JP2005321755A - Optical coupler and method of connecting optical fibers using the optical coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an optical coupler having minimal components and a simple structure with which accuracy is easily obtained. <P>SOLUTION: The optical coupler mutually connects optical fibers 102 having single core or multicore coated optical fibers 100A and 100B which are so arranged that the end parts are facing each other; a through hole 12 which straightly penetrates from one end side to the other of the optical coupler main body is provided in the optical coupler main body 11 which is composed of a resin molded piece; a small hole part 12d is provided at the middle part in the axial direction of the through hole which is filled with an adhesive and which allows the end parts of the optical fibers oppose to each other when a pair of optical fibers to be connected is inserted from one end side and the other of the through hole; a guide hole part 12b is provided at both outer sides in the axial direction of the small hole part to introduce the end of the respective optical fibers into the small hole part; a coated optical fiber housing part 12a is provided at the farther outside on respective guide holes to accommodate the coated optical fibers with coating; and the guide hole parts have a taper part 12c whose diameter reduces from the coated optical fiber housing part side to the small hole part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector for connecting an optical fiber, and a connection method for connecting an optical fiber using the optical connector.

Conventionally, an optical connector for connecting optical fibers has a structure in which a plurality of glass capillaries are arranged in parallel at the center of the optical connector body and the upper part of the optical connector body is covered with a cover glass. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3154230

  However, since the conventional optical connector has a structure in which a plurality of glass capillaries are arranged in parallel at a predetermined pitch on the optical connector main body, it is difficult to obtain manufacturing accuracy, and the number of parts is large. The structure was complicated.

In addition, in order to reduce the connection loss and reflection at the connection portion between the optical fibers, an optical fiber connection method has been proposed in which the optical fibers are abutted in an adhesive previously injected into the optical connector. In this optical fiber connection method, the adhesive injected into the optical connector needs to be free of bubbles, and in the unlikely event that bubbles are mixed during injection, the bubbles are released to remove the bubbles. Processing is required.
However, the conventional optical connector has a problem that when bubbles are mixed in the adhesive injected into the glass capillary, it is difficult to remove the bubbles and the remaining bubbles cause an increase in transmission loss.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention can provide accuracy easily, requires a minimum number of parts, provides a simple optical connector having a structure, and is injected into a connection portion between optical fibers. The present invention provides an optical connector that can quickly remove bubbles mixed in an adhesive to achieve stable connection between optical fibers with low transmission loss, and an optical fiber connection method using the optical connector. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, an optical connector according to claim 1 of the present invention connects optical fibers of single-core or multi-core optical fibers arranged with their ends facing each other. An optical connector main body made of an integrally molded product of resin is provided with a through-hole penetrating straight from one end side to the other end side of the optical connector main body, and the axial direction of the through-hole In the central part, when a pair of optical fibers to be connected to each other is inserted from one end side and the other end side of the through-hole, a pore part is provided to make the ends of the optical fibers face each other, and the axial direction of the pore part Guide holes for guiding the tip of each optical fiber to the pores are provided on both outer sides, and a core housing part for housing the coated optical fiber core is provided on the outer side of each guide hole. It is provided.

  An optical connector according to a second aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the first aspect, wherein the guide hole portion is reduced in diameter from the core wire housing portion side toward the pore portion. It has a taper part.

  An optical connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the adhesive is injected into the pore from the outside into the optical connector main body. An injection window hole is provided, and a range from the guide hole portion to the core wire housing portion is faced in the injection window hole.

  The optical connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the third aspect, wherein the pores of the adhesive injected into the optical connector main body from the injection window hole. It is characterized in that a confirmation window hole for confirming the filling state in the part is provided.

  An optical connector according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the optical connector is bonded to the vicinity of the tip of the optical fiber including a butted portion between the tips of the optical fibers. It has a bubble escape passage in the agent.

