JP4341585B2 - Optical fiber cutter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber cutter in which a bare glass fiber exposed by removing a coating of an optical fiber core wire is cut, and a cut end surface thereof is used as a mirror surface.

When fusion-bonding optical fiber cores, it is necessary to finish the cut end face of each bare fiber into a mirror surface in advance.
As a method of finishing the cut end face of a bare fiber into a mirror surface, a method is known in which a slight flaw is applied to the bare fiber surface and bending stress is applied to the bare fiber from the opposite side of the flaw, thereby causing cleavage by cleavage. It has been.
As an optical fiber cutter for cutting a bare fiber by such cleavage, one equipped with a disk-shaped cemented carbide cutter as a means for scratching the surface of the bare fiber has been proposed (for example, a patent Reference 1).

JP 11-264909 A

  By the way, as a means for scratching the surface of the bare fiber, in a conventional optical fiber cutter equipped with a disk-shaped carbide cutter, the bare fiber is slid by sliding the carbide cutter in contact with the bare fiber surface. The surface is scratched, and when the cutter blade is worn, the carbide cutter is rotated by a predetermined angle to update the contact point with the bare fiber. Then, when the entire cutter blade of the cemented carbide cutter is used, it is replaced with a new cemented carbide cutter.

However, the disk-shaped carbide cutter changed the contact point to the bare fiber by rotation unless the blade diameter, blade thickness, etc. were formed with high precision over the entire circumference of the cutter. Sometimes, the degree of contact with the bare fiber fluctuates, and the size of the scratch to be applied varies, making it difficult to perform a stable cutting process by cleavage.
That is, in the conventional optical fiber cutter using a carbide cutter, a carbide cutter with poor workability must be formed with high accuracy, and the cemented carbide cutter that becomes a consumable item becomes expensive, so that the bare There has been a problem that the cost of the cutting process due to the cleavage of the fiber becomes high.

  Also, in order to be able to be used for a longer time by updating the contact point of the carbide cutter to the bare fiber, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the carbide cutter. This caused the size of the device to increase.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber cutter that can reduce the processing cost due to cleavage of a bare fiber and that can be continuously used for a longer time by renewing a worn part without increasing the size of the apparatus. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber cutter according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an optical fiber fixing portion for fixing a bare fiber at a predetermined position, and a surface of the bare fiber fixed by the optical fiber fixing portion. And a pressing member that applies stress to the damaged bare fiber, and the wire is stretched in a state where both ends are wound around a pair of bobbins. The contact point with the bare fiber is renewed by performing the winding operation .

  An optical fiber cutter according to a second aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to the first aspect, wherein the wire is slidably mounted in a wire axial direction relative to the bare fiber. And

An optical fiber cutter according to a third aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to the first or second aspect , wherein a central portion of the wire stretched between the pair of bobbins is a bare fiber by a guide roller. This is characterized in that it is urged toward the side and is stretched in a convex arc shape on the bare fiber side.

An optical fiber cutter according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to the third aspect , wherein the guide roller is urged toward the bare fiber by an elastic member.

An optical fiber cutter according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the stretched position of the wire is adjusted with respect to the fixed position of the bare fiber by the optical fiber fixing portion. It is equipped with possible.

An optical fiber cutter according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the wire has diamond abrasive grains on a surface thereof. To do.

An optical fiber cutter according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber cutter according to the first aspect , wherein the winding operation by the bobbin is performed every time the bare fiber is damaged, and the bare fiber is brought into contact with the optical fiber cutter. The location is updated.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bare fiber cutting method according to the present invention, in which one of the bobbins is stretched in a state where both ends are wound around a pair of bobbins on the bare fiber from which the coating of the optical fiber core wire is removed. The contact point to the bare fiber is renewed by winding the wire to the bare wire, so that the bare fiber is scratched, stress is applied to the bare fiber, and the bare fiber is cut. It is characterized by doing.

According to the optical fiber cutter of the present invention, the bare fiber cutting method according to the ninth aspect can be carried out, and the end surface of the bare fiber can be mirror-finished by a cutting process by cleavage.
The means for scratching the surface of the bare fiber is a wire, and it is necessary for scratching the bare fiber by attaching diamond abrasive grains to the outer surface of the filament having an appropriate tensile strength. Excellent sharpness can be secured at low cost, and compared to the case of an optical fiber cutter using a conventional disc-shaped carbide cutter, it can be used for bare fibers without requiring much precision in the production of the wire itself. Since the scratching process can be carried out stably, the processing cost due to cleavage of the bare fiber can be reduced.
In addition, if both ends of the wire are wound around a pair of bobbins and the contact portion with respect to the bare fiber is updated by winding with one of the bobbins, the wear part can be easily updated, Compared to the case of an optical fiber cutter using a conventional disc-shaped carbide cutter, the apparatus can be continuously used for a longer time by renewing the worn part without increasing the size of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an optical fiber cutter according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show an embodiment of an optical fiber cutter according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an optical fiber cutter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of an optical fiber fixing portion in the optical fiber cutter shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a wire support unit that supports a wire in the optical fiber cutter shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the guide roller shown in FIG.

