JP3989317B2 - Optical fiber connection method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical fiber connection method, and more particularly to an optical fiber connection method in which a plug is installed from above an adapter.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For single-core connection, connection parts such as FC, SC, MU, LC and the like, and for multi-core connection, MPO, MPX, MTP type and the like are provided. In general, these connecting components (connectors) can be connected by abutting from the axial direction of the optical fiber. For example, in an MPO type optical connector, an optical connector plug is inserted into an optical connector adapter so as to face each other, so that the optical connector plugs are connected to each other in an internal housing built in the optical connector adapter. The MT connector ferrules positioned and held at the tip of the optical connector plug are abutted and connected. In particular, push-pull connectors that facilitate the insertion and removal of the optical fiber in the axial direction have been proposed. These push-pull connectors are inserted and removed in the axial direction of the optical fiber to be connected. Regarding the connection with the adapter attached to the apparatus wall surface, there is a feature that an optical fiber can be easily connected. However, when used for connecting optical fibers on a printed circuit board (for example, a mother board) or in an apparatus, the field of view of the operator in the insertion / removal direction is deteriorated, the work time becomes longer, or the end of the ferrule is inserted. There is a risk that the part may be broken or damaged by contacting the split sleep or guide pin used for positioning the ferrule. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the connector insertion / removal space, and there is a problem that the space cannot be used effectively, for example, it becomes impossible to install other devices. Furthermore, when connecting optical modules on the motherboard or inside the device, it is necessary to provide an extra length in the optical fiber for the amount of insertion and movement of the connector and workability. Due to the length, the optical fiber is bulky on the motherboard or in the apparatus, and an excessive space is required. Furthermore, when a multimode optical fiber is used, if there is excessive slack in the optical fiber, excessive modal noise is generated, which may greatly affect the optical characteristics of the apparatus.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art when connecting an optical fiber drawn from an end of an optical element, an optical circuit package, an optical circuit device or the like as described above. It was made as. That is, an object of the present invention is to fix an optical fiber, particularly a plug for aligning and connecting optical fiber strands from which coating is removed, to an adapter, on a printed circuit board (for example, a mother board) or an apparatus. upon connection of the optical fibers of the inner, the operator can not bear the connection work, and the optical fiber is not damaged, is to provide an optical fiber connection methods that can effectively use the space on the substrate .
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The optical fiber connection method of the present invention includes a step of attaching at least one optical fiber to each of two plugs, and attaching the two plugs attached with the optical fiber to the adapter from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical fiber. And an optical fiber connecting method having a step of fixing two plugs to an adapter, the step of fixing the plug to the adapter using two plugs and a through hole for alignment as the adapter As described above, after the guide pins are inserted into the through holes of the plugs in advance, the plugs are made to face each other and another guide pin is inserted into the through hole of the adapter from one end of the adapter, and the guides are inserted into the plugs in advance. It has the process which consists of fixing each plug which opposes to an adapter by pushing in a pin, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
[0009]
In the fiber connection method of the present invention, as means for inserting another guide pin into the through hole of the adapter, a fixing member that is slidable in the guide pin axial direction with respect to the adapter and provided with the guide pin is used. The adapter can be installed on the fixing member and slid in one direction, and the guide pin can be inserted into the through hole of the adapter.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an optical fiber connection method for forming the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention, two plugs 10 and 10 'on which optical fibers 11 and 11' are installed / fixed are mounted on an adapter 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the plugs 10 and 10 'are moved downward from above the adapter perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical fiber to be attached to the adapter 20 and fixed to the adapter with the optical fiber end faces facing each other. To do. The optical fiber connection method after the plug is installed on the adapter is not limited in any way, and any known optical fiber connection method can be used. Further, a refractive index matching agent is applied between the optical fibers to be bonded. Even if it connects, PC (Physical Contact) connection by abutting optical fibers may be performed. The optical fiber used in the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention is appropriately selected and used according to the application purpose of the optical fiber connection structure. For example, a single mode optical fiber made of quartz or plastic, a multimode optical fiber, etc. Preferably used.
[0011]
3 to 8 show an example of forming an optical fiber connection structure using the first optical fiber connection part of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows an example of an adapter provided with a latch. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of a plug provided with a latch engaging portion. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of installing the plug of FIG. 4 on the adapter of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of an adapter provided with a latch engaging portion, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a plug provided with a latch. FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a method of installing the plug of FIG. 7 on the adapter of FIG.
