JP5927669B2 - Optical fiber sheath remover - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber coating remover for removing an optical fiber coating.

  As a conventional optical fiber coating remover, it has a pair of opposed cutting blades, and the pair of cutting blades removes the coating of an optical fiber having a clad diameter of, for example, 125 μm. It is known that when it is closed, it is designed to mesh with a gap slightly larger than the cladding diameter (for example, 140 μm). In a conventional optical fiber coating remover, when it is desired to remove the coating of an optical fiber having a cladding diameter that is larger (for example, 150 μm) or smaller (for example, 80 μm) than a cladding diameter of 125 μm, It was necessary to replace the pair of cutting blades in order to obtain an interval according to the clad diameter.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 includes a pair of first straight blade portions and a first straight blade that have a cutting blade member and a holder that holds and holds the cutting blade member, with the cutting blade member facing each other at a constant interval. There is described an optical fiber sheath remover that includes a pair of second straight blade portions facing each other with a gap larger than the gap between the portions, and capable of removing the sheath corresponding to different sheath diameters.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-123811

  However, in the optical fiber sheath remover of Patent Document 1, in order to set a plurality of intervals between the cutting blades corresponding to different fiber diameters, it is necessary to provide steps on the cutting blades for the types of fiber diameters. Therefore, there is a concern that the edge shape of the cutting blade becomes complicated and the production cost increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber sheath remover capable of removing a plurality of optical fiber core wires having different glass fiber diameters with a simple configuration.

An optical fiber sheath remover according to the present invention that can solve the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
An optical fiber sheath remover for removing the sheath of an optical fiber core,
With a pair of sheath removal blades,
The pair of coating removal blades includes a pair of removal blade base portions each having a joint surface that is joined to each other when the pair of coating removal blades mesh with each other, and a pair of blade portions that are formed or attached to the pair of removal blade base portions. When,
With
The pair of blade parts have a pair of edge parts cut into the coating while maintaining a predetermined interval when the pair of removal blade base parts are joined from a state of being separated from each other,
The pair of edge portions are formed to be inclined with respect to the joint surface,
The distance between the pair of edge portions is variable by moving one of the pair of coating removal blades in a direction parallel to the joint surface with respect to the other of the pair of coating removal blades. To do.

  In the optical fiber sheath remover of the present invention, the pair of edge portions may be formed in a straight line so as to be parallel to each other.

  In the optical fiber sheath remover of the present invention, the pair of edge portions may be formed in a straight line so that directions inclined with respect to the joint surface are different from each other.

  In the optical fiber sheath remover of the present invention, at least one of the pair of edge portions may be formed in a convex curve shape or a concave curve shape.

  In the optical fiber sheath remover of the present invention, the pair of sheath removal blades is formed with a scale indicating the correspondence between the relative position of the pair of sheath removal blades in the direction parallel to the joint surface and the interval. May be.

  According to the optical fiber coating remover of the present invention, at least one of the pair of edge portions is formed to be inclined with respect to the bonding surface of the removal blade base portion, and one of the pair of coating removal blades is the bonding surface with respect to the other. The distance between the pair of edge portions cut into the coating of the optical fiber core wire is variable. Thereby, it is possible to easily cope with the removal of the coating of the optical fiber having different glass fiber diameters with a simple configuration.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber sheath remover according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the state which opened the cover of the optical fiber coating removal machine of FIG. 1, and set the optical fiber core wire. It is a front view showing an example of a pair of covering removal blades. It is a front view which shows the example at the time of shifting a pair of coating | coated removal blade of FIG. 3 to one side. It is a front view which shows the example at the time of shifting a pair of coating | coated removal blade of FIG. 3 to the other. It is a front view which shows the positional relationship of an optical fiber core wire and a heater. It is a front view which shows another example of a pair of coating | coated removal blade. It is a front view which shows the example of the drive mechanism of a pair of coating | coated removal blade.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an optical fiber sheath remover according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical fiber sheath remover 1 includes a sheath remover main body 10 and an optical fiber fixing portion 20 connected to one end side of the sheath remover main body 10.

