JP2643237B2 - Plastic optical fiber end face processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as an apparatus for forming a plastic optical fiber by heating and deforming the end face thereof, a hot plate type as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 56-145015, besides a hot cutter type, etc., is known. Are known.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a device, even if the heating plate in contact with the end face of the plastic optical fiber is made a smooth surface, the plastic optical fiber is pressed into contact with the heating plate and thermally deformed. When the plastic optical fiber is separated from the heating plate, the end face of the plastic optical fiber is liable to catch a thread, and there is a problem that the end face is not formed into a mirror-like sled.

Further, in order to remedy such a drawback, a plastic optical fiber is pressed against a heating plate to be thermally deformed, and then the heating plate is cooled to a temperature lower than the thermal deformation temperature of the plastic optical fiber. Although an apparatus for separating the fiber is considered, it takes a long time to heat or cool a heating element having a large heat capacity, and thus there is a problem that it takes too much time to form the optical fiber end face.

In order to further solve such a problem, a heating plate having a smooth surface for pressing and plastically deforming the plastic optical fiber and a heating element movable so as to be able to contact and separate from the back surface of the heating plate are provided. When the plastic optical fiber is pressed against the heating plate to be thermally deformed, the plastic optical fiber is heated and deformed in a state where the heating body is in contact with the heating plate, and then the heating body is separated from the heating plate. An apparatus for forming an end face by separating the plastic optical fiber from the heating plate after that is also conceivable. However, there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated and the apparatus becomes expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for forming and processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber more smoothly and quickly than a conventional apparatus without deteriorating optical performance.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for heating and molding an end face of a plastic optical fiber, comprising: a cylindrical body for holding an optical fiber;
A release plate having a smooth surface for heating and molding the optical fiber end face, and a heating element disposed at a position capable of coming in contact with and separating from the release plate, and releasing the end face of the optical fiber gripped by the cylindrical body. By moving the entire surface of the plate with the smooth surface pressed against it, the release plate and the heating element can be brought into and out of contact with each other. When making contact, the distance between the tip of the cylinder and the release plate can be adjusted, and the release plate can move a small amount in the direction that contacts the cylinder following thermal deformation of the optical fiber end surface. It is characterized in that the release plate is pressed and attached as is.

The release plate is preferably rotatable about an engagement position with the cylinder. Further, when the side surface of the optical fiber is gripped by the cylindrical body and the end face is brought into contact with the release plate, by disposing a fixture between the distal end portion of the cylindrical body and the release plate, the distal end portion of the cylindrical body is provided. It is preferable to perform adjustment between the mold and the release plate. It is preferable that the release plate is attached by being pressed by a spring force in a direction in contact with the cylindrical body. Furthermore, an exchangeable release film is laminated on the smooth surface of the release plate,
It is preferable that the smooth surface and the end face of the optical fiber are pressed against each other via the release film.

 Hereinafter, an apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of an apparatus for processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber according to the present invention.

The upper half part of the plastic optical fiber end face processing device is mainly composed of the cylindrical body 2 and the release plate 3. The cylindrical body 2 is provided with a groove inside, and the plastic optical fiber 1
(Hereinafter, referred to as an optical fiber 1) is gripped by the side surface. Further, the cylindrical body 2 can be divided into two in the vertical direction to facilitate the work of gripping the optical fiber 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a spring 4 is disposed on a member to which the release plate 3 and the cylinder 2 are engaged, so that a pressure is generated between the release plate 3 and the cylinder 2. When holding the optical fiber 1,
The distance between the release plate 3 and the tip of the cylindrical body 2 is adjusted to a predetermined value by interposing the fixture 5.

 The end face processing by the above device is performed as follows.

The optical fiber 1 is gripped so as to fit into the groove in the cylinder 2. At the time of gripping, the length (projection amount) of the optical fiber 1 protruding from the tip of the cylinder 2 is adjusted to a predetermined value by adjusting the distance between the tip of the cylinder 2 and the release plate 3. The fixture 5 is used for this adjustment. That is,
The amount of protrusion is adjusted by locking the fixture 5 in a state where the side surface of the optical fiber is gripped by the cylindrical body and the end surface is in contact with the release plate.

Next, when the lock of the fixture 5 is released, the end face of the optical fiber is pressed by the release plate 3 by the elastic force of the spring 4.
In this state, that is, in a state where the smooth surface of the release plate is pressed against the end face of the optical fiber gripped by the cylindrical body, the cylindrical body and the release plate are moved, and the lower surface of the release plate (the optical fiber end face is The surface opposite to the pressed surface is brought into contact with the surface 8 of the heating element 6. The heating element 6 is in a state where it has been previously heated to the heat deformation temperature of the optical fiber 1 by the heat heater 7.

