JP5290929B2 - Fusion splicer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrode structure in which an excellent centering condition is assured while improving the workability of taking out a discharge electrode in a compact fusion splicing device. <P>SOLUTION: The fusion splicing device performs a fusion splicing job of optical fibers by generating an arc discharge between a plurality of discharge electrodes which are fixed by an electrode holding part. The discharge electrodes have an engaging piece at the rear end of the respective electrode bars having a needle-shaped end for engaging with respective engaging members of the electrode holding part, and a part of the engaging piece is projected upward from the upper end face of the engaging member. Preferably, the shape of the engaging piece is asymmetrical (non-circular shape) centering on the axis of the electrode bars. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a fusion splicer fusion splicing against the optical fibers.

  Conventionally, a fusion splicer is known in which optical fibers are butted together and the butted portions are heated and melted by arc discharge. In general, a fusion splicer is composed of a plurality of discharge electrodes for arc discharge, an electrode holding unit that holds the discharge electrodes, an optical fiber holding unit that holds an optical fiber to be connected, and the like, It is provided on the upper surface of the housing. And in an electrode holding part, a discharge electrode is mounted in a conduction member, and a discharge electrode is fixed by pressing with a pressing member from the upper part.

  Here, the discharge electrode has a tip needle-like electrode rod, and an engagement piece for engaging with the electrode holding portion is fixed to the rear end. Usually, this engagement piece has a disk shape, and is also used as a knob gripped when adjusting the electrode position (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-116840 A

By the way, with the recent miniaturization of the fusion splicer, the engagement space of the discharge electrode in the electrode holding portion is extremely limited, and the engagement piece of the discharge electrode is also becoming thinner. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp and take out the discharge electrode when cleaning or replacing the discharge electrode.
In addition, strictly speaking, since the tip of the discharge electrode does not have a true conical shape, it is important to align and position the discharge electrode during mounting. However, if the engagement piece of the discharge electrode has a disk shape, the discharge electrode can be easily rotated, so that the alignment state of the discharge electrode is lost and there is a risk of causing poor fusion connection.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrode structure capable of improving workability when taking out a discharge electrode and ensuring a good alignment state in a miniaturized fusion splicer.

The invention described in claim 1 was made to achieve the above object,
In the fusion splicer that a plurality of discharge electrodes are fixed by the electrode holding portion, and the optical fibers are fusion spliced by causing arc discharge between the plurality of discharge electrodes,
The discharge electrode has an engagement piece for engaging with an engagement member of the electrode holding portion at a rear end of a needle needle electrode rod,
The engagement piece has a rectangular section, a portion of the engagement piece is projected upward from the upper end surface of the engagement member,
The engaging member guides the discharge electrode to an attachment position by slidingly contacting a rectangular portion of the engaging piece .
The invention according to claim 2 is the fusion splicer according to claim 1,
The engagement member has a recess having substantially the same width as the engagement piece,
The engagement member is configured to slidably contact a rectangular portion of the engagement piece with a side wall of the recess.

