JP3875939B2 - Optical fiber connector plug and optical fiber wiring board - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical connector plug for bringing bare optical fibers into contact and optically coupling them, and an optical fiber wiring board using the plug.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, FPC (Fiber Physical Contact) is used to press-fit, that is, connect PC (Physical Contact) optical fiber end faces by elastic restoring force due to the buckling of the optical fiber itself through a small-diameter hole. Connector) (for example, see Patent Document 1) and PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuits) connector (for example, see Patent Document 2) for connecting an optical fiber and an end face of an optical waveguide by PC. Yes. An FPC connector is used when connecting the optical fiber to the optical fiber, and a PLC connector is used when connecting the optical fiber wiring board and the end face of the optical waveguide.
[0003]
An example of a conventional FPC connector is shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 15 and an assembly view of FIG. 16, and FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a plug of the FPC connector. A conventional FPC connector uses an optical fiber 1 in which a connection end face 2 is tapered and polished in order to obtain good optical characteristics, two plugs 3 and 4 to which the optical fiber 1 is attached, 4 includes an adapter 5 for aligning the axis of the optical fiber 1 attached to 4, and plugs 3, 4 and a clip 6 for integrating the adapter 5.
[0004]
First, one optical fiber 1 is fixed to the holding portion 7 of the plug 3, the end of the end face processed optical fiber 1 is inserted from one of the small diameter holes 9 of the adapter 5, and the other holding portion 8 of the plug 4 is inserted. Similarly, the tip of the optical fiber 1 attached to the optical fiber 1 is also inserted from one of the small-diameter holes 9 of the adapter 5, and the whole is fixed by the clip 6, thereby connecting both optical fibers 1 and 1. At this time, in either one of the plugs 3 and 4, the optical fiber 1 (or 1) is held by the plug holding portion 7 (or 8) so that the tip protrudes from the plug 3 (or 4) by a slight distance. As a result, a buckling 10 occurs at the tip of the optical fiber 1 (or 1), and the optical fiber is connected to the PC by elastic recovery due to the buckling 10. As shown in FIG. 15, at both ends of the narrow hole 9 of the adapter 5, taper processing 11 is performed in order to ease the positional accuracy of optical fiber insertion.
[0005]
FIG. 17 shows an external configuration of the FPC connector plug 3 (or 4). An optical fiber holding portion 7 (or 8) is integrally formed with the plug 3 (or 4), and a plurality of parallel grooves 12 for holding the optical fiber are formed in the longitudinal direction of the plug at the upper portion of the optical fiber holding portion. Has been. In addition, although the FPC connector is illustrated here, the structure of the plug is common between the FPC connector and the PLC connector.
[0006]
FIG. 18 shows a state of the FPC connector plug 3 (or 4) in which a plurality of optical fibers 1 are fixed in the groove 12 of the optical fiber holding portion 7 (or 8). In the FPC connector plug, the optical fiber 1 from which the coating (for example, polymer coating) 13 has been removed in advance is installed in the groove 12 formed as an integral molding on the plug 3 (or 4), and the adhesive is dropped from the upper part thereof. Then, the optical fiber 1 is held in the plug 3 (or 4) by fixing the optical fiber 1 to the groove 12 collectively.
[0007]
In this way, after the optical fiber 1 is mounted on the plug 3 (or 4), the optical characteristics are inspected to determine whether or not the optical fiber connector plug is acceptable. Even when this plug is attached to an optical fiber wiring board (see, for example, Patent Document 3), the same processing and inspection are repeated to mount the required number of FPC connector plugs on the optical fiber wiring board. Further, as an optical fiber connector to be attached to the optical fiber wiring board, a single-core connector such as an SC type or MU type connector or a multi-fiber connector such as an MT type connector may be used.
[0008]
When a single-core connector is used, the optical fiber is inserted into a ferrule (not shown) having an inner diameter slightly larger than the optical fiber diameter, and this is fixed with an adhesive to process the end faces of the ferrule and the optical fiber. In the MT type connector, a multi-core optical fiber array is inserted into a ferrule in which multi-core holes are formed, these are fixed with an adhesive, and an optical fiber is mounted by the same processing as that of a single-core connector.
