JP2009139608A - Method of manufacturing multi-fiber optical connector with optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of inexpensively manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector having optical fibers, wherein its manufacturing step is simplified. <P>SOLUTION: For example, a positioning block 11 is resin-molded in advance in which a plurality of optical fiber holes 11a for forming multiple levels of optical fiber hole rows are drilled with high accuracy, as well as guide pin holes 11b on both sides of the optical fiber hole region. Optical fibers 7 are attached to this positioning block 11, with their tip end faces polished. Thereafter, a ferrule body is over-molded with resin on this positioning block 11 with optical fibers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, a positioning block having a plurality of optical fiber holes and guide pin holes on both sides thereof formed with high precision is pre-molded with resin, and a ferrule body is overmolded with resin in the positioning block to form an optical ferrule. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with optical fibers.

The optical ferrule used for the optical connector of the fitting pin positioning method generally called MT connector (equivalent to JIS C 5981: F12 type multi-core optical fiber connector) is used for positioning on both sides of the optical fiber hole array arranged in one horizontal row. Although it has a generally square structure with a guide pin hole, the resin is usually integrally formed by transfer molding or injection molding from the viewpoint of productivity and cost.
However, when the optical ferrule is integrally formed, the productivity is improved, but the mold structure is complicated, and in some cases, the molding is difficult, or a high-precision product may not be manufactured with a high yield. .

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a positioning block 1 in which a plurality of optical fiber holes 1a and guide pin holes 1b on both sides thereof are formed with high precision is pre-molded with resin, and a ferrule body portion is formed on the positioning block 1. An optical ferrule 3 is also manufactured by overmolding 2 with resin (Patent Document 1). Protrusions 1 c are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the positioning block 1. The ferrule main body 2 is formed with a hollow portion 4 including an optical fiber introduction opening 4a and an adhesive filling window 4b, and a guide groove 5 facing the optical fiber hole 1a.

  As described above, the optical ferrule 3 having an overmold structure in which the ferrule main body 2 is overmolded on the positioning block 1 is formed on the ferrule main body 2 if the optical fiber hole 1a and the guide pin hole 1b of the positioning block 1 are made highly accurate. Is not required to have a very high accuracy, the resin molding is easy and an inexpensive optical ferrule can be manufactured.

This type of conventional overmolded optical ferrule has the hollow portion 4 including the optical fiber introduction opening 4a and the adhesive filling window 4b as described above, and the guide groove 5 facing the optical fiber hole 1a. is doing.
Then, as shown in FIG. 17, an optical fiber (optical fiber tape) 7 having a covering portion 7b covered with a resin boot (rubber boot) 6 is inserted from the optical fiber introduction opening 4a, and the optical fiber hole 1a of the positioning block 1 is inserted. After inserting the optical fiber (bare fiber) 7a from which the coating 7b has been removed and bonding and fixing with the adhesive 9 filled from the adhesive filling window 4b, the ferrule end face is terminated by polishing or the like, and a multi-fiber with optical fiber The optical connector 8 was manufactured.
JP 2002-156553 A

  As described above, the conventional multi-fiber optical connector 8 with an optical fiber having the over-molded optical ferrule 3 is formed by attaching the optical fiber 7 to the optical ferrule 3 in the same manner as a general optical ferrule that is integrally formed as a whole. However, it is desirable if the process of manufacturing the multi-fiber optical connector 8 with optical fiber can be further simplified.

  In addition, the conventional optical ferrule 3 can manufacture an optical ferrule that is easy and inexpensive to mold as compared with a general optical ferrule that is integrally molded as a whole, but can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. Is desired.

  The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and it is possible to simplify the process of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber, and to make the resin molding easy and reduce costs. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with a fiber.