[0012]
When the optical fiber 11 is inserted into the plug 10 provided with the latch engaging portions 22 and 23 shown in FIG. 4 in the adapter 20 provided with the latches 16, 17, 18 and 19 shown in FIG. As in the connection structure in FIG. 2, the plug 10 is pushed into the adapter 20 from above the adapter, and the latches 16 and 17 are engaged with and fixed to the latch engaging portions 22 and 23 (FIG. 5). Further, when the plug 10 provided with the latches 27 and 28 shown in FIG. 7 is fixed to the adapter 20 provided with the latch engaging portions 24 and 25 shown in FIG. 6, the plug 10 is attached from above the adapter in the same manner as described above. The latch engaging portion 24 and the latches 27 and 28 are engaged and fixed (FIG. 8).
[0013]
The latch and the latch engaging portion fix the plug and the adapter in the vertical direction, and it is only necessary to provide a latch on one of the plug and the adapter and a latch engaging portion on the other. In the case of FIG. 3 in which the latch is provided on the adapter, the plug of FIG. 4 does not have a protrusion, so that there is an advantage that the plug itself and the optical fiber are not damaged by hooking or the like when carrying the plug. Further, in the case of FIG. 7 in which the latch is provided on the plug, there is an advantage that the latch portion can be held and fixed to the adapter, and the plug can be attached and detached smoothly. In the present invention, any known shape and engaging method of the latch and the latch engaging portion provided in the plug and the adapter can be used. Further, the latch may be formed integrally with the plug or the adapter, or only the latch may be made of another material and assembled to the plug or the adapter. In the above description, the plug is inserted into the adapter from above, but the point is that the plug may be attached from the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical fiber. For example, the plug is inserted into the adapter from below. Even so, there is no problem.
[0014]
9 to 11 show another example of the case where the optical fiber connection structure is formed using the first optical fiber connection part of the present invention. 9 is a perspective view of an example of an adapter, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an example of a plug, and FIG. 11 forms the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention using the adapter of FIG. 9 and the plug of FIG. It is a figure explaining a method. As shown in FIG. 9, the adapter 20 is provided with latch engaging portions 24 and 25, and positioning joining members 30 and 31 are disposed on the plug mounting surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the plug 10 is provided with latches 27 and 28, and further, alignment guides 35 and 36 for engaging with the joining member and performing alignment are provided in a groove shape. It has been. As shown in FIG. 11, by attaching the plug 10 with the optical fiber 11 inserted to the adapter 20 from above, the adapter alignment joining members 30, 31 fit into the alignment guides 35, 36 of the plug 10. At the same time, the latches 27 and 28 of the plug 10 are engaged with the latch engaging portion 24 of the adapter, and the plug is fixed to the adapter. Therefore, it is possible to easily align the two plugs. As described above, according to this method, the optical fiber can be mounted and connected from almost right above the adapter. Therefore, it is necessary to bend the optical fiber to be inserted, move it in the direction of the optical fiber central axis, and insert it into the adapter. The optical connection at a short distance of about several centimeters where the optical fiber cannot be bent becomes possible.
[0015]
12 to 18 show a connection method in the case of forming an optical fiber connection structure using the second optical fiber connection component of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another example of the plug used in the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another example of the adapter. FIG. 14 is a view for explaining an example of an optical fiber connection method for installing and fixing the plug of FIG. 12 to the adapter of FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining another example of the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the plug 10 is provided with a through hole 39 for inserting an optical fiber, and the optical fiber 11 is inserted and fixed. In addition, two guide pin holes (through holes) 40 and 41 are provided. The adapter 20 in FIG. 13 is provided with guide pin holes 43, 44, 45, and 46 for inserting guide pins. The plug 10 and the adapter 20 are fixed as shown in FIG. That is, the plugs 10 and 10 'are mounted on the upper surface of the adapter 20 from above the adapter (FIG. 14 (a)), and the guide pins 48 and 49 are inserted through the guide pin holes 43 and 44 at the end of the adapter to penetrate ( 14 (b)) and further inserted into the guide pin holes 40 and 41 of the plug 10 to fix the plug 10 to the adapter 20 (FIG. 14 (c)). Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a guide pin 50 to be inserted from one end of the adapter is inserted into and penetrated through one plug 10, and further inserted into the other plug 10 ', so that the plugs 50 Can also be used for fixing.
[0016]
Further, in order to shorten the work range for inserting the guide pins, as shown in FIG. 16, the guide pins 53 and 54 are inserted in advance into the two guide pin holes 40 and 41 provided in the plug. After two plugs 10 are prepared and the plug 10 is mounted on the adapter 20 of FIG. 13 as described above, the guide pins 51 and 52 are inserted from the guide pin holes 43 and 44 of the adapter as shown in FIG. (FIG. 17A), the guide pins 53 and 54 attached to one plug 10 are pushed into the guide pin hole of the other plug 10 ′. As a result, the guide pins 53 ′ and 54 ′ inserted in the other plug are inserted into the other guide pin holes 43 ′ and 44 ′ of the adapter, and the adapter 20 and the two plugs 10 and 10 ′ are fixed. The In this example, it is possible to separate the plug and the adapter again by pushing the other guide pins 53 ′ and 54 ′ from the guide pin holes 43 ′ and 44 ′ of the adapter and pushing back the guide pins 53 and 54. . Although the shape of the guide pin holes 53 and 54 of these plugs is not limited at all, a cylindrical shape or a triangular prism shape is preferably used.
