JPH0727986A - Optical fiber connection switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an optical fiber connection switching device which prevents the contact of the front ends of optical fibers with the coatings of another optical fibers at the time of a connection switching operation. CONSTITUTION:An aligning member 21 having an annular shape and a connecting member 22 are arranged in proximity so as to face each other by aligning their respective central axes. Ferrules 25 at the front ends of the optical fibers 23 for input are freely attachably and detachably supported in the radial direction in this aligning member 21 in such a manner that the central axis and the axial centers are paralleled. Connectors 26 at the front ends of the optical fibers 24 for output are arranged in the connecting member 22 and the ferrules 25 are moved parallel by a handle mechanism 27 having a turning shaft 28 aligned to the central axis to excute the connection and disconnection to and from the connectors 26. Sticking of dusts to the front ends of optical fibers for input is averted and connection relability is improved. Further, the need for a fiber winding mechanism in the conventional devices is eliminated and the miniaturization and simplification of the mechanism part are realized. In addition, the time for the connection and disconnection operations of the fibers is shortened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber connection switching device for automatically switching the connection of optical fibers in an optical communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional optical fiber connection changing device. In the figure, 1 is an aligning board, 2 is a connecting board, 3 is an input optical fiber, 4 is an output optical fiber, 5
Is a ferrule attached to the end of the optical fiber, 6
Is a ferrule to be connected, 7 is a hand mechanism for pulling out the fiber, 8 is an input optical fiber to be connected, 9 is an output fiber to be connected, 10 and 11 are alignment plates and connection plates. Rotation axis,
Reference numeral 12 is a fiber winding mechanism.

The aligning board 1 and the connecting board 2 are formed in a circular shape,
It is configured as a mechanism that can independently rotate about the respective rotation shafts 10 and 11. The input optical fiber 3 is detachably inserted into a plurality of through holes formed in the outer peripheral portion of the alignment board 1. At this time, the ferrule 5 connected to the tip of the optical fiber 3 projects its head from the right side of the alignment board 1, that is, the connection board 2 side, and holds the head of the ferrule 5 to the right, that is, the connection board 2 side, to guide the light. The fiber 3 can be pulled out. Similarly, the output optical fiber 4 is terminated at the outer peripheral portion of the connection board 2, and a connector (not shown) that can be connected to the ferrule 5 of the input optical fiber 3 is provided at the tip.

According to the above-mentioned structure, when the connection of the optical fibers is changed, the alignment board 1 is rotated around the rotation shaft 10 and the ferrule to be connected can be pulled out by the hand mechanism 7. bring up. In the case of the figure, the target optical fiber 8 is rotated until it reaches the lowest point. Pull out the ferrule 6 of the target optical fiber with the hand mechanism 7,
Bring to the connection board 2. At this time, the optical fiber 8 is also pulled by the ferrule 6 and fed out through the through hole of the alignment board 1.

Similarly, the connection board 2 is also rotated around the rotation shaft 11 so that the connector of the optical fiber 9 to be connected comes to the lowest point. Then, by the hand mechanism 7,
The ferrule 6 is inserted and connected to the connector to be connected installed on the connection board 2. In addition, in order to prevent the twisting of the optical fibers, the aligning board 1 and the connecting board 2 are limited to a rotatable range from 0 degree to ± 180 degrees.

Similarly, when the input optical fiber 3 is pulled out from the connector, the connection board 2 is rotated to bring the target optical fiber to the lowest point. Then, the hand mechanism 7 is moved to the connection board 2, and the ferrule 5 is held and pulled out. The ferrule 5 is moved by the hand mechanism 7 while the optical fiber is being wound up to the position of the aligning board 1 by the winding mechanism 12 installed at the rear of the aligning board 1, and is then supported by the aligning board 1.

