JP2006189540A - Method of manufacturing optical connector and ferrule - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing an optical connector by which the success rate of cleavage is remarkably improved, a ferrule is surely and easily cleaved, the cross section of a secondary coated optical fiber is excellently finished and a connection loss is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention relates to the method of manufacturing the optical connector by using the ferrule 10 having a gage 11 for the secondary coated optical fiber into which the secondary coated optical fiber 20 is inserted in the inside and a groove 12 for cleavage partially reaching the gage 11 for the secondary coated optical fiber around the periphery. The method is characterized in that the secondary coated optical fiber 20 is inserted into the gage 11 for the secondary coated optical fiber and fixed with an adhesive, a notch 22 is made on the secondary coated optical fiber 20 from the inside of the groove 12 for cleavage, the ferrule 10 is cleaved along the groove 12 for cleavage, and the secondary coated optical fiber 20 is cut at the notch 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and a ferrule for manufacturing an optical connector using a cleavage ferrule used mainly in constructing an optical home network (short distance, low cost, high convenience).

  Usually, since an optical fiber is thin and easy to break, it is bonded and fixed to the center of a cylindrical part called a ferrule. The ferrules are inserted from both sides into a sleeve having elasticity called a split sleeve, and the optical fibers are connected by abutting each other to form an optical connector.

Conventionally, when trying to cleave a cleavage ferrule utilizing the cleavage characteristics of the crystal, with the optical fiber core wire inserted, a cut is made in the cleavage ferrule, and then the cleavage ferrule is folded and cleaved at the same time. The line is also cut (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-294987 A

  However, in the conventional cleavage of the ferrule, if a ferrule having a hardness different from that of the optical fiber core wire is used, the cleavage may not be successful. In that case, there is a drawback that a large crack (defect) remains in the cross section of the optical fiber core wire, resulting in a large connection loss.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the success rate when cleaving can be greatly improved, the ferrule can be cleaved reliably and easily, the cross section of the optical fiber core wire is improved, and the connection loss is reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector manufacturing method and a ferrule that can be reduced.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a ferrule having a core wire gauge into which an optical fiber core wire is inserted, and a cleaving groove that partially reaches the core wire gauge. An optical connector is manufactured by inserting an optical fiber core wire into the core wire gauge and fixing with an adhesive, and then cutting the optical fiber core wire from within the cleavage groove, The ferrule is cleaved along a cleavage groove and the optical fiber core wire is cut from the cut.

  The ferrule of the present invention is characterized by having a core wire gauge into which an optical fiber core wire is inserted, and a cleaving groove that partially reaches the core wire gauge. .

  In the optical connector manufacturing method and ferrule of the present invention, the optical fiber core wire is cut from the cleavage groove of the ferrule, and then the ferrule is cleaved along the cleavage groove, and the optical fiber core wire is By cutting from the notch, the success rate when cleaving can be greatly improved, the ferrule can be cleaved reliably and easily at low cost, the cross section of the optical fiber core wire can be improved, and the connection loss can be reduced. it can.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B show a method for manufacturing an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a side view. As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the ferrule 10 is provided with a gauge 11 for passing the optical fiber core wire 20 from which the jacket has been peeled off. A cleaving groove 12 is pre-processed in the substantially half circumference of the ferrule 10 along the cleavage direction A so that cleavage can be easily performed later. As the cleavage groove 12, a V-shaped groove or a U-shaped groove having a very narrow width is suitable. The depth of the cleaving groove 12 varies depending on the ferrule to be used, but is basically set to such a level that the necessary strength can be maintained at the time of construction, and preferably to such a level that the end face after cleaving is clean. .

  FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cleaving groove of the ferrule according to the embodiment of the present invention. A groove (slit) 15 is provided in the cleaving groove 12 of the ferrule 10 toward the central axis so that the optical fiber core wire 20 is exposed by about several μm.

  Further, considering the ease of operation when inserting the optical fiber core wire 20 and the strength after fixing, a reinforcing taper 13 having a larger inner diameter is provided on the core wire insertion side. The form of the ferrule 10 can be combined with the existing single-core type FC type, SC type, SC2 type, MU type, and LC type. Thereby, the interconnection can be made.