  An optical connector according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the fifth aspect, wherein the length of the bubble escape passage along the axial direction of the optical connector main body is an optical fiber. It is characterized by being set to 10 times or less of the core wire diameter.

  An optical connector according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the ends of the optical fibers to be connected to each other in the pore portion. The region near the tip of the optical fiber including the butted portion is provided with a minute widening space that makes the butted portion between the tips of the optical fibers non-contact with the inner wall of the hole.

  An optical connector according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the optical connector main body is pivoted at an intermediate portion of the pore portion. It is an assembly of a pair of connector halves divided into two by a butting surface orthogonal to the direction.

  The optical connector according to claim 9 of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the adhesive also serves as a refractive index matching agent. Features.

  An optical connector according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the ninth aspect, wherein the adhesive is of a thermosetting type.

  An optical connector according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the ninth aspect, wherein the adhesive is of an ultraviolet curing type.

  An optical connector according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to the ninth aspect, wherein the adhesive is of an ultraviolet curing type, and the optical connector body transmits ultraviolet light. It consists of resin.

  An optical connector according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects, wherein the through holes are spaced from each other. A plurality of parallel wires are formed at a predetermined pitch, and a space having a rectangular cross section or a cross-sectional long hole shape capable of accommodating a multi-core optical fiber ribbon is formed as the core wire accommodating portion.

  An optical connector according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the optical connector according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, wherein the optical connector main body is formed of an injection molded product. To do.

  The invention described in claim 15 according to the present invention is an optical fiber connecting method for connecting optical fibers using the optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the optical connector main body A step of filling the pores of the through-holes with an adhesive, and inserting the tips of a pair of optical fibers in which the coating has been removed from both ends of the through-holes into the pores to face the tips, and And a step of accommodating the optical fiber core wire with the sheath attached to the core wire accommodating portion, and a step of adhering the optical fiber and the optical fiber core wire to the optical connector main body.

  The invention described in claim 16 according to the present invention is an optical fiber connecting method for connecting optical fibers using the optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the optical connector main body A step of filling the through hole with an adhesive, and inserting a pair of optical fiber core wires whose outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the fine hole portion from both ends of the through hole in a state where the covering remains attached. The step of making these optical fiber cores face each other in the pore and the step of adhering the pair of optical fiber cores to an optical connector main body are provided.

  According to the optical connector of the first aspect, since the optical connector main body is manufactured by an integrally molded product of resin, parts such as a glass capillary tube are unnecessary, and further, there are a pore, a semicircular groove, an opening, and the like. Such a complicated shape can be easily produced, and the production accuracy can be easily obtained, and the number of parts can be minimized. In addition, since a plurality of optical fibers can be connected by simply increasing the number of through holes, the structure is simple and easy to manufacture. In addition, since the optical fibers are made to face each other in the through hole formed in the optical connector main body while being centered, if only the management of the hole diameter of the fine hole is strictly performed, the optical fiber is placed in the fine hole. High insertion accuracy can be achieved automatically just by inserting the tip.

  According to the optical connector of the second aspect, since the tapered portion is provided in the guide hole portion of the through hole, the guiding action into the pore portion can be enhanced, and the optical fiber can be easily inserted.

  According to the optical connector of the third aspect, the adhesive can be easily filled into the pores by injecting the adhesive from the injection window hole. In addition, since the range from the guide hole to the core wire accommodating part is exposed in the injection window hole, both the uncovered optical fiber and the uncoated optical fiber core are securely bonded together. It is possible to fix the connection reliability.

  According to the optical connector according to claim 4, since the confirmation window hole for confirming the filling state of the adhesive is provided, it is confirmed that the adhesive has completely spread in the pores, A fiber can be inserted. Therefore, air can be prevented from being caught in the adhesive in the pores, and reliability after connection can be ensured.

