JP2682599B2 - Optical connector convex surface polishing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for polishing a convex surface of a coupling end surface of an optical connector.

(Prior Art) In coupling optical connectors, there is a coupling method called PC coupling to improve connection loss and return loss. This PC coupling consists in physically contacting the optical fibers when they are coupled by polishing the coupling end surface of the optical connector into a convex spherical shape.

Conventionally, a round single-core optical connector as shown in FIG. 6 (a) has been subjected to convex polishing. 1 of the method
As shown in FIG. 7, a concave spherical polishing plate (20) having a polishing surface (21) on the upper surface is used, on which a round single-fiber optical connector is swung, and its coupling end surface is Is polished into a convex spherical shape.

Another method is to use a polishing plate (20) provided with a polishing surface (21) via an elastic sheet (22) as shown in FIG. 8 (a), and use a round single-fiber optical connector (1). Apply an appropriate load to
By deforming the polishing surface (21) as shown in (b) of the figure, polishing is realized so that the coupling end surface becomes a convex spherical surface.

(Problems to be Solved) Although the above-mentioned conventional polishing method can realize convex spherical surface polishing of a round single-core optical connector, for example, a guide pin hole (13) as shown in FIG. Rectangular connector (1)
As described above, convex spherical surface polishing could not be realized with an optical connector having a rectangular end surface and a large polishing surface.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention provides a method for polishing a coupling end surface of a multi-fiber optical connector having a quadrangular end surface that solves the above-mentioned problems.
The first feature is that a polishing machine equipped with a swing arm is used.
A polishing machine with a rotation axis parallel to the optical fiber axis of a multi-fiber optical connector, has a polishing surface with an inclination of 85 ° or more and less than 90 ° relative to the rotation axis and the optical fiber array surface. The polishing plates for polishing, medium polishing, and finishing having a polishing surface having an inclination of 89 ° or more and less than 90 ° are sequentially attached, and the multi-fiber optical connector is fixed to the swing arm to swing and A convex polishing method for an optical connector, characterized in that the polishing plate is rotated to polish the end face of the multi-fiber optical connector to realize a coupling end face of the convex multi-fiber optical connector, and the second aspect of the present invention. In the polishing method described above, when the optical connector is a guide pin coupling method, two guide pin holes formed on both sides of the optical fiber array line have two guides that are harder than the material of the optical connector. With the pin inserted, A convex surface polishing method for an optical connector is characterized in that polishing is performed so that the apex of the convex surface is located on a straight line connecting two guide pin holes by utilizing the hardness difference between the dopin and the optical connector material.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a specific example of the polishing method of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a coupling end view of an optical connector polished by the method of the present invention.

In the drawings, (1) is an optical connector to be polished, and (2) is a swing arm to which the optical connector (1) is attached, and is provided so as to be swingable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.
(3) is a polishing plate, and its polishing surface (31) is 85 ° with respect to the rotation axis (4) of the polishing plate (3) for rough polishing and fine polishing.
It is formed with an inclination of 90 ° or more and less than 90 °, and is formed with an inclination of 89 ° or more and less than 90 ° for finish polishing.

Then, the polishing plate (3) is rotated about its axis (4) and, at the same time, the swing arm (2) is swung in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. At this time, the optical connector (1) can be moved up and down on the polishing plate (3) by applying the optical connector to the polishing surface by its own weight or spring load and polishing, so that finally the convex surface as shown in FIG. 2 is formed. An optical connector (1) having a coupling end face (11) can be realized.

(Operation) Next, the polishing method of the present invention will be specifically described.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), 85 ° to 90 ° with respect to the rotation axis of the polishing plate (3) and with respect to the array surface of the optical fibers.
At the same time as rotating the polishing plate (3) having a polishing surface for rough polishing having an inclination of less than, the swing arm (2) to which the multi-fiber optical connector is attached is swung. As a result, the sides or corners of the multi-fiber optical connector that come into contact with the high slope of the polishing plate (3) are sequentially cut by the polishing surface, and by repeating this, chamfering processing and convex polishing of the multi-fiber optical connector are realized. It is possible to obtain a shape as shown in FIG. It should be noted that the figure (b) is a shape diagram during the process, and the figure (d) is a right side drawing of the figure (c).

Similarly, perform middle polishing using a polishing plate having a polishing surface for medium polishing having an inclination of 85 ° or more and less than 90 °, and further polishing surface for finish polishing having an inclination of 89 ° or more and less than 90 °. Finish polishing is performed using the finish polishing plate that is provided to realize the convex optical connector end face as shown in FIG.

The above numerical values of the inclination are experimentally obtained, and scratches remain on the end face of the optical fiber when the polishing is less than 85 ° in rough polishing and medium polishing. Also, by making the inclination of finish polishing smaller than that of medium polishing, it is possible to reliably polish the optical fiber surface without leaving a work-affected layer, and when polishing at an angle less than 89 °, the curvature of the optical fiber end face becomes 1 mm or less. It has been confirmed that there is a risk of damage when joining.

At this time, the coupling end face (11) of the guide pin coupling type optical connector (1) having the guide pin hole (13) as shown in FIG.
In the polishing of a), in order to bring the apex of the convex surface on the straight line connecting the two guide pin holes (13), for example, a guide pin (14) made of stainless steel or the like is used. ) And polish. For example, even when left and right imbalances occur on the polishing surface as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the guide pin (14) is harder than the material of the optical connector (1), and therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 (b). In order to reduce the amount of polishing after reaching that part, it is adjusted so that the apex of the convex surface is on the straight line connecting the two guide pin holes (13). The convex surface of is obtained.

(Example) Using a polishing machine having an oscillating arm shown in FIG. 1, polishing was performed using a polishing plate having a polishing surface inclination of 88 ° for rough polishing and medium polishing, and 89 ° for polishing surface for final polishing. Was done.

The polishing conditions are as follows. That is, rough polishing is performed for about 40 seconds by attaching a diamond disc with a grain size of 6 μm to a polishing plate with an inclination of 88 °, and medium polishing is performed by attaching a diamond lapping film with a grain size of 3 μm to a polishing plate with an inclination of 88 °. It took about 40 seconds. Furthermore, finish polishing
A diamond lapping film with a grain size of 1 μm and a chromium oxide lapping film with a grain size of 0.5 μm were attached to a polishing plate having an inclination of 89 °, and each was carried out for about 30 seconds. The square plastic 2 was polished here.
It is a core connector.

By this method, it was confirmed that an optical connector having a convex coupling end face as shown in FIG. 2 can be obtained in a short time and easily.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the polishing method of the present invention, it is possible to easily realize convex polishing of the coupling end face of the rectangular optical connector in a short time, and improve the performance of the rectangular optical connector. Is extremely effective in

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a specific example of the polishing method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a coupling end view of an optical connector polished by the method of the present invention. FIGS. 3A to 3D are explanatory views of the procedure of the polishing method of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an external view of a state in which a guide pin is inserted in an optical connector having a guide pin hole, and FIGS.
It is explanatory drawing of the grinding | polishing of the optical connector coupling end surface of the state of the figure. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are explanatory views of the optical connector, FIG. 6 (a) is an external view of the round single-core optical connector, and FIG. 6 (b) is an external view of the square multi-fiber optical connector. . FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a conventional polishing method for a round single-core optical connector. FIG. 8A is another explanatory diagram of the conventional polishing method for a round single-core optical connector, and FIG. 8B is an actual explanatory diagram of the polishing. 1 ... Optical connector, 11 ... Coupling end face, 12 ... Optical fiber, 13 ... Guide pin hole, 14 ... Guide pin, 2 ... Swing arm, 3 ... Polishing plate, 31 ... Polishing surface, 4 ... Rotation axis of polishing plate.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-214553 (JP, A) SAIKAI Shou 62-92150 (JP, U) JP-B 61-59872 (JP, B2) JP-B Sho-62- 42753 (JP, B2)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of polishing a coupling end surface of a multi-fiber optical connector, in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged on the same line and whose end surface is a quadrangle, wherein a polishing machine equipped with a swinging arm is used. A polishing machine with a rotation axis parallel to the optical fiber axis, for rough polishing, medium polishing with a polishing surface that has an inclination of 85 ° or more and less than 90 ° with respect to the rotation axis and the optical fiber array surface. And a finishing polishing plate having a polishing surface with an inclination of 89 ° or more and less than 90 ° are sequentially attached, and the multi-fiber optical connector is fixed to the swing arm to swing and the polishing plate is rotated. A method of polishing a convex surface of an optical connector, characterized in that an end face of the multi-fiber optical connector is polished to realize a coupling end face of the convex multi-fiber optical connector. 2. When the optical connector is a guide pin coupling type,
Using the difference in hardness between the guide pin and the optical connector material, with the two guide pin holes, which are harder than the material of the optical connector, inserted into the two guide pin holes formed on both sides of the optical fiber array line, The method for polishing a convex surface of an optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the polishing is performed so that the apex of the convex surface is on a straight line connecting the two guide pin holes.