JP2009069378A - Optical fiber cord - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber cord which is used in optical wiring of GE-PON and for optically connecting OLT and IDM in a station, wherein the optical connector of the terminal of a predetermined optical fiber cable can be quickly identified while the optical fiber cable is connected to OLT and IDM and even when the optical fiber cable is broken. <P>SOLUTION: The optical fiber cord 1 has a composite cord 10 and optical connectors 12a and 12b, and a power supply part 14 is provided to the optical connector 12b and a light emitting part 16 is provided to the optical connector 12a, respectively. The composite cord 10 is composed of a pair of conductive bodies 10b extending in the longitudinal direction of an optical fiber 10a and integrally covered by an external coating layer 28. The optical connector 12a of the terminal corresponding to the optical connector 12b is confirmed by connecting the power supply part 14 and an external power supply 18 with an external power supply cable 18c, turning a switch 18a on and making a light emitting part 16 emit light by applying an electric voltage to a light emitting body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is used for optical fiber cords for intra-office optical connection of an optical network, in particular, optical wiring of GE-PON (Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network), and OLT (Optical Line Terminal) in the station, IDM The present invention relates to an optical fiber cord for optically connecting (Integrated Distribution Module).

  In general home users, Internet connection and IP telephone service are activated. The main communication method used is broadband communication called GE-PON, and one optical fire bar cable is branched into 32 at maximum, realizing a communication speed of maximum 100 Mbps.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of optical wiring in GE-PON. A plurality of houses 42 in a specific area are managed by a station 40 of one optical network, and the plurality of houses 42 are connected to the station 40 via a closure 44 by an optical fiber cable 48. The closure 44 is installed / fixed on the underground path 64 or the utility pole 46, and the optical fiber cable 48 is branched from the closure 44 installed / fixed on the utility pole 46 to each house 42.

  The optical network station 40 is connected to a station (not shown) in another area by an optical fiber cable 50 for FTTH (Fiber To The Home). In the station 40, an OLT 52 and an IDM 54 are connected. Is installed. The OLT 52 and the IDM 54 are optically connected by an optical fiber cord 56 as will be described later.

  In the house 42, an ONU (Optical Network Unit: optical subscriber termination unit) 56 is installed, and an IP telephone adapter 58 is connected thereto, so that a personal computer 60, a telephone 62, and the like can be used.

  8A and 8B are schematic perspective views of the IDM 54, where FIG. 8A is an overall perspective view, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged perspective view of a region indicated by an arrow A in FIG. The IDM 54 and the OLT 52 are optically connected to each line by an optical fiber cord 56. The length of the optical fiber cord 56 is long as shown in FIG. It has become. An optical connector is provided at both ends of the optical fiber cord 56, and each optical connector is a receptacle 60 provided at a predetermined position of the OLT 52 and the IDM 54 (the OLT-side receptacle is not shown). The optical connection is made smoothly by fitting.

  In a state where a plurality of optical fiber cords 56 are fitted in the receptacle 60, it is possible to confirm whether the optical fiber cords 56 connected to a specific location of the OLT 52 are correctly connected to a predetermined location of the IDM 54. difficult. This is because the optical fiber cord 56 is long and contains an enormous number of cords so that it cannot be drawn. Furthermore, for example, when the optical connector 56b on the IDM 54 side at the other end of the optical fiber cord 56 connected to a specific location of the OLT 52 needs to be removed from the IDM 54, the optical connector 56b at the other end cannot be quickly identified. It is difficult to remove the cord 56 quickly. In addition, when the optical fiber cord to be removed cannot be reliably identified, there is a problem that the optical fiber cord in communication is mistakenly removed and the Internet connection or telephone service is interrupted.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a conventional method for identifying an optical fiber cord. Usually, the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord 56 connected to a specific location of the OLT 52, that is, the optical connector on the IDM 54 side, is connected to the OLT 52 in order to confirm where the IDM 54 is connected. The optical connector 56 a of the optical fiber cord 56 is removed, and visible light is incident from the optical connector 56 a by the fiber checker 58. Then, since the incident visible ray is reflected and scattered by the optical connector 56b on the IDM 54 side at the other end of the optical fiber cord 56, the position of the optical connector 56b can be confirmed. In this way, it is possible to confirm whether or not the optical fiber cord 56 connected to a specific location of the OLT 52 is correctly connected to a predetermined location of the IDM 54. In addition, although red with a wavelength of 633 nm is often used as visible light, the wavelength is not limited as long as it is visible light.

