JP2011203535A - Optical fiber holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To grasp an optical fiber cable in which the sheath cross section is non-circular, in such a direction that stress can be released as much as possible, in an optical fiber holder for holding the optical fiber cable during fusion splice or the like.SOLUTION: An optical fiber holder 2 includes: a base 21 having a plurality of base-side storing parts 24 and 25 in which an optical fiber cable 1 whose sheath cross section is non-circular is stored at different angles within a plane perpendicular to a cable length direction; and cover bodies 26b and 26c which are disposed in opposition to the plurality of base-side storing parts 24 and 25 so as to open and close, and have a plurality of cover-side storing parts 28c and 29c formed so as to have shapes corresponding to the plurality of base-side storing parts 24 and 25.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber holder for holding an optical fiber cable.

When the optical fiber core wire is fusion-bonded, it is necessary to fix the optical fiber core wire to the fusion splicer, and an optical fiber holder is used for that purpose.
Patent Document 1 discloses an optical fiber holder provided with movable support means for allowing the holding lid to approach and separate from the base so as to cope with various dimensions of the optical fiber.

  In addition, with the recent expansion of communication networks using optical fibers, there is an increasing demand for connection by fusion splicing even in drop optical cables and indoor optical cables having a rectangular outer cross section. And also about such an optical fiber cable, an optical fiber holder is used for fixing to a fusion splicer. The optical fiber holder is provided with a jacket guide portion for gripping a jacket portion covering the optical fiber core wire and a core wire guide portion for gripping the optical fiber core wire.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an optical fiber holder that has an alignment groove for positioning and storing an optical fiber core wire and a cord portion groove for storing a cord portion on the other side, and holds the optical fiber cord. Patent Document 3 discloses an optical fiber holder (also referred to as an optical cable holder) that grips a jacket portion of an optical fiber cable and an optical fiber core wire exposed from the optical fiber cable.

JP-A-11-352353 Japanese Patent No. 3542008 Japanese Patent No. 4115440

The core wire guide portion has a V-shaped groove, and the optical fiber core wire having a circular cross section can be gripped in an arbitrary rotation direction.
On the other hand, the groove of the guide, which is the jacket guide portion, forms one sectional space that matches the jacket cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cable with the lid. In addition, this cross-sectional space is formed so that a groove | channel may be made together with the long-axis side of a jacket cross-sectional shape.

  Therefore, in the prior art including the techniques described in Patent Documents 1-3, an optical fiber cable having a rectangular outer cross-section can be gripped by the optical fiber holder only on either the front or back side. That is, the conventional optical fiber holder has a groove that can be gripped only every 180 degrees in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction with respect to the rectangular optical fiber cable. Similarly, when such a conventional technique is applied to an optical fiber cable having an elliptical outer cross section, it can be gripped only on either the front surface or the back surface.

Further, if the cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cable is not circular, there are directions that are easy to bend and directions that are difficult to bend.
Therefore, depending on the location and condition of connecting the optical fiber cable, it is necessary to grasp the optical fiber cable in a direction in which bending is difficult, that is, in a direction where stress is applied, and forcibly fuse or reinforce it. .

  And even if an optical fiber cable is set in a conventional optical fiber holder that can take only two kinds of front and back as described above in a state where such stress is applied, the stress cannot be released, so the optical fiber cable can be removed from the optical fiber holder. Even if it does not come off, even if it does not come off, it will be in the state where the extra stress was applied to the connection part after fusion splicing and its reinforcement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to release as much stress as possible in an optical fiber holder for holding a non-circular optical fiber cable at the time of fusion splicing or the like. The object is to enable gripping in a possible direction.

  An optical fiber holder according to the present invention is an optical fiber holder for holding an optical fiber cable, and stores optical fiber cables having a non-circular outer cross section at different angles in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction. And a base having a plurality of base-side storage units, and is arranged to be openable and closable facing the plurality of base-side storage units, and has a shape corresponding to the plurality of base-side storage units And a lid having a plurality of lid-side storage portions.

