JPH01262506A - Splicing device for multiple optical fibers and connecting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the connector to be handled by anyone without requiring a high degree of skilled techniques by providing accepting holes, detaining parts and engaging parts for fixing optical coated fibers. CONSTITUTION:The sheaths of optical coated fibers 30A, 30B are stripped to expose bare optical fibers 31A, 31B in order to splice the terminals of multifiber hole fiber cables to each other. The optical fibers are inserted into the fiber accepting holes 21A, 21B of the ferrules 20A, 20B and the ferrules 20A, 20B and the optical coated fibers 30A, 30B are fixed by an adhesive agent 4. The ferrules 20A, 20B are then inserted to the sleeve 10 from the respective ends thereof. The detaining projections 24A, 24B of the ferrules 20A, 20B are detained in the detaining recesses 13 of the sleeve 10 and the front end faces of the ferrules 20A and 20B are surely and tightly adhered to each other by the elasticity of the sleeve 10. The rapid conduction of the connection with the simple operation by anyone without requiring a high degree of skill is thereby enabled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables and a connection method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-18416 and the connection method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 58-156913 are well known for permanently connecting the ends of optical fibers. It is being

In the optical fiber fusion alignment device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-18416, bare optical fibers to be connected are inserted into grooves of two blocks provided opposite each other, and held down on one side. The optical fiber core wires are moved to abut the bare optical fibers, and the abutted portions are fused by arc discharge between the electrodes.

In addition, in the optical fiber permanent connection method disclosed in JP-A-58-156913, the optical fiber end to be connected is directly inserted into a precision sleeve, and the optical fiber is inserted into the precision sleeve using an adhesive. They are fixed with the fiber terminals facing each other.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, such conventional techniques have the following problems.

First, the technique disclosed in Publication of Utility Model Publication No. 1841/1984 has the following problems.

(1) Since alignment of the fusion splices of optical fibers requires a lot of effort, it requires a fairly high level of skill, and not everyone can handle the equipment. Therefore, the connection was expensive.

(2) The coated sheath part of the optical fiber terminal is peeled off for a considerable length to expose the length of the bare fiber wire with high precision and fused, but at this time, the bare fiber wire is bent and damaged. , it may break. At that time, the trouble of having to peel off the sheath again occurs. Furthermore, since the length of the bare wire must be exposed with high precision, it becomes even more expensive.

(3) Fusion splicing is often performed at construction sites, and such locations may not have a power supply. In that case,
This technique, which uses arc discharge, was of no use.

(4) When aligning the end faces of optical fibers, the ends may collide strongly with each other. In this case, the end face is fused while being damaged, and the insertion loss of light increases at that part.

(5) After optical fiber fusion, the outer periphery of the wrought bare wire must be wrapped with a sheath, etc. At that time, the work must be done carefully so as not to break the bare wire. This was also a very troublesome task.

(6) When attempting to connect the ends of multi-core optical fiber cables using this technology, more complicated and expensive equipment is required, and the splicing work is also complicated and requires more advanced skill. would be necessary, further increasing the cost of the connection.

On the other hand, the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-156913 has the following problems.

(1) Since a precision sleeve is used, the sleeve becomes expensive.

(2) The coated sheath part of the optical fiber terminal is peeled off to expose the bare fiber wire with high precision and inserted into the sleeve, but at this time, the bare fiber wire is bent and damaged. , it may break.

Moreover, since the bare wires are exposed with high precision, it becomes even more expensive.

(3) Optical fiber connections may be made at construction sites, but there may be no power supply at such locations. In that case, it may not be possible to heat the sleeve or use a vacuum pump, which is inconvenient.

(4) The end faces of the optical fibers will be butted together inside the sleeve, but in that case, it is not possible to perform mAA from the outside, so the end faces may collide with each other and be connected with the end faces damaged, or There are cases where the end faces are connected without contacting each other. In such a case, the insertion loss of light becomes large.

(5) When connecting at a construction site, it is not possible to process it in advance at a factory, so all processes must be performed on site, which increases the number of processes on site and increases costs.

(6) When attempting to connect the terminals of multi-core optical fiber cables using this technology, the connection work becomes even more complex, requires more highly skilled technology, and increases the cost of connection. It will probably end up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables and a connection method thereof, which can solve the problems of the prior art as described above.

