JP3439663B2 - Optical fiber end face observation tool - 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 fiber end face observation tool for observing an end face of an optical fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To construct an optical line network with optical fibers, optical fibers are butted and connected with a dedicated optical fiber connector, or a connector is connected with an optical connector attached to the tip of the optical fiber. For example, butt-connecting optical fibers requires cutting the optical fibers with a cutter to form a flat end surface. As a cutter, one that cuts an optical fiber with a disc-shaped cutting blade that is driven to rotate is known.

[0003]

By the way, minute unevenness may occur on the cut surface of the optical fiber cut by the cutter. If optical fibers are butt-connected with each other with relatively large irregularities, it is feared that the desired connection loss may not be obtained or that the optical transmission performance may be affected. Therefore, it is practiced to observe the end face of the cut optical fiber with a microscope and to remove those that are not suitable for use because the end face has large irregularities. However, until now, there was no simple device for inspecting the unevenness of the end face of the optical fiber, so especially when the optical fiber is cut at the connection site of the optical fiber, it is inconvenient to inspect the end face of the optical fiber, It was a hindrance to improving the connection work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber end face observing tool capable of easily observing an optical fiber end face.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A microscope mount to which a microscope is attached, a fiber holder for holding an optical fiber is set, and the set fiber holder is provided with a holder base for slidably supporting in the advancing and retracting direction with respect to the microscope mount.
On the holder table, attach the fiber holder to the microscope.
Slide it in the direction of the mount and place the tip of the optical fiber protruding from this fiber holder into the microscope mount.
The side surface of the microscope mount that is secured and is on the holder base side.
By inserting into the observation area (8a) opened in
The optical fiber tip can be placed at a position observable by the microscope attached to the microscope mount.
The optical fiber end face observation tool characterized in that it Tsu was solutions of the problems. According to a second aspect of the invention, in the optical fiber end face observation tool according to the first aspect, the microscope mount is provided with an angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the angle of the microscope with respect to the optical fiber positioned in the observation region. Is characterized by.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An optical fiber end face observation tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an optical fiber end face observation tool 1 of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view. 1 and 2
In this optical fiber end face observation tool 1, a microscope mount 4 for supporting a microscope 3 and a fiber holder 6 holding an optical fiber 5 clamped by an openable lid 6a are mounted on a base 2 installed horizontally. A holder base 7 that is detachably set as it is placed is mounted. A rubber 2a is attached to the lower surface of the base 2, and this optical fiber end face observation tool 1 can stabilize the installation state. The holder base 7 supports the set fiber holder 6 so as to be slidable in the advancing / retracting direction with respect to the microscope mount 4.

The microscope mount 4 comprises an element receiver 8 fixed to the base 2 and a mount main body 9 fixed to the upper part of the element receiver 8, and a horizontal shaft 1 provided on the mount main body 9.
By 0, the microscope 3 is rotatably supported. The microscope mount 4 is located on the extension of the path of the slide movement of the fiber holder 6 on the holder base 7. When the fiber holder 6 on the holder base 7 is moved toward the microscope mount 4, The tip of the optical fiber 5 protruding from the holder 6 is inserted into a groove-shaped recess 8a formed in the upper surface of the element receiver 8.

Microscope 3 mounted on microscope mount 4
Is capable of observing the inside of the recess 8a, and the end of the optical fiber 5 inserted into the recess 8a (specifically, the coating of the end of the optical fiber 5 which is a single optical fiber is removed to expose it). The bare fiber 5a) can be observed. Holder stand 7
A stopper wall 7a is projectingly provided at the end of the microscope mount 4 side, and when the fiber holder 6 moved in the direction of the microscope mount 4 contacts the stopper wall 7a, the stopper wall 7a is projected from the fiber holder 6. The tip of the optical fiber 5 is positioned at a predetermined position in the recess 8a, and the end face of the tip of the optical fiber 5 is positioned at a position where it can be observed by the microscope 3.
The recess 8a corresponds to the observation region described in claim 1.

The mount main body 9 is cylindrical and accommodates the tip of the microscope 3. Further, a horizontal shaft 10 parallel to the insertion direction of the optical fiber 5 into the recess 8a is attached to the mounting base body 9, and the microscope 3 is supported rotatably around the horizontal shaft 10. . The mounting position of the horizontal shaft 10 is not a position directly above the recess 8a but a position shifted in the horizontal direction, and when the microscope 3 is rotated around the horizontal shaft 10, the inside of the recess 8a, which is the observation region, is located. The tilt angle of the microscope 3 with respect to the tip of the optical fiber 5 inserted in the can be adjusted. At this time, the light holder 3a attached to the microscope 3 is also rotated integrally with the microscope 3. The attachment angle of the light holder 3a with respect to the microscope 3 can be changed. Here, the horizontal shaft 10 functions as an angle adjusting mechanism according to claim 2.

