JP2006053318A - Spacer for fiber holder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacer for fiber holder which can be fixed to a holder housing groove with a high strength and can perform the detachment to the holder housing wall simply in a short time while securing a high attachment dimensional accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: In the invention, the spacer is pressed and fixed in the holder housing groove by forming a fixing mechanism on the spacer, therefore, the fixation strength is enhanced, a deviation thereof in the holder housing groove can be prevented and a working dimensional accuracy of an optical fiber housed in a positioning groove can be enhanced. According to the invention, the spacer is fixed or supported in the holder housing groove through a pressing action with a pressing screw or an elastic pressing piece and is removed by an operation of the pressing screw or elastic deformation and, therefore, even during an optical fiber working operation, the detachment and positional change of the spacer is simply permitted as necessary. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a spacer for an optical fiber processing device that performs positioning according to the processing size of an optical fiber in a processing device that performs coating removal or cutting of an optical fiber used in the field of optical communication or the like.

When assembling a connector at the tip of an optical fiber used for optical communication or the like, it is necessary to remove or cut the coating of the optical fiber according to dimensions according to the specifications on the connector side. At this time, the fiber holder that holds the optical fiber is stored in a holder storage groove provided in an optical fiber processing apparatus such as a coating remover or a fiber cutter, and a fiber holder spacer ( (Hereinafter abbreviated as a spacer), and the spacer is sandwiched between a holder abutting wall that restricts the movement of the fiber holder in the direction of the fiber processing part in the optical fiber processing equipment and the fiber holder. The dimensions of the optical fiber coating removal start position and cutting position are adjusted (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-326646

  However, the holder storage groove in the optical fiber processing equipment has different dimensions depending on the equipment. However, since the conventional spacer is a simple plate, it has the width of the holder storage groove in the work site where the optical fiber processing is performed. It is necessary to perform work by using a plurality of spacers properly, and the management is difficult and complicated, for example, the number of required spacers is increased.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention can cope with holder housing grooves of many optical fiber processing devices having different widths of holder housing grooves in optical fiber processing equipment, and can be easily fixed in the holder housing grooves in a short time. Provided is a spacer for a fiber holder that can be performed.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fiber processing for processing a holder housing groove into which a fiber holder to which an optical fiber is fixed is inserted, and a tip portion of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder that protrudes from the fiber holder. A fiber disposed in the holder housing groove of an optical fiber processing device having a portion interposed between a holder abutting wall for restricting movement of the fiber holder in the fiber processing portion direction and the fiber holder. A spacer body having a reference contact surface that is in contact with the holder contact wall and a holder contact surface that is positioned on the opposite side of the reference contact surface to contact the fiber holder And a fixing mechanism for fixing the spacer body in the holder storage groove by applying a pressing force to the side walls of the holder groove on both sides of the holder storage groove. For the fiber holder, the fixing mechanism is configured to move the slider built in the spacer body so as to be pushed out to the side of the spacer body by an operation from the upper surface of the spacer body. Provide a spacer.
According to the present invention, the fixing mechanism includes: a slider that is opened in a side surface of the spacer body and is housed in a slider housing hole formed in the spacer body; and a screw hole that is provided on an upper surface of the spacer body. There is provided a fiber holder spacer, comprising: a pressing screw that presses the slider by being screwed in a lower surface direction of the spacer body and moves the slider so as to push the slider to a side of the spacer body.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the screw hole is formed to be inclined so as to approach the side surface of the spacer body in which the slider housing hole is opened as it goes from the upper surface of the spacer body to the lower surface of the spacer body. A spacer for a fiber holder is provided.
In the present invention, the spacer main body is positioned so that the moving direction of the slider by the fixing mechanism is the groove width direction of the holder receiving groove, which is inserted into two guide grooves formed in parallel on the bottom surface of the holder receiving groove. There is provided a fiber holder spacer, characterized in that the positioning protrusion includes a guide piece formed at a lower portion of the spacer body and a guide piece extending downward from a projecting tip of the slider from the spacer body.
Further, the invention is characterized in that the spacer body is formed with a protruding portion into which the pressing screw is screwed and protrudes on a side portion opposite to the side where the slider housing hole is opened. A spacer for a fiber holder is provided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber comprising: a holder housing groove into which a fiber holder to which an optical fiber is fixed is inserted; and a fiber processing portion that processes a tip portion of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder that protrudes from the fiber holder. A spacer for a fiber holder disposed in the holder housing groove of a processing device, interposed between a holder contact wall for restricting the movement of the fiber holder in the direction of the fiber processing portion and the fiber holder; A spacer base having a base lower surface facing the bottom surface of the holder housing groove and a base upper surface opposite to the base lower surface; and an elastic pressing piece projecting from both sides of the spacer base; The base and / or the elastic pressing piece includes a reference contact surface that contacts the holder contact wall when stored in the holder storage groove. A holder contact surface is formed on the opposite side of the reference contact surface to contact the fiber holder, and the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base are mutually connected when stored in the holder storage groove. A fiber holder spacer characterized in that it is elastically deformed so as to approach and is accommodated in the holder accommodating groove, and the elastic pressing pieces elastically bias the holder groove side walls on both sides of the holder accommodating groove. I will provide a.
Further, according to the present invention, the leading end of the elastic pressing piece protruding from the spacer base is formed so as to protrude below the lower surface of the base of the spacer base, and two guides are formed in parallel on the bottom surface of the holder receiving groove. Provided is a fiber holder spacer which is inserted into a groove and functions as a guide piece for positioning the reference contact surface in parallel with a holder contact surface formed on the holder contact wall. .
According to the present invention, the elastic pressing piece includes a rising portion protruding above the spacer base from both sides of the spacer base, a bent portion formed at a protruding tip of the rising portion from the spacer base, and the bent portion. And a pressing portion extending downward from the portion, and a portion protruding below the spacer base of the pressing portion functions as the guide piece.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber comprising: a holder housing groove into which a fiber holder to which an optical fiber is fixed is inserted; and a fiber processing portion that processes a tip portion of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder that protrudes from the fiber holder. Provided is an optical fiber processing device, which is a processing device, wherein the spacer for a fiber holder of the present invention is stored in the holder storage groove.