  The method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to the first aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problem includes a plurality of optical fiber holes forming one or a plurality of optical fiber hole arrays, and both sides of the optical fiber hole region. A positioning block with a guide pin hole is pre-molded with resin, an optical fiber is attached to the optical fiber hole, and then, at least including the coated end portion of the optical fiber, the periphery of the optical fiber is covered, The ferrule body is overmolded with resin around the positioning block.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber, a resin boot is placed on a covering portion of the optical fiber, and at least a part of the resin boot is located inside the connector body. As described above, after bringing the end of the resin boot to the positioning block side, the ferrule main body is overmolded with resin on the positioning block so as to cover the periphery including the end of the resin boot. To do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the optical fiber coating or the resin boot material is not melted and deformed at the molding temperature or molding pressure during overmolding A material that can maintain the shape before molding even after molding of the ferrule main body is used.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber, the ferrule body is made of polyphenylene sulfide containing silica filler, and the optical fiber coating or the resin boot is made of polyimide. It is characterized by being.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the same kind of thermoplastic resin is used for both the positioning block and the ferrule main body, and When overmolding, the contact surface of the positioning block with the overmold resin is melted, and the positioning block and the ferrule body are integrally coupled.

According to the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector with optical fiber according to claim 1, since the optical fiber is attached to the positioning block that has been pre-molded with precision resin, and then the ferrule body is overmolded, the optical connector assembly process, The process of inserting the optical fiber into the ferrule from the opening for introducing the optical fiber, inserting the optical fiber (bare fiber) into the optical fiber hole of the positioning block, and bonding and fixing becomes unnecessary.
Therefore, the cost of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber can be reduced, and the lead time for manufacturing can be shortened. This effect becomes even greater as the number of optical fiber holes increases.
Also, when overmolding the ferrule main body, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to form a hollow portion including an opening for introducing an optical fiber or an adhesive-filled window. Thus, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect, since the resin boot is integrally provided in the overmolding stage, it is suitable when the resin boot is required. Moreover, the resin boot integrated with the ferrule body part can stably protect the optical fiber mouth part.
According to the fifth aspect, the positioning block and the ferrule body are the same type of thermoplastic resin, and the contact surface of the positioning block with the overmold resin is melted and integrally joined to the ferrule body. The main body is firmly and integrally joined. Therefore, it is suitable for implementing the present invention having a uniform cross-sectional shape in the front-rear direction of the ferrule.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber which implemented this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector 18 with an optical fiber of one Example of this invention is demonstrated.
This embodiment is a case of a multi-fiber optical connector with super multi-core optical fibers (hereinafter simply referred to as a multi-fiber optical connector) 18. First, as shown in FIG. A positioning block 11 in which a plurality of optical fiber holes 11a to be formed and guide pin holes 11b on both sides of the optical fiber hole region having a diameter larger than that of the optical fiber hole are formed with high accuracy is preliminarily molded with resin.

The positioning block 11 is formed with pin holes having guide pin holes 11b on both sides of a fiber hole forming portion 16 having an optical fiber hole region having a uniform cross-sectional shape in the front-rear direction of the optical connector (left and right in FIGS. 5 to 7). This is an integrally molded resin product having the portion 17 integrally.
The pin hole forming portion 17 has a substantially arc-shaped contour portion 17a that is substantially concentric with the guide pin hole 11b and protrudes outward from both sides of the fiber hole forming portion 16.
The entrance of the optical fiber hole 11a is tapered to facilitate insertion of the optical fiber.
The front end surface of the positioning block 11 serving as the optical connector connecting end surface is a smooth surface that is precisely polished. Alternatively, the molding surface has excellent smoothness.

Next, an optical fiber is attached to the positioning block 11.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, a bare fiber (bare optical fiber) 7a from which the coating 7b of each optical fiber 7 is removed is inserted into the optical fiber hole 11a of the positioning block 11 and bonded and fixed. .
In addition, although the optical fiber 7 attached to the positioning block 11 is a laminated body of a plurality of optical fiber tapes in the illustrated example, a single-core optical fiber may be assembled.
In any case, as in the termination of a general optical connector, all the resin coating on the optical fiber cladding layer is removed to form a bare optical fiber, which is inserted into the optical fiber hole.
Next, the ferrule body portion is overmolded with resin around the positioning block so as to cover the end portion of the optical fiber coating located in the vicinity of the optical fiber hole.
The optical fiber coating material, including tape and single-core optical fiber, does not melt or deform at the molding temperature and pressure during overmolding, and the shape before molding after molding of the ferrule body Select a heat-resistant material that can be maintained.
For example, the ferrule body portion may be made of PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) or epoxy resin containing silica filler, and the outermost layer coating material of the all-quartz optical fiber may be polyimide.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, as an optical fiber protection member, a covering portion 7b of the optical fiber 7 is covered with a heat-resistant resin boot (hereinafter, simply referred to as a rubber boot in some cases) 36 such as EP rubber. As shown in FIG. 7, the ferrule body 12 can be overmolded with resin around the end of the resin boot after the end of the resin boot is brought into contact with the positioning block 11A.
That is, not only the entire longitudinal direction of the resin boot but the entire vicinity of the positioning block side end is overmolded and hardened with the resin so that the rear end portion of the resin boot is exposed from the back of the ferrule body 12. To.
However, the use of heat-resistant boots and the use of heat-resistant materials for optical fiber coating are not necessarily required simultaneously.
5 to 7 show only the optical fiber hole and the coated portion of the optical fiber in an enlarged manner, but it is also possible to form an extension of the fitting pin hole 11b outside the optical fiber hole.
In order to form the extended portion, the ferrule body 12 may be overmolded by fitting a long fitting pin forming die (core) into the fitting pin hole 11b.