  The plurality of base-side storage units and lid-side storage units described above have shapes for storing optical fiber cables having a rectangular outer cross-section at different angles in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction. It can be set as the structure formed in this way. Further, the plurality of base-side storage units and lid-side storage units described above are configured to store optical fiber cables having an elliptical outer cross section at different angles in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction. It can also be set as the structure formed so that it may have. Further, the optical fiber holder is preferably configured to have a fixing mechanism for fixing the base and the lid body with the lid body closed.

  According to the optical fiber holder of the present invention, it is possible to grip and fix an optical fiber cable having a non-circular cross section in a state in which stress is released when the optical fiber cable is held at the time of fusion splicing or the like.

It is a figure which shows an example of the optical fiber cable used as the object hold | maintained with the optical fiber holder which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the optical fiber holder which concerns on this invention, and is a figure which shows a mode that an optical fiber cable is hold | maintained at an optical fiber holder. It is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable was hold | maintained at the optical fiber holder of the structural example of FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable of the example of a structure of FIG. 2 was hold | maintained in the direction different from the direction of FIG. It is a side view which shows the other structural example of the optical fiber holder which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable was hold | maintained at the optical fiber holder of the structural example of FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable of the example of a structure of FIG. 5 was hold | maintained in the direction different from the direction of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the other optical fiber cable. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the optical fiber holder for hold | maintaining the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8 (A), and is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8 (A) was hold | maintained. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the optical fiber holder for hold | maintaining the optical fiber cable of FIG.8 (D), and is a figure which shows a mode that the optical fiber cable of FIG.8 (D) was hold | maintained.

Hereinafter, an optical fiber holder according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, an optical fiber cable to be held in the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of an optical fiber cable to be held by an optical fiber holder according to the present invention, FIG. 1 (A) is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 1 (B) is a side view thereof.

  An optical fiber cable 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a typical example of an optical fiber cable that can be held by an optical fiber holder according to the present invention, and has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. Here, the long side of the jacket cross section of the cable is L, and the short side is S.

  The optical fiber cable 1 includes an optical fiber (bare fiber) 11, a fiber coating 12 covering the optical fiber 11, a tension member 13, and a resin jacket 14 covering them. The optical fiber cable 1 can be used as an indoor cable or a drop cable. In addition, what covered the optical fiber 11 with the fiber coating 12 is called an optical fiber core wire, an optical fiber strand, etc. The tension member 13 is attached in the direction of the long side L of the optical fiber cable 1 so as to sandwich the optical fiber 11 from both sides.

An optical fiber cable without the tension member 13 and an optical fiber cable including a plurality of optical fiber cores can also be held by the optical fiber holder according to the present invention.
Further, as illustrated, the optical fiber cable 1 has a cross-sectional shape with rounded rectangular corners as shown in the figure. However, the object to be held in the present invention may be non-circular, for example, a corner. Cables having various cross-sectional shapes, such as those having a cross-sectional shape that is not cut (that is, a rectangular cross-sectional shape) and those having a more rounded cross-sectional shape, can be applied. Other shapes will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, an optical fiber holder according to the present invention for holding such an optical fiber cable 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the optical fiber holder according to the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the optical fiber cable is held by the optical fiber holder. 3 is a view showing a state in which the optical fiber cable is held by the optical fiber holder of the configuration example of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (A) is a perspective view, and FIG. 3 (B) is a side view. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the optical fiber cable having the configuration example of FIG. 2 is held in a direction different from the direction of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 (A) is a perspective view. (B) is a side view.

  The optical fiber holder 2 illustrated in FIG. 2 is used at the time of fusion splicing. When used at the time of fusion splicing, the pair of optical fiber holders 2 are attached to the fusion splicer in a state where the optical fiber cables 1 are held so that the front ends of the optical fibers 11 are opposed to each other. The optical fiber holder 2 according to the present invention can be used for applications other than fusion splicing, but is particularly useful for connections that require connection accuracy such as fusion splicing.

