JPH07218847A - Underwater optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the inexpensive small-sized and light-weight underwater optical switch which has the waterproofing improved and doesn't require the supply of the power source from the outside and is not affected by the external pressure. CONSTITUTION:The optical switch which switches the transmission line of an optical fiber is provided with perpendicular cylinder-shaped watertight pressure vessels 1, 2, and 3 incorporating the optical switching system consisting of a mobile iron piece 17 and reflection mirrors 18 and 20, an annular float 8 which is fitted to the outside periphery of watertight pressure vessels freely slidably in the axial direction and has a magnet attached to the inside surface, and a mechanism which moves the mobile iron piece 22 in accordance with the position of the float 8 by the magnet 9 on the inside surface of the float to switch an optical transmission line 9, and a mobile cover 1 which is freely slided in the axial direction water-tightly and its restoring spring 5 are provided in the aperture at one end of watertight pressure vessels, and pressure sure equalizing oil 7 is enclosed in watertight pressure vessels.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical switch used in optical communication and the like, and more particularly to a switch switching mechanism and a water pressure resistant structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the typical optical switches is an optical bypass switch, which is used mainly in ships for the purpose of improving the reliability of optical communication systems. That is, as shown in the side view of FIG. 5, in the ship, the optical signal transmitted through the main optical fiber 83 is reflected by the reflection prism A88 of the optical bypass switch A86, guided to the branch fiber A84, and enters the control device A81. Here, the optical signal is O / E (optical / electrical) converted in the control device A81,
It is input to (microprocessor unit) and used for processing. The signal sent from the controller A81 is E / O (electrical / optical) converted and guided to the main fiber 83. On the other hand, the optical bypass switch B87 is in the bypass state, and the optical signal transmitted through the main fiber 83 is not guided to the branch fiber B85 and is not input to the control device B82. This is because the optical bypass switch B87 is automatically configured to be in the bypass state when the control device B82 fails, and by such a structure, the reliability of the optical communication system is improved. You can Further, in the case of applying the optical communication system to a ship or the like, in order to improve the reliability of the optical communication system,
An optical switch that can be used in seawater is required. Generally, in a ship, the inside of the ship is divided into a plurality of sections, and watertightness is secured for each section. Therefore, even if one section is flooded, it is possible to navigate. Therefore, also in the optical communication system, it is necessary to prevent the communication function of the entire system from being impaired by the inundation of one section, and one of the means is a water pressure resistant optical switch that can be used even in seawater. For example, even when the second section is flooded and the control device B82 becomes unusable, seawater does not penetrate into the optical switch B87, and the reflection prism B
When 89 moves to a position bypassing the control device B82 as shown in the figure, communication between the control device A81 and the control device C91 becomes possible. In this way, when using an optical switch that uses electromagnetic force in a place where it may be submerged in seawater, since seawater has conductivity, put the optical switch in a container to insulate the seawater from electricity. In addition, it must be a pressure-resistant container that can withstand the deep pressure of seawater. In this case, as the depth-proof pressure increases, the technical difficulty of the penetration part where the optical fiber and the electric wire penetrate the pressure-resistant container also increases, and the pressure-resistant container and the penetration part increase in size and weight, and are very expensive. Will be things.

On the other hand, in a land-based optical communication system,
Generally, electromagnetic force is used as power for switching optical transmission paths. This is because, on land, compared to other power sources such as hydraulic pressure and air pressure, it is easier to supply electricity, and there are advantages that the size and weight can be reduced.
As an example of a conventional optical switch utilizing electromagnetic force, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the optical switching system is composed of a movable iron piece 56 and a reflection mirror 57 attached to the movable iron piece 56. By moving the position by the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52, the optical transmission path is switched. here,
Since the current is supplied from the power source 61 to the coil 53,
The movable iron piece 56 is attracted to the electromagnet 52 by the electromagnetic force, and the light incident from a is transmitted to c. FIG. 6B shows a state in which the optical transmission path of the optical switch is switched. In this state, since the electric current is not supplied from the power supply 61 to the coil 53, the electromagnet 52 does not have an electromagnetic force, and the movable iron piece 56.
Is attracted by the iron piece support spring 58 and the light incident from a'is transmitted to b '. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a pressure resistant container when the optical switch of FIG. 6 is housed in the pressure resistant container. The pressure-resistant container is composed of a pressure-resistant body portion 72, a pressure-resistant lid 71, and a pressure-resistant lid 73, and is sealed by an O-ring 79 so that the inside of the container is kept in the same state as in the atmosphere, and the optical switch for land use should be used as it is. You can Cylindrical counterbore is provided in the through-holes of the pressure-proof lid 71 and the pressure-proof lid 73 of the optical fiber 75, and a pressure-proof sealing material 76 is filled therein. By installing, the water pressure resistance and watertightness are secured. The pressure-resistant lid 71 and the pressure-resistant lid 73 need openings for penetrating the optical fiber or the connecting electric wire as described above, but since these have a pressure-resistant structure, the strength damaged by the openings increases the thickness of the lid. This must be compensated for, which makes the pressure vessel larger. Further, when the pressure-resistant container is completely immersed in seawater, the underwater connector 78 is also immersed in seawater, so that it is necessary to use a water-tight cable for the power supply cable connected thereto, resulting in an increase in weight and an increase in cost.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional optical switch that can be used even in seawater is large and heavy because it requires a pressure resistant container, and a special underwater connector or the like is used in the penetration portion of an optical fiber or an electric wire. Since it requires various parts, it becomes very expensive. Further, since parts such as a pressure-resistant container and an underwater connector are affected by external pressure due to the pressure-resistant structure, they have to be determined each time to suit the working pressure, which is complicated. On the other hand, in an optical communication system such as a ship, when using the pressure switch housing type optical switch as described above as a measure against obstacles when a section is flooded, a power source for switching the optical transmission line must be supplied from the outside. For example, when the power source is electromagnetic power, all the cables for power feeding and the like must be watertight, and such ancillary equipment becomes large and expensive. This situation is the same when an external power source is required regardless of whether the power source is hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and is a small, lightweight, and inexpensive underwater optical switch that enhances water resistance and does not require the supply of an external power source and is not affected by external pressure. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

To this end, the present invention provides an optical switch for switching the transmission path of an optical fiber,
A vertical cylindrical watertight pressure-resistant container containing an optical switching system composed of a movable iron piece and a reflection mirror, an annular float externally slidably mounted on the outer periphery of the watertight pressure-resistant container and having a magnet attached to the inner surface thereof, and the float described above. And a mechanism for moving the movable iron piece by the magnet on the inner surface of the float to switch the optical transmission path depending on the position.

The invention according to claim 2 is the watertight pressure-resistant container according to claim 1, wherein the watertight pressure-resistant container is provided with a movable lid axially airtightly slidable at its one end opening and a restoring spring thereof. It is characterized in that a pressure equalizing oil is enclosed inside the.

[0008]

According to this structure, when immersed in seawater, the annular float fitted on the outer circumference of the container rises, and the magnet mounted on the inner surface of the float approaches the movable iron piece equipped with the reflection mirror. Therefore, the positions of the movable iron piece and the reflection mirror are moved, and the optical transmission path is switched. The pressure applied to the container at this time is transmitted to the pressure-equalizing oil inside the container via the movable lid of the container, and the pressure inside and outside the container is equalized. Therefore, it is not necessary to supply a power source from the outside to the optical switch, and the pressure equalizing structure allows the container to be made smaller and lighter and the optical fiber penetrating portion to be easily processed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical switch of FIG. 1 immersed in water, FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the watertight pressure-resistant container has a vertical cylindrical cup-shaped body 3 having an upper opening and a body 3.
From the vertical cylindrical pressing cylinder 2 that is watertightly fitted to the outside, and the movable cover 1 that is axially slidably inserted into the upper end opening of the pressing cylinder 2 via the coil-shaped cover restoring spring 5. Composed,
The pressure equalizing oil 7 is enclosed inside these, but the O-ring 6
Since it is sealed with, it will not leak to the outside of the container. The movable lid 1 is pressed by a pressing cylinder 2 via a lid restoring spring 5, and is supported by a balance between the elastic force of the spring and the reaction force from the pressure-equalizing oil inside. When the external pressure P is applied as a depth pressure to the container in seawater, the external pressure P is transmitted to the pressure-equalizing oil 7 inside the container via the movable lid 1, and as a result, the external pressure P
And the internal pressure P'become equal. That is, since the movable lid 1, the pressing cylinder 2 and the body 3 which form the container are not subjected to the differential pressure between the depth pressure and the internal pressure, these do not require strength to withstand the depth pressure and can be made thin. The size and weight can be reduced. In addition, a cylindrical counterbore is provided at a portion where the optical fiber 10 penetrates the movable lid 1 and the body 3, and a sealing material 11 is filled therein to prevent the pressure equalizing oil 7 inside from leaking to the outside. . Again, this seal material 1
Since no pressure difference between the depth pressure and the internal pressure is applied to No. 1, it is not necessary to consider the pressure resistance, and it is technically easy to achieve, so that it can be inexpensive. Since such a pressure equalizing structure is not affected by the depth pressure, it has a feature that the usable depth is not limited. In FIG. 1, the movable lid is movable to form a pressure equalizing mechanism, and it is not necessary to add a special bellows for pressure equalizing, so that the size, weight and cost can be further reduced.

Next, the optical system will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical system includes a movable iron piece 17 having a reflection mirror 18, an iron piece support spring 16 for supporting the iron piece, and a support ring 15 for supporting the iron piece. An optical transmission line switching system, an optical fiber 10, a lens 14, and a lens support ring 1 for supporting the same.
It is composed of two sets of light introduction systems consisting of three. These optical systems are housed together with the pressure equalizing oil 7 in the container having the pressure equalizing structure described above. Here, as the pressure equalizing oil 7, the lens 1
If optical oil used in a microscope or the like having a refractive index close to 4, 21 is used, light attenuation due to diffusion can be reduced. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a part of the optical transmission line switching system of the optical switch of FIG. 1, in which a donut-shaped float 8 is loosely fitted on the outer periphery of the pressing cylinder 2 and is attached to the inner surface of the float 8. Has a magnet 9 attached. The float 8 is made of a buoyant material having a floating amount. In the atmosphere, as shown in FIG. 1, the float 8 hangs under the container by its own weight, but in the water, it floats to an upper position due to buoyancy. When the float 8 is in the lowered position as shown in FIG. 1, the movable iron piece 17 of the optical transmission line switching system is pressed toward the center by the elasticity of the iron piece support spring 16. In this state, for example, the optical fiber 1
The optical signal input from a of 0 is adjusted in direction by the lens 14, reaches the reflection mirror (left) 18, is reflected here, passes through the optical path 19, and is reflected again by the reflection mirror (right) 20 to be reflected by the lens ( (Right) Collected at 21 and transmitted to c. Similarly, the optical signal incident from d is transmitted to b.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the optical transmission path of the optical switch of FIG. 1 is switched. As described above, the float 8 floats up to the position of the stopper 4 by buoyancy in seawater or the like. In this state, the magnet 9 attached to the inner surface of the float 8 is close to the two left and right movable iron pieces 17 and 22, so that the movable iron pieces 17 and 22 overcome the elastic forces of the iron piece support springs 16 and 23 to the magnet 9. Attracted,
Move to the outer circumference of the container. Here, the optical fiber 10
The optical signal incident from a of (a) does not reach the reflection mirror 18 and is transmitted to b through the bypass optical path 24. Similarly, the optical signal incident from d is transmitted to c. In this way, the optical transmission line is switched depending on the position of the float 8, and the power source for switching uses the magnetic force of the magnet 9 attached to the inner surface of the float, so it is necessary to supply it from the outside. Absent. If such an optical switch is used for improving the reliability of the optical communication system in a ship or the like as shown in FIG. 5 in case of flooding of a partition, the entire optical communication system can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. You can Also,
One of the features of the present invention is that the pressure-equalized structure is immersed in oil, but when the pressure resistance is small, it is possible to combine the pressure resistance structure and the float.

