JP2013205841A - Optical fiber fusion splicing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber fusion splicing machine capable of achieving improved workability of fusion splicing of an optical fiber.SOLUTION: An optical fiber fusion splicing machine includes a machine body 20 provided with a heat fusion part 24A that performs fusion splicing between optical fibers, and a windshield cover 60 that is configured to be openable to the machine body 20 and covers the heat fusion part 24A when closed. The windshield cover 60 is configured of two or more cover members 61, 62. One or more cover members 61, 62 are rotatable cover members that rotate around rotation axes 61a, 62a arranged along a machine body upper surface 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber fusion splicer, and more particularly, to an optical fiber fusion splicer having an openable / closable windshield cover that covers a heat fusion part that heats and bonds the optical fibers together.

As an optical fiber fusion splicer, a device (single core machine) that fuses and connects one optical fiber on each of the left and right sides by discharge heating between a pair of electrode rods, or a plurality of optical fibers (tape fibers) as a pair of electrodes There is provided a device (multi-core machine) that performs fusion welding connection by discharge heating between rods.
Further, as conventional optical fiber fusion splicers (hereinafter also simply referred to as fusion splicers), those having the following functions and configurations are widely provided (Patent Document 1).
(1) An optical fiber is illuminated from two directions with two illumination light sources, and two lenses and two cameras are used to image the optical fiber in two axes (biaxial observation) (for example, Patent Document 1).
(2) On both sides of the heat-sealed portion between the pair of electrode rods, there is a V-groove for positioning and arranging the tip of the optical fiber to be fusion-bonded between the pair of electrode rods. The V-grooves are provided on both sides in the left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, which is the spacing direction of the pair of electrode rods, along the upper surface of the apparatus main body on which the pair of electrode rods are disposed via the heat-sealing portion. Yes.
As the optical fiber, a coated optical fiber such as an optical fiber core or an optical fiber is often used. The optical fiber glass portion with the coating removed at the tip of the optical fiber (coated optical fiber) is disposed on the V-groove, and is held between the V-groove by a fiber clamp member for pressing the optical fiber glass portion against the V-groove from above. . Two sets of V-grooves and fiber clamp members are provided corresponding to the two left and right optical fibers (for example, Patent Document 1).
(3) In order to grasp the covering portions of the left and right optical fibers, a movable covering clamp is provided in the left-right direction of the apparatus main body, or a fiber holder is arranged movably in the left-right direction of the apparatus main body one by one (for example, patent) References 2, 3).
(4) The discharge generated between the electrode rods is sensitive to the wind, and even a slight wind causes fluctuations in the discharge. In view of this, as a fusion splicer, a configuration is provided in which an openable / closable windshield cover that covers an electrode rod, a V groove, a fiber clamp member, or a covering clamp is provided (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). The windshield cover has a sealed structure in which the wind does not reach the discharge part between the pair of electrode rods by covering the electrode rods and the like.

The operation of attaching an optical fiber in a conventional general fusion splicer is as follows.
(A) Cover clamp method: A lid is closed and a single-core optical fiber is sandwiched and held. A large coated clamp can hold single-core optical fibers with various coated diameters.
Further, since the covering clamp is attached to the apparatus (fusion splicer), there is no risk of loss.
(B) Fiber holder method: A fiber holder separate from the fusion splicer is placed on the fusion splicer. The fiber holder has a configuration in which an optical fiber is sandwiched and held between a base plate and a lid plate that is pivotally attached to the base plate so as to be openable and closable. Placed on.
The fiber holder can be easily attached to the optical fiber in each step of coating removal, cutting, and fusion.
However, it is necessary to prepare various types of fiber holders depending on the coating diameter and the number of core wires.

Japanese Patent No. 4382694 Japanese Patent No. 3761192 JP 2003-167151 A

In general, a windshield cover of a conventional fusion splicer is configured by one or a plurality of cover members that can be manually opened and closed. To perform the fusion splicing operation of the optical fiber using the fusion splicer, the windshield cover is manually opened and closed.
That is, in the fusion splicing operation of the optical fiber using the conventional fusion splicer, first, the optical fiber is attached to the fusion splicer with the windshield cover opened. In the case of a cover clamp type fusion splicer, an optical fiber is sandwiched between the cover clamps. In the case of a fiber holder type fusion splicer, a fiber holder sandwiching an optical fiber is placed on the fusion splicer. When the installation of the optical fiber to the fusion splicer is completed, the windshield cover is closed, and then the connection start switch of the fusion splicer is turned on. As a result, the optical fiber is advanced to a predetermined position, and the right and left optical fibers are joined while being discharged by the discharge between the electrode rods, and fusion-spliced. The discharge between the electrode rods is performed for a predetermined time, and then automatically stops and the connection portion is inspected. After the fusion splicing is completed, the windshield cover is opened and the optical fiber is taken out.

In the conventional fusion splicer described above, it is necessary to manually close the windshield cover after mounting the optical fiber to be fused. In addition, the conventional fusion splicer hooks the optical fiber on the windshield cover when the optical fiber to be fusion-bonded is attached or when the optical fiber that has been fusion-bonded is taken out with the windshield cover being opened. Due to the increased risk of disconnection, care must be taken when handling optical fibers.
Several hundreds of optical fiber fusion splicing operations may be performed per day. For this reason, in the fusion splicer, there has been a demand for shortening the work time for fusion splicing of optical fibers and improving workability.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fusion splicer that can shorten the work time for fusion splicing of optical fibers and improve workability.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following configuration.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus main body provided with a heat fusion part for fusion-connecting optical fibers, and a windshield cover configured to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and covering the heat fusion part in a closed state. The windshield cover is constituted by two or more cover members, and the one or more cover members are rotation cover members that rotate and open around a rotation axis disposed along the upper surface of the apparatus main body. An optical fiber fusion splicer is provided.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber fusion splicer according to the first aspect of the present invention, a cover member receiving groove for receiving an open rotating cover member is formed in the upper end portion of the apparatus body so as to be recessed from the upper surface of the apparatus body. An optical fiber fusion splicer is provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical fiber fusion splicer according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the cover member in an open state does not protrude outward in plan view of the apparatus main body. provide.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber fusion splicer according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, fiber mounting portions provided on the left and right sides via the heat fusion portion of the apparatus main body, and both the left and right sides A positioning groove provided between the fiber mounting portion and the heat fusion portion and provided on both right and left sides of the heat fusion portion and connected to the cover member, and the light shield cover is closed when the windshield cover is closed. And a fiber clamp member for pressing the fiber into the positioning groove, and the fiber mounting portion is pivotally attached to the clamp lower member fixed to the clamp mount provided on the apparatus main body and openable to the clamp lower member. A clamp clamp that holds a coated portion of the optical fiber between the clamp lower member and the clamp upper member, or is provided in the apparatus main body. A holder mounting portion on which a fiber holder for gripping the coating portion of the optical fiber is detachably mounted between the base plate and a lid member pivotally attached to the base plate so as to be openable and closable. In the closed state, the heat-sealing part, the positioning grooves and the fiber clamp members on both the left and right sides, and the fiber holders or covering clamps placed on the holder placement parts on the left and right sides are covered. A fiber fusion splicer is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the opening and closing operation of the cover member constituting the windshield cover can be performed automatically and reliably, it is possible to reduce the work time of the fusion splicing of the optical fiber and improve the workability.

It is a front view which shows roughly the structure of the optical fiber fusion splicer of one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the fusion splicer of the structure which has arrange | positioned the covering clamp on the both right and left sides of a heat-fusion part. 1 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of an optical fiber fusion splicer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a fiber holder is detachably disposed on a movable stage on both the left and right sides of a heat fusion part. It is a figure which shows a connection machine. It is a whole side view (right side view) which shows the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which closed the windshield cover. It is a whole side view (right side view) which shows the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which opened the windshield cover. It is a sectional side view (right sectional view) which shows roughly the structure near the windshield cover of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which closed the windshield cover. It is a sectional side view (right sectional view) which shows roughly the structure near the windshield cover of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which opened the windshield cover. It is a top view which shows the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 2 roughly, and is a figure which shows the state which closed the windshield cover. It is a top view which shows roughly the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 2, and is a figure which shows the state which opened the windshield cover. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the specific example of the movable unit which attached the fiber mounting detector and the positioning pin to the movable stage of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. An optical fiber fusion splicer having a structure in which a covering clamp having a clamp upper member with an extension lever projecting is attached to a movable stage on both sides of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. It is a front view which shows one example of no. It is a side view (right side view) explaining the movable stage with a clamp of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. FIG. 12A is a plan view showing the vicinity of the extension lever of the upper clamp member, and FIG. 12B is a plan view showing the vicinity of the notch portion of the lower clamp member. It is a figure which shows the windshield cover of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a right view which shows the state which opened only one side of a pair of cover member manually. It is a sectional side view (right sectional view) which explains roughly an example of a windshield cover provided with a fixed cover member, and is a figure showing the state where a windshield cover was closed. It is a sectional side view (right sectional view) which explains roughly an example of the windshield cover which provided the fixed cover member, and is a figure showing the state where the windshield cover was opened. It is a top view which shows roughly the windshield cover of FIG. FIG. 16 is a plan view schematically showing the windshield cover of FIG. 15. It is a figure which shows the fixed cover member of the windshield cover of FIG. 14, FIG. 15, (a) is the perspective view seen from the stationary cover main body side, (b) is the perspective view seen from the inner side cover part side. It is a side sectional view (right sectional view) showing an example of a fusion splicer having a windshield cover composed of a rotating cover member and a slide cover member, and shows a state in which the rotating cover member and the slide cover member are closed together. Show. It is a sectional side view (right sectional view) which shows an example of the fusion splicer which has a windshield cover comprised by the rotation cover member and the slide cover member, and shows the state which opened the slide cover member with respect to the rotation cover member . It is a top view which shows roughly an example of the fusion splicer which has the windshield cover of the structure divided into 3 in three cover members. It is a graph which shows the damage of the optical fiber by closing operation of a windshield cover. FIG. 5 is a front view schematically illustrating an aspect of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 1 in which the detector main body of the fiber attachment detector is incorporated in the movable stage. It is another aspect of the optical fiber fusion splicer of FIG. 2, and is a front view schematically illustrating an aspect in which the detector main body of the fiber attachment detector is incorporated in the movable stage. It is a figure explaining the relationship between a stage pressing member and a movable stage, (a) is the state which completed the holding fixation of the optical fiber with the covering clamp of right and left both sides, (b) completed the fusion splicing operation | movement. State (c) is a diagram for explaining the connection portion tensile inspection. It is a figure which shows one example of the fusion splicer of embodiment which concerns on this invention, and the fiber detector for clamps which detects the optical fiber mounted on the clamp lower member of this coating | covering clamp in the movable stage of both right and left sides is shown. It is a front view which shows roughly the fusion splicer of the structure provided. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a fusion splicer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a holder fiber detector for detecting an optical fiber gripped and fixed to a fiber holder is provided on the left and right movable stages. It is a front view which shows a destination connection machine roughly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows one example of the fusion splicer of embodiment which concerns on this invention, and is a front view which shows roughly the fusion splicer of the structure which provided the covering clamp and the finger detector in the right-and-left both sides. . It is a figure which shows an example of the fusion splicer of embodiment which concerns on this invention, and is a fusion | melting of the structure which provided the movable stage which functions as a holder mounting base which mounts a fiber holder, and a finger detector on both right and left sides. It is a front view which shows a destination connection machine roughly. It is a side view which shows the example of the fusion splicer of the structure which provided the operation command input operation part, and is a figure which shows the state which closed the windshield cover. It is a side view which shows the example of the fusion splicer of the structure which provided the operation command input operation part, and is a figure which shows the state which opened the windshield cover.

Hereinafter, an optical fiber fusion splicer according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter also simply referred to as a fusion splicer) will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the fusion splicer 10.
A fusion splicer 10 (indicated by reference numeral 10A in the figure) shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for fusion splicing optical fibers 9 together. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 91 is added to one of a pair of optical fibers 9 that are fusion-spliced by the fusion splicer 10A, and reference numeral 92 is added to the other.
As the optical fiber 9 exemplified here, a coating material 9c (coating coating) made of synthetic resin is attached to the outer periphery of the optical fiber glass portion 9a (bare optical fiber) such as an optical fiber core wire or an optical fiber strand, A coated optical fiber having an integrated configuration is used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 6, the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A includes a pair of electrode rods for heat-sealing the tips of optical fibers 91 and 92 on an external box-shaped device body 20. 24, a pair of movable stages 22 provided on both sides of the discharge portion 24a, which is a region (space) between the opposed tips of the pair of electrode rods 24, and a covering clamp attached to each movable stage 22 one by one 50, a pair of groove forming substrates 23 in which positioning grooves 23a for positioning the optical fibers 91 and 92 are formed, and a windshield cover 60.
The movable stage 22 functions as a clamp mounting base for mounting the covering clamp 50 (specifically, a clamp lower member 51 described later).

As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the pair of electrode bars 24 are provided to be separated from each other.
The discharge part 24a constitutes a heating and fusing part 24A that heats and fuses the tips of the optical fibers 91 and 92 by discharge between the tapered tips of the pair of electrode rods 24 facing each other via the discharge part 24a.

The distance direction between the pair of movable stages 22 is orthogonal to the distance direction between the pair of electrode bars 24.
In this specification, with respect to the fusion splicer 10A, the distance direction between the pair of movable stages 22 (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2, the depth direction in FIGS. 3 to 6 and the up-and-down direction in FIGS. 7 and 8). Will be described as the front-rear direction and the direction of the gap between the pair of electrode rods 24 (the depth direction in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and the left-right direction in FIGS. 3 to 8).
Further, before and after the fusion splicer 10, the switch base 11 among the switch base 11 and the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 provided on the apparatus main body 20 so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The side (left side in FIGS. 3 and 4) will be described as the front, and the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 side (right side in FIGS. 3 and 4) will be described as the rear. 5 to 8, the left side is the front and the right side is the rear.
1 to 6 and 9 to 11, the upper side is the upper side, the lower side is the lower side, and FIGS. 7, 8, 12 (a) and 12 (b), the front side is the upper side, and the rear side is the lower side. Will be described below.

The movable stage 22 can be moved in the left-right direction with respect to the apparatus main body 20 by the driving force of a power source (not shown) incorporated in the apparatus main body 20.
The stage power source is preferably one that generates power by being driven by electromagnetic force. For example, an electric motor, an electromagnet, a solenoid, or the like can be suitably employed.

