JPH05150139A - Molding device for producing optical fiber coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate molding with simple equipment. CONSTITUTION:In a molding device for producing an optical fiber coupler, a molding case 11 with a groove 12 opening at both ends in a direction which does not coincide with the axial direction is used and an adhesive is molded in the groove 12 with a dispenser 15 to fix the case 11 and an optical fiber coupler 13. A slender needle 18 whose length is equal to or shorter than that of the groove 12 in the axial direction is fitted to the tip of the dispenser 15 and a long hole is formed in the tip of the needle 18 in the longitudinal direction or plural holes arranged in the longitudinal direction are formed in the tip.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a molding apparatus used for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, optical fiber couplers have been important optical elements in optical communication systems and optical sensor systems. The optical fiber coupler is, for example, one in which two optical fibers are bundled in parallel and the central portion thereof is heated and fused and extended to form a tapered thin extension portion. Is radiated to the clad or is distributed-coupled to be distributed with a predetermined degree of coupling, and is then confined in the core again. In such an optical fiber coupler, the outer diameter of the thin-diameter stretched portion is usually about 30 μm, and it is easily broken, so that it is described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-29008 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-271208. A reinforced structure is adopted.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, an adhesive 2 is applied to both sides of the extending portion of the optical fiber coupler 1 and the adhesive 2 is applied.
It is sandwiched between a plurality of plate-shaped reinforcing members 3, or as shown in FIG. 9, a glass tube 4 is used as a reinforcing member, and an optical fiber coupler 1 is fixed in the glass tube 4 with an adhesive 2. is there.

However, with such a reinforcing structure, the adhesive 2 must be applied manually by using a dispenser, and the assembling work is troublesome.

Therefore, the present inventor previously proposed a mold case for reinforcing an optical fiber coupler, which is easy to mold with an adhesive. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, it is a mold case 6 having on both sides a groove 5 for molding which opens upward. By using the mold case 6, the adhesive can be molded from the upper side of the groove 5, and automation is possible.

[0006]

However, when the adhesive is automatically molded by using the mold case 6 shown in FIG. 10, dispensers having needle-like tips are arranged above the grooves 5 respectively. It is necessary to move the dispenser in the longitudinal direction of the groove 5 at a constant speed by an automatic stage. That is, it is necessary to use two motorized stages,
There is a problem that equipment costs increase.

In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler which has simple equipment and can be easily molded.

[0008]

In a molding apparatus for producing an optical fiber coupler according to the present invention, which achieves the above-mentioned object, an extended portion of an optical fiber coupler is held inside a mold case, and then both ends of the mold case are held. A molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler, in which an adhesive is molded by a dispenser into a groove opened in a direction that does not coincide with the axial direction of the optical fiber coupler, and the optical fiber coupler is fixed to the mold case. The needle is an elongated needle having a length equal to or shorter than the axial length of the groove, and a long hole elongated in the longitudinal direction or a plurality of holes arranged in the longitudinal direction is formed at the tip of the needle. .. Further, in the above configuration, the dispenser is arranged above the mold case, and the dispenser is retracted after the dispensing is completed, and a moving mechanism for moving the tip of the needle of the dispenser vertically above the mold case is provided.

[0009]

Operation: After the dispenser is moved above the grooves on both ends of the mold case, the adhesive is applied all at once in a stopped state to complete the molding. At this time, if the distance between the tip of the needle of the dispenser and the mold case is set to 2 mm or less, the adhesive can be applied before gathering at the center of the tip surface of the needle due to surface tension, and the molding is completed well. In general,
Molding by applying the adhesive can be performed by a method of dropping the adhesive in the form of water droplets or a method of not dropping the adhesive. However, in the method of dropping the adhesive in the form of water droplets, it is performed once depending on the properties of the adhesive. Is determined,
It is difficult to control the amount. However, in the method in which the adhesive is not dropped as described above, the amount can be controlled even if the same adhesive is used. In the method that does not drop the adhesive, the adhesive at the needle tip and the adhesive in the mold case are connected by the viscosity of the adhesive by moving the needle tip of the dispenser upward by at least several mm after the completion of molding. After eliminating the state, the dispenser is retracted in an arbitrary direction. In this case, the scattering of the adhesive after the completion of molding is prevented.

[0010]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.

1 and 2 show a molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler according to an embodiment. As shown in both figures, the molded case 11 has a groove 1 that is open upward at both ends.
2, the optical fiber coupler 13 is held in the mold case holder 14 with the extended portion of the optical fiber coupler 13 accommodated therein. The mold case 11 of this embodiment is formed by cutting out a part of both ends of a pipe having a rectangular cross section to form a groove 12. The mold case 11 has a hollow pipe shape and the cut ends at both ends are orthogonal to the axial direction. Any hollow case may be used as long as it does not match, and one in which both ends of the cylinder are obliquely cut may be used.

On the other hand, the pair of dispensers 15 is attached to a plate-shaped dispenser bracket 16 by a fixture 17. The mounting position of the dispenser 15 coincides with the position of the groove 12.
Is movable in a direction (X direction in FIG. 1) and a vertical direction (Y direction in FIG. 1) orthogonal to the axis of the optical fiber coupler 13 by a dispenser moving means (not shown).