[0017]
Further, in order to more securely fix and separate the plug and the adapter, a fixing member may be provided on the adapter as shown in FIG. That is, the fixing member 60 having the structure shown in FIG. 18 is provided on the adapter 20, and guide pins 51, 52, 58, 59 to be inserted into the adapter are installed on the fixing member (FIG. 18 (a)). By sliding the adapter in the direction of the arrow (left direction), two guide pins 51 and 52 can be accurately inserted simultaneously into the through-hole of the adapter and fixed (FIG. 18B). As a result, the connection process can be simplified and the fixed state can be stabilized. In order to separate the plugs 10 and 10 'from the adapter, the adapter is slid in the opposite direction (right direction) and inserted into the through hole of the adapter by the guide pins 58 and 59 installed on the fixing member. The guide pin inserted into the plug is pushed back, and the plug is separated from the adapter again. The fixing member 60 may have any shape as long as the guide pin can be inserted. Further, the arrangement position is not limited to this, and may be the upper surface or the side surface of the adapter.
[0018]
【Example】
EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention, this invention is not limited to this.
Example 1
An optical fiber connection structure was produced as shown in FIG. That is, first, by removing 25 mm from the end of the coating of the optical fiber core wires 61 and 61 ′ (Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., 250 μm diameter), the optical fiber (125 μm diameter) is exposed, and 15 mm from the end By the way, the optical fiber strand was cut, and the length of the exposed optical fiber strand was adjusted to 10 mm. Thereafter, an optical fiber strand is inserted from one end of microcapillaries 63 and 63 ′ (Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd., outer diameter 0.9 mm, inner diameter 0.126 mm, length 10 mm) used as plugs. The other end of the optical fiber is aligned so that the end of the optical fiber is positioned, and the optical fiber core wire and the microcapillary are fixed with an epoxy-based adhesive (EP-007, manufactured by Cemedine) at the end on the insertion side. did. In this way, two microcapillaries 63 and 63 'to which the optical fibers 61 and 61' are fixed were prepared. The adapter 20 was produced by cutting acrylic resin. As shown in FIG. 19A, the microcapillaries into which the optical fibers were inserted were arranged from the top to the bottom of the adapter. Thereafter, the microcapillaries were butted together as shown in FIG. 19B, and the microcapillaries 63 and 63 ′ were fixed to the adapter 20 with the adhesive tape 66, thereby producing the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention (FIG. 19C). )).
[0019]
By this method, the optical fibers could be easily connected. Further, in the obtained optical fiber connection structure, the plug was attached in the direction perpendicular to the optical fiber axis from above, so that the optical fiber was not damaged.
Thereafter, when the connection loss was measured at the connection point, it was 0.7 dB or less, which was sufficiently usable as an optical connection structure.
[0020]
Example 2
To form an optical fiber connection structure as described in FIG. 22. That is, as shown in FIG. 20, using an 8-fiber optical fiber ribbon 77 (Furukawa Electric, 250 μm diameter) attached to an 8-fiber MT connector (manufactured by Hakusan Seisakusho, for single mode) ferrule as a plug, The guide pins 73 and 74 having the same length as the guide pin holes 69 and 70 provided in the guide pin holes are inserted into the respective guide pin holes so that the end portions of the guide pins coincide with the end portions of the guide pin holes. Two MT connectors were prepared. As an adapter, the thing of the structure shown in FIG. 21 produced with the acrylic resin was prepared. After the refractive index matching agent 84 was applied to the plug ends of the two MT connectors 67 and 67 ′, they were attached to the adapter 20 from above in the direction perpendicular to the optical fiber axis (FIG. 22A). Next, a guide pin was inserted from each of the guide pin holes 80 and 81 at one end of the adapter, and the guide pins 73 and 74 that had already been inserted into the MT connector were pushed into the MT connector 67 while being pushed in. As a result, the pushed guide pin is inserted while pushing the guide pins 73 'and 74' inserted into the guide pin hole of the other MT connector 67 ', and the pushed guide pin is inserted into the adapter pin. The MT connector was fixed to the adapter by being inserted into the guide pin holes 82 and 83 at the other end (FIG. 22B).
[0021]
By this method, the optical fibers could be easily connected. Further, in the obtained optical fiber connection structure, the characteristics of the MT connector were not changed, and the optical fiber was not damaged.
Thereafter, when the connection loss was measured at the connection point of the optical fiber, it was 0.7 dB or less, and it was sufficiently usable as an optical fiber connection structure.