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-352360
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-221559
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-119033
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional optical fiber connector, the bare optical fiber 1 is buckled at the time of contact, and the fiber end faces are pressed and optically coupled by the restoring force of the buckled fiber. The bare fiber (φ125 μm) is brought into contact in a hole 9 (about a small diameter hole φ126 μm) 9 provided in the adapter 5. Since the bare fiber 1 is easily broken, a polymer layer 13 having a thickness of 5 μm is coated on the surface.
[0013]
By the way, there is a case where a defective core wire is found by breakage of the optical fiber due to a processing mistake in the mounting process of the optical fiber to the optical fiber connector or an optical property inspection after the processing. However, in the conventional optical fiber connector, as shown in FIG. 18, since the optical fiber 1 is fixed to the groove 12 formed in the plug 3 (or 4) by an adhesive (not shown), Can not be replaced only. Also in other multi-fiber connectors other than the FPC connector shown in FIG. 18, it is impossible to replace only the defective core wire. Therefore, in the past, for example, when an optical fiber connector is mounted on a multi-fiber tape fiber, when these breaks, poor characteristics, etc. occur, the optical fiber connector including the defective core wire is being mounted or has been mounted. The multi-fiber tape fiber was discarded and the production was started again from the end face processing of the optical fiber and the plug assembly. The scale of the tape fiber is about 1 to 16 cores. If the number of cores is about that, the possibility of connector fabrication failure and optical characteristic failure is small, and the influence on the cost is small.
[0014]
However, when the optical fiber connector is attached to the end portion of the optical fiber wiring board, if a problem such as breakage or poor characteristics occurs even in one core, the number of optical fiber cores included in the optical fiber wiring board is large. Accordingly, it has been a problem to re-manufacture from an optical fiber wiring board from the viewpoint of cost increase.
[0015]
In addition, there is a method of cutting an optical fiber connector including a defective optical fiber from the end of the optical fiber wiring board and processing the optical fiber again and reattaching the plug. However, the optical fiber wiring board is mounted on a printed circuit board or a cabinet. When using it, it is difficult to provide extra length in preparation for processing errors due to storage density and mounting efficiency, and it is difficult to reuse the optical fiber wiring board containing the defective core wire to mount the optical fiber connector. It was. For this reason, conventionally, in the case where an optical fiber connector is mounted on an optical fiber wiring board, if even one core fails, an optical fiber wiring board is manufactured again, and the optical fiber end face processing and plug mounting are performed again. . The larger the optical fiber wiring board that contains more than 100 optical fibers, the more likely it is to contain a defective core wire of about one core due to errors in optical fiber processing, optical fiber connector mounting work, etc., so it cannot be used. There is a high possibility of becoming an optical fiber wiring board.
[0016]
As described above, in the prior art, rework due to a processing error or poor optical characteristics when mounting the optical fiber connector on the optical fiber wiring board increases the working time, and the optical fiber wiring board and the optical fiber connector are used. This was a cause of high costs in constructing the wiring. Even if the assembly process is performed without any work mistakes, the work time is remarkably increased, and the high cost is still a problem. This problem is not limited to a single-core connector or a multi-core connector, but should be solved quickly in mounting an optical fiber connector on an optical fiber wiring board.
[0017]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, realizes replacement of each optical fiber core in the optical fiber connector, improves the yield of the optical fiber wiring board mounted with the optical fiber connector, The purpose is to realize cost reduction in large-scale optical wiring using an optical fiber connector and an optical fiber wiring board.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the plug of the optical fiber connector of the present invention connects the optical fiber end faces to each other by the elastic restoring force due to buckling of the optical fiber within the small-diameter hole, or the optical fiber end face and the light waveguide end face a plug of an optical fiber connector for PC connection, a plurality of optical fiber single core holding member for holding the one not a one optical fiber, said plurality of optical fiber single core holding member are accommodated in alignment that the optical fiber single core holding member installation portion possess a plug housing with a said optical fiber single core holding member installation portion, a bottom portion for fixing the plurality of optical fibers single core holding member and both end edge portions The plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members are extracted one by one while holding the arrangement of the other optical fiber single-core holding members. · Wherein the insert is capable mounted.
[0019]
Here, when an optical fiber is installed in the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member, the side wall of the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member may be higher than the diameter of the optical fiber.
[0020]
In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member may be V-shaped, semicircular, or quadrangular.
