JP2011090039A - Fusion splicing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reliable fusion splicing machine which effectively prevents the generation of a defective fusion splicing due to weather. <P>SOLUTION: A windshield wall whose entire circumference is surrounded by a windshield cover is formed on the upper face of a housing of the fusion splicing machine to enclose a fusion mechanism part. The rocking shaft of a clamp arm is disposed in parallel to the longitudinal direction of an optical fiber in a region interposed by the windshield wall and the fusion mechanism part, and the rocking shaft of the windshield cover is disposed interposing the windshield wall being parallel to the rocking shaft of the clamp arm on the same side as the rocking shaft of the clamp arm with respect to the fusion mechanism part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fusion splicer that splices optical fibers together for fusion splicing, and more particularly to a structure for closing a fusion mechanism portion.

Conventionally, a fusion splicer is known in which optical fibers are butted together and the butted portions are heated and melted by arc discharge. In general, a fusion splicer is composed of a plurality of discharge electrodes for arc discharge, an electrode holding unit that holds the discharge electrodes, an optical fiber holding unit that holds an optical fiber to be connected, and the like, It is provided on the upper surface of the housing.
Optical fiber connection work using such a fusion splicer is often performed outdoors, but if the arc discharge fluctuates due to outside air, proper fusion connection of the optical fibers is hindered. In addition, when used in rainy weather, water may enter the machine and break down. Therefore, in a general fusion splicer, a windshield cover that covers the entire fusion mechanism is pivotally mounted so that it can be opened and closed, and an optical fiber is fused and connected in a fusion chamber closed by the windshield cover. (For example, Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, in the fusion mechanism part of the fusion splicer, the optical fiber is dropped into the V groove formed in the optical fiber holding part and pressed with a clamp from above, so that the slope of the V groove and the pressure contact surface of the clamp Fix and position the optical fiber. This clamp is attached to, for example, a clamp arm pivotally attached to an attachment substrate (the housing itself or a substrate installed on the upper surface of the housing). At this time, in order to simplify the presser mechanism by reducing the number of parts and to reduce the size of the apparatus, the rotating shaft of the clamp arm and the rotating shaft of the windshield cover are usually provided on the same straight line.
Also, in fusion splicing work, when the optical fiber is removed, the windshield cover is opened and the clamp arm is swung. To reduce the number of manual operations, the clamp arm is linked with the opening and closing operation of the windshield cover. In general, a part of the clamp arm and the windshield cover are connected so that the rocker swings.

JP 2008-233228 A

  However, in the conventional fusion splicer, since the windshield cover and the clamp arm are pivotally attached to the mounting substrate, there is a considerable gap in the hinge portion. That is, since the fusion chamber is not completely closed by the windshield cover, there is a possibility that wind and rain may enter during fusion connection. And if the fusion splice failure occurs due to the ingress of wind and rain, the reliability of the device will be reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable fusion splicer that can effectively prevent the occurrence of poor fusion splicing due to the entry of wind and rain.

The invention described in claim 1 was made to achieve the above object,
An optical fiber holding unit for mounting and fixing an optical fiber to be connected to a discharge electrode for performing arc discharge, a fusion mechanism unit for abutting optical fibers together and fusion-bonding;
A clamp arm having one end pivotally attached to the upper surface of the housing and a clamp portion attached to the other end of the clamp arm, and the optical fiber placed on the optical fiber holding portion being An optical fiber pressing mechanism that can be pressed from above;
A fusion splicer comprising: a windshield cover that is pivotally attached to an upper surface of a housing and that forms a fusion chamber closed by covering the fusion mechanism portion from above;
A windshield wall surrounding the fusion mechanism portion on the upper surface of the housing and surrounded by the windshield cover is provided.
The swing axis of the clamp arm is disposed in a region sandwiched between the windbreak wall and the fusion mechanism part, in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber,
A rocking shaft of the windshield cover is on the same side as the rocking shaft of the clamp arm with respect to the fusion mechanism portion, and is disposed with the windshield wall in parallel with the rocking shaft of the clamp arm. It is characterized by.
Here, the upper surface of the housing includes not only the upper surface of the housing itself, but also an attachment board or the like that appears on the upper surface of the housing.

