JPH05224068A - Method for applying tension in conveyance of coated optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove a slack by applying tension so that a fusion-spliced connection part does not shift from a center position when the fusion-spliced coated optical fibers are conveyed to a next operation station. CONSTITUTION:Both sides of the fusion-spliced coated optical fibers 1a and 1b are clamped by the grip part 13a of an arm 5a for conveyance and the grip part 13b of an arm 5b for conveyance across their fusion-spliced connection part, and a 1st eccentric shaft 7 and a 2nd eccentric shaft 8 are rotated by a specific quantity at the same time by driving an eccentric motor 10 to rotate, for example, the arm 5a for conveyance clockwise around a fulcrum axis 12a of rotation corresponding to the quantities of eccentricity of the eccentric shafts 7 and 8; and the 2nd eccentric shaft 8 is similarly rotated counter clockwise to move the grip parts 13a and 13b by the same quantity in separating directions corresponding to the quantity of eccentricity, the coated optical fibers 1a and 1b are tensed while the fusion-spliced connection part is held at the center position to remove the slack, and they are conveyed to the next operation station.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tension for transporting an optical fiber core, which is applied to the optical fiber core from a fusion splicing station to a reinforcing station to remove slack by applying tension to the optical fiber core. It relates to an application method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The present inventors have developed an automatic connecting device for a single-fiber or multi-fiber optical fiber used for optical communication and the like. In this automatic connecting device, a plurality of optical fiber core wires are set in a core wire cassette, attached to the main body of the device, and the connection device is driven and controlled, so that the optical fiber core wires set in the core wire cassette are set one by one. It is transported to a predetermined work process, and the optical fiber core wire is peeled off, the end face of the bare optical fiber exposed by the peeling, the fusion splicing, and the reinforcement of the splicing part are automatically performed in order, and the whole process is completed. The optical fiber core wires are taken out one after another. This automatic connection device has not yet been disclosed and therefore
There is no disclosure of a mechanism for automatically transporting the fusion spliced optical fiber core to the next reinforcing step.

Conventionally, the skin is manually peeled off,
After the bare optical fiber is cut off by this peeling, the bare optical fiber is set facing the manual fusion splicer to perform fusion splicing, and then the fusion splicing is performed manually. The connected optical fiber core wire is taken out and set in another manual type reinforcing device, and the reinforcing device is used to sandwich and fix the plate-shaped reinforcing members on both sides of the fusion splicing part. Was being reinforced.

[0004]

However, in the automatic connecting device developed by the present inventors, the core cassette to which the optical fiber cores are attached is manually attached to the automatic connecting device. The work in each subsequent process and the transportation of the optical fiber core wire between each work process are automatically performed.

In developing the automatic connecting device, the present inventors faced the following problems. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, when performing fusion splicing of the optical fiber cores, one side of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b to be connected is held by the holder 2a and the other side is held by the holder 2b. The bare optical fibers 3a and 3b, which are held and peeled, face each other in an axially aligned state on the fusing station 4, and discharge energy is given by an electrode (not shown) to fuse the bare optical fibers 3a and 3b together. However, when the optical fiber core wires 1a and 1b, which have been fusion-spliced, are transported to the next reinforcing station, the optical fibers core wires 1a and 1b are held by the transport arms 5a and 5b, and the holders 2a, The transfer arms 5a and 5b are moved to the reinforcing station with the 2b opened.

However, the holding surfaces of the holders 2a and 2b have a corrugated shape in order to surely hold the optical fiber core wires 1a and 1b, and therefore, the optical fiber core wires 1a and 1b.
, The optical fiber core wire 1 is released as shown in FIG.
a and 1b are slackened, and the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b
When the sheet is conveyed to the next reinforcement station, the slack of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b exerts an unreasonable force on the fusion splicing part, or the twisting of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b exerts a force on the apparatus side. There is a problem that the bare optical fiber is broken due to the slack portion touching or catching the member.

In order to solve this problem, the inventors of the present invention prototyped an optical fiber core wire transport mechanism as shown in FIG. In this prototype device, a first eccentric shaft 7 is rotatably inserted into a transfer arm 5a, and an output shaft of an eccentric motor 10a is eccentrically connected to the first eccentric shaft 7. Similarly,
A second eccentric shaft 8 is rotatably inserted into the transfer arm 5b, and an eccentric motor 10b is eccentrically connected to the second eccentric shaft 8. The upper ends of the transfer arms 5a and 5b are fixed to a transfer belt 11 via a connector 9, and the transfer arms 5a and 5b have rotation fulcrum shafts 12a and 12b.
Is slidably inserted through the rotary fulcrum shafts 12a, 12
The transfer arms 5a and 5b are moved in the transfer direction by driving the belt 11 by using b as a guide.

Grips 13a and 13b are formed on the lower ends of the transfer arms 5a and 5b, respectively.
The optical fiber cores 1a and 1b are conveyed from the fusion station to the reinforcing station in the next work step by gripping the optical fiber cores fusion-bonded to 13b. During this transportation, the eccentric motor 10a is driven to rotate the first eccentric shaft 7 by a predetermined amount, for example, in the direction indicated by the arrow while holding the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b by the holding portions 13a and 13b, and the transfer arm 5 is moved.
The upper end side of "a" is moved in the A direction by the amount of eccentricity, the transporting arm 5a is rotated clockwise with the rotation fulcrum shaft 12a as the fulcrum, and the gripping portion 13a is moved in the B direction.

Similarly, the eccentric motor 10b is rotated by a predetermined amount to rotate the second eccentric shaft 8 in the direction of the arrow, and the transport arm 5b is rotated by the amount corresponding to the eccentric amount of the second eccentric shaft 8. It rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 12b as a fulcrum, and grips 13b.
Is moved in the B'direction. By the movement of the gripping portions 13a, 13b in the separating direction, tension is applied to the optical fiber core wires 1a, 1b to remove the slack, and the optical fiber core wires 1a, 1b are removed.
b can be conveyed taut from the fusing station 4 to the reinforcement station.

However, in this prototype device,
Since the first eccentric shaft 7 and the second eccentric shaft 8 are driven by separate and independent eccentric motors 10a and 10b, it is very difficult to synchronize them, and as shown in FIG. If, for example, the gripping portion 13b moves faster than the gripping portion 13a while the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b are properly gripped, as shown in FIG. 4B, the fusion of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b is performed. The optical fiber core 1
When a and 1b are conveyed to the reinforcing station 17, the center position of the fusion splicing portion deviates from the center position of the reinforcing member 18, and in extreme cases, the bare optical fibers 3a and 3b are positioned above the reinforcing member 18. There is a case where the reinforcing member 18 is not completely mounted and protrudes out of the reinforcing member 18. In this case, the reinforcing is not sufficiently performed, and the bare optical fiber is easily broken.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to apply tension to an optical fiber core wire when the fusion spliced optical fiber core wire is conveyed to the next step. Even in such a case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of applying tension when the optical fiber core wire is conveyed, which can accurately convey the fusion spliced portion to the position of the next work process without shifting the position of the fusion splicing part to the left and right.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, according to the method of the present invention, one side of the optical fiber core wire is gripped by the gripping portion of the first transport arm, and the other side of the optical fiber core wire is clamped on the other side with the fusion splicing portion of the fusion spliced optical fiber core interposed therebetween. When the optical fiber core wire is gripped by the grip portion of the second transport arm to transport the optical fiber to the next work station, the power of the same drive source is transmitted to hold the grip portion of the first transport arm and the second transport arm. It is characterized in that the grip portions are moved in the separating direction at the same time in synchronization with each other to apply tension to the optical fiber core wire.

[0013]

After the fusion splicing of the optical fiber core is completed, the first
When the optical fiber core wire is gripped by the grip portion of the transport arm and the grip portion of the second transport arm and the drive source is driven in a state where the optical fiber core wire is separated from the grip portion of the holder on the fusion station side, The driving force is transmitted to the first transport arm and the second transport arm, and the grip portion of the first transport arm and the grip portion of the second transport arm move in the separating direction at the same time in synchronization with each other. Due to this separation movement, the optical fiber core wire is pulled equally to both the left and right sides with the fusion splicing portion in between, and tension is applied to the optical fiber core wire, so that the slack is removed and the optical fiber core wire is in a taut state.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configuration of an embodiment to which the method of the present invention is applied. The apparatus of this embodiment is an improvement of the prototype apparatus prototyped by the present inventors, and the same components as those of the prototype apparatus are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicate description thereof will be omitted. What is characteristic of the apparatus of this embodiment is that the eccentric motor 10 serves as the rotational drive source for the first eccentric shaft 7 and the second eccentric shaft 8.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the helical gear 20 is attached to the tip side of the first eccentric shaft 7, and the rotation of the first eccentric shaft 7 is controlled by the helical gear.
Second eccentric shaft 8 via 20, 21, 22, 23 gear transmission mechanism
I am trying to communicate to you.

