JPH02210725A - Optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of parts and improve a dynamic range by installing an optical fiber holding guide which takes a light projecting side optical fiber and a light receiving side optical fiber about in a covering case, and an actuator and a douser which opens and closes an optical path by means of an actuator. CONSTITUTION:An optical switch opens and closes an optical path by a douser 7 which makes frequent appearances in a gap between a light projection side optical fiber 3 and a light receiving side optical fiber 4 by means of an actuator 5. An optical fiber holding guide 5 is installed in a covering case 1 to position and hold the optical fibers 3, 4 of a light projection side and a light receiving side at a fixed position, and both end faces of the light projection side optical fiber 3 and the light receiving side optical fiber 4 are directly opposed to each other interposing a very narrow optical path gap where the douser 7 makes frequent appearances. All of such optical elements as a reflecting mirror, a prism, etc., therefore, become unnecessary between the light projection side optical fiber 3 and the light receiving side optical fiber 4, and also, it is possible to reduce a loss of a quantity of transmitting light by shortening the length of an optical path between optical fibers. Thereby, it is possible to greatly improve an optical transmissivity between the light projection side optical fiber 3 and the light receiving side optical fiber 4, or dynamic range and also reduce the number of parts and the cost.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention mechanically opens and closes the optical path between the light-emitting side optical fiber and the light-receiving side optical fiber by the operation of a light-shielding plate interlocked with an actuator. This invention relates to an optical switch that controls on/off signals.

[Conventional technology]

Nowadays, electrical signals are turned on directly by opening and closing contacts.

In place of conventional microswitches such as contact-type switches that control off and non-contact switches that use Hall elements, optical microswitches that control optical signals on and off through switching operations have been commercialized. There is.

Such optical microswitches use optical fibers to transmit optical signals, and inside the switch, a light shielding plate is installed in the gap optical path between the light-emitting side optical fiber (input side) and the light-receiving side optical fiber (output side) by operating an actuator. It mechanically controls the on/off of optical signals by using a microswitch, and there is no wear on electrical contacts or generation of arcs as seen in conventional microswitches, and there is no electromagnetic disturbance like with Hall elements. It has the advantage of not being affected by noise.

Here, the structure of a conventional optical switch is such that the emitter side optical fiber and the light receiver side optical fiber are drawn into the case in parallel and connected with their end faces aligned with the outer case of the switch. A pair of reflecting mirrors or prisms arranged in an inclined position are used to form an optical path bent in a U-shape spanning between the end faces of the optical fibers on the emitter side and the receiver side, and a light shielding plate is placed in the gap in the middle of this optical path. Deployed and configured.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, like the conventional optical switch described above, there is a structure in which an optical path bent in a U-shape is formed by interposing an optical element such as a reflecting mirror or a prism between the end faces of the light-emitting side optical fiber and the light-receiving side optical fiber. In addition to the large number of parts and high cost, in terms of operating characteristics, the optical path length spanning between the end faces of the optical fiber is long, and the light beam emitted from the end face of the optical fiber is diffused with respect to the optical axis, so it is difficult to reflect. It is difficult to converge and receive a beam of light to the other side's optical fiber through mirrors, prisms, etc., and as a result, the loss of the amount of transmitted light inside the switch becomes large, causing a loss in the amount of light transmitted between the light emitting side and the receiving side optical fiber. The drawback is that a high light transmission rate cannot be obtained.

The present invention was developed in consideration of the above points, and by improving the optical fiber wiring inside the switch, the number of parts can be reduced, and in terms of operating characteristics, the amount of light transmitted between optical fibers can be reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical switch that can significantly reduce loss and improve dynamic range.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the optical switch of the present invention has an outer case, a light emitting side optical fiber that is arranged parallel to each other and drawn into the outer case, and a light receiving side optical fiber, which are connected to each other across a gap optical path. Emitter side optical fiber so that the end faces of the fibers face each other.

An optical fiber holding guide that curves and holds the light-receiving optical fiber in a predetermined position within the outer case, an actuator, and a light shielding plate that moves in and out of the gap to open and close the optical path by the operation of the actuator. shall be configured.

[Effect]

The switching operation with the above configuration is basically the same as that of a conventional optical switch, and the actuator operation causes the light-shielding plate to enter and retract into the gap between the light-emitting side optical fiber and the light-receiving side optical fiber, opening and closing the optical path, and thereby transmitting the optical signal. control on and off.

On the other hand, since the end faces of the transmitting optical fiber and the receiving optical fiber directly face each other across the extremely narrow optical path gap where the light shielding plate appears, the optical path length between the end faces of the optical fibers is extremely short, and the optical path length between the optical fibers is extremely short. The loss in the amount of light transmitted during this period is significantly reduced. Furthermore, there is no need for any optical elements such as reflecting mirrors or prisms between the light-emitting side optical fiber and the light-receiving side optical fiber, and the switch can be configured with a small number of parts.