  According to the optical connector of the fifth aspect, since the confirmation window hole is opened in the vicinity of the optical fiber tip serving as a connection portion between the optical fiber tips, the bubbles in the adhesive pressurized by the optical fiber tip Naturally escapes from the opening of the confirmation window hole, making a high-quality connection without leaving bubbles in the adhesive.

  According to the optical connector of the sixth aspect, there is no structural part to be pressed down in the vicinity of the tip of each optical fiber that becomes a connection portion between the tips of the optical fibers because of a confirmation window hole that also serves as a bubble escape passage. It becomes a state close to the free end. However, as described above, if the length along the axial direction of the free end is not more than 10 times the diameter of the optical fiber core wire, each end of each optical fiber to be abutted does not cause an axial misalignment. The tip of the optical fiber can be connected in a centered state with a standard dimensional accuracy, and transmission loss due to the deviation of the shaft center can be prevented and low-loss connection can be achieved.

  According to the optical connector of the seventh aspect, the abutting portion between the tips of the optical fibers is in a floating state due to a gap secured around the abutting portion by a minute widening space. . Therefore, even if a protrusion that protrudes outward in the radial direction due to deformation at the time of cutting the fiber wire material occurs at the tip of the optical fiber to be connected, the protrusion escapes to the minute widening space side, and the hole inner wall of the pore portion Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of axial misalignment caused by the deformation of the tip of the optical fiber interfering with the inner wall of the hole and to achieve a low loss connection without any axial misalignment.

  According to the optical connector of claim 8, each connector half can use, for example, an existing multi-core ferrule that is butt-connected by a guide pin, and can use an existing multi-fiber connector ferrule. Thereby, the optical connector which can connect the front-end | tips of an optical fiber with high precision can be provided at low cost.

  According to the optical connector of the ninth aspect, since the adhesive also serves as the refractive index matching agent, it is possible to use only one type of injecting agent necessary for assembly, and the workability is improved.

  According to the optical connector of the tenth aspect, since the thermosetting type adhesive is used as the adhesive, it can be cured by heating.

  According to the optical connector of the eleventh aspect, since an ultraviolet curing type adhesive is used, it can be cured by irradiation with ultraviolet light.

  According to the optical connector of the twelfth aspect, since an ultraviolet curing type adhesive is used and the optical connector body is formed of a resin that transmits ultraviolet light, ultraviolet light is emitted from the outside of the optical connector body. It can be cured by irradiation.

  According to the optical connector of the thirteenth aspect, since the plurality of through holes for inserting the optical fibers are provided in parallel while being independent of the adjacent ones, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of backflow when the adhesive is filled. In other words, if the adjacent holes are connected, the adhesive that has flowed into a certain hole may enter the adjacent hole, and air may be caught between the adhesive that has flowed into the hole later. Can prevent it.

  According to the optical connector of the fourteenth aspect, since the optical connector main body is formed of an injection molded product, productivity can be dramatically increased. In this case, if LCP (liquid crystal polymer) or PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) is used as a molding resin material, all of dimensional accuracy, dimensional stability, and mechanical strength can be maintained at a high level, and connection loss can be reduced. It becomes easy to ensure the stability.

  According to the optical fiber connection method of the fifteenth aspect, by using the optical connector body and the adhesive, the optical fiber can be easily and accurately connected, and stable connection reliability can be ensured. it can.

  According to the optical fiber connection method of the sixteenth aspect, each optical fiber core wire inserted into the through hole of the optical connector main body to butt-connect the optical fibers does not require a troublesome stripping process of the coating. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in yield due to optical fiber loss or the like that occurs during the stripping process of the coating, and to shorten the time required for the optical fiber connection process, and to improve the workability of the optical fiber connection process. Can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The optical connector of each embodiment described below is for connecting optical fibers of multi-core optical fiber ribbons arranged with their ends facing each other, and is a resin by injection molding The optical connector main body which consists of an integrally molded product, and an adhesive which also serves as a refractive index matching agent injected and cured therein.

