JP4127661B2 - Optical fiber cutter and optical fiber cutting method using the same - Google Patents

Description

表１に示すように、ピンセットによるハンドリングと比較して、本発明の光ファイバカッタを用いた作業では約３７％のタクト削減が可能となった。またハンドリングによる光ファイバの破損等の損失は本発明では一本も発生しないことが判る。
【００４６】
【発明の効果】
本発明の光ファイバカッタによれば、先端部の被覆を除去した光ファイバの芯線部を所定長に切断する光ファイバカッタであって、上記光ファイバの被覆部を保持する第一ホルダと、芯線部の先端近傍を保持する第二ホルダと、上記第一ホルダおよび第二ホルダとの間に光ファイバの軸方向に対して垂直に移動して光ファイバを切断する刃を有することから、先端面にレンズ加工を施した短長ファイバを第二ホルダに把持したまま作製することができ、これを第二ホルダごと取り扱うことで、ハンドリングを容易にすることができる。
【００４７】
また、上記第二ホルダは、芯線部の先端にあたる部位にファイバ保護穴を設けたことから、芯線部の先端面に加工されたレンズに接触することはなく、傷が生じるのを防止することができる。
【００４８】
さらに、上記第一ホルダと第二ホルダとの間に芯線部を所定間隔をおいて保持する第一クランプおよび第二クランプとを備え、該第一クランプおよび第二クランプとの間を刃が移動するようにしたことから、より強固に光ファイバを保持し、切断の際の切れ味を良くすることができる。
【００４９】
またさらに、上記第一ホルダは、Ｖ溝を有する支持部と、該支持部に開閉自在に取着され、Ｖ溝に設置した光ファイバを上方から押える複数の蓋部とからなることから、光ファイバを指等で押えながら一方の蓋部を閉じて仮把持し、その後残りの蓋部を閉じることで安定的に光ファイバを把持固定することができる。
【００５０】
一方で、上記第二ホルダは、Ｖ溝を有する支持部と、該支持部に開閉自在に取着され、Ｖ溝に設置した光ファイバを上方から押える一つの蓋部とからなることから、単純な構成として安価に製造することができ、工程内仕掛品として多くの数量が必要となってもコストを抑制することができる。
【００５１】
また、上記短長ファイバをコネクタ付き光ファイバに融着接続することで、コネクタ付き光ファイバ先端に直接レンズ加工を行うことに比べて安価に先端レンズ加工済のコネクタ付き光ファイバを製造することができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の光ファイバカッタの一実施形態を示す斜視図である。
【図２】図１の光ファイバカッタにおける第一ホルダの概要を示す斜視図である。
【図３】図１の光ファイバカッタにおける第一クランプおよび第二クランプを示す斜視図である。
【図４】図１の光ファイバカッタにおける切断ユニットを示す斜視図である。
【図５】図１の光ファイバカッタにおける光ファイバの切断手順を示す斜視図である。
【図６】図１の光ファイバカッタにおける切断後の手順を示す斜視図である。
【図７】本発明の光ファイバカッタの他の実施形態を示す斜視図である。
【図８】本発明の光ファイバカッタのさらに他の実施形態を示す斜視図である。
【図９】従来の光ファイバカッタを示す斜視図である。
【符号の説明】
１：光ファイバ
１１：被覆部
１２：芯線部
１３：短長ファイバ
２：第一ホルダ
２１：蓋部
２２：支持部
２３：Ｖ溝
２４：弾性材
３：第二ホルダ
３１：蓋部
３２：支持部
３３：Ｖ溝
３４：弾性材
３５：ファイバ保護穴
３６：クランプ突出部
３７：ホルダ突出部
４：第一ステージ
５：第二ステージ
６：クランプ
６１：第一クランプ
６２：第二クランプ
６２１：クランプ溝
６３：クランプベース
６４：ヒンジ
６５：ハンマー
７：刃ユニット
７１：刃
７２：スライド
７３：レール
８：ベース[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to an optical fiber cutter for cutting a core portion of an optical fiber, and an optical fiber cutting method using the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the optical communication field, an optical fiber is widely used as a medium for transmitting light, which is a signal propagation medium, to a distant place. This optical fiber consists of a thin glass core wire portion having an outer diameter of about 125 μm and a coating portion in which the outer periphery of the core wire portion is covered with a resin coating portion. The core part is composed of two parts having different refractive indexes called a core in the central part and a clad in the outer peripheral part, and the signal light mainly propagates through the core.
[0003]
When signals are transmitted and received using such an optical fiber, it is important to introduce the signal light emitted from the laser light source into the core without waste, and various technical developments have been performed.
[0004]
For example, a technique is often used in which a tip portion of an optical fiber is processed into a spherical shape and signal light emitted from a laser light source is condensed on a core portion. As a result, more signal light can be condensed in the core to improve the coupling efficiency, and deterioration of the signal light can be prevented.
[0005]
A typical method for performing such processing is melt processing. In this method, the tip of the optical fiber is stretched and melted by discharge to form a taper, and then the tip is melted into a spherical shape to form a lens. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for heating and stretching an optical fiber in a vertical position.
[0006]
However, the diameter of the lens processed at the tip of the optical fiber has a close relationship with the coupling loss. The smaller the coupling, the greater the coupling and the smaller the signal loss. However, if it is too small, the mechanical tolerance at the time of alignment becomes severe. Therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain an optimum combined state. Therefore, the lens diameter must be managed within an appropriate range.
[0007]
On the other hand, since the discharge state may fluctuate somewhat due to the influence of changes in the surrounding environment and electrode conditions when heating and stretching, the tip lens diameter may vary within a certain range. difficult. For this reason, when processing is performed on the entire optical fiber including the optical connector, if the processing fails, the entire optical fiber is discarded, resulting in poor efficiency.
[0008]
Therefore, after processing the lens at the tip of the optical fiber in advance, the lens diameter is inspected to confirm that it is a non-defective product, and then fused to the optical fiber with connector to prevent unnecessary loss of the connector part. be able to.
[0009]
Therefore, a method is used in which an optical fiber whose lens is processed at the tip is cut into a short length of 30 mm or less and connected to the tip of the optical fiber with a connector.
[0010]
As this cutting method, it has been proposed to use an optical fiber cutter as shown in Patent Document 2. In an optical fiber cutter as shown in FIG. 9, after setting the optical fiber 1 in the holder 9, the holder 9 together with the holder 9 is set on the stage 10, and the blade unit 7 is slid and cut. Long fibers can be made. After cutting, the short fiber is collected with tweezers and the like, and is put into the next process (see Patent Document 2).
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-57017
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-133633 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the optical fiber cutter as shown in Patent Document 2 is used for cutting, there is no means for holding the optical fiber after cutting, so a short fiber cut to a length of about 30 mm is directly connected with tweezers or the like. It is necessary to handle and fusion-bond, but such handling is very difficult. For example, when supplying to a fusion machine, a short fiber is collected from an optical fiber cutter with tweezers and then fused. Since fine work such as setting to a predetermined position of the machine is necessary, the tact time is increased.
[0014]
In addition, since the diameter of the optical fiber is as thin as 125 μm, it is difficult to grasp with tweezers or the like, and loss such as dropping and loss has occurred. Moreover, since it is a core part which the coating | coated was removed and the glass part was exposed, it was damaged by tweezers, and in the worst case, problems such as destruction starting from the damage occurred. All of these problems are caused by difficulty in handling short fibers, and it has been desired to facilitate handling.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An optical fiber cutter according to the present invention includes a stage, a first holder that is provided on the stage, and that holds the optical fiber partially provided with the covering portion at a portion where the covering portion exists, and on the stage Between the first holder and the second holder, and a second holder that is provided at a position separated from the first holder and holds the optical fiber at an exposed portion of the core portion where the covering portion does not exist. A blade that cuts the optical fiber, and the second holder is provided to be detachable from the stage while holding the core portion after cutting, and the exposed portion of the core portion. When the optical fiber having the lens portion formed at the tip of the optical fiber is cut, a protective hole is provided at a portion corresponding to the lens portion .
[0016]
In the present optical fiber cutter, it is preferable that the protective hole is located immediately above a portion corresponding to the lens portion.
[0017]
Further, the present optical fiber cutter includes a support portion in which the first holder and the second holder have a V-groove, and a lid that is attached to the support portion so as to be openable and closable and that holds the optical fiber disposed in the V-groove. Part.
[0018]
Moreover, the optical fiber cutting method of the present invention is characterized by cutting an optical fiber using the optical fiber cutter according to the present invention.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber cutter according to the present invention. The optical fiber cutter according to the present invention removes the coating of the tip portion of the optical fiber 1 in advance to expose the core wire portion 12 and the core wire. The core wire portion 12 of the optical fiber 1 having a lens processed on the tip surface of the portion 12 is cut to a predetermined length. The first holder 2 that holds the covering portion 11 of the optical fiber 1 and the core wire portion 12 are spaced apart. The clamp 6 to be held at the second position, the second holder 3 to hold the vicinity of the tip of the core wire portion 12, and the clamp 6 are moved below and moved perpendicularly to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 to cut the optical fiber. A blade unit 7, a first stage 4 and a second stage 5 on which the first holder 2 and the second holder 3 are installed, respectively, and a base 8 on which the first stage 4 and the second stage 5 are installed. Is done.
[0022]
A method of cutting the optical fiber 1 using this optical fiber cutter will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
[0023]
First, as shown in FIG. 2, the optical fiber 1 is held by the covering portion 11 being horizontally installed in the V groove 23 provided in the support portion 22 of the first holder 2, and then closing the lid portions 21a and 21b. Has been. This is set on the first stage 4 as shown in FIG. At this time, the core wire portion 12 is gripped by the second holder 3 set on the opposite second stage 5 beyond the clamp 6 as shown in FIG.
[0024]
The first holder 2 may have any structure as long as the optical fiber 1 can be held. As shown in FIG. 2, the first holder 2 includes a support portion 22 having a V-groove 23 and lid portions 21a and 21b. Is good. With this structure, since the optical fiber 1 can be easily fixed by installing the optical fiber 1 in the V-groove 23 and simply closing the lid portions 21a and 21b, workability is improved. Furthermore, by having a plurality of configurations of the lid portions 21a and 21b, when the operator installs the optical fiber 1 in the V-groove 23, the light can be obtained by closing one of the lid portions 21a while pressing the covering portion 11 with a finger or the like. The fiber 1 can be stably placed and temporarily held in the V-groove 23. Thereafter, the lid 21b may be closed and completely held and fixed.
[0025]
On the other hand, the second holder 3 may have any structure as long as it can hold the core portion 12 of the optical fiber 1, but as shown in FIG. 2, a support portion 32 having a V-groove 33, and one piece It is preferable that the lid 31 is formed. This is because the length of the portion gripped by the second holder 3 out of the total length of the core wire portion 12 is shorter than the total length of the support portion 32, and can be sufficiently gripped by one lid portion 31. This is because it is not necessary to have the lid portions 21a and 21b, and it can be produced at low cost by using a simpler configuration.
[0026]
In particular, since the second holder 3 is supplied to the next process while holding the short fiber 13, it is expected that a large number of work-in-process items will remain in the process. In such a case, it is very important to simplify the structure as described above so that it can be manufactured at low cost.
[0027]
Further, elastic members 24a, 24b, 34 such as rubber are respectively attached to the contact surfaces of the lids 21a, 21b, 31 with the optical fiber 1 so that the core wires 12 are gripped without being damaged. It is good also as a structure.