An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the microscope 3 by rotating the horizontal shaft 10 may be provided. For example, by manually rotating the horizontal shaft 10 outside the mount main body 9, the microscope 3 can be rotated. An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering is adopted. Since the recess 8a, which is the observation region, is substantially surrounded by the element receiver 8 and the mounting base body 9,
There is no risk of being contaminated by the ingress of dust. Similarly, since the tip of the microscope 3 does not have to be contaminated by dust or the like, the tip of the optical fiber 5 inserted in the observation region is the microscope 3.
The observation by can always be performed in a favorable environment.

Using this optical fiber end face observation tool 1,
To observe the end face of the tip of the optical fiber 5 with the microscope 3, the fiber holder 6 holding the optical fiber 5 in a clamped state is used.
Is set on the holder base 7, and then the fiber holder 6 is slid on the holder base 7 and moved toward the microscope mount 4. Since the optical fiber 5 having a desired length is projected from the fiber holder 6 and the bare fiber 5a is previously exposed at the tip of the optical fiber 5, the optical fiber 5 is moved toward the microscope mount 4. When the fiber holder 6 contacts the stopper wall 7a, the bare fiber 5a is inserted and positioned in the recess 8a which is the observation region of the microscope 3, and the bare fiber 5a at the tip of the optical fiber 5 is inserted.
The end face can be observed with the microscope 3. At this time,
An objective lens (not shown) at the lower end of the microscope 3 is located directly above the bare fiber 5a in the recess 8a.

Here, when the microscope 3 is rotated around the horizontal axis 10, the angle with respect to the tip of the bare fiber 5a in the recess 8a can be changed, and the end face of the bare fiber 5a is observed from a plurality of directions. be able to. This allows
It is possible to accurately grasp the unevenness of the end surface of the bare fiber 5a. Since the bare fiber 5a has a diameter of about 125 μm,
Horizontal axis 1 for observing this end face from multiple directions
The rotation of the microscope 3 around 0 may be minute, and for example, it is preferable to perform it by a dedicated rotation handle or the like. Also,
The light provided in the light holder 3a is turned on, and the recess 8a
The tip of the inner optical fiber 5 is laterally irradiated with light. Figure 2
Since the light holder 3a is separated from the recess 8a, the output light from the light of the light holder 3a inevitably irradiates the end face of the optical fiber 5 from the side as shown in FIG. . As a result, the unevenness of the end surface of the optical fiber 5 (specifically, the end surface of the bare fiber 5a) becomes a shadow and is easy to observe.

By the way, the unevenness of the end face of the bare fiber 5a can be observed well or not at all depending on the direction of light reflection on the end face of the bare fiber 5a. Therefore, in this optical fiber end face observation tool 1, by changing the angle of the microscope 3, it is possible to easily find a direction in which good observation can be performed, and thereby it is possible to surely observe the unevenness of the end face of the bare fiber 5a. . By changing the mounting angle of the light holder 3a with respect to the microscope 3, the direction of light reflection at the end face of the bare fiber 5a can be changed.
Therefore, in the optical fiber end face observation tool 1, the microscope 3 is rotated and the light holder 3 with respect to the microscope 3 is rotated.
A good observation state can be obtained by both changing the attachment angle of a. Since the inner surface of the recess 8a is colored to absorb light, such as black, the light incident on the recess 8a can be absorbed to prevent irregular reflection, and unnecessary light to the end face of the bare fiber 5a can be prevented. Irradiation and irregular reflection of light from the end face can be prevented, and observation can be facilitated. In the observation from the microscope 3, the bare fiber 5a looks white. Therefore, the unevenness of the end face of the bare fiber 5a can be more clearly observed and grasped by the black background color of the inner surface of the recess 8a. If not only the inner surface of the recess 8a but also the upper surface of the element receiver 8 and the inner surface of the mounting base 9 are colored with light-absorbing materials such as black, the end face of the bare fiber 5a is more reliably prevented from being irradiated with unnecessary light. Therefore, the observation can be further facilitated.

The light for irradiating the light for observation to the tip of the optical fiber 5 in the recess 8a is not limited to the light provided in the light holder 3a, and for example, the light installed at the bottom of the recess 8a is also adopted. It is possible. The light from the light installed at the bottom of the recess 8a transmits through the recess 8a where the bare fiber 5a does not exist (part of which passes through the bare fiber 5a), and the microscope 3 directly above the bare fiber 5a. Since it is incident on the objective lens, the unevenness on the end face of the bare fiber 5a can be easily observed as a shadow or the like. In this case, since the light of the light incident on the microscope 3 directly or after passing through the bare fiber 5a is observed, the tip of the bare fiber 5a due to the incident light from the opening of the recess 8a on the holder base 7 side or the like. It is less likely to be adversely affected by useless irregular reflection of light at, and observation work can be performed efficiently.

Further, according to the optical fiber end face observation tool 1, it is possible to observe the end faces of optical fibers having different diameters by adjusting the angle of the microscope 3. In the microscope 3, it is more preferable that the support position in the axial direction of the horizontal shaft 10 can be changed, and thus the protruding length of the optical fiber 5 from the fiber holder 6 can be dealt with.