    1 to 3 show a first embodiment of an optical connector main body of an optical connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an optical connector main body 11 made of an integrally molded product of resin. , (A) is a plan view seen from above, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow Ib-Ib in (a), (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow Ic-Ic in (b), and (d) is (b) It is Id-Id arrow sectional drawing of). 2 is a perspective view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1B, FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the same part as FIG. b) is an enlarged view of the main part.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, when connecting each optical fiber 102 of a pair of multi-fiber optical fiber tapes (also referred to as ribbons) cores 100A and 100B, a range of a predetermined length of a tip portion to be connected. Then, the coating 101 is removed and the optical fiber 102 is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an optical connector body 11 made of an injection molded product of a thermoplastic resin such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer) or PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) has an optical connector body 11 from one end side to the other end side. A large number of through-holes 12 penetrating in a straight line are provided. A plurality of through holes 12 are formed in parallel at a predetermined pitch (a pitch equal to the arrangement pitch of the optical fibers) with an interval between adjacent ones. The center part of each through hole 12 in the axial direction is filled with an adhesive, and when a pair of optical fibers 102 to be connected to each other are inserted from one end side and the other end side of the through hole 12, the optical fiber A fine pore portion 12d is provided so that the tips of 102 are opposed to each other while being aligned.

  Further, guide hole portions 12b for guiding the tips of the respective optical fibers 102 to the fine hole portions 12d are provided on both outer sides in the axial direction of the fine hole portions 12d, and the coating 101 is provided on the further outer side of each guide hole portion 12b. A core wire housing portion 12a for housing the optical fiber tape core wires 100A and 100B as they are attached is provided. Since the core wire accommodating portion 12a is a portion that accommodates the multi-fiber optical fiber ribbons 100A and 100B with the coating 101 attached, the space having a rectangular cross section or a long cross section including all the through holes 12 is provided. And is opened as an insertion opening on one end surface 11A and the other end surface 11B of the optical connector body 11.

  If each optical fiber 102 has a diameter of 125 μm, the pore 12d is formed as a circular hole having a slightly larger diameter. Moreover, the diameter of the guide hole 12b is formed to be about 0.2 mm.

  Further, a tapered portion 12c having a diameter reduced from the core wire housing portion 12a side toward the fine pore portion 12d is provided on the fine pore portion 12d side of the guide hole portion 12b. Further, an injection window hole 13 for injecting an adhesive into the pores 12d of all the through holes 12 from the outside is provided on the upper surface 11C of the optical connector body 11. The injection window hole 13 has a rectangular opening at a portion from the guide hole portion 12b to the core wire housing portion 12a, and the injection window hole 13 extends from the guide hole portion 12b to the core wire housing portion 12a. The range is approaching. As described above, since a part of the guide hole 12b faces the injection window hole 13, the rear half of the guide hole 12b (the part closer to the core wire accommodating part 12a) is as shown in FIG. The semicircular groove 12e has an open upper surface. In addition, two injection window holes 13 are provided corresponding to the portions from the guide hole portions 12b on both sides to the core wire housing portion 12a.

  Further, a confirmation window hole 14 for confirming the filling state of the adhesive injected from the injection window hole 13 into the pore 12d is provided on the upper surface 11C of the optical connector body 11. The confirmation window hole 14 is opened at a position near the end of the pore 12d so as to intersect from the upper surface 11C.

Next, a method of connecting the corresponding optical fibers 102 of the pair of optical fiber ribbons 100A and 100B using the optical connector body 11 and the optical connector 10 made of an adhesive will be described.
In that case, first, an adhesive serving as a refractive index matching agent is injected from the injection window hole 13 away from the confirmation window hole 14, and the optical connector main body 11 is placed with the injected window hole 13 side up. By inclining, the adhesive is allowed to flow into the pores 12d of the through holes 12. Then, by confirming that the adhesive flows from the confirmation window hole 14, the state of filling of the adhesive into each pore 12d is confirmed.

