JP2998733B2 - Reinforcing structure and method of optical fiber fusion spliced part - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure and a reinforcing method for an optical fiber fusion splicing portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional reinforcing structure for a fusion spliced optical fiber. Referring to FIG.
Denotes an optical fiber coating layer, and 5 denotes an optical fiber. Two optical fibers 5 are fusion-spliced at a connection portion 11.

However, in this state, the optical fiber 5
Is not strong enough. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Are prepared, two glass-made reinforcing substrates 9 provided on one side are provided, and the optical fiber 5 is sandwiched between the two reinforcing substrates 9 with the hot melt film 8 facing inward.

Then, the two reinforcing substrates 9 are heated while being pressed from both sides. As a result, the hot melt film 8 is melted and the optical fiber 5 is bonded and fixed between the two reinforcing substrates 9.

At this time, the connecting portion 1 of the optical fiber
To prevent stress such as twisting from being transmitted to 1
The vicinity of the end of the optical fiber coating layer 10 was sandwiched by the reinforcing substrate 9.

Other examples of this type of reinforcing structure are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-90406, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-32208, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-337323, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-197.
No. 172 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 3055802.

[0007]

However, in these conventional reinforcing structures, since the optical fiber coating layer is sandwiched by the reinforcing substrate to the vicinity of the end, the reinforcing portion expands and the reinforcing portion becomes larger by that amount. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a reinforcing structure and a reinforcing method for an optical fiber fusion splicing portion capable of reducing the size of a reinforcing portion.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating layer. The secondary coating layer was removed from the resulting optical fiber, and then the primary coating layer was removed so that the tip of the secondary coating layer was exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer, thereby exposing the optical fiber and exposed. A reinforcing structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing portion for reinforcing the connection portion obtained by connecting the ends of the optical fiber strands by heat fusion, wherein the exposed primary coating layer and the optical fiber strand are disposed on both sides. It is characterized by comprising a pair of reinforcing substrates sandwiched in a plane direction, and an adhesive member disposed on the inner surface of these reinforcing substrates and bonding the exposed primary coating layer to the reinforcing substrate.

Another invention according to the present invention is directed to an optical fiber comprising an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating layer. The coating layer is removed, and then the primary coating layer is removed so that the tip is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer to expose the optical fiber, and the exposed end of the optical fiber is removed. A method of reinforcing an optical fiber fusion splicing portion for reinforcing a spliced portion obtained by connecting the two by heat fusion, wherein a first step of disposing an adhesive member on the inner surface of each of a pair of reinforcing substrates, A second step of placing the exposed primary coating layer of the optical fiber and the optical fiber on an adhesive member provided on one of the reinforcing substrates following the first step, and following the second step, Reinforcing the primary coating layer and the optical fiber into the other reinforcing substrate and the adhesive member A third step of coating, characterized in that comprising a fourth step of bonding the said reinforcing substrate and the primary coating layer by the adhesive member to the next third step.

According to the present invention and other inventions, a double coated optical fiber is used as an optical fiber,
The primary coating layer and the optical fiber of the optical fiber are sandwiched between a pair of reinforcing substrates from both side directions, and the primary coating layer and the reinforcing substrate are bonded by an adhesive member.

As described above, since the reinforcing substrate is mounted between the secondary coating layers, the outer diameter of the reinforcing substrate can be made equal to the outer diameter of the secondary coating layer. Therefore, the size of the reinforcing portion can be reduced.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following drawings, the same components as those of the conventional example (FIG. 10) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a reinforcing structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to the present invention.

In a first embodiment of the reinforcing structure, a half-sleeve (reinforcing substrate) 1 made of semi-cylindrical glass is provided;
A pair of a hot melt resin (adhesive member) 2 provided on the inner surface of the half sleeve 1 is provided. In addition, 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a mating surface of the half sleeve 1.

Next, the configuration of an optical fiber employing this reinforcing structure will be described. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a configuration of an optical fiber employed in the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state where two optical fibers are fusion-spliced.

That is, the optical fiber comprises an optical fiber 5 and
It comprises a primary coating layer 6 covering the optical fiber 5 and a secondary coating layer 7 covering the primary coating layer 6.

Then, the secondary coating layer 7 is removed, and then the primary coating layer 6 is removed so that the tip of the secondary coating layer 7 is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer 7 to expose the optical fiber 5. The exposed ends of the optical fiber 5 are connected by heat fusion. The connection is shown at 11. Now, let the outer diameter of the primary coating layer 6 be D1, and the outer diameter of the secondary coating layer 7 be D2.