The covering clamp 50 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the lower clamp member 51 fixed on the movable stage 22 and the upper surface 51 a of the lower clamp member 51, and holds and fixes the optical fiber 9 between the lower clamp member 51. And an upper clamp member 52 to be used. As a specific mode of the covering clamp 50, for example, a plate-like clamp lower member 51 fixed on the movable stage 22, and a clamp lower member 51 pivotally attached to the clamp lower member upper surface 51a can be opened and closed. The optical fiber 9 can be held and fixed between the plate-like clamp upper member 52 provided on the plate and the like.
As the covering clamp 50, the clamp upper member 52 opens and closes with respect to the clamp lower member 51 by moving in the up-and-down direction with respect to the upper surface 51a of the clamp, and grips the optical fiber 9 with the clamp lower member 51, A configuration that can be switched between release and release can be adopted.

The covering clamp 50 holds and fixes the covering portion 9d between the lower clamp member 51 and the upper clamp member 52, which is a portion where the outer periphery of the optical fiber glass portion 9a of the optical fiber 9 is covered with the covering material 9c.
The optical fiber 9 is attached to the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A by being held and fixed to the covering clamp 50. The covering clamp 50 functions as a fiber attachment portion for attaching the optical fiber 9 to the fusion splicer 10A.

  The covering clamp 50 of the fusion splicer 10A of this embodiment has a configuration in which an operator can manually open and close the clamp upper member 52 with respect to the clamp lower member 51 by operating the clamp upper member 52 directly with fingers. .

  In addition, the covering clamp 50 includes upper member holding means (not shown) for holding the clamp upper member 52 that holds the optical fiber 9 between the clamp lower member 51 and maintaining the holding and fixing state of the optical fiber 9. Have. As this upper member holding means, for example, a configuration in which the metal portion of the upper clamp member 52 is magnetically attracted by a permanent magnet incorporated in the lower clamp member 51, or an engaging claw that can be manually engaged and released is used. A configuration in which the holding state of the clamp upper member 52 can be realized and the holding can be manually released simply by manually closing the clamp upper member 52 to the clamp lower member 51 can be suitably employed. As this upper member holding means, a conventionally well-known thing about the covering clamp of a fusion splicer can be employ | adopted.

  In the operation of fusion-splicing the optical fibers 91 and 92 using the fusion splicer 10A, the upper clamp member 52 of the covering clamp 50 is opened with the windshield cover 60 opened as shown in FIGS. The optical fiber 9 (covering part 9d) is sandwiched between the lower clamp member 51 and the upper clamp member 52 by manually opening and closing. Here, as the optical fiber 9 gripped and fixed to the covering clamp 50, the one in which the covering material 9c at the tip thereof is removed in advance to expose the optical fiber glass portion 9a is used. In addition, the optical fiber 9 secures a protruding portion 9 b protruding from the covering clamp 50 toward the discharge portion 24 a and holds and fixes the protruding portion 9 b to the covering clamp 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the groove forming substrate 23 of the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A is provided one by one between the discharge part 24 a and the movable stages 22 on the left and right sides thereof.
When the optical fiber 9 is held and fixed to the covering clamp 50, the optical fiber glass portion 9a from which the covering is removed at the protruding portion 9b from the covering clamp is placed in the positioning groove 23a on the groove forming substrate 23. Further, the optical fibers 9 are coated so that the tips of the optical fiber glass portions 9a of the optical fibers 9 are opposed to each other with a slight clearance when the optical fibers 9 are held and fixed to the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides. While adjusting the length of the protruding portion 9b from the clamp, the optical fiber 9 is placed on the covering clamp and fixed.
Further, the coating removal length of the optical fiber glass portion 9a is arranged at a position where the tips can be fusion-bonded to each other before the movable stage 22 is advanced from the standby position and reaches the advance limit position (described later). The length is adjusted in advance to the extent possible.

The groove forming substrates 23 on both the left and right sides are formed by positioning the ends of a pair of optical fibers 91 and 92 (specifically, the tips of the optical fiber glass portion 9a) attached to the fusion splicer 10A by being held and fixed to the covering clamp 50 by positioning grooves 23a. Thus, the function of aligning with the same straight line (virtual straight line) in the left-right direction of the connecting device with high accuracy is achieved.
The positioning groove 23 a of the groove forming substrate 23 is a groove formed in the groove forming substrate 23 fixedly provided on the apparatus main body 20 so as to be recessed from the upper surface 23 b (substrate upper surface). The positioning groove 23a is formed to extend along the left-right direction of the connecting machine.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23 of the fusion splicer 10A of the illustrated example is a V-groove. However, the positioning groove 23a is not limited to the V groove as long as the optical fiber glass portion 9a exposed at the tip of the optical fiber 9 can be positioned with high accuracy. As the positioning groove 23a, for example, a round groove (groove having a semicircular cross section), a U groove, a trapezoidal groove, or the like can be employed.

  Note that the groove forming substrate 23 of the fusion splicer 10A is usually made of ceramic in order to withstand the heat of discharge heating. In an apparatus having an optical fiber axis alignment mechanism, the left and right groove forming substrates 23 are respectively fixed on the left and right optical fiber axis alignment mechanisms. On the other hand, in the case of a fusion splicer that does not have an optical fiber axis alignment mechanism, the groove forming substrate 23 may be directly fixed to the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the windshield cover 60 is a pair of cover members that are pivotally attached to the apparatus main body 20 via rotation shafts 61 a and 62 a provided along the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body 20. 61, 62. The windshield cover 60 is opened and closed by rotation of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 with respect to the apparatus main body 20. One cover member 61 is rotated with respect to the apparatus main body 20 by the driving force of the power source 63a incorporated in the apparatus main body. The other cover member 62 rotates independently with respect to the one cover member 61 by the driving force of another power source 63b.

The power sources 63a and 63b in the illustrated example are specifically electric motors.
However, the power sources 63a and 63b for rotating the cover members 61 and 62 with respect to the apparatus main body 20 are not limited to electric motors. As the power sources 63a and 63b, those that generate power by being driven by electromagnetic force are preferable. In addition to the above-described electric motor, for example, an electromagnet, a solenoid, or the like can be employed.

In this fusion splicer 10A, the movable stage 22 moves in the left-right direction of the splicer, so that the stand-by position (retreat limit position) and the forward movement before the movable stage 22 contacts the groove forming substrate 23 and the fiber clamp member 25 are advanced. The range up to the limit position can be moved.
When the movable stage 22 is moved, the covering clamp 50 that is fixedly attached to the lower clamp member 51 to the movable stage 22 also moves together with the movable stage 22. The cover clamp 50 is moved by the movement of the movable stage 22 between a standby position (retreat limit position) and a forward limit position before the movable stage 22 contacts the groove forming substrate 23 and the fiber clamp member 25. Is possible.
The operation of gripping and fixing the optical fiber 9 to the covering clamp 50 is performed in a state where the movable stage 22 is arranged at the standby position (position of the movable stage 22 shown in FIG. 1).
In the fusion splicer 10A, the optical fibers 9 are gripped and fixed to the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides, and then the pair of movable stages 22 are moved from the standby position to the advance limit position, whereby the optical fibers 91 and 92 are optical fibers. The tips of the glass portions 9a can be butted against each other.

Note that the fusion splicer 10A includes, for example, power sources 63a and 63b for driving the windshield cover 60 to open and close (power sources for opening and closing the windshield) and a stage power source different from the power sources 63a and 63b. Although the structure provided in the main body 20 can be employ | adopted, it is not limited to this.
As the fusion splicer 10A, for example, a configuration in which the windshield opening / closing power sources 63a and 63b provided in the apparatus main body 20 also serve as left and right stage power sources can be employed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower clamp member 51 of the covering clamp 50 is in contact with the upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22, and is attached to the movable stage 22 along the upper surface 22a.
The upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22 in the illustrated example is formed to be inclined obliquely downward from the side opposite to the discharge part 24a toward the discharge part 24a in the left-right direction of the connecting machine. The plate-like lower clamp member 51 and the upper clamp member 52 of the covering clamp 50 are arranged so as to be positioned downward along the movable stage upper surface 22a as they approach the discharge portion 24a.
The fusion splicer 10A positions the optical fiber glass portion 9a at the tip of the protruding portion 9b of the optical fiber 9 from the covering clamp 50 by positioning the optical fiber 9 on the groove forming substrate 23 by holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 to the covering clamp 50. It can be placed so as to be pressed against the groove 23a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A includes a detector 31 (detecting that the clamp upper member 52 opened with respect to the clamp lower member 51 of the covering clamp 50 is closed by the clamp lower member 51. Hereinafter, it is also referred to as a clamp closing detector.
The clamp closing detector 31 (fiber mounting detector) includes a detector main body 31a fixed to the lower side of the movable stage 22, and a sensor pin 31b protruding upward from the detector main body 31a. The sensor pin 31 b is provided with its tip end (upper end) protruding above the upper surface 51 a of the clamp lower member 51.
The detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 is disposed below the movable stage 22 on both the left and right sides in order to avoid wiring to the movable portion.

The sensor pin 31b at the initial position where the tip portion protrudes above the clamp lower member upper surface 51a can be pushed into the detector main body 31a.
The sensor pin 31b pushed into the detector main body 31a is returned to the initial position by a spring (not shown) provided in the detector main body 31a when the pushing force to the detector main body 31a is removed.

The tip of the sensor pin 31 b (the sensor pin at the initial position) is located in the movement range of the clamp upper member 52 that opens and closes with respect to the clamp lower member 51.
The upper clamp member 52 of the covering clamp 50 can be opened with respect to the lower clamp member 51 until it does not contact the tip of the sensor pin 31b. When the optical fiber 9 is disposed on the upper surface 51a of the lower clamp member 51, the upper clamp member 52 is opened with respect to the lower clamp member 51 and is separated from the tip of the sensor pin 31b and does not contact the tip of the sensor pin 31b. To place.
In the present specification, the state in which the upper clamp member 52 is opened at an opening angle of 90 degrees or more is described as the upper clamp member 52 being opened with respect to the lower clamp member 51. In the case of the upper clamp member 52 pivotally attached to the lower clamp member 51, in order to maintain the state in which the upper clamp member 52 is opened by its own weight, for example, at an angle of 90 degrees or more with respect to the upper clamp member upper surface 51a. A configuration that can be opened can be suitably employed.
The sensor pin 31b has a distal end (upper end) that is arranged at a position separated from the upper clamp member 52 without contacting the upper clamp member 52 that is open with respect to the lower clamp member 51. The upward projecting dimension from the member upper surface 51a is set.

  The tip of the sensor pin 31b is disposed at a position where the upper clamp member 52 moved from the open state to the lower clamp member 51 in the closing direction can be contacted from above. In the process of closing the clamp upper member 52 from the opened state with respect to the clamp lower member 51, the clamp pin 52b is pressed into the detector body 31a.

  When the sensor pin 31b is in the initial position, the detector main body 31a is in a non-detected state in which the pressing of the sensor pin 31b is not detected. In the clamp closing detector 31, when the detector main body 31a is switched from the non-detection state to the detection state by pressing the sensor pin 31b, the detection signal that can be acquired from the detector main body 31a changes from non-detection to detection. The fusion splicer 10A includes a drive control device that controls the driving of all the power sources provided in the fusion splicer including the windshield opening / closing power sources 63a and 63b and the stage power source, and is detected. The detection signal acquired from the main body 31a is input to the drive control device.

In this fusion splicer 10A, when the upper clamp member 52 that is open with respect to the lower clamp member 51 is closed to the lower clamp member 51, the detector body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 is the sensor pin 31b. The switch from the non-detection state to the detection state is made by pressing the button. Accordingly, the fusion splicer 10A is configured so that the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 transitions from non-detection to detection, so that the clamp upper member 51A is open with respect to the lower clamp member 51. It can be detected that the member 52 is closed by the clamp lower member 51 (specifically, the drive control device can detect it). For this reason, the fusion splicer 10A, for example, closes the clamp upper member 52 in an open state with respect to the clamp lower member 51 to the clamp lower member 51, and holds and fixes the optical fiber 9 to the covering clamp 50 (fusion connection). When the optical fiber is attached to the machine), the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 transitions from non-detection to detection, whereby the holding and fixing of the optical fiber 9 by the covering clamp 50 is completed. Can be detected.
On the other hand, in the fusion splicer 10A, the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 transitions from detection to non-detection so that the clamp upper member 51A is closed with respect to the lower clamp member 51. It can be detected that the member 52 is opened with respect to the lower clamp member 51 (specifically, the drive control device can detect it).

As the clamp closing detector 31, the type of the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a or the acquisition state of the detection signal from the detector main body 31a is different between the detection state and the non-detection state. The specific configuration is not particularly limited. As the detector body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31, for example, a non-detection output signal is output when in the non-detection state, and a signal different from the non-detection output signal (detection output when in the detection state). (A signal capable of acquiring different detection signals in the detection state and the non-detection state).
In addition, as the detector main body 31a, for example, a signal (output signal at the time of detection) is output only when it is in a detection state (a state in which no signal is output corresponds to “no detection signal detected”). It is also possible to employ a device that outputs a signal (non-detection output signal) only when it is in a non-detection state (a state in which no signal is output corresponds to “no detection signal detected”). The configuration in which the presence or absence of signal output is switched between the detection state and the non-detection state is an example of a configuration in which the detection state of the detection signal from the detector main body 31a is different between the detection state and the non-detection state. In the case of this configuration, the fusion splicer drive control device treats a state in which no signal is output as a state in which the detection signal is not detected and a detection signal indicating no detection is acquired.
More specifically, as the detector body 31a, for example, the electric resistance or the output current value is switched between the detection state and the non-detection state, the electric circuit is opened in one of the detection state and the non-detection state, and the electric circuit on the other side. Closed (switch), one that outputs radio signals with different frequencies or optical signals with different wavelengths between the detection state and the non-detection state can be adopted.

  When the optical fiber 9 is gripped and fixed to the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides (the windshield cover 60 is opened), the fusion splicer 10A of FIG. When both detection signals acquired from the main body 31a) shift from non-detection to detection, the windshield opening / closing power sources 63a and 63b are driven to close the windshield cover 60 (windshield cover closing operation). Is performed automatically.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed, the optical fiber 9 (the optical fiber glass portion 9a) placed on the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23 is replaced with the pair of covers. It is pressed toward the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a by the pressing piece 25a at the tip of the fiber clamp member 25 attached inside one of the members 61 and 62 (second cover member 62 in the illustrated example). Thereby, the optical fiber glass part 9a of the optical fiber 9 is positioned with high accuracy by the positioning groove 23a.
The fiber clamp member 25 is provided only on one of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 (second cover member 62 in the illustrated example), and is not provided on the first cover member 61.

This fusion splicer has a windshield cover detector 33 for detecting the open / closed state of the windshield cover 60 on the apparatus main body 20.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the windshield cover detector 33 detects the open / closed state of the pair of cover members 61, 62 of the windshield cover 60, and the respective rotation shafts 61 a of the pair of cover members 61, 62. , 62a, one by one, and a total of two are provided.
The windshield cover closing operation is completed when the two windshield cover detectors 33 detect that the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are disposed at the closed positions where they are closed together.