  Next, from each side of each through-hole 12, the tip of each pair of optical fibers 101 with the coating removed is inserted into the pore 12d and the tips are opposed. At the same time, the optical fiber tape cores 100A and 100B that are still covered are accommodated in the core wire accommodating portion 12a.

  When the optical fiber 102 is inserted, the distal end of the optical fiber 102 can be smoothly inserted into the pore portion 12d by the guiding action of the tapered portion 12c at the back of the guide hole portion 12b. Further, the insertion state of each optical fiber 102 can be confirmed from the injection window hole 13. Moreover, since the optical fiber 102 is inserted along each semicircular groove 12e, it is easy to insert.

  After the optical fiber 102 and the optical fiber ribbons 100A and 100B are inserted, an adhesive is injected also from the other injection window hole 13, and the adhesive is cured in this state, whereby the optical fiber 102 and the optical fiber are cured. The tape cores 100A and 100B are bonded and fixed to the optical connector main body 11. Thus, the connection of the optical fiber using the optical connector 10 is completed.

  In this case, if a thermosetting adhesive is used as the refractive index matching agent, it can be cured by heating after insertion of the optical fiber. Further, if an ultraviolet curable adhesive is used as the adhesive, it can be cured by irradiating with ultraviolet light after insertion of the optical fiber. In that case, if the optical connector main body 11 is made of an ultraviolet light transmitting resin, it can be easily cured simply by irradiating ultraviolet light from the outside.

  As described above, in the optical connector of the embodiment, the optical connector main body 11 is manufactured by an integrally molded product of resin, so that conventional parts such as a glass capillary tube are unnecessary, and further, a pore portion and a semicircle A complicated shape having a groove, an opening, and the like can be easily manufactured. In addition, it is easy to obtain manufacturing accuracy and the number of parts can be minimized. In addition, since a plurality of optical fibers 102 can be connected by simply increasing the number of through holes 12, the structure is simple and the manufacture is easy. Further, since the optical fibers 102 are opposed to each other while being aligned in the pore portion 12d of the through hole 12 formed in the optical connector body 11, if only the management of the hole diameter of the pore portion 12d is strictly performed, it is possible to reduce the size. By simply inserting the tip of the optical fiber 102 into the hole 12d, high connection accuracy can be automatically obtained. Further, since an adhesive serving also as a refractive index matching agent is interposed between the tips of the optical fibers 102 facing each other, connection loss and reflection can be reduced.

  Further, since the guide hole 12b of the through hole 12 is provided with the tapered portion 12c, the guiding action into the pore 12d can be enhanced, and the optical fiber 102 can be easily inserted. Further, since the range from the guide hole portion 12b to the core wire accommodating portion 12a is faced in the adhesive injection window hole 13, the optical fiber 102 from which the coating has been removed and the optical fiber tape core with the coating still attached. Both parts of the wires 100A and 100B can be securely bonded together, and the connection reliability can be improved.

  Moreover, since the confirmation window hole 14 for confirming the filling state of the adhesive is provided on the upper surface 11C of the optical connector body 11, it is confirmed that the adhesive has completely spread in the pores 12d. Then, the optical fiber 102 can be inserted, and therefore air can be prevented from being caught in the adhesive in the pore 12d, and reliability after connection can be ensured.

  In addition, since a plurality of through holes are provided in parallel while being independent from each other, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of backflow when the adhesive is filled and to prevent air entrainment.

  Moreover, since the optical connector main body 11 is composed of an injection molded product, the productivity can be dramatically increased. Moreover, by using LCP (liquid crystal polymer) or PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) as the molding resin material, all of dimensional accuracy, dimensional stability, and mechanical strength can be maintained at a high level, and connection loss can be reduced. It becomes easy to ensure the stability.

  Further, since the adhesive also serves as the refractive index matching agent, it is possible to use only one type of injecting agent necessary for assembly, and workability is improved.