[0007]

In the conventional connection changing device, the hand mechanism 7 selects a desired optical fiber and separates the ferrule 5 of the input optical fiber 3 from the connector of the connection board 2 and then the optical fiber 3 Since the hoisting mechanism 12 for hoisting is required, the device is complicated and large-sized.
Further, when winding the optical fiber 3, the ferrule 5 and the other optical fiber 3 which are moving between the aligning board 1 and the connecting board 2 are wound.
Since the contact with the coating was inevitable, dust adhered to the tip of the ferrule 5 and significantly deteriorated the reliability of the connection.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connection changing device in which the tip of an optical fiber and the coating of another optical fiber do not come into contact with each other during a connection changing operation. is there.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical fiber connection for connecting or separating a plurality of arbitrary input optical fibers and arbitrary output optical fibers. In the replacement device, a plurality of input optical fiber tips are detachably supported in parallel to each other and in at least one direction orthogonal to the axis of the fiber tips, and the supported input optical fiber tips are supported. In the same direction with respect to the axis of, the alignment member provided with a moving space of a predetermined width common to each input optical fiber and the connector connected to the output optical fiber tips are provided. A connection member that is arranged in parallel with each other and that is arranged adjacent to and facing the alignment member so that the axis of the connector is parallel to the axis of the input optical fiber tip.
An arbitrary input optical fiber tip supported by the alignment member is moved in parallel with another input optical fiber tip to be connected to the connector, and an input optical fiber tip connected to the connector. And a hand mechanism for supporting the aligning member on the aligning member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber splicing changer according to the first aspect, the aligning member and the connecting member have an annular shape with a predetermined diameter having the same central axis, and the inner surface side of the aligning member. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 1, wherein the input optical fiber tip is supported by the hand mechanism, and the hand mechanism has a rotating shaft that coincides with the central axes of the aligning member and the connecting member. suggest.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the connector connected to the input optical fiber tip and the connector connected to the output optical fiber tip are arranged in parallel with each other, and the aligning member and the connecting member are made close to and face each other. Since the input and output optical fibers are connected and separated, the input optical fibers are always maintained in parallel with each other between the aligning member and the connecting member regardless of the state of connection and separation of the input and output optical fibers. Further, the hand mechanism causes the tip end portion of the input optical fiber to move in parallel in the movement space adjacent to the alignment member, and the tip end portion of the input optical fiber to be moved and the coating of another input optical fiber. The tip of the input optical fiber and the connector of the output optical fiber are connected and separated without contact.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the hand mechanism has a rotating shaft which coincides with the central axes of the aligning member and the connecting member having a ring shape, and a plurality of inputting members are provided on the inner surface side of the aligning member. The optical fiber tip is supported. As a result, the hand mechanism causes the input optical fiber tip to move in parallel within the moving space inside the alignment member, so that the input optical fiber tip and the connector are connected and disconnected.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is an aligning member to which optical fibers can be attached and detached, 22 is a connecting member, 23 is an input optical fiber, and 2
Reference numeral 4 is an output optical fiber, 25 is a cylindrical ferrule attached to the tip of the input optical fiber 23, 26 is a connector, 27 is a hand mechanism, and 28 is a rotating shaft of the hand mechanism.

The alignment member 21 has a ring shape having a predetermined width, thickness and diameter, and is fixed to the base by a fixing member (not shown). Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a ferrule 25 is formed on the inner peripheral edge of the aligning member 21 at a predetermined interval.
The substantially semi-cylindrical support groove 21a for supporting the
A plurality of them are formed in parallel with the central axis of the device at predetermined intervals. The support groove 21a has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the ferrule 25, and its opening edge is made of an elastic member such as rubber or synthetic resin.

According to the above construction, when the ferrule is fitted into the supporting groove 21a, the ferrule 25 is pressed against the opening edge of the supporting groove 21a to deform the opening edge, so that the ferrule 25 is fitted into the supporting groove 21a. Being supported. Similarly, when the ferrule 25 supported by the support groove 21a is removed, the opening edge of the support groove 21a is deformed by pulling the ferrule 25 in the direction orthogonal to the axis thereof, and the ferrule 25 is removed from the support groove 21a. Is removed. Thereby, the aligning member 21 can detachably support the ferrule 25 in the direction orthogonal to the central axis of the aligning member 21.

The connecting member 22 has a ring shape similar to that of the aligning member 21 as shown in FIG. 4, and is fixed to the base by a fixing member (not shown). Further, the connecting member 22 has a plurality of through holes 2 that are parallel to the central axis and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.
2a are formed, and connectors 26 attached to the ends of the output optical fibers are inserted and fixed in these through holes 22a so as to be parallel to each other. Further, the connecting member 22 is arranged such that the connecting surface of the connector 26 faces the end surface of the ferrule 25 supported by the aligning member 21 and the axis thereof coincides with the axis of the aligning member 21.
And a predetermined interval, for example, an interval shorter than the length of the ferrule 25 is arranged.