The windshield cover detector 33 includes a detector main body 33a fixed to the upper part of the apparatus main body 20, and a sensor pin 33b protruding upward from the detector main body 33a. The sensor pin 33b can be pushed into the detector body 33a.
The detector main bodies 33a of the two windshield cover detectors 33 are fixed to the upper portion of the apparatus main body 20 in the vicinity of the rotation shafts 61a and 62a of the cover members 61 and 62. The detector main body 33a of each windshield cover detector 33 is fixed to a region located between the rotation shafts 61a and 62a of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 in the upper part of the apparatus main body 20. The sensor pin 33b of each windshield cover detector 33 extends between the rotary shafts 61a and 62a in the vertical direction, and is provided between the rotary shafts 61a and 62a on both sides. The tip (upper end) of the sensor pin 33b of each windshield cover detector 33 is disposed above the rotation shafts 61a and 62a.

When the windshield cover 60 is closed, each of the windshield cover detectors 33 comes into contact with the arched main walls 61b and 62b (discussed below) of the cover members 61 and 62, protruding from the inner surfaces in the vicinity of the rotary shafts 61a and 62a. When the sensor pin 33b pressed downward by the piece 60a is pushed into the detector body 33a, it is detected that the cover members 61 and 62 are disposed at the closed position. When each windshield cover detector 33 closes the open windshield cover 60, the contact protrusions 60a of the cover members 61 and 62 come into contact with the upper ends of the sensor pins 33b from above, and the contact protrusions 60a move downward. The pressed sensor pin 33b is pushed into the detector body 33a.
Further, in this fusion splicer, when the cover members 61 and 62 arranged at the closed position are opened by rotation, the contact protrusions 60a of the cover members 61 and 62 are separated from the upper ends of the sensor pins 33b, thereby preventing the windshield. When the cover detector 33 is in the non-detection state, it can be grasped that the cover members 61 and 62 are moved from the closed position to the open direction (rotated in the illustrated example).

When the cover member is opened from the closed position, the sensor pin 33b of the windshield cover detector 33 is when the cover member is disposed at the closed position with respect to the detector main body 33a by the spring provided on the detector main body 33a. Compared to the above, the upward projecting dimension from the detector main body 33a returns to before the pushing into the detector main body 33a by the contact protrusion 60a of the cover member arranged at the closed position.
The two windshield cover detectors 33 can individually detect the opening and closing of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60.
The windshield cover detector 33 is shown only in FIGS. 5 and 6 and is not shown in other drawings.

As the windshield cover detector, any detector capable of detecting the open / closed state of the windshield cover 60 may be used, and a well-known one used for detecting the open / closed state of the windshield cover of the fusion splicer can be appropriately employed.
As this windshield cover detector, for example, it is detected in a non-contact manner that the windshield cover is closed (becomes a detection state), and one or more of the cover members constituting the windshield cover are displaced in the opening direction from the closed position. It is also possible to adopt a magnetic sensor or the like that becomes a non-detection state when the windshield cover is not closed. In the case of this magnetic sensor, for example, a magnet or a magnetic body is provided on all cover members of the windshield cover, and the magnetic sensor detects a change in the magnetic field when the windshield cover is not closed when the windshield cover is closed.
As a windshield cover detector, an energization circuit is provided for each cover member, and the cover member is opened and closed by a current change between the energization circuits due to contact and separation between the contact terminal portions provided in each energization circuit of each cover member. An energization sensor or the like for detection can also be employed.
Further, as the windshield cover detector, an encoder or an angle sensor that measures a rotation angle of a portion (detection rotating portion) formed on or around the extension of the rotation shaft of the cover member can be employed. In the case of a rotation angle measurement sensor such as an encoder or an angle sensor, it is possible to detect that the cover member is disposed at a predetermined open position in addition to detecting that the cover member is disposed at the closed position. It is also possible to detect that is between the open position and the closed position.
In addition to detecting that the cover member is disposed at the closed position, the windshield cover detector may be disposed at the open position in order to detect that the cover member is disposed at the predetermined open position. .

  The windshield cover closing operation is performed when the windshield cover is open, that is, when the windshield cover detector 33 detects that the windshield cover is open, and the detector main bodies of the clamp closing detectors 31 on the left and right sides. When both 31a are switched from non-detection to detection and both detection signals acquired from both detector bodies 31a are detected by the drive control device, or both detection signals from both detector bodies 31a are detected. Both are automatically started when a preset waiting time (for example, several seconds) has elapsed since the detection. This fusion splicer 10A is used when both the detection signals acquired from the detector main bodies 31a of the clamp closing detectors 31 on both the left and right sides in the drive control device are changed from the non-detection state to the detection state. This serves as a trigger signal to start a fiber fusion / inspection operation (described later).

  The configuration in which the windshield cover closing operation is performed after the above-described waiting time has passed, compared to the case where the windshield cover 60 is closed at the moment when both detection signals from the detectors 31 on the left and right sides are detected. The possibility of pinching can be reduced. This waiting time can be changed by the user with software. In addition, during the waiting time, for example, a warning message can be displayed on the monitor device, an LED or the like can blink, an alarm sound can be output, etc., to alert the windshield cover to be closed.

Further, the fusion splicer 10A automatically performs the pre-optical fiber connection inspection operation after the completion of the windshield cover closing operation, and then the optical fibers 91 and 92 (specifically, the optical fiber glass exposed at the tip thereof). The fusion splicing operation for fusion splicing the portions 9a) is automatically performed.
Also, the fusion splicer 10A automatically executes the connection portion inspection operation after the fusion splicing operation is completed.

  In the inspection operation before the optical fiber connection, first, the movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides are advanced from the standby position toward the discharge unit 24a and arranged at a predetermined position (inspection position before connection) between the standby position and the advance limit position. To do. And the front-end | tip part of the optical fibers 91 and 92 is imaged with the camera 71 (refer FIG. 5) incorporated in the apparatus main body 20, The captured image is analyzed with an image processing apparatus, The optical fiber glass part 9a of the optical fibers 91 and 92 is obtained. The end face angle and end face state of the tip are automatically measured. In the case of a fusion splicer that does not have a movable V-groove, the axial misalignment of the left and right optical fibers is also measured. If there is an abnormality in the measurement result, the fusion splicer issues an alarm to the worker, but if it is normal, there is no alarm, and the operator automatically shifts to the next fusion splicing operation without performing the inspection completion operation. To do. However, when the operator visually inspects the end face condition, the captured image is displayed on the monitor device 14 (see FIG. 3), and the light of the optical fibers 91 and 92 is displayed from the captured image displayed on the monitor device 14. An operator judges whether the end face state at the tip of the fiber glass portion 9a is good or bad.

When this inspection before the optical fiber connection by visual inspection is additionally performed, the inspection is terminated by the operator pressing the pre-connection inspection end button (not shown) provided on the fusion splicer (for example, the switch base 11). To do. However, the pre-connection inspection end command input unit provided in the fusion splicer for the operator to operate and terminate the pre-optical fiber connection inspection operation is terminated by the operator's finger etc. Not limited to buttons. The pre-connection inspection end command input unit may be, for example, a dial switch that can be manually rotated, or an inspection end button displayed on the monitor device 14.
The fusion splicer 10A proceeds to the fusion splicing operation after the inspection operation before the optical fiber connection is completed.

  In the fusion splicing operation, a voltage is applied between the pair of electrode rods 24 to start discharging, and the left and right movable stages 22 are moved forward from the pre-connection inspection position toward the advance limit position, and the left and right covering clamps. The ends of the optical fibers 91 and 92 held and fixed to 50 (specifically, the ends of the optical fiber glass portion 9a exposed at the ends) are fused and connected to each other.

  In the connecting portion inspection operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the fusion splicing portion is picked up by a camera 71 incorporated in the apparatus main body 20, the picked-up image is analyzed by an image processing device, and the connected optical fibers 91 and 92 are connected. Loss is automatically measured and connection status abnormality is automatically determined. If there is an abnormality in the measurement result, the fusion splicer issues an alarm to the worker, but if it is normal, there is no alarm, and the operator automatically shifts to the next step without performing an operation for completing the inspection. However, when the operator visually inspects the connection portion, the captured image is displayed on the monitor device 14 (see FIG. 3). Then, the operator observes the state of the fusion splicing portion between the optical fibers 91 and 92 from the captured image displayed on the monitor device 14. In the connection portion inspection operation, the display of the image captured by the camera 71 is continued until the subsequent operation (connection portion tensile inspection or removal of the optical fiber from the fusion splicer) is performed on the monitor device 14.

  Upon completion of the connection inspection, the fusion splicer 10A performs a connection inspection completion notification operation to notify the operator of the completion of the connection inspection by, for example, an alarm sound, lighting of a lamp, display on a monitor device, or the like. Also good. However, when the operator does not visually inspect the connection portion, the fusion splicer 10A drives the windshield opening / closing power sources 63a and 63b to open the windshield cover 60 after the connection portion inspection operation is completed. The opening operation and the connection part tensile inspection are performed automatically.

As shown in FIGS. 25A to 25C, the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A has a stage pressing member 81 that moves forward and backward toward the discharge unit 24 a by the power of a stage power source (not shown) on both the left and right sides. Have. Each stage pressing member 81 is driven by the pressing member moving mechanism 82 toward the discharge unit 24a by the pressing member moving mechanisms 82 provided on the left and right sides of the fusion splicer 10A being driven by the power of the stage power source. Moved forward and backward.
Then, the fusion splicer 10A presses the movable stage 22 from the side opposite to the advance limit position by the stage pressing member 81 advanced toward the discharge unit 24a, and moves the movable stage 22 toward the advance limit position. It has a structure to move forward.
In addition, the fusion splicer 10A is a spring 83 (hereinafter also referred to as a stage biasing spring) that elastically biases the movable stages 22 on both sides between the movable stages 22 on the left and right sides. Coil spring.)

FIG. 25A shows a state when the holding and fixing of the optical fiber 9 with the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides is completed. At this time, the movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides are pressed by the stage pressing member 81 by the elastic biasing force of the stage biasing spring 83 and are respectively disposed at the standby positions. Hereinafter, the position of the stage pressing member 81 is also referred to as a pressing member standby position.
The movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides are pressed by the stage pressing member 81 advanced from the pressing member standby position, and are advanced from the standby position toward the advance limit position while compressing the stage biasing spring 83. Then, the movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides reach the state shown in FIG. 25B through the pre-optical fiber connection inspection operation and the fusion splicing operation.

FIG. 25B shows a state where the fusion splicing operation is completed. In FIG. 25 (b), the left and right optical fibers 91 and 92 are fused and connected to each other at the fusion splicing portion 9f. In the connecting portion inspection operation after the fusion splicing operation, the left and right stage pressing members 81 remain in the positions at the completion of the fusion splicing operation, and the left and right movable stages 22 are also positioned at the completion of the fusion splicing operation. It is executed while keeping
In the connection portion tensile inspection, after the connection portion inspection operation is completed, the stage pressing member 81 is moved (retracted) toward the pressing member standby position by driving the pressing member moving mechanism 82 as shown in FIG. Thus, a tensile load is applied to the fusion splicing portion 9f by the elastic biasing force of the stage biasing spring 83. In FIG. 25C, the stage pressing member 81 is disposed at the pressing member standby position. In this connection portion tensile inspection, the stage pressing member moves backward and is separated from the movable stage 22, and only the elastic urging force of the stage urging spring is applied to the fusion connection portion 9f as a tensile load.
The start timing of the connection portion tensile inspection can be set regardless of the start of the windshield cover opening operation. Further, the completion timing of the connection portion tensile inspection can be set regardless of the completion of the windshield cover opening operation. The connecting portion tensile inspection may be completed before the start of the windshield cover opening operation, or may be completed after the opening operation is completed.

When the splicing machine 10A has completed the connecting portion tensile inspection, for example, by performing an inspection completion notifying operation for notifying the operator of the completion of the connecting portion tensile inspection by alarm sound, lighting of a lamp, display on a monitor device, and the like. Also good.
If the inspection completion notification is performed in a state in which the windshield cover opening operation is completed, or if the windshield cover opening operation is completed after the inspection completion notification is performed, the operator moves on the clamps of the covering clamps 50 on the left and right sides. Each of the members 52 is opened with respect to the lower clamp member 51, and the optical fibers 91 and 92 held and fixed to the covering clamp 50 are taken out together with the fusion splicing portion 9f (fiber take-out operation).

Note that the windshield cover opening operation is performed after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after notifying the execution of the windshield cover opening operation by, for example, an alarm sound, lighting of a lamp, display of a warning message on a monitor device, etc. It is preferable to execute it.
Thereby, for example, it is possible to avoid pinching fingers between the cover member constituting the windshield cover 60 and the apparatus main body 20.

  The movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides of the fusion splicer 10A are finally arranged at the standby position by the elastic biasing force of the stage biasing spring 83 after the completion of the fiber take-out operation by the operator. At this time, the movable stage 22 is abutted against and pressed against the stage pressing member 81 from the discharge unit 24a side by the elastic biasing force of the stage biasing spring 83, and is placed at the standby position. The state of the fusion splicer 10A at this time is also referred to as a fiber set standby state.

  In the fusion splicer 10A, when the power switch (not shown) is turned off from the on state, the movable stage 22 is disposed at the standby position and the windshield cover 60 is closed (hereinafter referred to as the operation standby initial state). Say). The fusion splicer 10A in the initial operation standby state turns on the power switch that has been in the OFF state, thereby opening the windshield cover 60 and entering the fiber set standby state. The fusion splicer 10A in the fiber set standby state clamps the clamp upper members 52 of the cover clamps 50 on both the left and right sides from the opened state with respect to the clamp lower member 51 in order to grip and fix the optical fiber 9 to the cover clamp 50. When the lower member 51 is closed, as described above, the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 on both the left and right sides transitions from detection to detection on both the left and right sides. Then, close the windshield cover.

The operation of the fusion splicer 10A after the completion of the windshield cover closing operation, the subsequent windshield cover opening operation, and the connection portion tensile inspection until the fiber set standby state is set is also referred to as a fiber fusion / inspection operation. In the fusion splicer 10A, when performing fusion splicing between the optical fibers 9, the clamp upper members 52 of the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides are opened from the clamp lower member 51 in the fiber set standby state. By closing the clamp lower member 51 and holding and fixing the optical fiber 9, the fiber fusion / inspection operation is automatically executed.
The fusion splicer 10A in the operation standby initial state is turned off in the operation standby initial state by operating the power switch to switch from the on state to the off state.