[0021]
Each of the plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members has a cut portion at a lower portion thereof, and the optical fiber single-core holding member is attached to the alignment member having a structure in which the cut portion is fitted. is housed in the alignment member, it can be further said alignment member is characterized Rukoto installed in the optical fiber single core holding member of the plug housing.
[0022]
Further, the end of the small-diameter hole may have a tapered shape that opens outward.
[0023]
Furthermore, the present invention can be characterized by an optical fiber wiring board provided with the plug of the optical fiber connector.
[0024]
In the present invention, in an optical fiber connector in which a plurality of optical fibers are held in a cantilever, the optical fiber holding member is a separate member that can be detached from the plug housing member, and each optical fiber is provided separately. Since the single optical fiber is held by the holding member and these optical fiber single holding members are housed in the plug housing member, even if one of the optical fibers breaks, it can be easily replaced. is there.
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a state at the time of assembly. This optical fiber connector plug 100 can hold 16 optical fibers at a pitch of 250 μm. The optical fiber connector plug 100 includes 16 optical fiber single-core holding members 101 for fixing a single optical fiber, and a plug housing 103 having a pair of parallel plate-like members. The holding member 101 is housed in the optical fiber single-core holding member installation portion 105 of the plug housing 103. The optical fiber single-core holding member installation portion 105 is integrally formed on the rear side of the plug housing 103, and has a bottom for fixing the 16 optical fiber single-core holding members 101 and edges (stoppers) at both ends. The 16 optical fiber single-core holding members 101 can be individually removed one by one, and have a V-shaped cross section for fixing a single optical fiber to each head (upper end) or a half cross section. A groove having a circular diameter or the like is formed.
[0026]
FIG. 3 shows a 16-fiber optical fiber mounted on the plug 100 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the optical fiber 200 is mounted on the plug 100 by detachably installing the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 on the plug housing 103 and then mounting the plug 100 on the plug 100. The coating 203 is removed, and the optical fiber 205 whose end face is tapered and polished is placed in the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member 101, and the fiber 205 is fixed to the groove with an adhesive.
[0027]
Since the optical fiber 205 is taped with 16 cores (integrated into a flat string with temporary fixing), all 16 cores can be installed on each fixing member (optical fiber single-core holding member) 101 in one operation. When the optical fiber 205 is fixed to the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 with an adhesive (not shown), the adjacent optical fiber single-core holding member or the optical fiber single-core holding member and the plug housing 103 are not fixed with the adhesive. It is necessary to drop an appropriate amount of adhesive.
[0028]
Thereafter, optical measurement is performed on the plug 101 on which the optical fiber 205 is mounted, and when only one core with poor optical characteristics is found, an optical fiber (defective core) 255 with poor optical characteristics is shown in FIG. Except the optical fiber single-core holding member 151 to which is fixed. A desired optical fiber single-core holding member 151 can be extracted by grasping the optical fiber 205 part of the cantilever in the plug 100 or the optical fiber with the coating 203 from above by tweezers (not shown). Is possible.
[0029]
After removing the optical fiber single-core holding member 151 including the defective core wire 255, as shown in FIG. 6, a new single-core optical fiber single-core holding member 161 is inserted again at the removed position, and newly processed. By fixing the optical fiber 265 to the optical fiber single-core holding member 161 with an adhesive, the core wire exchange in the plug 100 is realized.
[0030]
As described above, in the plug 100 of the optical fiber connector, the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 is detachably accommodated in the plug housing 103, so that the desired optical fiber can be obtained even after the optical fiber 200 is bonded to the plug. Can only be replaced.
[0031]
Next, FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber single-core holding member 101. As shown in FIG. 7, in the optical fiber single-core holding member 101, it is desirable to make the side wall of the groove 302 higher. When the adhesive 301 is dropped, the overflowing adhesive flows to the optical fiber single-core holding member adjacent to the adhesive, and the optical fiber single-core holding members are bonded to each other. This is because it is impossible to extract only 101. It is desirable that the height of the side wall 302A be 0.05 mm or more higher than the diameter of the optical fiber 205 installed in the groove 302. Regarding the cross-sectional shape of the groove of the optical fiber fixing part, in addition to the V-shaped groove 302 shown in FIG. 7, a semicircular groove (or U-shaped groove) 303 shown in FIG. 8, a rectangular groove 304 shown in FIG. is there.