The optical fiber 5 includes a fiber holder 6
It is designed to be applied to a dedicated connection tool for butt-connecting optical fibers after cutting, coating removal, etc. while holding the clamp on, and a dedicated optical connector assembly tool for inserting into optical connectors. The optical fiber 5 is positioned with respect to the processing position only by setting the fiber holder 6 on the holder table provided on the cutting device, the coating remover, the connecting tool, the assembling tool and the like. Therefore, in the optical fiber 5 for the same purpose, the fiber holder 6
Since the projection length of the optical fiber 5 from the optical axis is constant, it is generally unnecessary to change the mounting position of the microscope 3 in the axial direction of the horizontal axis 10.

When the observation of the end face of the optical fiber 5 is completed,
The fiber holder 6 is moved in a direction in which it is separated from the microscope mount 4, and the optical fiber 5 is pulled out from the recess 8a.
Hereinafter, if the fiber holder 6 is exchanged, the unevenness of the end surface of the optical fiber 5 can be sequentially observed by the same procedure. If the unevenness of the end face of the optical fiber 5 affects the connection loss and the optical transmission performance at the butt connection by observation, the use of the optical fiber 5 is avoided. As a result, only the optical fiber 5 having an end face that does not affect the optical transmission performance and the like can be used, and the desired connection loss and optical transmission performance can be obtained when they are butt-connected.

As described above, according to the optical fiber end face observation tool 1, the fiber holder 6 set on the holder stand 7 is used.
Is moved in the direction of the microscope mount 4, and the tip of the optical fiber 5 protruding from the fiber holder 6 is simply inserted into the recess 8a, which is the observation region in the microscope mount 4, to make the end face of the optical fiber 5 uneven. Can be easily observed, and the end faces of many optical fibers 5 can be observed efficiently in a short time. Further, the optical fiber end face observation tool 1 has a simple structure and can be easily formed in a size that can be carried. Therefore, for example, it can be easily brought into a connection site of the optical fiber 5 or the like. Therefore, the efficiency of work such as connection of the optical fiber 5 can be improved.

The optical fiber end face observing tool of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various configurations can be adopted for the microscope mounting base, the holder base, the angle adjusting mechanism and the like. For example, the holder base may be a pressing mechanism that presses and moves a fiber holder set at a position apart from the microscope mount toward the microscope mount, or a fiber holder moved toward the microscope mount, It is also possible to provide a pullback mechanism or the like that pulls back to a position spaced apart from. As the angle adjusting mechanism, other than the structure for rotatably supporting the microscope about the horizontal axis 10 and the structure for rotatably supporting the microscope around the optical fiber in the observation region, it is possible to adopt. The observation region by the microscope 3 is not limited to the recess 8a, and various configurations such as the periphery of a support table that supports the tip of the optical fiber in a floating state can be adopted. That is, as the observation region, it is preferable that the end face of the optical fiber can be observed from a plurality of directions by the rotation and inclination of the microscope.

[0020]

As described above, according to the optical fiber end face observing tool of claim 1, (1) the fiber holder set on the holder base is moved in the direction of the microscope mount,
The optical fiber tip projected from this fiber holder,
By simply inserting it into the observation area of the microscope mount, you can easily observe the irregularities of the end faces of the optical fiber with the microscope attached to the microscope mount, and observe the end faces of many optical fibers in a short time. Can be done efficiently,
(2) The structure is simple, and it is easy to form it in a size that allows it to be carried.
It has an excellent effect that it can be easily used anywhere.

According to the optical fiber end face observing tool of the second aspect, the angle of the microscope with respect to the optical fiber positioned in the observation region can be adjusted by the angle adjusting mechanism attached to the microscope mount, and the optical fiber end face can be adjusted to a plurality of positions. It has an excellent effect that it can be observed from an angle and the degree of unevenness can be grasped easily and accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber end face observation tool of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the optical fiber end face observation tool of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical fiber end face observation tool, 3 ... Microscope, 4 ... Microscope mount, 5 ... Optical fiber (optical fiber single core wire), 6 ... Fiber holder, 7 ... Holder stand, 8a ... Observation area (recess), 10 … Angle adjustment mechanism (horizontal axis).

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Tamaki 1440 Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Fujikura Co., Ltd. Sakura Factory (72) Inventor Masaaki Takaya 3-19-3 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph Telephone Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-9-5205 (JP, A) JP-A-60-51815 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 5-36337 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01M 11/00-11/08 G02B 21/06-21/36 G02B 6/24

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A microscope mount (4) to which a microscope (3) is mounted and a fiber holder (6) holding an optical fiber (5) are set, and the set fiber holder is attached to the microscope mount. and a holder base for slidably supported in the forward and backward direction (7) for, in said holder bench, the microscope the fiber holder
Slide it in the direction of the mount and place the tip of the optical fiber protruding from this fiber holder into the microscope mount.
The side surface of the microscope mount that is secured and is on the holder base side.
By inserting into the observation area (8a) opened in
The optical fiber tip can be placed at a position observable by the microscope attached to the microscope mount.
Optical fiber end surface observation tool, characterized in that it Tsu (1). 2. The optical fiber end face according to claim 1, wherein the microscope mount is provided with an angle adjusting mechanism (10) for adjusting an angle of the microscope with respect to the optical fiber positioned in the observation region. Observation tool.