JPH0228604A - Automatic transporting device for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To fully automate fusing, reinforcing and discharging of optical fibers by providing a lifting body which moves upward and downward, a fiber transporting body and gripping parts and automatically executing the pinching and transporting of the optical fibers. CONSTITUTION:The fiber gripping parts 3 are held standing by alongside the optical fiber A when the two pieces of optical fiber A are gripped by fusion gripping parts (c) and the fibers (a) of the fibers A are butted rectilinearly. The two fibers (a) move to a fusion position right after the fibers are butted by which the fibers (a) are crimped and gripped between the stationary gripping part 7 and the movable gripping part 8. The gripping parts 3 move to a reinforcing position while gripping the fibers (a) when the fusion part (b) of th fibers (a) is fused by an electrode rod (d). The gripping parts 3 turn to retreat positions while crimping and gripping the fibers upon completion of reinforcement when the fibers (a) are crimped by two sheets of the reinforcing materials (e). The gripping of the optical fibers A is then released and the optical fibers (A) are discharged together with the reinforcing materials (e). The fusing, reinforcing and ejecting of the optical fibers are fully automated in this way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The automatic optical fiber conveying device of the present invention abuts two optical fibers in a straight line, fuses them together, and reinforces the fused portion in a reinforcing portion. It is used when automating the work of transporting the optical fiber that has been removed outside the reinforcement section.
The fused optical fiber is held and conveyed to the reinforcing part, and the optical fiber reinforced in the reinforcing part is held as it is and conveyed to the outside of the reinforcing part.

(Prior art) As shown in FIG. 8, the conventional fusion splicing method for optical fibers is to connect the core wires a of two optical fibers A, which are held by a fusion gripping device C and are butted together in a straight line, to an electrode. They are fused using a rod d, and the fused portion of the concentric wire a is sandwiched and reinforced with the reinforcing material e shown in FIG. 9 as shown in the figure.

In this case, since the fusion gripping device C and the reinforcing material e are separated, when moving the fused optical fiber A from the fusion position to the reinforcement position, the operator must manually transport the optical fiber A. was.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional optical fiber fusion method, the optical fibers were transported manually, resulting in poor workability.

To solve this problem, we developed a transport device that can automatically transport the optical fiber from the fusion position to the reinforcement position, and also made sure that the transport equipment does not get in the way when ejecting the reinforced optical fiber to the outside. However, it is difficult to develop this conveying device because it is desired to be small and simple, and it has not been developed yet.

(Objective of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic optical fiber conveying device as described above, and to fully automate the fusing, reinforcing, and unloading of optical fibers.

(Means for Solving the Problems) FIGS. 1 to 3 show an automatic optical fiber conveying device δ of the present invention. This includes an elevating body l that is moved up and down by a drive source (first pinion 10 and first rack 11 that meshes with it, etc.);
The fusion part W1 (FIG. 1A) moves up and down with the vertical movement of the elevating body 1 and welds the core wire a of the optical fiber A, and the reinforcing position (first Figure A), the retracted position M that does not interfere with the ejection while ejecting the same fiber A.
The fiber carrier 2 has a grip that grips the optical fiber A at the fusion position and releases the grip of the optical fiber A at the time of ejection. A portion 3 is formed.

(Function) The grip portion 3 in the present invention is rotatable as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the fiber gripping part 3 holds the optical fiber A when two optical fibers A are gripped by the fusion gripping part C and the core wires a of the fibers A are butted together in a straight line. The 5'r1! is waiting on the side of the 5'r1! Move to the fusion position as shown in J and attach the core wire a.
is sandwiched and held between the fixed grip part 7 and the movable grip part 8.

When the welded portions of both core wires a are fused by the electrode rod d, the gripping portion 3 moves to the reinforcing position while gripping the core wire a, as shown in FIG. When the core wire a is sandwiched between the two reinforcing members e at this reinforcing position and the reinforcing is completed, the gripping part 3
As shown in J, the optical fiber A is rotated to the retracted position with the core wire a being clamped and gripped, and the grip on the optical fiber A is released, and the optical fiber A is discharged together with the reinforcing material e.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of an automatic optical fiber conveying apparatus of the present invention. Of these, FIG. 1 is a diagram of the retracted position, FIG. 2 is a diagram of the reinforced position, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the fused position.

This optical fiber automatic transport device is also installed at a symmetrical position on the right side of the straightener in the opening of Figure 1, and the two optical fibers A are gripped by the respective gripping parts 3 of these two optical fiber automatic transport devices. That's what I do.

In the automatic optical fiber transport device shown in FIG. 1, when the first binion 10 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a motor (not shown), the first rack 11 meshing with it moves upward, and at the same time, the first rack 11 The first movable part 1 is attached with
2 also moves up.

Konoto! ! The second movable part 13 is pushed upward by the spring 14 as shown in the figure, and the projection 13a of the second movable part 13 is
is attached to the first movable part 12, so it moves upward together with the first movable part 12. As the second movable portion 13 moves upward, the fiber carrier 2 also moves upward.

As the first rack 11 continues to move upward, the stopper 15 of the second movable part 13 hits the protrusion 17 of the fixed part 16, and the movable part 13 stops. When the first rack 11 moves further upward in this state, the second rack 18 provided on the fourth movable part 12 moves upward, and is thereby rotatably attached to the second movable part 13 with a pin 19. The second pinion 20 that is in the position rotates. In conjunction with the rotation of the pinion 20, the fiber carrier 2 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2 and stops at the fusion position shown in FIG. 3.

The gripping part 3 formed at the tip of the fiber carrier 2 consists of a fixed gripping part 7 and a movable gripping part 8 facing the fixed gripping part 7.
When the movable gripping part 8 is moved toward the fixed gripping part 7 by a driver such as a hydraulic cylinder (not shown), the movable gripping part 8 is moved to the re-gripping part 7.
, 8, and the optical fiber A is released from the grip when the movable gripping part 8 is pulled by the driver and moves away from the fixed gripping part 7.

(Effects of the Invention) The automatic optical fiber transport device of the present invention has the following effects.

(2) Since the optical fiber A can be automatically clamped and transported, the fusion, reinforcement, and ejection of the optical fiber A can be fully automated, eliminating all the inconveniences that have arisen so far.

(2) The fiber carrier 2 can be moved up and down and rotated by simply rotating the first pinion 10 and moving the first rack 11 up and down.
It has a simple configuration and is easy to put into practical use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the automatic optical fiber conveying device of the present invention. Figure 1A is a side view of the fiber conveyor in the retracted position, and the opening of the figure is a front view of the same state. , Figure 2A is a side view of the fiber carrier in the reinforcing position, Figure 3B is a front view of the same state, and Figure 3A is a side view of the fiber carrier in the fusion position. The opening is a front view in the same state, and A in FIGS. 4 to 7 is a plan view explaining the rotation of the fiber conveying body.
The opening in FIGS. 4 to 7 is a side view of A in FIGS. 4 to 7, FIG. A is a plan explanatory diagram of the conventional reinforcement-like structure.
The opening in the same figure is a side view of the same state.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The elevating body 1 is moved up and down by a drive source, and the welding position is moved up and down by the vertical movement of the elevating body 1, and the fusion position where the core wire a of the optical fiber A is fused, and the fused portion b of the concentric wire a is reinforced. The fiber carrier 2 is rotated to a retracted position where the fiber A is ejected from the reinforcing position and does not interfere with the ejection. An automatic optical fiber transport device characterized in that a grip part 3 is formed to release the grip on the optical fiber A at a certain time.