The optical fiber holder 2 includes a base 21 and lids 26a, 26b, and 26c, and is a holder that holds (holds) the optical fiber cable 1 with them. In addition, in the example of FIG. 2, although the thing of flat rectangular parallelepiped shape is mentioned as the base 21, it is not restricted to this.
The base 21 includes a core guide portion having a V-shaped groove 22 for gripping the optical fiber core wire (fiber coating 12 portion), and a jacket guide portion for gripping the jacket portion 14. Have

  In the illustrated optical fiber holder 2, the optical fiber cable 1 is held such that the portion of the optical fiber (bare fiber) 11 from which the fiber coating 12 has been peeled is located outside the optical fiber holder 2.

  The optical fiber holder 2 has a plurality of base-side storage portions (in this example, two base-side storage portions 24 and 25) as the jacket guide portion of the base 21. The two base-side storage portions 24 and 25 are configured so that the angle in the plane perpendicular to the cable length direction of the optical fiber cable (in this example, the substantially rectangular optical fiber cable 1) having a non-circular cross section is different. Are formed for storage.

  The base side storage portion 25 is a groove for holding the outer sheath 14 of the optical fiber cable 1 so that the long side L side (long axis side) of the cross section thereof is in contact, that is, horizontally, the groove width Is L. On the other hand, the base side storage portion 24 is a groove for gripping the outer jacket 14 so that the short side S side (short axis side) of the cross section is in contact with the outer side 14, that is, vertically, and the groove width is S. It has become. In this example, the grip angle of the optical fiber cable 1 is different by 90 degrees between the base side storage unit 25 and the base side storage unit 24. Not limited to this example, the plurality of base-side storage portions in the present invention are formed corresponding to different gripping angles of the optical fiber cable 1.

  The lid bodies 26b and 26c are pressing members that are disposed so as to be openable and closable so as to face the base-side storage portions 24 and 25. Here, the lids 26 b and 26 c are formed with groove-like lid-side storage portions 28 b and 28 c as a shape corresponding to the base-side storage portion 24, and the same lid as a shape corresponding to the base-side storage portion 25. Side storage portions 29b and 29c are formed. In other words, the lid-side storage portions 28b and 28c (lid-side storage portions 29b and 29c) are provided in contact with the optical fiber cable 1 at positions facing the base-side storage portion 24 (base-side storage portion 25). ing.

  The base side storage portions 24 and 25 and the lid side storage portions 28b, 28c, 29b, and 29c may be formed in accordance with the optical fiber cable 1 having a size to be held. In the case of a rectangular cable such as the optical fiber cable 1, the lid-side storage portions 29b and 29c may be simply formed flat like the inside of the lid bodies 26b and 26c.

  Further, as in a normally manufactured optical fiber cable, it is assumed that the cross-sectional shape of the jacket 14 of the optical fiber cable 1 is axisymmetric with respect to a major axis and a minor axis passing through the center. , 28c, 29b, 29c and the base-side storage portions 24, 25 may be different in depth (to which part is contacted with the jacket 14). Moreover, it is preferable that the part in which the lid side accommodating parts 28b, 28c, 29b, and 29c are formed is made of rubber for improving the frictional force. Further, although not particularly described in the following examples, the lid body may be formed as an integral body instead of being separated into two as in the lid bodies 26b and 26c.

