JPH0364042B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is directed to the termination treatment of a ribbon coated with a plurality of optical fibers, in which the optical fibers are removed from within the tape core, which occurs when the optical fibers of the tape core are cut all at once. A method for processing the end of a tape core and for use in processing the end of a tape core, with the aim of preventing the movement of optical fibers within the tape core that occurs before coming out and connecting the tape core, and improving workability when removing the coating. This relates to a terminal processing fixing jig. [Summary of the Invention] In the case of fusion splicing a tape core in which a plurality of optical fibers are collectively coated, the present invention removes the coating of the tape core and cuts the coated optical fibers at once. In this method, in order to align the end faces of the optical fibers, the coating of the tape core is bent and fixed with lateral pressure applied, and then multiple optical fibers are cut at once. As a jig for fixing the part, the tape core wire was accommodated in a curved groove provided on the lower substrate in order to bend and apply lateral pressure to the tape core wire, and was accommodated by a protrusion that fitted into a groove provided on the upper substrate. This is an end processing fixing jig that holds down the tape core wire and fixes both boards with metal fittings. [Prior Art] As a conventional method for connecting tape core wires, there is a multi-fiber batch fusion splicing method in which a plurality of optical fibers are fusion spliced at once. The prior art will be explained below. Until now, the end treatment of a tape fiber with the cross-sectional structure shown in FIG. Optical fibers are cut in batches using a core fiber batch cutter. 1 in Figure 6 is a secondary coating made of plastic such as nylon, 2 is a buffer layer, 3 is an optical fiber (hereinafter referred to as optical fiber), 4 in Figure 7 is a cutting blade,
5 is a comb tooth for aligning the optical fibers, 6 is a plate spring for holding the core wire, 7 is a clamp for fixing the optical fiber (optical fiber fixing part), 8
9 is an arm housing the cutting blade 4, and 9 is a rotation axis for freely rotating the arm 8. Figure 8a
Optical fiber 3 is cut by a batch cutter for tape core wires.
This shows the batch disconnection status. FIG. 8b is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 8a. After the surface of the optical fiber is scratched all at once by the cutting blade 4, the optical fiber 3 is bent along the leaf spring 6, thereby cutting the optical fiber 3 at once. Generally, the frictional force between the secondary coating 1 of the tape core wire and the optical fiber 3 is not so large, so the optical fiber 3
When the optical fiber 3 is bent along the leaf spring 6, the optical fiber 3 is pulled in the axial direction, and the optical fiber 3 is pulled out from within the tape core wire.
comes out by about 30 to 60 μm. FIG. 9a shows the state of the optical fibers 3 after they are cut all at once. Maximum deviation Xmax of the end face position of the optical fiber 3 shown in the figure
is about 20 μm even for an expert. Also, Figure 9b
As shown in the figure, before the tape fibers with terminal treatment are set in the connecting device, the tape fibers bend and bend.
The optical fiber 3 may move by a maximum of 100 to 200 .mu.m within the tape core, which may cause curling or other curls.
As described above, with the conventional terminal processing method, it is impossible to cut the optical fiber 3 with the end faces aligned. Conventionally, in order to connect the optical fibers 3 all at once, the positions of the optical fiber end faces are corrected on the connecting device. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a mechanism for correcting the position of the optical fiber end face. optical fiber 3
A multi-striped V formed on the end of the V-groove base 10
The shafts are aligned by arranging them in the grooves via the comb teeth 11. After holding the optical fiber 3 in the V-groove with the soft clamp 12, move the fine movement table 14,
Abut the end faces of all the optical fibers against the abutment plate 15,
The optical fiber 3 is fixed to the fine movement table 14 by a hard clamp 13. Under this hard clamp 13, the optical fiber 3 cannot move in the left and right directions in FIG. In this state, the end faces of the optical fibers 3 are aligned, the abutment plate 15 is lowered, and the distance between the optical fiber end faces is set to an appropriate amount, and the ends of the optical fibers are heated and melted while being pressed against each other for fusion splicing. do. Although electric discharge is used as the heating source, it is also possible in principle to use a CO ₂ laser or gas flame. In this mechanism, when the end face of the optical fiber is brought into contact with the abutting plate 15, the root portion (covering edge) of the optical fiber 3 is bent, and the optical fiber 3 is pushed against the abutting plate 15.
The coated portion of the optical fiber 3 covered with the secondary coating 1 is tilted and held upward so that the amount of further pushing after contacting the optical fiber 3 is absorbed by the groove portion 14a. 1
6 is a covering portion clamp. At this time, the longest optical fiber is at least as long as the shortest optical fiber.