4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the optical connector according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the optical connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a V portion of the optical connector main body shown in FIG.
The optical connector 20 according to the second embodiment is filled in the optical connector main body 21 integrally formed by injection molding of thermosetting resin such as LCP or PPS, the pore portion 12d, and the confirmation window hole 14. The basic configuration including the adhesive 23 is the same as that of the optical connector 10 of the first embodiment. The adhesive 23 used has physical properties as a refractive index matching agent, and may be the same as that used in the first embodiment.
However, the optical connector main body 21 of the present embodiment is obtained by improving a part of the configuration of the optical connector main body 11 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the improved points are the following three points. is there. In addition, about the structure which is common in the optical connector main body 11 of 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The first improvement is that the position of the confirmation window hole 14 is set in the vicinity of the distal end of each optical fiber including the butted portion P1 between the distal ends of the optical fibers 102, thereby making the confirmation window hole 14 smaller than the pores. This is the point that the bubble in the adhesive 23 filled in the portion 12d and the confirmation window hole 14 is also used as a bubble escape passage for escaping to the outside.

  The second improvement is that the length L of the confirmation window hole 14 that also serves as a bubble escape passage along the axial direction of the optical connector main body is set to 10 times or less of the optical fiber core diameter d. is there.

The third improvement is in the vicinity of the tip end of the optical fiber including the butted portion P1 of the tip ends of the optical fibers to be connected to each other in the pore portion 12d formed in the intermediate portion of the through hole 12 of the optical connector body 21. Is a point provided with a minute widening space 25 that makes the abutting portion P1 between the tips of the optical fibers non-contact with the inner wall of the pore portion 12d.
In the case of the present embodiment, the widening space 25 is a space formed by lowering the bottom portion 14a of the confirmation window hole 14 below the lower edge position of the pore portion 12d, and a clearance is secured around the butted portion P1. doing.

  According to the optical connector 20 described above, since the confirmation window hole 14 is opened in the vicinity of the optical fiber tip serving as a connection portion between the tips of the optical fibers 102 and 102, as shown in FIG. The bubbles 27 in the adhesive 23 pressurized by the tip of the optical fiber naturally escape to the outside from the opening of the confirmation window hole 14, and a high-quality connection in which the bubbles 27 do not remain in the adhesive 23 can be made.

  Further, according to the optical connector 20 described above, the vicinity of the tip of each optical fiber that becomes the connection portion between the tips of the optical fibers 102 and 102 is provided for the confirmation window hole 14 that also serves as a bubble escape passage. It will be in a state close to the free end without any structural parts to be pressed down. However, as shown in FIG. 4, if the length L along the axial direction of the free end is not more than 10 times the diameter of the optical fiber core wire, the ends of the optical fibers 102 and 102 to be abutted are displaced from each other. The tip of each optical fiber 102 and 102 can be connected in a centered state with a reference dimensional accuracy without generating a transmission loss, preventing transmission loss due to axial misalignment, and low loss connection. It becomes possible.

  Further, according to the optical connector 20, the abutting portion P <b> 1 between the ends of the optical fibers has a medium gap, as shown in FIG. 5, due to the gap secured around the abutting portion P <b> 1 by the minute widening space 25. It is in a floating state. Therefore, even if a protrusion 29 protruding outward in the radial direction due to deformation at the time of cutting the fiber wire material is generated at the tip of the optical fibers 102 and 102 to be connected, the protrusion 29 escapes to the minute widening space 25 side, It will not interfere with the hole inner wall of the pore portion 12d. Therefore, the deformation of the tip of the optical fiber 102 at the time of cutting the fiber wire prevents the occurrence of the axis deviation due to the interference with the hole inner wall. No low loss connection is possible.

6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the optical connector according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the optical connector main body 31 of the optical connector 30 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views taken along arrows AA in FIG.
The optical connector body 31 of the third embodiment is a further improvement of the optical connector body 21 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. The components common to those of the optical connector main body 21 of the second embodiment other than the improvements are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The improvement in the present embodiment is that the optical connector main body 31 is an assembly of a pair of connector halves 35 and 36 that is divided into two at the abutting surface 33 orthogonal to the axial direction in the intermediate portion of the pore portion 12d. It is what.

A guide hole 39 into which the guide pin 38 is inserted in a direction orthogonal to the butting surface 33 is formed in the butting surface 33 of the pair of connector half bodies 35 and 36.
The guide pin 38 is inserted into and fixed to either one of the two connector halves 35 and 36 connected in abutment (in this embodiment, the connector half 35). When the abutting surfaces 33 of the pair of connector halves 35 and 36 are butted together, a guide pin 38 provided so as to protrude from one connector half 35 is inserted into the guide hole 39 of the other connector half 36. The pair of connector halves 35 and 36 are inserted and joined and integrated into a centered and aligned state, and the optical fibers 102 and 102 inserted and held in the respective connector halves 35 and 36 are inserted. The tips of the two are concentric.

  According to the optical connector 30 using the above optical connector body 31, each connector half 35, 36 can use, for example, an existing multi-core ferrule that is butt-connected by the guide pin 38, By diverting existing ferrules for multi-fiber connectors, an optical connector that can connect the tips of optical fibers with high accuracy can be obtained at low cost.

  In addition, although the example in the case of connecting the optical fibers of a multi-core optical fiber ribbon was demonstrated in the said embodiment, this invention is applicable also when connecting the optical fiber of a single core optical fiber core.

In the above embodiment, since it is assumed that the optical fiber 102 has an outer diameter of 125 μm as the optical fiber ribbons 100A and 100B, the inner diameter of the pore 12d is slightly smaller than 125 μm. It is set to a large circular hole, and the size of the core wire accommodating portion 12a is set slightly larger than the outer diameter size of the covering 101 of the optical fiber tape core wires 100A and 100B.
However, recently, optical fiber ribbons have been made thinner, and optical fiber ribbons having a small outer diameter of the covering portion of 125 μm or less have also been developed. In the case where the optical fiber tape is used, the optical fiber ribbon can be inserted into the pores 12d of the optical connector main bodies 11, 21 and 31 with the coating attached.
Therefore, the following optical fiber connection method of the present invention becomes possible.

  An optical fiber connection method for connecting optical fibers to each other using the optical connectors 10, 20, and 30 according to any one of the first to third embodiments, and an optical connector body A step of filling the pores 12d of the through holes 12 of the 11, 21, 31 with an adhesive, a step of confirming the state of filling of the adhesive into the pores 12d, and a covering outer shape of the pores 12d. Inserting a pair of optical fiber cores smaller than the inner diameter from both ends of the through-hole 12 in a state of being covered, and making the ends of these optical fiber core wires face each other in the pore portion 12d; And bonding the pair of optical fiber core wires to the optical connector main bodies 11, 21, 31.

  According to this optical fiber connection method, each of the optical fiber cores inserted into the through holes 12 of the optical connector bodies 11, 21, 31 in order to butt-connect the optical fibers is a troublesome stripping process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the yield from being reduced due to the loss of the optical fiber that occurs during the stripping process, and to reduce the time required for the optical fiber connection process. Workability can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram of the optical connector main body of the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the top view seen from the top, (b) is Ib-Ib arrow sectional drawing of (a), (c) is ( (b) Ic-Ic arrow sectional drawing, (d) is an Id-Id arrow sectional drawing of (b). It is a perspective view in the II-II arrow cross section of FIG.1 (b). (A) is sectional drawing of the part same as FIG.1 (b) which shows the state which is going to connect an optical fiber, (b) is an enlarged view of the principal part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the optical connector of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of V part of the optical connector main body shown in FIG. It is a top view of the optical connector main body of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical connector 11 Optical connector main body 12 Through-hole 12a Core wire accommodating part 12b Guide hole part 12c Tapered part 12d Pore part 13 Injection window hole 14 Confirmation window hole (bubble escape passage)
20, 30 Optical connector 21, 31 Optical connector body 23 Adhesive (refractive index matching agent)
33 Abutting surfaces 35, 36 Half of connector 38 Guide pin 39 Guide hole 100A, 100B Optical fiber ribbon (optical fiber)
101 coating 102 optical fiber