In this abutted state, the heat from the heating body 6 is transmitted to the end face of the optical fiber 1 via the release plate 3, and the end face is thermally deformed, and the release plate 3 follows the thermal deformation.
Moves a small amount in the direction in contact with the cylindrical body 2 by the force of the spring 4. Then, when the amount of protrusion of the optical fiber 1 from the cylinder 2 becomes zero, the release plate 3 comes into contact with the tip of the cylinder 2.
At this point, the thermal deformation of the end face of the optical fiber ends.

Next, the optical fiber 1 is removed from the cylinder 2 after the upper part including the cylinder 2 and the release plate 3 is separated from the heating body 6 by moving upward. At this time, the optical fiber may be removed by dividing the cylindrical body 2 into two parts in the vertical direction, or the release plate 3 may be rotated around the point of engagement with the cylindrical body 2 so that the position of the end face of the optical fiber is adjusted. The release plate may be removed, and the optical fiber 1 may be removed by pulling the optical fiber 1 toward the distal end of the cylindrical body 2. This facilitates cleaning of the release plate.

Further, as an alternative to the cleaning means of the release plate, a release film which can be replaced as needed may be laminated and used on the smooth surface of the release plate at the portion where the end face of the optical fiber contacts.

In FIG. 1, a series of moving the device portion (upper half portion) holding the optical fiber in the direction (downward) in contact with the heating body to make contact therewith, and then moving it upward to separate it. May be manually operated, or may be automatically performed by mechanical means provided with, for example, a gripping tool composed of an electromagnet and a moving device using a racked pinion mechanism.

The cylindrical body 2 for gripping the optical fiber can be gripped to such an extent that the optical fiber does not slide in the axial direction of the cylindrical body even when the optical fiber end face is pressed by the release plate in a state where the optical fiber side surface is gripped. Any shape other than that shown in FIG. 1 may be used. The material may be any material having sufficient heat resistance at the temperature at which the end face of the optical fiber is subjected to the thermoforming treatment, and a metal or a heat-resistant polymer can be used.

Further, the cylindrical body in the present invention may have a structure for gripping a plastic optical fiber cord and a connector optical fiber cord.

Here, the plastic optical fiber indicates a core material and a sheath material made of a polymer, and the core material is a highly transparent amorphous polymer such as polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, or polycarbonate, and the sheath material is Polymers having a lower refractive index than the core material, such as a fluorine-containing polymer, can be exemplified, but are not particularly limited thereto.

Further, the thermoforming temperature of a plastic optical fiber refers to a temperature at which a polymer constituting the plastic optical fiber can be thermally deformed under an appropriate pressure. For example, a suitable temperature for a plastic optical fiber having a polymethyl methacrylate core component. For example, a temperature of 110 to 150 ° C. can be exemplified.

Next, the release plate is interposed between the end face of the plastic optical fiber and a heating body for forming the end face by thermal deformation, and is moved from the heating body after the end face is thermoformed. Anything that can be separated may be used. Therefore, the surface of the release plate on the heating body side may be any as long as it has good releasability from the heating body. On the other hand, the surface of the release plate on the side of the plastic optical fiber must be smooth from the viewpoint of the finish of the end surface in addition to the releasability from the end surface of the plastic optical fiber. As such a release plate, a metal thin plate having a high heat transfer property having a mirror-finished surface on the plastic optical fiber side can be exemplified as thin as possible. Further, a thin metal plate having good heat transfer properties, in which the surface on the side of the plastic optical fiber is plated and coated, can be exemplified, but is not particularly limited thereto.

Further, the release plate is urged by an elastic force so as to be able to follow the deformation of the end face of the plastic optical fiber at the time of thermoforming and to move a small amount in the direction in contact with the cylinder holding the plastic optical fiber. As a means for expressing the bias by the elastic force, a method in which the release plate and the cylindrical body are engaged via a spring as shown in FIG. 1 is preferable, but is not particularly limited thereto.

The heating element for supplying heat to the plastic optical fiber end face processing apparatus of the present invention may have any heat capacity as long as it has a large heat capacity and can stably supply heat required for thermal deformation of the plastic optical fiber end face. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment in which an end face is processed using the apparatus shown in FIG.

[Example] Example 1 A commercially available hot plate (HM, manufactured by Yamato Scientific Co., Ltd.) was used as a heating body.
(-11 type), the surface temperature of the hot plate was adjusted to 140 ° C.

A plastic optical fiber having a core material of polymethyl methacrylate and a sheath material of a polymer having a fluorinated methacrylate as a main component and an outer diameter of 1.0 mm was used.

This plastic optical fiber was set in one V-groove of a metal cylinder shown in FIG. 1 which was divided into two parts in the vertical direction, and was fixed with an adhesive tape. At this time, the plastic optical fiber should be
The projecting length of the release plate fixed to a position 1 mm away from the cylindrical body was set to 1 mm with respect to the smooth surface of the release plate.

The release plate was a thin plate (cherry ferro-type plate manufactured by Konishi Roku Kogyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.) whose surface on the plastic optical fiber side was chrome-plated, and was shaped to be engaged with the cylinder via a spring. Subsequently, a lock provided in the cylinder for fixing the gap between the cylinder and the release plate was removed. At this time, a force is applied to the release plate by a spring force to move in the direction in which the cylindrical body comes into contact, and this force causes the end face of the plastic optical fiber to be pressed from the release plate. The device portion (upper portion of the device) maintained in such a state was held by hand, and was allowed to stand on a hot plate previously heated to the thermoforming temperature of the plastic optical fiber. After 3 seconds, the plastic optical fiber was completely thermally deformed, and the release plate abutted on the tip of the cylindrical body following this deformation. Subsequently, the upper part of the apparatus including the cylinder and the release plate was cooled by separating it from the hot plate, and the cylinder was divided into two parts to take out the plastic optical fiber.

When observing the end face of the thermoformed plastic optical fiber with a microscope of 50 times, it was a very beautiful mirror surface,
The connection loss was very good, less than 1.0dB.

Example 2 The same method as in Example 1 was carried out by 10 persons 10 times in total, 100 times, and the end face forming processing time and the end face finished finish accuracy were examined. As a result, the end face molding processing time was less than 3 seconds in all cases, and the variation width of the emitted light quantity of the plastic optical fiber subjected to the end face molding was within 0.02 dBm, and the reproducibility was very good.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention has the following effects.

Since the release plate having a smooth surface is provided as a separate member that can be separated from the heating body, the heating body itself does not need to be cooled after the end of thermal deformation of the optical fiber end face, and the end face processing time can be reduced. .

Also, even when the optical fiber end face is separated from the heating plate after the end of thermal deformation, the release plate is kept pressed against the optical fiber end face, so the smoothness of the optical fiber end face smoothed by the thermal deformation is maintained. , And a clean mirror surface can be stably obtained.

When the end face of the optical fiber gripped by the cylinder is brought into contact with the release plate, the amount of optical fiber protruding from the tip of the cylinder can be controlled, and the cylinder follows the thermal deformation of the optical fiber end face. The release plate is pressed and attached so that the release plate can move a small amount in the direction in contact with the body, and the pressing by the release plate is stabilized. As a result, the amount of heat deformation caused by being pressed while being heated by the release plate during the heat deformation can be controlled to be constant, and the accuracy of the end face forming is stabilized. In addition, the problem of variation for the operator is eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a plastic optical fiber end face processing apparatus of the present invention. 1: Plastic optical fiber 2: Cylindrical body, 3: Release plate 4: Spring, 5: Fixture 6: Heating body, 7: Heater 8: Heating body surface

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for heating and molding an end face of a plastic optical fiber, comprising: a cylindrical body for gripping an optical fiber; a release plate having a smooth surface for heating and forming the end face of the optical fiber; Having a heating element disposed at a possible position, and in a state in which the smooth surface of the release plate is pressed against the end face of the optical fiber held by the cylindrical body, by moving the entire release plate, the release plate and The distance between the tip of the cylinder and the release plate can be adjusted when the side of the optical fiber is gripped by the cylinder and the end surface is brought into contact with the release plate. ,
Further, the end face of the plastic optical fiber is characterized in that the release plate is pressed and attached so that the release plate can move a small amount in the direction in contact with the cylinder following thermal deformation of the end surface of the optical fiber. Processing equipment. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the release plate is rotatable about an engagement position with the cylindrical body. 3. When the side surface of the optical fiber is gripped by the cylindrical body and the end surface is brought into contact with the release plate, a fixing tool is arranged between the distal end portion of the cylindrical body and the release plate. 3. The apparatus for processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein an adjustment is made between a front end portion of the plastic optical fiber and a release plate. 4. The apparatus for processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the release plate is attached by being pressed by a spring force in a direction in contact with the cylindrical body. 5. An exchangeable release film is laminated on a smooth surface of a release plate, and the smooth surface and the end face of the optical fiber are pressed into contact with each other via the release film. An apparatus for processing an end face of a plastic optical fiber according to 2, 3, or 4.