The invention according to claim 2 is the fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein the windshield has a substantially rectangular shape with one side formed parallel to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber,
The swing axis of the clamp arm is disposed along one side of the windshield wall and inside the area surrounded by the windshield wall,
The rocking shaft of the windshield cover is disposed on the opposite side of the rocking shaft of the clamp arm with respect to one side of the windshield wall.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the fusion splicer according to the first or second aspect, when the clamp arm is swung to the side opposite to the fusion mechanism portion, the bending over the windbreak wall is performed. It has a shape.

Invention of Claim 4 is equipped with the link member which connects the said clamp arm and the said windshield cover in the fusion splicer as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3,
The clamp arm swings in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the windshield cover.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fusion splicer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the windshield wall includes a windshield inner wall and a windshield outer wall disposed outside the windshield inner wall. The windshield outer wall has one side that coincides with a swing axis of the windshield cover.

The invention according to claim 6 is the fusion splicer according to claim 5, wherein a damper member is laid between the windshield inner wall and the windshield outer wall,
An inner peripheral wall that abuts against the damper member in the closed state is formed on the inner surface of the windshield cover.

  According to the present invention, since wind and rain can be prevented from entering the fusion chamber from the windshield cover and the hinge portion of the clamp arm, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of poor fusion connection due to the entry of wind and rain, The reliability of the device is greatly improved.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the fusion splicer which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows a state when the windshield cover of a fusion splicer is opened. It is an expansion perspective view of a fusion part. It is an enlarged plan view of a fusion mechanism part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state (closed state) which closed the windshield cover, and the open state (open state) in the fusion splicer.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a fusion splicer 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the fusion splicer 1 includes a main body 1A and a fusion splicer holder 1B on which the main body 1A is placed. The main body 1 </ b> A includes a fusion unit 10, a display unit 20, an operation unit 30, and a reinforcing sleeve heating processing unit 40 on the upper surface of the housing 50.
The fusion part 10 has a windshield cover 11, and with the windshield cover 11 closed, the butt portion of the optical fiber is heated and melted by arc discharge to be fused and connected. The display unit 20 displays various setting information and error warnings input by the operation unit 30 and can monitor the alignment state and the fusion state of the fiber in the fusion unit 10.
The operation unit 30 is provided with various operation keys, a switch for starting fusion connection, and the like. In the reinforcing sleeve heating processing unit 40, a heating process is performed in which the reinforcing sleeve is attached to the spliced optical fiber connection portion.
When performing the fusion splicing work using the fusion splicer 1, the operator opens and closes the windshield cover 11 with the side on which the operation unit 30 is disposed facing forward. Will be performed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state when the windshield cover 11 of the fusion splicer 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the fusion part 10, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the fusion mechanism part 13.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fusion part 10 includes a windshield cover 11, a windshield 12, a fusion mechanism part 13, and an optical fiber pressing mechanism part 14.
The fusing mechanism 13 includes two discharge electrodes 131 for arc discharge, a set of electrode holders 132 for holding the discharge electrodes 131, and a set of light for mounting and fixing the optical fiber F to be connected. A fiber holding part 133 and the like are provided. The fusion mechanism 13 is attached to the attachment substrate 60 and protrudes upward from the opening 50 a of the housing 50.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the electrode holding part 132, the electrode rod 131a of the discharge electrode 131 is placed in the concave groove of the conducting member 132a, and the engagement piece 131b of the discharge electrode 131 is engaged with the engagement member 132b. The discharge electrode 131 is fixed by being pressed by the pressing member 133c from above. At this time, the discharge electrodes 131 are arranged to face each other with the butted portion of the optical fiber F interposed therebetween. At the time of fusion splicing, a voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 131 via the conducting member 132a, and arc discharge occurs between the discharge electrodes 131 and 131.