According to the spacer for a fiber holder of the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing mechanism for fixing the spacer by pushing the slider to the side of the spacer main body and applying a pressing force to the side walls on both sides of the holder housing groove. For this reason, it is possible to realize the fixing of the various groove widths to the holder storage groove in accordance with the difference in the groove width dimension of the holder storage groove. In addition, since the spacer can be firmly fixed by pressing the spacer against the inner wall in the holder housing groove, displacement in the holder housing groove can be prevented, and the processing dimensional accuracy of the optical fiber stored in the optical fiber processing portion can be improved. Can be increased. Furthermore, since the slider is pushed out to the side of the spacer body by screwing the pressing screw from the upper surface of the spacer body, the spacer is fixed in the holder housing groove. The pressing screw can be operated while avoiding interference with the side walls on both sides of the storage groove, and good workability can be ensured.
According to the fiber holder spacer of the invention described in claim 6, the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base are elastically urged to the both side walls of the holder housing groove, thereby being fixed in the holder housing groove. It is possible to realize fixing in the holder housing groove corresponding to various groove widths of the holder housing groove by elastic deformation of the elastic pressing piece. In addition, storage and fixing in the holder storage groove can be realized very simply by simply pushing the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base into the holder storage groove from above the holder storage groove.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 2 are views showing a spacer for a fiber holder according to the present invention (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as a spacer). FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the spacer 1, and FIG. (B) is a diagram showing a fixing mechanism 10 provided in the spacer 1.
3 to 6 are views showing an optical fiber coating remover 2 (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as a coating remover) as an example of an optical fiber processing device to which the spacer 1 is applied. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the fiber holder 3 is stored in the holder receiving groove (reference numeral 25) of the sheath remover 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the fiber holder 3 and the spacer in the holder receiving groove 25 of the sheath remover 2. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the spacer 1 is housed in the holder housing groove 25 of the sheath remover 2.

First, a first embodiment of the spacer 1 according to the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spacer 1 includes a spacer body 11, a slider 13 housed in a slider housing hole 12 formed in the spacer body 11, and a screw hole 14 formed in the spacer body 11. And a pressing screw 15 housed in the housing.
The spacer body 11 is a protrusion protruding from a rectangular tube portion 11a and an end portion (hereinafter also referred to as an end surface 11d) of one end side in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tube portion 11a (right side in FIGS. 2A and 2B). Part 11b. The slider accommodating hole 12 is formed in the rectangular tube portion 11a so as to penetrate in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tube portion 11a. The protrusion 11b is formed with the screw hole 14 extending from the slider storage hole 12 in a direction intersecting the slider storage hole 12 at the end 11d of the rectangular tube portion 11a. The screw hole 14 penetrates the protruding portion 11b from the slider housing hole 12, and is opened at a protruding end portion of the protruding portion 11b from the rectangular tube portion 11a. It is formed in a direction inclined obliquely toward one end 11c formed in the longitudinal direction of the spacer body 11 toward the lower surface 11i.

The slider 13 has a pin-shaped slider shaft portion 13a, a pressing portion 13b formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the slider shaft portion 13a, and a detent projection 13c protruding from a side portion of the slider shaft portion 13a. The slider main body 11 is provided in the spacer main body 11 in a state where the slider shaft portion 13a is stored in the slider storage hole 12 so that the pressing portion 13b is disposed on the other longitudinal end side of the rectangular tube portion 11a. ing. Further, the slider 13 moves along the axial direction of the slider accommodating hole 12 while the slider shaft portion 13a is guided by the square tube portion 11a, so that one end portion on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the square tube portion 11a. The protrusion dimension L from 11c is changed.
Reference numerals 11k in FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b), and 11 are key grooves into which the rotation preventing projections 13c are inserted. The key groove 11k has a shape cut from the slider housing hole 12 into the rectangular tube portion 11a, extends along the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tube portion 11a, and the longitudinal direction of the rectangular tube portion 11a of the anti-rotation protrusion 13c. Does not constrain movement to

