JP2006163210A - Optical fiber positioning method and optical splicing parts - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an optical fiber positioning method and an optical splicing parts which are applicable even in the case of connecting an optical fiber ribbon having a narrow pitch to an optical splicing parts. <P>SOLUTION: An optical splicing parts 1 of this invention is comprised of a splicer main body 3 and a lid member 5, and the splicer main body 3 is equipped with; a guide part 11 having the groove which regulate positions of optical fibers 7 in the width direction by guiding them; and fiber holes 13 which are connected to the guide part 11 and into which tips of the optical fibers 7 are to be inserted. The lid member 5 is mounted on the groove 17 of the splicer main body 3 from upward by being fitted to the groove 17 to pressurize the optical fibers 7 toward the groove 17, and also is made movable along the groove 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber positioning method for positioning an optical fiber at a predetermined position when optical fibers are butt-connected to each other, and an optical connection component using the positioning method, and in particular, a large number of optical fibers at a narrow pitch. The present invention relates to an improvement for achieving high density by aligning.

As an optical fiber positioning method for accommodating and holding an optical fiber in an optical connection component such as a multi-fiber optical connector ferrule, the multi-fiber optical fiber insertion device described in Patent Document 1 is provided so as to be movable in one direction. The guide portion and the multi-fiber optical connector ferrule are sequentially arranged linearly in front of the moving direction of the optical fiber tape gripping portion, and the guide portion has a tapered hole whose diameter is reduced toward the multi-fiber optical connector ferrule. In addition, a method has been proposed in which the position of an optical fiber tape that is gripped and moved by an optical fiber tape gripping portion is regulated by a guide portion and inserted into an optical connector ferrule.
In addition, the multi-fiber optical connector ferrule itself has a tapered portion corresponding to the above-described guide portion at the boundary portion between the guide hole for inserting and guiding the optical fiber and the fiber hole for accommodating the tip of the optical fiber. It is well known that an optical fiber whose position is regulated by a portion is improved by the above tapered portion to improve the insertion property into the fiber hole (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  By the way, with the increase in broadband subscribers, with the spread of video transmission services, IP telephones, and the like, demands for increasing the capacity of information communication traffic are increasing. In order to meet such demands, in the field of optical connection parts for connecting multi-fiber optical fiber tapes, so-called narrow pitch optical fiber tapes that can be densified by reducing the arrangement pitch of optical fibers are applied. I am trying to do.

JP-A-6-34848 JP 2001-324560 A

When attaching an optical fiber to an optical connection component, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the mechanism becomes large and it is difficult to carry and use it on site.
Further, as described in Patent Document 2, in the structure in which the tapered portion is formed in the multi-fiber optical connector ferrule itself, a guide hole having a diameter larger than that of the fiber hole is formed when the above-described narrow pitch optical fiber tape is applied. Thus, there has been a problem that it is impossible to restrict the position of the optical fiber due to competition with the adjacent fiber hole in terms of layout.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber positioning method, an optical connection component, and an optical connector that can be accurately positioned with a simple configuration and that can be applied to a case where a narrow pitch optical fiber tape is connected to an optical connection component. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber positioning method according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a guide portion having a groove for guiding an optical fiber and regulating the position of the optical fiber in a width direction, and an end of the optical fiber. A step of arranging at least the optical fiber above the groove with respect to the optical connection component having a fiber hole to be pressed and fitting the optical connection component into the groove by pressing the optical connection component with the cover member; A step of moving the optical fiber along the groove and inserting the optical fiber into the fiber hole from the guide portion; and the lid member is engaged with the optical connection component when the tip of the optical fiber is inserted into the fiber hole. And a step of stopping.

  An optical connecting component according to a second aspect of the present invention is an optical fiber connecting method according to the optical fiber positioning method according to the first aspect, wherein a groove for guiding the optical fiber and regulating the position of the optical fiber in the width direction is provided. A connector main body having a guide portion having a fiber hole into which the tip of the optical fiber is inserted, and fitted and mounted from above the groove of the connector main body to press the optical fiber toward the groove and And a lid member that is movable along the groove.

  The optical connecting component according to a third aspect of the present invention is the optical connecting component according to the second aspect, wherein the groove of the connector main body has a predetermined number of optical fibers on both sides of the groove at a predetermined pitch. Guide slopes that are aligned in the center are provided, and inclined surfaces that contact the guide slopes when an optical fiber is pressed against the bottom surface of the groove are provided on both sides of the lid member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the optical connecting component according to the second or third aspect, when the lid member is attached to the groove, the front end portion of the groove and the front end portion of the lid member are provided. And an open portion between the two.