The hand mechanism 27 is composed of a support portion 27a, a hand portion 27b, and an arm portion 27c for connecting the support portion 27a and the hand portion 27b, and is aligned with the central axes of the aligning member 21 and the connecting member 22. It is configured to be rotatable around a rotation shaft 28 supported by a base. In addition, the supporting unit 27a includes the entire hand mechanism 27 for the rotating shaft 2.
A mechanism that moves in eight directions and a mechanism that moves the arm portion 27c in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft 28 are provided.

The hand portion 27b has a ferrule 25.
Two grip plates having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the grip plate are opened and closed by a drive mechanism provided on the arm portion 27c so that the ferrule 25 can be gripped stably. Has become. The moving mechanism and the driving mechanism in the hand mechanism 27 are composed of, for example, a link, a cam, a rack, a pinion, a screw mechanism, etc., which are used in a well-known robot arm and robot hand.

The plurality of input optical fibers 23 are detachably supported in the support grooves 21a of the aligning member 21 so that the ferrules 25 attached to the ends of the optical fibers are parallel to each other. The tip portion projects toward the connecting member 22 for a predetermined length. That is, the ferrule 25 is supported by the aligning member 21 so as to project to the connecting member 22 side by a length necessary to be gripped by the hand mechanism 27 and connected to the connector 26.

As described above, the aligning member 21 and the connecting member 22 are arranged in close proximity to each other so that the axes of the ferrule 25 of the input optical fiber and the connector 26 of the output optical fiber face each other. Optical fiber connection
The ferrules 25 of the input optical fiber 23 are always aligned parallel to each other between the alignment member 21 and the connection member 22 regardless of the separated state. As a result, the target ferrule 25 is translated in the moving space inside the aligning member 21 using the hand mechanism 27, and the connector 2 is moved.
6 by inserting the optical fiber 23 for input
And the output optical fiber 24 can be easily connected.

Next, the operation of changing the optical fiber connection by the optical fiber connection changing device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, 25a and 25b are ferrules attached to the tip of the input optical fiber to be connected, and 26 is a connector of the output optical fiber to be connected.

When the unconnected input optical fiber 23 supported by the aligning member 21 is connected to the output optical fiber 24, the hand mechanism 27 is moved to the rotary shaft 2 as shown in FIG.
Then, the hand mechanism 27 grips the tip of the ferrule 25a to be connected and removes the ferrule 25a from the support groove 21a of the alignment member 21. After that, the hand mechanism 27 is rotated again around the rotation shaft 28 to move to the target connector 26a position, and the ferrule 25a held by the hand mechanism 27 is inserted into the connector 26a. As a result, the desired input optical fiber and output optical fiber can be connected.

When the connection of the optical fiber is changed, the hand mechanism 27 is moved in the same manner as described above, the ferrule 25 inserted in the connector 26 is grasped, and the ferrule 25 is pulled out from the connector 26. The connection can be changed by moving the ferrule 25 to the connector 26 and inserting the ferrule 25 into the connector 26 to be connected.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The optical fiber can also be terminated by pulling out the ferrule 25b from the optical fiber and mounting it on the aligning member 21. Needless to say, the optical fibers can be replaced by temporarily mounting the ferrule 25 on the aligning member 21.

As described above, by simply moving the ferrule 25 in parallel with the hand mechanism 27, the optical fiber can be connected without contact between the ferrule 25 and the fiber coating.
Since the separation can be performed easily, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering to the tip of the ferrule 25, improve reliability as compared with the conventional case, and wind the input optical fiber winding mechanism as in the conventional case. So you don't need
The downsizing and simplification of the device mechanism section can be realized.

In the present embodiment, the hand mechanism 27 has a rotating shaft 28 which is aligned with the axis of the aligning member 21, and the ferrule 25 and the connector are provided on the circumference of a circle centered on the rotating shaft 28. Although the optical fiber connection changing device configured by the ring-shaped aligning member 21 and the connecting member 22 in which 26 are arranged has been described, the configuration using the aligning member and the connecting member as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be used. .

In FIGS. 7 and 8, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Further, 21A and 21B are aligning members to which optical fibers can be attached and detached, and 22A and 22B are connecting members.

