JPH0784198A - Coated optical fiber selector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the coated optical fiber selector having a small size and high reliability. CONSTITUTION:This coated optical fiber selector 1 is constituted by cascade connecting 2X50 optical switch cells which select the coated fibers of the optical fibers to serve as propagation paths by moving two pieces of the moving side optical fibers 4a supported in a head part 7a in the aligning direction of 50 pieces of the stationary side optical fibers 5a aligned and held to one row by a fiber holder 19a having guide grooves to dispose the end faces of the moving side optical.fibers 4a opposite to the end faces of the arbitrary stationary side optical fibers 5a and plural 2X16 optical switch cells 3 consisting of the similar constitution. The connection between the respective optical switch cells is executed via an optical connector. Then, there is no need for installing intricate and costly driving mechanisms in the case of execution of plural connection switching of plural pairs like MXN. The size of the device is thus reduced and the costly coated optical fiber selector having the high reliability is realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber core wire selection device used for switching connection of optical lines in an optical communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an optical communication system, as a method of switching an optical fiber as an optical line, a prism and an optical connector are mainly put into practical use. As an example of this, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-7906 can be used. An optical fiber core selection device has been proposed.

This conventional optical fiber core selection device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of a conventional optical fiber core wire selection device. In FIG. 2, 3
Reference numeral 5 denotes a core selection device, which includes a changeover switch unit 38 and a plurality of optical connectors 36a, 3 for holding optical fibers arranged in a line.
6b of matrix parts, and head part optical connector 35b that holds a plurality of optical fibers arranged in a line.
It consists of In addition, the head optical connector 35b
Is moved by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the matrix portion 3
The connection state of the optical fibers held by the optical connectors 36a and 36b of 5a and the optical fiber held by the optical connector 35b can be switched.

The changeover switch section 38 is a head section optical connector (hereinafter referred to as an optical connector) 38 similar to that described above.
a, 38b, and matrix optical connectors (hereinafter referred to as optical connectors) 38c, 38d connected to optical fibers extending from the optical connector 35b. Further, the optical connectors 38a and 38b respectively hold two optical fibers, which are moved along the corresponding optical connectors 38c and 38d, respectively.
Optical fiber and optical connector 38c, 3 held by 38b
The connection state with the optical fiber held by 8d can be switched. Furthermore, the optical connector 38
The optical pulse signal emitted from the optical pulse test apparatus 10a is incident on one of the optical fibers 32a and 32b held by a.

Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 40 denotes an optical branching module, which is composed of a plurality of optical couplers 40a and optical filters 40b, and is a subscriber optical cable composed of an intra-office transmission device (IT) 44 and a plurality of optical fibers 41a. It is interposed between the optical fiber 41a of the subscriber optical cable 41 and the optical fiber, for example, the optical connector 36a, which is interposed between the optical fiber 41a and the optical fiber 41a of the subscriber optical cable 41. Optical fibers are coupled. Further, the other end of the subscriber system optical cable 41 is connected to an outside office transmission device (OT) 43 via a failure slicing device 42.

Next, the operation of the conventional core wire selecting device having the above-mentioned structure will be described. Here, a case where an optical pulse test is performed on the optical fiber 41a of the subscriber optical cable 41 will be described as an example.

Optical fiber 4 in subscriber optical cable 41
When the optical pulse test is performed on 1a, the optical pulse test apparatus 10a
The optical pulse emitted from the optical fiber reaches the core selection device 35 via the test optical fiber 32a. Here, in the connection between the optical connectors 38a and 38c of the changeover switch unit 38, the optical fiber 39a coupled to the optical fiber 41a to be tested via the optical coupler 40a and the test optical fiber 32a can be connected. Optical connector 38 in position
By moving a, the aforementioned optical pulse is propagated to the optical fiber 41a to be tested through the optical fiber 39a and the optical coupler 40a. Optical fiber 41a to be tested
An optical signal generated by the backscattered light of the optical pulse generated inside the optical pulse test apparatus 10a is returned to the optical pulse test path 10a by traveling backward.

Further, whether or not the optical pulse is normally emitted from the optical pulse test apparatus 10a is confirmed by a light receiver (not shown). This light receiver is connected to the optical fiber 32c, and the optical fiber 32c is connected to the optical fiber 37b for confirmation.
The optical connector 38b is moved so as to be connected to.