  Note that Patent Document 1 discloses that one end of an optical fiber bundle is easily and reliably specified at both ends of a bundle of optical fibers. Light of different colors is made incident on each end of the optical fiber from the optical fiber, and light emitted from the end of the optical fiber is received by the color discriminating unit at the other end of the optical fiber bundle to discriminate its color. Thus, a method for specifying the correspondence between both ends of each optical fiber is disclosed.

JP 2003-4971 A

  In the method shown in FIG. 9 including the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in order to make visible light incident on the optical fiber cord 56, the optical connector 56 a of the optical fiber cord 56 must be disconnected from the OLT 52. Could not be confirmed while connected to the OLT 52 and the IDM 54. Further, in the conventional method, there is a possibility that the optical connection 56b of the optical fiber cord 56 that does not need to be mistakenly confirmed from the IDM 54 is removed, and the Internet connection and the IP telephone service are stopped. Furthermore, it has not been possible to quickly cope with the breakage failure of the optical fiber cord 56. That is, it can be understood that a specific optical fiber cord is broken in the optical fiber cord 56 connected to the OLT 52, and even if an immediate replacement is attempted, the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord can be quickly identified. Therefore, the optical connector at the other end could not be quickly removed from the IDM 54. If the optical fiber cord is broken, most of the visible light incident from the optical connector on the OLT 52 side is emitted and scattered at the broken portion of the optical fiber cord. The reflected / scattered light from the optical connector is difficult to check because the intensity is weak, and the optical fiber cord will be checked by the radiation / scattered light at the broken place in the middle, depending on the broken place There was also a problem that it was hidden under other optical fiber cords and could not be confirmed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to use an optical fiber cord as an OLT with respect to an optical fiber cord that is used for optical wiring of a GE-PON and optically connects an OLT and an IDM in a station. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber cord capable of quickly specifying an optical connector of a terminal of a predetermined optical fiber cord even when the optical fiber cord is broken while being connected to the IDM.

  To achieve the above object, an optical fiber cord according to claim 1 is an optical fiber cord for intra-office optical connection of an optical network in which optical connectors are attached to both ends of an optical fiber strand including a core, a clad, and a coating layer. A pair of conductors along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber, a light emitting unit provided in the optical connector and connected to the pair of conductors, a power supply unit for supplying a voltage to the light emitting unit, The optical fiber and the pair of conductors are collectively covered with an outer coating layer.

  Therefore, when a voltage is supplied from a power supply unit of a specific optical fiber cord in a state where the OLT and the IDM are optically connected by a huge number of optical fiber cords, the light emitting unit provided in the optical connector of the optical fiber cord Therefore, it is possible to quickly identify the optical connector at the end of the optical fiber cord regardless of the length, mounting state, breakage, etc. of the optical fiber cord. In addition, if light emitting units are provided in both the OLT side and IDM side optical connectors, the optical connectors at both ends of a specific optical fiber cord can be quickly identified.

  The optical fiber cord according to claim 2 is the optical fiber cord according to claim 1, wherein one of the optical connectors is connectable to an optical subscriber terminating device, and the other optical connector is connected to an optical termination. The optical connector connected to the optical termination side is provided with the light emitting part, and the optical connector connected to the optical subscriber terminal side is provided with the power supply part. To do.

  Accordingly, when power is supplied from the power supply unit provided in the optical connector on the OLT side in a state where one end of the optical fiber cord is connected to the OLT and the other end is connected to the IDM via the optical connector, the IDM Since the light emitter of the light emitting portion provided in the optical connector on the side emits light, it is possible to quickly identify the other end of the optical fiber cord regardless of the length, mounting state, breakage, etc. of the optical fiber cord.

  The optical fiber cord according to claim 3 is the optical fiber cord according to claim 2, wherein the coating layer of the optical fiber is composed of a primary coating layer and a secondary coating layer, and the pair of conductors Are each covered with an insulating layer, and the optical fiber and the pair of conductors are arranged in a line around the optical fiber. Therefore, when arranging a pair of conductors along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber and applying an outer coating layer, there is no concern that a short circuit will occur between the pair of conductors. Moreover, the flexibility of the surface including the optical fiber and the pair of conductors is improved by arranging the optical fiber and the pair of conductors in a line as described above. Therefore, an easy-to-use optical fiber cord can be provided.