A groove 1 is formed at the tip of each dispenser 15.
Elongated needle 18 having a length substantially corresponding to the length of 2
Are provided so that the longitudinal direction of each needle 18 and the longitudinal direction of the groove 12 coincide with each other.

The dispenser 15 may be of a compressed air type, a mono type, a mechanical type, etc., and is driven by a drive source (not shown) such as a compressed air source or a power source connected by a drive source transmission pipe (or wire) 19. It is supposed to be done.

A hole serving as an outlet for the adhesive is formed on the tip surface of the needle 18 of the dispenser 15, and examples thereof include those shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B).
FIG. 3 (A) shows an example having a long hole 20A in the longitudinal direction of the needle 18, and FIG. 3 (B) shows a plurality of small holes 2 arranged in the longitudinal direction.
This is an example having 0B. With such a shape, it is possible to easily perform molding at one time along the longitudinal direction of the groove 12 of the mold case 11.

Further, when the adhesive is ejected from the tip of the needle 18, although it depends on the viscosity of the adhesive, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), the adhesive 21 gathers in a spherical shape at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the needle 18 due to surface tension. Therefore, in order to perform favorable molding in the longitudinal direction of the groove 12, the distance between the tip of the needle 18 and the mold case 11, which is the object of molding, varies depending on about d in FIG. 4, that is, the viscosity of the adhesive 21 and the like. Is generally less than 2 mm, there is almost no problem.

Therefore, the above-described molding apparatus is provided with a position adjusting means (not shown) for adjusting the position of the dispenser 15 in the vertical direction (Y direction in FIG. 1).

Next, manufacturing of an optical fiber coupler using the molding apparatus of this embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5, a part of the coating in the longitudinal direction of the two core wires 22 is removed to form a wire portion 23, and the mold case 11 described above is passed through the two core wires 22. Two core wires 22
The core stage clamps 24A and 24B to extend the drawing stage 25
Fix to A and 25B. Next, the wire portions 23 of the two core wires 22 are combined using the wire clamps 26A and 26B, and the flame 28 of the burner 27 welds the central portion 29, which is the portion of the wire portion 23 to be tapered. Then, the wire clamp stage 30A, 30B is used to clamp the wire clamp 26.
After moving A and 26B in the expanding direction, the flame 28 again heats the central portion 29, and at the same time, the stretching stages 25A and 2B.
The core clamps 24A and 24B are moved outward by 5B to form a tapered extension portion in the central portion 29 to form the optical fiber coupler 13. Next, after moving away the flame 28, the straight case 31 moves the mold case 11 mounted on the bracket 32 that moves in the fiber axis direction, and extends the center part of the mold case 11 as shown in FIG. Make sure that the center of the section matches.

Next, the bracket 1 having the pair of dispensers 15 fixed thereto by a dispenser moving device (not shown).
6 is moved in the X direction in the figure so that the needles 18 are located above the grooves 12 at both ends of the mold case 11 as shown in FIG. At this time, positioning in the Y direction in the figure is performed by a position adjusting means (not shown), and the distance between the tip of the needle 18 and the mold case 11 is set to 2 mm or less.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the dispenser 15 is driven by a dispenser drive source (not shown) at the same position to apply a fixed amount of the adhesive 21 to complete the molding. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the adhesive 21 at the tip of the needle 18 and the adhesive on the mold case 11 are adhered to the dispenser 15 by lifting the dispenser 15 upward by several millimeters through the vertical movement mechanism of the dispenser moving device (not shown). It is assumed that the agent 21 is not connected by the viscosity. Then, after that, the bracket 16 to which the dispenser 15 is fixed is retracted to the original position. By doing so, the adhesive 21 does not scatter when the dispenser 15 is retracted.

As described above, according to the molding apparatus of this embodiment, the molding can be automatically and favorably performed, and since the molding is carried out with the dispenser stopped, the apparatus structure is simple.

[0022]

As described above, according to the optical fiber coupler molding apparatus of the present invention, the molding automation can be achieved with a relatively simple apparatus configuration, and the cost of the optical fiber coupler can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a molding apparatus of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a molding apparatus of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the shape of a needle of a dispenser.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the adhesive has come out from the needle of the dispenser.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a molding operation by the apparatus of one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a molding operation by the apparatus of one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a molding operation by the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a conventional reinforcing structure.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a conventional reinforcing structure.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a molded case.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Mold Case 12 Groove 13 Optical Fiber Coupler 15 Dispenser 16 Dispenser Bracket 17 Fixing Tool 18 Needle 20A Long Hole 20B Small Hole 21 Adhesive

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An extension part of an optical fiber coupler is held inside a mold case, and then an adhesive is molded by a dispenser into grooves that are opened at both ends of the mold case in a direction that does not coincide with the axial direction of the mold case. A molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler for fixing the molding case and an optical fiber coupler, wherein the tip of the dispenser is an elongated needle having a length equal to or shorter than the axial length of the groove. A molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler, wherein a long hole long in the longitudinal direction or a plurality of holes arranged in the longitudinal direction are formed at the tip. 2. The molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler according to claim 1, further comprising position adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the tip of the needle of the dispenser and the molding case during molding. 3. The moving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the dispenser is disposed above the mold case, retracted after the dispensing is completed, and the tip of the needle of the dispenser is moved vertically above the mold case. A molding apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler, which is characterized in that: