JP2006018155A - Terminal processing method and apparatus for multiple optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal processing method and apparatus for a multiple optical fiber ribbon, wherein deformation due to a spread of optical fibers at the tip end of the same, after removal of the coating of the multiple optical fiber ribbon, is restored to the original shape through a simple operation without damaging the optical fibers and without using a highly accurate and expensive terminal processing fixture. <P>SOLUTION: The terminal processing method of the multiple optical fiber ribbon 1 with the tip end coating removed includes a heating process in which deformation of the coating is repaired to array the optical fiber part 11 in parallel, by heating in a non-contact state around the coating edge part 3 at the boundary between the optical fiber part 11 and the coating part 12 of the multiple optical fiber ribbon 1 using a heater 2. The heating process is performed by heating in the temperature range of 500-1,200°C with the heater 2 arranged on both sides of the multiple optical fiber ribbon 1 while the heater is moved from the coating edge part 3 to the tip end of the optical fiber part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal processing method and apparatus for a multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber, and more particularly, to a device and device for returning the spread of the tip of a strand after removal of the coating.

  Conventionally, the following is known as a terminal processing method for a multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber.

(Conventional example 1)
Conventional Example 1 uses a coating removal tool to remove the coating on the front end of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber to expose the strand portion, and after washing with alcohol, the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber cutting machine is used to cut the strand. In this method, the tip of the wire portion is attached to the V groove of the optical fiber fusion splicer or the ferrule of the connector for the multi-fiber tape optical fiber while performing fine adjustment.

(Conventional example 2)
As shown in FIG. 6, Conventional Example 2 uses a fiber presser adapter 100 having comb teeth 101 as a terminal processing fixing jig in addition to the method of Conventional Example 1, and uses the covering portion 12 of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 1. The strands 11 of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 1 are aligned with the V-grooves of the optical fiber fusion splicer or the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber. This is a method that makes it easy to attach to the ferrule of the connector (see Patent Document 1).
JP 63-184710 A

  The conventional examples 1 and 2 described above have the following problems.

  1) Since the coating is crushed when the coating of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber is removed, the optical fiber strand is pushed out in the tape width direction, and the tip of the strand portion expands in a fan shape. In Conventional Example 1, since there is no means for returning the spread, it is difficult and time-consuming to attach the V-groove of the fusion splicer or the connector to the ferrule.

  2) The terminal processing fixture of Conventional Example 2 aligns the tips of the strands by passing the combs through the strands of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber. Therefore, high-precision processing is required and expensive. Further, it is not easy to pass the wire portion through the comb teeth. Further, when the strand portion is passed through the comb teeth, in the worst case, the strand portion may be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems, and without using a high-precision and expensive terminal processing fixture, the multi-core tape light can be easily operated without damaging the wire portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal processing method and apparatus for a multi-fiber tape optical fiber that restores the deformation caused by the spread of the tip of the strand after the fiber coating is removed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a multi-core tape optical fiber terminal processing method according to claim 1 is the multi-fiber tape end processing method of the multi-fiber tape optical fiber with the tip coating removed. A heating step of repairing deformation of the coating by heating the periphery of the coated portion of the optical fiber in a non-contact manner and aligning the fiber strands in parallel is characterized.

  A terminal processing apparatus for a multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber according to a second aspect of the present invention is the multi-core tape optical fiber terminal processing apparatus in which the end coating is removed, wherein the periphery of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber is not contacted. It is characterized by having a heating device that repairs deformation of the coating by heating and aligns the fiber strands in parallel.

  According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the collapse of the coating generated at the time of removing the coating is repaired by simply heating the periphery of the coated portion of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber in a non-contact manner. Since the parts can be aligned in parallel, it is possible to easily and quickly mount the optical fiber fusion splicer on the V-groove or connector ferrule without using a high-precision and expensive positioning jig. . Moreover, since it is the operation | work which only heats without contact, the situation which damages a strand part can be avoided.

  BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The best mode for carrying out a multicore optical fiber terminal processing method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  With reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, Tables 1 to 4, a terminal processing method and apparatus for a multi-core tape optical fiber according to this embodiment will be described.

  In FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numeral 1 denotes a multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber, and 2 denotes a terminal processing apparatus for mounting the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 1 to a V groove or a ferrule of a connector of an optical fiber fusion splicer. It is a heater for heating as a heating apparatus used. In the example in the figure, the fiber axis direction of the multi-fiber tape optical fiber 1 is the X direction, the tape width direction is the Y direction, and the direction orthogonal to the tape surface (XY plane) is the Z direction.

  The multi-core tape optical fiber 1 can be applied to any number of tape optical fibers such as 2-core, 4-core, 8-core, and 12-core, and includes a strand portion 11 that is a fiber strand and a covering portion 12 thereof. Is done. Reference numeral 13 in the drawing denotes a coating edge portion that is a boundary between the strand portion 11 and the coating portion 12 exposed by removing the coating from the fiber tip.

  As shown in the figure, the heater 2 is disposed in a non-contact state on both sides in the Z direction across the multi-fiber tape optical fiber 1 when the multi-fiber tape optical fiber 1 is subjected to terminal processing. The fiber 1 is configured to be slidable in the X direction. The moving mechanism for sliding the heating heater 2 is not particularly shown in the example in the drawing, but for example, a feed screw mechanism, a belt transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism, a movement mechanism using a rack and pinion, a guide mechanism, etc. Either type is acceptable.

  Here, the terminal processing method of the multi-core tape optical fiber 1 using the heater 2 for heating will be described.

  First, the fiber tip of the multi-fiber tape optical fiber 1 is removed using a sheath removal tool (not shown), and the strand portion 11 is exposed from the sheath 12. When the covering is removed, the covering portion 12 is crushed, so that the tip of the strand portion 11 spreads in a fan shape and deforms.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), heating heaters 2 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 1 so as to face each other in a non-contact state, and a coated edge portion that is a boundary between the strand portion 11 and the covering portion 12 From 13, heating is started in a non-contact state of the heater 2 for heating. At this time, the heating temperature of the heater 2 is set in a range of 500 ° C. or more and 1200 ° C. or less, for example.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the heating heater 3 is moved toward the distal end side of the strand portion 11 with respect to the multi-core tape optical fiber 1 while continuing heating by the heat of the heating heater 3 in the X direction. (See arrow a in the figure) to heat the periphery of the covering portion 3.

  By the way, the coating portion 12 is made of an ultraviolet curable resin that is cured by heating. The deformation of the wire portion that occurs at the time of coating removal is caused by crushing during coating, and the coating is softened by high-temperature heating, and the shape is recovered by elasticity. In addition, the elasticity of the wire bent at the base part contributes to the recovery of the shape.

  As described above, when the coating portion 12 and the strand portion 11 of the multi-fiber optical fiber fiber 1 are heated to a high temperature by the heat of the heater 2 for heating, the collapse of the coating that occurred during the removal of the coating is repaired. The strands 11 of the fiber 1 can be aligned in parallel.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily and quickly mount the optical fiber fusion splicer on the V-groove or the connector ferrule without using a highly accurate and expensive positioning jig. Moreover, since it is the operation | work which only heats without contact, the situation which damages a strand part can be avoided.

  Next, experimental results for verifying the effectiveness of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this experiment, single-mode optical fibers (SM2, SM4, SM8, and SM12: FJK (Fujikura) with different fiber tip width design values are used as multi-fiber tape optical fibers. )). Further, HJS-S (manufactured by FJK) was used as a coating removal tool at the tip of the fiber.

  Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the fiber tip coating is removed by HJS-S with respect to the design value of the fiber tip width W0 (see FIG. 2A) before the coating removal. The fiber tip width W1 (see FIG. 2 (b)) immediately after cleaning, and the fiber tip width W2 (FIG. 2) after heating with the heater for heating (heating temperature: 500 ° C. or more and 1200 ° C. or less). (C) was compared and measured. Measurement was performed 5 times (processing 1 to 5), and an average value (AVG), maximum value (MAX), and minimum value (MIN) were obtained.

The measurement results are shown in Tables 1 to 4. The heater heating conditions during the experiments shown in Tables 1 and 2 are as follows:
The experiment was conducted with a heater temperature of 700 ° C. and a heating time of 2 seconds.

Table 1 shows the measurement results when using a multi-fiber optical fiber (SM2) with two fibers having a design value of the fiber tip width before coating removal of 0.375 mm as the multi-fiber tape optical fiber.

  As shown in Table 1, the average value of five measurements of the fiber tip width after coating removal is 0.581 mm, and the average value of the fiber tip width after heating is five times measured is 0.395 mm. The difference in average value was 0.186 mm.

  As a result, the fiber tip width that spreads and deforms to about 1.55 times (0.581 / 0.375) with respect to the design value after coating removal is about 1.05 times (0.395 / 0.35) with respect to the design value after heating the heater. 0.375), it was confirmed that the collapse of the coating was restored and returned to its original state.

Table 2 shows the measurement results when a four-core single-mode optical fiber (SM4) having a design value of the fiber tip width before coating removal of 0.875 mm is used as the multi-fiber tape optical fiber.

