JP2859434B2 - Line selector using optical fiber - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is mainly used for an optical line monitoring system that monitors an optical fiber line constituting an optical communication line network and detects an abnormality thereof, and configures the optical fiber line. The present invention relates to a line selector using an optical fiber for selectively optically connecting a large number of optical fiber core wires to a single test apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

In the optical line monitoring system, a line selector including a selector main body and a moving stage is used as a connection device for optically coupling a large number of optical fiber core wires and a single test device. The selector main body includes a large number of core-side connectors branched and connected to a large number of optical fiber cores in a matrix, and the moving stage includes a single master-side connector connected to a test apparatus. The selector body is provided with a reference point (origin) for positioning the master-side connector with respect to the core-line-side connector, and a predetermined movement amount in the X, Y, and Z axes from this reference point is provided. Based on this, the master connector can be selectively coupled to a large number of core wire connectors.

Conventionally, this type of line selector prepares several types of selector bodies in which the number of connectors is changed stepwise according to the number of optical fiber cores, and selects a line selector corresponding to the scale of the optical fiber line (number of cores). And adopt it.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In such a conventional line selector, the scale (number of cores) of the optical fiber line becomes large for some reason, and the number of core side connectors of the line selector tends to increase as the number of optical fiber cores increases. At least, the connector body had to be replaced at least.

However, this problem can be solved if the selector main body can increase the number of core side connectors. However, since the positioning of the master-side connector coupled to the core-side connector is controlled via a computer and a positioning controller, the position of the core-side connector for the expansion, that is, the origin, is simply added. It is necessary to store the absolute movement amount from these. However, this adjustment work (initial address setting) involves finding light in the best position while illuminating light between the two connectors and monitoring the state of optical coupling. It has to be performed for all the core side connectors and it is assumed that it takes a long time. In the meantime, an optical line monitoring system that must be continuously monitored
There are problems such as a long stop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a line selector using an optical fiber, which allows an extension of a core-side connector and allows the extension operation to be performed easily and in a short time.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a selector body having a number of core-side connectors connected to a number of optical fiber cores constituting an optical fiber line;
And a moving stage having a single master-side connector selectively coupled to the moving unit, wherein the selector main body includes a connector unit having a large number of core-side connectors disposed within a moving range of the moving stage. The movable stage is configured to be able to be added to a predetermined position, and the moving stage is provided with position detecting means capable of optically detecting the connection position of the added core wire side connector.

In this case, a memory for storing the designed coupling position of the added core wire side connector, a correction means for correcting the storage value of the memory with a detection value of the position detection means, and a moving stage based on the storage value of the memory It is preferable to further comprise a controller for controlling the movement of the object.

[Action]

By configuring the connector unit so that it can be added,
Even if the number of optical fiber cores in the optical fiber line increases due to the increase in the number of subscribers, it is possible to appropriately cope with the increase in the number of existing devices.

When the connector unit is newly added to the selector main body, the coupling position of each core-side connector is optically detected by the position detecting means while the moving stage is moved to a predetermined position within the moving range. In this manner, the positioning (initial address setting) of the coupling position between the core-side connector and the master-side connector is automatically performed.

Further, the moving stage is controlled by the controller based on the designed coupling position of the memory, and causes the position detecting means to sequentially access the added core side connector.
Here, the connection position of the core wire side connector detected by the position detection means is reflected by correction to the storage value of the memory via the correction means, and the initial address is set.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the line selector according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The line selector 1 includes a selector main body 2 and a moving stage 3. The selector body 2 includes a large number of core side connectors 4 branched and connected from a large number of optical fiber cores in a matrix, and the moving stage 3 is a single unit connected to an optical pulse tester (OTDR) 5 which is a test apparatus. The master-side connector 6 is provided. The selector body 2 of the line selector 1 has four connector units 7, 7,
7, 7 are incorporated, and two more connector units 7, 7 can be added. That is, even if the number of subscribers increases in the future, it is possible to cope with the increase in the number of subscribers simply by adding the connector unit 7. In addition, a reference point 8 is provided beside the first connector unit 7 for positioning the coupling position between the core wire side connector 4 and the master side connector 6.

A rail 9 is formed on the upper edge of the selector body 2, and the moving stage 3 is mounted on the rail 9. The master side connector 6 fixed to the holding unit 10 is mounted on the moving stage 3. The master-side connector 6 is moved in the X, Y, and Z-axis directions together with the moving stage 3 by a driving device (not shown), and is automatically optically coupled to the core-side connector 4 of the connector unit 7 in sequence. I have. On this occasion,
The driving device is controlled by a positioning controller 11 so that the master connector 6 can be accurately positioned with respect to the core wire connector 4 via the moving stage 3.

The positioning is performed by the holding unit 10 of the moving stage 3.
This is performed by position detecting means having a sensor image receiving unit 12 fixed to the side surface of the camera. That is, an image fiber 13 with a light guide is connected to the sensor image receiving section 12,
Light guide section of image fiber 13 with light guide
13a includes an illumination light source 14 for emitting illumination light to an object.
It is connected to the. On the other hand, a CCD camera 15 that receives light from an object is connected to the image fiber section 13b of the image fiber 13 with light ride, and can perform photoelectric conversion here.

Further, the CCD camera 15 is connected to a computer 16 for performing arithmetic processing on an image captured thereby, and the computer 16 is connected to a memory 11a of the positioning controller 11.

The sensor image receiving section 12 has a tip of a light guide section 13a,
The tip of the image fiber portion 13b is fixed, and illumination light is emitted from the light guide portion 13a toward the joint end surface of the core wire side connector 4 as an object. An image (reflected light) from the coupling end face is captured. CCD camera 15
Converts the image of the coupled end face of the core-side connector 4 transmitted by the image fiber 13 with light guide into an electric signal and sends it to the computer 16. The computer 16 performs an arithmetic process for obtaining the center position of the coupling end face of the core wire side connector 4 based on this signal. The center position of the coupling end face of the core wire side connector 4 as a result of the arithmetic processing is determined by the positioning controller.
It is sent to the memory 11a of 11 and stored here. And
The positioning controller 11 controls the movement of the moving stage 3 based on the stored value.

Here, a procedure in which the connector unit 7 is newly added and the positioning of the core wire side connector 4 is performed will be described. In this case, the relative positions of the sensor image receiving section 12 and the reference point 8 and the master connector 6 are determined with high precision in advance, and are taken into account when the computer 16 calculates. A temporary positioning value (design value) of the core wire side connector 4 calculated in advance is stored in the memory 11a of the positioning controller 11, and the movement stage 3 automatically controls the movement according to the positioning value. Is done. That is, at the time of positioning, the moving stage 3 moves according to the provisional positioning value, and the sensor image receiving unit 12 is made to access the core side connector 4 for the additional one after another.

To describe this access state in detail, the coupling end surface of the desired core-side connector 4 projected on the illumination light from the illumination light source 14 is captured as an image by the sensor image receiving unit 12 and transmitted to the CCD camera 15. In this case, the tip of the image fiber 13b of the sensor image receiving unit 12 has a visual field that can capture a certain range including the coupling end face of the core wire connector 4, that is, the core wire connector 4 calculated in advance. Considering the error between the temporary positioning value and the true positioning value, the coupling end face of the core wire side connector 4 can be captured in the field of view even at the maximum error.

The image of the coupling end face of the core wire side connector 4 transmitted to the CCD camera 15 is converted into an electric signal and sent to the computer 16. Then, the arithmetic processing is performed by the computer 16,
The center of the coupling end face of the core wire side connector 4, that is, the center of the core of the optical fiber whose coupling end is fixed to the V-groove of the holder is determined. In this case, the edge of the V-groove is determined by image processing, for example, by utilizing the fact that the reflectance of the end face (glass) and the connecting agent portion of the optical fiber is lower than that of the V-groove (silicon) of the holder. The relationship between the edge and the center of the optical fiber is calculated. More computer
16 takes into account the calculated value, the relative position of the sensor receiver 12 from the master side connector 6 and the position of the reference point 8 of the moving stage 3 at that time, and the added core wire side connector 4 and master The connection position of the side connector 6 is positioned (initial address setting) and stored in the memory 11a of the positioning controller 11.

The initial address setting is performed by automatically performing the above procedure for all the core side connectors 4 additionally provided as connector units.