  2A to 2E are process diagrams illustrating a method for manufacturing an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, after the outer sheath 21 of the optical fiber core wire 20 to be connected is peeled off and the optical fiber core wire 20 is cleaned with alcohol, the fixing adhesive 31 is attached to the gauge 11 of the ferrule 10 as shown in FIG. Put in.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the optical fiber core wire 20 is inserted into the gauge 11 of the ferrule 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the outer cover 21 of the optical fiber core wire 20 is sufficiently pushed in until it enters the reinforcing taper 13. Then, wait until the adhesive is cured. This time will vary depending on the adhesive used and the environment. It is confirmed that the optical fiber core wire 20 is fixed to the ferrule 10.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cleavage groove 12 of the ferrule 10 includes a V-shaped groove portion 121 and a slit portion 122. For example, a cutter 32 such as a diamond cutter is inserted into the V-shaped groove portion 121 and the slit portion 122 of the cleavage groove 12, and the groove (slit) 15 A flaw (cut) 22 is formed in the optical fiber core wire 20. The part of this flaw (cut) 22 becomes the cleavage plane 23 of the optical fiber core wire 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, the ferrule 10 is folded along the cleavage groove 12 provided in advance. As a result, the optical fiber core wire 20 is cleaved from the flaw (cut) 22 along the cleavage plane 23 and the ferrule 10 is cleaved and folded.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cleavage plane of the ferrule according to the embodiment of the present invention. That is, the cleavage surface 101 of the ferrule 10, the V-shaped groove portion 121 and the slit portion 122 appear, and the cleavage surface 23 of the optical fiber core wire 20 appears.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the end face used by the optical fiber core wire 20 is simply polished with the polishing tool 40, and finally, the protective boot 30 is put on and the process ends.

  In addition, processing of a groove | channel (slit) is implemented in a factory, a ferrule optical fiber core wire is inserted in an optical connector production site, and after cleaving (cutting) an optical fiber core wire with a cutter, it is cleaved.

Thus, as a result of performing the cleavage experiment with the cleavage ferrule, as described below, a groove (slit) is provided as in the embodiment of the present invention to achieve mirror cleavage (connection loss <0.1 dB) with a success rate. Greatly improved.
When there is a groove (slit) ... 6%
When there is no groove (slit): 70%

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a method for manufacturing an optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, in step S <b> 1 manufactured at a factory, a V-groove-shaped cleavage groove 61 is formed in a substantially half circumference along the cleavage direction of the ferrule 60 until it reaches the gauge 62.

  Next, in step S2 of field work, an optical fiber core wire 63 having a diameter of, for example, 125 μm is inserted into the gauge 62 of the ferrule 60. Thereafter, the diamond cutter 64 is put into the cleavage groove 61 to form a scratch (notch) 65 on the exposed surface of the optical fiber core wire 63.

  Next, in step S3 of the field work, the optical fiber core wire 63 and the ferrule 60 are cleaved and separated by folding from the cleave (notch) 65 of the cleavage groove 61 and the optical fiber core wire 62. In this case, since the ferrule 60 is cleaved after the optical fiber core wire 63 is cleaved, the cleaving is improved.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a ferrule according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the multi-core ferrule 50 corresponds to a multi-fiber tape type fiber. That is, the multi-core ferrule 50 is of a four-core type, and is formed by arranging four core wire gauges 51. Further, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Is formed.

  Since the multi-core ferrule 50 has four core wire gauges 51, there is an advantage that four cores can be connected simultaneously. Further, as compared with the conventional structure, the cleaving groove 52 is simply added. Since the structure is very simple, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since the shape of the multi-fiber ferrule 50 can be matched with the existing multi-fiber type optical connector MT type and MT-RJ type, mutual connection becomes possible.

  In this way, since it is possible to cope with a multi-fiber tape type fiber, it can be applied to a vertical wiring in a premises where the light connection requirement is relatively weak. The assembly procedure of the multi-fiber type ferrule 50 is basically the same as that of the single-fiber type as shown in FIG.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the cleaving groove is formed on the substantially half circumference of the ferrule has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a V-shaped groove is provided on the side opposite to the cleaving groove of the ferrule. The success rate of cleavage can be improved by providing a V-shaped groove in the whole.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiment examples may be appropriately combined.

The manufacturing method of the optical connector which concerns on the embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a side view. (A)-(e) is process drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the optical connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the groove | channel for cleavage of the ferrule which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the optical connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the cleavage surface of the ferrule which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the manufacturing method of the optical connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the other example from which the ferrule which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention differs.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ferrule, 11 ... Gauge, 12 ... Cleaving groove, 121 ... V-shaped groove part, 122 ... Slit part, 15 ... Groove (slit), 20 ... Optical fiber core wire, 22 ... Scratch (cut), 32 ... Cutter.

Claims (2)

  A method of manufacturing an optical connector using a ferrule having a core wire gauge into which an optical fiber core wire is inserted, and a cleaving groove that partially reaches the core wire gauge in the periphery, After inserting the optical fiber core wire into the core wire gauge and fixing it with an adhesive, the optical fiber core wire is cut from the cleavage groove, and then the ferrule is cleaved along the cleavage groove. And a method of manufacturing an optical connector, wherein the optical fiber core wire is cut from the cut.   A ferrule having a core wire gauge into which an optical fiber core wire is inserted, and a cleaving groove that partially reaches the core wire gauge.

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