The optical fiber holder 2 is also provided with a lid 26a. The lid body 26a is a pressing member provided at the position of the V-shaped groove 22 for housing the fiber coating 12, and this may also be configured integrally with the lid bodies 26b and 26c.
Further, the optical fiber holder 2 is provided with a hinge portion 27. The hinge portion 27 is an example of a mechanism that allows the lid bodies 26a, 26b, and 26c to be opened and closed with respect to the base 21.
In addition, although the example which provided the groove | channel 23 which has the width | variety of those about the intermediate part between the groove | channel 22 and the base side accommodating parts 24 and 25 is given, the V-shape is provided without providing this groove | channel 23 part. You may comprise so that the shape groove | channel 22 and the base side accommodating parts 24 and 25 may be connected directly.

  As described above, the optical fiber holder 2 is adapted to the outer cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cable 1 by the base side storage portions 24 and 25 and the lid side storage portions 28b, 28c, 29b, and 29c of the lid bodies 26c and 26b. A plurality of (in this example, two) cross-sectional spaces are formed. And the part of the jacket 14 of the optical fiber cable 1 can be held at different angles in these cross-sectional spaces.

In this example, the optical fiber cable 1 can be gripped in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 3 or in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. That is, in this example, the optical fiber cable 1 can be gripped by changing the direction every 90 degrees.
With such a configuration, for example, in the fusion splicer, the two optical fiber holders 2 can be used to hold the optical fiber cable 1 in one of the horizontal positions and the other in the vertical position. By adopting such a holding method, it is possible to avoid a twisting stress from being applied to the fusion spliced portion after the connection.

  A method of holding the optical fiber cable 1 with the optical fiber holder 2 designed and manufactured in this way will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 2, the user first opens the lids 26a to 26c, and places the jacket 14 on the base side storage part (base side storage part 24 or base side storage part 25) in either direction. At the same time, the fiber coating 12 is placed in the V-shaped groove 22, and then the lids 26a to 26c are closed as illustrated in FIG. 3 or FIG. Thereby, the optical fiber cable 1 is formed in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction by the base side storage portion 24 or the base side storage portion 25 and the lid side storage portions 28b and 28c or the lid side storage portions 29b and 29c. It can be positioned and held so that it cannot rotate.

  As described above, according to the optical fiber holder 2 of the present invention, when holding the optical fiber cable 1 having a non-circular cross section at the time of fusion splicing or the like, the front and back are reversed (when rotated 180 degrees). In addition, it is possible to position at four or more angles including the angle, so that it can be gripped in a direction in which stress can be released as much as possible. Thereby, it can prevent that the optical fiber cable 1 remove | deviates by stress, and can prevent that it will be in the state which added the extra stress to the connection part after the fusion splicing and its reinforcement. This is particularly effective when holding a highly rigid optical fiber cable.

  In addition, depending on the holder structure of the optical fiber holder 2, optical fiber cables of different sizes can be held. That is, depending on the holder structure, even if two types of optical fiber cables are fusion-spliced, it is only necessary to use two types of optical fiber holders. For example, in addition to providing a base side storage part (and a lid side storage part) for horizontally placing the rectangular optical fiber cable 1 having a long side L and a short side S, an angle (for example, 45 degrees) from the horizontal position is provided. The base side storage section and the lid side storage section for storing the rectangular optical fiber cable (long side L1 ≠ L, short side S1 ≠ S, diagonal line> S) with the angle of It may be provided so that the installation position of the bare fiber does not change from the case of. As the latter base side storage part and lid side storage part, although the shape of the cable is different, a base side storage part such as a base side storage part 41b and a lid side storage part 40b described later in FIG. And the lid side storage part should just be formed.

  As described above, the base-side storage unit and the lid-side storage unit can store optical fiber cables at different angles in the plane perpendicular to the cable length direction, or hold optical fiber cables of different sizes. It is made possible. In this case, it is preferable that a narrow base side storage portion is formed at the bottom of the wide base side storage portion, but a plurality of base side storage portions may be provided side by side. Further, when three or more base side storage units are provided, each may be provided one by one, or a plurality of narrow base side storage units are provided at the bottom of the wide base side storage unit. Alternatively, one narrow base-side storage section may be provided in multiple stages at the bottom of the wide base-side storage section. Furthermore, when forming so that the central axes (optical fiber insertion positions) in a plurality of cross-sectional spaces that match the outer cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cable 1 formed by the base side storage portion and the lid side storage portion substantially coincide with each other, This is preferable because the axis can be easily aligned when the optical fiber is connected.

  The optical fiber holder 2 is provided with a fixing mechanism (not shown) for fixing the base 21 and the lid bodies 26a to 26c in a state where the optical fiber cable 1 is held and the lid bodies 26a to 26c are closed. Is preferred. This fixing mechanism is also useful for optical fiber holders of other configuration examples described in FIG.

  As this fixing mechanism, a permanent magnet may be provided on one of the base 21 and the lids 26a to 26c and a ferromagnetic material such as iron may be provided on the other, or a permanent magnet may be provided on both. . In particular, when configured to obtain a strong magnetic force, it is preferable in terms of removal that the cover is divided into a plurality of parts as illustrated.

  As an alternative fixing mechanism, for example, the lid bodies 26a to 26c are mounted on the hinge portion 27 (rotation support shaft) so that the spring member is always urged in the opening direction. You may employ | adopt the mechanism which latches and fixes a stop part to the base 21. FIG. If comprised in this way, since the cover bodies 26a-26c are provided in the open state beforehand, the optical fiber cable 1 can be accommodated easily at the time of high place work on a utility pole etc., and the operation | work of a connection will be favorable. can do. Of course, if this effect is not taken into consideration, a configuration in which a spring member is not provided can be employed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, a configuration example that allows the above-described optical fiber cable 1 to be held at more angles will be described.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing another configuration example of the optical fiber holder according to the present invention. 6A and 6B are views showing a state in which the optical fiber cable is held by the optical fiber holder of the configuration example of FIG. 5, FIG. 6A is a perspective view, and FIG. 6B is a side view. 7 is a view showing a state in which the optical fiber cable of the configuration example of FIG. 5 is held in a direction different from the direction of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 (A) is a perspective view, FIG. (B) is a side view.

  The optical fiber holder 2a illustrated in FIG. 5 is a part of the optical fiber holder 2 described in FIGS. 2 to 4 instead of the base side storage portions 24 and 25 and the lid side storage portions 28b, 28c, 29b, and 29c. The three base side storage parts comprised by 31a-31f and the three lid | side storage parts comprised by the parts 30a-30f are formed.

  The base side storage portion configured such that the long side L of the optical fiber cable 1 is in contact with the portions 31c and 31d, and the long side L on the opposite side of the optical fiber cable 1 with the portions 30c and 30d provided on the bottom thereof. Although not shown in the figure, the optical fiber cable 1 can be installed and held horizontally so that the optical fiber insertion positions substantially coincide as shown in FIG.

  A base side storage portion configured such that one corner of the optical fiber cable 1 is in contact with the portion 31f, and a lid side storage portion configured such that a corner on the opposite side of the optical fiber cable 1 is in contact with the portion 30e; Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the optical fiber cable 1 can be installed and held in a state in which the center of the optical fiber cable 1 is rotated left by 60 degrees from the horizontal position. Here, the optical fiber cable 1 is held so as not to rotate by two corners, but in order to assist it, the base side storage portion and the lid side storage so that the portion 31a and the portion 30b are in contact with the short side S. Part. The base side storage part and the lid side storage part can also be formed so as to hold two corners other than the two held corners, but they are not formed because they obstruct gripping at other angles (horizontal placement). .

  A base-side storage configured to contact one corner of the optical fiber cable 1 at the portion 31e, and a lid-side storage configured to contact an opposite corner of the optical fiber cable 1 at the portion 30f Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the optical fiber cable 1 can be installed and held in a state where the center of the optical fiber cable 1 is rotated 120 degrees to the left (rotated 60 degrees to the right) from the horizontal position. Here, the optical fiber cable 1 is held so as not to rotate by two corners, but in order to assist it, the base-side storage portion and the lid-side storage so that the portion 31b and the portion 30a are in contact with the short side S. Part. Again, the base side storage part and the lid side storage part can also be formed so as to hold two corners other than the two held corners, but this hinders gripping at other angles (sideways). Therefore it does not form.