  The optical connection component according to claim 5 of the present invention is the optical connection component according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the connector main body and the lid member constituting the optical connection component are made of epoxy resin or It is formed by injection molding of polyphenylene sulfide resin.

  An optical connector according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the optical connecting component according to any one of the second to fifth aspects is used for a positioning and holding portion of an optical fiber to be accommodated.

The optical fiber positioning method according to the first aspect of the present invention can be carried out by using the optical connecting component according to the second aspect.
In the optical connection component according to claim 2, wherein the multi-fiber optical fiber is positioned by the optical fiber positioning method according to claim 1, the multi-fiber optical fiber is inserted into the guide portion of the connector main body, By attaching the lid member to the groove installed in the middle, the inserted multi-core optical fibers can be aligned at a predetermined arrangement pitch in a row on the bottom surface of the groove, and the optical fiber is placed in the front fiber hole together with the lid member. By sending, each optical fiber can be inserted into the fiber hole and positioned.
In other words, the optical connection component has a simple structure composed of two components, the connector body and the lid member, but can accurately position multi-fiber optical fibers and the optical connection component is compact. It is also useful for positioning optical fibers.

In addition, since a plurality of fiber holes are formed in a form in which the holes are substantially in a circumscribed state, a plurality of optical fibers can be positioned with high density at a narrow pitch, so that a narrow pitch optical fiber tape The present invention can also be applied when connecting to an optical connection component.
If the inner diameter of the fiber hole is set according to the coating diameter of the optical fiber, the optical fiber can be mounted with the coating. In this case, since the sharp fiber edge is covered with the coating, the inner surface of the fiber hole can be prevented from being scraped by the fiber edge when the optical fiber is inserted. It is possible to prevent an increase in transmission loss due to adhesion to the fiber core.
In addition, when positioning an optical fiber with a coating, there is no possibility that an operator who performs a connection process between optical fibers may injure fingers or the like at the fiber edge at the tip of the optical fiber, and the safety of the work is also improved. .

  Further, if the arrangement pitch of the fiber holes is arranged, for example, at a narrow pitch that is 1/2 of the conventional arrangement pitch, every other arrangement pitch becomes equivalent to the arrangement pitch in the conventional optical connector ferrule, etc. It is possible to maintain compatibility with other connectors.

  According to the optical connecting component of the third aspect of the present invention, the plurality of optical fibers introduced into the groove are pressed against the bottom surface of the groove by a lid member fitted and fitted into the groove from above. The guide slopes installed on both sides of the groove are guided within a constant width at the center of the bottom and can be quickly aligned, improving workability.

  According to the optical connecting component of the present invention, the optical fiber introduced into the groove of the connector main body is not completely covered by the cover member covering the upper side, and the optical fiber is introduced into the groove. Since it has the open part which can visually recognize the state, the optical fiber can be inserted while visually confirming, and the optical fiber can be inserted into the groove of the optical fiber reliably and easily.

  According to the optical connecting component of claim 5 of the present invention, the resin material adopted for the connector main body and the lid member has excellent moldability that facilitates maintaining dimensional accuracy, so that the plastic having excellent productivity is obtained. Using the molding process, productivity can be improved and costs can be reduced.

  According to the optical connector of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the assembling property of the high-density mounting and low-loss optical connector is improved, and the assembly of the connector at the site is facilitated.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an optical fiber positioning method and an optical connection component according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of an embodiment of an optical connection component for positioning an optical fiber by an optical fiber positioning method according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the connector main body and the lid member viewed from the direction B of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is viewed from the direction C of FIG. FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of fiber holes in the connector main body shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a correspondence diagram of fiber hole arrangement pitches in a conventional multi-fiber connector ferrule or the like. 5 (c) is an explanatory view of another arrangement example of the fiber holes of the connector main body according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a front view of the lid member viewed from the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a lid member is attached to the connector main body shown in FIG. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 7B, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 7B. is there.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the optical connecting component 1 of this embodiment is mounted on a connector main body 3 formed by injection molding of epoxy resin or polyphenylene sulfide resin, and the connector main body 3. The lid member 5 is constituted.
The optical connection component 1 is an optical connector ferrule that is a component of an optical connector, and functions as an optical fiber positioning and holding portion in the optical connector.