It should be noted that the fusion splicer 10A can also employ a configuration that does not perform the inspection completion notification operation.
The fusion splicer 10A, for example, does not perform the inspection completion notification operation when the connection portion tensile inspection is completed at the same time or before the completion of the windshield cover opening operation, and after the completion of the windshield cover opening operation, A person may be allowed to perform a fiber take-out operation.
In addition, the fusion splicer 10A does not perform the inspection completion notification operation and completes the windshield cover opening operation when, for example, the connection portion tensile inspection is completed when a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the windshield cover opening operation. An operator may perform the fiber take-out operation after the elapse of time for completing the connection portion tensile inspection.

The fusion splicer 10A finally moves the movable stage 22 on both the left and right sides to the standby position by driving (moving) the stage pressing member 81 or the elastic urging force of the stage urging spring 83 after the completion of the fiber extraction operation by the operator. The pressing member contact portion of the movable stage 22 is brought into contact with the stage pressing member 81 by the elastic biasing force of the stage biasing spring 83. The state of the fusion splicer 10A at this time is also referred to as a fiber set standby state.
In the fusion splicer 10A, when the power switch (not shown) is turned off from the on state, the movable stage 22 is disposed at the standby position and the windshield cover 60 is closed (hereinafter referred to as the operation standby initial state). Say). The fusion splicer 10A in the initial operation standby state turns on the power switch that has been in the OFF state, thereby opening the windshield cover 60 and entering the fiber set standby state. The fusion splicer 10A in the fiber set standby state clamps the clamp upper members 52 of the cover clamps 50 on both the left and right sides from the opened state with respect to the clamp lower member 51 in order to grip and fix the optical fiber 9 to the cover clamp 50. When the lower member 51 is closed, as described above, the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a of the clamp closing detector 31 on both the left and right sides transitions from detection to detection on both the left and right sides. Then, close the windshield cover.

The operation of the fusion splicer 10A after the completion of the windshield cover closing operation, the subsequent windshield cover opening operation, and the connection portion tensile inspection until the fiber set standby state is set is also referred to as a fiber fusion / inspection operation. In the fusion splicer 10A, when performing fusion splicing between the optical fibers 9, the clamp upper members 52 of the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides are opened from the clamp lower member 51 in the fiber set standby state. By closing the clamp lower member 51 and holding and fixing the optical fiber 9, the fiber fusion / inspection operation is automatically executed.
The fusion splicer 10A in the fiber set standby state enters the operation standby initial state by operating the power switch that has been in the on state to turn it off.

The covering clamp 50 of the fusion splicer 10 </ b> A can be attached to and detached from the movable stage 22. The movable stage 22 of the fusion splicer 10 can be used as a holder mounting portion for mounting the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 with the covering clamp 50 removed. The movable stage 22 can use the upper part as a holder mounting part.
In the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention, the movable stage 22 is dedicated to the attachment of the covering clamp 50 and may not be used as a holder mounting portion for mounting the fiber holder 40. Adoption.

FIG. 2 is another aspect of the fusion splicer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The covering clamp 50 on the movable stage 22 of the fusion splicer 10A illustrated in FIG. 1 is omitted, and the movable stage 22 is The optical fiber 9 is configured to be used as a holder mounting portion for mounting the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9. Reference numeral 10B in the figure is added to the fusion splicer 10 in FIG.
The fiber holder 40 is placed on the movable stage 22 and is detachable from the movable stage 22.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the fiber holder 40 is held and fixed by sandwiching the optical fiber 9 between a base plate 41 and a lid plate 42 that is pivotally attached to the base plate 41 and can be opened and closed. The optical fiber 9 is gripped and placed on the movable stage 22 of the fusion splicer 10B.
The fiber holder 40 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 9 has a configuration in which a lid plate 42 is pivotally attached to an end portion on one side in the longitudinal direction of a rectangular plate-like base plate 41. The cover plate 42 can be opened and closed with respect to the base plate upper surface 41a which is the surface of the base plate 41 on one side in the thickness direction. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lid plate 42 is disposed at one end in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 8) of the rectangular plate-shaped base plate 41 via a rotation shaft 43 provided along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 41. The base plate 41 is pivotally attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, the optical fiber 9 is secured to the fiber holder 40 by securing a protruding portion 9 e with its distal end protruding from the fiber holder 40. Further, the optical fiber 9 held and fixed to the fiber holder 40 removes the coating at the tip of the protruding portion 9e to expose the optical fiber glass portion 9a (bare optical fiber).
The fiber holder 40 holds and fixes the covering portion 9d of the optical fiber 9 between the base plate 41 and the lid plate 42.

  When the optical fibers 91 and 92 held and fixed to the fiber holder 40 are fusion-connected using the fusion splicer 10B, the optical fiber 9 is opened with the windshield cover 60 opened (see, for example, FIG. 4). Is placed on the movable stage 22. That is, the fiber holders 40 each holding the optical fiber 9 are placed on the pair of movable stages 22 of the fusion splicer 10B. The optical fiber 9 is attached to the fusion splicer 10 </ b> B by placing the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 on the movable stage 22. The movable stage 22 functions as a fiber attachment unit for attaching the optical fiber 9 to the fusion splicer 10B.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this fusion splicer 10B, when the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 is placed on the left and right movable stages 22, respectively, the protrusion 9e from the fiber holder 40 is preliminarily placed. The optical fiber glass part 9a from which the coating has been removed is placed in the positioning groove 23a on the groove forming substrate 23, and the tip of the optical fiber glass part 9a of the optical fiber 9 held by the fiber holders 40 on both the left and right sides is slightly The length of the protruding portion 9e from the fiber holder 40 and the length of the coating removal of the optical fiber glass portion 9a at the tip thereof are determined using a fiber holder dedicated coating removal tool or a fiber holder dedicated cutting machine so as to face each other through a clearance. Adjustment is unnecessary.
Also, the coating removal length of the optical fiber glass portion 9a is such that the tips of the optical fiber glass portion 9a can be arranged at positions where they can be fusion-bonded to each other before the movable stage 22 is advanced from the standby position and reaches the advance limit position. It has been adjusted in advance.

  The placement of the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 on the movable stage 22 is performed in a state where the movable stage 22 is disposed at the standby position (position of the movable stage 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). The fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 is placed with the base plate 41 on the upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22 in such a direction that the cover plate 42 is positioned on the base plate 41 whose longitudinal direction is aligned in the horizontal direction of the connecting device. Is mounted on the movable stage 22. The upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22 can be used as a holder placement surface for placing the fiber holder 40 (specifically, the base plate 41).

FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the movable stage 22.
As shown in FIG. 9, the movable stage 22 is formed in a plate shape.
Further, FIG. 9 shows that the movable stage 22 has two positioning pins 22b protruding on the movable stage upper surface 22a and a detector 32 (detecting that the fiber holder 40 is placed on the movable stage upper surface 22a. A movable unit 22A having a configuration in which a holder mounting detector) is attached is shown.
The positioning pin 22b of the movable unit 22A is shown only in FIGS. 9 and 11, and is not shown in drawings other than FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 9, the two positioning pins 22 b are inserted into pin fitting holes 41 b formed at two locations on the base plate 41 of the fiber holder 40 when the fiber holder 40 is placed on the movable stage 22. By being fitted, the fiber holder 40 functions to stably maintain the state where the fiber holder 40 is placed at a predetermined position on the movable stage 22 in a predetermined direction.
As the fiber holder 40 placed on the movable stage 22, one having pin fitting holes 41 b formed at two locations on the base plate 41 is used. The fiber holder 40 illustrated in FIG. 9 illustrates a configuration in which the pin fitting hole 41b is a through hole that penetrates the base plate 41 in the thickness direction. However, as the pin fitting hole 41b, the positioning plate 22b that opens on the lower surface of the base plate 41 opposite to the upper surface 41a of the base plate 41 and projects on the movable stage 22 is accommodated, and the base plate 41 of the fiber holder 40 is accommodated. May be configured so as to be able to contact and be placed on the upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22, and in this respect, a non-through hole that does not open to the upper surface 41a of the base plate may be used.

  The two positioning pins 22b of the movable unit 22A can be inserted into and removed from the two pin fitting holes 41b of the base plate 41. Therefore, the fiber holder 40 placed on the movable stage 22 by inserting and fitting the two positioning pins 22b of the movable unit 22A into the two pin fitting holes 41b of the base plate 41 is provided on the movable unit 22A. It can be removed from the movable stage 22 by moving upward along the two positioning pins 22b with respect to the movable stage 22.

Next, the holder placement detector 32 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the detector 32 is arranged by slightly projecting the tip end of the sensor pin 31b of the clamp closing detector 31 of the fusion splicer 10A illustrated in FIG. 1 on the movable stage upper surface 22a. Yes, except for the position of the tip of the sensor pin 31b, it is the same as the clamp closing detector 31 described above. Similarly to the clamp closing detector 31, the holder placement detector 32 (fiber attachment detector) will be described with reference numeral 31 a in the figure attached to the detector body and reference numeral 31 b in the figure attached to the sensor pin.
The fusion splicer 10B uses only the point that the movable stage 22 is used as a holder placement part and the point that the holder placement detector 32 is used instead of the clamp closing detector 31. FIG. The connection machine is different from the connection machine 10A. Other than these differences, for example, the relationship between the detector 32 and the drive control device is the same as that of the fusion splicing machine 10A of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the detector 32 includes a detector main body 31a fixed to the lower side of the movable stage 22, and a sensor pin 31b protruding upward from the detector main body 31a. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the sensor pin 31b is inserted into an upper and lower through hole 22c that penetrates the movable stage 22 up and down, and its tip (upper end) protrudes above the movable stage upper surface 22a. . The position of the sensor pin 31b of the detector 32 at this time is the initial position.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12B, the upper ends of the upper and lower through holes 22c are open to the movable stage upper surface 22a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the holder placement detector 32 is in the initial position where the tip of the sensor pin 31 b slightly protrudes on the movable stage upper surface 22 a, the detector main body 31 a is in a non-detection state. When the holder placement detector 32 places the fiber holder 40 on the movable stage 22, the sensor pin 31b pressed by the base plate 41 of the fiber holder 40 lowered from above the movable stage 22 is pushed into the detector body 31a. . When the holder placement detector 32 is placed with the base plate 41 of the fiber holder 40 in contact with the movable stage 22, the detector body 31a switches from the non-detection state to the detection state, and the detector body. The detection signal acquired from 31a transits from no detection to detection. In the fusion splicer 10B, the detection signals acquired from the detector main bodies 31a of the holder mounting detectors 32 on the left and right sides both transition from non-detection to detection, and both are detected, whereby the movable stage 22 is detected. The placement of the fiber holder 40 on the top can be detected.

  Further, in this fusion splicer 10B, when the fiber holder 40 placed on the movable stage 22 is removed from the movable stage 22, the sensor pin 31b that has been pushed into the detector main body 31a returns to the initial position. Then, the detector main body 31a is switched from the detection state to the non-detection state. Thereby, as for the holder mounting detector 32, the detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a transits from detection to non-detection. In the fusion splicer 10B, the detection signals acquired from the detector main bodies 31a of the holder placement detectors 32 on the left and right sides both change from detection to non-detection, and both become non-detection. The removal of the fiber holder 40 placed on the top can be detected.

In this fusion splicer 10B, in the fiber set standby state similar to the above-described fusion splicer 10A, when the fiber holders 40 that hold and fix the optical fibers 9 are placed on the left and right movable stages 22, respectively, The windshield cover closing operation is executed automatically. After the windshield cover closing operation, the fusion splicer 10B automatically executes the fiber fusion / inspection operation in the same manner as the fusion splicer 10A described above.
The windshield cover closing operation of the fusion splicer 10B is obtained from both the detector main bodies 31a by the drive control device, with the detector main bodies 31a of the holder placement detectors 32 on both the left and right sides being switched from non-detection to detection. When both detection signals to be detected are detected, the operation is automatically started at that time or when a preset waiting time (for example, several seconds) elapses from that time. In the fusion splicer 10B, both detection signals acquired from the detector main bodies 31a of the holder mounting detectors 32 on the left and right sides in the drive control device are changed from a non-detection state to a detection state. In addition, this serves as a trigger signal to automatically start the fiber fusion / inspection operation.

In the case of the fusion splicer 10B, after the windshield cover opening operation, the cover plate 42 of the fiber holder 40 is opened instead of the covering clamp 50, and the fiber is taken out. After the optical fiber 9 is transported to the next process, the operator performs a holder removing operation for removing the fiber holders 40 from the movable stage 22 respectively.
The fusion splicer 10B finally performs the fiber fusion / inspection operation, so that the windshield cover 60 and the movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides are finally in a fiber set standby state similar to the fusion splicer 10A, that is, The windshield cover 60 is opened, and the left and right movable stages 22 are in the standby position.

This fusion splicer 10B is different from the fusion splicer 10A described with reference to FIG. 1 and the like in that the covering clamp 50 on the movable stage 22 is omitted and the movable stage 22 is used as a holder mounting portion. Only the point that the holder mounting detector 32 is used in place of the clamp closing detector 31 is different from the fusion splicer 10A, and the other configurations are the same as the fusion splicer 10A described above.
The fusion splicer 10B enters a fiber set standby state similar to the fusion splicer 10A when a power switch (not shown) is turned on from the off state. The fusion splicer 10B in the fiber set standby state is switched from the on state to the off state by operating the power switch to enter the operation standby initial state and the power is turned off.

  In the windshield cover closing operation of the fusion splicer 10 (common to the fusion splicers 10A and 10B), for example, the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are independently driven to rotate, but the speed is rotationally driven at the same constant speed. To do. However, the fusion splicer 10 is not limited to this. In the windshield cover closing operation, for example, only the second cover member 62 to which the fiber clamp member 25 is connected starts to close at a high speed, and the closing end starts to close. It is also possible to drive at a slower speed. As an example of the windshield cover closing operation, the moving speed of the fiber clamp member 25 accompanying the rotation of the second cover member 62 (the moving speed of the distal end portion of the pressing piece 25a) is about 50 cm / s at the beginning of the closing of the second cover member 62. And securing a closed end section that moves at a speed of approximately 1 cm / s. In the movement path of the fiber clamp member 25 in the windshield cover closing operation, it is possible to secure a closing end section in which the fiber clamp member 25 is driven at a slower speed (for example, approximately 1 cm / s) than the start of closing. This effectively contributes to suppressing (or eliminating) the occurrence of vibrations when closing.

Driving the second cover member 62 at the start of closing at a high speed and the closing end at a speed slower than that at the start of closing is effective for preventing damage to the optical fiber glass portion 9a and ensuring the strength of the fusion splicing portion. is there.
As in the fusion splicer described in Patent Document 2 described above, in the conventional splice splicer, the windshield cover and the clamp arm are normally linked, but when the windshield cover is quickly closed, the fiber A clamp member comes to collide with an optical fiber at high speed. The graph of FIG. 22 shows an optical fiber when one optical fiber is mounted on the V-groove on the optical fiber fusion splicer corresponding to Patent Document 2 and the windshield cover is closed at a high speed and when the windshield cover is closed slowly. These are comparisons of the tensile strength at break. Since the glass part of the optical fiber is damaged by the fiber clamp member, the strength of the optical fiber is reduced from about 7 GN / m ² at the beginning, but the damage to the optical fiber is greater when the windshield cover is closed quickly. . This experiment shows only the damage that the fiber clamp member gives to the optical fiber. Actually, the damage after removing the sheath, cutting, and fusion splicing is added, and the strength after fusion splicing is further reduced. To do.

  On the other hand, as described above, in the windshield cover closing operation, for example, the closing of the second cover member 62 to which the fiber clamp member 25 is connected is started at a higher speed and the closing end is made slower than the start of closing. The structure driven at a speed can moderate the descending speed of the fiber clamp member 25 and reduce damage to the optical fiber without a special mechanism.

The movable unit 22A illustrated in FIG. 9 can attach the covering clamp 50 to the movable stage 22 so as to be detachable.
FIGS. 11A to 12B show an example of a movable stage 22B with a clamp configured by attaching a covering clamp 50 on the movable stage 22 of the movable unit 22A. FIG. 10 shows an example of the fusion splicer 10B in which the covering clamp 50 is attached to the movable stage 22 of the movable unit 22A on both the left and right sides of the fusion splicer 10B of FIG. Show.

In this case, as the covering clamp 50, pin fitting holes 56 into which the positioning pins 22b of the movable unit 22A can be inserted and fitted from the lower side of the lower clamp member 51 are formed in two places of the lower clamp member 51. The one of the configuration is used.
The covering clamp 50 can be mounted on the movable stage 22 by inserting the positioning pins 22b of the movable unit 22A into the two pin fitting holes 56 of the lower clamp member 51. The covering clamp 50 can be attached to and detached from the movable stage 22 by sliding the clamp lower member 51 along the positioning pins 22b inserted and fitted into the two pin fitting holes 56.
The pin fitting hole 56 of the lower clamp member 51 of the covering clamp 50 in the illustrated example is a through hole that penetrates the thickness of the plate-like lower clamp member 51. However, as the pin fitting hole 56, the positioning pin 22b protruding on the movable stage 22 is accommodated in an insertable / removable manner from an opening opening on the lower surface opposite to the upper surface 51a of the lower clamp member 51, Any structure may be used as long as the lower clamp member 51 can be brought into contact with and placed on the upper surface 22 a of the movable stage 22. In this regard, the pin fitting hole 56 may be a non-through hole that does not open in the lower clamp member upper surface 51a.

  The movable stage 22B with a clamp illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12A and 12B is placed on the clamp upper member 52 of the covering clamp 50 and on the mating surface side to be closed from the clamp upper member 52 to the clamp lower member 51. A protruding extension lever 53 is attached. The extension lever 53 closes the sensor pin 31b of the detector 32 by the protruding end when the clamp upper member 52 opened with respect to the clamp lower member 51 of the covering clamp 50 is closed with respect to the clamp lower member 51. Press toward. The movable stage 22B with a clamp has a sensor pin 31b detector in which the detector body 31a of the detector 32 is pressed against the protruding end of the extension lever 53 when the clamp upper member 52 of the covering clamp 50 is closed to the clamp lower member 51. By pressing into the main body 31a, the detection state is switched to the detection state. Further, the upper clamp member 52 can be disposed at a position separated from the front end portion of the sensor pin 31b without opening the front end portion of the sensor pin 31b at the initial position by opening with respect to the lower clamp member 51.

As shown in FIGS. 11, 12A, and 12B, the lower end portion 51 of the sensor pin 31b protruding on the movable stage 22 is provided on the lower clamp member 51 of the covering clamp 50 of the movable stage 22B with a clamp. A notch portion 54 to be exposed is formed. The notch 54 is formed in a recessed shape that is recessed from the end surface 51b (axis-side end surface) of the lower clamp member 51 that faces the rotary shaft 55 that pivotally attaches the upper clamp member 52 to the lower clamp member 51. Yes.
On the other hand, the extension lever 53 is inserted into the cutout portion 54 of the lower clamp member 51 when the upper clamp member 52 is closed to the lower clamp member 51 so that the tip of the sensor pin 31b can be pressed downward. The member 52 protrudes from the rotating shaft 55 side.
In this configuration, the extension lever 53 protruding from the upper clamp member 52 is an obstacle to the operation of inserting the optical fiber 9 between the lower clamp member 51 and the upper clamp member 52 in the open state with respect to the lower clamp member 51. There is an advantage that it is difficult to become.

Even when the movable unit 22A attaches the covering clamp 50 on the movable stage 22 or when the movable stage 22 is used as a holder mounting portion, the design of the detector 32 and the installation position with respect to the movable stage 22 are not changed. Can be used as is.
The detector 32 of the movable unit 22A can be used as a clamp closing detector in the movable stage 22B with a clamp, and in the case where the movable stage 22 is used as a holder mounting portion without attaching the covering clamp 50, a holder. It can be used as a mounting detector.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a positioning groove 23 a on the groove forming substrate 23 is formed inside one of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 (cover member 62 in the illustrated example) constituting the windshield cover 60. A fiber clamp member 25 is attached to press the optical fiber glass portion 9a at the tip of the placed optical fiber 9 from above to the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a. When the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed together, the fiber clamp member 25 allows the optical fiber glass portion 9a at the tip end of the optical fiber 9 placed in the positioning groove 23a to be opened from above the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a. And pressed into the groove forming substrate 23.
Of the pair of cover members 61, 62, the cover member 61 without the fiber clamp member 25 is referred to as the first cover member, and the cover member 62 with the fiber clamp member 25 is referred to as the first. It is also called 2 cover member.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the windshield cover 60 closes a pair of cover members 61, 62 so as to close the pair of electrode rods 24, the discharge portion 24 a, the right and left groove forming substrates 23, and fiber clamps. It is configured in a container shape that houses and covers the member 25 and the fiber holders 40 placed on the left and right movable stages 22. The windshield cover 60 in the closed state as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 prevents the outside wind from entering the inside of the windshield cover 60, and the wind is generated in the fusion splicing between the optical fibers 9 in the discharge portion 24 a. Prevent influence.

  The pair of cover members 61 and 62 are formed in an elongated shape extending along the connecting machine left-right direction. The pair of cover members 61 and 62 are provided at two places in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 20. The windshield cover 60 is configured in a half structure by a pair of front and rear cover members 61 and 62.

  The windshield cover 60 in the closed state as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 has two members in the front-rear direction (FIG. 5, FIG. 7 left-right direction) from the front and rear, that is, the first cover member from the front-rear center to the front. 61 and a second cover member 62 on the rear side. A boundary surface 67 of a pair of cover members 61 and 62 that are closed to each other is present at the center in the front-rear direction of the windshield cover 60 in the closed state. In the illustrated windshield cover 60, the boundary surface 67 extends along a virtual vertical plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

  When the windshield cover 60 is closed as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the cover main wall 64 extending in the left-right direction of the connecting device with an arched cross section, and both ends of the cover main wall 64 in the extending direction The cover end wall portion 65 projecting perpendicularly to the extending direction of the cover main wall portion 64 is provided on the inner surface side. The cover end wall portions 65 at both ends in the extending direction of the cover main wall portion 64 are extended groove grooves 66 that are groove-like regions along the cover main wall portion 64 on the inner peripheral side of the cover main wall portion 64 having an arched cross section. Both ends of the direction are blocked.

The first cover member 61 has a main wall portion 61b extending in an arched cross section, and projects from both ends of the main wall portion 61b in the extending direction to the inner surface side thereof in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the main wall portion 61b. It is the structure which has the end wall part 61c made.
The second cover member 62 has a main wall portion 62b extending in an arch shape in cross section, and projects from both ends of the main wall portion 62b in the extending direction to the inner surface side thereof in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the main wall portion 62b. And an end wall portion 62c.

In the windshield cover 60 in the closed state as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are connected to one end face through the center of the cross section of the main wall portions 61 b and 62 b having a cross-sectional arch shape, The end surfaces of the end wall portions 61c and 62c are closed. Each of the cover members 61 and 62 has closed end surfaces 61d and 62d that are closed together to form a boundary surface 67 when the windshield cover 60 is closed.
Further, the windshield cover 60 is configured such that the cover members 61 and 62 are closed to each other, so that the main wall portions 61 b and 62 b of the cover members 61 and 62 constitute the cover main wall portion 64, and the end walls of the cover members 61 and 62 are formed. The cover end wall portion 65 is configured by the portions 61c and 62c.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the cover members 61 and 62 have main body joint surfaces 61 e and 62 e that are joined to the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body when the windshield cover 60 is closed. The cover members 61 and 62 are pivotally attached to the apparatus main body 20 via rotation shafts 61a and 62a, respectively, on the opposite sides of the main body joint surfaces 61e and 62e from the closing end surfaces 61d and 62d. Each of the cover members 61 and 62 is a rotation cover member that is rotatably attached to the apparatus main body 20 via the rotation shafts 61a and 62a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5-8, the rotating shafts 61a and 62a of each cover member 61 and 62 are provided in the position shifted | deviated to the connecting machine front-back direction from the discharge part 24a. The cover members 61 and 62 are pivotally attached to the apparatus main body 20 by rotation shafts 61a and 62a so as to be rotatable with a rotation axis in the left-right direction of the connecting device. Further, each of the rotation shafts 61a and 62a is attached to the apparatus main body 20 along the upper surface 21 thereof. The axis of rotation of the cover members 61 and 62 with respect to the apparatus main body 20 is located at a position that coincides with the apparatus main body upper surface 21 or slightly deviates from the apparatus main body upper surface 21 in the connecting machine vertical direction (the vertical direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the cover members 61 and 62 are arranged such that the main body joint surfaces 61 e and 62 e are between the boundary surface 67 and the rotation shafts 61 a and 62 a in a state where the windshield cover 60 is closed. Bonded to the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body. When the windshield cover 60 is in the closed state, the cover members 61 and 62 are located between the respective rotary shafts 61 a and 62 a and the boundary surface 67 in the connecting machine front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 is formed in an elongated shape extending along the left-right direction of the connecting device. As shown in FIG. 8, the fiber clamp members 25 are provided at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the second cover member 62.
The fiber clamp members 25 at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the second cover member 62 are provided at positions corresponding to the groove forming substrates 23 on the left and right sides via the discharge portion 24a when the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed. It has been. That is, when the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed, the fiber clamp members 25 at the two positions of the second cover member 62 cause the positioning grooves 23a of the groove forming substrates 23 on the left and right sides to pass through the discharge portions 24a. The optical fiber glass portion 9a of the optical fiber 9 that is placed can be pressed toward the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the illustrated windshield cover 60 are not the same size but different from each other. As shown in FIG. 5, the boundary surface 67 of the windshield cover 60 in the closed state has a first cover member 61 from the center position between the rotation shafts 61 a and 62 a of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 in the front-rear direction of the connecting machine. Is at a position shifted toward the rotating shaft 61a. The first cover member 61 is formed so that the front-rear dimension in the state in which the windshield cover 60 is closed is smaller than that of the second cover member 62.

  When the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed to each other, the windshield cover 60 has an end portion on the closing end surface 62d side (hereinafter referred to as a closing side end portion 62f) of the main wall portion 62b of the second cover member 62. Disposed above the discharge part 24a, the left and right groove forming substrates 23, and the left and right fiber holders 40. The fiber clamp members 25 at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the second cover member 62 are provided on the inner surface side of the closing side end portion 62 f of the main wall portion 62 b of the second cover member 62. Therefore, when the windshield cover 60 is in a closed state, the fusion splicer 10 is provided with the optical fiber glass portions 9a of the optical fibers 9 respectively placed in the positioning grooves 23a of the groove forming substrates 23 on the left and right sides. The fiber clamp members 25 at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the second cover member 62 can be pressed toward the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a.

The dimensions of the closing end surfaces 61d and 62d of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are the same, and when the windshield cover 60 is closed, the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are closed without any gap.
In the second cover member 62, when the windshield cover 60 is in a closed state, the closing side end portion 62f of the main wall portion 62b includes the discharge portion 24a, the left and right groove forming substrates 23, and the left and right fiber holders 40. Of these, any structure may be used as long as it is disposed above the groove forming substrates 23 on both the left and right sides. Therefore, as the pair of cover members 61, 62, for example, when the windshield cover 60 is in a closed state, the closing side end portions 62f of the main wall portion 62b of the second cover member 62 are formed with grooves on both the left and right sides. A configuration in which the end portion on the closing end surface 61d side of the main wall portion 61b of the first cover member 61 is disposed above only the substrate 23 and above the discharge portion 24a and the left and right fiber holders 40 is also employed. Is possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the fiber clamp member 25 in the illustrated example includes a pressing piece 25 a that comes into contact with the optical fiber glass portion 9 a of the optical fiber 9 placed in the positioning groove 23 a, and the pressing piece 25 a. And a shaft portion 25c extending from the side opposite to the fiber pressing surface 25b at the tip which is in contact with the optical fiber glass portion 9a. In the fiber clamp member 25, the rear end portion opposite to the front end integrated with the pressing piece 25a of the shaft portion 25c is fixed to the inner surface of the closing side end portion 62f of the main wall portion 62b of the second cover member 62. It is attached to the clamp support member 26a and is provided on the inner surface side of the second cover member 62.

The rear end portion of the shaft portion 25c of the fiber clamp member 25 is movable to the clamp support member 26a in the tangential direction of the rotation locus around the rotation shaft 62a (second cover member rotation shaft) of the clamp support member 26a. It is supported. However, the shaft portion 25c is secured to the clamp support member 26a so as not to come out of the clamp support member 26a. Further, the fiber clamp member 25 is separated from the inner surface of the closing side end portion 62f of the main wall portion 62b with respect to the second cover member 62 by a spring 26b interposed between the pressing piece 25a and the clamp support member 26a. It is elastically biased in the direction of separation.
Note that the illustrated spring 26b is specifically a coil spring, and is externally attached to the shaft portion 25c of the fiber clamp member 25.

  When the windshield cover 60 is in a closed state, the fusion splicer 10 is configured so that the optical fiber glass portions 9a of the optical fibers 9 respectively placed in the positioning grooves 23a of the groove forming substrates 23 on both the left and right sides 2 The fiber clamp members 25 at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 62 can be pressed toward the groove bottom of the positioning groove 23a with an appropriate pressing force.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the apparatus main body 20 of the fusion splicer 10 incorporates a camera 71 for imaging an optical fiber disposed in the discharge unit 24a (or the vicinity thereof). Yes. In addition, imaging light sources 72a and 72b for irradiating light when the camera 71 captures an image on the discharge portion 24a (or the vicinity thereof) are disposed inside the pair of cover members 61 and 62, respectively. Yes.