Next, an optical line monitoring system using the line selector 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

This optical line monitoring system monitors an optical fiber line 21 constituting an optical communication line network 24 hours a day and detects an abnormality thereof. A single optical pulse tester 5 and this optical pulse tester 5 and optical fiber line connected to exchanger 22
It comprises a line selector 1 for selectively coupling (switching) each of the 21 optical fiber cores 23, a computer 16 for controlling the coupling of the optical pulse tester 5 and the line selector 1, and a positioning controller 11.

The optical pulse tester 5 causes monitor light to enter each optical fiber core line 23 via the optical coupler 24, and when the monitor light propagates while attenuating in the optical fiber core line 23, it is generated due to its Rayleigh scattering characteristics. It detects backscattered light returning in a direction opposite to the incident direction, and compares the waveform of the detected light with a reference waveform to detect an abnormal portion. The line selector 1 automatically switches the optical pulse tester 5 and each optical fiber core wire 23 one after another.

The connection between each core-side connector 4 and the master-side connector 6 is preliminarily taught to the computer 16 by a number. Normally, the optical fiber core 23 and the optical pulse tester 5 are all sequentially and repeatedly connected in accordance with a predetermined monitoring program. In this state, the entire optical fiber line 21 is always under the monitoring system. If an error occurs in some of the optical fiber cores 23, the optical fiber core 23 and the optical pulse tester 5 are connected by an interrupt from the exchange 16 via the computer 16 according to an instruction from the exchanger 22, and an error occurs. You can now find the location.

The connection position (initial address value) between each core-side connector 4 and the master-side connector 6 in the line selector 1 is stored in the positioning controller 11 in advance, and when the number of the core-side connector 4 is designated from the computer 16,
The positioning controller 11 drives a driving device (not shown) of the moving stage 3 to move the moving stage 3 with respect to the fixed-side selector body 2 so that the core-side connector 4 and the master-side connector 6 can be accurately optically coupled. It has become.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the core-side connector 4 is added, the initial address setting is automatically performed by the position detection means while the moving stage 3 is moved to the design position of the core-side connector 4. Can be done This means that after the connector unit 7 is attached to the selector body 2, the initial address of the core-side connector 4 is set. When the core-side connector 4 is attached to the connector unit 7, or when the connector unit 7 is attached to the selector body 2. There is no requirement for precision when mounted on a surface.

Therefore, the extension work can be performed easily and in a short time while maintaining high accuracy by such automation. In addition, it is possible to avoid a problem that the function of the optical line monitoring system that maintains the monitoring state for 24 hours is stopped for a long time.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the increase in the number of subscribers can be appropriately dealt with by increasing the number of connector units. In this case, the work of setting the initial address can be performed easily and in a short time. There is an effect that the extension of the connector unit can be completed only by stopping the system for a very short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a line selector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a system diagram of an optical line monitoring system in which the line selector is implemented. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Line selector 2, ... Selector body, 3 ... Moving stage, 4 ... Core side connector, 5 ... Optical pulse tester, 6 ... Master side connector, 7 ... Connector unit, 8 ... Reference Point, 11 ... positioning controller, 11a
…… Memory, 12… Sensor receiving part, 13… Image fiber with light guide, 14… Light source for illumination, 15… CCD
Camera, 16 ... Computer.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor, Seiichi Mobara 1st Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Hisao Maki 1st, Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric (72) Inventor Takeo Komiya 1st place, Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Nobuo Tomita 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation Telephone Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Arimoto 7-31, Omorinishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Sumiden Opcom Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-2-226210 (JP, A) JP-A-2 −114215 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G02B 6/38 G02B 26/08 G01M 11/00 H04B 10/08

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A selector body having a plurality of core-side connectors connected to a number of optical fiber cores constituting an optical fiber line, and a single master-side connector selectively coupled to one of the core-side connectors. Wherein the selector body is configured to be able to add a connector unit in which a large number of the core side connectors are arranged, to a predetermined position within a moving range of the moving stage, A line selector using an optical fiber, wherein the moving stage has a position detecting means capable of optically detecting a connection position of the added core wire side connector. 2. A design connection position of a core side connector is stored in advance for a position where a connector unit is to be added,
A memory for correcting the stored value based on the detected value of the position detecting means when adding, and a controller for controlling movement of the moving stage based on the stored value of the memory. A line selector using the optical fiber according to claim 1.