JP3032102B2 - 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 connected 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. In particular, it is possible to easily and accurately adjust the arrangement of the first and second optical fibers to be optically connected.

[0005]

In order 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 a second optical fiber optically connected to the first optical fiber to the optical fiber fixing groove, and an optical switch provided with an introduction groove for guiding the second optical fiber, wherein a plurality of fibers are provided on the upper surface. A substrate on which a fixing groove and a fiber introduction groove are formed, a first stage for fixing a fiber array member having a first optical fiber fixed to the fiber fixing groove, and a first stage rotatably via a pin. A second stage positioned above the stage; and a third stage positioned above the stage via a mechanism for linearly moving the first optical fiber in the longitudinal direction. It is characterized in.

The second stage is preferably positioned above the third stage via a pin having a center substantially on the extension of the end face of the first optical fiber.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the first stage and the second stage can be individually moved relative to the third stage.
By the combined movement of the first stage and the second stage, the fiber array member to which the plurality of first optical fibers are fixed is moved toward or away from the second optical fiber, and at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the second optical fiber. Fine adjustment is easy. Thus, the interval between the optical contact portions of the first and second optical fibers can be set appropriately, and the plurality of first optical fibers and the second optical fibers can be connected so that an angle does not occur at each end face, thereby providing an optical connection. Loss is reduced.

[0008]

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 sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of a portion A in FIG. In FIG. 1, a fiber arrangement member (optical fiber unit) 3 has a first fiber fixing groove 8 and a second
A substrate 6 having an optical fiber fixing groove 9 and a multi-core optical fiber tape 1 are provided, and a plurality of first optical fibers (master side optical fibers) of the multi-core optical fiber tape 1 are fixed to the first fiber fixing groove 8. Have been.

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. 7 and 8, the fiber array member 3 is provided with a slit 7 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 6.
And a fiber fixing groove (that is, a first fiber fixing groove) 8 extending across the slit 7 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the slit 7 and a fiber introduction groove (that is, a second fiber fixing groove). 9, a first optical fiber 2 fitted in the first fiber fixing groove 8, and a cover plate 10 for fixing 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. 7, 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, a large number (for example, 80) of the first fiber fixing groove 8 and the second fiber fixing groove 9 are provided at a constant pitch interval (for example, 0.25 mm) from one side surface (reference end surface) 6a of the upper surface. Parts are omitted).

The first and second optical fiber fixing grooves 8, 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 led out of the multi-core optical fiber tape 1 is inserted into the first fiber fixing groove 8 from behind the fixing groove, and the fiber tip surface 2a is flush with one vertical wall of the slit 7. It is arranged to be. 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 6 in a state where the distal end surface of the first optical fiber 2 is exposed, so that there is no problem in connection with the second optical fiber 4. Further, since the first optical fiber 2 is fixed to the bottom of the V-groove in which the optical fiber can be sufficiently embedded, the cover plate 10 is bonded to the upper surface of the substrate 6 in a state close to surface contact.

Further, due to the presence of the slit 7, dust flying to the second fiber fixing groove 9 and each fiber end face can fall into the slit 7. Therefore, the second optical fiber 4
However, the connection loss due to dust is reduced, for example, because the dust does not float from the second fiber fixing groove 9 and the optical axis shift does not occur.

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 optical fiber fixing groove 9 and the second fiber fixing groove 9 moves.
Move in the array direction (X direction) of the second optical fiber 4
Can be moved out of the second fiber fixing groove 9 and can be moved to another second fiber fixing groove 9 over the mountain of the fiber fixing groove 9, whereby the optical connection with the first optical fiber 2 can be switched.

Next, an overall configuration of the optical switch in which the transport mechanism of the fiber array member 3 is incorporated will be described with reference to FIGS.

The optical switch 11 has a base 12, which is a third stage.
The second stage 15 and the first stage 16 are laminated by using the fiber arrangement member 3 on the first stage 16.
Is provided. As shown in FIG.
The two long holes 1 are inclined at substantially the same direction at both ends in the longitudinal direction.
7 are provided, and two screw holes 18 are provided near each elongated hole 17. A fitting hole 20 for engaging and holding the guide pin 19 is provided at an intermediate portion of the second stage 15. A pin hole 15 is provided at the end of the second stage 15.
a may be provided, and in this case, the long hole 17 may be formed in an arc shape centering on the pin hole 15a.