  The pressing screw 15 is accommodated in a screw hole 14 opened on the upper surface of the protruding portion 11b, and protrudes into the slider accommodating hole 12 by being screwed from obliquely upward. Since the slider 13 is slidable in the slider housing hole 12, for example, the slider 13 is pushed into the slider housing hole 12 and stored until the pressing portion 13b contacts the one end portion 11c. For example, by operating the pressing screw 15 from the screw hole 14 opened at the tip of the protruding portion 11b and entering the slider accommodating hole 12 (P direction in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b)), The screw tip 15a of the pressing screw 15 presses the rear end surface 13d, which is an inclined surface formed at the end opposite to the pressing portion 13b in the longitudinal direction of the slider 13, and the pressing force from the pressing screw 15 is increased. The slider 13a is converted into a force that moves the slider 13 so as to push the slider 13 along the slider housing hole 12 toward the other end side of the spacer body 11 according to the inclination angle of the rear end face 13d. The pressing portion 13b along the slider receiving hole 12 in the axial direction is moved away from the end face 11d (direction projection dimension L is increased). As a result, the distance between the end surface 11d on one end of the spacer body 11 and the end surface of the projecting tip of the slider 13 from the spacer body 11 (that is, the end surface 13f of the pressing portion 13b) is increased. 1 is extended (hereinafter, the direction of extension is referred to as the extension direction).

  The spacer 1 has the lower surface 11i on the lower side (facing the bottom surface of the holder housing groove 25) and the moving direction (extension direction) of the slider 13 with respect to the spacer body 11, in other words, the slider housing hole 12 Is stored in the holder storage groove 25 in a direction in which the axial direction is aligned with the groove width direction (W direction in FIG. 7). When the spacer 1 is stored in the holder storage groove 25, the guide piece 11f is stored in one of the two guide grooves 25d and 25e formed in parallel at the bottom of the holder storage groove 25, and the guide groove 11 The other end of 25d and 25e accommodates the lower end part 13e which is a part which protruded below the lower surface 11i of the square cylinder part 11a among the said press parts 13b. Here, the guide piece 11f and the pressing portion 13b are accommodated in the guide grooves 25d and 25e, respectively, and come into contact with the side wall of the holder storage groove by the extension of the spacer 1, whereby the extension direction of the spacer 1 is changed to that of the holder storage groove 25. It functions as a positioning projection for positioning the spacer 1 so as to be aligned in the groove width direction.

Next, as an optical fiber processing apparatus in which the spacer 1 of the present invention is used, an optical fiber coating remover 2 will be described as an example.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the coating remover 2 includes a cutter unit 2 </ b> A including a pair of cutters 26 a and 26 b that remove a coating layer of the optical fiber 4, and a fiber holder 3 that holds the optical fiber 4. And a fiber holder holding body 2B that approaches and separates from the unit 2A.
The cutter unit 2 </ b> A is schematically configured by a sheath remover body 21 and a cutter holder 22 that can be opened and closed with respect to the sheath remover body 21. The fiber holder holder 2B includes a holder lower part 23 in which a holder accommodating groove 25 for accommodating the spacer 1 and the fiber holder 3 is formed, and a holder that covers the holder accommodating groove 25 by being closed together with the holder lower part 23. The upper part 24 is roughly comprised.

The cutter holder 22 is attached to the sheath remover body 21 of the cutter unit 2A by a cutter holder hinge mechanism 29 so as to be opened and closed.
One of the pair of cutters 26a, 26b of the cutter unit 2A is attached to the sheath remover main body 21, and the other is attached to the cutter holder 22. When the cutter holder 22 is overlaid on the sheath remover main body 21, it is closed. The cutters 26 a and 26 b are cut from both sides into the coating of the optical fiber 4 positioned and arranged between the coating remover main body 21 and the cutter holder 22. The pair of cutters 26 a and 26 b function as an optical fiber processing unit 26 for removing the coating of the optical fiber 4. Further, one or both of the sheath remover body 21 and the cutter holder 22 is coated with the optical fiber 4 sandwiched between the sheath remover body 21 and the cutter holder 22 when the cutter holder 22 is closed to the sheath remover body 21. A heater 26c for softening by heating is provided. In the illustrated example, the coat remover 2 employs an electric heater as a heater, and reference numeral 211 in the figure denotes a power switch of the electric heater.

  A holder storage groove 25 for storing the spacer 1 and the fiber holder 3 is formed on the upper surface of the holder lower portion 23 of the fiber holder holder 2B. A holder abutting wall 25a that restricts the movement of the spacer 1 and the fiber holder 3 in the direction of the optical fiber processing portion 26 is formed at the end of the holder housing groove 25 on the cutter unit 2A side. Also, two long groove-shaped guide grooves 25d and 25e are formed in parallel on the holder groove bottom surface 25f between the holder groove side walls 25b and 25c on both sides of the holder storage groove 25. Both guide grooves 25d and 25e are formed at both end portions in the groove width direction W of the holder storage groove 25 on the holder groove bottom surface 25f, and the walls on one side of the groove (one side in the groove width direction) are the holder groove side walls (25b). Or 25c).