The camera 71 is incorporated in two places of the apparatus main body 20 that are displaced from each other in the front-rear direction. Of the two cameras 71, reference numeral 71a is added to the first camera located on the front side, and reference numeral 71b is added to the second camera located on the rear side.
The apparatus body 20 also incorporates lenses 73a and 73b arranged on the discharge unit 24a side of the cameras 71a and 71b. Each camera 71a, 71b images the optical fiber 9 arranged in the discharge part 24a (or its vicinity) through the light transmitting part provided in the apparatus main body 20 and the lenses 73a, 73b.

The fusion splicer 10 illuminates the optical fiber 9 with two imaging light sources 72a and 72b from two directions, and the two lenses 73a and 73b and the two cameras 71a and 71b illuminate the optical fiber 9 from the respective directions. The two-axis observation that images with two axes is realized.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the fusion splicer 10, when the windshield cover 60 is closed, the imaging light source 72 a inside the first cover member 61 and the second camera 71 b are arranged to face each other via the discharge part 24 a. Then, the imaging light source 72b inside the second cover member 62 and the first camera 71a are arranged to face each other via the discharge part 24a.

As the imaging light sources 72a and 72b, for example, light emitting diodes or the like can be suitably used.
The imaging light sources 72a and 72b may be turned on at least when the camera 71 captures an optical fiber. For this reason, the imaging light sources 72a and 72b can be turned on only when the optical fiber is captured by the camera 71, for example, and can be turned off otherwise.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fusion splicer 10 includes a switch base 11 provided on the apparatus main body 20 and a reinforcing sleeve heater 12.
The switch base 11 is disposed on the front end portion of the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body 20 so as to extend in the left-right direction of the connecting machine (the depth direction in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). An operation switch (not shown) is attached to the switch base 11.
The reinforcing sleeve heater 12 is disposed on the rear end portion of the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body 20 so as to extend along the left-right direction of the connecting device. The reinforcing sleeve heater 12 is a device that heats and contracts a heat-shrinkable reinforcing sleeve that is externally attached to a fusion spliced portion in which the optical fibers 91 and 92 are fusion-connected, and integrates the heat-shrinkable reinforcing sleeve. is there. The configuration having the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 on the apparatus main body 20 is an operation of taking out the fusion splicing portion between the optical fibers 91 and 92 from the discharge portion 24 a between the pair of electrode rods 24 and moving it to the reinforcing sleeve heater 12. Can be performed smoothly and efficiently.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fusion splicer 10 includes a monitor device 14 that displays an image captured by the camera 71.
The monitor device 14 is formed in a panel shape. As the monitor device 14, for example, a liquid crystal display device can be suitably used.
The monitor device 14 rotates mounting arms 14a projecting from both sides thereof on both the left and right sides (FIGS. 3 and 4) of the switch base 11 on the device body 20 with the rotation axis in the horizontal direction of the connecting device via the hinge pin 14b. It is attached freely.

The monitor device 14 can change the orientation with respect to the device main body 20 by rotating around the hinge pin 14b. However, in view of the operability of the fusion splicer 10 and the like, basically, the monitor device 14 is placed on the front surface 20a of the device main body 20. It is used as the direction (solid line in FIGS. 3 and 4). The direction of the monitor device 14 at this time is also referred to as a use direction. Further, the monitor device 14 has a display surface 14c on the side opposite to the device main body 20 side when in use as shown in FIGS.
The fusion splicer 10 has portability that can be carried by an operator, and can be suitably used, for example, for connection work of a communication cable (optical fiber cable). However, the fusion splicer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be widely applied as a fusion splicer used for fusion splicing between optical fibers, and has a portability, a communication cable (optical fiber cable). ) Is not limited to those used for connection work.
In addition, the angle adjustment range with respect to the apparatus main body 20 of the monitor apparatus 14 can be set as appropriate. For example, the display surface 14c is arranged on the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body and faces the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body from the above-described use direction. The angle may be adjustable up to.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end portion of the apparatus main body 20 has cover member receiving grooves 27 a and 27 b that are recessed from the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body on both front and rear sides via the center part in the front and rear direction of the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body. Is formed extending in the left-right direction of the connecting machine.
The pair of electrode rods 24 of the fusion splicer 10, the discharge portion 24 a, the left and right groove forming substrates 23, the left and right movable stages 22, and the rotation shafts 61 a and 62 a of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 are It is provided in the central base portion 28 between the cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b at the upper end portion of the apparatus main body 20.

  The rotation shafts 61a and 62a of the cover members 61 and 62 are located at a boundary portion (boundary position or in the vicinity thereof) between the upper surface 28a (a part of the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body) and the cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b. Is arranged. In this configuration, the rotation of the cover members 61 and 62 is greater than when the rotation axes of the cover members 61 and 62 are located far away from the boundary between the central base upper surface 28a and the cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b. The radius (the rotation radius of the portion having the maximum distance from the rotation axis) can be kept small. This configuration contributes effectively to downsizing of the cover members 61 and 62 and reduction of the rotation radius.

In addition, the upper surface 23b of the groove forming substrate 23 of the fusion splicer 10 substantially coincides with the extension of the central platform upper surface 28a. The rotation shafts 61a and 62a of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are disposed on the same plane that substantially coincides with the groove forming substrate upper surface 23b. The rotating shafts 61a and 62a of the cover members 61 and 62 are on the same plane as the optical fiber 9 (specifically, the optical fiber glass portion 9a) disposed in the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23. It is arranged to be located in.
This configuration prevents or suppresses the fiber clamp member 25 that presses the optical fiber 9 on the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23 from applying a twisting stress to the optical fiber 9 when closing the open windshield cover 60. Contributes effectively.

When the rotation axis of the fiber clamp member 25 (rotation axis of the second cover member 62) and the optical fiber 9 on the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23 are on the same plane perpendicular to the vertical direction of the connecting machine, the fiber clamp member 25 Since it descends perpendicular to the optical fiber 9, the generation of twisting stress on the optical fiber 9 can be suppressed.
Note that the rotation axis of the fiber clamp member 25 and the groove forming substrate upper surface 23b do not have to be strictly coincident with each other. If the rotation axis of the fiber clamp member 25 and the groove forming substrate upper surface 23b coincide with each other to some extent, twisting stress on the optical fiber 9 can be prevented.

A cover member accommodation groove 27 a (first cover member accommodation groove) in which the first cover member 61 is accommodated is formed between the switch base 11 and the central base portion 28. A cover member accommodation groove 27b (second cover member accommodation groove) in which the second cover member 62 is accommodated is formed between the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 and the central platform 28.
The fusion splicer 10 includes cover members 61 and 62 rotated in a direction separated from each other by the driving force of the power sources 63a and 63b from the closed state shown in FIG. 27b (see FIG. 4). The fusion splicer 10 has an arrangement in which the cover members 61 and 62 are inserted into the cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b so that the cover members 61 and 62 have an angle range exceeding 90 degrees (an angle range exceeding 90 degrees from the closed position). Can be rotated and opened.

  The cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b are formed in the top plate portion 29a (see FIGS. 3 to 6) of the apparatus main body 20. The cover members 61 and 62 do not enter the inside of the casing 29 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the apparatus main body 20 including the top plate portion 29a.

5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating a specific example of a fusion splicer in which cover member accommodation grooves 27a and 27b are formed in the upper end portion of the apparatus main body 20. FIG.
5 and 6, the first cover member accommodation groove 27 a is formed at a position shifted from the switch base 11 to the rear side between the switch base 11 and the central base portion 28. Further, the second cover member housing groove 27 b is formed at a position shifted forward from the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 between the reinforcing sleeve heater 12 and the central base portion 28. For this reason, a part of the apparatus main body upper surface 21 exists between the 1st cover member accommodation groove | channel 27a and the switch stand 11, and between the 2nd cover member accommodation groove | channel 27b and the reinforcement sleeve heater 12. FIG.
5 and 6 show that the cover members 61 and 62 rotated in the opening direction from the closing position (closed position shown in FIG. 5) shown in FIG. 5 can be received in the cover member receiving grooves 27a and 27b. Thus, the configuration in which the cover members 61 and 62 can be rotated about 135 degrees from the closed position is illustrated.

3 and 4 also illustrate a configuration in which the cover members 61 and 62 can be rotated about 135 degrees from the closed position.
The configuration in which the cover members 61 and 62 can be rotated in an angle range exceeding 90 degrees from the closed position widens the opening area when the windshield cover 60 is opened, detachment of the fiber holder from the movable stage 22, opening and closing of the covering clamp, etc. Has the advantage of facilitating.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a fiber holder 40 (optical fiber) mounted on the movable stage 22 is configured so that the cover members 61 and 62 can be rotated and opened in an angle range exceeding 90 degrees from the closed position. A space S (hereinafter also referred to as a finger space) in which a finger of a hand can be inserted can be easily ensured between the fiber holder 40) holding and fixing 9 and the open cover members 61, 62 on both sides thereof. In this configuration, the fiber holder 40 is grasped from both sides by fingers inserted into the finger spaces S on both sides of the fiber holder 40, and the fiber holder 40 is attached to and detached from the movable stage 22 (specifically, the movable stage 22 is moved up and down). Operation).
Further, in the case where the covering clamp 50 is provided on the movable stage 22, the fingers inserted into the finger space S secured between the covering clamp 50 and the open cover members 61 and 62 on both sides thereof. The opening / closing operation of the upper clamp member 52 with respect to the lower clamp member 51 can be easily performed.

  3 to 6, the first cover member 61 has a rotation radius (a rotation radius of a portion having a maximum distance from the rotation axis) between the first cover member rotation shaft 61 a and the switch base 11. It is formed smaller than. The second cover member 62 is formed such that the rotation radius (the rotation radius of the portion having the maximum distance from the rotation axis) is smaller than the distance between the second cover member rotation shaft 62 a and the reinforcing sleeve heater 12. . Therefore, the cover members 61 and 62 are both rotated from the closed position to the limit position in the opening direction, and when the cover members 61 and 62 reach the limit position in the opening direction, both from the apparatus main body 20 in the plan view of the fusion splicer 10. It does not protrude outside.

By the way, the windshield cover of the fusion splicer described in Patent Document 1 described above is projected and opened to the outside of the apparatus (for example, in front). Since the optical fiber fusion splicing operation involves a wiring operation, there is a risk that the optical fiber is hooked on the portion of the windshield cover protruding outside the device and disconnected when the windshield cover is open.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-90625 discloses an invention proposed for the purpose of preventing the windshield cover from projecting to the outside of the apparatus. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-90625, the windshield cover is divided into two parts, and each windshield cover is slid and retracted, or the windshield cover is rotated and retracted around the rotation shaft (51) inside the apparatus. A mechanism for preventing the cover from protruding outward is disclosed.

However, this mechanism has the following problems.
(1) In the case of a structure in which the windshield cover is slid back and forth, a retreat place is required on the upper surface of the fusion splicer. Since the fusion splicer for construction use used for connecting the communication cable is designed to be small, it is difficult to secure an evacuation place. If the sliding amount is small, the opening area when the windshield cover is open is narrowed, which hinders the operation of opening and closing the covering clamp lever with a finger or holding the fiber holder with the finger.

(2) In the case of a structure in which the windshield cover is rotated and retracted, the windshield cover is housed inside the apparatus by providing the rotating shaft (51) inside the apparatus. However, a fusion splicer for construction use used for connecting a communication cable is designed to be small and clogged with internal structures, so it is not easy to increase the rotation angle. It is difficult to open at an angle exceeding a degree. For this reason, even when the windshield cover is open, the opening area is reduced, which obstructs the operation of opening and closing the covered clamp lever with a finger or holding the fiber holder with the finger.

(3) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-90625 In the structure of FIG. 2, the fiber holder mounting base (39) is not housed in the windshield cover. This is a result of measures taken so that the windshield cover that opens only about 45 degrees does not interfere with the fiber holder mounting, but it is difficult to maintain the airtightness of the windshield cover, and the wind resistance is reduced. Furthermore, since the windshield cover is housed inside the apparatus, the sealing performance of the apparatus is lowered and the resistance to wind is also reduced.

On the other hand, there is also a proposal for downsizing without dividing the windshield cover.
Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-167151) described above discloses an invention that achieves downsizing of the windshield cover by disposing a fiber clamp member inside the windshield cover. However, this patent document 3 discloses a configuration in which the clamp arm is omitted.
Further, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 4382694), an illumination light source is arranged instead of the illumination light reflecting mirror inside the windshield cover, and the two illumination light sources outside the electrode rod are eliminated, and the windshield cover is made compact. An improved technique is disclosed.
In the above two cases, only the protrusion volume to the outside of the apparatus is reduced, and the protrusion is not completely eliminated.

As described above, there has been no suitable technique that can sufficiently secure the airtightness in the closed state of the windshield cover, can easily secure the opening area when opened, and can eliminate the protrusion to the outside of the apparatus.
In contrast, the fusion splicer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which the cover members 61 and 62 that have been opened can be accommodated in the cover member accommodation grooves 27a and 27b formed on the upper surface 21 of the apparatus body. Even if the cover members 61 and 62 are reduced in size to prevent protrusion to the outside of the apparatus, a sufficient opening area can be secured when the windshield cover is opened. In the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention, the cover members 61 and 62 are downsized in a range in which the fiber clamp member 25, the imaging light sources 72a and 72b, the fiber holder 40, and the covering clamp 50 can be accommodated. Protrusion to the outside of the device can be easily prevented. Further, at the time of closing, the pair of electrode rods 24, the discharge portion 24a, the groove forming substrate 23 and the fiber clamp member 25 on both the left and right sides, and the fiber holder 40 or the covering clamp 50 disposed on the left and right movable stages 22, respectively. The windshield cover 60 that houses the imaging light sources 72a and 72b in the illustrated example has a wind intrusion from the outside to the inside of the windshield cover as compared to the windshield cover that does not contain the fiber holder or the covering clamp. This is advantageous for prevention, and it is possible to reliably prevent the wind from affecting the fusion splicing between the optical fibers 91 and 92 in the discharge part 24a.