  The optical fiber cutter 1 of this embodiment includes an optical fiber fixing wire 5 and an optical fiber fixing portion 5 for fixing the bare fiber 3 exposed by peeling off the coating of the optical fiber core wire 2 in a predetermined position. A wire 7 for scratching the surface of the bare fiber 3 fixed by the fiber fixing portion 5 and a pressing member 9 for applying stress to the bare fiber 3 on the optical fiber fixing portion 5 that is scratched are provided. .

  The optical fiber fixing portion 5 includes a base 11, a core wire positioning V-groove 13 that is formed on the upper surface of the base 11 and accommodates and holds the coating portion of the optical fiber core wire 2, and an end of the optical fiber core wire 2. And a pair of fiber clamps 15 that sandwich and position the bare fiber 3 exposed to the part.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber core wire 2 mounted in the core wire positioning V-groove 13 is axially contacted with the positioning end surface 13 a of the core wire positioning V-groove 13. Positioning is done.

  The pair of fiber clamps 15 are provided at two locations spaced apart in the axial direction of the bare fiber 3. Each fiber clamp 15 includes a lower member 15 a fixedly mounted on the clamp protrusion 14 of the base 11 and an arm portion 16 a of the movable base 16 that can move up and down toward the pair of clamp protrusions 14 of the base 11. The upper fiber 15b is provided at the tip, and the bare fiber 3 is fixed by sandwiching the bare fiber 3 between the upper and lower members 15a and 15b.

The above-mentioned wire 7 is obtained by adhering diamond abrasive grains to the surface of a linear body having a predetermined outer diameter made of an appropriate material. Both ends of the wire 7 are provided on the support plate 21 as shown in FIG. It is stretched so as to be wound around the pair of bobbins 23. A guide roller 25 is provided between the pair of bobbins 23 to press and urge the wire 7 upward. As shown in FIG. 3B, the guide roller 25 is rotatably supported by the support plate 21 via a support pin 27, and a groove 25a into which the wire 7 is fitted is provided on the outer peripheral portion thereof. have.
That is, the central portion of the wire 7 stretched between the pair of bobbins 23 and 23 is pressed and urged toward the bare fiber 3 by the guide roller 25, and is stretched in a convex arc shape on the bare fiber 3 side. ing.

The support plate 21 is attached to the slide block 33 with screws 31 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the slide block 33 is attached to the base 11 so that the insertion position of the wire 7 is located between the pair of clamp protrusions 14 and 14. The slide block 33 attached to the base 11 is equipped to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 (that is, a direction perpendicular to the axis of the bare fiber 3). Further, the slide block 33 can be finely adjusted in the vertical direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 by a height adjusting mechanism (not shown).

As described above, the wire 7 is attached to the base 11 via the support plate 21 and the slide block 33 so as to be slidable in the wire axial direction relative to the bare fiber 3. The surface of the bare fiber 3 is scratched by sliding on the surface of the bare fiber 3 during operation.
Further, the stretched position of the wire 7 can be adjusted with respect to the fixed position of the bare fiber 3 by a height adjusting mechanism (not shown) of the slide block 33.

In the case of the present embodiment, the wire 7 is stretched in a state in which both ends are wound around the pair of bobbins 23, and the one of the bobbins 23 is wound up to the bare fiber 3. The contact location of is updated.
In the case of this embodiment, every time the slide block 33 reciprocates along the wire axis direction, a certain amount of winding is performed by one bobbin 23. As a result, every time the bare fiber 3 is damaged, the wire 7 is wound up by a certain amount by the bobbin 23, and the contact point with the bare fiber 3 is updated.

  Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, the guide roller 25 is urged toward the bare fiber 3 by an appropriate elastic member. As a result, the contact pressure of the wire 7 with respect to the bare fiber 3 is kept substantially constant, and the size (depth) of the damage to the bare fiber 3 is stabilized by combining with the position adjustment by the height adjustment mechanism of the slide block 33. Can be made.

The pressing member 9 is provided on the opposite side to the wire 7 with respect to the bare fiber 3. The pressing member 9 is supported by the guide tube 37 suspended from the movable frame 16 so as to be able to advance and retreat toward the bare fiber 3, and at the same time, the urging means 39 provided in the guide tube 37 provides the bare fiber 3. Is biased to the side.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the pressing member 9 normally has an abutting portion 9 a that is integral with the pressing member 9 abuts against a stopper 41 that waits below, and the tip does not abut against the bare fiber 3. Still in position. When the stopper 41 is retracted from the standby position as shown in FIG. 4C, the tip of the pressing member 9 pushes and bends the bare fiber 3 as shown in FIG. To descend.
The stopper 41 has a cam structure and returns the pressing member 9 to the upper initial position by returning to the standby position.

The above cutting process by the optical fiber cutter 1 is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG. First, the coating at the end of the optical fiber core 2 is removed to expose the bare fiber 3, and the optical fiber core 2 is set on the base 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the bare fiber 3 to be cut is fixed by a pair of fiber clamps 15, the appropriate height at which the wire 7 attached to the base 11 comes into contact with the surface of the bare fiber 3. 4 (b), the wire 7 is slid on the lower side of the bare fiber 3, and the wire 7 is brought into contact with the bare fiber 3 by this sliding operation. Then, the bare fiber 3 is scratched.
When the wire 7 is retracted from below the bare fiber 3, the stopper 41 is retracted as shown in FIG. 4C, and the pressing member 9 is placed on the surface on the opposite side of the scratched bare fiber 3. As shown in FIG. 4 (d), the bare fiber 3 is cut by cleavage due to the bending stress acting on the pressing member 9.
When the cutting of the bare fiber 3 is completed, the stopper 41 is returned to the original position, and the pressing member 9 is returned to the initial standby position.

  As described above, in the optical fiber cutter 1 of the present embodiment, the wire 7 brought into contact with the bare fiber 3 from which the coating of the optical fiber core wire 2 has been removed is brought into contact with the bare fiber 3 by a sliding operation. The cutting method of scratching the bare fiber 3 and applying a bending stress to the opposite surface of the scratched bare fiber 3 by the pressing member 9 and cutting the bare fiber by cleavage can be carried out smoothly. The end face of the bare fiber 3 can be mirror-finished by a cutting process by cleavage.

  And, the means for scratching the surface of the bare fiber 3 is the wire 7, and by adopting the wire 7 with diamond abrasive grains attached to the outer surface of the linear body having an appropriate tensile strength, The excellent sharpness necessary for scratching the bare fiber 3 can be secured at a low cost, and the wire itself is manufactured as compared with the case of an optical fiber cutter using a conventional disk-shaped carbide cutter. Even if not so much accuracy is required, the bare fiber 3 can be stably damaged, so that the processing cost due to cleavage of the bare fiber 3 can be reduced.

  In addition, since both ends of the wire 7 are wound around the pair of bobbins 23, and the winding position by any one of the bobbins 23 can easily update the contact portion with the bare fiber 3, it is easy to wear the worn portion. As compared with the case of an optical fiber cutter using a conventional disc-shaped carbide cutter, the apparatus can be continuously used for a longer time by renewing the worn part without increasing the size of the apparatus.

It is a side view which shows schematic structure of one Embodiment of the optical fiber cutter which concerns on this invention. It is an enlarged plan view of the optical fiber fixing | fixed part in the optical fiber cutter shown in FIG. (A) is a perspective view of the wire support unit which supported the wire in the optical fiber cutter shown in FIG. 1, (b) is an expanded sectional view of the guide roller shown in FIG. 3 (a). It is explanatory drawing of the process of cut | disconnecting a bare fiber with the optical fiber cutter shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber cutter 2 Optical fiber core wire 3 Bare fiber 5 Optical fiber fixing | fixed part 7 Wire 9 Press member 11 Base 13 Core wire positioning V groove 15 Fiber clamp 15a Lower member 15b Upper member 16 Moving mount 21 Support plate 23 Bobbin 25 Guide roller 31 Screw 33 Slide block 37 Guide cylinder 39 Biasing means 41 Stopper

Claims (8)

An optical fiber fixing portion that fixes a bare fiber in a predetermined position, a wire that scratches the surface of the bare fiber fixed by the optical fiber fixing portion, and a pressing member that applies stress to the bare fiber that is scratched equipped with a,
The wire is stretched in a state in which both ends are wound around a pair of bobbins, and a contact portion to the bare fiber is renewed by performing a winding operation on one of the bobbins. Cutter.   The optical fiber cutter according to claim 1, wherein the wire is slidably mounted in a wire axial direction relative to the bare fiber. The wire is characterized in that a central portion stretched between the pair of bobbins is urged toward the bare fiber side by a guide roller and is stretched in a convex arc shape on the bare fiber side. The optical fiber cutter according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The optical fiber cutter according to claim 1 , wherein the guide roller is urged toward the bare fiber by an elastic member . 5. The optical fiber cutter according to claim 4 , wherein the extending position of the wire is provided so as to be adjustable with respect to a fixed position of the bare fiber by the optical fiber fixing portion . The optical fiber cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wire has diamond abrasive grains on a surface thereof . The winding operation by the bobbin, the is performed every scratch the bare fiber, the optical fiber cutter according to claim 1, the point of contact to the bare fiber is characterized in that it is updated. The bare fiber from which the sheath of the optical fiber core is removed is stretched in a state where both ends are wound around a pair of bobbins. A method of cutting a bare fiber, wherein the bare fiber is scratched by contacting the bare wire, stress is applied to the bare fiber that has been scratched, and the bare fiber is cut.

Images