Alignment member 21A and connection member 2 shown in FIG.
2A each has a ferrule 25 and a connector 2 in a row.
6 are arranged, and the aligning member 21A has the same supporting groove 21a as that in the above-described embodiment on the side surface.
In this case, although not shown, a support portion that is movable in the longitudinal direction of the alignment member 21A and the axial direction of the ferrule 25,
Also, by providing a hand mechanism including an arm portion that moves in a direction orthogonal to the axial center of the ferrule 25, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

The aligning member 21B and the connecting member 22B shown in FIG. 8 are made of substantially elliptical plates, and the ferrules 25 and the connectors 26 are arranged in two rows on the periphery thereof, and both ends are arranged in an arc shape. The alignment member 21B is provided with the same supporting groove 21a as described above. In this case, although not shown, a support portion that moves along the peripheral edge of the alignment member 21B and that can move in the axial direction of the ferrule 25, and an arm portion that moves in the direction orthogonal to the axial center of the ferrule 25 are provided. The same effect as described above can be obtained by providing the provided hand mechanism.

In this embodiment, the input optical fiber side has been described as the aligning member and the output optical fiber side has been described as the connecting member, but there is no problem if they are reversed.

Further, in this embodiment, the alignment members 21 and 2 are
Although the ferrule 25 is configured to be detachably supported by the support groove 21a formed in 1A and 21B, the invention is not limited to this.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the aligning member for supporting the input optical fiber tip portions in parallel with each other in a detachable manner and the connector connected to the output optical fiber tip portion are provided. The connection member arranged in parallel with each other is brought close to and opposed to each other so that their axes are parallel to each other, and the input optical fiber is moved in parallel in the movement space adjacent to the alignment member by the hand mechanism to make a connector. Since the input optical fiber tip and the other input optical fiber coating are not in contact with each other and dust is prevented from adhering to the input optical fiber tip, the optical fiber connection is changed. The reliability can be improved. Furthermore, a fiber winding mechanism such as that of the conventional optical fiber connection changing device is not required, so that the mechanism section can be downsized and simplified, and the operation time for fiber connection change can be shortened.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the above effects, the inner side of the ring-shaped aligning member and the connecting member is used as a moving space, and it is formed on the circumference of a circle centering on the rotation axis of the hand mechanism. Since a plurality of input / output optical fibers are arranged, the space can be effectively used and the device shape can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a configuration of an embodiment of an optical fiber connection changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing an example of a conventional optical fiber connection device.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an alignment member in one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a connection member in one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the connection operation of the optical fiber connection changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a connecting operation of the optical fiber connection changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an external view of an essential part showing the configuration of another embodiment of the optical connection changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an external view of an essential part showing the configuration of another embodiment of the optical connection changer of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Aligning board, 2 ... Connection board, 3 ... Input optical fiber, 4 ...
Output optical fiber, 5, 6 ... Ferrule, 7 ... Hand mechanism for pulling out fiber, 8 ... Input optical fiber,
9 ... Optical fiber for output, 10 ... Rotating shaft of alignment plate, 11 ...
Rotating shaft of connection board, 12 ... Fiber winding mechanism 21,
21A, 21B ... Alignment member for attaching / detaching optical fiber,
22, 22A, 22B ... Connection member, 23 ... Input optical fiber, 24 ... Output optical fiber, 25 ... Ferrule, 2
6 ... Connector, 27 ... Hand mechanism, 27a ... Support part, 2
7b ... hand part, 27c ... arm part, 28 ... rotating shaft of hand mechanism.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber connection changing device for connecting or disconnecting a plurality of arbitrary input optical fibers and an arbitrary output optical fiber, wherein a plurality of input optical fiber tips are parallel to each other, and The fiber is detachably supported in at least one direction orthogonal to the axis of the fiber tip, and in the same direction with respect to the axis of the supported input optical fiber, a predetermined wide range common to each input optical fiber is provided. And a connector connected to a plurality of output optical fiber tips are arranged in parallel with each other, and the axial center of the connector is the input optical fiber tip. Connecting member arranged close to and facing the aligning member so as to be parallel to the axis of the part, and an arbitrary input optical fiber tip portion supported by the aligning member is attached to another input optical fiber tip. And a hand mechanism that moves in parallel to the connector and connects to the connector, separates the input optical fiber tip connected to the connector from the connector, and supports the aligning member. Optical fiber connection replacement device. 2. The aligning member and the connecting member have a ring shape with a predetermined diameter having the same central axis, and the input optical fiber tip portion is supported on the inner surface side of the aligning member, and the hand mechanism is 2. The optical fiber splicing changer according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating shaft that coincides with central axes of the aligning member and the connecting member.