It is pushed into the groove part 14a by Xmax. FIG. 11 shows the optical fiber 3 in a bent state. In this way, the optical fiber 3 is bent downward from the hard clamp 13 toward the covering portion clamp 16, and then bent upward. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When the conventional end face position alignment mechanism for optical fiber connection shown in FIG. 10 is used, the edge portion 17 of the fine movement table 14 shown in FIG. 11 locally contacts the optical fiber 3. Because of the pressure generated, the surface of the optical fiber was damaged, causing deterioration in the strength of the optical fiber 3 and, in some cases, causing breakage. Also, in the process of bending and deforming the optical fiber 3, the optical fiber 3
This causes damage to the optical fiber 3. Since the positions of the optical fiber end faces are thus uneven, the connection position becomes a complicated mechanism, and there is a problem in that the mechanism for correcting the position of the optical fiber end face reduces the reliability of the optical fiber at the connection portion. In addition, in the method of correcting the position of the optical fiber end face by bending the optical fiber 3, the length of the optical fiber 3 is at least
Approximately 20 mm is required, which is also a problem when downsizing the connecting part. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention aims to provide a tape core end processing method that solves these problems, and an end processing fixing jig that is directly used in the end processing method. The method for processing the ends of a cored wire is to remove the coating of a tape core in which a plurality of optical fibers are collectively coated, and to cut the plurality of optical fibers from which the coating has been removed at once. In the method, bending and lateral pressure are applied to the same location of the coated portion of the tape core wire, and the bending and lateral pressure are applied to the same location of the coated portion of the tape core wire before and after the same location of the sheath where the bending of the tape core wire is applied. The method is characterized in that the optical fibers are fixed in a state where they are bent with a curvature different from the curvature of the bending, and then the plurality of optical fiber strands are cut at once. In addition, the end processing fixing jig for the tape core is provided with a first groove for accommodating the tape core in a curved state with bending at the same location in the covering portion of the tape core in the longitudinal direction of the tape core. A lower substrate, a protrusion that fits into a first groove of the lower substrate, and an upper substrate provided with a second groove on a surface opposite to the protrusion into which a fixing metal end is attached, and an upper substrate. It consists of a metal fitting that fits both ends into a second groove into which the end of the fixing metal fitting is attached, and a metal fitting that winds and fixes the upper substrate and the lower substrate, and the first groove and the first groove of the lower substrate The shape of the bending of the fixing part, which accommodates and fixes the same part of the covering part of the tape core wire formed by the protrusion of the upper substrate that fits into the groove in the curved state, is such that the curvature of the bending of the fixing part is It is characterized by having a shape that differs from the curvature of bending applied to the tape core wire at the front and rear. [Function] The present invention fixes the tape core by bending or applying bending and lateral pressure to the same location of the covering portion on the tip side of the tape core, and the curvature of the bending is determined by adjusting the curvature of the tape core before and after the fixing location. By making the curvature different from the bending of the coating, the frictional force between the secondary coating of the tape core and the optical fiber is increased, preventing the optical fiber from coming out of the coating, and making it possible to adjust the end face position of multiple optical fibers. It can be cut in line. The drawings will be explained below. [Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 1F show the structure of an embodiment of the terminal processing fixing jig of the present invention. 18 is a protrusion 1 for bending and applying lateral pressure to the tape core wire.
8a is the upper substrate, 18b is the tapered portion, 18
c is a metal fitting fixing groove. 19 has a groove 19a capable of accommodating the tape core wire, and when the tape core wire is pressed down by the protrusion 18a of the upper substrate 18, the groove 19a
〓The lower substrate has a shape that can be accommodated soon, 20
is a fixture for fixing both substrates 18 and 19 together after the upper substrate 18 and the lower substrate 19 are fitted together. Here, the protrusion 18 of the upper substrate 18
The groove 19a of the lower substrate 19 that fits with the protrusion 18a is not limited to this shape. That is, in order to prevent the optical fiber from slipping out or moving from the coating at the cut end when cutting the tape core wire housed and fixed between the protrusion 18a and the groove 19a, the secondary fiber of the tape core wire is Any shape may be used as long as it provides sufficient frictional force between the coating and the optical fiber. For this purpose, as illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the curvature of the fitting curve of the protrusion 18a and the groove 19a, which accommodate and fix the same part of the coated part of the tape core wire in a curved shape, and the tape The structure is such that the curvature of the bend imparted to the tape core wire from the horizontal position before and after the portion to which the core wire is bent is different from the curvature of the bend. FIGS. 1d, e, and f show cross-sectional views taken along lines A-A', B-B', and C-C' in FIGS. 1a, b, and c, respectively. FIGS. 2a to 2c show the process of mounting the tape core wire on the end processing fixing jig shown in FIG. 1 and cutting it with a batch cutter for tape core wires. FIG. 2a shows a state in which the tape core wire from which the coating has been removed is fitted into the groove 19a of the lower substrate 19, and the upper substrate 18 is inserted. FIG. 2b shows a state in which a metal fitting 20 for fixing the upper and lower substrates 18 and 19 to each other has been slid from the tapered portion 18b provided on the upper substrate 18 and fixed in the metal fitting fixing groove 18c. Here, the tape core wire is fixed with bending and lateral pressure applied to the same location of the sheathing portion, and the bending is given with a curvature different from the bending of the sheathing portion of the tape core wire before and after the fixing portion. Therefore, a sufficient frictional force is applied between the secondary coating 1 of the tape core wire and the optical fiber 3. In this state, the second
The optical fibers 3 are cut all at once using the tape cable batch cutter shown in FIG. c, and the end processing of the tape cables is completed. Reference numeral 8 indicates an arm of the cutter, and reference numeral 20 indicates a fixture. Here, the batch cutting of the optical fibers 3 is not limited to the batch cutter of the tape core wire 1 described above. Also,
In this embodiment, the coating of the tape core may be removed after the end treatment fixing jig is attached to the tape core. In this case, it can be expected that the workability of the coating removal work will be improved. Experiments related to the present invention will be described below.
Table 1 shows an experimental example using the embodiment of the terminal processing fixing jig shown in FIG.
The bending radius of a is set to 5 mm, and when the secondary coating 1 is cut at once by applying an appropriate lateral pressure that does not damage it, the optical fiber 3 comes out and the optical fiber 3 moves due to twisting of the tape core wire. These are the results of comparison with the terminal processing method. In this way, the effect of suppressing the slippage of the optical fiber and the movement of the optical fiber has been revealed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the pulling out of the optical fibers from within the tape core that occurs when cutting the optical fibers at once, and the movement of the optical fibers that occurs due to the bending of the tape core. Optical fibers can be cut with their end faces aligned. That is, there is an advantage that the tape core wire connection work can be made more efficient and reliable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1a to 1f are a front view and a sectional view of essential parts showing the structure of an embodiment of the terminal processing fixing jig of the present invention,
Figures 2a and 2b are front views showing the assembly sequence of the embodiment in Figure 1, and Figure 2c is an example of cutting optical fibers at once using the terminal processing fixing jig in the embodiment in Figure 1. Example sketches, Figures 3 a to d to Figures 5 a to d
6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a tape core wire, and FIG. 7 is a front view of a bulk cutter for tape core wires.
Figures 8a and b show that when cutting the tape core wires all at once,
9A and 9B are plan views showing the state of the tape core after the optical fiber is cut; FIG.
The figure is a partially cutaway sectional view of a conventional end face position alignment mechanism for connecting optical fibers, and FIG. 11 is a front view of a portion of the optical fiber shown in FIG. 10 showing a bent state. 1... Secondary coating of tape core wire, 2... Buffer layer,
3... Optical fiber, 4... Cutting blade, 5... Comb teeth, 6... Leaf spring, 7... Optical fiber fixing part, 8
... Arm, 9 ... Rotating shaft, 10 ... V groove stand, 1
1...Comb teeth, 12...Soft clamp, 13
...Hard clamp, 14...Fine movement table, 14a
...Groove portion, 15...Abutting plate, 16...Coating portion clamp, 17...Edge portion, 18...Upper substrate of terminal processing fixing jig, 18a...Protrusion, 18b...
...Tapered portion, 18c...Metal fitting fixing groove, 19...Lower substrate, 19a...Groove, 20...Fixing metal fitting.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for processing the ends of a tape core, which includes removing the coating of a tape core in which a plurality of optical fibers are collectively coated, and cutting the plurality of optical fibers from which the coating has been removed at once. Bending and applying lateral pressure to the same location on the coated portion of the tape core wire, and applying bending and lateral pressure to the same location on the coated portion of the tape core before and after the same location on the coated portion where the bending of the tape core wire is applied. 1. A method for processing the end of a tape core, comprising: fixing the optical fiber in a state where it is bent with a curvature different from the curvature of the ribbon, and then cutting the plurality of optical fibers at once. 2. Fixing the tape core wire in terminal processing of the tape core wire, in which the coating of the tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fiber strands are collectively coated is removed, and the plurality of optical fiber strands from which the coating has been removed are cut at once. The end processing fixing jig is provided with a first groove for accommodating the tape cable in a curved state with bending at the same location of the coating part of the tape cable in the longitudinal direction of the tape cable. a lower substrate; a protrusion that fits into a first groove of the lower substrate;
an upper substrate provided with a second groove in which the end of the fixing metal fitting is attached to the surface facing the protrusion; and both ends are fitted into the second groove in which the end of the fixing metal fitting of the upper substrate is attached. a metal fitting that wraps around and fixes the upper substrate and the lower substrate, and is formed by a first groove of the lower substrate and a protrusion of the upper substrate that fits into the first groove. The shape of the bending of the fixing part that accommodates and fixes the same part of the covering part of the tape core wire in a curved state is such that the curvature of the bend of the fixing part is the bending that is applied to the tape core wire before and after the fixing part. A fixing jig for end processing of a tape core wire, characterized by having a curvature and a different shape.