JP3332984B2 - End processing method of optical fiber core wire - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an end of an optical fiber core wire.
Relates the surface processing method, and more particularly, the die is fixed to an end of the plastic optical fiber core, the optical fiber core end face of the ferrule tip opening to a method of processing an optical fiber core line are mirror.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical fiber cord in which a base is fixed to an end of a plastic optical fiber cord, and an optical fiber end face at a tip end of the base is a mirror surface, conventionally, a coating material of the optical fiber cord is removed and a through hole of the base is provided. After fixing the cord and the base securely with an adhesive, cut the excess fiber protruding from the base end of the base with a blade and mechanically polish this part, or use a hot plate (heating mirror surface plate). The end face was mirror-finished.

A technique for thermally processing the end face of an optical fiber or an optical fiber cord using a hot plate or the like includes, for example, first pressing an end face of an optical fiber at right angles to a heating plate, and then using the heating plate to form the optical fiber. Heating the end face to the heat deformation temperature, lowering the temperature of the heating plate to room temperature to lower the end face temperature, thereby further improving the flatness of the flat surface, preventing chipping of the peripheral portion, and transmitting light End face processing method of optical fiber that can improve characteristics (Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-15
No. 241), a plastic optical fiber is inserted into a cylindrical body having a notch at the inner corner of the end on the effective surface side, and the tip is heated to prevent the cylindrical body from coming off. Optical fiber light guide that improves polishing accuracy (Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-57)
No. 001), a plastic optical fiber is inserted into a cylindrical body having a chamfered portion, and the tip of the optical fiber is heated to fill the chamfered portion. There is a method of manufacturing a light guide capable of finishing an end face (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-187903). The optical fiber cord having the base and having a mirror-finished end surface can be used as a point sensor head or a connector for communication.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the conventional processing method,
The technique of enlarging the end of the optical fiber is performed by heating the optical fiber by bringing a flame close to the end, or by pressing a heated mirror plate (hot plate) against the end of the optical fiber.
However, with the expansion of the optical fiber due to the flame or the heated mirror plate, the deformation (expansion) of the optical fiber is insufficient. For example, the optical fiber does not sufficiently expand to the tapered corner inside the base. As a result, the holding force (tensile force) of the optical fiber fixed to the base decreases. On the other hand, if heated excessively, unnecessary portions are enormously enlarged, and the optical transmission of the optical fiber deteriorates.

[0005] The present invention has been made based on the above background, it is an object to sufficiently large the fiber-optic, it is thickened the optical fiber to every corner of the die internal taper, die An object of the present invention is to provide a method in which the holding force (tensile force) of a fixed optical fiber is increased, and it is not necessary to excessively heat the optical fiber, and the optical transmission of the optical fiber can be maintained.

[0006]

The above object is achieved by the present invention. That is, the method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core according to the present invention is a method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core in which a base is fixed to an end of the optical fiber core, comprising the following steps. (B) Insert a through hole for inserting and fixing the end of the optical fiber core
The through hole has a large-diameter portion on the insertion port side and a small-diameter portion on the tip port side.
Step of preparing a base having a diameter part (b) Step of inserting an optical fiber core wire from the base of the base (c) Contacting a heating element with the base outer peripheral surface near the tip end while cooling the base of the base The optical fiber core wire is softened and melted, and a part of the optical fiber core wire is enlarged in the insertion hole. (D) The mirror end surface of the optical fiber core wire facing the tip end port

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
(D) process, in (c) step and a simultaneous or subsequent, light
The tip of the fiber core and the heating mirror plate are brought into close contact with each other, the mirror plate is pressed and heated relatively to melt the tip of the optical fiber core wire facing the tip opening, the end face of the optical fiber core wire is solidified, and the mirror surface is changed to the optical fiber core wire. This is the step of transferring to the end face.

In another preferred aspect of the present invention, the step (d) is a step of polishing the optical fiber core wire protruding from the tip end of the base after the step (c) to mirror-finish the end face. In another preferred embodiment of the method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core wire of the present invention, a step of applying an adhesive to the inner surface of the through hole of the die and / or the optical fiber core wire, and an extra portion protruding from the tip end of the die. The optical fiber core wire is cut, and a tapered portion is formed at the tip end of the base. In the above-described method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core wire of the present invention, the optical fiber core wire is preferably an optical fiber cord in which an optical fiber core wire and a coating material are integrated and fixed to a base. is there. As described above, when the optical fiber cord and the covering material are integrated into an optical fiber cord and fixed to a base, (e) the cord covering material is removed from the end of the optical fiber cord and the optical fiber cord is removed. It is preferable to provide the step of exposing the fiber core wire before the step (b).

[0009]

The present invention having the above-described structure operates as follows. First, a through hole for inserting and fixing the end of the optical fiber core, the large-diameter portion and the above the through hole of the insertion port side
A base having a small-diameter portion on the end side is prepared. An adhesive is applied to the inner surface of the through hole of the base and / or the core of the optical fiber depending on the application. The end of the optical fiber core wire is inserted from the insertion opening of the base.

If necessary, the optical fiber core wire protruding from the tip end of the base is cut. While cooling the base of the base
Et al, to the base outer peripheral surface of the distal end opening neighborhood contacting a heating body is softened and molten optical fiber core wire, a part of the optical fiber core
Make the minutes enormous. Finally, the end face of the optical fiber core wire facing the tip end is mirror-finished.