[0022]
Example 3
The adapter 20 of FIG. 21 manufactured in Example 2 is provided with a fixing member 60 provided with through holes for fixing the guide pins 85, 86, 87, 88. The right end surface of the adapter 20 and the right side surface of the fixing member 60 are It attached so that it might touch. Next, as shown in FIG. 23A, the guide pins 85, 86, 87, and 88 were inserted from the through holes of the fixing member and installed so that the tip of the guide pin was positioned on the inner surface of the adapter 20. Thereafter, the guide pins were fixed with an epoxy adhesive (EP-007, manufactured by Cemedine Co., Ltd.) 89 as shown in FIG. 23B, and an adapter having the structure shown in FIG. The same 8-fiber MT connectors 67 and 67 ′ are attached to the adapter as in the second embodiment (FIG. 24A), and the adapter is attached to the adapter by sliding the adapter relative to the fixing member 60. The guide pins 85 and 86 are pushed into the MT connector 67 to produce the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention (FIG. 24B).
[0023]
By this method, the optical fibers could be easily connected. Further, in the obtained optical fiber connection structure, the characteristics of the MT connector were not changed, and the optical fiber was not damaged.
Thereafter, when the connection loss was measured at the connection point of the optical fiber, it was 0.7 dB or less, and it was sufficiently usable as an optical fiber connection structure.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
Since the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention has the above-described configuration, a structure having an optical fiber drawn from an end of an optical element, an optical circuit package, an optical circuit device, or the like is used as a printed board (for example, a mother board). When optically connecting the optical fiber in the upper part or in the apparatus, the fixing work time can be shortened in fixing the optical fiber, in particular, the plug for connecting the optical fiber strands from which the coating has been removed to the axis. Moreover, when connecting an optical fiber, there is no possibility that the end of the ferrule comes into contact with the split sleep or the guide shaft and is broken or damaged. Therefore, the operator can perform the connection work without any burden from the upper side to the lower side, for example, and as a result, the yield is improved and the connection work efficiency is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of an optical fiber connection structure of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an optical fiber connection method according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of an adapter provided with a latch.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of a plug provided with a latch engaging portion.
5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for disposing the plug of FIG. 4 on the adapter of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of an adapter provided with a latch engaging portion.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a plug provided with a latch.
8 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for disposing the plug of FIG. 7 on the adapter of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another example of an adapter used in the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another example of the plug used in the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method for producing the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another example of the plug used in the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another example of an adapter for an optical fiber connecting component according to the present invention.
14 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for installing and fixing the plug of FIG. 12 to the adapter of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another example of the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a plug used in the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a method for producing the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a method for producing the optical fiber connection structure of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a method for producing an optical fiber connection structure in Example 1.
20 is a perspective view of an MT connector in Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an adapter according to the second embodiment.
22 is a diagram for explaining a method of producing an optical fiber connection structure in Example 2. FIG.
FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an adapter in Example 3, wherein (c) is a perspective view of the adapter.
24 is a diagram for explaining a method of producing an optical fiber connection structure in Example 3. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10, 10 '... plug, 11, 11' ... optical fiber, 20 ... adapter, 16, 17, 18, 19, 27, 28 ... latch, 22, 23, 24, 25 ... latch engaging portion, 30, 31 ... Bonding member for alignment, 35, 36 ... Guide for alignment, 39 ... Through hole for inserting optical fiber, 40, 41 ... Guide pin hole for plug, 43, 44, 45, 46 ... Guide pin hole for adapter, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 53 ', 54, 54', 58, 59 ... guide pin, 60 ... fixing member, 61, 61 '... optical fiber core wire, 63, 63' ... microcapillary, 66 ... Adhesive tape, 67, 67 '... MT connector, 69, 70 ... Plug guide pin hole, 80, 81, 82, 83 ... Adapter guide pin hole, 73, 73', 74, 74 ', 85, 86, 87 , 88 ... Idopin, 77 ... optical fiber ribbon, 84 ... index matching agent, 89 ... adhesives.

Claims (2)

Attaching at least one optical fiber to each of the two plugs, attaching the two plugs attached with the optical fibers to the adapter from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical fiber, and attaching the two plugs to the adapter An optical fiber connection method including a fixing step,
As a process of fixing the plug to the adapter using two plugs and an adapter provided with a through hole for alignment, after inserting the guide pin into the through hole of each plug in advance, each plug is made to face, Inserting another guide pin from one end of the adapter into the through-hole of the adapter, and pressing the guide pin previously inserted into the plug, thereby fixing the opposing plugs to the adapter. An optical fiber connection method. As a means for inserting another guide pin into the through hole of the adapter, a fixing member that is slidable in the axial direction of the guide pin with respect to the adapter and provided with the guide pin is used. slid in the direction, the optical fiber connection method of claim 1, wherein the inserting the guide pin into the through hole of the adapter.

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