Means for Solving the Problems According to one feature of the present invention, in a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables for permanently connecting terminals of multi-core optical fiber cables, Each of the pairs of ferrules includes a large number of pairs of ferrules that are respectively attached to the optical fiber cores of the terminal, and a sleeve connection body that connects a large number of elastic sleeves that insert and fix each of the multiple pairs of ferrules from each end. is provided with a receiving hole at its tip for fixing the optical fiber coated wire so as to expose the tip of the coated optical fiber, and at least a portion of the outer periphery thereof is provided with a receiving hole for securing the coated optical fiber to each of the sleeves. A locking portion is provided on at least a portion of the inner periphery of each sleeve, and is engaged with the locking portion of each pair of ferrules, and each pair of ferrules inserted from each end has a tip thereof. An engaging portion is provided for locking and fixing the optical fibers in a state in which they are brought into contact with each other, and fixing each of the optical fiber cored wire ends to each pair of ferrules that are locked and fixed in each of the sleeves. A permanent connection is made between each of the sleeves.

According to another feature of the present invention, in a connection method for permanently connecting terminals of a multi-core optical fiber cable in the multi-core optical fiber cable permanent connection device as described above, multiple fibers to be connected to each other are provided. The ends of the optical fiber cores of the optical fiber cable are inserted and fixed into the receiving holes of each of the multiple pairs of ferrules, the tip surfaces of the optical fiber cores exposed at the tips of each ferrule are polished, and then, The pairs of ferrules are inserted from each end of each sleeve so that their tips are in contact with each other, and the corresponding locking portions and the engaging portions are engaged, and in the locked and fixed state, each pair of ferrules The sleeve and each pair of seven errules are permanently secured.

Embodiments Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional perspective view showing the state of a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables as an embodiment of the present invention before multi-core optical fiber cables are connected; FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a permanently connected state of a multi-core optical fiber cable of the permanent connection device, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the multi-fiber optical fiber cable permanent connection device of this embodiment uses optical fiber cables 30 to be permanently connected to each other.
．． A large number of pairs of ferrules 2OA, 20B are attached to the optical fiber core wires 30Δ, 30B of the 30 terminals, respectively;
A sleeve connection body is provided in which a large number of elastic sleeves 10 are connected, each of which inserts and fixes each of these multiple pairs of ferrules 2OA, 20B from each end.

The sleeve 10 is made of an elastic metal material, plastic material, rubber material, or the like, and has a substantially cylindrical shape. The sleeve 10 is provided with a slotted slit 11 which communicates with the inner part 12. inside inside 1
Near both ends of 2, there are locking recesses 13.13 with tapers.
is formed. The inner diameter of the inner part 12 is preferably made slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the ferrules 2OA and 20B, which will be described later. Furthermore, a connecting portion 14 for connecting adjacent sleeves is provided on the outside of each sleeve 10. In this embodiment, a plurality of sleeves 10 are connected in parallel.

The multiple pairs of ferrules 2OA, 20B are preferably made of a hard metal material, ceramic, or the like, and are preferably strong in breaking strength. Multi-pair ferrule 2OA, 20
B shows the optical fiber core wires 3 that have been separated by removing the coating of the core fiber cables that are to be permanently connected to each other.
It is used for the 5taTE part of 0Δ, 30B, and one ferrule 20 is integrally formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and inside it is a fiber for receiving the optical fiber core 30A. Receiving hole 21A and bare optical fiber 3
1 Bare wire receiver with a pore for receiving A
22 A is provided, and the ferrule 2OA has 4 rows 2
Approximately in the middle of 3Δ, there is a connection 11-recess 1 of the sleeve 10.
A locking protrusion 24A is formed to be locked to 3. Since the ferrule 20B has the same configuration as the ferrule 2OA, it will only be indicated with the same reference numerals and will not be described in detail again.

Next, a connection method for permanently connecting multi-core optical fiber cable terminals using the multi-core optical fiber cable permanent connection device configured as described above will be described.

(i) Optical fiber core wire 30 /'+1 which removed the coating of the terminal of the multi-core optical fiber cable 30 and separated it
．． Stripping off the outer covering of 30B and exposing the optical fiber? llA, 31
Extract B. And ferrule 20, ..., 20B
The optical fibers are inserted into the fiber receiving holes 2'lA and 21B, and the ferrule and the optical fiber core are fixed with adhesive 41. At this time, the extracted bare optical fiber 31
A and 31B are inserted into the bare wire receiving holes 22Δ and 22B of the ferrules 2OA and 20B, respectively, and the bare optical fiber wire 3
The tips of 1A and 31B are ferrules 20. Leave it exposed at the tip of 20B.

(2) Next, the tip side of the ferrules 20Δ and 20B,
The exposed bare optical fibers 31A and 31B are polished together with a polishing machine. The steps up to this point can be performed at a factory.

(3) Next, the ferrules 20Δ, 20B with the optical fibers fixed and read in this way are inserted from each end of the sleeve IO. At this time, the locking protrusions 24Δ, 24B of the ferrules 2OA, 20B are connected to the locking recesses 13 of the sleeve coupling body.
When the ferrules 2OA and 2 are engaged, the tapered portions of the engagement protrusions 24A and 24B are pushed forward by the elasticity of the sleeve 10, so that the ferrules 2OA and 2
The tip surfaces of 0B are surely brought into close contact with each other. At this time, naturally, the exposed end surfaces of the bare optical fibers 31A and 31B are aligned and butted against each other.

(4) Next, apply the adhesive 42 from the slot 11 of the sleeve IO.
to completely fix the ferrules 2OA and 20B to the sleeve connection body. Thereby, the terminals of the optical fibers 30A and 30B are permanently connected. Contact Li4] 42ha, Hikari 7y Iba:) 731
A, it is preferable to have a refractive index almost the same as the 31BcDm refractive index.
After all the optical fibers>130A and 30B are connected, the entire connection section is protected with a protective member (not shown), etc., and the connection work is completed.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 2, showing a state after the terminals of a multi-core optical fiber cable are permanently connected by a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cable according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. In the sleeve connection body for the permanent connection device of this embodiment, the elastic sleeves 10 are connected in an annular manner by the connection portion 14A, and the elastic sleeves 10 are gathered into a bundle. Otherwise, it is substantially the same as the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing three sleeve series of a permanent connection device for a multi-core optical fiber cable according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Regarding the ferrule, the first part is the same as that of the previous embodiment, so a detailed description thereof will not be given. The seven sleeve series of this embodiment is made by integrally and continuously forming elastic sleeves from an elastic metal sheet material by press working. That is, this sleeve connection body is made of a series of sleeves IOA and a series of sleeves 1. The sleeve 10A and the IOB are formed separately and rebuilt by combining the series of sleeves 10A and IOB. The configurations of the sleeves 10Δ and 10B themselves are similar to the sleeve IO described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and therefore will not be described in detail again. The sleeve 10Δ has one end connected to the connecting band 16 via the connecting portion 15A.
A and has a plug rm 19 A at the other end. Guide holes 17A are provided in the connecting band 16Δ in accordance with the arrangement pitch of the connecting portions 15A, and insertion receiving portions 18A are provided between these guide holes 17A. Similarly, the sleeve IOB has one end connected to the connecting band 16B via the connecting portion 15B, and an insert B19B at the other end. The connecting band 16B has a connecting portion 15.
Guide holes 17B are provided in accordance with the arrangement pitch of B, and an insertion receiving part 18B is provided between these guide holes 17B. Connecting band 1 of sleeve IOA
6A and the connecting band 16B of the sleeve 10B are connected to the insertion portion 19A of each sleeve IOA, as shown in FIG.
The insertion socket of the connecting band 16B of the sleeve IOB is part 1.
8B, while inserting part 1 of each sleeve IOB.
9B and the connecting band 16A of the sleeve IOA are inserted into the insertion portion 18A, so that they are combined with each other. By doing this, it is possible to create a sleeve connection body with a small arrangement pitch of highly elastic sleeves, and therefore, to permanently connect each optical fiber core at a terminal of a multi-core optical fiber cable at a very high density. This makes it possible to downsize the entire permanent connection part.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment describes the case where the terminals of round multi-core optical fiber cables are permanently connected, the present invention is not limited to this, but can be similarly applied to flat multi-core optical fiber cables, etc. It is possible. Further, although it has been stated that adhesive is used to secure the ferrule within the sleeve, the present invention is not limited to this.
E+4. For example, the sleeve and ferrule can be fixed together by using a fixing member such as a mechanical fitting or a crimping fitting from the outside of the sleeve.

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Permanent connection of multi-core optical fiber cables does not require advanced skill and anyone can quickly and easily connect them.
Cost (reduction).

(2) By using a ferrule in a multi-core optical fiber cable terminal, the connection between the ferrule and the optical fiber can be done as a pre-treatment process at the factory.
Therefore, there is no need to handle bare fibers at the construction site, and the optical fiber core terminals can be ground by fixing them with ferrules, making it possible to perform high-precision butt connections and reducing optical insertion loss. can be reduced.

(3) Since the optical fiber ends of the multi-core optical fiber cable are protected by the ferrule, there is no chance of damaging or breaking the bare fibers.

(・t) Since the optical fiber core terminal uses a ferrule, there is no need to make the sleeve extremely precise.
It's not that expensive.

(5) When connecting at the knee JT site, there is no need for electricity or electricity, so there are no restrictions on the construction site.

(6) Sleeves can have multiple sleeves arranged in parallel at the connecting part or connecting band, so many sleeves can be wound into a reel and stored all at once. Compact and can be stored,
Furthermore, it is compact and convenient to transport.

Furthermore, when connecting ferrules, the required number of fibers can be pulled out from a reel and the connecting part or connecting band can be cut using an appropriate cutting tool, so the number of fibers in the cable can be adjusted. It is even more convenient because it can be used for tapping.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a permanent connection device for a multi-core optical fiber cable as an embodiment of the present invention before connecting the multi-core optical fiber cable, and FIG. A sectional view showing a permanent connection device for a multi-core optical fiber cable of a connection device, FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a permanent connection device for a multi-core optical fiber cable according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2, showing the state after the terminals of the multi-core optical fiber cable have been permanently connected.
FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a sleeve connection body of a permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables according to still another embodiment of the present invention. IO...Sleeve, 11...Slit, 12...Inner circular part, 13...Latching recess, 14...Connection part , 2OA, 20B... Ferrule, 21A, 21
B...Fiber receiving hole, 22A, 22B...
...Bare wire receiving hole, 23A, 23B... Outer cylinder, 24A, 24B... Locking protrusion, 30...
・Multi-core optical fiber cable, 30A, 30B...
- Optical fiber core wire, 31A, 31B... Bare optical fiber, 41.42... Adhesive. Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a multi-core optical fiber cable permanent connection device for permanently connecting the ends of multi-core optical fiber cables, a large number of pairs are attached to each optical fiber core wire at the end of the optical fiber cable to be permanently connected. ferrules, and a sleeve connection body in which a number of elastic sleeves are connected to each other for inserting and fixing each pair of ferrules from each end, and each pair of ferrules has a tip of an optical fiber cored wire at the tip. A receiving hole is provided for fixing the optical fiber core wire in an exposed manner, and a locking portion for locking with each of the sleeves is provided at least in a portion of the outer periphery. At least a portion of the inner periphery of the sleeve is engaged by the locking portion of each pair of ferrules, and each pair of ferrules inserted from each end is locked with their tips in contact with each other. An engaging portion is provided to fix the optical fibers, and permanently connects each pair of ferrules locked and fixed in each sleeve to each sleeve. A permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables. (2) In the connection method for permanently connecting terminals of multi-core optical fiber cables in the permanent connection device for multi-core optical fiber cables according to claim (1), the optical fibers of multi-core optical fiber cables to be connected to each other are Inserting and fixing the end of the fiber core into the receiving hole of each pair of ferrules,
The tip surface of the optical fiber core exposed at the tip of each ferrule is polished, and then each pair of ferrules is inserted from each end of each sleeve so that their tips abut each other, and the corresponding locking is performed. A connection method characterized in that each sleeve and each pair of ferrules are permanently fixed in a locked and fixed state by engaging an engaging part with an engaging part.