Next, a method of reinforcing an optical fiber with this reinforcing structure will be described. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a half sleeve mating surface 12 of the first embodiment of the reinforcing structure, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a half sleeve mating surface 12 showing a state in which one half sleeve 1 is attached to an optical fiber. , FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the reinforcing method, and FIG.
It is C 'sectional drawing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer diameter of the half sleeve 1 is formed equal to the outer diameter D2 of the secondary coating layer 7, and the inner diameter of the hot melt resin 2 is formed equal to the outer diameter D1 of the primary coating layer 6. ing.

As shown in FIG. 6, the half sleeve 1 and the hot melt resin 2 have a semicircular cross section.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 4, first, a hot melt resin 2 is disposed on the inner surfaces of each of the pair of half sleeves 1 (S1).

Next, the exposed primary coating layer 6 of the optical fiber and the optical fiber 5 are placed in the groove 3 of the hot melt resin 2 provided in the half sleeve 1 (S2). FIG. 3 shows a state after the execution of step S2.

Next, the primary coating layer 6 and the optical fiber 5
Is covered with the other half sleeve 1 and the hot melt resin 2 (S3).

Next, the primary coating layer 6 and the half sleeve 1 are bonded to each other with the hot melt resin 2 (S4).

The hot melt resin 2 has the property of being dissolved when heated to become an adhesive.

Then, when the pair of half sleeves 1 are pressed from both sides and the half sleeve 1 is heated, the heat causes the internal hot melt resin 2 to become an adhesive, and the half sleeve 1 and the primary coating layer 6 Are adhered. This completes the reinforcement.

Next, a second embodiment of the reinforcing structure will be described. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a half-sleeve mating surface of the second embodiment of the reinforcing structure, and FIG.
8 is a plan view of the half sleeve mating surface 12 showing a state in which one half sleeve is mounted on the optical fiber. The exploded perspective view is the same as FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment.
The difference from the first embodiment is that the thickness of the half sleeve 1 at the portion covering the optical fiber 5 is formed thicker than the thickness covering the primary coating layer 6.

Therefore, the inner diameter D3 of the hot melt resin 2 at the portion covering the optical fiber 5 is also formed smaller than D1. Now, let 4 be the groove of the hot melt resin 2 at the portion covering the optical fiber 5 and 3 be the groove of the hot melt resin 2 at the portion covering the primary coating layer 6.

As described above, by increasing the thickness of the half sleeve 1 at the portion covering the optical fiber 5 than in the first embodiment, the degree of reinforcement of the optical fiber 5 can be increased to the first degree. It can be improved as compared with the embodiment.

Next, a method of reinforcing an optical fiber with this reinforcing structure will be described. This method differs from the first embodiment in that step S2 in the flowchart of FIG.
Only.

That is, in step S2, one half of the sleeve 1
The optical fiber 5 is placed in the groove 4 of the hot-melt resin 2 provided in the above, and the primary coating layer 6 is placed in the groove 3 of the hot-melt resin 2. FIG. 8 shows a state after the execution of step S2.

Although FIG. 8 shows that a space exists between the optical fiber 5 and the hot melt resin 2, the space is not always necessary, and this portion is filled with the hot melt resin 2. Is also good.

Next, a third embodiment of the reinforcing structure will be described. In the first embodiment, the half sleeve 1 is made of glass, but in the third embodiment, the half sleeve 1 is made of glass.
Is formed of a metal such as stainless steel.

As described above, in the present invention, the half sleeve 1 can be formed not only of glass but also of metal.

However, for a fiber such as a polarization-maintaining fiber that is affected by characteristics such as loss due to stress applied to the fiber, if the material of the half sleeve 1 is different from the material of the optical fiber 5, the optical fiber has a thermal expansion coefficient. Therefore, it is not preferable to use a metal half sleeve 1 for such a fiber, since a stress due to the difference between the two causes a loss fluctuation and other characteristics to be worse than that of a glass sleeve of the same material.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the reinforcing structure will be described. In the first embodiment, the adhesive member 2 is formed of a hot melt resin, but one specific example of the hot melt resin is an ethylene vinyl acetate resin.

In the fourth embodiment, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin is used as a hot melt resin.