Claims (16)

An optical connector for connecting optical fibers of single-core or multi-core optical fibers arranged with their ends facing each other,
An optical connector body made of a resin-molded product is provided with a through hole that penetrates straight from one end side to the other end side of the optical connector body, and should be connected to each other at the axial center of the through hole. When a pair of optical fibers are inserted from one end side and the other end side of the through hole, a fine hole portion is provided to make the tips of the optical fibers face each other. A guide hole portion for guiding the tip to the pore portion is provided, and a core wire receiving portion for receiving an optical fiber core wire with a coating is provided on the outer side of each guide hole portion. Optical connector.   2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the guide hole portion has a tapered portion whose diameter decreases from the core wire housing portion side toward the pore portion.   The optical connector main body is provided with an injection window hole for injecting an adhesive into the pore portion from the outside, and the range from the guide hole portion to the core wire accommodating portion is exposed in the injection window hole. The optical connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The confirmation window hole for confirming the filling state to the said pore part of the said adhesive agent inject | poured from the said injection | pouring window hole in the said optical connector main body was provided. Optical connector.   5. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein a bubble escape passage in the adhesive is provided in the vicinity of the optical fiber tip including a butt portion between the optical fiber tips. 6.   6. The optical connector according to claim 5, wherein a length of the bubble escape passage along an axial direction of the optical connector main body is set to 10 times or less of an optical fiber core wire diameter.   In the pore portion, a region near the tip of the optical fiber including the butted portion between the tips of the optical fibers to be connected to each other is provided with a minute widening space that makes the butted portion between the tip ends of the optical fibers non-contact with the inner wall of the hole. The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the optical connector is provided.   8. The optical connector main body is an assembly of a pair of connector halves divided into two by a butting surface orthogonal to the axial direction at an intermediate portion of the pore portion. The optical connector according to claim 1.   The optical connector according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the adhesive also serves as a refractive index matching agent.   The optical connector according to claim 9, wherein the adhesive is of a thermosetting type.   The optical connector according to claim 9, wherein the adhesive is of an ultraviolet curing type.   The optical connector according to claim 9, wherein the adhesive is of an ultraviolet curing type, and the optical connector main body is made of a resin that transmits ultraviolet light.   A plurality of the through-holes are formed in parallel at a predetermined pitch with an interval between adjacent ones, and a rectangular cross-section or a cross-sectional length capable of accommodating a multi-core optical fiber ribbon as the core wire accommodating portion The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a hole-like space is formed.   The optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the optical connector body is formed of an injection molded product. An optical fiber connection method for connecting optical fibers using the optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
Filling the pores of the through holes of the optical connector body with an adhesive;
A pair of optical fibers in which the coating is removed from both ends of the through-holes are inserted into the pores so that the tips are opposed to each other, and the optical fiber cores with the coatings in the core housing portions are attached. A process of containing
Bonding the optical fiber and the optical fiber core to an optical connector body;
An optical fiber connection method comprising the steps of: An optical fiber connection method for connecting optical fibers using the optical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
Filling the pores of the through holes of the optical connector body with an adhesive;
A pair of optical fiber core wires whose outer sheath diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the pore portion are inserted from both ends of the through-hole in a state where the sheath is attached, and the tips of these optical fiber core wires are inserted into the pore portion. In the process of facing,
Bonding the pair of optical fiber cores to the optical connector body;
An optical fiber connection method comprising the steps of:

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