As a result, the second eccentric shaft 8 rotates counterclockwise in synchronization with the first eccentric shaft 7. In this embodiment, when the eccentric motor 10 is in a fixed position, the center of rotation of the eccentric shafts 7, 8 is eccentric to the lower side of the center of the eccentric shafts 7, 8 as shown in FIG. The transfer arms 5a and 5b are in a state of hanging straight without tilting. In this state, when the eccentric motor 10 is rotated a predetermined amount, for example, 90 ° clockwise, the rotation center of the first eccentric shaft 7 is eccentric to the left and the rotation center of the second eccentric shaft 8 is eccentric to the right. As a result, the transfer arm 5
a rotates clockwise with the rotation fulcrum shaft 12a as the fulcrum corresponding to the eccentricity, and the carrying arm 5b rotates counterclockwise with the rotation fulcrum shaft 12b as the fulcrum corresponding to the same eccentricity. Grips 13a, 13b of the arms 5a, 5b
Are simultaneously moved in synchronization with the separating directions (B and B'directions), and the optical fiber core wires 3a and 3b held by the holding portions 13a and 13b are stretched to prevent slack.

In this way, after the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b are gripped by the gripping portions 13a and 13b in a taut state, the belt 11 is driven to move the transfer arms 5a and 5b,
The fusion spliced optical fiber cores 1 a and 1 b are conveyed to the reinforcing station 17.

When the transport of the optical fiber cores 1a and 1b is completed, the transport arm 5a transports counterclockwise about the rotation fulcrum shaft 12a by rotating the eccentric motor 10 back to the home position. Arm 5b is a fulcrum shaft 12b
Is rotated clockwise about the fulcrum to transfer arms 5a, 5
b returns to the original position where it droops straight and prepares for the transportation of the next optical fiber core wire after completion of fusion splicing.

According to this embodiment, when the eccentric motor 10 is rotated, this rotation is transmitted to the first eccentric shaft 7 and further transmitted to the second eccentric shaft 8 via the transmission mechanism of the helical gear train. Therefore, when the eccentric motor 10 rotates a predetermined amount during the assembly of the device, the eccentric amount of the first eccentric shaft 7 and the eccentric amount of the second eccentric shaft 8 in the opposite direction become equal to each other. By setting the meshing position of the helical gear, the eccentricity of the first eccentric shaft 7 and the second eccentric shaft 8 can be surely synchronized. Therefore, the fusion spliced optical fiber cores 1a and 1b are grasped and the grasping portions 13a,
When the tension is applied by moving 13b in the separating direction, the fusion splicing part does not shift in the separating direction, and the optical fiber core wire 1
The a and 1b can be properly placed at the predetermined positions of the reinforcing member 18 arranged in the reinforcing station 17, and the reinforcing work in the reinforcing station 17 can be reliably performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various embodiments can be adopted.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the same driving source is used for the first aspect.
Since the grip of the transfer arm and the grip of the second transfer arm are moved in the separating direction, the first transfer arm and the second transfer arm are moved by separate and independent drive sources. As compared with the method, the device configuration can be simplified and the device cost can be reduced.

Further, since the first transfer arm and the second transfer arm are configured to move in the separating direction at the same time in synchronization with each other, the optical fiber core wire is gripped by the gripping portion and tension is applied to the slack. At the time of taking, since the grip portion of the first transport arm and the grip portion of the second transport arm move by the same amount in the separating direction, the fusion splicing portion does not shift to one side in the separating direction, and the optical fiber The core wire can be correctly conveyed to a predetermined position of the next work station.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus to which the method of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of applying tension in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an apparatus for carrying out the tension applying method for the optical fiber core wire, which has been prototyped by the present inventors.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a quality state when a fusion-spliced optical fiber core wire is conveyed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a slackened state of the optical fiber core that occurs when the holder having the corrugated gripping surface that grips the optical fiber core during fusion splicing of the optical fiber core is released. is there.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b Optical fiber core wire 4 Fusion station 7 First eccentric shaft 8 Second eccentric shaft 10, 10a, 10b Eccentric motor 12a, 12b Rotation fulcrum shaft 13a, 13b Grip 17 Reinforcement station

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Seiyo Mishima 2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiaki Satake 1-1-6, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A one side of an optical fiber core is gripped by a gripping part of a first carrier arm, and the other side is a second carrier with a fusion splicing part of the fused optical fiber cores in between. When the optical fiber core is gripped by the grip of the arm and the optical fiber core is transported to the next work station, the power of the same drive source is transmitted to grip the grip of the first transport arm and the grip of the second transport arm. A method of applying tension when conveying optical fiber cores, which are synchronized with each other and move in the separating direction at the same time to apply tension to the optical fiber cores.