  The optical fiber fixing part 20 has two slide shafts 21 extending toward the coating remover main body 10, and the optical fiber fixing part 20 is separated from the coating remover main body 10 by these slide shafts 21. It is slidable so that it can be touched and separated.

  The optical fiber fixing portion 20 is provided with a holder pressing lid 23 on the upper portion thereof so that it can be opened and closed, and a holder mounting portion 22 is formed on the upper surface of the portion exposed by opening the holder pressing lid 23. An optical fiber holder 200 holding the optical fiber core wire 100 from above and below is placed on the holder mounting portion 22.

  The optical fiber core 100 is obtained by covering a glass fiber 100a with a coating 100b made of resin (see FIG. 3), and the optical fiber holder 200 is mounted in the vicinity of the end of the optical fiber core 100. Then, the optical fiber holder 200 is held by the optical fiber fixing portion 20 by closing the holder pressing lid 23 in a state where the optical fiber holder 200 is placed on the holder mounting portion 22. By adjusting the mounting position of the optical fiber holder 200 with respect to the optical fiber core wire 100 or by cutting the optical fiber core wire 100 by a predetermined length after the optical fiber holder 200 is mounted on the optical fiber holder 200, The length of the portion to be removed in the coating 100b of the fiber core wire 100 can be determined.

In the sheath remover main body 10, a sheath removing portion 30 is provided on one end side to which the optical fiber fixing portion 20 is connected. An optical fiber pressing lid 31 is provided at the upper portion of the coating removing portion 30 so as to be freely opened and closed.
Also, a pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B are provided on the upper front surface of the portion where the optical fiber pressing lid 31 is opened and exposed in the coating removing section 30 and on the front surface of the optical fiber pressing lid 31, respectively. The pair of coating removal blades 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B cuts the coating 100 b of the optical fiber core wire 100 disposed in the coating removal unit 30. By closing the optical fiber holding lid 31 with respect to the coating removal portion 30, only the coating 100b of the optical fiber core wire 100 is cut by the coating removal blades 32A and 32B.

  Furthermore, the coating removal unit 30 has an optical fiber core heating unit 40. The optical fiber core heating unit 40 includes a plate-like heater 41 and a heater support member 42 on which the heater 41 is mounted. The optical fiber core wire 100 is placed in the center of the heater surface 41a (see FIG. 6) of the heater 41 and subjected to heat treatment.

  Further, the sheath removing unit 30 is provided with a heater energization switch (not shown) that is turned on and off by opening and closing the optical fiber holding lid 31. When the optical fiber holding lid 31 is closed, the heater energizing switch Is turned on, and power is supplied to the heater 41.

  Further, the sheath remover main body 10 is provided with a power supply unit 50 on the other end side opposite to the connection side of the optical fiber fixing unit 20. The power supply unit 50 can accommodate, for example, 4 to 8 batteries as an internal power supply. In addition, a power cord 60 can be inserted into and removed from the power source section 50, and power can be supplied from an external power source by inserting the power cord 60.

Next, a specific configuration of the pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B will be described with reference to FIG.
The pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B includes a pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B each having joint surfaces 38A and 38B that are joined together when the pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B mesh with each other, and a pair of removal blade base portions. A pair of blade portions 34A, 34B formed or attached to 33A, 33B.

Attachment holes 35 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) of the pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B. Since the attachment hole 35 has a long hole shape, a pair of removal blade base parts 33A and 33B can be inserted into the attachment removal part 30 or the optical fiber holding lid 31 by inserting screws or the like (not shown) into the attachment hole 35. It can be installed in position. The longitudinal direction of the attachment hole 35 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B and the surface direction of the joining surfaces 38A and 38B. Therefore, the position of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction along the surface direction of the joint surfaces 38A and 38B.
Note that a feed screw mechanism may be provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of each of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B. The removal blade base portions 33A and 33B can be moved back and forth in the left-right direction from the end portions by the feed screw mechanism, and the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B can be arranged at arbitrary positions.