The invention according to claim 3 is the fusion splicer according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The engagement piece is asymmetric about the axis of the electrode rod.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the fusion splicer according to the third aspect , the engagement piece has a shape combining a semicircular shape and a rectangular shape, and the rectangular portion is located above the electrode holding portion. It protrudes.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fusion splicer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the engagement piece is provided with a non-slip process on a portion protruding upward from the electrode holding portion. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, in the fusion splicer, workability when taking out the discharge electrode is remarkably improved. In addition, a good alignment state of the discharge electrode can be easily ensured.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the fusion splicer which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows a state when the windshield cover of a fusion splicer is opened. It is an expansion perspective view of a fusion part. It is an enlarged plan view of a fusion mechanism part. It is a figure which shows the structure of a discharge electrode. It is a figure which shows typically the state which attached the discharge electrode to the electrode holding part. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the discharge electrode in the case of producing arc discharge with three discharge electrodes.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a fusion splicer 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the fusion splicer 1 includes a main body 1A and a fusion splicer holder 1B on which the main body 1A is placed. The main body 1 </ b> A includes a fusion unit 10, a display unit 20, an operation unit 30, and a reinforcing sleeve heating processing unit 40 on the upper surface of the housing 50.
The fusion part 10 has a windshield cover 11, and with the windshield cover 11 closed, the butt portion of the optical fiber is heated and melted by arc discharge to be fused and connected. The display unit 20 displays various setting information and error warnings input by the operation unit 30 and can monitor the alignment state and the fusion state of the fiber in the fusion unit 10.
The operation unit 30 is provided with various operation keys, a switch for starting fusion connection, and the like. In the reinforcing sleeve heating processing unit 40, a heating process is performed in which the reinforcing sleeve is attached to the spliced optical fiber connection portion.
When performing the fusion splicing work using the fusion splicer 1, the operator opens and closes the windshield cover 11 with the side on which the operation unit 30 is disposed facing forward. Will be performed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state when the windshield cover 11 of the fusion splicer 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the fusion part 10, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the fusion mechanism part 13.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fusion part 10 includes a windshield cover 11, a windshield 12, a fusion mechanism part 13, and an optical fiber pressing mechanism part 14.
The fusing mechanism 13 includes two discharge electrodes 131 for arc discharge, a set of electrode holders 132 for holding the discharge electrodes 131, and a set of light for mounting and fixing the optical fiber F to be connected. A fiber holding part 133 and the like are provided. The fusion mechanism 13 is attached to the attachment substrate 60 and protrudes upward from the opening 50 a of the housing 50.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the electrode holding part 132, the electrode rod 101 of the discharge electrode 131 is placed in the concave groove of the conducting member 132a, and the engagement piece 102 of the discharge electrode 131 is engaged with the engagement member 132b. The discharge electrode 131 is fixed by being pressed by the pressing member 132c from above. At this time, the discharge electrodes 131 are arranged to face each other with the butted portion of the optical fiber F interposed therebetween. At the time of fusion splicing, a voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 131 via the conducting member 132a, and arc discharge occurs between the discharge electrodes 131 and 131.
The detailed structure of the discharge electrode 131 will be described later.

  In the optical fiber holding part 133, the optical fiber F inserted into the V-groove 133a is supported by the alignment support base 133b and the tip support base 133c. An aligning unit (not shown) is connected to the aligning support base, and is configured to be movable in three axial directions. At the time of fusion splicing, in this optical fiber holding part 133, the optical fiber from which the coating of the tip has been removed is arranged oppositely and aligned.

The windshield 12 is configured by an inner wall (windshield inner wall) 121 and an outer wall (windshield outer wall) 122 that are erected on the upper surface of the casing 50 so as to surround the fusion mechanism portion 13. A damper member 123 is laid in the gap between the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122.
The left and right side walls (windshield inner side walls) 121R and 121L of the windshield inner wall 121 and the left and right side walls (windshield outer walls) 122R and 122L of the windshield outer wall 122 are provided with notches 121a and 122a for inserting the optical fiber F. ing. Further, the windshield inner side walls 121R and 121L and the windshield inner rear wall 121B are continuously formed through the step portion 121b, and the windshield outer walls 121R and 122L and the windshield outer rear wall 122B are continuously formed through the step portion 122b. Has been. The step portion 122b of the windshield outer wall 122 serves as a bearing for the windshield cover 11, and a swing shaft (not shown) protruding outward is fixed.