  The connector body 3 is a component that functions as a so-called ferrule body, and includes a guide portion 11 that guides a plurality of optical fibers 7 and a fiber hole 13 that is connected to the guide portion 11 and into which the tip of the optical fiber 7 is inserted. The guide portion 11 includes an introduction hole 15 that guides the optical fiber 7 from the end of the connector main body 3 to the guide portion 11. And this connector main body 3 has the groove | channel 17 which position-controls the optical fiber 7 induced | guided | derived to the guide part 11 in the width direction.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the fiber hole 13 opened at the distal end surface of the connector body 3 has unit holes 13a for positioning one optical fiber adjacent to each other by a specified number, and has a narrow pitch. In order to enable positioning, the adjacent unit holes 13a are formed in a form in which a part of the unit holes 13a communicate with each other in a substantially circumscribed state.
The unit hole 13a of the fiber hole 13 can accommodate an optical fiber having a coating outer diameter of 0.125 mm, which is employed in a narrow pitch optical fiber tape, with a coating, and is accommodated in each unit hole 13a. In addition, the pitch between the unit holes 13a is set so that the arrangement pitch between the optical fibers becomes 0.125 mm pitch (dimension L1 in FIG. 5A) as in the narrow pitch optical fiber tape. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, 17 unit holes 13a provided continuously as the fiber hole 13 are provided on the left and right sides with respect to the connector center line c1.

  The arrangement of the unit holes 13a shown in FIG. 5A is, for example, a structure in which eight unit holes 13a are continuously provided on both sides of the unit hole 13a located on the connector center line c1, for example, as shown in the figure. As shown in FIG. 5 (b), every other array p1, p2,..., P8 is 8 with 0.125 mm diameter fiber holes 13a at a 0.25 mm pitch (dimension L2 in FIG. 5 (b)). Compatible with the conventional optical connector ferrule arrangement. Therefore, the connector main body 3 can also be used as an existing optical connector ferrule.

  In addition, the number of equipment of the unit hole 13a which comprises the fiber hole 13 is not restricted to the form of Fig.5 (a). For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), it is possible to provide two groups of fiber holes 13 in groups of 8 on the left and right with respect to the connector center line c1.

  The front end face of the connector main body 3 is provided with an alignment hole 21 into which a guide pin protruding from the mating connector ferrule is fitted when the mating is performed with the mating connector ferrule.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the corner portions 11a and 15a on the side of inserting the optical fiber 7 of the guide portion 11 including the introduction hole 15 are chamfered so that the optical fiber 7 to be inserted is not caught. It has become.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the groove 17 of the connector main body 3 is a groove opened upward with the guide portion 11 as a bottom surface, and a prescribed number of optical fibers 7 are placed at the center of the bottom surface of the groove 17 at a predetermined pitch on both sides. A guide slope 17a is provided to be aligned to be closer to each other.
In the case of the present embodiment, the groove 17 is equipped so as to open the guide portion 11 upward along the axial direction of the optical fiber to be inserted, and the bottom portion of the groove 17 also serves as the bottom portion of the guide portion 11. It has a structure to do.
In the present embodiment, the guide slopes 17 a of the groove 17 are provided on both sides of the guide portion 11. In the present embodiment, portions corresponding to both side surfaces of the introduction hole 15 are vertical groove side surfaces 17b.

The lid member 5 is fitted into the groove 17 from above the groove 17 of the connector main body 3 and presses the optical fiber 7 toward the bottom surface of the groove 17.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, the lid member 5 is provided with inclined surfaces 5 a that contact the guide inclined surface 17 a when the optical fiber 7 is pressed against the bottom surface of the groove 17 on both sides of the front half portion. Vertical surfaces 5b slidably contacting the vertical groove side surface 17b of the groove 17 are provided on both sides of the rear half.