  An optical fiber cord according to a fourth aspect is the optical fiber cord according to the third aspect, wherein the pair of conductors are not covered with an insulating layer. Therefore, the composite cord having a pair of conductors along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber strand can reduce the diameter of the surface including the optical fiber strand and the pair of conductors, so that it is more flexible and convenient to use. It is possible to provide a good optical fiber cord.

  The optical fiber cord according to claim 5 is the optical fiber cord according to claim 4, wherein the coating layer of the optical fiber strand is only a primary coating layer, and the thickness of the outer coating layer is set to the optical fiber cord. It is characterized by having the same thickness as the primary coating layer or secondary coating layer of the wire. Therefore, the diameter of the composite cord becomes smaller, and a flexible and easy-to-use optical fiber cord suitable for high-density mounting can be provided. Since the outer coating layer is made as thick as the primary coating layer of the optical fiber, the durability and impact resistance of the optical fiber cord are practically sufficient.

  The optical fiber cord according to claim 6 is the optical fiber cord according to any one of claims 1 to 5, so that light emitted from the light emitting unit can be easily recognized from the power supply unit side. In addition, the position of the light emitter in the light emitting section is defined. Therefore, it is possible to more easily check the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the optical connector of the optical fiber cord when power is supplied from the power supply portion.

  According to the optical fiber cord of the present invention, when a voltage is supplied from a power supply unit of a specific optical fiber cord in a state where the OLT and the IDM are optically connected by an enormous number of optical fiber cords, the light of the optical fiber cord Since the light emitting portion provided in the connector emits light, it is possible to quickly identify the optical connector at the end of the optical fiber cord regardless of the length, mounting state, breakage, etc. of the optical fiber cord. In addition, if light emitting units are provided in both the OLT side and IDM side optical connectors, the optical connectors at both ends of a specific optical fiber cord can be quickly identified.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Further, the place where the optical fiber cord is used is the same as that in the past, that is, it is used for optical connection between the OLT and IDM in the station.

(First embodiment)
1A and 1B relate to a first embodiment of the optical fiber cord of the present invention. FIG. 1A is an overall perspective view and FIG. 1B is a front view. The optical fiber cord 1 includes a composite cord 10, optical connectors 12 a and 12 b, a power supply unit 14, and a light emitting unit 16. Optical connectors 12a and 12b are provided at both ends of the optical fiber cord 1, the optical connector 12b at one end is connected to the OLT in the office, and the optical connector 12a at the other end is connected to the IDM. Although details will be described later, when checking the optical connector 12a of the terminal corresponding to the optical connector 12b, the power supply unit 14 of the optical fiber cord 1 and the external power supply 18 with the switch 18a are connected by the external power cable 18c. There is a need to.

  2A and 2B relate to a composite cord of an optical fiber cord. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the composite cord, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the composite cord. The composite cord 10 has two conductors 10b with an insulating layer 10c along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 10a, and the outer coating layer 28 is collectively applied. The optical fiber strands 10a are arranged in a line so as to be positioned between the pair of conductors 10b. In addition, since the conductor 10b is provided with the insulating layer 10c, it is possible to arrange the three of the optical fiber 10a and the pair of conductors 10b to be in contact with each other regardless of this arrangement relationship.

  The optical fiber 10a is obtained by applying a primary coating layer 24 and a secondary coating layer 26 to a bare fiber composed of a core 20 and a clad 22, and depending on the diameter of the core 20, a single mode optical fiber, It is classified as a mode optical fiber. The primary coating layer 24 and the secondary coating layer 26 are for protecting bare fibers, and silicone, polyimide, nylon, ultraviolet curable resin, and the like are appropriately selected according to the use environment.