Next, an optical fiber holder for holding an optical fiber cable other than a rectangular shape will be described.
First, an example of another cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cable will be given with reference to FIG.

The optical fiber cable 4 illustrated in FIG. 8A includes an optical fiber 41, a fiber coating 42, a tension member 43, and a jacket 44. In the optical fiber cable 4, the cross-sectional shape of the jacket 44 is substantially elliptical, and the tension member 43 is provided on the long axis.
The optical fiber cable 5 illustrated in FIG. 8B includes an optical fiber 51, a fiber coating 52, a tension member 53, and a jacket 54. In the optical fiber cable 5, the cross-sectional shape of the jacket 54 is basically a rectangle, and both ends of the major axis are substantially elliptical or substantially circular, and the tension member 53 is provided on the major axis.

The optical fiber cable 6 illustrated in FIG. 8C includes two optical fibers 61, two fiber coatings 62, a tension member 63, and a jacket 64. In the optical fiber cable 6, the jacket 64 has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the tension member 63 is provided in the center and a notch is formed on the short axis.
An optical fiber cable 7 illustrated in FIG. 8D includes an optical fiber 71, a fiber coating 72, and an outer jacket 74. In the optical fiber cable 7, the cross-sectional shape of the jacket 74 is substantially square. In addition, the tension member can be wound also in the optical fiber cable 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an optical fiber holder for holding the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8A, and shows a state in which the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8A is held. Here, FIG. 9A is a perspective view, and FIG. 9B is a side view.
An optical fiber holder 2b illustrated in FIG. 9 has an optical fiber cable 4 having an elliptical outer cross section that is perpendicular to the cable length direction instead of the structure for the optical fiber cable 1 having a rectangular outer cross section. It can also be configured to have a shape for storing at different angles in the plane.
In this configuration, the base 21 is provided with three base side storage portions 33a, 33b, 33c adjacent to each other, and the lid 26c has a shape corresponding to each of the base side storage portions 33a, 33b, 33c. The lid side storage portions 32c, 32b, and 32a are formed. A similar lid-side storage portion is also formed on the lid body 26b.

  The optical fiber cable 4 can be held by the base side storage portion 33c and the lid side storage portion 32a at an angle rotated right by 60 degrees with respect to the horizontal position as illustrated in FIG. Similarly, the optical fiber cable 4 can be held at an angle rotated 120 degrees to the right (60 degrees to the left) with respect to the horizontal position by the base side storage portion 33a and the lid side storage portion 32c. Similarly, the optical fiber cable 4 can be held at an angle rotated 90 degrees right or left with respect to the horizontal placement (that is, in the vertical placement) by the base side storage portion 33b and the lid side storage portion 32b. In either case, the optical fiber insertion positions are substantially the same. In this example, the base side storage part and the lid side storage part cannot be placed horizontally, but the base side storage part and the lid side storage part for horizontal placement can also be formed. It is.

  Here, in FIG. 9, there is no problem because the flatness of the optical fiber cable 4 is not large, but when the flatness is large, the base-side storage portions 33 a, 33 b, and 33 c hold the optical fiber cable 4 with each other. Make it out of the way. The lid-side storage portions 32c, 32b, and 32a are also formed so that they do not interfere with the holding of the optical fiber cable 4 when the lids 26b and 26c are closed.