[0032]
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram in which the above-described optical fiber connector plug 100 according to the present invention is attached to the end of the optical fiber wiring board. FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a wiring portion in which two 16-fiber optical fiber connectors are mounted on an optical fiber wiring board 400 in which optical fibers are wired one by one according to a pattern on a film having an adhesive layer on the surface. . The optical fiber connector uses the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug shown in FIG.
[0033]
Even when a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector is used for the optical fiber wiring board 400, the defective core wire 255 can be replaced by the procedure shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 11, when the optical fiber core attached to the plug 100 attached to the end of the optical fiber wiring board 400 is replaced, the defective core 255 is bonded to the plugs 100, 100 at two ends. Therefore, generally, as shown in FIG. 12, the optical fiber connector plugs 100, 100 at both ends are subjected to the replacement of the core wires. Details of the respective core wire exchanges are the same as those described above with reference to FIGS. Instead of this, the core wire is exchanged only in one plug 100 with the defective core wire 255, and after the optical fiber in the optical fiber wiring board 400 is cut and the core wire is replaced, the replaced core is replaced. It is also possible to connect the end of the optical fiber and the end of the cut optical fiber wiring board 400 in the optical fiber wiring board 400 by fusion splicing and store them in the optical fiber wiring board.
[0034]
Also in the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug 100, the optical fiber connection structure is the same as that of the conventional FPC connector, and the same adapter as that of the conventional FPC connector can be used. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 of the conventional example, in the FPC connector, the optical fiber 205 fixed to the plug 100 is inserted into the alignment hole (small diameter hole) 9 of the adapter 5 and is connected to the PC. As the fiber connector plug 100 has a separate configuration that can be detached individually like the plug housing 103 and the optical fiber single-core holding member 101, the optical fiber single-core holding member increases as the number of plug cores 205 increases. When the plug 100 and the adapter 5 are connected, the position error of the optical fiber with respect to the adapter alignment hole 9 increases at the end of the array of the optical fiber single-core holding members 101. It is done. However, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the entrance 11 of the alignment hole 9 is tapered, and this tapered structure can absorb a positional error of the optical fiber with respect to the alignment hole 9 when the optical fiber is inserted. Therefore, when the number of plug cores is about 32 or 64, the accuracy of the optical fiber single-core holding member can be handled with the accuracy of conventional molding.
[0035]
(Third embodiment)
In the assembly of the plug shown in FIG. 2, it may be difficult to handle when the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 is housed in the plug housing 103. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 13, a cut portion 501 is provided in the lower part of the optical fiber single-core holding member 101, and the cut portion 501 is fitted into the alignment member 503. After the fiber single-core holding members 101 are aligned, they are installed in the optical fiber single-core holding member installation portion 105 of the plug housing 103 as shown in FIG. By doing so, the handling of the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 can be improved as compared with the embodiment of FIG. 2 in which a plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members 101 are installed in the plug housing 103 one by one. it can.
[0036]
In addition, since the cut portion 501 is formed in the lower part of the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 that is an optical fiber fixing material, when the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 is pulled out from above, it is aligned with the alignment member 503. It has a structure that does not block.
[0037]
In the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug 100, when it is determined that the optical characteristics of all the optical fibers 205 in the plug are acceptable after the single-fiber replacement, the optical fiber single-core holding member 101 is attached to the plug housing 103 with an adhesive. Fix it. When these plugs 100 are used for the optical fiber wiring board 400, when it is determined that all the optical fibers 205 in the optical fiber wiring board 400 are acceptable, the optical fiber single-core holding members are bonded to 101 in all the plugs 100. It fixes to the plug housing 103 with an agent.
[0038]
(Other embodiments)
The above-described embodiments of the present invention exemplify preferred specific examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and modifications and changes within the scope described in the claims, replacement with equivalents, etc. Are included in the present invention.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the optical fiber end faces or the optical fiber end faces and the optical waveguide end faces are press-contacted with each other by elastic restoring force due to buckling of the optical fiber itself by inserting a small-diameter hole in the optical fiber. Thus, in the plug in the FPC or PLC connector to be connected to the PC, a plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members and a single plug member are separated as separate members, and each optical fiber single-core holding member can Since the fiber single fiber is fixed, even after the optical fiber connector assembling process is completed, it becomes possible to exchange the optical fiber fiber for each optical fiber single fiber.
