JP2013140221A - Optical connector cleaning tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for uniformly cleaning a joint surface of an optical connector without using a positioning housing such as an optical connector adapter.SOLUTION: An optical connector cleaning tool 1 comprises: a feed mechanism for supplying and taking back a cleaning body; a housing body 11 for housing the feeding mechanism; a cleaning body pressing member for pressing the cleaning body against a joint surface of the optical connector; and a connector holding member 62 for holding the optical connector down to the cleaning body disposed along a cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member. A connector positioning part is provided on the a pressing member storing wall 83 for storing the cleaning body pressing member, or the connector holding member 62.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector cleaning tool for wiping and cleaning a joint surface of an optical connector by feeding a cleaning tape.

Prior to butt connection, optical connectors may cause damage during mounting and removal or increased transmission loss if dirt or foreign matter adheres to the end face (joint face; hereinafter referred to as joint end face) for butt joining. It is necessary to clean the joint end face.
In view of this, in recent years, a cleaning tool (optical connector cleaning tool) that can be suitably used for cleaning the joining end face of an optical connector has been provided.

The optical connector cleaning tool has a tool main body in which a tape feeding mechanism for feeding and moving a cleaning tape is incorporated, and a cleaning tape wound around the head end protruding from the tool main body is connected to the optical connector by the head end. There is a type in which the joint end face is moved while being pressed against the joint end face, and the joint end face is wiped and cleaned (hereinafter referred to as a first conventional tool, for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, as an optical connector cleaning tool, there is a configuration in which a thread-like cleaning body is wound around a head portion at the tip of a rotatable shaft that can be driven to rotate (hereinafter, referred to as a second conventional tool, for example, Patent Document 2). The optical connector cleaning tool cleans the joint end face by rotating the head part and the rotary shaft around the axis and feeding the thread-like cleaning body while pressing the head part against the joint end face of the optical connector.
The first and second conventional tools have the head portion at the tip of a cylindrical projecting portion projecting from a tool body that can be gripped by a worker with fingers. The cylindrical protruding portion is inserted into the optical connector adapter so that the head portion faces the joining end surface of the optical connector inserted and fitted to the optical connector adapter from the side opposite to the cylindrical protruding portion. The optical connector adapter can be positioned with respect to the optical connector.
The first and second conventional tools also use the receptacle housing as a positioning housing by cleaning the joint end surface of the ferrule incorporated in the optical connector receptacle by inserting the cylindrical protrusion into the connector hole of the receptacle housing. Can be done.

Japanese Patent No. 4163083 Japanese Patent No. 4579330

By the way, the above-mentioned cleaning tools (the first conventional tool and the second conventional tool) not only clean the joint end face of the optical connector inserted and fitted to the optical connector adapter, but also the light not inserted and fitted to the optical connector adapter. It is also used for cleaning the connector end face. In this case, hold the optical connector with the fingers of one hand, hold the cleaning tool with the fingers of the other hand, press the cleaning body wrapped around the head of the cleaning tool against the joining end surface of the optical connector, The cleaning body is fed and moved.
However, the cleaning in this case is not easy to stabilize the pressing direction of the head portion of the cleaning tool against the joining end surface of the optical connector, and the actual situation is that uneven cleaning tends to occur.

By the way, as an optical connector, for example, an SC type optical connector, an MT type optical connector, an MPO type optical connector, and the like that are assembled to the optical fiber front end portion with the front end surface of the optical fiber exposed to the joining end surface are generally used. It is. An optical connector that is assembled by exposing the tip end face of the optical fiber to the joint end face is hereinafter also referred to as a fiber tip exposed optical connector.
Here, the SC type optical connector (SC: Single fiber Coupling optical fiber connector) is an F04 type optical connector established in JIS C 5973, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60874-14: 1993, or IEC 60874. 19: Refers to an optical connector conforming to 1995. The MT type optical connector (MT: Mechanically Transferable) refers to an F12 type optical connector established in JIS C 5981 or an optical connector conforming to IEC 60874-16: 1994. MPO type optical connector (MPO: Multi-fiber Push On) is F13 type optical connector established by JIS C5982, or IEC
It refers to an optical connector conforming to 61754-7.

  In recent years, for example, as an optical connector for mounting an optical element (light receiving element or light emitting element) in a housing mounted on a circuit board and optically coupling an optical fiber to the optical element, the upper surface of the module housing An optical connector having a configuration in which a tip end portion of an optical fiber is inserted and fixed in a direction along the joint surface is formed in a body in which a joint surface to be joined is formed. Hereinafter, this optical connector is also referred to as a surface mount optical connector.

This surface-mount optical connector uses a transparent plastic plate-like body, such as acrylic resin, whose refractive index is greater than that of air, and reflects incident light or outgoing light at the tip of an optical fiber inserted and fixed in the body. Thus, there has been proposed a body provided with a recess that forms a bent optical path that is substantially orthogonal to the joint surface on one side of the body. A part of the inner surface of the recess is a reflecting surface that reflects the incident light or the emitted light. Hereinafter, this surface mount type optical connector is also referred to as a bent optical path transmission type optical connector.
The bent optical path transmission type optical connector is positioned on the optical element, and the joint surface is joined to the upper surface of the housing and attached to the module, so that the optical element and the optical path are formed with an optical path formed through the reflective surface of the recess. Optical coupling with fiber is possible. Note that the optical element of the module can receive and emit light to and from the upper surface side of the housing through a light transmitting window formed in the housing of the module.

  The bent optical path transmission type optical connector is configured such that the optical path of incident light or outgoing light at the tip of an optical fiber inserted and fixed in the body passes through the central portion of the joint surface. In addition, the bent optical path transmission type optical connector has a great influence on the increase in transmission loss due to contamination at the center of the joint surface and the attachment of foreign matter. Therefore, prior to joining the joint surface to the upper surface of the housing of the module, the joint surface center It is necessary to clean the part reliably. However, the actual situation is that there is no optical connector cleaning tool that can easily and easily realize cleaning of the central portion of the joint surface of the bent optical path transmission type optical connector.

The bent optical path transmission type optical connector has been miniaturized, and there are many sizes that are not easily gripped in a desired direction with a fingertip.
In the first and second conventional tools, the operator grips and operates the tool main body with fingers, and aligns and presses the head portion to the center of the joint surface of the bent optical path transmission type optical connector, so that the cleaning tape can be used. It can be pressed against the center of the joint surface of the bent optical path transmission type optical connector. However, in cleaning using this tool, it is difficult to stabilize the pressing direction with respect to the center of the joint surface at the tip of the head, and it is not easy to clean the center of the joint surface without unevenness. In particular, the cleaning of the joint surface of a bent optical path transmission type optical connector having a small size makes it more difficult to stabilize the pressing direction with respect to the center portion of the joint surface at the tip of the head of the tool, and the problem of uneven cleaning tends to become more prominent.

  In view of such circumstances, the actual situation is that the center of the joint surface of the bent optical path transmission type optical connector is manually cleaned using a cotton swab. However, since manual cleaning using a cotton swab depends on the skill of the operator, there is a problem that it is difficult to stably obtain a good cleaning state and workability is low.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector cleaning tool that can clean the joint surface of an optical connector without using a positioning housing such as an optical connector adapter.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following configuration.
1st invention is the optical connector cleaning tool which wipes and cleans the joint surface of an optical connector with the cleaning body moved and moved, Comprising: The feeding mechanism which supplies and takes out the said cleaning body, The said feeding mechanism is accommodated A cleaning body pressing member for bringing the cleaning body into contact with the joint surface of the optical connector, and the cleaning body pressing member for receiving the cleaning body pressing member and disposed along the cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member. And a connector pressing member that is detachably attached to the pressing member housing wall that exposes the cleaned cleaning body, or is slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to the cleaning body receiving surface, and presses the optical connector into the cleaning body. A connector for positioning the optical connector with respect to the cleaning body disposed along the cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member on the connector pressing member or the pressing member housing wall. To provide an optical connector cleaning tool, wherein a motor positioning portion is provided.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical connector, the tip end portion of the optical fiber is inserted and fixed in a direction along the joint surface to the body in which the joint surface is formed, and the optical path of incident light or outgoing light of the optical fiber is set. An optical connector cleaning tool according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with an optical axis changing portion formed on the body so as to be bent with respect to the optical axis at the tip of the optical fiber and pass through the joint surface. .
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical extension portion that is formed integrally with or separately from the housing body and extends forward from the housing body, and a pressing member housing that constitutes a distal end portion of the cylindrical extension portion The cleaning member pressing member is accommodated in the wall, and the connector pressing member is provided on the pressing member accommodating wall so as to be slidably inserted in the axial direction thereof, and is protruded from the cylindrical main body. The optical connector cleaning tool according to the first or second aspect of the present invention further includes a pressing piece portion formed with a connector pressing portion protruding to the front side of the cleaning body pressing member.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the connector pressing member has a finger hook portion that protrudes toward the outer periphery or the rear side of the cylindrical main body and is spaced apart from the housing body to the front side, and grips the housing body. The optical connector cleaning tool according to the third aspect of the present invention is configured such that the finger-hanging portion can be pulled rearward with a finger of a hand.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing groove for housing an optical connector in the connector retaining portion of the retaining piece portion of the connector retaining member, and the connector housing groove on the inner wall surfaces on both sides in the groove width direction of the connector housing groove. A connector holding projection that protrudes at a position spaced from the groove bottom and restricts the optical connector from dropping from the connector housing groove, and the connector housing groove and / or connector holding projection serves as the connector positioning portion; The optical connector cleaning tool according to the third or fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that it functions.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a retaining protrusion is provided on the outer periphery of the pressing member housing wall portion of the cylindrical extending portion so that the cylindrical main body of the connector pressing member comes into contact from the rear side. The light according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein a position where the front end of the member abuts against the retaining protrusion is a movement limit position to the front side of the tool with respect to the pressing member housing wall. A connector cleaning tool is provided.
7th invention has the urging means which elastically urges | biass the support frame which was provided in the said feed mechanism and was accommodated in the said container so that the movement to the front-back direction was possible with respect to the said container. The feeding mechanism includes a supply reel that supplies the cleaning body to the head member, and a take-up reel that winds the cleaning body through the head member, and is attached to the support frame. The part is provided in the feed mechanism and extends from the support frame to the front side thereof, and the container is moved relative to the container relative to the container, so that the take-up reel There is provided an optical connector cleaning tool according to any one of the third to sixth inventions, wherein the optical connector cleaning tool includes a drive unit that rotates and drives the cleaning body in the winding direction.