As shown in FIG. 9, the fiber holder 3 has a plate-like base 31 and a lid 33 pivotally attached to the base 31 by a holder hinge mechanism 32, and an optical fiber housing groove formed on the base 31. The optical fiber 4 accommodated in 31 a is configured to be held and fixed so as to be pressed onto the base 31 by a lid 33 superimposed on the base 31.
In this fiber holder 3, a pair of positioning protrusions 31c and 31d projecting from both sides in the width direction (left and right sides in FIG. 9) of the holder lower surface 31b of the base 31 are inserted into guide grooves 25d and 25e on both sides of the holder housing groove 25. Thus, the holder housing groove 25 is positioned with high accuracy in the groove width direction. In the illustrated example, a multi-core or single-core optical fiber ribbon is illustrated as the optical fiber. However, examples of the optical fiber according to the present invention include a single-core fiber core, an optical fiber strand, and the like. Can also be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the sheath remover body 21 is provided with shafts 27 a and 27 b that are fixed to the sheath remover body 21 and extend in the direction of the holder lower portion 23 and the holder upper portion 24. ing. The shafts 27a and 27b are slidably inserted and supported in shaft holes 28a and 28b formed in the holding member lower portion 23.
In order to remove the coating at the tip of the optical fiber 4 using the coating remover 2, the fiber holder holder 2B is abutted against the cutter unit 2A, and the fiber holder 3 holding and fixing the optical fiber 4 is first held in the holder. The tip portion housed in the housing groove 25 and protruded from the fiber holder 3 of the optical fiber 4 is disposed between the pair of cutters 26a and 26b of the cutter unit 2A. Next, the cutter holder 22 is closed to the sheath remover main body 21, the holding body upper part 24 of the fiber holder holding body 2 </ b> B is closed to the holding body lower part 23 to fix the fiber holder 3, and the optical fiber is heated by the heater 26 c of the cutter unit 2 </ b> A. 4 is heated for a predetermined time, and the fiber holder holder 2B is moved along the shafts 27a and 27b while holding the cutter holder 22 in the sheath remover main body 21 with the holder lower part 23 and the holder upper part 24. In this case, the slider may be moved while the fiber holder 3 is fixed, and the fiber holder 3 may be separated from the cutter unit 2A. Accordingly, as the cutter unit 2A and the fiber holder holder 2B are separated from each other, the coating of the optical fiber 4 is removed by the pair of cutters 26a and 26b of the cutter unit 2A.

  Here, the coating removal position and the coating removal length of the distal end portion of the optical fiber 9 are determined by the position of the fiber holder 3 and the sandwiching positions of the pair of cutters 26a and 26b. For this reason, if the spacer 1 housed in the holder housing groove 25 is housed between the fiber holder 3 and the holder contact wall 25a and the coating removal processing of the optical fiber 4 is performed, the spacer 1 is placed in the holder housing groove 25. The length of the coating removal in the length direction of the optical fiber 4 is shorter than when the optical fiber 4 is not stored (the base 31 of the fiber holder 3 is abutted against the holder contact surface 25g facing the holder storage groove 25 of the holder contact wall 25a). .

Next, the case where the spacer 1 according to the present invention is used in the coating remover 2 and the coating removal dimension of the optical fiber 4 is changed short will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 6, the spacer 1 is first stored in the holder storage groove 25. Here, the spacer 1 is housed in the holder housing groove 25 in a direction in which the extending direction is the groove width direction of the holder housing groove 25,
The guide piece 11f of the spacer body 11 is housed in the guide groove 25d in the holder housing groove 25, the guide piece 13e of the slider 13 is housed in the guide groove 25e, and the spacer body 11 and the pressing portion 13b are in contact with the holder. Press against the wall 25a. Here, side surfaces 11g and 11h (hereinafter also referred to as front and rear side surfaces) on both sides in the front and rear direction of the spacer body 11 (longitudinal direction of the holder housing groove 25; right and left in FIG. 10) are flat surfaces extending in parallel with each other. The front and rear side surfaces 13g and 13h of the pressing portion 13b are also flat surfaces that are located on the extension of the front and rear side surfaces 11g and 11h of the spacer body 11 and extend in parallel with each other, and the front and rear directions of the spacer body 11 and the pressing portion 13b. The side surfaces 13g and 13h on both sides are pressed against the holder contact wall 25a. The front and rear side surfaces 11g and 11h of the spacer body 11 and the front and rear side surfaces 13g and 13h of the pressing portion 13b are perpendicular to the bottom surface 25f of the holder storage groove 25 when the spacer 1 is stored in the holder storage groove 25, The spacer 1 is abutted against the wall surface of the wall 25a facing the inner space of the holder storage groove 25 (holder contact surface 25g perpendicular to the bottom surface 25f of the holder storage groove 25), whereby the spacer 1 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the holder storage groove 25 (left and right direction in FIG. 10). ) To function as a reference contact surface. In the illustrated spacer 1, the first abutting surface 1 a that is a set of the front-rear direction side surface 11 g of the spacer body 11 and the front-rear direction side surface 13 g of the pressing portion 13 b positioned on the extension of the front-rear direction side surface 11 g, and the spacer 1 is a set of a front-rear direction side surface 11h of the spacer body 11 located on the opposite side of the first contact surface 1a and a front-rear direction side surface 13h of the pressing portion 13b located on the extension of the front-rear direction side surface 11h. Any one of the second contact surfaces 1b can function as a reference contact surface, and one of the first and second contact surfaces 1a and 1b is opposite to the surface used as the reference contact surface. This surface can function as a holder contact surface with which the base 31 of the fiber holder 3 (specifically, one end surface in the longitudinal direction of the base 31) is contacted. When the guide piece 11f of the spacer body 11 and the guide piece 13e of the slider 13 are inserted into the two guide grooves 25d and 25e, the flat bottom surfaces of the guide pieces 11f and 13e are installed on the smooth bottom surfaces of the guide grooves 25d and 25e. Thus, stable storage of the spacer 1 in the holder storage groove 25 is realized in a direction in which the first and second contact surfaces 1 a and 1 b are perpendicular to the bottom surface 25 f of the holder storage groove 25.
However, the lower surface 11i of the spacer body 11 is preferably not in contact with the bottom surface 25f of the holder housing groove 25 between the guide grooves 25d and 25e in terms of positioning.