  In the optical fiber holding portion 133, the optical fiber F inserted into the V-groove 133a is supported by the alignment support base 133b and the tip support base 133c. An aligning unit (not shown) is connected to the aligning support base, and is configured to be movable in three axial directions. At the time of fusion splicing, in this optical fiber holding part 133, the optical fiber from which the coating of the tip has been removed is arranged oppositely and aligned.

The windshield 12 is configured by an inner wall (windshield inner wall) 121 and an outer wall (windshield outer wall) 122 that are erected on the upper surface of the casing 50 so as to surround the fusion mechanism portion 13. A damper member 123 is laid in the gap between the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122. Here, the windshield 12 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in which the longitudinal direction and the long side of the optical fiber to be connected are parallel. In addition, the shape of the windshield 12 may be a circle, an ellipse, or a combination of a straight line and an arc, and is not particularly limited.
The left and right side walls (windshield inner side walls) 121R and 121L of the windshield inner wall 121 and the left and right side walls (windshield outer walls) 122R and 122L of the windshield outer wall 122 are provided with notches 121a and 122a for inserting the optical fiber F. ing. Further, the windshield inner side walls 121R and 121L and the windshield inner rear wall 121B are continuously formed through the step portion 121b, and the windshield outer walls 121R and 122L and the windshield outer rear wall 122B are continuously formed through the step portion 122b. Has been. The step portion 122b of the windshield outer wall 122 serves as a bearing for the windshield cover 11, and a swing shaft (not shown) protruding outward is fixed.

The optical fiber pressing mechanism portion 14 includes a set of clamp arms 141, a clamp mounting portion 142, a clamp 143, a swing shaft 144, a link member 145, and an urging member 146. The swing shaft 144 is fixed to the mounting substrate 60 along the windshield inner rear wall 121B, and a clamp arm 141 is pivotally attached to the swing shaft 144 so as to be swingable. A clamp mounting portion 142 is pivotally attached to the other end side of the clamp arm 141 so as to be swingable. When the windshield cover 11 is in the closed state, the other end of the urging member 146 is fixed to the windshield cover 11, and the clamp 143 (clamp mounting part 142) is urged toward the optical fiber holding part 133 (tip support base 133c). .
The clamp arm 141 has a curved shape and can swing over the windshield inner rear wall 121B and the windshield outer rear wall 122B. One clamp arm 141 is connected to the windshield cover 11 by a link member 145 so that the clamp arm 141 swings in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the windshield cover 11.

The windshield cover 11 has a peripheral wall 111 that surrounds the entire circumference of the windshield 12 (windshield outer wall 122), and is pivotally supported by a swing shaft (not shown) fixed to a step portion 122b of the windshield outer wall 122. Has been. The height of the peripheral wall 111 is set slightly higher than the height of the windshield 12. In the peripheral wall 111, a notch 111 a is formed at a position corresponding to the notches 121 a and 122 a of the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122. In addition, you may make it provide the bearing of the windshield cover 11 not on the windshield outer wall 122 but on the upper surface of the housing | casing 50. FIG.
Further, the windshield cover 11 has an inner peripheral wall 112 formed inside the peripheral wall 111. The inner peripheral wall 112 comes into contact with the damper member 123 in the closed state, so as to alleviate the impact during the closing operation and improve the closing property of the fusion chamber.
By covering the fusion mechanism part 13 from above with the windshield cover 11 (closed state), a closed fusion chamber 134 (see FIG. 5) containing the fusion mechanism part 13 is formed.