  The conductor 10b is formed using a thin meridian copper wire, and each copper wire is covered with an insulating layer 10c so as not to be electrically short-circuited with each other. The pair of conductors 10b and the optical fiber 10a are extruded by an extruder and collectively provided with an outer coating layer 28. The outer coating layer 28 was made of a plastic resin material. Note that the thicknesses of the primary coating layer 24, the secondary coating layer 26, the insulating layer 10c, and the outer coating layer 28 are appropriately determined according to the environment in which the optical fiber cord 1 is used, and the optical fiber strand 10a of the composite cord 10 is used. The surface including the pair of conductors 10b has sufficient flexibility and is easy to use.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B relate to the optical fiber cord 1. FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view of the light emitting unit, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged perspective view of the power supply unit. A light emitting unit 16 is provided integrally with the optical connector 12a, and an LED 16a as a light emitter and a resistor 16b (not shown) are built in the light emitting unit 16. The LED 16a and the resistor 16b are connected in series and connected to a pair of conductors 10b. Since the light emitting surface of the LED 16a of the light emitting unit 16 faces the power supply unit 14 side, radiation is emitted from the light emitting unit 16 of the optical connector 16b at the other end of the optical fiber cord 1 when power is supplied from the power supply unit 14. It is possible to confirm the emitted light more easily.

  The optical connector 12b on the OLT side is integrally provided with a power supply unit 14, and an interface connector 14a for connecting to an external power cord is provided in the power supply unit 14. A pair of conductors 10b is connected to the interface connector 14a.

  FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of the optical fiber cord of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows the case where there is one light emitting portion, and FIG. 4B shows the case where there are two light emitting portions. A voltage is applied to the LED 16a and the resistor 16b in the light emitting unit 16 from a power source 18a built in the external power source 18 through the switch 18b, the power supply unit 14, and the pair of conductors 10b. Therefore, when the switch 18b of the external power supply 18 is turned on and a voltage is applied to the LED 16a, the LED 16a emits light. When the light emitting section 16 is provided at two locations, the optical connector 12b on the OLT side and the optical connector 12a on the IDM side, the two LEDs 16a emit light at the same time, and the optical connectors on both ends of the optical fiber cord are simultaneously connected. It becomes possible to confirm.

  Hereinafter, a method of using the optical fiber cord of the present invention will be described. Basically, the optical fiber cord of the present invention is used for optical connection between the OLT and the IDM in the station, like the conventional optical fiber cord. All the optical fiber cords 56 shown in FIG. 8 are replaced with the optical fiber cord 1 of the present invention. A case where a specific optical fiber cord connected to the OLT is removed from the OLT and the IDM will be described. Conventionally, as described above, the optical connector on the OLT side of the optical fiber cord to be removed is removed from the OLT, visible light is incident from a fiber checker or the like, and the light reflected by the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord is confirmed. . Thus, the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord to be removed has been specified.

  In the case of the optical fiber cord of the present invention, the external power cord 18c is connected to the interface connector 14a of the power supply unit 14 without removing the optical connector on the OLT side of the optical fiber cord to be removed from the OLT. The switch 18a is turned on. Then, since the LED 6a of the light emitting unit 16 provided in the optical connector on the IDM side of the optical fiber cord to be removed is turned on, it is possible to quickly confirm the optical connector to be removed. After confirming in this way, the optical fiber cord can be safely removed. Therefore, there is no fear of disconnecting the optical fiber cord that does not need to be mistakenly removed from the IDM and stopping the Internet connection and the IP telephone service.

  Furthermore, even if there is a breakage in the optical fiber cord, it is possible to respond quickly. That is, regardless of whether or not the optical fiber cord is broken, the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord is quickly identified by the above method without being affected by the breakage of the optical fiber cord. It is possible to quickly remove the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord from the IDM.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the composite cord of the optical fiber cord of the present invention. Only the configuration of the composite code 32 is different from that of the first embodiment, and the others are the same.

  The composite cord 32 of the second embodiment has a configuration in which the insulating layer 10c of the conductor 10b is removed from the composite cord 10 of the first embodiment. Due to the absence of the insulating layer 10c, the diameter of the surface of the composite cord 40 including the optical fiber strand 10a and the pair of conductors 10b is reduced, and it is more flexible and easy to handle. Therefore, the mounting density of the optical fiber cord 1 can be improved. In addition, since there is no insulating layer in the pair of conductors 10b, care must be taken not to electrically short-circuit, but once configured as shown in FIG. 5, the conductor 10b and the optical fiber strand 10a are two. The pair of conductors 10b are configured to be difficult to move in the circumferential direction of the optical fiber 10a due to the frictional force with the next coating layer 26 and the contraction force of the outer coating layer 28.