[0040]
In particular, when an optical fiber connector plug is used at the end of the optical fiber wiring board, according to the present invention, only the defective core wire can be easily replaced due to the above configuration, and it must be discarded when the conventional processing fails. Since the optical fiber wiring board that has not been used can be used as it is, the cost can be reduced in large-scale optical wiring.
[0041]
In addition, according to the present invention, since the optical fiber holding member is separated for each single core, the larger the size of the optical fiber wiring board, the higher the yield and the larger the cost difference compared to other multi-fiber connectors. There is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug of FIG. 1 is assembled.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an optical fiber is bonded to the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug of FIG. 1;
4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an optical fiber is mounted on the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug of FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an arbitrary optical fiber single-core holding member is extracted from the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug of FIG. 3; FIG.
6 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a replacement optical fiber single-core holding member is inserted into the single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug of FIG. 5. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional shape of an optical fiber single-core holding member to which an optical fiber is bonded according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another cross-sectional shape of an optical fiber single-core holding member to which an optical fiber is bonded according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing still another cross-sectional shape of an optical fiber single-core holding member to which an optical fiber is bonded according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug is mounted on the optical fiber wiring board in one embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when an arbitrary optical fiber single-core holding member is extracted from a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug mounted on the optical fiber wiring board of FIG.
12 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a replacement optical fiber single-core holding member is inserted into a single-fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug mounted on the optical fiber wiring board of FIG. 11. FIG.
FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when an optical fiber single-core holding member and an alignment member are assembled in another embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when the optical fiber single-core holding member housed in the alignment member of FIG. 13 is assembled to the plug housing.
FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a conventional FPC connector.
FIG. 16 is an assembly view showing an example of a conventional FPC connector.
FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional FPC connector plug.
FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of a conventional FPC connector plug in which a plurality of optical fibers are fixed in a groove of an optical fiber holding portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Optical fiber (fiber optic core)
2 Connection end face (optical fiber end face)
3, 4 Plug 5 Adapter 6 Clip 7, 8 Optical fiber holding portion 9 Small diameter hole 10 Buckling portion 11 Tapered portion 12 at the tip of small diameter hole Groove 13 Cover 100 Single fiber replaceable optical fiber connector plug 101 Single optical fiber core Holding member 151 Optical fiber single-core holding member 161 that holds the defective core wire Inserted optical fiber single-core holding member 103 Plug housing 105 Optical fiber single-core holding member installation part 200 Optical fiber 203 Cover 205 Optical fiber (light with the coating removed) Fiber core)
255 Defective core 265 Inserted optical fiber 301 Adhesive 302 Groove (V-shaped groove)
302A groove side wall 303 groove (semi-circular groove)
304 groove (square groove)
400 Optical Fiber Wiring Board 501 Notch 503 Alignment Member

Claims (6)

A plug of an optical fiber connector in which optical fiber end faces are PC-connected by elastic restoring force due to buckling of the optical fiber itself in a small-diameter hole, or an optical fiber end face and an optical waveguide end face are PC-connected,
A plurality of optical fiber single core holding member for holding the one not a One optical fiber,
Possess a plug housing having a plurality of optical fiber single core holding member installation portion where the optical fiber single core holding member is housed in alignment,
The optical fiber single-core holding member installation portion includes a bottom portion for fixing the plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members and edge portions at both ends, and the plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members include desired optical fibers. A plug of an optical fiber connector, wherein only a single core holding member is mounted so that it can be pulled out and inserted one by one while holding the arrangement of other optical fiber single core holding members .   2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein when an optical fiber is installed in a groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member, a side wall of the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member is higher than a diameter of the optical fiber. Plug.   The optical fiber connector plug according to claim 2, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the groove of the optical fiber single-core holding member is V-shaped, semicircular, or quadrangular. Each of the plurality of optical fiber single-core holding members has a cut portion at a lower portion thereof, and the optical fiber single-core holding member is fitted to the alignment member by fitting the cut portion into an alignment member having a structure in which the cut portion is fitted. optical fiber connector plug according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is housed, further said alignment member and said Rukoto installed in the optical fiber single core holding member of the plug housing.   2. The optical fiber connector plug according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the small-diameter hole has a tapered shape that opens outward.   An optical fiber wiring board comprising the optical fiber connector plug according to claim 1.

Images