element is controlled to prevent light loss due to expansion of the snap ring.

  Then, after processing the cut surface of the optical fiber stub, the main body of the optical fiber stub is formed at a special angle, and the special angle can reduce the reflection loss at the interface between different mediators. In addition to the housing firmly tightening and fixing the snap ring as described above, the present invention further adds a fixing protrusion between the housing and the snap ring so that the snap ring can move the moving space of the hollow channel of the housing. In a limited manner, the stability of the optical fiber connection device is increased.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical fiber stub adheres the optical fiber into the protective housing, and the material of the protective housing is a ceramic material. The angle between the cut surface of the optical fiber stub and its main body is the Brewster angle, which is the non-reflection angle. The snap ring can be a C-shaped or O-shaped snap ring, and its material is a ceramic material.

  In the present invention, a guide fixing device is further disposed on the input side, and the optical fiber is guided into the hollow channel to fix the moving direction of the optical fiber. The guide fixing device may be an annular or C-shaped fixing device. it can.

  In addition, the projection fixing device is interposed between the housing and the snap ring at the fixing point. However, the fixing point and the housing may be integrally formed and manufactured, and the number may be plural. Then, the space is evenly distributed to the inner layer of the housing, and the space in which the snap ring moves in each direction is uniformly limited. In another preferred embodiment, the projection fixing device has an annular projection structure, which winds the snap ring to limit the space in which the snap ring moves in each direction.

(Action)
The optical fiber connection device of the present invention can be used alone in combination with an optical fiber, or can be arranged in an optical system in advance and connected to an external optical fiber. The assembly length of the optical fiber connection device and the position of the optical fiber stub can be adjusted according to the required design to conform to the provisions of the internationally accepted multi-source agreement. Therefore, even if the external optical fiber is repeatedly inserted into and removed from the optical fiber connection device, the position stability of the optical fiber is not affected. Also, the present invention is a key component of a transmitter optical subassembly for optical communication and has advantages such as high stability, short assembly time, high yield rate and cost reduction.

The present invention provides an optical fiber connection device that solves the problems of the prior art that the processing of the optical fiber in the optical fiber connection device is difficult and the manufacturing cost is high.
The present invention provides a method for combining optical fibers into an optical fiber connection device and pre-assembling the already processed optical fiber stubs into the optical fiber connection device so that no other processing steps are required. And can be coupled to an optical fiber stub. In addition, when combined, the housing of the optical fiber connection device is strongly fixed to the snap ring and the optical fiber stub, and the size of the φ diameter of each element is controlled to prevent loss of light due to expansion of the snap ring.

  Then, after processing the cut surface of the optical fiber stub, the main body of the optical fiber stub is formed at a special angle, and the special angle can reduce the reflection loss at the interface between different mediators. In addition to fixing the snap ring by firmly tightening the above-mentioned housing, the present invention also limits the moving space of the hollow channel of the housing by adding a fixing protrusion device between the housing and the snap ring. And enhance the stability of the optical fiber connection device.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The optical fiber connection device 200 of the present embodiment includes an iron part 102, a snap ring 104, and an optical fiber stub 206. The iron part 102 is a housing having a tubular structure of the optical fiber connection device 200. A hollow channel is provided in the iron portion 102, and one side of the hollow channel is connected to an optical fiber with one side as an input side, and an optical fiber stub 206 is provided on the other side to connect to another optical element. A guide fixing device (ring stop) 108 is provided on the input side to guide the optical fiber into the hollow channel to fix the moving direction of the optical fiber. In the present embodiment, the guide fixing device 108 is formed into an annular or C-shaped fixing device according to the design necessity, so that the optical fiber is inserted into the optical fiber connecting device and it is convenient to fix the optical fiber into the optical fiber device. Is also good.

  In this embodiment, besides protruding a part of the optical fiber stub 206 into the hollow channel, the optical fiber stub 206 is fixed by tightening the fixing portion 222 by a tightening force for strongly fixing the iron part 102. This strong fixing method is a method in which the inner diameter of the iron portion 102 and the outer diameter size of the optical fiber stub 206 are made substantially equal to each other so that they are brought into close contact to become one and the relative position between them is fixed. . The optical fiber stub 206 of this embodiment comprises a protective housing and an optical fiber, and the protective housing has a tubular channel. The optical fiber is then glued into the tubular channel with an adhesive. The material of the protective housing in this embodiment is a ceramic material.