  As shown in Table 2, the average value of five measurements of the fiber tip width after coating removal is 1.073 mm, and the average value of the fiber tip width after the heater heating is 0.916 mm. The difference in average value was 0.158 mm.

  As a result, the fiber tip width which has spread and deformed about 1.23 times (1.073 / 0.875) with respect to the design value after coating removal is about 1.05 times (0.916 / 0.96) with respect to the design value after heating the heater. 0.875), it was confirmed that the crushing of the coating was restored and almost returned to the original state.

Table 3 shows the measurement results when an 8-fiber single-mode optical fiber (SM8) having a design value of the fiber tip width before coating removal of 1.875 mm is used as the multi-fiber tape optical fiber.

  As shown in Table 3, the average value of five measurements of the fiber tip width after coating removal was 2.102 mm, the average value of the fiber tip width measured five times after heating the heater was 2.039 mm, The difference in average value was 0.063 mm.

  As a result, the fiber tip width which spreads and deforms about 1.12 times (2.102 / 1.875) with respect to the design value after coating removal is about 1.09 times (2.039 / 2.0) with respect to the design value after heating the heater. 1.875), it was confirmed that the crushing of the coating was restored and almost returned to the original state.

Table 4 shows the measurement results when a 12-fiber single-mode optical fiber (SM12) having a design value of the fiber tip width before coating removal of 2.875 mm is used as the multi-fiber tape optical fiber.

  As shown in Table 4, the average value of 5 times measurement of the fiber tip width after removal of the coating is 3.163 mm, the average value of 5 times measurement of the fiber tip width after heating the heater is 2.991 mm, The difference in average value was 0.172 mm.

  As a result, the fiber tip width which has spread and deformed about 1.10 times (3.163 / 2.875) with respect to the design value after removing the coating is about 1.04 times (2.991 / 2.9) with respect to the design value after heating the heater. 2.875), it was confirmed that the crushing of the coating was restored and almost returned to the original state.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the heaters 2 for heating are arranged on both sides in the Z direction of the multi-fiber tape optical fiber and heated from both sides in the Z direction is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the heaters 2 are arranged on both sides in the Y direction of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 2 and heated from both sides in the Y direction, they are shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Thus, the same result was obtained even when the heater 2 was disposed only on one side in the Z direction or Y direction of the multi-fiber optical fiber ribbon 1 and heated from one side in the Z direction or Y direction.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the case where it heats with the heat using the heater 2 as a heating device is illustrated, this invention is not limited to this, For example, as shown in FIG. Similar results were obtained even when used and heated by the heat generated by the discharge.

  Furthermore, the heating device can efficiently repair the collapse of the coating that occurred during the coating removal at a more optimal heating temperature by performing heating in the range of 500 ° C. or more and 1200 ° C. or less. Moreover, since it heats using the heater for heating, it can heat efficiently with a cheaper and simple apparatus structure. In addition, since the heater is moved from the coated portion of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber to the tip of the strand portion, it can be heated more efficiently with a simple operation. The same effect as described above can be obtained even with a heating device other than the heater.

Industrial application fields

  As described above, the present invention can be applied to a terminal processing method and apparatus for a multi-fiber tape optical fiber that is mounted on a V-groove of an optical fiber fusion splicer or a ferrule of a connector.

(A) And (b) is a perspective view explaining the terminal processing method and apparatus of the multi-core tape optical fiber of the Example of this invention. (A)-(c) is a figure explaining the fiber tip width before coating removal, after coating removal, and after heater heating. It is a perspective view explaining the case where the heating direction of the heater for heating is changed. (A) And (b) is a perspective view explaining the case where the heater for heating is arrange | positioned only at one side. It is a perspective view explaining the case where a discharge electrode rod is used. It is a perspective view explaining the terminal processing method of the multi-core tape optical fiber using the adapter which has a comb-tooth of the prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber 2 Heating heater 3 Discharge electrode rod 11 Wire part 12 Covering part 13 Covering edge part 100 Fiber pressing adapter 101 Comb tooth

Claims (2)

In the terminal processing method of the multi-core tape optical fiber from which the tip coating is removed,
A multi-core tape optical fiber comprising a heating step of repairing deformation of the coating and aligning the fiber strands in parallel by heating the periphery of the coated portion of the multi-fiber tape optical fiber in a non-contact manner. Terminal processing method. In the terminal processing apparatus of the multi-core tape optical fiber from which the tip coating is removed,
A multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber comprising: a heating device that repairs deformation of the coating by heating the periphery of the coated portion of the multi-fiber ribbon optical fiber in a non-contact manner and aligns the fiber strands in parallel. Terminal processing device.

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