The fixing screws 14 are loosely inserted into the two long holes 17 of the second stage 15, respectively.
4 is screwed into a screw hole (not shown) formed in the base 12, thereby holding the upper surface of the second stage 15 with the screw head. It can be positioned on the base 12 by moving straight. The oblique direction of the long hole 17 is directed to one end of the fiber array member 3. When a pin is inserted into the pin hole 15a and fixed to the base 12, this pin hole 1
The second stage 15 may be rotated within a range where the fixing screw 14 hits the inner end of the long hole 17 around the center 5 a, and the second stage 15 may be fixed to the base 12 with the fixing screw 14.

A pin hole 21 into which the guide pin 19 is fitted is formed at a substantially intermediate portion of the first stage 16, and the pin holes 21 are formed at both ends of the first stage 16.
Two arc-shaped guide holes 22 are provided at positions on the same circumference centered at the center, and the fixing screw 14 can be inserted into the guide holes 22. And the guide pin 19
Is fitted into the fitting hole 20 of the second stage 15, and the guide pin 19 is fitted into the bin hole 21 of the first stage 16, so that the first stage 16 is turned around the guide pin 19 by a predetermined angle. Can move. At this position, the fixing screw 14 is screwed into the screw hole 18, and the first stage 16 is fastened to the upper surface of the second stage 15 with the screw head.
The first stage 16 can be positioned with respect to the second stage 15.

The upper surface of the first stage 16 is cut to form the recess 2.
The fiber arrangement member 3 is fitted into the concave portion 23 and fixed to the concave portion 23 using an adhesive. The pin holes 22 are provided at the positions of one end of the plurality of optical fibers of the fiber array member 3 fixed to the first stage 16. The guide pin 19 is provided at a position where the X and Y coordinates are substantially equal to the position of the optical fiber end face at one end of the fiber array member 3.

As described above, the movable support mechanism 25 is constituted by the first stage 16 and the second stage, and the fiber array member 3 is provided movably with respect to the base 12 via the first stage 16 and the second stage 15. ing. That is,
By rotating the second stage 15 around the pin hole 15a within a range where the inner edge of the long hole 17 hits the fixing screw 14, or moving the second stage 15 in the longitudinal direction of the first optical fiber 2, the fiber array member 3 is moved in that direction. Can be moved to Furthermore, the first
The stage 16 can be turned around the guide pin 19. Therefore, by appropriately combining the turning operation of the first stage 16 and the obliquely straight-moving operation or the turning operation of the second stage 15, it is possible to cause the fiber array member 3 to perform a combined operation thereof. Fine adjustment of the arrangement with respect to the second optical fiber 4 can be performed.

The above-mentioned fiber arrangement member 3 is
4 together with the first stage 16 and the second stage 15 as described above.
The movable support mechanism 25 is freely movable in two stages, so that the distance between the second optical fiber 4 and the first optical fiber 2 transported by the transport mechanism 24 is finely adjusted and the second optical fiber 4 is moved. Fine adjustment between the direction and the fiber arrangement direction can be easily performed at the μm level.

To explain further, the above optical switch 11
In the above, any one of the fiber arrangement member 3 and the transport mechanism 24 described in detail later may be assembled on the base 12 first, but in any case, all of the plurality of first optical fibers 2 and the second optical fiber In order to realize a smooth optical connection with the optical fiber 4, after assembling the fiber array member 3 and the transport mechanism 24 on the base 12, the first optical fiber 4 supported and moved by the movable head 5 is moved to the first optical fiber 4. Fine adjustment of the arrangement position of the fiber array member 3 to which the optical fiber 2 is fixed is required.

There are generally two such fine adjustments. First, the distance (non-contact) between each end of the first optical fiber 2 and the second optical fiber 4 at the time of optical connection is set at 1 μm level by moving the fiber array member 3 toward or away from the second optical fiber 4. This is the adjustment to be set. In the second case, the second optical fiber 4 may be installed so as to move obliquely with respect to the direction in which the plurality of first optical fibers 2 are arranged. Is finely adjusted by rotating the fiber array member 3 about one end thereof so as to be parallel to the moving direction of the optical fiber.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by moving the first stage 16 and the second stage 15 as described above, the two fine adjustments can be easily performed with high accuracy. Therefore, at the time of optical connection, an angle does not occur between the ends of the first optical fiber 2 and the second optical fiber 4, and the optical connection loss is reduced. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a pin hole 15a is provided at the end of the second stage 15, and a guide pin (not shown) is fitted into the pin hole 15a, and this guide pin is used by the third stage. The second stage 15 may be rotatably fixed to the base 12 around a guide pin by fitting into a pin hole (not shown) of a certain base 12. With this configuration, the fine adjustment range of the fiber array member 3 on the first stage 16 can be further expanded.

Next, details of the transport mechanism 24 will be described in order.