  According to the present invention, the connector pressing member can press the optical connector into the cleaning body arranged along the cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member. Moreover, the connector pressing member and / or the connector positioning portion provided on the pressing member housing wall can be cleaned in a state where the joining surface of the optical connector is aligned with the cleaning body. Therefore, the optical connector can be cleaned evenly without using a positioning housing such as an optical connector adapter.

It is a perspective view which shows the optical connector cleaning tool of one Embodiment of the optical connector cleaning tool of this invention. It is a perspective view of the optical connector cleaning tool of the said embodiment of the state which removed the connector pressing member. It is a front sectional view of the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a front view which shows the drive body used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the said embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the internal structure of the optical connector cleaning tool of the said embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the head member used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the press member accommodation wall part near the head member of the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a front cross section of FIG. 7. It is a top view which shows the accommodating part of the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a top view which shows the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a front view which shows the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a perspective view from the bottom face side which shows the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the embodiment. It is a perspective view of the guide member used for the traverse mechanism of the feed mechanism. It is a perspective view of the rotation member used for the traverse mechanism of the feed mechanism. It is process drawing which shows the usage method of the optical connector cleaning tool of the said embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance on the opposite side to FIG. 1 of a container. It is a perspective view which shows a structure from the front side of a connector pressing member. It is a perspective view which shows a structure from the rear surface side of a connector pressing member. It is a figure explaining the structure of a connector pressing member, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a figure which shows the structure seen from the holding piece part side, (c) is a top view, (d) is from a finger-hanging part side. The figure which shows the structure seen, (e) is a front view, (f) is a front sectional view. It is an enlarged view explaining the relationship between a connector attaching part and an optical connector. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the optical connector of cleaning object. It is a figure which shows an example of the optical connector (optical connector with an optical axis change part) cleaned using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. 1, Comprising: (a) is the figure (plan view) seen from the back side, (b) Is a side view, and (c) is a view (bottom view) as seen from the joint surface side. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the operation | work which cleans an optical connector using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the operation | work which cleans an optical connector using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the operation | work which cleans an optical connector using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the operation | work which cleans an optical connector using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. It is process drawing which shows operation | movement of the feed mechanism used for the optical connector cleaning tool of the said embodiment, (a) is sectional drawing which shows an initial state, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the state which the container moved forward It is. It is the figure which showed Drawing 28 (a) and (b) in the state where the front cylinder member was removed. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the groove part of an optical connector, and the protrusion part of the front-end | tip head part of a head member. It is a perspective view explaining the example which attaches a cover member to the optical connector outer side of FIG. 23, and cleans a joint surface using the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG. FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining the next process of FIG. 31. It is a figure explaining the positioning state by the front cylinder member front-end part of the optical connector with a cover of FIG. It is a figure which shows the optical connector with a cover which attached the cover member to the optical connector of FIG. 23, Comprising: (a) is the figure seen from the back side (plan view), (b) is a side view, (c) These are the figures (bottom view) seen from the joint surface side. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cover member mounted on the outside of the optical connector in FIG. 23, where (a) is a perspective view seen from the back side, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the cover opening side opposite to the back side. It is. It is a perspective view explaining the other example of the optical connector cleaning tool of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the optical connector cleaning tool of FIG.

Hereinafter, an optical connector cleaning tool 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “cleaning tool”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the cleaning tool 1 includes a feed mechanism 3 (see FIG. 3) that supplies and takes up (winds) the cleaning body 2, and a support frame 35 in which the feed mechanism 3 is assembled. The housing 11 accommodates the support frame 35 and the cylindrical extension 20 extends from the support frame 35 to the outside of the housing 11. In addition, the cleaning tool 1 includes a head member 23 (cleaning body pressing member) that presses the cleaning body 2 against the joint surface of the optical connector 70 at the tip of the cylindrical extension portion 20 (hereinafter also simply referred to as an extension portion). And a connector pressing member 62 that presses the optical connector 70 against the cleaning body 2 so as to sandwich the cleaning body 2 between the optical member 70 and the head member 23.
In the following description, the extending direction of the extending part 20 with respect to the support frame 35, that is, the front end side (right side in FIG. 3) of the extending part 20 will be described as the front, and the opposite direction will be described as the rear.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container 11 includes a cylindrical case portion 12 and a drive body 13 that is positioned in the case portion 12 and is incorporated with respect to the case portion 12.
At the front end of the case portion 12, an insertion port 12a through which the extending portion 20 is inserted is formed. At the rear end of the case portion 12, an opening portion 12 b for taking in and out the feeding mechanism 3 and the like is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the driving body 13 includes a long plate-like substrate 53, an insertion convex portion 54 that protrudes from the inner surface 53 a of the substrate 53 in the thickness direction of the substrate 53, A thick plate portion 55 formed on one side edge portion so as to protrude toward the inner surface 53 a side, a pressing portion 57 formed on the front end portion of the substrate 53, and an inner surface 53 a side extending from the rear end portion of the substrate 53. The rear end plate 58 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a sawtooth gear receiving portion 56 (drive portion) is formed on the inner surface of the thick plate portion 55.
The gear receiving portion 56 is a driving portion that rotates the take-up reel 31 in the take-up direction by the forward movement of the drive body 13 with respect to the feed mechanism 3, and includes a plurality of receive-tooth portions 56 a arranged in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 53. Become.
In this embodiment, the sawtooth gear receiving portion 56 is employed, but the configuration for driving the take-up reel 31 is not limited to this, and a force in the rotational direction can be applied to the take-up reel 31. As long as it is possible, other configurations may be employed, such as one that abuts the outer peripheral edge of the take-up reel 31 and applies a rotational force to the take-up reel 31 by friction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pressing portion 57 includes a pressing plate 57 a that presses the urging means 40 and a cylindrical holding cylinder portion 57 b formed on the periphery thereof. Here, the pressing plate 57 a is formed so as to protrude from the inner surface of the substrate 53 in the thickness direction of the substrate 53 and to be orthogonal to the front-rear direction. The holding cylinder portion 57b regulates the positional deviation of the urging means 40 and is formed so as to accommodate the rear end portion of the urging means 40.

As shown in FIG. 5, a locking protrusion 53 b is formed to protrude from the outer surface 53 c of the substrate 53 of the driving body 13. As shown in FIG. 17, the locking projection 53 b can be locked in the locking hole 12 c of the case portion 12.
The driving body 13 is positioned with respect to the case portion 12 by the locking projections 53b being locked in the locking holes 12c, and moves together with the case portion 12 with respect to the support frame 35.