Although the optical fiber holder 2b for the optical fiber cable 4 has been described, the optical fiber cable 5 in FIG. 8B and the optical fiber cable 6 in FIG. What is necessary is just to form a base side storage part and a cover side storage part so that it can hold | grip. In particular, if the optical fiber cable 6 has a long side L and a short side S, it may be the same as the optical fiber holder 2 described with reference to FIG.
Moreover, even if it is the shape of a jacket cross section like the optical fiber cable 4 or the optical fiber cable 5, if the length of a short axis or a long axis matches, the base side storage part and cover side storage as shown in FIG. It can also be held by the groove-shaped optical fiber holder 2 of the part.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, in the optical fiber holder according to the present invention, the base-side storage portion and the lid-side storage portion are set according to the size and type of optical fiber cable to be held. In addition, by forming according to the angle to be held, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber cable from coming off due to stress, and after the splicing connection and its reinforcement, excessive stress is applied to the connection part. Can be prevented.

Finally, an optical fiber holder for holding the optical fiber cable 7 of FIG. 8D will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an optical fiber holder for holding the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8D, and shows a state in which the optical fiber cable of FIG. 8D is held. Here, FIG. 10A is a perspective view, and FIG. 10B is a side view.

An optical fiber holder 2c illustrated in FIG. 10 has an optical fiber cable 7 having a substantially square outer cross section instead of the structure for the optical fiber cable 1 having a rectangular outer cross section, which is perpendicular to the cable length direction. It is configured to have a shape for storing at different angles in the plane.
In this configuration, the base 21 is formed with two base-side storage portions 41a and 41b, and a narrow base-side storage portion 41b is provided at the bottom of the wide base-side storage portion 41a. The lid body 26c is formed with lid-side storage portions 40a and 40b having shapes corresponding to the base-side storage portions 41a and 41b, respectively. A similar lid-side storage portion is also formed on the lid body 26b.

  The base side storage part 41a and the lid side storage part 40a can hold the optical fiber cable 7 at an angle in which one side is horizontal as shown by a broken line in FIG. Further, the optical fiber cable 7 can be held by the base side storage portion 41b and the lid side storage portion 40b at an angle rotated 45 degrees to the right or left with respect to the horizontal position as shown by the solid line in FIG. it can. In either case, the optical fiber insertion positions are substantially the same.

  Thus, when the cross-sectional shape is square or substantially square, it can be gripped in four directions with only one base side storage portion as in the prior art, but the configuration described here is not limited to this, and at least A base side storage section is provided to enable gripping in four directions. By providing a total of n base side storage parts (n is a natural number of 2 or more, n = 2 in the example of FIG. 10), an optical fiber holder that can be gripped in the 4n direction can be formed. At this time, the lids 26b and 26c may be formed so as to correspond to the base side storage part.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber cable, 2 ... Optical fiber holder, 11 ... Optical fiber (bare fiber), 12 ... Fiber coating, 13 ... Tension member, 14 ... Jacket | cover, 21 ... Base, 22 ... V-shaped groove | channel, 23 ... groove, 24, 25 ... base side storage section, 26a, 26b, 26c ... lid, 27 ... hinge section, 28b, 28c, 29b, 29c ... cover side storage section.

Claims (4)

An optical fiber holder for holding an optical fiber cable,
A base having a plurality of base-side storage portions for storing optical fiber cables having a non-circular cross section in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction, and the plurality of bases And a lid having a plurality of lid-side storage portions that are arranged to be openable and closable facing the storage portion and have a shape corresponding to the plurality of base-side storage portions. Optical fiber holder.   The plurality of base-side storage portions and lid-side storage portions have shapes for storing optical fiber cables having a rectangular jacket cross section at different angles in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction. The optical fiber holder according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber holder is formed as follows.   The plurality of base-side storage portions and lid-side storage portions have shapes for storing optical fiber cables having an elliptical outer cross section at different angles in a plane perpendicular to the cable length direction. The optical fiber holder according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber holder is formed as follows.   The optical fiber holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a fixing mechanism that fixes the base and the lid in a state where the lid is closed.

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