JP2011112785A - Optical fiber fusion splicing machine and fusion splicing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber fusion splicing machine equipped with a clamping device which temporarily holds easily and safely a plurality of fusion-spliced coated optical fibers until the next batch reinforcement processing, and which thereby facilitates the batch reinforcement, and also to provide an optical fiber fusion splicing method using the fusion splicing machine. <P>SOLUTION: The optical fiber fusion splicing machine performs fusion splicing of optical fibers by discharge heating, and is equipped with a clamping device 18 for temporarily holding a plurality of coated optical fibers 11, 12 which are after fusion splicing and before reinforcement processing. The clamping device 18 is desirably a type that has a plurality of slits 21 for elastically clamping and easily holding the coated optical fibers 11, 12 on both sides of a fusion splicing part 13. The optical fiber fusion splicing machine is also provided with a reinforcement processing mechanism 22 other than the fusion splicing mechanism 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber fusion splicing machine and a fusion splicing method in which optical fiber core wires are butted against each other and fusion-bonded by heating.

  The fusion splicing of the optical fibers is performed by removing the fiber coating at the connection end portion and fusing the end portion of the exposed glass fiber portion by heating and melting. The glass fiber part from which the fiber coating has been removed and fusion-bonded is protected and reinforced by the reinforcing member because of its low mechanical strength. The reinforcement by the reinforcing member is preferably performed immediately after the fusion splicing of the optical fiber is finished and before the fusion splicing portion touches other devices.

  In addition, with the development of optical communication networks, there are many cases of handling a large number of optical fiber cores. For example, after fusion splicing of a plurality of optical fiber core wires, each fusion spliced portion is reinforced to form a connection box or the like. Stored together. At this time, if the connection portions of the optical fibers are reinforced one by one, a large space is required to accommodate the reinforcing member, and there is a problem that the connection box becomes large. As a method for solving this, for example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of heat-meltable adhesive tubes are arranged in a heat-shrinkable tube, and a connecting portion of an optical fiber core wire is inserted into each heat-meltable adhesive tube, It is disclosed that a plurality of fusion-bonded optical fibers are collectively reinforced with a single reinforcing member.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the reinforcing treatment method disclosed in Patent Document 1, and is an example in which two pairs of fusion-bonded tape-shaped optical fiber cores are collectively reinforced with a single reinforcing member. . In this case, prior to the fusion splicing of the optical fiber core wires, the single reinforcing member 6 is inserted through the two left optical fiber core wires (four-core tape core wires) 1a and 1b. Then, one optical fiber core wire 1a on the left side and the optical fiber core wire 2a (the same 4-core tape core wire) 2a on the right side are fused and connected, and both sides are gripped by the fixed clamp 4 and the movable clamp 5a, The fusion splicing portion 3a is accommodated in the heater 7 before heating.

  Next, as shown in 4 (B), the other optical fiber core wire 1b and the optical fiber core wire 2b of the right connection partner are fusion-spliced, and the fusion splice portion 3b is accommodated first. It is accommodated in the heater 7 so as to be aligned with the fusion splicing part 3a of the optical fiber core wire, and both sides are gripped by the fixed clamp 4 and the movable clamp 5b. Thereafter, the optical fiber cores 1 a and 1 b are collectively grasped by the external clamp 8 arranged outside the fixed clamp 4.

  Next, in FIG. 4C, the holding of the fixed clamp 4 and the movable clamps 5a and 5b is released, and the reinforcing member 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow to reinforce the fusion splicing portions 3a and 3b of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b. Cover with member 6. After that, as shown in FIG. 4D, the reinforcing member 6 is housed in the heater 7, and both sides thereof are individually held by the fixed clamp 4 and the movable clamps 5a and 5b, and the heater 7 is heated for heating. Done.

  The reinforcing member 6 includes a heat-shrinkable tube 6a that shrinks in the radial direction when heated, a rod-shaped strength member 6b disposed in the heat-shrinkable tube 6a, and two tube-shaped heat-meltable adhesives 6c. The The two tube-like heat-meltable adhesives 6c are separately inserted into the fusion splicing portion 3a of the optical fiber cores 1a and 2a and the fusion splicing portion 3b of the optical fiber cores 1b and 2b. Heating by the heater 7 pushes out the air in the tube by contraction of the heat-shrinkable tube 6a, the tube-like heat-meltable adhesive 6c melts to fill the gap in the heat-shrinkable tube 6a, and two optical fibers The fusion splicing portions 3 a and 3 b of the core wire are collectively reinforced with a single reinforcing member 6.

Japanese Patent No. 3567446

  According to the reinforcing member disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the fusion spliced portions of the two tape-shaped optical fiber core wires can be collectively reinforced by a single reinforcing member. Moreover, by making the strength member have a square cross section, a heat-meltable adhesive tube can be provided on all four surfaces, and the fusion spliced portions of the four tape-shaped optical fiber cores can be reinforced together.