The lid member 5 is fitted in the groove 17 so as to be movable along the insertion direction of the optical fiber 7 with the inclined surface 5a and the vertical surface 5b in contact with the guide inclined surface 17a and the groove side surface 17b of the groove 17. To do. Positioning protrusions 5c are provided on both sides of the upper rear end of the lid member 5 so as to protrude in the width direction.
The positioning projection 5c abuts against the contact surface 17c of the step formed at the corresponding position of the rear end portion of the connector main body 3, thereby restraining the forward movement of the lid member 5.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lid member 5 is set such that the length dimension L3 along the axial direction of the optical fiber 7 is smaller than the length dimension L4 along the axial direction of the optical fiber 7 of the groove 17. Has been. Thereby, when the lid member 5 is attached to the groove 17, an open portion (gap) 31 having a length L <b> 5 that allows the groove 17 to be visually recognized is formed between the front end portion of the groove 17 and the front end portion of the lid member 5. Is done.

In the optical connection component 1 described above, the procedure for positioning the optical fiber 7 so that the front end of the optical fiber 7 is aligned with the front end of the fiber hole 13 of the connector main body 3 will be described next.
First, the distal end portion of the optical fiber 7 is inserted into the guide portion 11 through the introduction hole 15 as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in the figure, a step of engaging the lid member 5 with the groove 17 and pressing the optical fiber 7 positioned on the guide portion 11 against the guide portion 11 serving as the bottom surface of the groove 17 is performed. Do. As a result, the optical fiber 7 inserted into the guide portion 11 is held in a state of being aligned with the guide portion 11 as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the step of moving the optical fiber 7 together with the lid member 5 along the groove 17 and inserting the optical fiber 7 into the fiber hole 13 is performed.
When the positioning projection 5c comes into contact with the contact surface 17c, the lid member 5 can no longer move forward. Therefore, when the positioning projection 5c comes into contact with the contact surface 17c before the tip of the optical fiber 7 reaches the tip of the fiber hole 13, only the cover member 5 is slid rearward and the cover again The operation of sending the member 5 and the optical fiber 7 together is repeated.

  Next, when the tip of the optical fiber 7 reaches the tip of the fiber hole 13, it is confirmed that the positioning projection 5c of the lid member 5 is in contact with the contact surface 17c as shown in FIG. The step of locking the lid member 5 to the connector main body 3 is performed. The step of locking the lid member 5 to the connector main body 3 is a processing step of pressing and fixing the lid member 5 to the connector main body 3 with, for example, a commercially available spring clamp or clip.

Next, an adhesive serving also as a refractive index matching agent is injected into and filled in the opening 31 and waits until the adhesive is cured. When the adhesive is cured, an extra locking means such as a clamp is removed, and the optical fiber is removed. 7 is completed.
The optical connection component 1 in which the positioning of the optical fiber 7 has been completed is used as an optical connector ferrule by being incorporated in an optical connector or the like.

As described above, the optical fiber positioning method of the present invention can be implemented by using the optical connection component 1 of the above-described embodiment.
And in the optical connection component 1 which positions the multi-core optical fiber 7 by the optical fiber positioning method of this invention, after inserting the multi-core optical fiber 7 in the guide part 11 of the connector main body 3, it is in the middle of the guide part 11. By attaching the lid member 5 to the groove 17 mounted on the optical fiber 7, the inserted multi-core optical fibers 7 can be aligned with the bottom surface of the groove 17 at a predetermined arrangement pitch. By sending it to the front fiber hole 13, each optical fiber 7 can be inserted into the fiber hole 13 and positioned.
That is, the optical connection component 1 has a simple configuration constituted by two components of the connector main body 3 and the lid member 5, but can accurately position the multi-fiber optical fiber 7, and the optical connection component 1 is compact. Therefore, it is also useful for positioning the optical fiber 7 at the site or the like.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the plurality of fiber holes 13 are formed in a form in which the holes are substantially circumscribed, so that the plurality of optical fibers 7 can be densely arranged at a narrow pitch. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the narrow pitch optical fiber 7 tape is connected to the optical connection component 1.
If the inner diameter of the fiber hole 13 is set in accordance with the coating diameter of the optical fiber 7, the optical fiber 7 can be mounted with the coating. In this case, since the sharp fiber edge formed when the optical fiber 7 is cut is covered with the coating, the inner surface of the fiber hole 13 is scraped by the fiber edge when the optical fiber 7 is inserted. Generation of shavings can be prevented, and it is possible to prevent the shavings from adhering to the core of the optical fiber 7 and increasing transmission loss.
Further, when positioning the optical fiber 7 with the coating, there is no risk that the operator who performs the connection process between the optical fibers 7 may injure fingers or the like at the fiber edge at the tip of the optical fiber 7. Sex is also secured.