In the mirror finishing step, at the same time as or after the enlarging step, the tip of the optical fiber core wire and the heated mirror face plate are brought into close contact with each other, and the mirror face plate is relatively pressurized and heated to face the tip end opening. The tip can be melted, the end face of the optical fiber core wire can be solidified, and the mirror surface can be transferred to the end face of the optical fiber core wire. In another mirroring step, after the enlarging step, the end face of the optical fiber protruding from the tip end of the base can be polished to be mirror-finished .

[0012]

The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples. 1 (a) to 1 (d) are partial cross-sectional views illustrating each step of an embodiment of a method for processing an end face of an optical fiber cord according to the present invention. First, the coating material (jacket) 2 at the end of the single-core plastic optical fiber cord is removed to expose the internal optical fiber core wire 1. The optical fiber cord used here has one core, but may have two or more cores. A transparent plastic resin such as PMMA or PC can be used as the core wire material, and a resin such as PE or PVC can be used as the coating material.

There is a through hole for inserting and fixing the end of the optical fiber cord. This through hole has a large diameter portion on the insertion port side and a small diameter portion on the distal port side, and a tapered portion is formed at the distal port. Prepare the base 3 that has been used. An adhesive is applied to the inner surface of the through hole of the base and / or the core of the optical fiber depending on the application. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the optical fiber cord is inserted from the insertion opening of the base 3 until it comes into contact with the end, and the optical fiber cord is held and gripped by the holding and pressing device 9 and pressed against the base. The base 3 is held by the cooling body 8. If necessary, use an appropriate blade (nippers, knives, etc.) for the extra optical fiber core that protrudes from the tip of the base.
Disconnect with

As shown in FIG. 1B, a side heating element 7 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the base near the front end, and the front end of the base 3 and the mirror plate 5 are brought into close contact with each other. The heating and pressurizing and heating of the optical fiber core by the heating element 6 melts and softens the distal end of the optical fiber core line facing the distal end port, thereby enlarging the optical fiber core line up to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion of the distal end opening, and increasing the size of the optical fiber 1a. To form In this enormous process, base 3
Is held by the cooling body 8, it is possible to protect portions that do not need to be heated and expanded from heat.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), while the mirror plate 5 is kept in contact, the end face heating body 6 and the side heating body 7 are separated to cool the optical fiber 1, the base 3, and the mirror face plate 5. Then, the end face of the optical fiber core wire is solidified. After cooling, FIG.
As shown in (d), the optical fiber cord is pulled away from the mirror plate 5 together with the base, and the mirror surface is transferred to the end surface of the optical fiber core wire. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the end portion of the optical fiber is enlarged by using a relatively large side heating body 7 to form an enlarged portion 1a, and then an extra optical fiber core wire protruding from the tip end of the base is formed. The end face can be mirror-finished by polishing.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, sufficiently large the fiber-optic, is thickened the optical fiber to every corner of the die internal taper, retaining force of the die fixed optical fiber (tensile force) is increased excessively there is no need to heat Thus, the optical transmission of the optical fiber can be maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating each step of an embodiment of a method for processing an end face of an optical fiber cord according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the tip of the optical fiber core wire is melted and enlarged.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber core wire 1a Enlarged part 2 Coating material 3 Base 5 Mirror surface plate 6 End surface heating body 7 Side heating body 8 Cooling body 9 Nipping and pressing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-57-181513 (JP, A) JP-A-57-120905 (JP, A) JP-A-59-40602 (JP, A) JP-A-62 170904 (JP, A) JP-A-62-210403 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/00-6/02 G02B 6/10 G02B 6/16- 6/22 G02B 6/44

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core wire in which a base is fixed to an end of the optical fiber core wire, comprising the following steps. (B) Insert a through hole for inserting and fixing the end of the optical fiber core
The through hole has a large-diameter portion on the insertion port side and a small-diameter portion on the tip port side.
Step of preparing a base having a diameter part (b) Step of inserting an optical fiber core wire from the base of the base (c) Contacting a heating element with the base outer peripheral surface near the tip end while cooling the base of the base The optical fiber core wire is softened and melted, and a part of the optical fiber core wire is enlarged in the insertion hole. (D) The mirror end surface of the optical fiber core wire facing the tip end port 2. The step (d) is performed at the same time as or after the step (c), by bringing the end of the optical fiber core wire into close contact with the heating mirror plate, and pressurizing and heating the mirror plate relatively to face the tip opening. 2. The method for processing an end face of an optical fiber core wire according to claim 1, wherein the step of melting the end of the optical fiber core wire, solidifying the end face of the optical fiber core wire, and transferring the mirror surface to the end face of the optical fiber core wire. 3. The optical fiber core wire according to claim 1, wherein the step (d) is a step of polishing the optical fiber core wire protruding from the tip end of the die after the step (c) to make the end face mirror-finished. End face processing method. 4. A step of applying an adhesive to the inner surface of the through hole of the base and / or the optical fiber core, and a step of cutting off an excess optical fiber core protruding from the tip end of the base.
2. A tapered portion is formed at a tip end of the base.
An end face processing method for an optical fiber core wire according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . 5. The optical fiber core is fixed to a base in the form of an optical fiber cord in which the optical fiber core and a coating material are integrated, and (e) coating the cord from the end of the optical fiber cord. The method of processing an end face of an optical fiber core according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a step of exposing the optical fiber core by removing the material before the step (b).