The pair of blade portions 34A, 34B have a pair of edge portions 36A, 36B that are cut into the covering 100b while maintaining a predetermined distance d when the pair of removal blade base portions 33A, 33B are joined from a state where they are separated from each other. ing.
The pair of edge portions 36A and 36B are formed in a straight line so as to be parallel to each other, and are inclined with respect to the joint surfaces 38A and 38B of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B. Therefore, the distance d between the pair of edge portions 36A and 36B can be varied by attaching one of the pair of blade portions 34A and 34B to the other in the direction parallel to the joining surfaces 38A and 38B. can do.

  In addition, the joint surfaces 38A and 38B of the pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B have a relative position d in a direction parallel to the joint surfaces 38A and 38B of the pair of blade portions 34A and 34B and the distance d between the edge portions 36A and 36B. Scales 37A and 37B are formed to show the correspondence with the. That is, the outer diameter of the glass fiber 100a of the optical fiber core wire 100 to be covered and removed by attaching the pair of removing blade base portions 33A and 33B to the covering removing portion 30 so that the graduations 37A and 37B coincide with each other. The distance d between the edge portions 36A and 36B can be arbitrarily set according to the above.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B are attached to the covering removal portion 30 with the upper graduation 37A aligned with the center line of the lower graduation 37B, the edge portion 36A, The interval d of 36B is set to be 140 μm, for example. Thereby, the coating 100b of the optical fiber core wire 100 having the glass fiber 100a having a diameter of 125 μm, which is a general cladding diameter, can be cut and appropriately removed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B are attached to the covering removal portion 30 in a state where the scale 37A is aligned with the right end line of the scale 37B, the distance d1 between the edge portions 36A and 36B. Is wider than the interval d in the case of FIG. The interval d1 at this time is set to be 160 μm, for example. Thereby, the coating 101b covering the outer periphery of the glass fiber 101a having a large diameter (for example, 150 μm) can be cut and appropriately removed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B are attached to the covering removal portion 30 with the scale 37A aligned with the leftmost line of the scale 37B, the distance d2 between the edge portions 36A and 36B is set. Becomes narrower than the interval d in the case of FIG. The distance d2 at this time is set to be 90 μm, for example. Thereby, the coating 102b covering the outer periphery of the glass fiber 102a having a small diameter (for example, 80 μm) can be cut and appropriately removed.

  The heater 41 is fixed to the sheath removing unit 30, and the optical fiber core wire 100 is placed at the center of the heater surface of the heater 41. When the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 100 is different due to the change in the glass fiber diameter and the coating thickness, the height from the heater surface 41a of the heater 41 to the central axis of the glass fibers 100a, 101a, and 102a is also different. Therefore, if the relative positions of the coating removal blades 32A and 32B and the heater 41 are constant, the center between the edge portions 36A and 36B of the coating removal blades 32A and 32B and the glass fiber 100a are caused by the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 100. , 101a, 102a may be displaced from the central axis. In this case, the coatings 100b, 101b, and 102b cannot be appropriately removed when the pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B are engaged with each other, which is not preferable.

Therefore, even when the outer diameters of the optical fiber cores 100 are different, the centers between the edge portions 36A and 36B of the coating removal blades 32A and 32B and the central axes of the glass fibers 100a, 101a, and 102a are matched. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, it is desirable that the relative position between the heater 41 and the lower coating removal blade 32B can be shifted in the left-right direction in the drawing.
In addition, the structure which makes the height of the heater surface 41a of the heater 41 variable is provided, and the center between edge part 36A, 36B of the coating removal blades 32A and 32B and the central axis of glass fiber 100a, 101a, 102a correspond. Further, the height of the heater surface of the heater 41 may be changed.

Next, a method of removing the coating 100b at the end of the optical fiber core wire 100 with the optical fiber coating remover 1 and exposing the glass fiber 100a will be described.
In order to remove the coating 100b at the end of the optical fiber core wire 100, first, the distance d between the edge portions 36A, 36B of the pair of blade portions 34A, 34B matches the outer diameter of the glass fiber 100a of the optical fiber core wire 100. The pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B are attached to arbitrary positions of the coating removal portion 30 or the optical fiber pressing lid 31 by inserting screws or the like into the attachment holes 35 so as to be spaced apart. At this time, if the positions of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B are determined so that the scales 37A and 38A are aligned, the distance d can be adjusted easily and accurately.