In overmolding, if the contact surface (or joint surface) of the positioning block 11 with the overmold resin is melted, the positioning block 11 and the ferrule body 12 can be firmly and integrally joined.
The positioning block 11 and the overmold resin are melted and integrated by appropriately adjusting the resin material selection and the molding temperature and pressure, but the overmold resin injected into the mold is, for example, cooled and cured to some extent. At this stage, it is also possible to adopt a method in which the temperature is once raised and then cooled by, for example, an induction heating device incorporated in a mold. The heating means is not limited to the induction heating device, and various heating means can be employed.
However, it is not always necessary to melt the surface of the positioning block 11 during overmolding.

According to the above-described method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber, an optical fiber (a bare optical fiber at the tip) is passed from the optical fiber introduction opening on the end face of the optical connector toward the optical fiber hole in the inner part of the optical connector. The assembly process to insert becomes unnecessary, and the process of filling and fixing the connecting agent after inserting the optical fiber becomes unnecessary.
Therefore, the manufacturing yield of the multi-fiber optical connector 18 with optical fibers is improved, the cost is reduced, and the lead time for manufacturing can be shortened.
In addition, the process of terminating (polishing) a connection end surface as needed can be provided in the stage which attached the optical fiber to the positioning block 11 and shape | molded the multi-fiber optical connector.
Further, when overmolding the ferrule body 12, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to form a hollow part including an opening for introducing an optical fiber or an adhesive filling window. Simplify and reduce manufacturing costs.

With reference to FIGS. 8-14, the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector 28 with an optical fiber of another Example is demonstrated.
This embodiment is a case of a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber (hereinafter simply referred to as a multi-fiber optical connector) 28 having a single-stage optical fiber hole array. First, as shown in FIG. A positioning block 21 in which a plurality of optical fiber holes 21a forming an optical fiber hole array and guide pin holes 21b on both sides of the optical fiber hole region are formed with high accuracy is molded in advance.

The positioning block 21 is formed with pin holes having guide pin holes 21b on both sides of a fiber hole forming portion 26 having a uniform cross-sectional shape in the front-rear direction of the optical connector (left-right direction in FIGS. 12 to 14). The pin hole forming portion 27 has an arcuate contour portion 27a that is substantially concentric with the guide pin hole 21b and has a central angle larger than 180 degrees, and is a fiber hole forming portion. 26 is thin, and the positioning block as a whole has a dumbbell cross section (or glasses-shaped cross section).
The distal end surface of the positioning block 21 that becomes the optical connector connection end surface is a smooth surface.

Next, an optical fiber (optical fiber tape) 7 is attached to the positioning block 21 as shown in FIGS. More specifically, the bare fiber 7a from which the coating 7b of each optical fiber 7 is removed is inserted into the optical fiber hole 21a of the positioning block 21 and fixed by adhesion.
Next, the front end surface of the positioning block 21 with the optical fiber is polished (terminated).

  In this embodiment, at this stage, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13, the rubber boot 6 is put on the covering portion 7b of the optical fiber 7 of the positioning block 21A with an optical fiber. Note that the optical fiber may be attached to the positioning block 21 after the rubber boot 6 is covered with the optical fiber 7 in advance.

Next, the ferrule body 22 is overmolded with resin on the optical fiber positioning block 21A in substantially the same manner as in the first embodiment.
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 14, a multi-fiber optical connector 28 with an optical fiber in which the positioning block 21 to which the optical fiber 7 is attached and the ferrule body 22 is integrated is obtained.