Many fusion splicers that have been supplied to the market have been designed so that the liquid crystal monitor cannot be seen with the windshield cover open. In the fusion splicer described in Patent Document 1, the liquid crystal monitor is set so as to rotate to an easy-to-see position, but when the windshield cover is opened, the liquid crystal monitor cannot be viewed from the operator.
On the other hand, the cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 of the fusion splicer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention are downsized so as not to protrude outward from the apparatus body 20 when the windshield cover 60 is opened. Yes. For this reason, the cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 are not arranged at a position where the outer monitor device 14 is shielded from the apparatus main body 20 regardless of the open / close state of the windshield cover 60, and the visibility of the monitor device 14 is not affected. Will not be affected.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the windshield cover 60 is disposed in the recessed portion 13 between the switch base 11 and the reinforcing sleeve heater 12, and does not protrude from the recessed portion 13. For this reason, this fusion splicer 10 can reduce the probability that the windshield cover 60 having a low strength will be damaged when falling downside down.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which only the first cover member 61 to which the fiber clamp member 25 is not attached is manually opened from the state in which the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 are closed to each other.
The operation of manually opening one of the cover members 61 and 62 closed together is, for example, a temporary stop (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 20 after the windshield cover closing operation and before the completion of the pre-optical fiber connection inspection operation. All the power sources of the fusion splicer are stopped by pressing the button.

  The fusion splicer 10 is operated by pushing the operation restart button (not shown) after all the power sources of the fusion splicer are stopped by pushing the pause button. The pre-fiber connection inspection operation and the subsequent operation are executed. However, execution of the pre-optical fiber connection inspection operation by pressing the operation restart button indicates that the two windshield cover detectors 33 (see FIG. 5) indicate that the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are disposed at the closed positions. Both are realized while detecting. When one or both of the two windshield cover detectors 33 do not detect that the pair of cover members 61 and 62 are disposed at the closed positions, the optical fiber connection inspection is performed even if the operation restart button is pressed. The action is not performed.

  The pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 of the fusion splicer 10 can be rotationally opened and closed in synchronization with the power generated by the windshield opening and closing power sources 63a and 63b (see FIGS. 3 and 4). ing. The fusion splicer 10 has a power transmission system that transmits power for rotation and opening / closing from the windshield opening / closing power sources 63a, 63b for each of the cover members 61, 62. However, the two power transmission systems for each of the cover members 61 and 62 are independent from each other, and the two power sources 63a and 63b for opening and closing the windshield are also independent from each other, so that the rotational drive of the cover members 61 and 62 is stopped. When the first cover member 61 is manually rotated while the first cover member 61 is rotating, the second cover member 62 is not interlocked with the rotation operation of the first cover member 61 and remains stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the fusion splicer 10 includes only the first cover member 61 to which the fiber clamp member 25 is not attached from the state in which the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 are closed together. Opening manually enables visual confirmation of the optical fiber gripping state by the fiber clamp member 25 from the direction of the arrow X. Further, the fusion splicer 10 manually opens only the first cover member 61 from a state in which the pair of cover members 61 and 62 of the windshield cover 60 are closed to each other, so that the gap between the pair of cover members 61 and 62 is increased. An operator can insert a finger to secure a space (opening) for manually adjusting the position of the fiber clamp member 25 or the tip of the optical fiber 9. Thereby, the fusion splicer 10 can easily perform manual position adjustment of the fiber clamp member 25 and the optical fiber 9 tip.

  By the way, a windshield cover that can be opened and closed to cover the pair of electrode rods, the positioning grooves and the fiber clamp members on both the left and right sides, and the fiber holder or the covering clamp mounted on the holder mounting portions on the left and right sides when closed. It is necessary to visually check whether the optical fiber is accurately gripped by the positioning groove and the fiber clamp member in the state in which the windshield cover is closed in the connection work in which the optical fibers are fusion-spliced using the fusion splicer. There is. In particular, when there is a strong bend (warp) in the coating of the optical fiber, the optical fiber may jump out of the positioning groove, and the optical fiber may not be correctly gripped by the fiber clamp member. It is necessary to manually lower the fiber clamp member while pressing the optical fiber in the positioning groove with a finger. However, for example, when the fiber clamp member attached to the windshield cover is interlocked with opening and closing of the windshield cover as in the fusion splicer described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, this operation cannot be performed.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which a windshield cover and a clamp arm are mechanically coupled and interlocked as understood with reference to FIGS. In the technique described in Patent Document 2, if a mechanism for disconnecting the clamp arm from the outside of the windshield cover is added and the windshield cover is opened after disconnecting the connection, the gripping state of the optical fiber by the fiber clamp member can be confirmed. If there is a problem in the gripping state, the fiber clamp member is manually operated to correct the gripping state of the optical fiber, and after closing the windshield cover, the clamp arm is interlocked again to return to the original state.
However, there are the following problems.
-A mechanism that allows the windshield cover and clamp arm to be connected and disconnected from outside the windshield cover is required.
-When the clamp arm is disconnected, the clamp arm is closed to correct the gripping state, and when the windshield cover is closed and reconnected later, the gripping state of the optical fiber by the fiber clamp member deteriorates again due to reconnection vibration. There are things to do.

  On the other hand, as described above, the fusion splicer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention does not rotate the cover member to which the fiber clamp member 25 is attached when driving of the cover member is stopped. The cover member can be manually opened and closed. This fusion splicer is equipped with a special mechanism on the windshield cover, such as a mechanism that allows the windshield cover and the clamp arm to be connected and disconnected from the outside of the windshield cover. It is possible to realize manual opening and closing of other cover members without rotating the cover member to which the fiber clamp member is attached only by the configuration of the power transmission system. In addition, since the fusion splicer 10 does not require connection and disconnection of the clamp arm with respect to the windshield cover, it is possible to maintain the optical fiber gripping state even after the optical fiber gripping state is corrected.

  In the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention, the fiber clamp member is a rotary cover member in addition to the configuration in which the fiber clamp member is directly coupled to the inside of the rotary cover member (for example, FIGS. 5 and 6). It is also possible to adopt a configuration that is mechanically coupled to a clamp arm provided on the inner side of the rotary cover member and opens and closes with respect to the positioning groove in conjunction with opening and closing of the rotary cover member.

FIGS. 14-18 (a), (b) is a figure explaining the windshield cover 60A of another aspect.
In FIGS. 14 to 18A and 18B, the left side is the front, the right side is the rear, the upper side is the upper side, and the lower side is the lower side.
As shown in FIGS. 14-17, this windshield cover 60A is fixed to the apparatus main body 20 in addition to a pair of cover members 61 and 62 (rotary cover member), and the rear-end part of a pair of electrode rod 24 is respectively shown. It has two cover members 68 (hereinafter also referred to as fixed cover members) to be accommodated, and is configured by a total of four cover members. The pair of fixed cover members 68 are provided on both front and rear sides of the discharge portion 24a. 14 to 17, the fixed cover member 68 on the front side (left side in FIGS. 14 to 17) of the discharge portion 24 a is hereinafter referred to as the first fixed cover member 681 and the rear side of the discharge portion 24 a (in FIGS. 14 to 17). Hereinafter, the right) fixed cover member 68 is also referred to as a second fixed cover member 682.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 to 18A and 18B, the fixed cover members 681 and 682 include an inner cover portion 68a disposed on the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body, and a discharge portion 24a of the inner cover portion 68a. Has a fixed cover main body 68b protruding on the opposite side. Fixed cover cutouts 61g and 62g formed in a recessed shape recessed from the main body joint surface 62e side are formed in the longitudinal center portions of the main wall portions 61b and 62b of the cover members 61 and 62, respectively. Reference numerals 61A and 62A are attached to the cover members 61 and 62, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the fixed cover members 681 and 682 are fixed to the boundary portion between the upper surface 28 a of the central base portion at the upper end of the apparatus body 20 and the inner surfaces of the cover member receiving grooves 27 a and 27 b on both front and rear sides thereof. Is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the inner cover portion 68a is located inside the windshield cover 60A in a state where the cover members 61A and 62A of the windshield cover 60A are closed to each other. As shown in FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b), the inner cover portion 68a is formed in a generally U-shaped cross section with a pair of leg portions 68d projecting from one side of the top plate portion 68c. Yes. The inner cover portion 68a is provided on the device main body 20 with the protruding ends of the leg portions 68d on both sides opposite to the top plate portion 68c abutting against the upper surface 28a of the central base portion 28 of the device main body 20. .

The fixed cover member 68 is fixed to the central base portion 28 such that the axial direction of the inner hole surrounded by the inner cover portion 68a and the central base portion upper surface 28a is aligned with the front-rear direction of the connecting machine.
The fixed cover main body 68b of the first fixed cover member 681 has a generally arched shape (including U-shaped, V-shaped, etc. in addition to the arc shape) along the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cover notch 61g of the first cover member 61. The cross-sectional shape is formed to extend along a movement (rotation) locus of the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cover notch 61g accompanying rotation about the rotation shaft 61a of the cover member 61A.
The fixed cover main body 68b of the second fixed cover member 682 has a generally arched shape (including U-shaped, V-shaped, etc. in addition to the arc shape) along the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cover notch 62g of the second cover member 62. It has a cross-sectional shape and extends along a movement (rotation) locus of the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cover notch 62g accompanying rotation about the rotation shaft 62a of the cover member 62A.

  The fixed cover main body 68b of each fixed cover member 68 is extended from the inner periphery of the inner peripheral rib portion 68e protruding along the inner periphery of the end portion of the inner cover portion 68a opposite to the discharge portion 24a. Yes. The end surface of each fixed cover member 68 opposite to the inner cover portion 68a of the fixed cover main body 68b is in contact with the upper end portions of the inner surfaces of the cover member accommodation grooves 27a and 27b.

Even if the cover members 61A and 62A are opened and closed by rotation driving, the inner peripheral surfaces of the fixed cover notches 61g and 62g are always arranged close to or slide on the outer surface of the fixed cover main body 68b of the fixed cover members 681 and 682. The contact is possible. For this reason, invasion of wind, dust, and the like from the outside to the inside of the closed windshield cover 60 can be efficiently suppressed.
Further, when the windshield cover 60A is in the closed state, the portions of the main wall portions 61b and 62b of the cover members 61A and 62A that are located around the fixed cover cutout portions 61g and 62g are located inside the inner cover portion 68a. Since the peripheral rib portion 68e is arranged close to or in surface contact with the peripheral rib portion 68e, intrusion of wind, dust, and the like from the outside to the inside of the windshield cover 60 can be suppressed more efficiently.

The fusion splicer 10 according to the present invention can open and close the cover members 61 and 62 quickly and reliably with an appropriate force by automatically performing the opening and closing operation of the cover members 61 and 62 constituting the windshield cover 60. As a result, it is possible to shorten the work time for fusion splicing of optical fibers and improve workability.
Further, the fusion splicer 10 is automated by eliminating the protrusion of the cover members 61 and 62 from the apparatus main body 20 to the outside (outside in plan view) by downsizing the cover members 61 and 62. However, there is no problem of damaging the optical fiber by the cover member, and the cover members 61 and 62 can be opened and closed quickly and reliably.

  In addition, the fusion splicer 10 can shorten the work time and improve the workability as compared with, for example, a configuration in which the windshield cover is driven by an open / close button.

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.
The windshield cover is not limited to a configuration in which both of the pair of cover members are rotating cover members pivotally attached to the upper end of the apparatus main body via a rotating shaft. As the fusion splicer, for example, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the fiber clamp member 25 of the pair of cover members 61 and 62 (rotary cover members) in the fusion splicer 10 of the above-described embodiment. The first cover member 61 that is not provided is changed to a configuration in which the first cover member 61 is slid and moved in the front-rear direction of the connecting device with respect to the device body 20 by a slide moving mechanism 69 provided on the device body 20. About the 2nd cover member 62, there is no change from the fusion splicer 10 of the above-mentioned embodiment.
The cover member that is slid and moved along the upper surface of the apparatus main body 20 by the slide moving mechanism 69 is hereinafter also referred to as a slide cover member.
In the case of the configuration of FIGS. 19 and 20, a mechanism (slide movement mechanism 69) that moves and opens and closes the first cover member 61 that constitutes the windshield cover 60 </ b> B and a mechanism that opens and closes the second cover member 62 are independent of each other. It is a mechanism. For this reason, in the configuration of FIGS. 19 and 20, the first cover member 61 is opened and closed while the second cover member 62 is disposed at the closed position (the position of the second cover member 62 in FIGS. 19 and 20). Can be operated.

Moreover, as a windshield cover, the structure divided into 3 as shown in FIG. 21 is also employable.
The windshield cover 60C illustrated in FIG. 21 includes two divided cover members 611 and 612 obtained by dividing the first cover member 61 of the windshield cover 60 of the fusion splicer 10 of FIGS. It is comprised by the cover member 62 (rotary cover member). The two divided cover members 611 and 612 are rotation cover members pivotally attached to the apparatus main body 20 with the same rotation axis as the first cover member 61 of the windshield cover 60 of the fusion splicer 10 of FIGS. The two divided cover members 611 and 612 are rotated and opened and closed by a power transmission system provided corresponding to each of the divided cover members 611 and 612.

  Of the two divided cover members 611 and 612, the divided cover member 611 has a pair of fiber clamp members 25 provided on the second cover member 62 and movable on both the left and right sides when arranged at the closed position. One of the fiber holders 40 (or a coating clamp when a coating clamp is provided) disposed on the stage 22 can be covered. Hereinafter, the divided cover member 611 is also referred to as a divided cover main member.

The fusion splicer 10C illustrated in FIG. 21 opens a pair of left and right positioning grooves 23a and a pair of left and right inner sides of the second cover member 62 by opening only the split cover main member 611 with fingers while the windshield cover 60C is closed. The fiber clamp member 25 is exposed, and fingers can be inserted between the split cover main member 611 and the second cover member 62.
Further, the fusion splicer 10C does not need to open the remaining divided cover member 612 when the divided cover main member 611 is opened with respect to the second cover member 62 of the two divided cover members 611 and 612. . For this reason, the risk of dust entering the windshield cover can be reduced.

  As the fusion splicer according to the present invention, one or both of the two divided cover members 611 and 612 of the windshield cover 60C illustrated in FIG. 21 extend from the closed position to the front side of the splicer (left side in FIG. 21). It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a slide cover member that opens and closes by sliding in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper surface 21 of the apparatus main body is provided with a movable range. In this case, the slide cover member is slid in the front-rear direction with respect to the apparatus main body 20 by a slide moving mechanism 69 provided on the apparatus main body 20.

As a windshield cover, the structure which consists of several cover members (movable cover member) each opened and closed by a motive power source can be employ | adopted, and the size and / or shape of several cover members are mutually the same, but are different. Also good. The windshield cover may be divided into four or more cover members.
However, the windshield cover is a rotating cover member in which one or more cover members among the plurality of cover members constituting the windshield cover rotate around a rotation shaft arranged along the upper surface of the apparatus body. A configuration in which a fiber clamp member 25 is provided on the rotary cover member corresponding to the positioning groove of the fusion splicer is employed. The rotating cover member with the fiber clamp member has a configuration in which, for example, a pair of fiber clamp members 25 are attached (mechanically coupled) corresponding to the left and right positioning grooves of the fusion splicer. A configuration in which one of the two fiber clamp members corresponding to only one of the left and right positioning grooves (pressing the optical fiber) is provided on each of the rotating cover members is also possible.
Since the cover member other than the rotation cover member with the fiber clamp member is not necessarily a rotation cover member, it may be a slide cover member that is slid by a slide movement mechanism provided on the apparatus main body, for example.

