JP5074939B2 - Optical fiber branch module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber branching module, and more particularly to an optical fiber branching module that branches a multi-core optical fiber ribbon into a single-core optical fiber in order to perform high-density wiring between optical transmission devices.

  An optical fiber cable using an optical fiber ribbon is formed by branching a multi-fiber optical fiber ribbon in front of a transmitter / receiver of an optical transmission device, for example, in order to perform wiring between optical transmission devices at high density. It is necessary to connect the single-core optical fiber made to the transceiver.

Such an optical fiber branching module covers a branching portion that branches a plurality of single-core optical fiber cores of a multi-core optical fiber ribbon, a coated assembly that covers the optical fiber ribbon, and a branching portion. Some have a protective covering (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, as this type of optical fiber branch module, there is a module in which a branch portion is fixed to a hard fixing plate for high-density mounting.
JP 2006-267310 A

However, when the optical fiber branching module described in Patent Document 1 is used, an optical fiber cable using a multi-core optical fiber ribbon is free, for example, for wiring between optical transmission devices at high density. It is difficult to bend it. For this reason, a large space is required to fix the optical fiber branch module, and the optical fiber cable cannot be compactly rolled and stored when laying.
Therefore, the present invention can be flexibly bent in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber branching module that can store an optical fiber cable thinly and compactly.

In order to solve the above problems, an optical fiber branch module of the present invention is an optical fiber branch module that branches a multi-core optical fiber ribbon into a single-core optical fiber,
A flexible substrate for holding the multi-core optical fiber ribbon;
A protective tube for covering and protecting the substrate and the multi-core optical fiber ribbon held by the substrate;
A protection pipe for protecting each single-core optical fiber core by passing each single-core optical fiber core ; and
The thickness of the substrate is in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 mm,
In the protective tube, the end of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon is fixed on the mounting surface of the substrate by the first adhesive on the mounting surface of the substrate. Furthermore, the second adhesive is fixed so as to cover the end of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon with respect to the mounting surface of the substrate,
The protective pipe has an end portion of the protective pipe fixed on the mounting surface of the substrate by the first adhesive on the mounting surface of the substrate in the protective tube, and further, by a third adhesive the end of the protective pipe, characterized that you have been fixed so as to cover against mounting surface of the substrate.

In the optical fiber branching module of the present invention, preferably, each of the single-core optical fiber cores is branched in parallel for each arrangement pitch of the protection pipes by arranging the protection pipes in parallel. .

  In the optical fiber branching module of the present invention, preferably, the protective tube is a heat-shrinkable tube, and the first end of the protective tube has an outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon and a first of the substrate. The vicinity of the end portion is sealed, and the second end portion of the protection tube seals the outer periphery of each protection pipe and the vicinity of the second end portion of the substrate.

  According to the present invention, since it can be flexibly bent, the optical fiber cable can be stored thinly and compactly.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the optical fiber branch module of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing the optical fiber branch module shown in FIG.
The optical fiber branch module 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 divides a multi-fiber ribbon fiber before the transmitter / receiver of the optical transmission device, for example, in order to perform wiring between the optical transmission devices at high density, It is used to connect a branched single-core optical fiber to a transceiver.

  The optical fiber branching module 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a substrate 10, a protective tube 11 having heat shrinkability, and a plurality of protective pipes 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate 10 is, for example, a thin substrate having a rectangular shape, and the substrate 10 is a flexible and easily bent material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is made of plastic such as resin. The thickness T of the substrate 10 shown in FIG. 2 is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 mm. A particularly preferable thickness T is 0.1 mm.

  If the thickness T is less than 0.05 mm, bending tends to occur at the center when bent, and the distortion of the optical fiber increases, which is not preferable. When using a thin plate thickness, it is necessary to select a material that resists bending.

  Also, if the thickness T is thicker than 0.3 mm, the rigidity becomes strong, so the optical fiber bends at the base of the substrate when it is bent. Therefore, it is necessary to select a rigidity that matches the intended use. There is.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate 10 has a mounting surface 13 that is an upper surface and a back surface 14 on the opposite side. An end portion 21 of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 is fixed along the L direction using an adhesive 15 on the first end portion 10B side of the substrate 10 on the mounting surface 13. In contrast, the end portions 12B of the plurality of protective pipes 12 are fixed by the adhesive 16 so as to be parallel along the L direction on the second end portion 10C side of the substrate 10 of the mounting surface 13.

  In the illustrated example, the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 is held in parallel by covering nine single-core optical fibers 30 with a coating 31. The protective pipe 12 is a cylindrical pipe, and the material of the protective pipe 12 is not particularly limited. For example, a plastic pipe such as polyethylene can be used.