[0013]

According to such a structure, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since the pressure of the container is equalized, the size and weight of the container can be reduced. (2) Since the buoyancy of the float and the magnetic force of the magnet are used as the power source for switching the optical transmission line, it is not necessary to supply the power source from the outside, and the size and weight can be reduced.
Since it can be simplified, it can be realized at low cost.

In short, according to the first aspect of the invention, in an optical switch for switching the transmission path of an optical fiber, a vertical cylindrical watertight pressure vessel having an optical switching system composed of a movable iron piece and a reflecting mirror, and an outer periphery of the watertight pressure vessel. An annular float that is externally slidable in the axial direction and has a magnet attached to the inner surface, and a mechanism that moves the movable iron piece with the magnet on the inner surface of the float to switch the optical transmission path depending on the position of the float. As a result, the present invention is extremely useful industrially, since the optical connector is improved in water resistance, and a small, lightweight and inexpensive optical connector that is not affected by external pressure is obtained without the need for supplying a power source from the outside.

According to the invention of claim 2, claim 1
The watertight pressure-resistant container is provided with a movable lid which is slidable in an axial direction in an airtight manner and a restoring spring thereof, and a pressure equalizing oil is sealed inside the water-tight pressure-resistant container. In addition to the effect of the invention described above, the inner and outer pressures of the container are equalized by the cooperative action of the pressure-equalizing oil, the movable lid, and the restoring spring thereof, so that the overall structure can be reduced in size and weight. It is extremely useful.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in the air of an optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the optical switch of FIG. 1 immersed in water.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an outer shape of the optical switch of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the optical switch of FIG. 1 taken along the line IV-IV.

FIG. 5 is an overall side view showing an optical communication system using an optical switch in a conventional ship.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the optical transmission line of the optical switch of FIG. 5 is switched.

7 is a sectional view of the optical switch of FIG. 5 housed in a water pressure resistant container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 movable lid 2 pressing cylinder 3 body 4 stopper 5 lid restoring spring 6 O-ring 7 pressure equalizing oil 8 float 9 magnet 10 optical fiber 11 sealing material 12 pressing metal 13 lens support ring 14 lens (left) 15 support ring 16 iron piece support spring 17 movable iron piece 18 reflective mirror (left) 19 optical path 20 reflective mirror (right) 21 lens (right) 22 movable iron piece 23 iron piece support spring 24 bypass optical path 51 case 52 electromagnet 53 coil 54 connection terminal 55 lens 56 movable iron piece 57 reflective mirror 58 Iron piece support spring 59 Optical path 60 Optical fiber 61 Power source 71 Pressure resistant cover A 72 Pressure resistant body 73 Pressure resistant cover B 74 Optical switch 75 Optical fiber 76 Pressure resistant sealing material 77 Connecting wire 78 Underwater connector 79 O-ring 81 Controller A 82 Controller B 83 Main optical fiber 8 4 Branch Fiber A 85 Branch Fiber B 86 Optical Bypass Switch A 87 Optical Bypass Switch B 88 Reflecting Prism A 89 Reflecting Prism B 90 Main Optical Fiber 91 Controller C

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An optical switch for switching a transmission path of an optical fiber, wherein a vertical cylindrical watertight pressure vessel having an optical switching system including a movable iron piece and a reflection mirror is built in, and slidably in an axial direction on the outer periphery of the watertight pressure vessel. An optical switch comprising an annular float externally attached and having a magnet attached to the inner surface thereof, and a mechanism for switching the optical transmission path by moving the movable iron piece with the magnet on the inner surface of the float depending on the position of the float. . 2. The watertight pressure-resistant container according to claim 1, further comprising a movable lid axially airtightly slidable in the opening at one end of the watertight pressure-resistant container and a restoring spring thereof, and a pressure equalizing oil inside the watertight pressure-resistant container. An optical switch characterized by being enclosed.