Further, the windshield cover having a plurality of movable cover members may include one or more fixed cover members. In this case, as the windshield cover, for example, a configuration in which a movable cover member such as a rotating cover member or a slide cover member slides on the surface of the fixed cover member to open and close is employed.
The windshield cover divided into a plurality of cover members can employ a configuration including one or more rotating cover members, and can also employ a configuration including one or more fixed cover members.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the detectors 31 and 32 attached to the movable stage 22 may incorporate the detector main body 31 a in the movable stage 22. In this case, the detector main body 31a can be protected by the movable stage 22 from contact with members around the movable stage 22 as the movable stage 22 moves, so that the detection accuracy can be stably maintained and the life can be extended. it can.
The configuration in which the detector main body 31a of the fiber attachment detector (fiber attachment operation detector) is incorporated in the movable stage 22 is widely applicable to the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention. For example, FIG. The present invention can also be applied to the fusion splicer exemplified.

  The fiber attachment detector of the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the clamp closing detector and the holder placement detector. As the fiber attachment detector, for example, as shown in FIG. 26, a clamp fiber detector 34 that detects that the optical fiber 9 is placed on the lower clamp member 51 of the covering clamp 50 can be used. Further, as the fiber attachment detector, for example, as shown in FIG. 27, it is detected that the optical fiber 9 held and fixed to the fiber holder 40 is arranged at a predetermined position on the movable stage 22 (holder placing portion). A detector (hereinafter also referred to as a holder fiber detector 35) may be employed.

  26 passes the sensor pin 31b of the detector 31 in FIG. 23 through the sensor pin hole 51c penetrating the plate-like clamp lower member 51 of the covering clamp 50 in the thickness direction thereof, thereby lowering the clamp member. It protrudes on the upper surface 51a of 51. FIG. 26 illustrates a fusion splicer 10D having a configuration in which a clamp fiber detector 34 is provided instead of the clamp closing detector 31 of the fusion splicer 10A of FIG.

  In FIG. 26, the sensor pin 31b is positioned by the positioning groove 23a of the groove forming substrate 23, that is, the region where the optical fiber 9 is disposed on the upper surface 51a of the clamp lower member (hereinafter also referred to as fiber mounting region). It protrudes to the area | region on the clamp lower member upper surface 51a arrange | positioned. The clamp lower member 51 of the covering clamp 50 has fiber positioning means (not shown) such as a plurality of projecting pieces protruding on the upper surface 51a and grooves formed on the upper surface 51a. By the means, the optical fiber 9 is arranged in the fiber placement region of the upper surface 51a.

  Then, when the optical fiber 9 is disposed on the clamp lower member upper surface 51a, the clamp fiber detector 34 is pushed by pushing the sensor pin 31b pressed by the placement of the optical fiber 9 into the detector main body 31a. The detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a transits from no detection to detection. Thereby, the clamp fiber detector 34 detects that the optical fiber 9 is placed in the fiber placement region on the upper surface 51a of the lower clamp member.

  27 is obtained by projecting the sensor pin 31b of the detector 32 in FIG. 24 onto the upper surface 22a of the movable stage 22. The holder fiber detector 35 in FIG. FIG. 27 illustrates a fusion splicer 10E having a configuration in which a holder fiber detector 35 is provided in place of the holder placement detector 32 of the fusion splicer 10B of FIG.

  A portion of the sensor pin 31b of the holder fiber detector 35 protruding from the movable stage 22 can be inserted into a sensor pin hole 41c penetrating the base plate 41 of the fiber holder 40 in the thickness (plate thickness) direction. The fiber holder 40 positions and holds the optical fiber 9 in the fiber placement region on the base plate upper surface 41a by a fiber receiving groove 41d (see FIG. 9) formed on the upper surface 41a of the base plate 41. The upper end of the sensor pin hole 41c is opened in the fiber placement region.

  The holder fiber detector 35 has an optical fiber 9 in which the sensor pin 31b inserted into the sensor pin hole 41c of the base plate 41 is held and fixed to the fiber holder 40 when the fiber holder 40 is placed on the movable stage 22. , The detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a is changed from non-detection to detection. Thereby, the holder fiber detector 35 detects that the optical fiber 9 held and fixed to the fiber holder 40 is arranged at a predetermined position on the movable stage 22.

  A fusion splicer 10D having a configuration in which a clamp fiber detector 34 is provided as a fiber attachment detector on the left and right movable stages 22 and a holder fiber detector 35 is provided as a fiber attachment detector on the left and right movable stages 22. In the fusion splicer 10E configured as described above, in the fiber set standby state, the detection signal acquired by the drive control device from the detector main bodies 31a on both the left and right sides transitions from detection to detection on both the left and right sides. Thus, this becomes a trigger signal to start the fiber fusion / inspection operation.

The fusion splicer 10 </ b> D having the configuration in which the clamp fiber detector 34 is provided removes the optical fiber 9 held and fixed to the cover clamp 50 from the cover clamp 50, thereby detecting the detector of the clamp fiber detector 34. The detection signal acquired from the main body 31a transits from detection to no detection.
In addition, the fusion splicer 10E having the configuration in which the holder fiber detector 35 is provided removes the fiber holder 40 placed on the movable stage 22 from the movable stage 22, thereby The detection signal acquired from the detector main body 31a transits from detection to no detection.
Further, in the illustrated example, a configuration in which the detector main body 31a of the clamp fiber detector 34 is incorporated in the movable stage 22 and a configuration in which the detector main body 31a of the holder fiber detector 35 is incorporated in the movable stage 22 are exemplified. However, the attachment position of the detectors 34 and 35 to the movable stage 22 of the detector main body 31a is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate.

As shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, in the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention, the fiber attachment detector is omitted, and the finger detectors 36 for detecting the proximity of the operator's fingers are provided on both the left and right sides. The provided structure is also employable.
The finger detector 36 is attached to the side (rear end side) opposite to the heat fusion part 24 </ b> A via the movable stages 22 on both the left and right sides on the apparatus main body 20.
The installation position of the finger detector 36 on the apparatus main body 20 can be either an inner position covered by the windshield cover closed with respect to the apparatus main body 20 or an outer position not covered by the windshield cover. From the viewpoint of downsizing the cover, it is preferable that the outer position is not covered by the windshield cover.

The fusion splicer 10F shown in FIG. 28 detects the finger when the operator holds the finger holding the optical fiber 9 close to the covering clamp 50 in order to perform the operation of holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 to the covering clamp 50. The device 36 is configured to detect the proximity of a finger to the finger detector 36.
As the finger detector 36, for example, an infrared sensor, a thermo sensor, or the like can be employed.

  In the fusion splicer 10 </ b> G shown in FIG. 29, in order to place the fiber holder 40 holding and fixing the optical fiber 9 on the movable stage 22, an operator brings the finger holding the fiber holder 40 close to the movable stage 22. Sometimes, the finger detector 36 is configured to detect the proximity of a finger to the finger detector 36.

When the finger detector 36 detects a finger, the detection signal acquired by the drive control device from the finger detector 36 changes from non-detection to detection. Further, the finger detector 36 is acquired from the finger detector 36 to the drive control device when the finger (finger) that has been close to the finger detector 36 is separated from the finger detector 36 by a sufficient separation distance. Detected signal transitions from detection to no detection.
In the fusion splicers 10F and 10G shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, in the fiber set standby state, the detection signal acquired by the drive control device from the left and right finger detectors 36 is not detected on both the left and right sides, and is detected on both the left and right sides. , And then transitions to the left and right sides without detection, and this serves as a trigger signal to start the fiber fusion / inspection operation.

30 and 31 show a fusion splicer 10H in which an operation command input operation unit 37 for inputting an operation start command by manual operation is added to the above-described fusion splicer 10A.
The operation command input operation unit 37 in the illustrated example is specifically a push button provided on the switch base 11.
The configuration other than the operation command input operation unit 37 and the drive control device is the same as that of the fusion splicer 10A described above. For this reason, this fusion splicer 10H will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and other drawings illustrating the fusion splicer 10A described above, and FIGS. 30 and 31.

  In the fusion splicer 10H, both detection signals acquired by the drive control device from the detector body 31a of the clamp closing detectors 31 (see FIG. 1) on both the left and right sides are not detected in the fiber set standby state. In both cases, after the transition to the detection state, an operation designation is input to the drive control device by a pressing operation of the operation command input operation unit 37 (see FIGS. 30 and 31, here, a push button), which becomes a trigger signal. Then start fiber fusion and inspection. That is, the fusion splicer 10H detects both detection signals that the drive control device acquires from the detector main bodies 31a of the clamp closing detectors 31 on both the left and right sides in the fiber set standby state from the state where both are not detected. The fiber fusion / inspection operation is not started only by transitioning to the above state.

In this fusion splicer 10H, for example, in the fiber set standby state, after the optical fiber 9 is gripped and fixed to the covering clamps 50 on both the left and right sides, the operator visually confirms the arrangement state of the tip of the optical fiber 9 After that, by performing an operation of pushing in the operation command input operation unit 37 (here, a push button), the fusion splicing can be more reliably performed in a state where the optical fiber 9 is not displaced.
As the fusion splicer according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, an operation command input operation unit 37 is added to the fusion splicer 10B illustrated in FIG. After both detection signals acquired from the detector main bodies 31a of the holder placement detectors 32 on both sides are changed from the non-detection state to the detection state, the operation command input operation unit 37 (push button) is pressed. It is also possible to employ a fusion splicer that is configured to start fiber fusion / inspection operation by inputting an operation designation to the drive control device. Further, as the fiber attachment work detectors on the left and right sides of the fusion splicer provided with the operation command input operation unit 37, the fiber attachment detectors illustrated in FIGS. 23, 24, 26, and 27, FIG. 28, FIG. The finger detector 36 exemplified in 29 can also be used.
The fusion splicer whose fiber attachment work detector is the finger detector 36 has a detection signal that the drive control device acquires from the left and right finger detectors 36 in the fiber set standby state from no detection on both the left and right sides. After transitioning to detection on both sides and further transitioning to non-detection on both the left and right sides, an operation designation is input to the drive control device by a pressing operation of the operation command input operation unit 37 (push button), and this is triggered. Thus, it is possible to adopt a configuration for starting the fiber fusion / inspection operation.

In addition, there is no operation command input operation unit 37, and in the fiber set standby state, the detection signals acquired by the drive control device from the left and right fiber attachment detectors are both changed from the non-detected state to the detected state. In such a case, a fusion splicer configured to start a fiber fusion / inspection operation using this as a trigger signal is a fiber fusion / inspection operation like the fusion splicer 10H illustrated in FIGS. Even with a fusion splicer that requires the input of an operation command from the operation command input operation unit 37 at the start, there is an advantage that the time required from the completion of the installation of the optical fiber 9 to the completion of the fusion connection can be shortened.
This is because the fiber attachment work detector is the finger detector 36, and the detection signals acquired by the drive control device from the right and left fiber attachment detectors are both changed from the non-detected state to the detected state. The same applies to the fusion splicer configured to start the fiber fusion / inspection operation when the left and right sides transition to non-detection as a trigger signal.

The installation location of the operation command input operation unit 37 in the fusion splicer is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, the side surface of the apparatus main body 20.
The operation command input operation unit 37 is not limited to a push button.
As the operation command input operation unit 37, for example, a dial-type switch, a slide-type switch, or the like can be employed. Further, a touch panel may be used as the monitor device 14 of the fusion splicer, and touch buttons displayed on the touch panel may be used as the operation command input operation unit 37.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10A-10H ... Fusion splicer, 20 ... Apparatus main body, 23 ... Groove formation board | substrate, 23a ... Positioning groove, 24 ... Electrode rod, 24A ... Heat-fusion part, 21 ... Upper surface (apparatus main body), 22 ... Movable stage, clamp mounting base, holder mounting section, 22A ... movable unit, 22B ... movable stage with clamp, 31 ... fiber loading detector (clamp closing detector, fiber loading work detector), 32 ... fiber loading detector ( Holder placement detector, fiber attachment work detector) 33 ... Windshield cover detector, 34 ... Fiber attachment detector (clamp fiber detector, fiber attachment work detector), 35 ... Fiber attachment detector (fiber for holder) Detector, fiber attachment work detector), 36 ... finger detector (fiber attachment work detector), 37 ... operation command input operation unit, 40 ... fiber holder , 50 ... Cover clamp, 60, 60A, 60B, 60C ... Windshield cover, 61, 61A, 62, 62A ... Cover member (rotary cover member), 63a, 63b ... Power source for opening / closing windshield, 68, 681, 682 ... Cover Member (fixed cover member).

Claims (4)

An apparatus main body provided with a heat fusion part for fusion-connecting optical fibers, and a windshield cover configured to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and covering the heat fusion part in a closed state;
The windshield cover is composed of two or more cover members, and the one or more cover members are rotating cover members that rotate and open about a rotating shaft disposed along the upper surface of the apparatus main body. Fusion splicer. In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1,
An optical fiber fusion splicer characterized in that a cover member receiving groove for receiving an open rotating cover member is formed in the upper end of the apparatus main body so as to be recessed from the upper surface of the apparatus main body. In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1 or 2,
2. An optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein the cover member in an open state does not protrude outward in plan view of the apparatus main body. In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Fiber mounting portions provided on both the left and right sides through the heat fusion portion of the apparatus main body,
Positioning grooves provided between the right and left fiber mounting portions and the heat fusion portion and provided on the left and right sides of the heat fusion portion,
A fiber clamp member connected to the cover member and pressing the optical fiber into the positioning groove when the windshield cover is closed;
The fiber mounting portion includes a clamp lower member fixed to a clamp mount provided on the apparatus main body, and a clamp upper member pivotally attached to the clamp lower member so as to be opened and closed. The clamp lower member and the clamp It is a covering clamp that holds the covering portion of the optical fiber between the upper member, or a light provided between the base plate and a lid member that is pivotally attached to the base plate so as to be opened and closed. A holder mounting portion on which a fiber holder that grips the coating portion of the fiber is detachably mounted,
When the windshield cover is in a closed state, the windshield cover covers the heating and fusing portion, the positioning grooves and the fiber clamp members on both the left and right sides, and the fiber holder or the covering clamp placed on the holder placing portions on the left and right sides. An optical fiber fusion splicer.

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