[0028]
Since the core wire portion 12 is installed so as to be horizontally passed to the first clamp 61 and the second clamp 62 of the clamp 6 as shown in FIG. 3 at the same time, the clamp base 63 is rotated around the hinge 64 and the first core portion 12 is rotated. The one clamp 61 and the second clamp 62 can be closed and gripped.
[0029]
The distance between the first clamp 61 and the second clamp 62 is preferably about 10 mm, and the width of each clamp is preferably about 4 mm. By doing so, it is possible to generate a sufficient gripping force with respect to the load applied from the blade 71 when cutting the core portion 12, and as a result, the optical fiber 1 can be stably cut. it can.
[0030]
After that, as shown in FIG. 4, the core wire portion 12 is damaged by the blade 71 by sliding the slide 72 of the blade unit 7 along the rail 73.
[0031]
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the hammer 65 attached to the clamp 6 is pushed down to apply bending stress to the core wire portion 12, and cut with the scratches just made as a starting point.
[0032]
Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the second holder 3 is taken out to handle the short fiber 13 obtained by cutting together with the second holder 3.
[0033]
By using such an optical fiber cutter, the core wire portion 12 is cut with a predetermined length while being fixed by the second holder 3, so that the short length fiber 13 after being cut is handled while being held by the second holder 3. It is possible to sufficiently prevent breakage or dropping during handling as in the prior art. Moreover, by using the second holder 3 as a holder in the next process, it is possible to facilitate the input to the next process.
[0034]
The second holder 3 is preferably provided with a fiber protection hole 35 at a portion corresponding to the tip of the core wire portion 12. The fiber protection hole 35 is formed on the tip surface while holding the core wire portion 12 of the optical fiber 1. Since the lens is not touched, the lens can be prevented from being damaged. In addition, the fiber protection hole 35 may have a size and shape that does not contact the tip surface of the core wire portion 12, but if it is too large, the force to hold the core wire portion 12 other than the vicinity of the tip is reduced. The length of the optical fiber 1 in the axial direction is preferably about 4 mm as a reference.
[0035]
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the second holder 3 is preferably provided with a holder protruding portion 37 on the support portion 32 and a clamp protruding portion 36 on the lid portion 31 so as to cover the holder protruding portion 37. In addition, a groove 621 is provided in the central portion of the second clamp 62 so that the holder protruding portion 37 is accommodated in the groove 621.
[0036]
By using such a structure, the length of the short fiber 13 can be made shorter, and a length of about 10 mm can be produced.
[0037]
The optical fiber cutter of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0038]
【Example】
It was verified how much the handling was improved by the optical fiber cutter according to the present embodiment.
[0039]
The optical fiber is a quartz glass single mode fiber, and the diameter of the coating is 250 μm.
[0040]
First, using an optical fiber cutter according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 and a conventional optical fiber cutter as shown in FIG. 9, the core portion of the optical fiber having a lens processed at the tip is cut to a length of 10 mm. After producing the fiber, in the optical fiber cutter of the present invention, the optical fiber held by the second holder (also used as a fuser holder) is handled and set together with the holder as it is. . In the conventional optical fiber cutter, after cutting, the optical fiber is taken out by tweezers, once set in a fuser holder, and then the entire holder is set in the fuser.
[0041]
Then, the tact time required for this work and the loss rate of the optical fiber breakage occurring during that time were measured. Also, each operation was performed with 30 optical fibers, and the average values were compared.
[0042]
In the tact measurement, the measurement was started from the time of removal of the short optical fiber after the cut, the measurement was stopped when the setting to the fusion machine was completed, and the time was taken as the tact.
[0043]
The loss rate is calculated by counting all optical fibers after setting the fuser with a 40x binocular microscope and confirming mechanical cracks caused by handling, and those accidentally dropped during handling. Calculated by dividing by the number of cuts.
[0044]
The results are shown in Table 1.