As shown in FIG. 6, the head member 23 includes an insertion portion 91 that can be inserted into the insertion hole 87 of the guide tube portion 81, a generally block-shaped tip head portion 28 formed at the front end of the insertion portion 91, And flange portions 92 projecting on both sides of the rear end of the front end head portion 28.
The distal end surface of the distal end head portion 28 becomes a pressing surface 24 (cleaning body receiving surface) that presses the cleaning body 2 against the joining surface 72 (see FIGS. 23B and 23C) of the optical connector 70.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, guide slits 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B that guide the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 from the proximal end portion toward the distal end direction are formed in the distal end head portion 28. Further, a guide opening 25 is formed in the distal end head portion 28 from the front end portion of the guide slit 26 to the outer surface of the distal end head portion 28.
Here, the guide opening 25 guides the cleaning body 2 from the feeding mechanism 3 (supply reel 30) to the pressing surface 24 (or the cleaning body 2 that has passed through the pressing surface 24 is guided to the feeding mechanism 3 (guide of the traverse mechanism 120). For guiding to the member 122 and the take-up reel 31). Thus, the guide opening 25 of the distal end head portion 28 prevents the cleaning body 2 from coming off the pressing surface 24.

As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the insertion part 91 of the head member 23 is formed in plate shape. As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of flat rotation stop surfaces 84 are formed in parallel to each other inside the front end portion of the guide tube portion 81. The insertion portion 91 opens between the pair of rotation stop surfaces 84 with the flat portion 93A on the one surface side and the flat portion 93B on the other surface side along the pair of rotation stop surfaces 84 at the front end of the guide tube portion 81. It is inserted into the insertion hole 87 and is prevented from rotating with respect to the guide tube portion 81. Thereby, the head member 23 is prevented from rotating about the axis with respect to the guide tube portion 81.
The insertion portion 91 is formed with an elastic piece 93b having an engaging claw 93a. The engaging claw 93a can restrict the forward movement of the head member 23 by engaging with the front edge of an engaging opening 81a (engaging recess) (see FIG. 5) formed in the guide cylinder 81. it can.

  Reference numeral 94 in FIG. 8 indicates an urging means (for example, a spring member such as a coil spring) provided between the front end of the guide cylinder portion 81 and the flange portion 92 of the head member 23. The urging means 94 is for elastically urging the head member 23 pressed against the joining surface 72 of the optical connector 70 forward.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, a tape-shaped cleaning body 2 (cleaning tape) drawn from the supply reel 30 is wound around the head member 23.
The cleaning body 2 is not particularly limited as long as the cleaning body 2 is a tape that is soft enough to be continuously drawn out and continuous in one direction. Can be used that is processed into a tape shape. Specifically, for example, a tape composed of ultrafine fibers such as polyester and nylon can be used. The width of the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 is preferably about 1.0 to 2.5 mm, and the thickness is preferably about 0.1 to 0.2 mm.

The tape-shaped cleaning body 2 reaches the head member 23 from the supply reel 30 through the insertion hole 87 penetrating the inside of the guide tube portion 81. In this head member 23, the cleaning body 2 reaches the pressing surface 24 of the distal end head portion 28 through the flat portion 93 </ b> A of the insertion portion 91 and the guide slit 26 </ b> A, and the guide port portion 25, the guide slit 26 </ b> B, the passage port 92 </ b> B, Winding is performed so as to reach the take-up reel 31 through the portion 93B, the insertion hole 87, and the guide member 122 of the traverse mechanism 120 described later.
Conversely, the tape-like cleaning body 2 reaches the head member 23 from the supply reel 30 through the insertion hole 87 inside the guide cylinder 81 and passes through the flat portion 93B, the passage port 92B, the guide slit 26B, and the guide port portion 25. It can be wound so as to reach the pressing surface 24, pass through the guide slit 26 </ b> A, the flat portion 93 </ b> A, the insertion hole 87, and further reach the take-up reel 31 through the guide member 122 of the traverse mechanism 120.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 9 to 13, the feed mechanism 3 winds the supply reel 30 (supply means) around which the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 is wound and the cleaning body 2 after use. A take-up reel 31 (take-up means) to be collected is included. The feed mechanism 3 includes a first gear 38 attached to one end of the take-up reel 31, a second gear 130 fixed to the other end of the take-up reel 31, and the head member 23. And a guide member 122 through which the passed tape-shaped cleaning body 2 passes. The feed mechanism 3 prevents the guide member 122 from rotating in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 and at the same time allows linear movement in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 ( Rail-shaped rotation preventing member 138 for guiding), rotating member 126 for engaging and guiding the guide member 122 back and forth in the direction, and rotation of the take-up reel 31 by the rotating member 126. And an intermediate rotation transmission body 128 for transmission to the motor. The feed mechanism 3 includes a support frame 35 that rotatably supports the supply reel 30, the take-up reel 31, the rotating member 126, and the intermediate rotation transmitting body 128.

  Here, the second gear 130, the guide member 122, the rotation prevention member 138, the rotation member 126, and the intermediate rotation transmission body 128 set the travel position of the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 to the take-up reel 31. A traverse mechanism 120 is configured to reciprocate in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 at a position immediately before. The intermediate rotation transmission body 128 is configured by a large diameter gear 128A and a small diameter gear 128B that are concentrically provided in two stages, and the rotation member 126 is configured by a driven gear portion 126A and a cylindrical portion 126B that are provided coaxially. Has been. The rotating member 126 constitutes a motion converting mechanism for converting the rotational motion interlocked with the rotation of the take-up reel 31 into the reciprocating linear motion of the guide member 122. Details of these will be described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the support frame 35 includes a substrate 41, a supply reel support shaft 32 that rotatably supports the supply reel 30, and a take-up reel support shaft that rotatably supports the take-up reel 31. 33, a rotation member support shaft 136 that rotatably supports the rotation member 126, an intermediate rotation transmission body support shaft 132 that rotatably supports the intermediate rotation transmission body 128, and side plates formed on both side edges of the substrate 41. 44A, 44B, a partition plate 43 provided between both side plates 44A, 44B, and a front end plate 46 formed at the front end of the substrate 41. Here, the partition plate 43 is for partitioning the space between the side plates 44 </ b> A and 44 </ b> B into the cylindrical body base accommodating portion 36 and the biasing means accommodating portion 37.

The cylindrical body base accommodating portion 36 is formed so as to accommodate the cylindrical base portion 81 b of the guide cylindrical portion 81 constituting the extending portion 20. In the vicinity of the rear end of one side plate 44A, a restricting plate 42A for restricting rearward movement of the cylinder base 81b is formed, and for restricting rearward movement of the cylinder base 81b also at the rear end of the partition plate 43. A plate 42B is formed. Further, the front end plate 46 is formed with a recess 46a through which the extending portion 20 is inserted.
With such a configuration, the cylinder base housing portion 36 restricts the backward movement of the cylinder base 81b by the restriction plates 42A and 42B, and restricts the forward movement by the front end plate 46.

  The urging means accommodating portion 37 is a space between the other side plate 44 </ b> B and the partition plate 43 and accommodates the urging means 40. On the other hand, on the rear surface of the front end plate 46, a holding projection 39 that is inserted into the front end portion of the urging means 40 in the urging means accommodating portion 37 and positions the urging means 40 is formed to protrude rearward (FIG. 3). reference).

Here, the positions of the support shafts 32, 33, 132, and 136 are the supply reel 30, the rotation member 126 and guide member 122 of the traverse mechanism 120, and the installation position (front-rear direction position) of the take-up reel 31. It is determined to be closer to the rear than the portion 36 and the biasing means accommodating portion 37.
In the illustrated example, the supply reel support shaft 32 is located behind the take-up reel support shaft 33 so that the supply reel 30 is located behind the traverse mechanism 120 (the rotation member 126 and the guide member 122) and the take-up reel 31. It has been established. Further, the take-up reel support shaft 33 is defined behind the rotary member support shaft 136 and the intermediate gear support shaft 132 so that the take-up reel 31 is positioned behind the traverse mechanism 120 (the rotary member 126 and the guide member 122). It has been.

  The board 41 is formed with extension plates 45A and 45B extending perpendicularly to the radial direction of the reels 30 and 31, and the ends of the extension plates 45A and 45B project toward the reels 30 and 31, respectively. Locking claws 45Aa and 45Ba are formed. Each of the extending plates 45A and 45B can be elastically bent and deformed, and each of the locking claws 45Aa and 45Ba can move in a direction toward and away from the reels 30 and 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the supply reel 30 includes a body 47 </ b> A around which the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 to be fed is wound, a first flange plate 48 </ b> A provided at one end of the body 47 </ b> A, And a second flange plate 49A provided at the other end of 47A. Similarly, the take-up reel 31 is also provided at the body 47B around which the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 is wound, the first flange plate 48B provided at one end of the body 47B, and the other end of the body 47B. A second flange plate 49B. A plurality of locking recesses (not shown) arranged in the circumferential direction are formed on the outer surfaces of the first flange plates 48A and 48B, and the locking claws 45Aa and 45Ba of the extension plates 45A and 45B are formed. Is engaged with the locking recess to prevent the reels 30 and 31 from rotating in the reverse direction. A plurality of locking projections (not shown) arranged in the circumferential direction are formed on the outer surfaces of the second flange plates 49A and 49B. The reels 30 and 31 are mounted on the support frame 35 by inserting support shafts 32 and 33 (see FIG. 9) through the body portions 47A and 47B.