  By immediately curing the adhesive 15, the end portion 21 of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 can be fixed so as to cover the mounting surface 13 of the substrate 10, thereby improving the fixing workability and the tensile strength. Yes. As the adhesive 15, for example, a silicone adhesive can be used, and it can be applied thinly to the mounting surface 13 of the substrate 10.

  The adhesive 16 is used to temporarily fix the end portions 12 </ b> B of the plurality of protection pipes 12 to the mounting surface 13 of the substrate 10. The tape 20 side is also used for fixing in the same manner. For example, a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape can be used as the adhesive 16, and the thickness of the adhesive 16 is, for example, 0.1 mm. The adhesive 19 is fixed so as to cover the ends 12 </ b> B of the plurality of protective pipes 12. At this time, improvement in fixing workability and improvement in tensile strength can be achieved.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat-shrinkable protective tube 11 has a first end 51 and a second end 52. The protective tube 11 is protected by completely covering the entire substrate 10, the adhesives 15 and 19, the end portion 21 of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20, and the end portions 12 </ b> B of the plurality of protective pipes 12. Yes.

  The first end 51 of the protective tube 11 is sealed so as to squeeze the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 and the vicinity of the first end 10B of the substrate 10, and the second end of the protective tube 11 is sealed. The portion 10 </ b> C is sealed so that the outer periphery of each protective pipe 12 and the vicinity of the second end portion 10 </ b> C of the substrate 10 are narrowed down.

Thereby, the whole board | substrate 10, the adhesives 15 and 19, the edge part 21 of the multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 20, and the edge part 12B of the some protection pipe 12 can be interrupted | blocked from the outside, and the protection tube 11 is The entry of foreign matter such as dust from the outside can be reliably prevented. Moreover, it is possible to reliably prevent the substrate 10 and the protective tube 11 from relatively moving along the L direction (longitudinal direction or optical fiber fixing direction).
As shown in FIG. 1, each single-core optical fiber core 30 is branched from each other at an arrangement pitch that substantially corresponds to the diameter of the protection pipe 12 by arranging the protection pipes 12.

Next, an example of a manufacturing method of the optical fiber branch module 1 having the above-described structure will be described.
While preparing the board | substrate 10 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the nine single-core optical fiber core wires 30 are exposed by removing the coating | coated material 31 from the multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 20. FIG.

  Each single-core optical fiber core wire 30 is inserted from the end portion 12B of the protection pipe 12, and is branched and arranged substantially parallel to each arrangement pitch of the protection pipe 12.

  An end portion 21 of the multi-fiber ribbon fiber 20 is fixed on the mounting surface 13 on the first end portion 10B side of the substrate 10 using an adhesive 15. The adhesive 16 and the adhesive 19 are connected to the plurality of protective pipes 12 so that the end portions 12B of the nine protective pipes 12 are parallel along the L direction on the second end portion 10C side of the substrate 10 of the mounting surface 13. The end portion 12B is fixed.

  The heat-shrinkable protective tube 11 is prepared, for example, by passing through a multi-fiber ribbon fiber 20 in advance, and the protective tube 11 is moved to the substrate 10 side and positioned at a position corresponding to the substrate 10. . The length of the protective tube 11 in the L direction is set larger than the length of the substrate 10.

  By applying heat to the protective tube 11 and contracting it, the first end 51 of the protective tube 11 squeezes the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 and the vicinity of the first end 10B of the substrate 10. The second end portion 10C of the protective tube 11 is sealed so as to squeeze the outer periphery of each protective pipe 12 and the vicinity of the second end portion 10C of the substrate 10.

  Thereby, the whole board | substrate 10, the adhesives 15 and 16, the edge part 21 of the multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 20, the exposed single-core optical fiber core wire 30, and the edge part of the some protection pipe 12 12B is protected by the protective tube 11 and can reliably prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering from the outside. Moreover, the protective tube 11 reliably prevents the substrate 10 and the protective tube 11 from relatively moving along the L direction.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, an example of laying an optical fiber cable will be described with the optical fiber branch module 1 of the present invention standing sideways.

  In the laying example of the optical fiber cable shown in FIG. 3, the two optical fiber branch modules 1 are used, so that the optical fiber cable can be compactly accommodated in a circular shape having a diameter R of 60 cm. Each optical fiber branch module 1 branches a multi-core optical fiber ribbon before the transceiver 70 of the optical transmission apparatus, and is connected to each branched single-core optical fiber and the transceiver 70.

  In the laying example of the optical fiber cable shown in FIG. 4, a guide member 101 that holds a circular state is further arranged with respect to the laying example shown in FIG.

  In the laying example of the optical fiber cable shown in FIG. 5, a branch holding adapter 103 that holds the optical fiber branch module 1 adjacent to the adjacent optical fiber branch module 1 is further arranged with respect to the laying example shown in FIG. 4.

  As a comparative example, FIG. 6 shows an example of laying a conventional optical fiber cable. Since the conventional optical fiber branching module 200 has a structure that cannot be bent, the width S increases and the laying space increases. End up.

  Since the substrate 10 of the optical fiber branching module 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a thin substrate that is flexible and easily bent, it can be stored compactly when laid as shown in FIGS. High density mounting is possible.

  The optical fiber branching module 1 includes a flexible substrate that holds a multi-core optical fiber ribbon, a protective tube for covering and protecting the substrate and the multi-fiber ribbon held by the substrate, and . Thereby, since the board | substrate of an optical fiber branch module can be bent flexibly, an optical fiber cable can be accommodated thinly and compactly.

  In the embodiment of the optical fiber branching module of the present invention, the optical fiber branch module has a protective pipe for protecting the single-core optical fiber core by passing each single-core optical fiber, and the protective pipe is fixed to the substrate. Yes. Thereby, since the board | substrate of an optical fiber branch module can be bent flexibly, an optical fiber cable can be accommodated thinly and compactly.

  Each single-core optical fiber is branched in parallel for each arrangement pitch of the protection pipes by arranging the protection pipes in parallel. Thereby, each single-core optical fiber core wire can be easily branched with a fixed arrangement pitch only by passing through the protective pipe.

  The protective tube is a heat-shrinkable tube, and the first end of the protective tube seals the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon and the vicinity of the first end of the substrate, and the second end of the protective tube. Seals the outer periphery of each protective pipe and the vicinity of the second end of the substrate. Thereby, the protection tube can protect the element mounted in the board | substrate reliably, and can prevent the relative position shift of a board | substrate and a protection tube.

  The multi-core optical fiber ribbon is fixed to the mounting surface of the substrate with an adhesive in the protective tube. As a result, the multi-core optical fiber ribbon can be easily fixed in the protective tube simply by using an adhesive.

Each protection pipe is fixed to the mounting surface of the substrate with an adhesive in the protection tube. Thereby, each protection pipe can be simply fixed in the protection tube only by using an adhesive.
When a plurality of protective pipes or multi-core optical fiber ribbons are laid, they can be fixed to the fixing portion using, for example, a plastic fixing member.

By the way, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various modified example is employable.
For example, the shape of the substrate is not limited to a rectangular shape, and other shapes may be employed. .
The number of single-core optical fiber cores 30 held by the multi-core optical fiber ribbon 20 is not limited to 9, and may be 2 to 8, or 10 or more.

It is a top view which shows preferable embodiment of the optical fiber branching module of this invention. It is a side view which shows the optical fiber branch module shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of installation of the optical fiber cable to which the optical fiber branch module is applied. It is a figure which shows the laying example of the optical fiber cable to which the optical fiber branch module 1 is applied. It is a figure which shows the laying example of the optical fiber cable to which the optical fiber branch module 1 is applied. It is a figure which shows the example of installation of the conventional optical fiber cable as a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber branching module 10 Board | substrate 10B The 1st edge part of a board | substrate 10C The 2nd edge part of a board | substrate 11 The protection tube which has heat shrinkability 12 The protection pipe 12B The edge part of a protection pipe 13 The mounting surface of a board | substrate 14 The back surface of a board | substrate 15 Adhesive 16 Adhesive 19 Adhesive 20 Multi-core optical fiber ribbon 21 End of multi-fiber ribbon 30 Single fiber optic 51 First end of protective tube 52 Second end of protective tube

Claims (3)

An optical fiber branch module for branching a multi-core optical fiber ribbon into a single-core optical fiber,
A flexible substrate for holding the multi-core optical fiber ribbon;
A protective tube for covering and protecting the substrate and the multi-core optical fiber ribbon held by the substrate;
A protection pipe for protecting each single-core optical fiber core by passing each single-core optical fiber core ; and
The thickness of the substrate is in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 mm,
In the protective tube, the end of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon is fixed on the mounting surface of the substrate by the first adhesive on the mounting surface of the substrate. Furthermore, the second adhesive is fixed so as to cover the end of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon with respect to the mounting surface of the substrate,
The protective pipe has an end portion of the protective pipe fixed on the mounting surface of the substrate by the first adhesive on the mounting surface of the substrate in the protective tube, and further, by a third adhesive optical fiber branch module characterized that you have a fixed end portion of said protective pipe so as to cover against mounting surface of the substrate. 2. The optical fiber branching module according to claim 1, wherein each of the single-core optical fiber cores is branched in parallel for each arrangement pitch of the protection pipes by arranging the protection pipes in parallel . The protective tube is a heat-shrinkable tube, and the first end of the protective tube seals the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber ribbon and the vicinity of the first end of the substrate, and the protective tube 3. The optical fiber branching module according to claim 1 , wherein the second end portion seals the outer periphery of each of the protection pipes and the vicinity of the second end portion of the substrate . 4.

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