[0040]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned secondary coating layer comprises an optical fiber comprising an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating layer. Is removed, and then the primary coating layer is removed so that the tip is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer to expose the optical fiber, and the exposed ends of the optical fiber are joined together. A reinforcing structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing portion for reinforcing the splicing portion obtained by heat fusion splicing, wherein the reinforcing structure sandwiches the exposed primary coating layer and the optical fiber strand from both sides. A pair of reinforcing substrates, and an adhesive member disposed on the inner surface of these reinforcing substrates and bonding the exposed primary coating layer and the reinforcing substrate to each other, the reinforcing substrate can be attached between the secondary coating layers. , Which allows for reinforced substrates The outer diameter may be equal to the outer diameter of the secondary coating layer. Therefore, the size of the reinforcing portion can be reduced.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber comprising an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating. The secondary coating layer is removed, and then the primary coating layer is removed so that the tip is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer to expose the optical fiber, and the exposed optical fiber is removed. A method for reinforcing an optical fiber fusion spliced portion for reinforcing the spliced portion obtained by connecting end portions by heat fusion, wherein the reinforcing method is provided by disposing an adhesive member on the inner surface of each of a pair of reinforcing substrates. A first step, a second step of placing the exposed primary coating layer of the optical fiber and the optical fiber on an adhesive member provided on one of the reinforcing substrates following the first step, and After the two steps, the primary coating layer and the optical fiber A third step of coating with a strong substrate and an adhesive member, and a fourth step of bonding the primary coating layer and the reinforcing substrate with the adhesive member after the third step; The reinforcing substrate can be attached, whereby the outer diameter of the reinforcing substrate can be made equal to the outer diameter of the secondary coating layer. Therefore, the size of the reinforcing portion can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a reinforcing structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a half sleeve mating surface of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a half sleeve mating surface showing a state where one half sleeve is mounted on an optical fiber.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a reinforcing method.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a half sleeve fitting surface according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of the half sleeve.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line DD ′ of the half sleeve.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a half sleeve mating surface showing a state in which one half sleeve is attached to an optical fiber.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a configuration of an optical fiber used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional reinforcing structure for an optical fiber fusion splicing portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Half sleeve 2 Hot melt resin 5 Optical fiber 6 Primary coating layer 7 Secondary coating layer

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] An optical fiber comprising an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating layer, removing the secondary coating layer from the optical fiber. The primary coating layer is removed so that the tip end is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer to expose the optical fiber,
A reinforcing structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing portion for reinforcing the spliced portion obtained by connecting end portions of the exposed optical fiber wires by heat fusion, wherein the exposed primary coating layer and the optical fiber element are An optical fiber fusion device comprising: a pair of reinforcing substrates for sandwiching a wire from both side directions, and an adhesive member disposed on the inner surface of these reinforcing substrates and bonding the exposed primary coating layer to the reinforcing substrate. Reinforcing structure of the connecting part. 2. The reinforcing structure for an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of said reinforcing substrate is equal to an outer diameter of said secondary coating layer. 3. The optical fiber fusion device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing substrate is formed such that a portion covering the optical fiber is thicker than a portion covering the primary coating layer. Reinforcing structure of the connecting part. 4. The reinforcing structure for an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing substrate is formed of glass. 5. The structure for reinforcing an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing substrate is formed of metal. 6. The reinforcing structure for an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive member is a hot melt resin which melts when heated to become an adhesive. 7. The reinforcing structure for an optical fiber fusion splicing part according to claim 6, wherein said hot melt resin is an ethylene vinyl acetate resin. 8. An optical fiber comprising an optical fiber, a primary coating layer covering the optical fiber, and a secondary coating layer covering the primary coating layer, the secondary coating layer is removed, The primary coating layer is removed so that the tip end is exposed from the end of the secondary coating layer to expose the optical fiber,
A method for reinforcing an optical fiber fusion splicing portion for reinforcing a spliced portion obtained by connecting end portions of the exposed optical fiber wires by heat fusion, wherein an adhesive member is attached to an inner surface of each of the pair of reinforcing substrates. And a second step of placing the exposed primary coating layer of the optical fiber and the optical fiber on an adhesive member disposed on one of the reinforcing substrates following the first step. And after the second step, a third step of coating the primary coating layer and the optical fiber with the other reinforcing substrate and the adhesive member; and, after the third step, the primary coating layer by the adhesive member. And a fourth step of bonding the reinforcing substrate to the reinforcing substrate. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein an outer diameter of the reinforcing substrate is equal to an outer diameter of the secondary coating layer. 10. The optical fiber fusion device according to claim 8, wherein the reinforcing substrate is formed such that a portion covering the optical fiber is thicker than a portion covering the primary coating layer. How to reinforce the connection. 11. The method for reinforcing an optical fiber fusion splice according to claim 8, wherein the reinforcing substrate is formed of glass. 12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the reinforcing substrate is made of a metal. 13. The method for reinforcing an optical fiber fusion spliced part according to claim 8, wherein said adhesive member is a hot melt resin which melts when heated to become an adhesive. 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the hot melt resin is an ethylene vinyl acetate resin.