Further, the first gear 38 is disposed on the outer surface side of the second flange plate 49B of the take-up reel 31, and the second gear is disposed on the outer surface side of the first flange plate 48B of the take-up reel 31. 130 is fixed.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the first gear 38 includes a disk-shaped substrate 89 and a gear portion 88 formed on one surface of the substrate 89. On the other surface of the substrate 89, a locking projection (not shown) that is locked to a locking projection (not shown) of the take-up reel 31 is formed. The gear portion 88 has a tooth portion 88 a that meshes with the receiving tooth portion 56 a of the gear receiving portion 56 of the drive body 13. Here, the first gear 38 is disposed so as to overlap the second flange plate 49B of the take-up reel 31, and the locking projection (not shown) of the substrate 89 is locked to the locking projection (not shown) of the second flange plate 49B. The take-up reel 31 also rotates as the first gear 38 rotates. On the other hand, when the first gear 38 rotates in the direction opposite to the winding direction, the locking projection (not shown) is not locked to the locking projection (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the urging means 40 urges the container 11 that has been relatively moved forward to urge the support frame 35 backward and includes a spring member such as a coil spring. Are preferably used. In that case, a reaction force can be applied to the front end plate 46 (see FIG. 9) to urge the pressing portion 57 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the driving body 13 backward.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, 7, and 8, the cylindrical extension portion 20 is externally attached to the guide cylinder portion 81 and the guide cylinder portion 81 so as to be slidable in the axial direction (the tool longitudinal direction). The rear cylinder member 82 is provided by being inserted, and the front cylinder member 83 is provided by being externally attached to the front end portion of the rear cylinder member 82.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the guide cylinder portion 81 is a block-shaped block assembled into the support frame 35 by being incorporated in the cylinder base housing portion 36 of the support frame 35 (see FIG. 3) as described above. It has a cylinder base part 81b and an extending cylinder part 81c extending from the cylinder base part 81b to the front side.
A pair of protrusions 81d extending in parallel with each other in the front-rear direction are provided on the side of the cylindrical body 81b facing the drive body 13, and the insertion protrusion of the drive body 13 is interposed between the pair of protrusions 81d. A convex guide groove 81e into which the portion 54 is inserted is secured.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rear cylinder member 82 has a locking claw 81 f that protrudes from the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the extended cylinder portion 81 c of the guide cylinder portion 81 in the locking elongated hole 82 a formed at the rear end portion. I'm getting in. The locking hole 82 a is formed so as to be elongated along the axial direction of the rear cylinder member 82. The rear cylinder member 82 has a rear end between the position where the rear end abuts the cylinder base 81b of the guide cylinder 81 and a position where the rear end of the engagement long hole 82a engages the engagement claw 81f. Thus, it can be slid relative to the guide tube portion 81.
The rear cylinder member 82 is guided by the rear cylinder urging means 85 interposed between the flange 82b projecting from the outer periphery of the rear end and the cylinder base 81b of the guide cylinder 81. Is elastically biased toward the tool front side. The rear cylinder urging means 85 in the illustrated example is specifically a coil spring, and is extrapolated from the flange portion 82b of the rear cylinder member 82 to the rear portion and the extended cylinder portion 81c of the guide cylinder portion 81, It is interposed between the flange portion 82 b of the rear cylinder member 82 and the cylinder base portion 81 b of the guide cylinder portion 81.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the front tube member 83 is formed in a rectangular tube shape. The front cylinder member 83 has its rear end portion extrapolated to the front end portion of the rear cylinder member 82. The inner hole of the front cylinder member 83 is formed narrower on the front side than the rear end part from the rear end part capable of accommodating the rear cylinder member 82. The front cylinder member 83 has a stepped surface 83a at the boundary between the rear end portion of the inner hole and the front side portion thereof in contact with the front end surface of the rear cylinder member 82. Further, the front cylinder member 83 is attached to the rear cylinder member 82 by fitting a fixing protrusion 82c protruding from the outer periphery of the front end portion of the rear cylinder member 82 into a locking hole 83b formed at the rear end thereof. .

The protrusion dimension of the fixed projection 82c from the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the rear cylinder member 82 is slight, and the front cylinder member 83 is strongly pulled in the front direction with respect to the rear cylinder member 82, so that the rear cylinder member 82 is separated from the rear cylinder member 82. It is possible to extract. The front cylinder member 83 can be easily removed from the rear cylinder member 82 by cleaning the inside thereof.
The fixing protrusion 82c functions to lock the front cylinder member 83 so that it does not inadvertently come out of the front end portion of the rear cylinder member 82.

  Here, in the feed mechanism 3, the traveling position of the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 that has passed through the head member 23 is reciprocated in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 at a position before reaching the take-up reel 31. The traverse mechanism 120 for this will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

  The traverse mechanism 120 includes a guide member 122 as shown in FIG. 14, a rotation member 126 as shown in FIG. 15 as the motion conversion mechanism, and the rotation prevention member 138 described above. Among these, the guide member 122 is formed as a long plate-like plate as a whole, and is arranged so that the thickness direction thereof is parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31. The guide member 122 is formed with a through guide portion 124 penetrating in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction (that is, a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31), and the length direction of the guide member 122 A concave groove portion 122A having a U-shaped cross-section, into which the rotation preventing member 138 is inserted so as to be relatively slidable, is formed along the thickness direction on one end side, and on the other end side in the length direction. A through hole 122C having a substantially circular cross section through which the cylindrical portion 126B of the rotating member 126 passes is formed along the thickness direction, and the rotating member cylindrical portion 126B is formed in a part of the inside of the through hole 122C. A protrusion-like engagement portion 122D is formed which is inserted into a continuous groove-like engagement guide portion 126D formed on the outer peripheral surface 126C.

  The through guide portion 124 of the guide member 122 has a minimum width in the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 (and hence the linear reciprocating direction of the guide member 122) in the cross-sectional shape of the inner space. For example, the cross-sectional shape is rectangular or elliptical (rectangular in the illustrated example) so that the minimum interval in the direction perpendicular to the width is smaller than the tape width W. Yes. Further, both end portions in the penetration direction (near the open end) of the inner surface of the penetration guide portion 124 are formed so that their inner surfaces expand toward the outside in a smooth taper shape.

  On the other hand, the rotation preventing member 138 has a rail shape as a whole, and is arranged such that the rail length direction is along the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31, and the rotation preventing member 138 is The guide member 122 has a convex blocking surface 138A corresponding to the concave groove 122A having a U-shaped cross section. Then, the convex blocking surface 138A of the rotation blocking member 138 is inserted into the concave groove 122A of the guide member 122 so as to be relatively slidable, and the guide member 138 in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 is inserted. At the same time as the rotation is blocked, linear movement of the guide member 122 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31 is allowed or guided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15, the rotating member 126 includes a cylindrical portion 126B having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 126C, and a driven gear portion 126A fixed to one end side in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 126B. ing. Then, on the outer peripheral surface 126C of the cylindrical portion 126B, a continuous groove-shaped engagement guide portion 126D with which the protruding engagement portion 122D of the guide member 122 is engaged is formed. The continuous groove-like engagement guide portion 126D is continuously endless in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion outer peripheral surface 126C, and the position of the outer peripheral surface 126C in the direction parallel to the axial direction is continuous along the axial direction. It is determined to be displaced. Specifically, the locus P on the outer peripheral surface 126C of the cylindrical portion 126B of the engagement guide portion 126 becomes a sine wave or a wave close to it when the outer peripheral surface 126C is developed in a planar shape, and the 360 ° orbit. It is determined to return to the original position at the position. Note that the locus of the engagement guide portion 126D on the outer circumferential surface 126C of the cylindrical portion is expressed as a peripheral shape of an elliptical cross section that appears when the cylindrical portion 126B is cut by a plane inclined with respect to the axis thereof or a shape close thereto. You can also
Here, the column portion 126B of the rotating member 126 is expressed as “column”, but this does not mean that it is limited to a solid column in a strict sense, and includes a hollow cylinder. Of course.

  Further, the cylindrical portion 126B of the rotating member 126 is inserted into the through hole 122C of the guide member 122 so as to be relatively slidable, and the protrusion-like engaging portion 122D on the inner surface of the through hole 122C has a rotating member cylindrical portion. 126B is inserted into (engaged with) a relatively grooved engagement guide portion 126D on the outer circumferential surface 126C of the engagement guide portion 126D so as to be relatively slidable in the length direction (continuous direction) of the engagement guide portion 126D.