〔Example〕

Figures 1 to 4V! J shows the structure of the optical switch according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is the outer case of the optical switch, 2 is the case cover 3 is the light emitting side optical fiber, 4 is the light receiving side optical fiber, and 5 is the light receiving side optical fiber. An optical fiber holding guide, 6 an actuator, and 7 a light shielding plate.

Here, the light emitting side optical fiber 3. The receiving side optical fiber 4 is 2
The optical fibers of the book are arranged parallel to each other and are drawn into the case from the outside through the outer case l. As clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the structure of the optical fiber holding guide 5 includes a rectangular substrate with a slit-shaped gap 5a in the center of its upper side where the light shielding plate 7 appears. There is a notch, and light emitting side optical fibers 3. Guide grooves 5b and 5c are formed into which the light-receiving side optical fiber 4 is inserted and positioned and held. The shape of the guide grooves 5b and 5c is such that the optical fibers 3 and 4 on the transmitting side and the receiving side are drawn into the case in a curved manner to the left and right inside the case, and then their end faces meet each other. The optical fibers 3.4 are formed along the routing route of the optical fibers 3.4 so as to sandwich the gap 5a and line up facing each other with their optical axes aligned. It should be noted that it is preferable that the radius of curvature of this optical fiber routing path be made as large as possible in order to minimize optical transmission loss inside the optical fiber, especially at the bent portion. .In order to incorporate the receiving side optical fiber 4 into the outer case 1, the optical fiber 3.4 drawn into the case with the case cover 2 removed is routed along the guide groove 5a of the optical fiber holding guide 5. It can be easily positioned and set in the specified position by inserting it.

On the other hand, the actuator 6 in the illustrated example is a plunger that is operated to move in the direction of arrow P, and is constantly urged to protrude outside the case by a return spring 8, and a light shielding plate 7 is integrally provided with the actuator 6. The spring holder 9 of the return spring 8 is a seat, and the above-mentioned holding guide 5 is fitted into the spring holder 9 and connected thereto.

Next, the switching operation of the optical switch with the above configuration will be explained. First, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the switch-on state in which the light shielding plate 7 is retracted upward from the gap 5a, and the optical signal input through the light-emitting side optical fiber 3 is transmitted from the end face of the optical fiber 3. The light is emitted and received by the light receiving side optical fiber 4. Note that the optical signal is charged and converted by an external circuit (not shown) and output as an electrical signal.

On the other hand, when the actuator 6 is pushed into the position shown by the chain line in FIG. block the optical path of As a result, the optical signal emitted from the optical fiber 3 is blocked by the light shielding plate 7, and the optical switch is turned off. In addition, the actuator 6
When no external operating force is applied to the switch, the actuator 6 returns to the solid line position again due to the bias of the return spring 8, and the switch returns to the on state.Although the illustrated example shows an example of a normally open switch, , by changing the position of the light shield 17, it operates as a normally closed switch.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The optical switch according to the present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects.

(1) Compared to conventional optical switches, optical elements such as reflective mirrors and prisms are not required, and the number of parts is reduced accordingly, resulting in cost reduction.

(2) Optical fiber holding guides are provided inside the outer case to position and hold the optical fibers on the light emitting side and the light receiving side in fixed positions, making it easy to assemble the optical fibers, and to facilitate assembly. Therefore, the optical fiber will not be bent excessively during the curved route inside the switch.

(3) Since the end faces of the transmitting side optical fiber and the receiving side optical fiber are directly facing each other with a small gap between the optical paths, the optical path length between the optical fibers is shortened accordingly, resulting in a loss in the amount of transmitted light. can be kept low, thereby significantly improving the optical transmission rate between the light-emitting side optical fiber and the light-receiving side optical fiber, and thus the dynamic range.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing the configuration of an optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the optical fiber holding guide in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. In each figure, 1: outer case, 3: light emitting side optical fiber, 4: light receiving side optical fiber, 5B optical fiber holding guide, 588 gap,
5b, 5c Ni guide groove, 6: actieator bile Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The outer case, the light-emitting side optical fibers arranged parallel to each other and drawn into the outer case, and the light-receiving side optical fibers, and the light-emitting side optical fibers arranged so that the end faces of the optical fibers face each other across a gap optical path. an optical fiber holding guide that curves and holds the light-receiving optical fiber in a predetermined position within the outer case; an actuator; and a light shielding plate that moves in and out of the gap to open and close the optical path by the operation of the actuator. An optical switch comprising: