JP2859515B2 - Light switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical switch having an optical fiber arranging member for arranging a plurality of optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an optical scan switch provided with a connector table in which a large number of connectors are arranged in a matrix and connected to a master connector which can be moved two-dimensionally ("C-449, 10 cores in one package"). × 1000 Optical Scan Switch ”, IEICE Spring National Convention (19
1998), P4-238).

[0003]

In a conventional connector table, a plurality of connectors are physically arranged to form a two-dimensional array of optical fibers. For this reason, there is a disadvantage that the optical fibers held in different connectors are not arranged with high accuracy and the optical fibers held in the master connector cannot be maintained with high accuracy.

[0004] The applicant has previously proposed an optical switch capable of improving the above-mentioned drawbacks and connecting optical fibers with high accuracy (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-123,750, not disclosed). An object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch in which this is further improved, and in particular, even if an external pressing force is applied to the optical fiber on the master side during optical connection, the optical axis does not shift at the optical connection portion. Things.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate having a plurality of fiber fixing grooves formed on an upper surface thereof, and a fiber array member having a first optical fiber fixed in the fiber fixing grooves. And a transport mechanism for transporting the second optical fiber optically connected to the first optical fiber to the fiber fixing groove, wherein the optical switch provided with an introduction groove for guiding the second optical fiber has an arrangement of the first optical fiber. The direction is X, the longitudinal direction is Z, and the direction orthogonal to X and Z is Y.
And Y of the second optical fiber introduced into the fiber introduction groove.
An optical fiber array member having a portion in which the height of the fiber introduction groove is lower than the height in the direction is provided in a part thereof, and a fiber presser for holding a portion projecting in the Y direction from the fiber introduction groove of the second optical fiber is provided. It is characterized by the following.

The fiber introduction groove is formed by a V-groove, and a portion of the V-groove having a low peak is formed at a height capable of maintaining contact with the second optical fiber introduced into the fiber introduction groove. Further, it may be formed over a predetermined length in the Z direction from the tip of the fiber introduction groove.

It is preferable that the fiber presser is supported so as to be able to move integrally with the second optical fiber, and is supported so that the spring force can be increased in the Y direction.

[0008]

According to the present invention, even if the depth of the fiber introduction groove is sufficiently large with respect to the diameter of the second optical fiber, the second optical fiber can be held down by the fiber presser at a portion where the height of the fiber introduction groove is low. The second optical fiber can be firmly fixed in the fiber introduction groove by pressing.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same elements will be described with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an optical switch according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG.
4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

In FIG. 1, a fiber array member (optical fiber unit) 3 is provided on a base 12 of an optical switch 11. The fiber array portion 3 has a substrate 6 having a first fiber fixing groove 8 and a second fiber fixing groove 9 on the upper surface.
And a multi-core optical fiber tape 1, and a plurality of first optical fibers (master-side optical fibers) of the multi-core optical fiber 1 are fixed in first fiber fixing grooves 8.

The second optical fiber 4 is transport means (to be described later).
Supported by the movable head 5 moved by
While being able to move in the optical fiber arrangement direction (X direction),
The first optical fiber can be moved in a direction (Z direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (Z direction) and the fiber arrangement direction (X direction).

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the optical fiber array member 3 includes a substrate 6, a slit 7 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 6, and a slit 7 extending in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the slit 7. A fiber fixing groove (that is, a first fiber fixing groove) 8 and a fiber introduction groove (that is, a second fiber fixing groove) 9
The first optical fiber 2 is fitted into the fiber fixing groove 8, and the cover plate 10 fixes the first optical fiber 2 by pressing the first optical fiber 2 into the first fiber fixing groove 8.

The substrate 6 is rectangular when viewed from above in FIG. 3, and the slit 7 extends from one side surface 6a of the substrate 6 to the other side surface 6b. The cross-sectional shape of the slit 6 is substantially concave. On the other hand, the first fiber fixing groove 8 and the second fiber fixing groove 9 are formed in a large number (for example, 8) at a constant pitch interval (for example, 0.25 mm) from one side surface (reference end surface) 6a of the upper surface.
0 are provided, but some of them are omitted in the figure).