  Further, in the case where the pair of conductors 10b are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 10a and the outer coating 28 is applied, and the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is adopted, the gap between the conductor 10b and the optical fiber 10a is the outer coating. It may be filled with the material constituting the layer 28. Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the composite cord 40 may be circular, and in this case, the conductor 10b is embedded in the outer covering layer 28.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the composite cord of the optical fiber cord of the present invention. The composite cord 34 of the third embodiment is the same as the composite cord 40 of the second embodiment except that the secondary coating layer 26 of the optical fiber strand 10a is removed and the thickness of the outer coating layer 28 is changed to the optical fiber strand. 10a has the same structure as the primary coating layer 24, and the others are the same. In this case, since the thickness of the outer coating layer 28 is made as thick as the primary coating layer 24 of the optical fiber 10a, the durability and impact resistance of the optical fiber cord 1 are practically sufficient. In this configuration, since the cross-sectional area of the composite cord 34 can be made smaller than that of the composite cord 32 of the second embodiment, the optical fiber cord has a configuration suitable for high-density mounting. Also in the third embodiment, the space between the optical fiber 10a and the conductor 10b may be filled with the material constituting the outer covering layer 28, or the entire cross section of the composite cord 50 may be circular.

  Even when the composite cord of the second embodiment and the composite cord of the third embodiment are used, the optical fiber coat has the same effects as those shown in the first embodiment. That is, it is possible to quickly identify the optical connector at the other end of the optical fiber cord connected to the OLT even when the optical fiber cord is broken while the optical fiber cord is connected to the OLT and the IDM. . Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the composite cord can be appropriately determined in consideration of the number of optical fiber cords to be accommodated, the size of the storage location of the OLT and IDM, and the like.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the pair of conductors has a circular cross section, but may be a crescent or flat plate that matches the outer periphery of the optical fiber. Further, the outer covering layer may be formed by spirally winding a tape-like one in the longitudinal direction in addition to the one in which the optical fiber 10a and the pair of conductors 10b are collectively covered.

FIG. 4A is an overall perspective view and FIG. 2B is a front view according to the first embodiment of the optical fiber cord of the present invention. 1A is a perspective view of a composite cord, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the composite cord. 1A is an enlarged perspective view of a light emitting unit, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged perspective view of a power supply unit. 1 is an electrical circuit of the optical fiber cord of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 1A shows a case where there is one light emitting portion, and FIG. 1B shows a case where there are two light emitting portions. It is sectional drawing which shows 2nd embodiment of the composite cord of the optical fiber cord of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows 3rd embodiment of the composite cord of the optical fiber cord of this invention. It is the schematic of the optical wiring in GE-PON. It is a schematic perspective view of IDM in a station, The figure (a) is a whole perspective view, The figure (b) is an expansion perspective view of the area | region shown by A of the figure (a). It is explanatory drawing which showed the identification method of the conventional optical fiber cord.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber cord 10 Composite cord 10a Optical fiber strand 10b Conductor 12a, 12b Optical connector 14 Power supply part 16 Light emission part 18 External power supply

Claims (6)

In an optical fiber cord for intra-office optical connection of an optical network in which an optical connector is attached to both ends of an optical fiber strand including a core, a clad, and a coating layer,
A pair of conductors along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber;
A light emitting portion provided in the optical connector and connected to the pair of conductors;
A power supply unit for supplying a voltage to the light emitting unit,
An optical fiber cord, wherein the optical fiber and the pair of conductors are collectively covered with an outer coating layer. One of the optical connectors is connectable to an optical subscriber termination device, and the other optical connector is connectable to an optical termination,
The light emitting unit is provided in an optical connector connected to the optical termination side,
2. The optical fiber cord according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit is provided in an optical connector connected to the optical subscriber termination device side.   The coating layer of the optical fiber is composed of a primary coating layer and a secondary coating layer, and the pair of conductors are coated with an insulating layer, respectively, and the optical fiber and the pair of conductors The optical fiber cord according to claim 2, wherein the optical fiber cords are arranged in a line around the optical fiber.   The optical fiber cord according to claim 3, wherein the pair of conductors are not covered with an insulating layer.   The coating layer of the optical fiber strand is only a primary coating layer, and the thickness of the outer coating layer is set to be equal to the thickness of the primary coating layer or the secondary coating layer of the optical fiber strand. The optical fiber cord according to claim 4.   The position of the light emitter in the light emitting unit is determined so that the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be easily recognized from the power supply unit side. The optical fiber cord according to the item.

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