  Here, the rotation member 126 described above is rotatably supported so that the rotation axis thereof is parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31. Then, the driven gear portion 126A on one end side of the rotating member 126 meshes with the small diameter gear 128B of the intermediate rotation transmitting body 128 as shown in FIG. The intermediate rotation transmission body 128 is obtained by superimposing the small-diameter gear 128B and the large-diameter gear 128B so as to be centered on a common axis, and has an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up reel 31. It is rotatably supported as the center. The large-diameter gear 128 </ b> A of the intermediate rotation transmission body 128 meshes with the second gear 130 fixed to the first flange plate 48 </ b> B of the take-up reel 31.

Therefore, when the take-up reel 31 rotates, the rotation of the take-up reel 31 is transmitted to the rotating member 126 via the intermediate rotation transmitting body 128 and rotates about the axis. The engaging guide portion 126D of the rotating member 126 is slidably engaged with the engaging portion 122D of the guide member 122, and the position of the engaging guide portion 126D is axial as described above. Is determined so as to be continuously displaced. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C, the guide member 122 is linearly moved in the direction along the rotation axis along with the rotation of the rotating member 126. In addition, since the engagement guide portion 126D is continuously endless in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 126C, the linear motion of the guide member 122 accompanying the rotation of the rotating member 126 is a reciprocating motion of a predetermined stroke. It becomes. Here, when viewed from the operation surface as described above, the engagement guide portion 126D and the engagement portion 122D move the guide member 122 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the rotation member 126 when the rotation member 126 rotates. It can also be said that it is made into a shape that can be reciprocated.
16A to 16C, T is the moving distance of one way of the reciprocating rotating member 126, W is the tape width of the tape-like cleaning body 2 (cleaning tape), and L is the winding reel 31. This is the distance between the flanges. 16A to 16C show the gear ratio among the second gear 130, the large-diameter gear 128A, the small-diameter gear 128B, and the driven gear portion 126A. In the illustrated example, the take-up reel 31 rotates six times. In this example, the rotation member 126 is determined to rotate once.

Next, the connector pressing member 62 of the cleaning tool 1 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 18 to 20 (a) to 20 (f), the connector pressing member 62 in the illustrated example is a cylindrical main body 63 that is externally attached to the front cylindrical member 83 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. And a gate-shaped holding piece 64 projecting forward from the cylindrical main body 63 and a finger hook 65 projecting rearward from the cylindrical main body 63.
The finger hooking portion 65 is formed to be curved so as to be separated from the axis of the cylindrical main body 63 as it goes to the rear side of the tool from one of the four side wall portions of the cylindrical main body 63 having a rectangular tube appearance.

The connector pressing member 62 is against the front cylinder member 83 from a rear side thereof against a retaining protrusion 83c (see FIG. 24, etc.) in which the front end of the cylindrical main body 63 projects from the outer periphery of the front end of the front cylinder member 83. The contact position is a front limit position for the front cylinder member 83. However, the retaining protrusion 83c in the illustrated example has inclined surfaces (curved surfaces in the illustrated example) on the front and rear sides thereof,
By pulling the cylindrical main body 63 strongly with respect to the front cylindrical member 83, the cylindrical main body 63 can get over the retaining projection 83c and be extracted from the front cylindrical member 83. Further, it is possible to extrapolate the cylindrical main body 63 of the connector pressing member 62 in a state removed from the front cylindrical member 53 from the front end of the front cylindrical member 83.

The front tube member 83 is formed in a rectangular tube shape having a rectangular cross section. The cylindrical main body 63 of the connector pressing member 62 has an elongated octagonal shape in which the cross-sectional outer shape of the inner hole is in surface contact with the four outer peripheral surfaces of the front cylindrical member 83. The cylindrical main body 63 of the connector pressing member 62 can be inserted into the front cylindrical member 83 only in two specific directions.
The extending portion 20 of the cleaning tool 1 in the illustrated example has a biasing means 40 inside the housing 11 and a guide tube portion 81 in front of the housing 11 in order to shorten the length of the cleaning tool 1 in the extending direction (front-rear direction). Are arranged at a position shifted from the center of the front end of the container 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector pressing member 62 has a cylindrical body whose finger-hanging portion 65 faces in a direction opposite to the direction in which the extending portion 20 is displaced with respect to the virtual extension of the central axis of the elongated container-shaped container 11. It can be attached to the front cylinder member 83 only in the direction protruding from 63 (first direction) and the direction protruding in the opposite direction to FIG. It is. When the connector pressing member 62 is attached in the first direction, it is advantageous in terms of space saving as compared with the second direction. For example, the cleaning tool 1 is inserted into a narrow work space so that the optical fiber bonding surface is provided. There is an advantage that the cleaning work can be performed easily.

The container 11 is formed in an elongated shape that an operator can hold with fingers.
The finger-holding portion 65 of the connector pressing member 62 that is attached by extrapolating the cylindrical main body 63 to the front cylindrical member 83 is disposed at a position where it can be pulled using the fingers of the hand that holds the container 11.
Note that the shape of the finger hooking portion 65 is not limited to the shape shown in the drawing as long as it can be pulled using the fingers of the hand holding the container 11.
The finger-hanging portion 65 may have a shape that protrudes from the rear end of the cylindrical main body 63 in a direction perpendicular to the axis line, for example.

The connector pressing member 62 in the illustrated example is an integrally molded product made of plastic.
The holding piece 64 extends perpendicularly to the axial direction of the cylindrical body 63 from a pair of leg portions 64a protruding in the axial direction of the cylindrical body 63 from the side walls facing each other through the inner hole of the cylindrical main body 63. It is comprised in the gate shape bridged by the bridge part 64b to do.

A connector attachment portion 66 for attaching an optical connector 70 for cleaning the joint surface using the cleaning tool 1 is formed at the central portion in the extending direction of the bridging portion 64b.
A central portion in the extending direction of the bridging portion 64b is a position facing the pressing surface 24 in front of the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28 of the head member 23 accommodated inside the front cylindrical member 83. Is arranged.
As shown in FIGS. 18, 19, and 21, the connector mounting portion 66 has a connector housing groove for housing the optical connector 70 on the side facing the tip head portion 28 at the center in the extending direction of the bridging portion 64 b. 66a and a connector holding projection 66b that restricts the optical connector 70 housed in the connector housing groove 66a from dropping out of the connector housing groove 66a.

Here, an example of the optical connector 70 will be described.
FIGS. 22 and 23 (a) to (c) show an example of an optical connector to be applied for cleaning the joint surface using the optical connector cleaning tool 1.

The optical connector 70 illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23 (a) to 23 (c) is a transparent plastic plate having a refractive index larger than that of air, such as an acrylic resin, as a body for interpolating and fixing an optical fiber tip. The body 71 is used.
The distal end portion of the optical fiber 61 is inserted and fixed in the body 71 of the illustrated optical connector 70 in a direction along the joint surface 72 of one surface of the body 71. Further, the body 71 is formed with a recess 73 that reflects the incident light or outgoing light at the tip of the optical fiber 61 to form a bent optical path H (see FIG. 23B) intersecting the joint surface 72. Has been. The recess 73 is located on the optical axis at the tip of the optical fiber 61 (specifically, the optical axis at the tip of a bare optical fiber 61b described later).

  The optical axis of the joint surface 72 and the tip of the optical fiber 61 is arranged on the optical fiber 61 side of the recess 73 so that the distance from the joint surface 72 of the body 71 increases as the tip of the optical fiber 61 is approached. An inner surface 73a that is inclined with respect to the inner surface is formed. The recess 73 serves as a reflection surface (optical axis changing unit) in which the inner surface 73a reflects incident light or emitted light at the tip of the optical fiber 61 due to a difference in refractive index between the body 71 and the air inside the recess 73. Function. Hereinafter, the inner surface 73a is also referred to as a reflective surface.

In the optical connector 70 illustrated in FIG. 22 and FIGS. 23A to 23C, the reflection surface 73 a is bent so as to intersect the central portion of the joint surface 72 in a direction along a virtual vertical line perpendicular to the joint surface 72. The optical path H is formed.
The outgoing light emitted from the tip of the optical fiber 61 travels through the body 71 of the optical connector 70 along the optical path H and is emitted from the center of the joint surface 72. Incident light that enters the optical fiber 61 from the joint surface 72 side of the optical connector 70 travels through the body 71 along the optical path H and enters the optical fiber 61 from its tip.

  The optical connector 70 illustrated in FIG. 22 and FIGS. 23A to 23C uses an optical fiber ribbon 61A as the optical fiber 61, and the tip of the optical fiber ribbon 61A is inserted and fixed to the body 71. It has a configuration. A bare optical fiber 61b is led out at the tip of the optical fiber ribbon 61A. The optical fiber ribbon 61A includes a body 71 having a tip end portion of a tape-like covering portion 61a in which a plurality of bare optical fibers 61b are collectively covered with a covering material and a bare optical fiber 61b protruding from the tip end of the covering portion 61a. And is fixed to the body 71.

The body 71 is formed in a rectangular plate shape having a substantially rectangular joining surface 72. The distal end portion of the covering portion 61a of the optical fiber ribbon 61A is inserted and fixed in a hole (not shown) that extends from one longitudinal end of the body 71 toward the central portion. The plurality of bare optical fibers 61b protruding from the tip of the covering portion 61a of the optical fiber ribbon 61A are parallel to each other in a direction along the joining surface 72 by a positioning groove or positioning hole (not shown) formed in the body 71. Positioned with high accuracy.
The optical fiber ribbon 61 </ b> A is fixed to the body 71 such that the bare optical fiber 61 b protruding from both surfaces of the tape-shaped covering portion 61 a and the tip of the covering portion 61 a is along the joining surface 72 of the body 71.

  The optical path H is formed for each of the plurality of bare optical fibers 61b by the reflecting surface 73a. Specifically, the optical path H is incident on or emitted from the distal end surface of the bare optical fiber 61b (incident light incident on the bare optical fiber 61b from the distal end surface, or emitted from the distal end surface of the bare optical fiber 61b). Light path of the emitted light).

  The tip of each bare optical fiber 61b (tip of the optical fiber 61) is spaced from the reflecting surface 73a of the recess 73. A part of the body 71 exists between the distal end surface of the bare optical fiber 61b and the reflecting surface 73a. The surface of the body 71 that faces the distal end surface of the bare optical fiber 61b is formed substantially perpendicular to the optical axis at the distal end of the bare optical fiber 61b. The bare optical fiber 61b is optically coupled to the body 71 with its distal end face disposed or abutted against it.

In the optical connector 70, a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the joint surface 72 of the body 71 is hereinafter also referred to as a width direction. The plurality of bare optical fibers 61b led out at the tip of the optical fiber ribbon 61A are arranged side by side in the body 71 width direction in the body 71.
The recess 73 of the body 71 is opposite to the joint surface 72 of the body 71 in order to form the optical paths H parallel to each other with respect to the plurality of bare optical fibers 61b of the optical fiber ribbon 61A by the reflecting surface 73a. The groove is recessed from the back surface 76 and extends in the width direction of the body 71.

As shown in FIG. 23 (c), the optical path H formed for each of the plurality of bare optical fibers 61b of the optical fiber ribbon 61A by the reflecting surface 73a is the longitudinal direction of the joint surface 72 of the body 71. It is arranged in a row in the body width direction at the center.
Hereinafter, the region in which the optical path H at the center in the longitudinal direction of the joint surface 72 is arranged is also referred to as an incident / exit region 77.
As shown in FIGS. 23B and 23C, a groove 74 extending in the body width direction is formed in the longitudinal center of the joint surface 72 of the body 71. Specifically, the optical paths H formed by the reflective surface 73a for the plurality of bare optical fibers 61b of the optical fiber ribbon 61A are formed so as to pass through the groove bottom surface 74a of the groove 74. In the illustrated optical connector 70, the groove bottom surface 74 a of the groove portion 74 serves as the incident / exit region 77.
In addition, the groove bottom surface 74 a of the groove portion 74 of the optical connector 70 in the illustrated example is formed on a flat surface along the bonding surface 72.

Next, the usage method of the cleaning tool 1 using the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 and an example of operation | movement of each part at the time of use are demonstrated.
Here, as an example, a case where the bonding surface 72 of the optical connector 70 described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23 is cleaned using the cleaning tool 1 will be described.

The optical connector 70 has a large influence on transmission loss (increased transmission loss) if dirt or foreign matter adheres to the longitudinal center of the joint surface 72 including the groove bottom surface 74a. For this reason, the longitudinal direction center part of the joining surface 72 including the groove bottom surface 74a of the optical connector 70 is highly required to remove dirt and foreign matters by cleaning.
In the present specification, the longitudinal center portion of the joining surface 72 of the optical connector 70 is treated as including the groove bottom surface 74a.

In order to clean the joining surface 72 of the optical connector 70 using the cleaning tool 1, first, the optical connector 70 is attached to the connector attachment portion 66 of the connector pressing member 62 as shown in FIG. 24.
The operation of attaching the optical connector 70 to the connector attachment portion 66 may be performed by arranging the bridge portion 64b at a position separated from the front end of the front tube member 83 to the front side in view of ensuring workability (state of FIG. 24), Alternatively, it is performed in a state where it is detached from the front cylinder member 83.
In this attachment operation, the optical connector 70 is accommodated in the connector accommodation groove 66 a of the connector attachment portion 66.

The connector receiving groove 66a is formed in the extending direction of the bridging portion 64b and the axial direction of the cylindrical main body 63 on the side facing the distal end head portion 28 in the central portion of the bridging portion 64b of the pressing piece 64. It is formed extending in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 19 and the like, the connector receiving groove 66a is open on both sides of the bridging portion 64b.
Further, the connector holding protrusion 66b protrudes at a position separated from the connector receiving groove groove bottom on the inner wall surface on both sides in the groove width direction of the connector receiving groove 66a. In the connector holding member 62 of the illustrated example, the connector holding protrusion 66b protrudes from the end of the inner wall surface opposite to the groove bottom and extends over the entire length of the connector receiving groove 66a. Has been.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 23, notches 71a are formed at both ends of the joint surface 72 in the width direction of the body 71 along the longitudinal direction of the body.
The optical connector 70 is inserted into the connector receiving groove 66a from one end in the extending direction. The optical connector 70 is inserted into the connector receiving groove 66a from the tip opposite to the rear surface 78a (see FIG. 22) from which the optical fiber 61 is extended. The optical connector 70 is inserted into the connector receiving groove 66a with the back surface 76 of the optical connector 70 as the groove bottom side.
As a result, the portions where the notches 71a are formed on both sides of the body 71 in the width direction are held without rattling between the groove bottom of the connector receiving groove 66a and the connector holding projection 66b. In the connector mounting portion 66, the inner wall surface of the connector receiving groove 66 a and / or the connector holding projection 66 b functions as a positioning portion that positions the optical connector 70 with respect to the distal end head portion 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 23B and 23C, the notch 71a of the optical connector 70 extends from the front end of the body 71 to the rear end (the end on the rear surface 78a side). It is not formed at the rear end. Then, the optical connector 70 is inserted into the connector receiving groove 66a until the notched portion non-formed portion where the notched portion 71a is not formed on the rear side from the notched portion 71a hits the connector holding projection 66b. Then, it can be positioned and attached to the connector attaching portion 66 of the connector pressing member 62 (see FIG. 25).

The optical connector 70 that has been mounted and positioned with respect to the connector mounting portion 66 is disposed at a position where the longitudinal center portion of the joining surface 72 faces the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28.
At this time, the groove 74 of the optical connector 70 extends along the extending direction of the bridging portion 64 b of the connector pressing member 62. Further, at this time, the groove 74 of the optical connector 70 is arranged to face the portion of the cleaning body 2 (cleaning tape) that is wound along the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, when the optical connector 70 is completely attached to the connector attachment portion 66, the joining surface 72 formation portion is more distal than the connector holding projection 66b of the connector pressing member 62. It will be in the state which protruded slightly to 28 side.
Therefore, when the cleaning member 2 is pressed against the joining surface 24 of the optical connector 70 by pulling the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62, the connector holding projection 66b does not become an obstacle. Further, when the cleaning body 2 is pressed against the bonding surface 24 of the optical connector 70, the connector mounting portion 66 functions as a connector pressing portion that presses the optical connector 70 against the cleaning body 2.

When the attachment to the connector attachment portion 66 is completed, a cleaning operation is performed in which the cleaning body 2 is pressed against the joining surface 24 of the optical connector 70 for cleaning.
This operation can be performed by, for example, a pulling operation of the finger hooking portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62.

As shown in FIG. 21, when the attachment of the optical connector 70 to the connector attaching portion 66 is completed, the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62 is pulled to the front end of the front tube member 83 as shown in FIGS. The pressing piece 64 (specifically, the bridging portion 64b) of the connector pressing member 62 can be brought into contact.
Then, the pulling operation of the finger hanging portion 64 is continued, and the front cylinder member 83 and the rear cylinder member 82 are moved toward the rear side relative to the container 11.

In FIG. 28A, the holding piece 64 of the connector pressing member 62 is brought into contact with the front end of the front cylindrical member 83 by the pulling operation of the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62. The relative movement to the rear side with respect to is not started, and shows an initial state (when not in use).
In this initial state, the container 11 is located relatively rearward with respect to the extending portion 20 and the feed mechanism 3.

If the front tube member 83 is moved relative to the container 11 (moved toward the rear side) by pulling the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62, the optical connector 70 is moved closer to the distal end head portion 28. Further, the optical connector 70 can be brought into contact with the cleaning body 2 wound around the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28.
Note that the optical connector 70 can also be pressed by pressing the connector pressing member 62 toward the housing portion 11 with a hand different from the hand holding the housing portion 11 instead of the pulling operation of the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62. It is possible to make it contact with the cleaning body 2 wound around the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28.

  As shown in FIG. 28B, after the optical connector 70 is brought into contact with the cleaning body 2 wound around the pressing surface 24 of the distal end head portion 28, the optical connector 70 is moved backward by a pulling operation or the like of the finger hanging portion 64. When the movement is further continued, the container 11 moves forward relative to the extending portion 20. At this time, the cylinder base 81b of the extension part 20 is accommodated in the cylinder base accommodation part 36 in a state where rearward movement is restricted by the restriction plates 42A and 42B shown in FIG. The direction position does not change greatly. For this reason, the urging means 40 is compressed by the driving body 13 and is in a state of urging the driving body 13 backward by the reaction force from the support frame 35.

As shown in FIG. 28 (b), when the driving body 13 of the housing body 11 moves relatively forward with respect to the rotating cylinder portion 82, the insertion protrusion 54 is also inserted into the protrusion guide groove 81e of the cylinder base 81b. It moves forward in the state that was done.
If the driving body 13 moves relative to the feed mechanism 3 here, the gear receiving portion 56 applies a rotational force to the first gear 38. Since the take-up reel 31 also rotates with the rotation of the first gear 38, the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 passes through the penetration guide portion 124 of the guide member 122 and the axial direction of the take-up reel 31 as will be described later. Is taken up by the body portion 47 of the take-up reel 31 while being moved (traversed) along the line.
Along with this, the tape-shaped cleaning body 2 is pulled out from the supply reel 30 and is fed and moved through the pressing surface 24 of the head member 23. By such a feed movement of the cleaning body 2, dirt such as dust, dust and oil adhering to the joining surface 72 is surely wiped off.

  The cleaning tool 1 can realize the pressing of the optical connector 70 to the cleaning body 2 and the feed movement of the cleaning body 2 simultaneously by the movement of the finger-hanging portion 64 rearward. The cleaning tool 1 can easily realize the cleaning of the joint surface 72 of the optical connector 70 only by moving the finger-hanging portion 64 rearward by a pulling operation or the like.

  FIGS. 29A and 29B show the above-described operation with the connector pressing member omitted.

  As described above, the optical connector 70 is attached to the connector attachment portion 66 of the connector pressing member 62 so that the groove portion 74 is wound along the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28 of the cleaning body 2 (cleaning tape). Arranged to face the turned part. At this time, the optical connector 70 has the body longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction of the tape-shaped cleaning body (cleaning tape), and the longitudinal center portion of the joining surface 72 is pressed against the tip head portion 28. Faced to face 24.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25 and the like, the optical connector 70 has a structure in which guide pins 75 are provided on both sides via the groove 74 of the joint surface 72, and a guide pin hole without the guide pin 75 and a joint surface. There is a configuration having an opening at 72.
In the case of cleaning the optical connector 70 with guide pins, the tape-shaped cleaning body presses against the region between the pair of guide pins 75 in the joint surface 72.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing surface 24 of the tip head portion 28 is formed in an elongated shape extending between the guide opening portions 25 on both sides of the tip head portion 28. The pressing surface 24 is formed in an elongated shape whose longitudinal direction is the interval direction of the guide port portions 25 on both sides of the distal end head portion 28.
In the leading end head portion 28, a ridge portion 27 for reliably cleaning the groove bottom surface 74 a by pushing the cleaning body 2 into the groove bottom surface 74 a of the groove portion 74 of the optical connector 70 at the center in the width direction of the pressing surface 24. However, the pressing surface 24 is formed to extend over the entire length in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 30, after the optical connector 70 is attached to the connector attachment portion 66 of the connector pressing member 62, the groove portion 74 of the body 71 is moved to the tip head portion 28 by sliding movement of the connector pressing member 62 with respect to the front cylinder member 83. Aligned with the ridge portion 27, it is pressed toward the tip head portion 28. In the groove portion 74 of the body 71, the protruding portion 27 can be accommodated together with the cleaning body 2. And the said groove bottom face 74a can be reliably cleaned by pressing the cleaning body 2 with the protrusion part 27. FIG.
In addition, as a cleaning tool, the structure which is not equipped with the protrusion part 27 in the head member 23 is also employable. For example, the depth of the groove 54 of the optical connector 70 is often very small, and the cleaning of the groove 54 may be possible depending on the thickness of the cleaning tape pressed against the joint surface 72.

  After the cleaning is completed as described above, if the pressing force that presses the connector pressing member 62 toward the container 11 is released, the cleaning tool is in the initial state of FIG. 28 (a) by the elastic biasing force of the biasing means. Return to.

  The above-described connector pressing member 62 is not limited to the above-described optical connector. For example, as shown in FIGS. 31 to 33, the cover-attached optical connector 70A in which the cover member 59 is attached to the optical connector 70 described above. It can also be used for cleaning and pressing onto the tip head portion 28.

Here, the cover-attached optical connector 70A will be described.
34 (a) to 34 (c), 35 (a), and 35 (b), the cover member 59 is provided on one side of a cover top plate portion 59a that covers the back surface 76 of the body 71 of the optical connector 70. Of the four outer wall surfaces (rear surface 78a, side surfaces 78b, 78c, front end surface 78d) corresponding to the four outer peripheral sides of the rectangular rear surface 76 of the body 71, the rear surface from which the optical fiber 61 is extended. It has a cover member main body 591 having a configuration in which U-shaped side wall portions 592 covering three surfaces except 78a are erected. The cover member 59 accommodates the optical connector 70 fitted inside the cover member main body 591 and is attached to the outside of the optical connector 70 in a state where the joining surface 72 of the optical connector 70 is exposed.

  The U-shaped side wall portion 592 includes a pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c covering a pair of side surfaces 78b and 78c extending along a pair of long sides of the back surface 76 of the optical connector 70, and the optical connector 70. A cover end plate portion 59d covering the tip end surface 78d opposite to the rear surface 78a is formed in a U shape on one side of the cover top plate portion 59a. The cover side plate portions 59b and 59c are erected perpendicularly to the cover top plate portion 59a along a pair of long sides of the rectangular plate-shaped cover top plate portion 59a in plan view, and extend in parallel to each other. . The cover end plate portion 59d is erected vertically with respect to the cover top plate portion 59a along one of the pair of short sides in plan view of the cover top plate portion 59a, and the extending direction of the pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c It is formed perpendicular to the cover side plate portions 59b and 59c so as to close one end.

The cover member 59 has a first positioning protrusion 59e that protrudes from a protrusion opposite to the cover top plate 59a of the cover end plate 59d. The first positioning protrusion 59e is a protrusion protruding from the protrusion end of the cover end plate portion 59d to the side opposite to the cover top plate portion 59a.
Further, the cover member 59 bridges between the protruding end portions opposite to the cover top plate portion 59a of the pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c at the base end portion opposite to the tip end portion on the cover end plate portion 59d side. It has the 2nd positioning protrusion 59f which is a bridge piece. The second positioning protrusion 59f bridges the base end portions (the end portions on the opposite side of the cover end plate portion 59d) of the pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c. The second positioning protrusion 59f is formed so as to protrude toward the cover opening side opposite to the cover top plate portion 59a with respect to the pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c.

  The optical connector 70 is pushed from the base end side of the pair of cover side plate portions 59b and 59c of the cover member main body 591 of the cover member 59 toward the cover end plate portion 59d so as to be along the cover top plate portion 59a. Can be accommodated inside the cover member main body 591. The optical connector 70 abuts the tip end surface 78d thereof on the cover end plate portion 59d of the cover member 59. The second positioning projection 59f of the cover member 59 is located on the side opposite to the cover top plate portion 59a from the projection end with respect to the cover side plate portions 59b and 59c. Containment work is not an obstacle.

As shown in FIG. 34B and the like, in the optical connector 70A with a cover, the optical connector 70 abuts the back surface 76 of the body against the cover top plate portion 59a, and the side surfaces 78b and 78c on both sides of the body 71 are covered with the cover side plate portion. The front end surface 78d is brought into contact with the cover end plate portion 59d of the cover member 59 and is fitted inside the cover member 59.
The cover-attached optical connector 70A has a configuration in which the joint surface 72 side of the optical connector 70 slightly protrudes from the protruding ends of the cover side plate portions 59b and 59c and the cover end plate portion 59d, and the entire groove portion 74 is disposed outside the cover member 59. Yes. The groove bottom surface 74a of the groove portion 74 is disposed outside the cover member 59 opposite to the cover top plate portion 59a from the protruding ends of the cover side plate portions 59b and 59c and the cover end plate portion 59d. Further, in the optical connector 70, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the body 71 is the central portion in the extending direction of the cover side plate portions 59b and 59c of the cover member 59, and between the first and second positioning protrusions 59e and 59f in the extending direction. Placed in position.

