JPH04361215A - Optical connector switching connection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device having simple structure which selectively switches and connects plural couples of ferrules. CONSTITUTION:Shafts 15 are fixed integrally to the rear part of a holder 13 which holds the ferrules 14. Each of the shafts 15 is inserted into a groove 26 formed in a drum 20. The groove 26 is varied in width and the shaft 15 can engage it or pass through it. The drum 20 is rotated to select the shaft to engage the groove 26, and the drum 20 is moved in this state to move the holder 13 and ferrules 14 together with the selected shaft 15, so that the ferrule abuts on a ferrule on the other side and is connected.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device used for switching and connecting optical lines in an optical communication system.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In optical communication systems, methods using prisms and optical connectors are mainly used to switch optical fibers, which are optical lines. Examples of conventional optical connector type devices targeted by the present invention include 28 "High-density 1x1000 optical switch using ceramic ferrules" in the proceedings of the 1986 National Conference of the Semiconductor and Materials Division of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers. has been announced.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] By the way, this kind of
×N optical switches are often used for measurements, etc., but due to the recent diversification of measurement items, multiple-to-multiple combinations such as M×N (M<N) have come to be used.

In such an optical switch, it is important which of the M connectors to use. In this case, the device to be selectively connected needs to have a small and lightweight structure from the viewpoint of shortening switching time and reliability.

[0005] In the conventional device of this type, a selection motor was attached to each M connector.
This resulted in problems such as the structure becoming larger and the control, circuitry, etc. becoming complicated.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, one side of a large number of optical connectors is arranged horizontally in a row, and a holder for holding each optical fiber on the other side of the optical connector is provided. Each holder is arranged parallel to the one side, and is movable in a direction in which the optical fiber is connected to and separated from the one side, and a shaft having a narrow diameter portion or a narrow width portion is integrally coupled to each holder. On the other hand, the drum is rotatably supported with its axis parallel to the direction in which the holders are arranged, the drum is movable forward and backward toward the holder, and a groove into which the shaft is inserted is formed in the drum in the circumferential direction. In addition, the optical connector switching and connecting device is constructed by varying the width of the groove so that the shaft can be engaged with the groove.

[0007]

[Operation] In the optical connector switching and connecting device constructed as described above, the shaft that engages with the groove is selected by rotating the drum. When the drum is moved toward the holder after selecting a shaft that is integrated with the holder that holds the optical fiber to be connected, only the selected shaft engages with the groove, so it moves together with the drum and other shafts, that is, the holder. remains stopped. Therefore, the optical fiber held in the holder integrated with the selected shaft is connected to one side of the optical connector.

In this configuration, if the holder, drum, etc. are made movable along the arrangement direction on one side of the optical connectors, it is possible to accommodate an M×N optical switch with even more connection systems.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an optical connector switching and connection device according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 4 shows the external appearance of the device, FIG. 5 shows a plan view, and FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show details of the main parts.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, connector adapters 3 forming one side of an optical connector are arranged in a horizontal row on the front wall surface 2 of the main body 1 of the apparatus. A ferrule, which is an optical fiber on one side, is inserted into each connector adapter 3 in advance. For example, if a type in which cylindrical ferrules are butted against each other and positioned and held by a split sleeve is used, the split sleeve is built into the connector adapter 3.

Two X-axis rails 5 are laid on the bottom surface 4 of the device body 1 in parallel to the arrangement direction (X-axis direction) of the connector adapters 3, and on these two
Axis (axis perpendicular to the X-axis) The base 6 rides on, and the X-axis rail 5
It is said that it is possible to move on the top. An X-axis drive motor 8 having a pulley 7 attached to a rotating shaft is provided on one end in the X-axis direction on the bottom surface 4 of the device body 1, and a pulley 9 is provided on the other end on the bottom surface 4 in the X-axis direction. A belt 10 is placed between these pulleys 7 and 9, and both ends of the belt 10 are respectively attached to the Z-axis base 6. I wanted to,
By the forward or reverse rotation of the X-axis drive motor 8, the Z
The axis base 6 is moved on the X-axis rail 5.

A guide base 12 having a large number of guide grooves 11 parallel to the Z-axis direction on the upper surface is fixed to the shaft portion of the Z-axis base 6 on the connector adapter 3 side in parallel to the arrangement direction of the connector adapters 3. A large number of ferrule holders 13 are installed on this guide base 12 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction using each guide groove 11 as a guide. Each ferrule holder 13 holds a ferrule 14 on the other side of the optical connector.

Ferrule 14 of each ferrule holder 13
A shaft 15 parallel to the Z-axis direction is fixed to the side opposite to the side from which it protrudes. A narrow diameter portion or narrow width portion (hereinafter referred to as narrow diameter portion) 15a is formed near the end of each shaft 15.

Further, a Z-axis guide 16 is provided on the Z-axis base 6 in parallel to the Z-axis direction, and a θ-axis base 17 is mounted on the Z-axis guide 16 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction. Z
A Z-axis drive motor 18 is mounted on the shaft base 16 to drive the rotation axis to the Z-axis.
A screw shaft 1 that is provided parallel to the axial direction and is integral with the rotating shaft.
9 is screwed into the θ-axis base 17. therefore,
By forward or reverse rotation of the Z-axis drive motor 18, the θ-axis base 17 is rotated toward the ferrule holder 1 in the Z-axis direction.
Move forward or backward against 3.

A cylindrical drum 20 is rotatably supported on the θ-axis base 17 with its axis parallel to the arrangement direction (Z-axis direction) of the ferrule holders 13. drum 2
A pulley 22 is fixed to the shaft portion 21 at one end of the θ-axis base 17, and a pulley 24 is also attached to the rotating shaft of a θ-axis rotation motor 23 installed on the θ-axis base 17.
A belt 25 is hung between the four. Therefore, the drum 20 is rotated in the normal or reverse direction by the normal or reverse rotation of the θ-axis rotation motor 23.

On the circumferential surface of the cylindrical drum 20, arcuate grooves 26 extending in the circumferential direction are formed in the same number and pitch as the shaft 15. The grooves 26 extend inward from the surface of the drum 20. Each groove 26 has a width that is varied, and as shown in FIG. 3, which is a development view thereof, there is a narrow portion (narrow width portion) 26a through which only the narrow diameter portion 15a of the shaft 15 can pass. A portion (wide portion) 26b is formed through which the other thick diameter portion or wide width portion (hereinafter referred to as large diameter portion, etc.) 15b of the shaft 15 can pass. For convenience of explanation (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3), the grooves 26 are numbered from the left. 1, 2... In this example, NO. 1 and 6, NO.
2 and 7, NO. 3 and 8, NO. 4 and 9, NO. 5 and 10
have the same groove shape. The lower portions of all the grooves 26 are narrow portions 26a, and the upper portions are all wide portions 26b.

The shafts 15 are inserted into these grooves 26, respectively. The shaft 15 has an upper wide part 26
It is inserted from b. On the other hand, the drum 20 is positioned and stopped at six positions (A, B, C, D, E, F) every 30 degrees from the narrow part 26b at the bottom of the groove 26 as a base point by the operation of the θ-axis rotation motor 23. It is designed to do so.

Next, switching connection of optical connectors using this device will be explained. When the drum 20 rotates and stops so that the shaft 15 comes to the A position of the groove 26, since all the grooves 26 are narrow parts 26a, the Z-axis drive motor 18 is driven to move the θ-axis. Drum 20 with bass 17
When the drum 2 is moved toward the ferrule holder 13, the drum 2
The holder side large diameter portion 1 of the shaft 15 whose outer peripheral surface is all
5b, and all the shafts 15 are pushed out. As a result, all the ferrule holders 13 integral with the shaft 15 are advanced toward the connector adapter 3, and all the ferrules 14 are inserted and connected to the connector adapter 3. If the θ-axis base 17 is moved in the opposite direction,
The inner peripheral surface of the drum 20 hits the end surface of the large diameter portion 15b on the opposite side, and the ferrule holder 13 and the ferrule 14 are moved backward together with the shaft 15, and the connector adapter 3 and the ferrule 14 are separated.

The drum 20 is rotated by 30°, and the position shown in FIG. 3 is "B".
”, when the positional relationship between the groove 26 and the shaft 15 is reached, NO. Only the shafts 15 in grooves 1 and 6 are located in the narrow portion 26a, and the shafts 15 in the other grooves 26 are located in the wide portion 26b. Therefore, if the drum 20 is moved forward in this state, NO. Only the shaft 15 inserted into the grooves 1 and 6 engages with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 20, and the shaft 15, the ferrule holder 13 and the ferrule 14 integrated therewith move, and the shaft 15 in the other grooves 26 moves. The shaft 15, ferrule holder 13, and ferrule 14 remain in a stopped state after passing through the wide portion 26b. In other words, NO. Only the ferrules 14 corresponding to the shafts 15 in the grooves 1 and 6 are connected to the connector adapter 3. The same applies to separation.

Similarly, by selecting the rotation angle of the drum 20, a desired connection between the ferrule 14 and the connector adapter 3 can be made. In addition, by repositioning the Z-axis base 6 itself in the X-axis direction by the operation of the motor 8, other connector adapters 3 and ferrules 1 arranged in the horizontal direction can be moved.
It becomes possible to connect and separate the connection with 4. In other words, it is possible to switch and connect an even larger number of connection systems (N×M).

Next, specific test examples will be shown. In the above embodiment, 50 connector adapters 3 were arranged, and 10 ferrules 14 to be connected thereto were arranged. The shape of the cylindrical drum 20 was 30 mm in outer diameter, 20 mm in inner diameter, and 5 mm in wall thickness, and the shaft 15 was 4 mm in diameter with a narrow diameter portion formed therein. As mentioned above, the shape of the groove 26 is such that six extrusion points are provided at 30° intervals, 10 cores are extruded at point A, and no. 1 and 6
, NO. at point C. 2 and 7, NO at point D. 3 and 8, NO at E point. 4 and 9, NO at F point. You can now select 5 and 10. Therefore, the groove 26 was formed at 180° in the circumferential direction. A cross roller guide is used as a guide in the Z-axis direction.
A pulse motor was used as the motor. The positioning accuracy is ±0.7°, which satisfies the permissible accuracy of ±3°.

[0022] Using the above-mentioned specific device, an attempt was made to select a 2-core or 10-core ferrule. After 100,000 selection attempts, the average selection time was 1.5 seconds, the success rate was 100%, and no deformation or damage was observed. As a result of conducting a switching operation experiment using an optical connector with this device, the fluctuation range of connection loss after 100,000 times was as good as 0.1 dB or less.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure of the above embodiment,
It can be implemented with various modifications. For example, the number of ferrules that move simultaneously is not limited to two, and the drive system for movement can be changed as appropriate.

[0024]

Effects of the Invention According to the optical connector switching and connecting device according to the present invention, one or more optical fibers can be selected and connected and separated by rotating and moving the drum, thereby providing a simple and highly reliable optical connector. switching connections can be realized.

[0025] Furthermore, the drive mechanism is also simplified, making control etc. easier, and the device can be downsized without becoming complicated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the main parts of an optical connector switching and connecting device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a developed view of the drum in the example.

FIG. 4 is an external view of the device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1　Device body 3 Connector adapter 5　X-axis rail 6 Z-axis base 11 Guide groove 13 Ferrule holder 14 Ferrule 15 Shaft 17　θ-axis base 20 Drum 26 groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. One side of a large number of optical connectors is arranged horizontally in a line, holders for holding optical fibers on the other side of the optical connectors are arranged parallel to the one side, and the optical fibers are arranged horizontally in a row on the other side. Each holder is movable in the direction of connecting and separating from the side, and a shaft having a narrow diameter part or narrow width part is integrally connected to each holder, and the drum is driven with the axis parallel to the direction in which the holders are arranged. The drum is rotatably supported, the drum is movable forward and backward toward the holder, and a groove into which the shaft is inserted is formed in the circumferential direction of the drum, and the width of the groove is varied so that the shaft engages with the drum. What is claimed is: 1. An optical connector switching connection device, characterized in that the optical connector switching connection device is configured to enable the switching and connection of optical connectors.