The first and second optical fiber fixing grooves 8 and 9 are V-shaped grooves in the embodiment, and are provided so that the longitudinal extensions of the respective fiber fixing grooves coincide with each other.
The first optical fiber 2 introduced from the multi-core optical fiber tape 1 is inserted into the first fiber fixing groove 8 from the rear of the fixing groove, and the fiber end face is flush with one vertical wall of the slit 7. It is arranged to become. The slit 7 is substantially concave as described above, and the depth thereof is formed somewhat deeper than the fiber fixing groove.

The first optical fiber 2 is inscribed in the bottom side wall of the V-shaped groove, and is held in this state by an adhesive. A silicon cover plate 10 is joined to the upper surface of the substrate 6 to protect the first optical fiber 2 fixed in the first fiber fixing groove 8. Cover plate 10
Is bonded to the substrate in a state where the end face of the first optical fiber 2 is exposed, so that there is no problem in connection with the second optical fiber 4. Also, since the first optical fiber 2 is fixed to the bottom of the V-groove in which this optical fiber can be sufficiently embedded,
The cover plate 10 is joined to the upper surface of the substrate 6 in a state close to surface contact.

At the end of the second fiber fixing groove 9, a V-groove is cut from the groove end in contact with the slit 7 toward the other end of the fixing groove over a predetermined length L to a predetermined height. A step 13 having a height h is formed. Therefore, when the second optical fiber 4 is inserted into the second fiber fixing groove 9 and optically connected to the first optical fiber 2, the second optical fiber 4 projects from the step 13 as shown in FIG. And this step 1
The second optical fiber 4 protruding from 3 is held down by a fiber retainer 17.
And the second optical fiber 4 can be fixed in the second fiber fixing groove 9.

In the present embodiment, the second optical fibers 4 are attached to the movable head 5 as a set of two and move integrally, so that two optical paths can be switched at the same time. Further, in the present embodiment, the fiber presser 17 is provided to be long on both sides of the fiber array member 3 so that one fiber presser can simultaneously press the two second optical fibers 4.

The fiber presser 17 is provided at the distal end of an elastic support plate 18 composed of a leaf spring, and the base end of the elastic support plate 18 has a movable head 5 that movably supports the two second optical fibers 4. Mounted on The movable head 5 is moved in the direction of arrangement of the first optical fibers 2 (X
Direction) and the depth direction (Y direction) of the fiber fixing groove.

The substrate 6 of the fiber arranging member 3 is made of a Si material. In forming the substrate, the upper surface of one substrate 6 is cut from one side surface 6a to the other side surface 6b with a diamond cutter or the like to form a slit 7 and a stepped portion. 13 is formed. Also,
A plurality of V-shaped grooves are cut by a diamond cutter or the like along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the slit 7 and the step portion 13 to form first and second fiber fixing grooves 8 and 9. And
By cutting the substrate at an appropriate position, the substrate 6 shown in FIG.
Can be easily produced. It can also be manufactured with high precision by photo-etching technology (however, not shown).

In the above configuration, the movable head 5 shown in FIG. 1 moves in a predetermined range in the depth direction (Y direction) of the second fiber fixing groove 9 and the arrangement direction of the second fiber fixing groove 9 (Y direction). Moving in the X direction), the second optical fiber 4 escapes from the second fiber fixing groove 9 and can move to another second fiber fixing groove 9 over the mountain of the fiber fixing groove,
Thereby, the optical connection with the first optical fiber 2 can be switched.

At this time, the second optical fiber 4 protruding from the step portion 13 of the second fiber fixing groove 9 is held down by the fiber presser 17 and can be firmly fixed in the second fiber fixing groove 9, and can also be fixed by external stress. The second optical fiber 4 does not float from the second fiber fixing groove 9, so that the optical connection with the first optical fiber 2 can be reliably performed.