  However, the plurality of optical fiber cores after the fusion splicing are individually held by the fixed clamp and the plurality of movable clamps of the heating reinforcement device and accommodated in the heater before heating, and are held by the external clamp. It requires complicated procedures and work such as reworking. Further, until all the optical fiber cores are fusion-bonded, it is necessary to temporarily store the optical fiber core wire that has been previously spliced in a narrow space such as a housing groove of the heater. There is a possibility that the fusion spliced portions of the optical fiber core wires may be damaged by contact with each other or with the heater wall surface.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and a plurality of optical fiber cores after fusion splicing can be temporarily and safely temporarily held until the next batch reinforcement processing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber fusion splicer having a gripping device that can be easily reinforced at once and an optical fiber fusion splicing method using the fusion splicer.

An optical fiber fusion splicer according to the present invention is an optical fiber fusion splicer for fusion splicing of optical fibers by discharge heating, and a plurality of optical fiber cores after fusion splicing of optical fibers and before reinforcement processing A gripping device for temporary gripping is provided. The gripping device preferably has a shape having a plurality of slits that can be easily held by elastically sandwiching the optical fiber core portions on both sides of the fusion splicing portion. Moreover, the optical fiber fusion splicer can be configured to include a reinforcement processing mechanism in addition to the fusion splicing mechanism.
Further, the optical fiber fusion splicing method according to the present invention reinforces a plurality of fusion-spliced optical fibers gripped by the gripping device at once by a single reinforcing member using the above-mentioned fusion splicer. There is to process.

  According to the present invention, after removing the optical fiber core wire immediately after the fusion splicing from the fusion splicing mechanism, it can be easily temporarily held without damaging the optical fiber core wire in the nearby gripping device, After all the optical fiber cores to be collectively reinforced are fused, they can be assembled by a single reinforcing member. Next, by allowing the reinforcing member to be accommodated in the heat reinforcing mechanism as it is, the heat reinforcing process can be performed easily and safely without touching the fusion spliced portion with another member.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the optical fiber fusion splicer by this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the holding apparatus of the optical fiber core wire used for this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the optical fiber fusion splicer by this invention. It is a figure explaining a prior art.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, 10, 10 ', 10 "are fusion splicers, 10a is a main body, 10b is a monitor, 10c is a work table, 11, 12 are optical fiber core wires, 13 is a fusion splice, 14a, 14b is a fiber clamp, 15 is a fusion splicing mechanism, 16 is a reinforcing member, 17 is a heater, 18, 18 ', 18 "are gripping devices, 19 is a base portion, 19a is a support portion, 20 is an elastic gripping portion, 21 is A slit 22 indicates a heat treatment mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, a fusion splicer 10 according to the present invention has a main body 10a, a monitor 10b, and a work table 10c, and a left optical fiber core 11 on the work table 10c. And a right optical fiber core 12 are fusion-bonded to each other, and a gripping device 18 which is a feature of the present invention is provided at the rear part thereof. The optical fiber cores 11 and 12 may be single-core optical fiber cores or tape-shaped optical fiber cores in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a row. The discharge setting of the discharge electrode of the fusion splicing mechanism 15 differs depending on the fusion splicing of the single-core optical fiber and the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber.

  The fusion splicing mechanism 15 has a fiber clamp 14a for holding and fixing the left optical fiber core wire 11 and a fiber clamp 14b for holding and fixing the right optical fiber core wire 12, one single optical fiber at a time, or Then, the tape-shaped optical fiber cores are held and fixed one by one. As shown in FIG. 1B, for example, the plurality of fusion-bonded optical fiber cores 11 and 12 have a single reinforcing member 16 (or the reinforcement described in FIG. 4). By means of the member 6), it is possible to carry out the heat reinforcement treatment in a lump.

  A plurality of fusion-bonded optical fibers to be reinforced at once are fused and connected one by one by the fusion-connecting mechanism 15, and immediately, the optical fiber cores on both sides of the fusion-bonded portion 13 are connected. Sequentially held temporarily by the gripping device 18. As described later, the optical fiber core wire is desirably held lightly by an elastic member. When the fusion splicing of all the optical fiber cores is completed, the spliced optical fiber core wire is removed from the gripping device 18, and the fusion splicing portion 13 is previously connected to one side of the optical fiber core wire. The reinforcing members 16 that have been inserted are assembled to move. The gripping device 18 is detachably attached to the rear side of the fusion splicing mechanism 15 so that it can be removed from the main body 10a during transportation so as not to be bulky.