In the present invention, only one of the first and second contact surfaces 1a and 1b may function as a reference contact surface, and only the other may function as a holder contact surface.
In addition, when the front and rear side surfaces 11g and 11h on both sides of the spacer body 11 are sufficiently large and the functions as the reference contact surface and the holder contact surface are satisfied by these front and rear direction side surfaces, the front and rear side surfaces of the pressing portion 13b are used as the reference. It is not necessary to function as the contact surface and the holder contact surface. Even if the pressing portion 13b is sandwiched between the holder contact wall 25a and the fiber holder 3, the holder contact wall 25a or the fiber holder 3 is contacted. It is possible to form the spacer 1 in a size or shape that does not, but if the front and rear side surfaces of one or both sides of the pressing portion 13b are made to function as surfaces constituting the reference contact surface or the holder contact surface, the spacer 1 Securing stable positioning accuracy of the fiber holder 3 positioned so as to be sandwiched between the holder abutting wall 25a and a spacer when the fiber holder 3 is pressed Preferable in terms of the positional displacement prevention.
When the spacer 1 is stored in the holder storage groove 25, the pressing screw 15 is operated to push the slider 13 out of the slider storage hole 12, and the pressing portion 13b is pressed against the holder groove side wall 25c to be fixed. After fixing the spacer 1 in the holder housing groove 25, the front surface in the length direction of the fiber holder 3 is brought into contact with a holder contact surface 11 h formed in the spacer body 11. In this state, the holding body upper part 24 is closed to the holding body lower part 23, the spacer 1 and the fiber holder 3 are fixed, and the cutter holder 22 of the sheath remover main body 21 is closed. The subsequent operation of removing the optical fiber coating is as described above, and will be omitted.

  As a result, the length of the coating removal dimension in the longitudinal direction of the tip end portion of the optical fiber 4 is that the spacer 1 is accommodated in the holder accommodating groove 25, so that the projection dimension of the optical fiber 4 to the optical fiber processing portion 26 is Compared with the case where 1 is not stored in the holder storage groove 25, the length of the spacer 1 is shortened by the dimension in the front-rear direction. When the spacer 1 is stored in the holder storage groove 25, the height dimension H from the bottom surface 25 f of the holder storage groove 25 to the upper end of the protruding portion 11 b protruding from the upper surface 11 j of the spacer body 11 is determined by the holder storage groove 25. Since the protrusion 11b does not protrude above the fiber holder 3 housed in the fiber holder 3, the spacer 1 is used to hold the fiber holder 3 between the holder lower part 23 and the holder upper part 24 of the fiber holder holder 2B. It will not be an obstacle. Further, since the upper surface 11j of the spacer body 11 is lower than the upper surface of the base 31 of the fiber holder 3, the optical fiber 4 protruding from the fiber holder 3 does not interfere with the spacer body 11, and the fiber holder holder 2B and the cutter unit 2A can be passed through.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the fiber holder spacer according to the present invention, since the fiber holder spacer is provided with the pressing mechanism using the pressing screw 15 and the slider 13, the optical fiber processing is performed. It is possible to cope with many optical fiber processing devices in which the width of the holder housing groove differs depending on the device. In addition, since the spacer can be securely fixed by pressing the spacer against the inner wall in the holder housing groove, misalignment or the like in the holder housing groove can be prevented, and the processing dimensional accuracy of the optical fiber stored in the optical fiber processing section can be increased. Can be increased. Furthermore, since the spacer is fixed to and removed from the holder housing groove by the operation of the pressing screw, the spacer can be easily attached and detached while having high processing dimensional accuracy as described above.

  In this example, a form using a pressing screw as the generating and operating means is described, but means other than the screw, for example, a bar with a locking mechanism, etc. may be used, or a spring is used. A pressing mechanism that has been used may be used.

  Further, in this example, the screw hole 14 is inclined and the pressing screw 15 is screwed from the upper side to the substantially oblique lower side, but may be screwed right below. Furthermore, although the inclined surface has been described as an example of the rear end surface of the slider 13 with which the pressing screw 15 abuts, other shapes (for example, a vertical plane, a spherical shape, or the like) that can move the slider 13 may be used.

Next, a second embodiment of the fiber holder spacer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (c), FIG. 13 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12A, the spacer 111 of this embodiment is a resin-integrated product, and includes a spacer base 112 and elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b provided on both sides of the spacer base 112. Become.
The spacer base 112 is plate-shaped, and has a base lower surface 112c that faces the bottom surface 25f of the holder storage groove 25 when stored in the holder storage groove 25, and a base upper surface 112d that is the surface opposite to the base lower surface 112c.

  The elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b are plate-like protrusions extending from the spacer base 112, rising portions 113e and 113f protruding above the spacer base 112 from both side portions of the spacer base 112, and the rising portions. 113e and 113f have bent portions 113g and 113h formed at the projecting tips from the spacer base 112, and pressing portions 113i and 113j extending downward from the bent portions 113g and 113h. The projecting tips of the elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b from the spacer base 112, that is, the tips of the pressing portions 113i and 113j extending from the bent portions 113g and 113h project below the lower surface of the spacer base 112. The pressing portions 113 i and 113 j of the both elastic pressing pieces 113 a and 113 b are arranged to face both sides of the spacer base 112 via the spacer base 112 with a slight clearance C between them.

The portions of the pressing portions 113 i and 113 j that protrude below the spacer base 112 function as guide pieces 113 c and 113 d that are inserted into the two guide grooves 25 d and 25 e of the bottom portion 25 f of the holder storage groove 25.
The spacer 111 elastically deforms the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b so as to approach each other and stores them in the holder storage groove 25. After the storage, the elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b are side walls of the holder groove on both sides of the holder storage groove 25. 25b and 25c are elastically biased.

As shown in FIG. 12C, in order to house and attach the spacer 111 in the holder housing groove 25 of the optical fiber processing device such as the sheath remover 2, the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b are provided in the holder housing groove 25. Store in the direction of both sides in the groove width direction. At this time, the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b are gripped with a finger or a jig suitable for the same, and are elastically deformed in such a manner that the spacer base 112 is sandwiched between them, and the lateral width direction in FIG. (In the left-right direction in FIG. 12C) is held in a narrowed form. Then, the spacer 111 is housed in the holder housing groove 25 in a state where the lateral width direction is narrowed, and the force that causes the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b to approach each other is released, and the elastic pressing piece 113a and the guide grooves 25d and 25e are released. The guide pieces 113c and 113f at the lower end of 113b are accommodated. When the guide pieces 113c and 113f are housed in the guide grooves 25d and 25e, the flat bottom surfaces of the guide pieces 113c and 113f and the flat bottom surfaces of the guide grooves 25d and 25e are brought into contact with each other, and the plate-like pressing portions 113i and 113j. The spacer 111 is stably positioned in a desired direction by elastic urging of the holder housing groove 25 on both sides of the holder contact wall 25a. At this time, the spacer 111 is elastically urged by the plate-like pressing portions 113i and 113j on the holder abutting walls 25a on both sides of the holder housing groove 25, and makes line contact or surface contact with the holder abutting walls 25a. It is fixed so that it is not easily displaced, and the orientation is stable. However, it is ensured that the spacer base 12 is supported by the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b at a position not contacting the bottom surface 25f of the holder housing groove 25 between the two guide grooves 25d and 25e. This is preferable.
Reference numerals 114a and 114b are stoppers projecting from both sides of the spacer base 112, and set elastic deformation limits in the direction approaching the spacer base 112 of the elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b. This is to prevent the pressing piece from being damaged.
Reference numeral 112e is a hole drilled in the spacer base for ensuring the molding accuracy of the resin spacer base, and may be omitted depending on the size and shape of the spacer base. is there.

  When the spacer 111 is removed from the holder storage groove 25, the elastic pressing pieces 113a and 113b are again gripped and brought close to each other and elastically deformed in such a manner as to sandwich the spacer base 112 and taken out from the holder storage groove 25.

On both sides of the spacer 111 in the front-rear direction (the direction along the longitudinal direction of the holder storage groove 25 when stored in the holder storage groove 25), a reference contact that contacts the holder contact walls 25a on both sides of the holder storage groove 25 is provided. A surface 112a and a holder contact surface 112b that is located on the opposite side of the reference contact surface 112a and that contacts the fiber holder 3 are formed. In the spacer 111 of the illustrated example, the front end surface 112a of the spacer base 112 on the front side in the front-rear direction and the end surfaces 113k, 113p on the front side in the front-rear direction of the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a, 113b are connected to the front side in the front-rear direction of the spacer 111 in FIG. (See FIG. 12 (b)), on the rear side in the front-rear direction of the spacer 111, on the front-rear end surface 112b in the front-rear direction of the spacer base 112 and on the front and rear sides of the pair of elastic pressing pieces 113a, 113b. It has an end surface 111b formed continuously with end surfaces 113m and 113n on the rear side in the direction. The front and rear end surfaces 111a and 111b of the spacer 111 can both function as a reference contact surface and a holder contact surface. Depending on the storage direction of the spacer 111 in the holder storage groove 25, the spacer One of the front and rear end surfaces 111a and 111b of 111 may be used as a reference contact surface and the other as a holder contact surface.
However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration in which both the front and rear end surfaces 111a and 111b of the spacer 111 can function as the reference contact surface and the holder contact surface, but the front and rear end surfaces 111a of the spacer 111 are not limited. , 111b can be used as a reference contact surface, and the other as a holder contact surface. Further, only the end surfaces 112a and 112b on both the front and rear sides of the spacer base 112 function as a reference contact surface and a holder contact surface, and end surfaces on both the front and rear sides of the elastic pressing piece (113k, 113p, 113m and It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only 113n) functions as a reference contact surface and a holder contact surface.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when using the spacer 111 in the sheath remover 2, the spacer 111 is sandwiched between the holder contact wall 25 a (not shown in FIG. 13) and the fiber holder 3 in the holder housing groove 25. Store and use in a hollow shape. The details of using the spacer 111 in the optical fiber processing equipment such as the coating remover 2 are the same as those described above, and will be omitted.

  When the spacer 111 is stored in the holder storage groove 25, the height dimension H from the bottom surface 25f of the holder storage groove 25 to the upper ends of the bent portions 113g and 113h formed at the protruding tip from the spacer base 112 (FIG. 12 ( c) is a size that does not protrude from the bent portions 113g and 113h above the fiber holder 3 housed in the holder housing groove 25. Therefore, the spacer 111 is held by the holder lower portion 23 of the fiber holder holder 2B. This does not hinder the holding of the fiber holder 3 by the upper body 24. Since the upper surface 112d of the spacer base 112 is lower than the upper surface of the base 31 of the fiber holder 3, the optical fiber 4 protruding from the fiber holder 3 does not interfere with the spacer base 112, and the fiber holder holder 2B and the cutter unit 2A can be passed through.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the spacer for fiber holder according to the present invention, the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base are elastically urged to the both side walls of the holder housing groove, so that the holder The structure is fixed in the storage groove, and can be fixed in the holder storage groove corresponding to various groove widths of the holder storage groove by elastic deformation of the elastic pressing piece. In addition, storage and fixing in the holder storage groove can be realized very simply by simply pushing the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base into the holder storage groove from above the holder storage groove.

In this example, the spacer 111 has been described as an integrally molded product made of resin, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the spacer 111 may be composed of a plurality of parts.
The material may be metallic.

  Further, in this example, the spacer base 12 is described as a plate shape, but is not limited to this shape.

  In each embodiment of the present invention, an example in which only one spacer 1 is used has been described. However, a plurality of spacers 1 may be used as necessary.

  Further, in each embodiment of the present invention, the description has been made using the optical fiber coating remover that removes the coating of the optical fiber as the device that uses the fiber holder spacer. It can also be used in other optical fiber processing equipment such as a fiber cutter.

It is a perspective view which shows the spacer for fiber holders of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the fixing mechanism of the spacer for fiber holders of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a perspective view of the optical fiber coating remover in which the spacer for fiber holders of the first embodiment of the present invention is housed (before spacer mounting). It is a perspective view of the optical fiber coating removal machine which accommodated only the fiber holder, without accommodating the spacer for fiber holders in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which accommodated the spacer for fiber holders of the 1st Embodiment in this invention in the holder accommodation groove | channel of an optical fiber coating removal machine. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the fiber holder spacer of the fiber holder which accommodates the spacer for fiber holders of 1st Embodiment in this invention, and the fiber holder is not accommodated. It is a figure which shows the state which accommodated and fixed the spacer for fiber holders of 1st Embodiment in this invention in the guide groove of the holder accommodation groove | channel of an optical fiber sheath removal device. It is a perspective view which shows the state which cut | disconnected the fiber holder holding body and the cut unit by the shaft mechanism provided in the optical fiber sheath removal device using the spacer for fiber holders in this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the accommodation state to the holder accommodation groove | channel of a fiber holder. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber coating removal machine which accommodated the spacer for fiber holders of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a top view of the fiber holder of the 1st embodiment in the present invention. It is a figure which shows the spacer for fiber holders of 2nd Embodiment in this invention. It is a perspective view of the optical fiber coating removal machine which accommodated the spacer for fiber holders of 2nd Embodiment in this invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber coating remover which accommodated the spacer for fiber holders of 2nd Embodiment in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fiber holder spacer (Spacer = 1st Embodiment), 11 ... Spacer main body, 11a ... Square tube part, 11b ... Projection part, 11c ... One end part, 11d ... End surface, 11f ... Guide piece, 11g ... Contact surface, 11h ... Holder contact surface, 11i ... Lower surface, 11j ... Upper surface, 12 ... Slider housing hole, 13 ... Slider, 13a ... Slider shaft portion, 13b ... Pressing portion, 13c ... Non-rotating protrusion, 13d ... Rear end surface, 13e: pressing portion guide piece, 13g: reference contact surface (first embodiment), 13h: holder contact surface (first embodiment), 14: screw hole, 15: pressing screw, 2 ... sheath remover DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2A ... Cutter unit, 2B ... Fiber holder holding body, 21 ... Remover body, 211 ... Power switch, 22 ... Cutter holder, 23 ... Lower holding body, 24 ... Upper holding body, 25 ... Holder storing groove, 25a ... E Die abutting wall, 25b, 25c ... Holder groove side wall, 25d, 25e ... Guide groove, 25f ... Holder groove bottom surface, 25g ... Holder abutting surface, 26 ... Fiber processed part, 3 ... Fiber holder, 4 ... Optical fiber, 4a ... bare optical fiber, 111 ... spacer for fiber holder (spacer = second embodiment), 112 ... spacer base, 112a ... reference contact surface (second embodiment), 112b ... holder contact surface (second Embodiment), 112c ... bottom surface of base, 112d ... top surface of base, 113a, 113b ... elastic pressing piece, 113c, 113d ... guide piece (second embodiment), 113e, 113f ... rising part, 113g, 113h ... bending part , 113i, 113j ... pressing part,

Claims (9)

A holder housing groove (25) into which the fiber holder (3) to which the optical fiber (4) is fixed is inserted, and a fiber processing section (for processing the tip of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder that protrudes from the fiber holder ( 26) between the holder abutment wall (25a) for restricting movement of the fiber holder in the direction of the fiber processing portion and the fiber holder in the holder housing groove of the optical fiber processing device (2) having A spacer for a fiber holder arranged with an interposition,
A spacer body having a reference contact surface (11g) that is in contact with the holder contact wall and a holder contact surface (11h) that is positioned on the opposite side of the reference contact surface and that is in contact with the fiber holder. 11) and a fixing mechanism (10) for fixing the spacer body in the holder storage groove by applying a pressing force to the holder groove side walls (25b, 25c) on both sides of the holder storage groove,
The fixing mechanism has a structure in which a slider (13) built in the spacer body is moved to be pushed out to a side portion of the spacer body by an operation from the upper surface of the spacer body. Spacer for fiber holder (1). The fixing mechanism is opened in a side surface of the spacer body, and the slider is housed in a slider housing hole (12) formed in the spacer body.
The slider is pressed by being screwed in the direction of the lower surface (11i) of the spacer body from the screw hole (14) provided on the upper surface (11j) of the spacer body, and the slider is pushed out to the side of the spacer body. The spacer for a fiber holder according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing screw (15) to be moved.   The screw hole is formed so as to be inclined so as to approach the side surface (11c) of the spacer body in which the slider housing hole is opened as it goes from the upper surface of the spacer body to the lower surface of the spacer body. The spacer for fiber holders of Claim 2.   The spacer main body is positioned so that two guide grooves (25d, 25e) formed in parallel on the bottom surface of the holder storage groove are inserted and the moving direction of the slider by the fixing mechanism is the groove width direction of the holder storage groove. The positioning protrusions to be formed include guide pieces (11f) formed at the lower part of the spacer body and guide pieces (13e) extending downward from the projecting tip of the slider from the spacer body. 4. The spacer for a fiber holder according to any one of 3 above.   A protrusion (11b) into which the pressing screw is screwed is formed on the spacer body so as to protrude on the side opposite to the side where the slider accommodating hole (12) is opened. The fiber holder spacer according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The holder of an optical fiber processing device, comprising: a holder housing groove into which a fiber holder to which an optical fiber is fixed is inserted; and a fiber processing unit that processes a tip portion of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder protruding from the fiber holder. In a storage groove, a spacer for a fiber holder that is disposed between a holder contact wall that regulates movement of the fiber holder in the direction of the fiber processing portion and the fiber holder,
A spacer base (112) having a base lower surface (112c) facing the bottom surface of the holder housing groove and a base upper surface (112d) opposite to the base lower surface;
Elastic pressing pieces (113a, 113b) protruding from both sides of the spacer base,
The spacer base and / or the elastic pressing piece has a reference contact surface (112a) that contacts the holder contact wall when stored in the holder storage groove, and a fiber positioned on the opposite side of the reference contact surface. A holder abutting surface (112b) with which the holder abuts is formed,
At the time of storing in the holder storing groove, the elastic pressing pieces on both sides of the spacer base are elastically deformed so as to approach each other and stored in the holder storing groove, and the elastic pressing pieces are holders on both sides of the holder storing groove. A spacer (111) for a fiber holder, wherein the groove side wall is elastically biased.   The protruding tip of the elastic pressing piece from the spacer base is formed to protrude downward from the lower surface of the base of the spacer base and is inserted into two guide grooves formed in parallel to the bottom surface of the holder housing groove, 7. The guide piece (113c, 113d) for positioning the reference contact surface so that the reference contact surface is parallel to a holder contact surface (25g) formed on the holder contact wall. The spacer for fiber holders as described.   The elastic pressing piece includes a rising portion (113e, 113f) protruding above the spacer base from both side portions of the spacer base, and a bent portion (113g, 113h) formed at a protruding tip of the rising portion from the spacer base. ) And pressing portions (113i, 113j) extending downward from the bent portion, and a portion protruding below the spacer base of the pressing portion functions as the guide piece. The spacer for fiber holders of Claim 7. An optical fiber processing device comprising: a holder housing groove into which a fiber holder to which an optical fiber is fixed is inserted; and a fiber processing unit that processes a tip portion of the optical fiber held by the fiber holder protruding from the fiber holder. ,
An optical fiber processing device, wherein the fiber holder spacer according to claim 1 is stored in the holder storage groove.

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