  Next, the optical fiber pressing lid 31 and the holder pressing lid 23 are opened in a state where the sheath remover body 10 and the optical fiber fixing portion 20 are brought close to each other, and the optical fiber core is attached to the holder mounting portion 22 of the optical fiber fixing portion 20. The optical fiber holder 200 attached to the wire 100 is set, and the tip end side of the optical fiber core wire 100 is arranged at the center on the heater surface of the heater 41.

Next, the holder pressing lid 23 is closed and the optical fiber pressing lid 31 is closed.
Then, only the coating 100b (101b, 102b) of the optical fiber core wire 100 is cut by the pair of blade portions 34A, 34B, and the heater energization switch is turned on by closing the optical fiber holding lid 31, and the heater 41 is turned on. Is energized.
Then, the covering 100b of the portion to be removed of the optical fiber 100 placed on the heater 41 is softened by being heated at high speed by the heater 41.

Next, the sheath remover main body 10 and the optical fiber fixing portion 20 are respectively gripped, and the optical fiber fixing portion 20 is moved in a direction away from the sheath remover main body 10. In this way, only the coating 100b heated and softened on the tip side of the cut portion by the pair of blade portions 34A and 34B is removed, and the glass fiber 100a (101a, 102a) is removed at the end of the optical fiber core wire 100. Exposed.
When the removal operation of the coating 100b is completed, when the optical fiber holding lid 31 is opened, the heater energization switch is turned off and the energization to the heater 41 is stopped.

  According to the optical fiber coating remover 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the pair of edge portions 36A and 36B are formed to be inclined with respect to the joining surfaces 38A and 38B of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B. A pair of edge portions 36A, 36B cut into the coatings 100b, 101b, 102b of the optical fiber core wire 100 when one of the blade portions 34A, 34B is moved in a direction parallel to the bonding surfaces 38A, 38B with respect to the other. Since the distances d, d1, and d2 are variable, the coatings 100b, 101b, and 102b of the optical fiber core wire 100 having different glass fiber diameters can be easily removed with a simple configuration.

  In addition, when the gap between the pair of edge portions 36A and 36B is formed so as to open in one direction rather than in parallel, there is a possibility that the optical fiber core wire 100 may escape so as to be pushed out. However, according to the present embodiment, the pair of edge portions 36A and 36B are formed so that the distance between them becomes parallel when the pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B mesh with each other. The coating 100b, 101b, 102b can be reliably removed without the 100 being escaped.

  Furthermore, since the graduations 37A and 37B for indicating the relative positions of the pair of blade portions 34A and 34B are formed on the pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B, the outer diameters of the glass fibers 100a, 101a, and 102a. Accordingly, appropriate intervals d, d1, and d2 can be easily set.

  Although an example of an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and other configurations can be adopted as necessary.

Further, in the optical fiber sheath remover 1 of the above embodiment, the pair of blade portions 34A and 34B are formed so that the inclination angles of the edge portions 36A and 36B coincide so that the edge portions 36A and 36B are parallel to each other. However, the shape of the edge portions 36A and 36B is not limited to this.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the edge portion 36A1 of the upper blade portion 34A1 has a convex curve, and the edge portion 36B1 of the lower blade portion 34B1 has a concave curve. Good. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the edge portion 36B1 of the lower blade portion 34B1 has a concave curve, and the edge portion 36A2 of the upper blade portion 34A2 also has a concave curve. Good.

  Even in the configuration shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, one of the pair of blade portions 34A1, 34A2 and 34B1 is moved in the direction parallel to the joining surfaces 38A and 38B with respect to the other, and the blade portion By changing the relative positions of 34A1, 34A2, and 34B1, the distance d between the pair of edge portions 36A1, 34A2, 36B1 can be made variable, and the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained. In FIG. 7A, the upper and lower edge portions 36A1 and 36B1 sandwiching the optical fiber maintain a substantially constant distance. In FIG. 7B, the upper and lower edge portions 36A2 and 36B1 are spaced at the center. Since the wide end has a narrow opening shape, the optical fiber core wire 100 does not escape sideways when the coating removal blades 32A and 32B are engaged, as in the above embodiment. The coatings 100b, 101b, and 102b can be reliably removed.

  Furthermore, in the optical fiber coating remover 1 of the above embodiment, a screw or the like is inserted into the elongated attachment hole 35 provided in the pair of removal blade base portions 33A and 33B, and the removal blade is attached. Although the base portions 33A and 33B are moved back and forth by the feed screw mechanism, the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B can be moved along a direction different from the movement direction of the blade portions 34A and 34B at the time of coating removal. The movement of the removal blade base portions 33A and 33B can be automatically set by the drive mechanism system.

For example, the following configuration may be employed as the drive mechanism system. As shown in FIG. 8A, a spring 37 is provided between one end (the left end in the figure) of the upper sheath removing blade 32A and the base portion 31a of the optical fiber holding lid 31 that supports the upper sheath removing blade 32A. The micro head 38 is provided between the other end (the right end in the drawing) of the upper coating removal blade 32A and the base portion 31a. The tip of the microhead 38 contacts the other end of the upper coating removal blade 32A, and the upper coating removal blade 32A is slidable from the other end side to one end side.
Further, a microhead 38 is provided between one end (the left end in the figure) of the lower coating removal blade 32B and the base portion 30a of the coating removal portion 30 that supports the lower coating removal blade 32B, and the lower coating removal blade 32B. A spring 37 is provided between the other end (right end in the figure) and the base portion 30a. The tip of the micro head 38 contacts one end of the lower coating removal blade 32B, and the lower coating removal blade 32B is slidable from one end side to the other end side.
The pair of coating removal blades 32A and 32B can be slid relative to each other by moving the upper and lower microheads 38 by actuators (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, springs 37 and eccentric cams 39 are provided between the left and right ends of the upper and lower coating removal blades 32A and 32B and the base portions 31a and 30a, respectively, and the upper and lower eccentric cams 39 are illustrated. The pair of sheath removal blades 32A and 32B may be slid relative to each other by being eccentric by an actuator that does not.

  Further, the scales 37A and 37B are not provided on the removal blades 32A and 32B, but the attachment positions of the blade portions 34A and 34B can be changed by detecting the distance d between the edge portions 36A and 36B by a sensor or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the coatings 100b, 101b, and 102b of the single-core optical fiber 100 are removed has been described as an example. However, the optical fiber coating remover 1 includes a plurality of optical fibers arranged in parallel. The present invention is also applicable to a multi-core optical fiber ribbon that is arranged in an integrated manner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Optical fiber coating remover, 10: Coating remover main body, 20: Optical fiber fixing | fixed part, 22: Holder mounting part, 30: Coating removal part, 32A, 32B: Coating removal blade, 33A, 33B: Removal blade base part , 34A, 34B: blade portion, 35: mounting hole, 36A, 36B: edge portion, 40: optical fiber heating portion, 50: power supply portion, 60: power cord, 100: optical fiber core, 100a, 101a, 102a: glass fiber, 100b, 101b, 102b: coating, 200: optical fiber holder, d, d1, d2: intervals between edge portions

Claims (4)

An optical fiber sheath remover for removing an optical fiber sheath,
With a pair of sheath removal blades,
The pair of coating removal blades includes a pair of removal blade base portions each having a joint surface that is joined to each other when the pair of coating removal blades mesh with each other, and a pair of blade portions that are formed or attached to the pair of removal blade base portions. When,
With
The pair of blade portions has a pair of edge portions that cut into the coating while maintaining a predetermined interval when the pair of removal blade base portions are joined from a state separated from each other,
The pair of edge portions are formed to be inclined with respect to the joint surface,
An optical fiber coating in which the distance between the pair of edge portions is variable by moving one of the pair of coating removal blades in a direction parallel to the joint surface with respect to the other of the pair of coating removal blades Remover.   The optical fiber coating remover according to claim 1, wherein the pair of edge portions are linearly formed to be parallel to each other. The optical fiber coating remover according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the pair of edge portions is formed in a convex curve shape or a concave curve shape . The scale which shows the correspondence of the relative position and the said space | interval in the direction parallel to the said joint surface of the said pair of coating removal blades is formed in the said pair of coating removal blades. The optical fiber coating remover according to one item .

Images