  In the fusion splicing operation, when the optical fiber F to be connected is arranged and the windshield cover 11 is closed, the clamp arm 141 swings toward the fusing mechanism portion 13 in conjunction with the closing operation. Then, the clamp 143 comes into contact with the tip support base 133c of the optical fiber holding portion 133, and the tip of the optical fiber F is held by the clamp 143 and the tip support base 133c.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the windshield cover 11 is closed (closed state) and an open state (open state) in the fusion splicer 1.
As shown in FIG. 5A, in the closed state of the windshield cover 11, the fusion chamber 134 is closed by the double structure of the windshield cover 11 and the windshield wall 12. In other words, in the closed state, the windshield peripheral wall 111 is configured to be fitted to the outside of the windshield 12 over the entire circumference of the windshield 12. Further, in the closed state, the upper end of the windshield inner rear wall 121B is made higher than the upper end of the windshield outer rear wall 122B, so that the sealing property of the fusion chamber 134 is enhanced.
When the windshield cover 11 transitions from the closed state to the open state, the side connecting the swing axis AX1 of the clamp arm 141 and the swing axis AX3 of the windshield cover 11, the link support shaft AX2 of the clamp arm 141, and the link of the windshield cover It is kept parallel to the side connecting the support shaft AX4. Then, when the link support shaft AX1 is pulled by the link support shaft AX2, the clamp arm 141 swings across the windshield 12 in conjunction with the opening operation of the windshield cover 11.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the opened state in which the fusion chamber 134 is opened, the windshield cover 11 and the clamp arm 141 are sufficiently inclined, so that when the operator looks at the fusion mechanism portion 13. The line of sight is not obstructed.

As described above, the fusion splicer 1 according to the present embodiment includes the windshield 12 that surrounds the fusion mechanism 13 and is surrounded by the windshield cover 11 on the upper surface of the housing 50.
The swing axis AX1 (144 in FIG. 3) of the clamp arm 141 is connected to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber F connected to the region sandwiched between the windshield 12 (windshield inner wall 121) and the fusion mechanism section 13. They are arranged in parallel. On the other hand, the rocking axis AX3 of the windshield cover 11 is on the same side as the rocking axis AX1 of the clamp arm with respect to the fusion mechanism portion 13, and is parallel to the rocking axis AX1 of the clamp arm 141. The windshield inner rear wall 121B) is disposed therebetween.
Specifically, the windshield 12 has a substantially rectangular shape with one side (windshield inner rear wall 121B) formed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber F, and the swing axis AX1 of the clamp arm 141 is the windshield. 12 is disposed inside a region surrounded by the windshield 12 along one side (windback inner rear wall 121B). On the other hand, the swing shaft AX3 of the windshield cover 11 is disposed on the opposite side of the swing arm AX1 of the clamp arm 141 with respect to one side of the windshield wall (windshield inner rear wall 121B).

  According to the fusion splicer 1, the fusion chamber 134 is closed by the double structure of the windshield cover 11 and the windshield 12, so that the air other than the insertion hole through which the optical fiber F is inserted is completely blocked from the outside air. . Therefore, since it is possible to prevent wind and rain from entering the fusion chamber 134 from the hinge portion of the windshield cover 11 and the clamp arm 141, it is possible to effectively prevent occurrence of poor fusion connection due to the entry of wind and rain. As a result, the reliability of the fusion splicer 1 is significantly improved.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the clamp arm 141 has a curved shape straddling the windshield 12 when it is swung to the opposite side of the fusion mechanism 13. As a result, the clamp arm 141 can easily swing over 90 °, so that the clamp arm 141 does not block the operator's line of sight in the open state, and the fusion splicing operation is not hindered.

  Further, the fusion splicer 1 includes a link member 145 that connects the clamp arm 141 and the windshield cover 11, and the clamp arm 141 swings in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the windshield cover 11. Thereby, since manual operation at the time of fusion splicing work can be simplified, work efficiency can be improved.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the windshield 12 includes the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122, and one side of the windshield outer wall 122 (the windshield outer rear wall 122 </ b> B) is aligned with the swing axis AX <b> 3 of the windshield cover 11. It has become. As a result, the blockage of the fusion chamber 134 can be further improved, and the swing axis AX1 of the clamp arm 141 and the swing wall AX3 of the windshield cover 11 can be brought closer to save space.