  One of the features of the present embodiment lies in the above-described optical fiber stub 206, and the cut surface 206a protruding from the hollow channel is subjected to processing such as a cutting step. In this cutting step, the cut surface 206a is cut to form a special angle between the cut surface 206a and the main body of the optical fiber stub 206, thereby reducing the reflection loss between interfaces of different mediators. In the present embodiment, the special angle is a Brewster angle having no reflection angle. The interface between the different mediators has an opposite Brewster angle, and no reflection loss occurs when light passes through the interface with this Brewster angle.

  At the fixing point 212, the iron part 102 is strongly fixed to the snap ring 104, and the snap ring 104 located at the fixing point further covers a part of the optical fiber stub 206, so that the snap ring 104 is supported by the optical fiber stub 206. Then, it is fixed to the iron part 102 more tightly. The main purpose of the snap ring 104 is to provide an elastic fixing device capable of elastically fixing an optical fiber or an optical fiber stub 206 covered therein. In this embodiment, the snap ring 104 is a C-type snap ring or an O-type snap ring, and the material thereof is a ceramic material, tetrafluoroethylene or the like, or a plastic metal material.

  Further, in this embodiment, a projection fixing device provided between the iron part 102 and the snap ring 104 is provided. It, like the anchor point 232 in FIG. 2, has its protruding portion press down on the snap ring 104, limiting the snap ring 104 to the travel space in the hollow channel. And the loss of light due to the expansion of the snap ring is reduced. Further, by integrally molding the projection fixing device and the iron portion 102, problems such as manufacturing cost and size design can be eliminated.

  The number of the protrusion fixing devices may not be one, and as in another preferred embodiment, a plurality of protrusion fixing devices such as the fixing points 232 are evenly distributed on the inner layer of the iron portion 102 and snapped. The space in which the ring 104 moves in each direction is equally limited to prevent the protrusion fixing device from being concentrated too much and shifting the position of the snap ring 104. In another preferred embodiment, the locking projection device has an annular projection structure to limit the space in which the snap ring 104 is wound and moved in each direction.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as described above, they are not intended to limit the present invention in any way, and anyone who is familiar with the technology may make various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Fluctuations and hydration can be added. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention is based on the contents specified in the claims.

(The invention's effect)
The optical fiber connection device of the present invention can be used alone in combination with an optical fiber, or can be arranged in an optical system in advance and connected to an external optical fiber. The assembly length of the optical fiber connection device, the position of the optical fiber stub, and the shape of the cut surface can be adjusted according to the required design, and can conform to the provisions of the multi source agreement (MSA). Therefore, even if an external optical fiber is repeatedly inserted into and removed from the optical fiber connection device, the stability of the optical fiber position is not affected. Further, the present invention is a main component of a transmitter-optical subassembly (TOSA) during optical communication, and has advantages such as high stability, low assembly time, high yield rate and cost reduction.

It is a side view of the optical fiber connection device concerning a prior art. It is a longitudinal section of an optical fiber connection device concerning a conventional technology. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of an optical fiber connection device according to the present invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

  102 iron part, 104 snap ring, 108 guide fixing device, 200 optical fiber connecting device, 206 optical fiber stub, 206a cut surface, 212 fixing point, 222 fixing point, 232 fixing point

Claims (5)

A housing having a hollow channel with one side being the input side and the other side being the output side;
An optical fiber stub located inside the hollow channel and partially projecting outward on the output side;
A snap ring located between the housing and the optical fiber stub;
An optical fiber connection device comprising: A fixing device for guiding and fixing an optical fiber element located on the input side inside the hollow channel,
The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing device is an annular fixing device or a C-shaped fixing device.   2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the housing firmly fixes the optical fiber stub or tightens and fixes the optical fiber stub by firmly fixing the snap ring. 3.   The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the snap ring is a C-shaped snap ring or an O-shaped snap ring, and is made of a ceramic material or a plastic metal material.   The optical fiber stub has an inclined surface at one end on the output side, and the axial direction of the inclined surface and the optical fiber stub forms a predetermined angle, and the angle is a Brewster angle. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein:

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