  As shown in FIG. 33, the optical connector with cover 70A has the first and second positioning projections 59e and 59f of the cover member 59 between the wall portions facing each other through the front end opening of the front cylinder member 83. It can be inserted. Thereby, positioning with respect to the front-end | tip head part 28 can be performed easily.

The cleaning tool 210 shown in FIGS. 36 and 37 includes a cylindrical extension portion that extends from a housing portion 221 to a housing portion 221 (housing body) that houses a supply reel 223 and a take-up reel 224 as a feeding mechanism. 222 has a main body case 220 integrally formed. In addition, the cleaning tool 210 has a tape-shaped cleaning body 2 that is fed and moved from the supply reel 223 to the take-up reel 224 to a head member 230 (cleaning body pressing member) provided at the inner end of the cylindrical extension 222. It is wound. The cleaning tool 210 rotates the portion of the dial 225 that is integrally fixed to the take-up reel 224 and exposes the cleaning body 2 wound around the supply reel 223 from the supply reel 223. The configuration is such that the take-up reel 224 takes over.
The cleaning tool 210 has a connector pressing member 62 (not shown in FIG. 36) that is detachably inserted into the cylindrical extending portion 222. The connector pressing member 62 allows the optical connector to be connected to the head member. It can be pressed against the cleaning body 2 that is wound around 230 and exposed at the tip of the cylindrical extension 222. The cleaning tool 210 can clean the joint surface of the optical connector by rotating the dial 225 while pressing the joint surface of the optical connector against the cleaning body 2.

The cylindrical extending part 222 of the cleaning tool 210 functions as a pressing member accommodating wall (front cylinder member) that accommodates the head member 230.
The cylindrical extending portion 222 of the cleaning tool 210 is provided at a position shifted to the opposite side of the dial 225 so as to avoid the dial 225 provided on one side of the housing portion 221. The connector pressing member 62 is attached to the cylindrical extension portion 222 in an obliquely rearward direction toward the dial 225 from the cylindrical main body 63 in which the finger hook portion 65 is externally attached to the cylindrical extension portion 222 (the right side in FIG. There is a first direction that protrudes rearward (the direction illustrated in FIG. 37) and a second direction that protrudes obliquely rearward on the side opposite to the dial 225. The cylindrical extending portion 222 has a rectangular cross-sectional outline perpendicular to the axial direction. As the connector pressing member 62, for example, an inner hole of the cylindrical extension portion 222 is formed so that the cylindrical main body 63 can be externally inserted into the cylindrical extension portion 222 only in the first direction or the second direction. The cross-sectional shape is adjusted.
The connector pressing member 62 is advantageous in terms of space saving compared to the second direction if the mounting direction with respect to the cylindrical extension 222 is the first direction.

  Unlike the cleaning tool 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like described above, the cleaning tool 210 rotates the dial 225 and pulls the finger holding portion 64 of the connector pressing member 62 when cleaning the joint surface of the optical connector. Although the operation is required, it is the same as the cleaning tool 1 described above that the connector pressing member 62 can reliably position the optical connector with respect to the head member 230 and clean the entire joint surface.

Although the present invention has been described based on the best mode, the present invention is not limited to the above-described best mode, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, the specific configuration of the optical connector is not limited as long as it conforms to the technical idea of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the multi-surface surface mount optical connector illustrated in FIGS. 23A to 23C is illustrated as the optical connector, but is not limited to this, for example, a single-core surface mount type Optical connectors are also applicable.
Moreover, it is not limited to a surface mount type optical connector, and various fiber tip exposed type optical connectors can also be applied. For example, an MT type optical connector that is a multi-core optical connector, an MPO type optical connector, an SC type optical connector that is a single-core optical connector, an LC type optical connector, an MU type optical connector, and the like are also applicable.
The surface mount optical connector assembled at the tip of the optical fiber uses the cleaning tool of the embodiment according to the present invention because the optical fiber extending from the connector is unlikely to interfere with the pressing piece 64 of the connector pressing member. It is suitable as an optical connector applied to conventional cleaning.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector cleaning tool, 2 ... Tape-shaped cleaning body, 3 ... Feeding mechanism, 5 ... Rotation mechanism, 11 ... Housing, 13 ... Drive body, 20 ... Extension part, 21 ... Extension cylinder, 23 ... Cleaning body pressing member (head member), 24... Cleaning body receiving surface (pressing surface), 28... Tip head portion, 30 .. supply reel, 31. ... Gear receiving portion (drive portion), 62 ... Connector pressing member, 63 ... Tubular body, 64 ... Pressing piece portion, 65 ... Finger holding portion, 66 ... Connector pressing portion (connector mounting portion), 66a ... Connector receiving groove, 66b DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Connector holding | maintenance protrusion, 81 ... Guide cylinder part, 82 ... Rear cylinder member, 83 ... Pressing member accommodation wall part (front cylinder member), 83c ... Retaining prevention protrusion, 87 ... Insertion hole, 210 ... Optical connector cleaning tool, 222 ... cylindrical extension part, 230 ... cleaning body pressing member (head Wood).

Claims (7)

An optical connector cleaning tool for wiping and cleaning the joint surface of the optical connector with a cleaning body that is moved and moved,
A feeding mechanism for supplying and taking out the cleaning body, a housing body for housing the feeding mechanism, a cleaning body pressing member for bringing the cleaning body into contact with the joint surface of the optical connector, and the cleaning body pressing A member can be accommodated and detachable from a pressing member housing wall for exposing a cleaning body arranged along a cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member, or slidable in a direction perpendicular to the cleaning body receiving surface. And a connector pressing member that presses the optical connector into the cleaning body,
A connector positioning portion for positioning the optical connector with respect to the cleaning body disposed along the cleaning body receiving surface of the cleaning body pressing member is provided on the connector pressing member or the pressing member housing wall. An optical connector cleaning tool characterized by that.   The optical connector includes an optical fiber having a front end portion inserted into and fixed to a body formed with the joint surface in a direction along the joint surface, and the optical path of incident light or outgoing light of the optical fiber is changed to light at the front end of the optical fiber. The optical connector cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis changing portion that is bent with respect to an axis so as to pass through the joint surface is provided on the body. The cleaning body has a cylindrical extension portion that is formed integrally with or separate from the housing body and extends forward from the housing body, and the cleaning body is disposed on the pressing member housing wall portion that forms the tip of the cylindrical extension portion. A pressing member is housed,
The connector pressing member includes a cylindrical main body that is externally attached to the pressing member housing wall so as to be slidable in the axial direction thereof, and a connector that protrudes from the cylindrical main body and projects to the front side of the cleaning body pressing member. The optical connector cleaning tool according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing piece portion on which a pressing portion is formed.   The connector pressing member has a finger hook portion that protrudes toward the outer periphery or the rear side of the cylindrical main body and is spaced apart from the front side of the container, and the finger hook is held by a finger of a hand that holds the container. The optical connector cleaning tool according to claim 3, wherein the optical connector cleaning tool is configured to be capable of pulling the portion rearward.   The connector holding groove for receiving the optical connector in the connector holding portion of the holding piece of the connector pressing member, and a position spaced from the groove bottom of the connector receiving groove on the inner wall surfaces on both sides in the groove width direction of the connector receiving groove. And a connector holding protrusion that restricts dropping of the optical connector from the connector receiving groove, and the connector receiving groove and / or the connector holding protrusion functions as the connector positioning portion. The optical connector cleaning tool according to claim 3 or 4.   On the outer periphery of the pressing member housing wall portion of the cylindrical extension portion, a retaining projection that projects from the rear side of the cylindrical main body of the connector pressing member protrudes, and the front end of the connector pressing member is the The optical connector cleaning tool according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a position in contact with the retaining protrusion is a movement limit position to the front side of the tool with respect to the pressing member housing wall. A biasing means that elastically biases the support frame, which is provided in the feeding mechanism and is movably accommodated in the housing body in the front-rear direction, with respect to the housing body;
The feed mechanism is configured by attaching to the support frame a supply reel that supplies the cleaning body to the head member, and a take-up reel that winds the cleaning body through the head member,
The cylindrical extension portion is provided in the feeding mechanism and extends from the support frame to the front side thereof,
The container includes a drive unit that feeds and moves the cleaning body by rotationally driving the take-up reel in the take-up direction when the support frame is relatively moved rearward with respect to the container. The optical connector cleaning tool of any one of Claims 3-6 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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