  Further, a damper member 123 is laid between the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122, and an inner peripheral wall 112 that contacts the damper member 123 in the closed state is formed on the inner surface of the windshield cover 11. Thereby, the impact at the time of the closing operation can be reduced, and the closing property of the fusion chamber 134 can be further enhanced.

As mentioned above, although the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
In the above-described embodiment, the clamp arm 141 has a curved shape, but may be a linear shape as long as it crosses the windshield 12 when swung to the opposite side to the fusion mechanism portion 13. Also, the clamp arm 141 can be configured by connecting a plurality of members.
Further, the windshield cover 11 and the clamp arm 141 may swing independently (that is, not interlocked). Further, not only the windshield cover 11 and the clamp arm 141 are interlocked, but also the arm equipped with the optical fiber observation illumination system (light source or reflection mirror) and the windshield cover 11 are interlocked, or the clamp arm 141 is interlocked with the arm. You can also.
The present invention generates an arc discharge by a fusion splicer capable of collectively fusing many pairs of optical fibers (for example, optical fiber ribbons) or by using three or more discharge electrodes at a butt portion of an optical fiber. Also applicable to fusion splicers.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fusion splicer 11 Windshield cover 12 Windshield 13 Fusing mechanism part 14 Optical fiber holding mechanism part 111 Perimeter wall 112 Inner peripheral wall 121 Windshield inner wall 122 Windshield outer wall 131 Discharge electrode 132 Electrode holding part 133 Optical fiber holding part 134 Fusion chamber 141 Clamp arm 142 Clamp mounting portion 143 Clamp 144 Oscillating shaft 145 Link member 146 Energizing member AX1 Clamp arm oscillation axis AX2 Clamp arm link pivot AX3 Windshield cover pivot axis AX4 Windshield cover link pivot

Claims (6)

An optical fiber holding unit for mounting and fixing an optical fiber to be connected to a discharge electrode for performing arc discharge, a fusion mechanism unit for abutting optical fibers together and fusion-bonding;
A clamp arm having one end pivotally attached to the upper surface of the housing and a clamp portion attached to the other end of the clamp arm, and the optical fiber placed on the optical fiber holding portion being An optical fiber pressing mechanism that can be pressed from above;
A fusion splicer comprising: a windshield cover that is pivotally attached to an upper surface of a housing and that forms a fusion chamber closed by covering the fusion mechanism portion from above;
A windshield wall surrounding the fusion mechanism portion on the upper surface of the housing and surrounded by the windshield cover is provided.
The swing axis of the clamp arm is disposed in a region sandwiched between the windbreak wall and the fusion mechanism part, in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber,
A rocking shaft of the windshield cover is on the same side as the rocking shaft of the clamp arm with respect to the fusion mechanism portion, and is disposed with the windshield wall in parallel with the rocking shaft of the clamp arm. Fusion splicer characterized by having The windshield has a substantially rectangular shape with one side formed parallel to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber,
The swing axis of the clamp arm is disposed along one side of the windshield wall and inside the area surrounded by the windshield wall,
2. The fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein a swing shaft of the windshield cover is disposed on a side opposite to the swing shaft of the clamp arm with respect to one side of the windshield wall.   The fusion splicer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the clamp arm has a curved shape straddling the windbreak wall when swung to the opposite side to the fusion mechanism portion. A link member for connecting the clamp arm and the windshield cover;
The fusion splicer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the clamp arm swings in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the windshield cover.   The said windshield wall is comprised by the windshield inner wall and the windshield outer wall distribute | arranged to the outer side of this windshield inner wall, and one side of the said windshield outer wall corresponds with the rocking | fluctuation axis | shaft of the said windshield cover. The fusion splicer according to any one of claims. Laying a damper member between the windshield inner wall and the windshield outer wall;
6. The fusion splicer according to claim 5, wherein an inner peripheral wall that abuts against the damper member in a closed state is formed on an inner surface of the windshield cover.

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