The optical fiber pressing mechanism portion 14 includes a set of clamp arms 141, a clamp mounting portion 142, a clamp 143, a swing shaft 144, a link member 145, and an urging member 146. The swing shaft 144 is fixed to the mounting substrate 60 along the windshield inner rear wall 121B, and a clamp arm 141 is pivotally attached to the swing shaft 144 so as to be swingable. A clamp mounting portion 142 is pivotally attached to the other end side of the clamp arm 141 so as to be swingable. When the windshield cover 11 is in the closed state, the other end of the urging member 146 is fixed to the windshield cover 11, and the clamp 143 (clamp mounting part 142) is urged toward the optical fiber holding part 133 (tip support base 133c). .
The clamp arm 141 has a curved shape and can swing over the windshield inner rear wall 121B and the windshield outer rear wall 122B. One clamp arm 141 is connected to the windshield cover 11 by a link member 145 so that the clamp arm 141 swings in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the windshield cover 11.

The windshield cover 11 has a peripheral wall 111 that surrounds the entire circumference of the windshield 12 (windshield outer wall 122), and is pivotally supported by a swing shaft (not shown) fixed to a step portion 122b of the windshield outer wall 122. Has been. The height of the peripheral wall 111 is set slightly higher than the height of the windshield 12. In the peripheral wall 111, a notch 111 a is formed at a position corresponding to the notches 121 a and 122 a of the windshield inner wall 121 and the windshield outer wall 122. In addition, you may make it provide the bearing of the windshield cover 11 not on the windshield outer wall 122 but on the upper surface of the housing | casing 50. FIG.
Further, the windshield cover 11 has an inner peripheral wall 112 formed inside the peripheral wall 111. The inner peripheral wall 112 comes into contact with the damper member 123 in the closed state, so as to alleviate the impact during the closing operation and improve the closing property of the fusion chamber.
By covering the fusion mechanism part 13 from above with the windshield cover 11 (closed state), a closed fusion chamber (not shown) containing the fusion mechanism part 13 is formed.

  In the fusion splicing operation, when the optical fiber F to be connected is arranged and the windshield cover 11 is closed, the clamp arm 141 swings toward the fusing mechanism portion 13 in conjunction with the closing operation. The clamp 143 comes into contact with the tip support base 133c of the optical fiber holding portion 133, and the tip of the optical fiber F is held by the clamp 143 and the tip support base 133c.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the structure of the discharge electrode 131. FIG. 5A is a view of the discharge electrode 131 viewed from the rear end side, and FIG. 5B is a view of the discharge electrode 131 viewed from the side.
As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge electrode 131 is configured such that the engagement piece 102 is fixed to the rear end of the needle needle electrode rod 101. The engagement piece 102 has a combination of a semicircle and a rectangle (asymmetric shape around the axis of the electrode rod 101, that is, a non-circular shape), and a non-slip process is applied to the rectangular portion (slip prevention). 102a). In addition, a disc-shaped auxiliary piece 102b for pressing the engaging piece 102 by a U-shaped pressing member (not shown) is formed in the semicircular portion with the axis of the electrode rod 101 as the center.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the discharge electrode 131 is attached to the electrode holding portion 132. 6A is a view of the electrode holding portion 132 viewed from the rear end side (the engagement piece 102 side) of the discharge electrode 131, and FIG. 6B is a view of the electrode holding portion 132 viewed from the side. .
As shown in FIG. 6, the engagement member 132 b of the electrode holding portion 132 is formed in a U shape having a recess having substantially the same width as the engagement piece 102 of the discharge electrode 131. When the lower end of the engagement piece 102 comes into contact with the bottom wall of the engagement member 132b, the electrode rod 101 is placed in the concave groove of the conducting member 132a.
When attaching the discharge electrode 131 to the electrode holding portion 132, the discharge electrode 131 is guided to a predetermined attachment position by dropping the rectangular portion while sliding the rectangular portion against the side wall of the engaging member 132b with the semicircular portion facing downward. It is always attached in the same state (circular part on the bottom and rectangular part on the top). Since the rotation of the discharge electrode 131 is regulated by the engaging member 132b, the discharge electrode 131 does not rotate and the alignment state does not collapse.
When the discharge electrode 131 is attached to the electrode holding portion 132, the engagement piece 102 of the discharge electrode 131 protrudes upward from the upper end surface of the engagement member 132b. Therefore, when the discharge electrode 131 is cleaned or replaced, the discharge electrode 131 can be easily taken out by grasping and lifting the rectangular portion of the engagement piece 102. Moreover, since the anti-slip | skid 102a is formed in the rectangular part of the engagement piece 102, the engagement piece 102 can be hold | gripped and lifted with a weak force.

As described above, in the fusion splicer 1 of the present embodiment, the discharge electrode 131 is an engagement piece for engaging the engagement member 132b of the electrode holding portion 132 at the rear end of the needle needle electrode 101 with a tip. 102. And a part of this engagement piece 102 protrudes upwards from the engagement member 132b.
Thereby, since the discharge electrode 131 can be easily taken out, workability when taking out the discharge electrode 131 is remarkably improved. This is particularly effective when the fusion splicer 1 is downsized and the electrode holder 132 is space-saving.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the engagement piece 102 is asymmetric (non-circular) about the axis of the electrode rod 101. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the discharge electrode 131 from rotating after the discharge electrode 131 is attached to the electrode holding part 132, and the attachment state of the discharge electrode 131 is uniquely determined, so that a good alignment state can be ensured.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the engagement piece 102 has a shape combining a semicircular shape and a rectangular shape, and the rectangular portion projects upward from the electrode holding portion. Thereby, since the attachment direction of the discharge electrode 131 can be grasped | ascertained easily, workability | operativity further improves.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the engaging member 132 b is configured to guide the discharge electrode 131 to the mounting position by being in sliding contact with the rectangular portion of the engaging piece 102. Thereby, the discharge electrode 131 can be easily attached in a predetermined manner at a predetermined position without being conscious of the attachment state of the discharge electrode 131.

  In the fusion splicer 1, the engagement piece 102 is subjected to anti-slip processing at a portion protruding upward from the electrode holding portion 132. As a result, the engagement piece 102 can be grasped and lifted even with a weak force, so that the workability when taking out the discharge electrode 131 is further improved.

As mentioned above, although the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
In the above-described embodiment, the engagement piece of the discharge electrode is a combination of a semicircle and a rectangle. However, it is only necessary that the discharge electrode engagement piece is asymmetric about the axis of the electrode rod 101. For example, it may be a rectangular engagement piece or a shape in which a grip plate having a width shorter than the diameter is formed on the peripheral surface of the disk.
The present invention generates an arc discharge by a fusion splicer capable of collectively fusing many pairs of optical fibers (for example, optical fiber ribbons) or by using three or more discharge electrodes at a butt portion of an optical fiber. The present invention can also be applied to a fusion splicer (see FIG. 7).

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fusion splicer 101 Electrode rod 102 Engagement piece 102a Non-slip 102b Auxiliary piece 131 Discharge electrode 132 Electrode holding part 132a Conductive member 132b Engagement member 132c Holding member

Claims (5)

In the fusion splicer that a plurality of discharge electrodes are fixed by the electrode holding portion, and the optical fibers are fusion spliced by causing arc discharge between the plurality of discharge electrodes,
The discharge electrode has an engagement piece for engaging with an engagement member of the electrode holding portion at a rear end of a needle needle electrode rod,
The engagement piece has a rectangular section, a portion of the engagement piece is projected upward from the upper end surface of the engagement member,
The fusion splicer is characterized in that the engaging member guides the discharge electrode to an attachment position by slidingly contacting a rectangular portion of the engaging piece .   The engagement member has a recess having substantially the same width as the engagement piece,
  The fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member is in sliding contact with a rectangular portion of the engagement piece on a side wall of the recess. The fusion splicer according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the engagement piece is asymmetric with respect to an axis of the electrode rod. The fusion splicer according to claim 3 , wherein the engagement piece has a shape combining a semicircle and a rectangle, and the rectangular portion protrudes upward from the electrode holding portion.   The fusion splicer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the engagement piece is subjected to anti-slip processing at a portion protruding upward from the electrode holding portion.

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