The movable heads 5 which movably support the second optical fiber 4 have flexibility and are movable with a first movable arm 26 and a second movable arm 27 which are provided at intervals above and below. The movable arm 28 is attached to a tip of an arm 28 and is linked to a first 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 protrude from the rear end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the first movable member 32 at a predetermined interval.
3 holds the screw shaft 30, and the engagement line 34 is engaged with the screw groove of the screw shaft 30. Therefore, when the screw shaft 30 rotates in the normal rotation and the reverse rotation, the first movable member 32
Can move left and right along 0.

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.

The lower surface of the plate-shaped second movable member 35 is shown in FIG.
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 fixed 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 plate 42 and a second guide thin plate 43 are provided at both ends of the upper surface of the second movable member 35.
Are fixed (shown in FIG. 1). 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 cooperation with the operation of the guide block 38. 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 on one side of the base 12, and the motor gear pinion 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 shaft 52 of the operating rod 49 is connected to a bearing plate 50 fixed on the base 12.
It is supported by.

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 slidably contacts the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49. Therefore, when the operating rod 49 rotates a predetermined angle about the shaft 52 by the second motor 46 via the motor pinion 47 and the sector gear 48, the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49 moves up and down about the shaft 52. Then, the first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 27 move up and down integrally via the receiving member 51 which is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface, and the movable head 5 of the second optical fiber 4 is thereby moved. Can move up and down.

According to the transport mechanism 24 of the present embodiment, the first motor 29 and the second motor 46 are driven to
The movable head 5 supporting the optical fiber 4 is moved in the direction in which the first optical fibers 2 are arranged (X direction), and is orthogonal to the fiber arrangement direction (X direction) and the longitudinal direction of the first optical fibers 2 (Z direction). The second optical fiber 4 is moved out of one second fiber fixing groove 9 by the two-dimensional movement of the second optical fiber 4 and the other second fiber fixing groove 9 is moved. Move smoothly to the first
The optical connection between the optical fiber 2 and the second optical fiber 4 can be switched.

In this embodiment, an example of the movable support mechanism 25 of the fiber array member 3 in the optical switch having one fiber array member 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the fiber array members 3 are provided in multiple stages,
The present invention can also be applied to an optical switch device that switches the optical connection between the second optical fiber and the first optical fiber of each stage by a transport mechanism (not shown) using a three-dimensional or three-dimensional moving stage.

[0037]

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 to each other. In addition, the displacement between the fiber arrangement position of the first optical fiber and the movement position of the second optical fiber, which is inevitable when assembling the optical switch, is controlled by a fiber arrangement member via a movable support mechanism consisting of the first and second stages. Can be finely adjusted easily and easily. Therefore, when the second optical fiber moves in the direction of arrangement of the plurality of first optical fibers to switch the optical connection, the optical connection is made with an optimum interval with all the first optical fibers,
In addition, since there is no angle at the tips of the first and second optical fibers, a reduction in optical connection loss can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion A in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a movable support mechanism of the optical switch of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic diagram of a portion A in FIG. 1;

8 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Multi-core optical fiber tape, 2. First optical fiber, 3.
Fiber array member, 4 ... second optical fiber, 5 ... movable head, 6 ... substrate, 8 ... first fiber fixing groove, 9 ... second fiber fixing groove, 12 ... base, 14 ... fixing screw, 15 ... second stage , 16: first stage, 19: guide pin,
Reference numeral 20: fitting hole, 21: pin hole, 22: guide hole, 24:
Transport mechanism, 28: movable support mechanism, 29: first motor, 4
6 ... second motor, 47 ... motor pinion, 48 ... 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 (56) References JP-A-6-67101 (JP, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 26/08 G02B 6/36

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A substrate having a plurality of fiber fixing grooves formed on an upper surface thereof; and a first substrate fixed to the fiber fixing grooves.
A fiber arrangement member having an optical fiber, and a transport mechanism for transporting a second optical fiber optically connected to the first optical fiber to the optical fiber fixing groove, wherein an introduction groove for guiding the second optical fiber is provided. An optical switch comprising: a substrate having a plurality of fiber fixing grooves and a fiber introduction groove formed on an upper surface thereof; and a first substrate fixed to the fiber fixing grooves.
A first stage for fixing a fiber array member having an optical fiber, a second stage for rotatably positioning the first stage above the stage via a pin, and
An optical switch including a third stage for positioning the stage above the stage via a linear motion mechanism in the longitudinal direction of the first optical fiber. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second stage is rotatably positioned above said third stage via a pin having a center substantially on an extension of an end face of said first optical fiber. Item 2. The optical switch according to item 1.