[0045]
[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, compared to handling with tweezers, the work using the optical fiber cutter of the present invention can reduce the tact by about 37%. Further, it can be seen that there is no loss in the present invention, such as optical fiber breakage due to handling.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the optical fiber cutter of the present invention, an optical fiber cutter for cutting the core portion of the optical fiber from which the coating of the tip portion is removed to a predetermined length, the first holder for holding the coating portion of the optical fiber, and the core wire Since the second holder that holds the vicinity of the tip of the part and the blade that cuts the optical fiber by moving perpendicularly to the axial direction of the optical fiber between the first holder and the second holder, the tip surface It is possible to fabricate a short fiber that has been subjected to lens processing while being held by the second holder, and handling this together with the second holder can facilitate handling.
[0047]
In addition, since the second holder is provided with a fiber protection hole at the portion corresponding to the tip of the core wire portion, the second holder does not come into contact with the lens processed on the tip surface of the core wire portion, and it is possible to prevent the scratch from occurring. it can.
[0048]
Furthermore, a first clamp and a second clamp are provided between the first holder and the second holder to hold the core portion at a predetermined interval, and the blade moves between the first clamp and the second clamp. Thus, the optical fiber can be held more firmly and the sharpness at the time of cutting can be improved.
[0049]
Furthermore, the first holder includes a support portion having a V-groove and a plurality of lid portions that are attached to the support portion so as to be openable and closable and press the optical fiber installed in the V-groove from above. The optical fiber can be stably held and fixed by closing and temporarily holding one lid while pressing the fiber with a finger or the like, and then closing the remaining lid.
[0050]
On the other hand, the second holder includes a support portion having a V-groove and a lid portion that is attached to the support portion so as to be openable and closable and presses the optical fiber installed in the V-groove from above. It can be manufactured inexpensively as a simple structure, and the cost can be suppressed even if a large quantity is required as work-in-process.
[0051]
Also, by splicing the short-length fiber to the optical fiber with a connector, it is possible to manufacture an optical fiber with a connector with a tip lens processed at a lower cost than when directly processing the lens on the optical fiber tip with a connector it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber cutter according to the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing an outline of a first holder in the optical fiber cutter of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a perspective view showing a first clamp and a second clamp in the optical fiber cutter of FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a perspective view showing a cutting unit in the optical fiber cutter of FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a perspective view showing a procedure for cutting an optical fiber in the optical fiber cutter of FIG. 1. FIG.
6 is a perspective view showing a procedure after cutting in the optical fiber cutter of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the optical fiber cutter of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the optical fiber cutter of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional optical fiber cutter.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Optical fiber 11: Covering part 12: Core wire part 13: Short fiber 2: First holder 21: Cover part 22: Support part 23: V groove 24: Elastic material 3: Second holder 31: Cover part 32: Support Portion 33: V groove 34: Elastic member 35: Fiber protection hole 36: Clamp protrusion 37: Holder protrusion 4: First stage 5: Second stage 6: Clamp 61: First clamp 62: Second clamp 621: Clamp Groove 63: Clamp base 64: Hinge 65: Hammer 7: Blade unit 71: Blade 72: Slide 73: Rail 8: Base

Claims (4)

Stage,
A first holder for holding an optical fiber provided on the stage and partially provided with a covering portion at a portion where the covering portion exists;
A second holder provided at a position apart from the first holder on the stage and holding the optical fiber at an exposed portion of the core portion where the covering portion does not exist;
A blade for cutting the optical fiber between the first holder and the second holder,
The second holder is provided so as to be detachable from the stage while holding the core portion after cutting, and an optical fiber having a lens portion formed at the tip of the exposed portion of the core portion. An optical fiber cutter having a protective hole in a portion corresponding to the lens portion when cutting . The optical fiber cutter according to claim 1, wherein the protective hole is located immediately above a portion corresponding to the lens portion . The first holder and the second holder includes a support portion having a V groove, it comprising, a lid for pressing the optical fiber openably mounted to and arranged in the V groove to the support section The optical fiber cutter according to claim 1, wherein: Claim, characterized in that cutting the optical fiber using a 1 to the optical fiber cutter according to any one of 3, the method of cutting an optical fiber.

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