The gripping device 18 is configured as shown in FIG. 2 as an example. This gripping device 18 is provided with elastic gripping portions 20 on both sides of a base portion 19, the base portion 19 is formed of a metal plate or a plastic plate, and a support portion 19 a for attaching to a fusion splicing device at one end portion. Can be provided integrally. The elastic gripping portion 20 is formed by using, for example, foamed rubber or resin such as urethane foam having elasticity and providing a plurality of slits 21 at appropriate intervals.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the gripping device 18 configured as described above uses a support portion 19a at a position that does not interfere with the fusion splicing work of the fusion splicer 10, for example, at the rear portion. Installed.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the function of the gripping device 18 will be described. A group of a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 and 12 to be fusion-bonded to each other is placed on the left and right of the fusion splicer 10, for example, a group of left-side optical fiber cores 11 (right-side optical fiber core 12). May be inserted through a single reinforcing member 16 in advance. Next, optical fiber cores placed on the left and right sides to be fusion-bonded to each other are removed one by one, the fiber coating at the connection end is removed to expose the glass fiber portion, and the fiber clamps 14a and 14b are held and set. Then, the connection end faces are opposed to each other and fusion-bonded by discharge heating.

  After the fusion splicing is finished, the optical fiber core wire is removed from the fiber clamps 14a and 14b, and the outer fiber coating portion is lightly held. Is sandwiched between the slits 21 of the elastic gripping part 20. The slit 21 of the elastic gripping portion 20 is formed so as to be gripped lightly and elastically to such an extent that the optical fiber core wire does not fall off and does not loosen. The fusion-bonded optical fiber cores are temporarily held by the slits 21 one by one with the position of the fusion-splicing portion 13 aligned each time the fusion-splicing is completed.

  As a result, the optical fiber core wires after the plurality of fusion splicing are temporarily held without the mutual fusion splicing portions coming into contact with each other and without coming into contact with other structures. When the fusion splicing of all the optical fiber core wires inserted through the reinforcing member 16 is completed, the gripping from the slit 21 is removed as described above so that the fusion splicing portion 13 is aligned at the center of the reinforcing member 16. As shown in FIG. 1 (B), they are assembled and heated by the heater 17 to perform a reinforcing process.

  The reinforcement processing mechanism for this purpose is preferably arranged in parallel with the fusion splicing mechanism 15 disposed on the work table portion 10c of the fusion splicer 10, as will be described later, but the reinforcement processing machine configured as a single unit. Can be reinforced in the vicinity of the fusion splicer 10. In the above example, the optical fiber core wire portion is sandwiched and held in the slit of the elastic gripping portion, but the shape of the gripping portion is not limited to this, for example, a fiber clamp as described above It is good also as what hold | maintains by pinching elastically with the same form.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of the fusion splicer according to the present invention. The fusion splicer 10 ′ shown in FIG. 3A is provided with the above-described reinforcing processing mechanism 22 on the rear side of the fusion splicing mechanism 15 and behind the gripping mechanism similar to that described in FIG. This is an example in which a device 18 'is provided. In this case, after a plurality of fusion-bonded optical fibers are assembled by the reinforcing member 16, it can be accommodated in the reinforcing processing mechanism 22 installed as it is, and the reinforcing process can be performed. Workability can be improved.

  Further, the fusion splicer 10 ″ shown in FIG. 3B is an example in which a gripping device 18 ″ is provided immediately behind the fusion splicing mechanism 15 and a reinforcement processing mechanism 22 is installed on the rear side thereof. The gripping device 18 ″ is provided in a form that is directly placed on the upper surface of the fusion splicer, and the temporary holding of the optical fiber core wire is stable and reliable. Next, since the optical fiber cores are temporarily held and are arranged in the order of manufacturing processes, that is, heat treatment, workability can be further improved.

  The above-described gripping device is particularly useful when reinforcing a plurality of optical fiber cores at once, but is also useful when reinforcing ordinary fusion-bonded optical fiber cores one by one. is there. For example, it is assumed that a large number of optical fiber cores are fusion spliced using one fusion splicer, and then individually reinforced with one or two reinforcement processors. In this case, the time required for fusion splicing requires more than twice the time required for the reinforcing process. For this reason, the spliced optical fiber cores will have a waiting time before the reinforcement process is started, but it is necessary to keep the structure from touching the structure during this waiting time. There is. In such a case, by using the gripping device described above, it is possible to safely store and wait for a plurality of optical fiber cores that have been fusion-bonded.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10 ', 10 "... Fusion splicer, 10a ... Main part, 10b ... Monitor part, 10c ... Worktable part, 11, 12 ... Optical fiber core wire, 13 ... Fusion splicing part, 14a, 14b ... Fiber Clamp, 15 ... Fusion splicing mechanism, 16 ... Reinforcing member, 17 ... Heater, 18, 18 ', 18 "... Gripping device, 19 ... Base part, 19a ... Supporting part, 20 ... Elastic gripping part, 21 ... Slit, 22 ... heat treatment mechanism.

Claims (4)

  An optical fiber fusion splicer for fusion splicing of optical fibers by electric discharge heating, comprising a gripping device that temporarily holds a plurality of optical fiber core wires after fusion splicing of the optical fibers and before reinforcement processing An optical fiber fusion splicer.   2. The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein the gripping device has a plurality of slits that elastically sandwich and hold the optical fiber core portions on both sides of the fusion splicing portion. .   The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcement processing mechanism.   The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 3 is used to collectively reinforce a plurality of fusion-bonded optical fibers held by the holding device with a single reinforcing member. Optical fiber fusion splicing method.

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