  Further, if the arrangement pitch of the fiber holes 13 is arranged at a narrow pitch that is one half of the conventional arrangement pitch as shown in FIG. 5A, for example, every other arrangement pitch is the conventional optical connector. This is equivalent to the arrangement pitch in a ferrule or the like, and compatibility with conventional connectors can be maintained.

  Further, in the optical connecting component 1 of the present embodiment, the plurality of optical fibers 7 introduced into the groove 17 are pressed against the bottom surface of the groove 17 by the lid member 5 fitted and attached to the groove 17 from above. At the same time, the guide slopes 17a mounted on both sides of the groove 17 are guided within a constant width at the center of the bottom and can be quickly aligned, so that workability is improved.

  Further, in the optical connecting component 1 of the present embodiment, the optical fiber 7 introduced into the groove 17 of the connector main body 3 is not completely covered by the lid member 5 covering the upper side, and the light to the groove 17 is not covered. Since it has the open part 31 which can visually recognize the introduction state of the fiber 7, the optical fiber 7 can be inserted while visually confirming, and the optical fiber 7 can be inserted into the groove 17 reliably and easily.

  Further, in the optical connecting component 1 of the present embodiment, since the resin material adopted for the connector main body 3 and the lid member 5 has excellent moldability that easily maintains the dimensional accuracy, the plastic having excellent productivity. Using the molding process, productivity can be improved and costs can be reduced.

  In the optical connector, if the optical connecting component 1 is used as a positioning and holding portion of the optical fiber to be accommodated, the assembly of the high-density mounting and low-loss optical connector is improved, and the assembly of the connector at the site is easy. Become.

1 is an exploded plan view of an embodiment of an optical connection component according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is the rear view of the connector main body and lid member seen from the arrow B direction of FIG. It is the front view of the connector main body seen from the arrow C direction of FIG. (A) is an enlarged view of fiber holes in the connector main body shown in FIG. 4, (b) is a corresponding diagram of fiber hole arrangement pitches in a conventional multi-fiber connector ferrule, etc., (c) is a connector according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the other example of arrangement | sequence of the fiber hole of a main body. It is the front view of the cover member seen from the arrow D direction of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which attached the cover member to the connector main body shown in FIG. 2, (a) is sectional drawing of the state before a cover member positions an optical fiber, (b) is a cover member with an optical fiber. It is sectional drawing of the state which positioned. It is sectional drawing which follows the EE line | wire of FIG.7 (b).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical connection component 3 Connector main body 5 Lid member 5a Inclined surface 5b Vertical surface 5c Positioning protrusion 7 Optical fiber 11 Guide part 13 Fiber hole 15 Introduction hole 17 Groove 17a Guide slope 17b Groove side surface 17c Contact surface 31 Open part (gap) )

Claims (6)

  At least the optical fiber is disposed above the groove with respect to the optical connection part having a guide portion having a groove for guiding the optical fiber and restricting the position of the optical fiber in the width direction and a fiber hole for inserting the tip of the optical fiber. And a step of pressing the optical connecting component with a lid member to fit in the groove, and a step of moving the optical fiber along with the lid member along the groove and inserting the optical fiber into the fiber hole from the guide portion. And a step of locking the lid member to the optical connection component when the tip of the optical fiber is inserted into the fiber hole. A connector body including a guide portion having a groove for guiding the optical fiber and restricting the position of the optical fiber in the width direction; and a fiber hole for inserting the tip of the optical fiber;
A lid member fitted and mounted from above the groove of the connector main body to press the optical fiber toward the groove and to be movable along the groove;
An optical connecting component comprising:   The grooves of the connector main body are provided on both sides with guide slopes for aligning a prescribed number of optical fibers at the center of the bottom surface of the groove with a predetermined pitch, and on both sides of the lid member, light is applied to the bottom surface of the groove. The optical connection component according to claim 2, wherein an inclined surface that comes into contact with the guide inclined surface when a fiber is pressed is provided.   4. The optical connection component according to claim 2, wherein when the lid member is attached to the groove, an open portion is provided between a front end portion of the groove and a front end portion of the lid member.   5. The optical connection component according to claim 2, wherein the connector main body and the lid member constituting the optical connection component are formed by injection molding of epoxy resin or polyphenylene sulfide resin. An optical connector using the optical connecting component according to claim 2 for a positioning / holding portion of an optical fiber to be accommodated.

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