  In the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector with optical fiber 28, the same effect as the manufacturing method of the multi-fiber optical connector with optical fiber 18 of the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, the optical connector assembling step is not required, the cost of the multi-fiber optical connector 28 with optical fiber can be reduced, and the lead time for manufacturing can be shortened. In addition, the overmolding mold of the ferrule body 22 is simplified, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. Further, the structure of the mold used for precision resin molding of the positioning block 11 is simplified, and the mold cost is reduced.

As an example of the case where the positioning block has an optical ferrule having a dumbbell cross-sectional shape, the case where the optical fiber hole array has one stage (in the case of a one-dimensional array) has been described. Even in the case of a small number of multiple columns such as a column (in the case of a two-dimensional array), the positioning block can have a dumbbell cross-sectional shape.
As the number of optical fiber holes increases in multiple stages, it becomes difficult to connect an optical fiber to a general MT-shaped multi-fiber optical connector, but the multi-fiber optical connector using the configuration of the present invention has no difficulty in assembly. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a positioning block having a multi-stage optical fiber hole array, which is preliminarily molded with precision resin, illustrating an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with optical fibers according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the positioning block with an optical fiber which attached the optical fiber to the positioning block of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which covered the rubber boot on the coating | coated part of the optical fiber in the positioning block with an optical fiber of FIG. It is a perspective view of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber obtained by overmolding the ferrule main-body part in the positioning block with an optical fiber of FIG. 3 with a rubber boot. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the positioning block with an optical fiber of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the positioning block with an optical fiber with a rubber boot of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the multi-core optical connector with an optical fiber of FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a positioning block having a single-stage optical fiber hole array, which is preliminarily molded with precision resin, illustrating another embodiment of the method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with optical fibers according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the positioning block with an optical fiber which attached the optical fiber to the positioning block of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which covered the rubber boot on the coating part of the optical fiber in the positioning block with an optical fiber of FIG. It is a perspective view of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber obtained by overmolding a ferrule main-body part in the positioning block with an optical fiber with a rubber boot of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the positioning block with an optical fiber of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the positioning block with an optical fiber with a rubber boot of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber of FIG. The manufacturing method of the conventional multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber is demonstrated, (a) is a top view of an optical ferrule, (b) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view. It is the front view which showed only the positioning block in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber which attached the optical fiber to the optical ferrule of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

6, 36 Rubber boots (resin boots)
7 Optical fiber 7a Bare fiber 7b Covering part 11, 21 Positioning block 11a, 21a Optical fiber hole 11b, 21b Guide pin hole 11A, 21A Positioning block with optical fiber 12, 22 Ferrule main body part 12a, 22a Ridge part 13, 23 Optical ferrule 16, 26 Fiber hole forming part 17, 27 Pin hole forming part 17a, 27a Arc-shaped contour part 18, 28 Multi-fiber optical connector with optical fiber

Claims (5)

  A positioning block having a plurality of optical fiber holes forming one or a plurality of optical fiber hole arrays and guide pin holes on both sides of the optical fiber hole region is pre-molded with resin, and an optical fiber is formed in the optical fiber hole. And then overmolding the ferrule body with resin around the positioning block so as to cover at least the periphery of the optical fiber including the coated end of the optical fiber. A manufacturing method of a core optical connector.   The resin fiber is covered with a resin boot, and the resin boot is moved to the positioning block side so that at least a part of the resin boot is located inside the connector main body. 2. The method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the ferrule body is overmolded with a resin on the positioning block so as to cover the periphery including the end of the boot.   The material of the optical fiber coating or the resin boot is made of a material that does not melt and deform at the molding temperature or molding pressure at the time of overmolding and that can maintain the shape before molding even after molding of the ferrule body. A method for manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to claim 1 or 2.   4. A multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to claim 3, wherein the ferrule body is made of polyphenylene sulfide containing silica filler, and the optical fiber coating or the resin boot is made of polyimide. Method.   The same kind of thermoplastic resin is used for both the positioning block and the ferrule body, and when the ferrule body is overmolded on the positioning block, the contact surface of the positioning block with the overmold resin is melted, so that the positioning block and the ferrule The method of manufacturing a multi-fiber optical connector with an optical fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main body is integrally coupled.

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