The height of the step 13 is such that the second optical fiber 4 supported in contact with both inclined walls of the V-groove of the second fiber fixing groove 9 is located at the V-groove where the step 13 is located. It is also preferable to provide the dimensional relationship so that contact with both inclined walls is maintained.
The step 13 is provided at the tip of the second fiber fixing groove 9, that is, at the end in contact with the slit 7. However, the position is not necessarily limited to this position, and a plurality of steps 13 may be provided.

The structure of the fiber retainer 17 and
The support means may have a structure other than that of the embodiment.

Further, by providing the slit 7,
The connection loss between the end surfaces 2a and 4a of the first and second optical fibers 2 and 4 can be reduced. That is, even if dust or dirt accumulates in the second fiber fixing groove 9, the dust or dirt easily escapes to the slit 7, and therefore, in the optical connection portions of the first and second fibers 2 and 4, the dust and dirt are removed. 2 Optical fiber 4 is second
It is possible to eliminate an optical axis shift or the like caused by floating from the fiber fixing groove 9.

The above-mentioned fiber array member 3 is incorporated in, for example, an optical switch as shown in FIGS. Hereinafter, this optical switch will be described with reference to the above drawings.

1 and 2, a second stage 15 and a first stage 16 are fixed on a base 12 by using fixing screws 14.
The first stage 16 is provided with the fiber array member 3. The movable heads 5 that movably support the second optical fiber 4 each have elasticity,
The movable arm 28 is attached to the tip of a movable arm 28 composed of a first movable arm 26 and a second movable arm 27 which are provided at an interval above and below. The movable arm 28 is a first drive source of the transport mechanism 24. It is linked to one motor 29.

The first motor 29 is fixed to one end of the base 12, and a screw shaft 30 connected to the motor shaft of the first motor 29 is provided horizontally on the base 12 by a bearing plate 31. This screw shaft 30 has a first movable member 32
Are linked together. That is, the pressing arm 33 and the engaging wire 34 having a spring property project from the rear end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the first movable member 32 at a predetermined interval, and the pressing arm 33 presses the screw shaft 30. The engagement line 34 is the screw shaft 30
Are engaged with the thread groove. Therefore, the first movable member 32 can move left and right along the screw shaft 30 by rotating the screw shaft 30 in the normal rotation and the reverse rotation.

The first movable member 32 is fixed on the upper surface of the second movable member 35 having a flat plate shape. A block-shaped mounting base 36 is fixed on the upper surface of the second movable member 35, and the base ends of the first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 27 of the movable arm 28 are fixed to the mounting base 36 by a plurality of fixing screws 36. It is fixed using.

FIG. 5 shows the lower surface of the second movable member 35 in the form of a flat plate.
A guide block 38 is provided as shown in FIG. The guide block 38 is slidably fitted in a guide groove 41 of a U-shaped guide member 40 having an opening facing upward with respect to a groove 39 formed on the upper surface of the base 12.

Therefore, the second movable member 35 can stably move while maintaining a predetermined posture by the guide block 38 moving in the guide groove 41. A first guide thin plate 42 and a second guide thin plate 43 are provided on both upper surfaces of the second movable member 35.
Has been fixed. The tip of the first guide thin plate 42 is bent at a right angle, and the bent portion is slidably engaged with a step portion 44 formed on the base 12. This allows the second movable member 35 to move more stably in the horizontal direction in combination with the operation of the guide block 38 described above. In addition, the horizontal movement of the second guide thin plate 43 is stopped by locking the distal end of the second guide thin plate 43 with the stopper 45 provided on the base 12 side.

A second motor 46 is provided at one end of the base 12, and its motor pin on 47 has a sector gear 4.
8 are engaged. The sector gear 48 is fixed to a shaft 52 protruding from an end of an operating rod 49 having an eccentric shaft or a shaft rod having a non-circular cross section. The shafts 52 at both ends of the operating rod 49 are supported by bearing plates 50 fixed on the base 12.

A U-shaped receiving member 51 is fixed to the lower surface of the first movable arm 26, and the lower surface of the receiving member 51 is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49. Accordingly, when the operating rod 49 is rotated by a predetermined angle about the shaft 52 by the second motor 46 via the motor bin-on 47 and the sector gear 48, the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49 moves up and down about the shaft 52. The first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 27 move up and down integrally via the receiving member 51 which is slidably in contact with the outer peripheral surface, so that the movable head 5 of the second optical fiber 4 moves up and down. Can move.

According to the transport mechanism 24 of this embodiment, the second motor 46 is driven by driving the first motor 29 and the second motor 46.
The movable head 5 supporting the optical fiber 4 is moved in the arrangement direction (X direction) of the first optical fibers 2 and the arrangement direction (X direction) of the first optical fibers 2 and the longitudinal direction (Z Direction) (Y direction). Due to the movement of the second optical fiber 4 in two dimensions,
The second optical fiber 4 escapes from one second fiber fixing groove 9 and moves smoothly to another second fiber fixing groove 9 to switch the optical connection between the first optical fiber 2 and the second optical fiber 4. be able to.

In the switch of the present embodiment, one fiber array member 3 is provided, and in response to this, the transport mechanism 24 includes a plurality of first optical fibers fixed to one fiber array member 3. The optical connection between the second optical fiber 2 and the second optical fiber 4 is switched. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be implemented in an optical switch in which the fiber array members 3 are provided in multiple stages. In this case, it is preferable that the movable head is supported by a transport mechanism (not shown) using a two-dimensional or three-dimensional moving stage instead of the transport mechanism 24 in FIG.

[0036]

As described above, according to the optical switch of the present invention, the individual optical fibers can be accurately arranged with a simple configuration, and the optical fibers can be optically coupled with each other. Further, according to the present invention, since the second optical fiber on the master side holds the second optical fiber at a low portion formed at a part of the mountain of the fiber introduction groove, even if the fiber introduction groove is sufficiently deep, the fiber retainer can be used. The second optical fiber can be securely fixed in the fiber introduction groove. Therefore, even if an external stress acts on the optical connection portion, the second optical fiber does not float from the fiber introduction groove, and optical connection without optical axis shift is realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the longitudinal direction of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an enlarged outline part of a part A in FIG. 1;

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Multi-core optical fiber tape, 2. First optical fiber, 3.
Fiber arrangement member, 4 ... second optical fiber, 5 ... movable head, 6 ... substrate, 8 ... first fiber fixing groove, 9 ... second fiber fixing groove, 12 ... base, 13 ... step, 17 ... fiber holding, 24: transport mechanism, 28: movable arm, 29: first
Motor, 46: second motor, 47: motor pin on, 4
8: sector gear, 49: operating rod, 51: receiver.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hisao Maki 1 Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Kazuto Saito 1-Tagamachi, Sakae-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric (72) Inventor Nobuo Tomita 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G02B 26/08 G02B 6/36

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate having a plurality of fiber fixing grooves formed on an upper surface thereof, a fiber array member having a first optical fiber fixed to the fiber fixing groove, and a second optically connected to the first optical fiber. An optical switch comprising a transport mechanism for transporting an optical fiber to the fiber fixing groove and having an introduction groove for guiding the second optical fiber, wherein the arrangement direction of the first optical fiber is X, the longitudinal direction of the fiber is Z, Assuming that a direction orthogonal to X and Z is Y, a portion of the fiber introduction groove whose peak height is lower than the Y-direction height of the second optical fiber introduced into the fiber introduction groove is partially provided. An optical switch, comprising: an optical fiber array member; and a fiber presser that presses a portion of the second optical fiber that protrudes in the Y direction from the fiber introduction groove. 2. The fiber introduction groove according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the fiber introduction groove having a small height is formed at a height that can maintain contact with the second optical fiber introduced into the fiber introduction groove. 2. The optical switch according to 1. 3. The fiber introduction groove according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the fiber introduction groove having a small height is formed over a predetermined length in a Z direction from a tip of the fiber introduction groove.
An optical switch as described. 4. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein said fiber introduction groove is a V groove. 5. The fiber presser according to claim 1, wherein the fiber presser is supported so as to move integrally with the second optical fiber, and is supported so as to accumulate a spring force in the Y direction. Light switch.