By the way, a part of the above-mentioned optical pulse reaching the optical coupler 40a is folded back to the optical fiber 37b and the optical fiber 32c, so that the near end unmeasurable distance of the subscriber optical cable 41 becomes long. By moving the optical connector 38b in the portion 38, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the changeover switch unit 38 can block the light pulse. As a result, the optical fiber 32
Since c is cut off, it is possible to shorten the above-mentioned near-end unmeasurable distance.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, by using the changeover switch section 38, the number of test optical fibers to be used is halved with respect to the number of optical fiber cores of the optical connector 36a. It can be reduced.

According to the conventional optical fiber selecting device 35 described above, an arbitrary optical fiber optical fiber can be connected by the optical fiber selecting device 35 even in the switching connection other than the optical pulse testing device 10a.

[0012]

However, this type of core wire selecting device is often used for measurement and the like. However, due to recent diversification of measurement items, M optical fibers are replaced by N optical fibers. M × N (M
A plural-to-plural combination such as <N) has been used.

In such a core wire selecting device, it becomes important which connector of M connectors is used. In this case, as the device to select and connect,
A compact and lightweight structure is required from the viewpoint of reduction of switching time and reliability.

The conventional device of this type is composed of an optical connector. Since a selection motor is attached to each of the M connectors, there is a problem that the structure becomes large and the cost becomes high.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized and highly reliable optical fiber core selection device without using an optical connector.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention, in claim 1, selectively selects any one of a plurality of optical fibers and at least one optical fiber to be coupled. In an optical fiber core wire selection device that switches the optical path of light propagating through an optical fiber by coupling to the optical fiber, for positioning the tip ends of a plurality of fixed-side optical fibers in parallel with each other and aligning the end faces in a line. A holder having a plurality of guide grooves, a support for supporting at least one movable side optical fiber so that an end surface of the movable side optical fiber faces an end surface of the fixed side optical fiber, and a tip portion of the movable side optical fiber. A plurality of optical switch cells each having an alignment direction of the fixed-side optical fibers and a moving unit moving in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction, wherein the plurality of optical switch cells include the movable-side optical fibers; Bound to Jogawa optical fiber is proposed an optical fiber selection device are cascaded to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber core wire selecting device according to the first aspect, the connection between the optical switch cells and between the optical switch cell and the host device is via removable optical connectors. We propose an optical fiber selection device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber core wire selection device according to the first aspect, the number of the optical switch cells is two.
The present invention proposes an optical fiber core wire selection device having at least two movable side optical fibers, and the movable side optical fibers are collectively moved by the moving means.

According to a fourth aspect, in the optical fiber core wire selecting device according to the first aspect, the optical switch cell is
An optical fiber core selection device is proposed, which is enclosed in a container together with a refractive index matching agent for matching the coupling between the movable side optical fiber and the fixed side optical fiber.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of optical switch cells are cascade-connected by coupling the movable side optical fiber to the fixed side optical fiber, they are connected to at least one optical fiber final stage. The optical paths can be switched by the total number of fixed-side optical fibers of each optical switch cell. further,
In each optical switch cell, at least one movable side optical fiber is aligned by the moving means with respect to the plurality of fixed side optical fibers held in a row by the plurality of positioning guide grooves. , For example, horizontally,
And, it is moved in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction, for example, in the vertical direction, and is arranged such that the end face of the movable side optical fiber faces the end face of any fixed side optical fiber. Thereby, for example, the light emitted from the end face of the movable side optical fiber is made incident on the end face of the fixed side optical fiber which is opposed, and the light propagating in the movable side optical fiber is propagated into the fixed side optical fiber.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the connection between the optical switch cells is made through a removable optical connector, and the connection between the optical switch cells can be freely changed.

According to the third aspect, at least two movable side optical fibers are collectively moved by the moving means, and the fixed side optical fibers coupling the movable side optical fibers are selectively switched. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the optical switch cell is enclosed in a container together with a refractive index matching agent for matching the coupling between the movable side optical fiber and the fixed side optical fiber.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the optical fiber core selection device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, parts corresponding to the respective parts in the above-described conventional core selection device are designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. That is, 1 is an optical fiber core selection device,
The main body housing 1a includes a 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 and a plurality of 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3.

The 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 has a head portion 7
The two movable side optical fibers 4a supported by a are moved so that the end faces of any of the 50 fixed side optical fibers 5a in which the end faces of the movable side optical fibers 4a are arranged in a line It is arranged so as to face the surface and switches the coupling between the movable side optical fiber 4a and the fixed side optical fiber 5a. The other end of the movable side optical fiber 4a is connected to the optical fibers 32a and 32b through a one-touch removable MPO adapter 9 and MPO connector (not shown), and the fixed side optical fiber 5a is a set of two continuous fibers. The two-core optical cord 12 is provided with an MPO connector at the other end.

3 to 5 are schematic configuration diagrams showing the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2. 3 (a) is a plan view, FIG.
(B) is a side view, FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the main part. In the figure, reference numeral 2a denotes a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped casing, the MPO adapter 9 and a control signal connector 22 are attached to one end side surface in the longitudinal direction, and 25 two-fiber optical cords 12 are attached to the other end side surface. A cord pulling-fastening tool 21a is attached to hold all of them together and pull them into the housing 2a. A package 8a, which is a closed container, a motor 14 and a solenoid 15 are fixed inside the housing 2a.

A fiber holder 19a having a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves 6a and a head support 19b are fixed in the package 8a, and the ends of fifty fixed-side optical fibers 5a are fixed to the fiber holder 19a. The parts are aligned and held in one row with their end faces aligned. At this time, the tip end portion of each fixed-side optical fiber 5a is fitted into one end side of the guide groove 6a such that its end face is located at the center of the guide groove 6a, and the other end side of the guide groove 6a is attached to the movable-side optical fiber. It is used when positioning 4a.

A guide groove 6a is provided in the head support 19b.
The guide screw 17 and the suction plate 20 made of a magnetic material are fixed so as to form a right angle with respect to the lead screw 1, and a screw groove having a predetermined pitch is formed except for both ends thereof.
6 is rotatably supported. Guide rail 1
A rectangular parallelepiped-shaped head portion 7a is slidably supported by 7 and the lead screw 16. That is, the head portion 7a
An insertion hole for the guide rail 17 and an insertion hole having a thread groove that fits into the thread groove of the lead screw 16 are formed in the through hole, and the guide rail 17 and the lead screw 16 are inserted through these insertion holes.

Further, a leaf spring 18 made of a magnetic material is fixed to the upper surface of the head portion 7a by extending to the holder 19a side, and the tip end portion of the leaf spring 18 is formed so as to be curved downward. It is located on the other end of the groove 6a. further,
Two tip ends of the movable side optical fibers 4a are fixed to a predetermined position below the tip end of the leaf spring 18. Here, the tip of the movable side optical fiber 4a is fitted into the other end of the guide groove 6a so that the end face of the movable side optical fiber 4a faces the end face of the fixed side optical fiber. The suction plate 20 is placed open.

The lead screw 16 and one end of the suction plate 20 are provided with a package 8 through a shielded insertion hole.
The rotary shaft of the motor 14 is connected to one end of the lead screw 16 and is connected to the solenoid 15 to one end of the suction plate 20. The motor 14 and the solenoid 15 are fixed to the housing 2a. Has been done. Further, the movable-side optical fiber 4a and the fixed-side optical fiber 5a are also shielded in the lead-out holes to the outside of the package 8,
The package 8 is filled with a refractive index matching agent for matching the coupling between the movable side optical fiber 4a and the fixed side optical fiber 5a, for example, a silicon-based oil having a refractive index equal to the refractive index of the cores of the optical fibers 4a and 5a. ing.

The other end of the movable side optical fiber 4a is connected to the MPO adapter 9, and a drive signal is supplied to the motor 14 and the solenoid 15 from the outside of the housing 2a via a connector 22 by wiring not shown. ing. Thus, by driving the solenoid 15 and the motor 16, the coupling between the movable side optical fiber 4a and the fixed side optical fiber 5a can be arbitrarily switched.

That is, when switching the coupling state of the movable side optical fiber 4a and the fixed side optical fiber 5a, (b) of FIG.
The solenoid 15 is energized to attract the leaf spring 18 to the attraction plate 20, as shown in FIG. Thereby, the movable side optical fiber 4
The tip of a is released from the guide groove 6a for positioning. In this state, when the motor 14 is driven to rotate the lead screw 16, the head portion 7a moves to the guide rail 1
7, the tip of the movable side optical fiber 4a moves in the alignment direction of the fixed side optical fiber 5a. When the motor 16 is stopped and the energization of the solenoid 15 is stopped when the tip of the movable side optical fiber 4a reaches the target position of the fixed side optical fiber 5a, the force of the leaf spring 18 causes the movable side optical fiber 4a to move. Guide groove 6a at the tip
The end surface of the optical fiber 5a
And the optical fibers are coupled to each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the 2 × 16 optical switch cell 3 has the same structure as the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 described above. That is, the 2 × 16 optical switch cell 3 includes the two movable side optical fibers 4 supported by the head portion 7b.
b is moved so that the end surface of the movable side optical fiber 4b is arranged so as to face the end surface of any one of the 16 fixed side optical fibers 5b arranged side by side,
The coupling between the movable side optical fiber 4b and the fixed side optical fiber 5b is switched. The other end of the movable side optical fiber 4b is connected to the two-core optical cord 12 via the MPO adapter 9 and the MPO connector 9a which can be attached / detached with one touch, and the fixed side optical fiber 5b is made into a set of eight continuous optical fibers 5b. The optical fiber cord 11 is provided, and the 8MT connector 13 is provided at the other end thereof.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing the optical fiber core wire selection device of the first embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an optical fiber core selection device, which is a rectangular parallelepiped main body housing 1
A drive control circuit 23 and a power supply control section 24 are provided on the left side of the main body housing 1a for controlling the drive of the motor 14 and the solenoid of each optical switch cell 2, 3. Further, the 2 × 50 optical switch cells 2 and the plurality of 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 are mounted side by side in a predetermined position on the main body housing 1a in a vertically oriented state.

2 × 50 optical switch cells 2 to a plurality of 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 are provided on the lower side of the upper and lower optical switch cells 2 and 3 of the main body housing 1a.
2-core optical cord 12 for connecting to the MPO adapter 9 of
An extra length storage portion 25 is provided for wiring and extra length processing.

Further, in the figure, the 2 × 16 optical switch cell 3a at the upper right end of the main body housing 1a is the main body housing 1a.
2x16 optical switch cell 3
The connector 22 of a is connected to the connection terminal 22a fixedly wired to the main body housing 1a, and then the MPO connector 9 of the two-core optical cord 12 from the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 is connected.
a is connected to the MPO adapter 9 of the 2 × 16 optical switch cell 3a.

Each 8MT connector 13 of the eight-core optical cord 11 from the plurality of 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 is connected to each 8MT connector 13 of a predetermined optical branching module 40. As a result, it becomes possible to select the core wire of the optical fiber cable to any test optical fiber, and the connection can be easily switched.

Next, the operation of the optical fiber core wire selecting device 1 having the above-described configuration will be described in the case of performing an optical pulse test on the optical fiber 41a of the subscriber optical cable 41.
When the optical pulse test is performed on the optical fiber 41a, the optical pulse sent from the optical pulse test apparatus 10a is 2 × 50 of the optical fiber core selection apparatus 1 via the test optical fiber 32a.
It reaches the MPO adapter 9 of the optical switch cell 2. Here, the head portion 7a of the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 and the 2 × 1
In the head section 7b of the 6-optical switch cell 3, by moving the head sections 7a and 7b to a position where the test optical fiber 32a and the optical fiber a39a can be connected, the aforementioned optical pulse causes the optical fiber 39a and the optical coupler 40a to move. It is propagated to the optical fiber 41a to be tested via. An optical signal generated by the backscattered light of the optical pulse generated in the optical fiber 41a returns to the traveling path of the optical pulse and propagates to the optical pulse test apparatus 10a.

As described above, the feature of the first embodiment is that a plurality of 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 can be arranged according to the number of optical fiber cores of the subscriber optical cable 41, and the optical fiber is It is possible to increase / decrease the number of cores in units of optical switch cells. By configuring the optical switch cells 2 and the plurality of optical switch cells 3 in cascade connection in two stages, the optical branch module 40 is provided. It is possible to select the core wire of the test optical fiber.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8
In the above, the same parts as those in the conventional example and the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Further, the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that
Two 1 × 25 optical switch cells 26, 26a are provided in place of the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 of the first embodiment, and 1 × 2
The movable side optical fiber 4a and the fixed side fiber 5a of the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 in the first embodiment are divided into two by the five optical switch cells 26 and 26a, respectively, so that the connection can be switched. Especially.

That is, the 2 × 25 optical switch cell 26 includes a package 8c, a head portion 7c provided in the package 8c, and a fiber holder 19c, and the fiber holder 19c includes 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 each. Fixed optical fiber 5 connected to one movable optical fiber 4b
The tips of c are aligned and held in a line. In addition, the head portion 7c allows one movable side optical fiber 4c.
Are movably supported. The 2 × 25 optical switch cell 26a includes a package 8d and a package 8d.
Head portion 7d provided inside and fiber holder 19
The fiber holder 19d holds the fixed-side optical fibers 5d connected to the other movable-side optical fibers 4b of the 2 × 16 optical switch cells 3 aligned in a line. Further, one movable side optical fiber 4d is movably supported by the head portion 7d.

The movable side optical fiber 4c of the 2 × 25 optical switch cell 26 is connected to the optical pulse test apparatus 10a via the test optical fiber 32a, and the movable side optical fiber of the 2 × 25 optical switch cell 26a is connected. 4d is connected to the test optical fiber 32b.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described when the optical pulse test is performed on the optical fiber 41a of the subscriber optical cable 41.

When the optical pulse test is performed on the optical fiber 41a, the optical pulse sent from the optical pulse test apparatus 10a is transmitted through the test optical fiber 32a to the MPO adapter of the 1 × 25 optical switch cell 26 of the optical fiber core selection apparatus 1. Reach 9 Here, in the head portion 7c of the 1 × 25 optical switch cell 26 and the head portion 7b of the 2 × 16 optical switch cell 3, the head portions 7c and 7b are moved to positions where the test optical fiber 32a and the optical fiber 39a can be connected. By doing so, the aforementioned optical pulse is propagated to the optical fiber 41a to be tested through the optical fiber 39a and the optical coupler 40a. The optical signal generated by the backscattered light of the optical pulse in the optical fiber 41a returns to the traveling path of the optical pulse and propagates to the optical pulse test apparatus 10a.

By the way, since a part of the above-mentioned optical pulse reaching the optical coupler 40a is returned to the test optical fiber 32b via the optical fiber 39b, the optical fiber 32b is used.
When the backscattered light is generated at the end face of the optical fiber or in the optical fibers 39b and 32b, the backscattered light and the backscattered light generated in the optical fiber 41a are overlapped with each other, and the optical pulse test apparatus 10a.
Is transmitted to the optical fiber 39b, the non-measurable distance at the near end of the subscriber optical cable 41 becomes longer. As a result of cutting off 32b and blocking the propagation of the optical pulse to the optical fiber 32b, it is possible to shorten the near-end unmeasurable distance.

Further, in the second embodiment, the optical coupler 4
The optical signal returned from 0a to the 1 × 25 optical switch cell 26a via the optical fiber 39b causes the package 8
Since a non-reflective treatment is performed by a refractive index matching agent (not shown) filled in b, backscattered light is not generated at the end face of the optical fiber, so that the near-end unmeasurable distance of the subscriber optical cable 41 is shortened. It has the unique effect of being able to.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those of the conventional example and the first and second embodiments described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 9, 27 and 27a are 1 × 37.
The optical switch cells 28a to 28e are 2 × 80 optical switch cells, and these optical switch cells 27, 27a, 2
8a to 28e are configured similarly to the 2 × 50 optical switch cell 2 and the like described above.

The 80 fixed-side optical fibers of each of the 2 × 80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e are divided into eight, which are led out to the outside as an 8-core optical cord 11, and an 8MT connector 13 is provided at the other end. Has been. Further, the movable optical fibers of the 2 × 80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e are the MPO adapter 9 and the MPO connector 9a.
Is coupled to the optical fiber of the two-core optical cord 12a via
The other ends of the two optical fibers of the two-core optical cord 12a are drawn into different 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27, 27a.

Reference numerals 29a to 29h are 8-core packages, and inside thereof, one end side of the 8-core optical cord 12b and the 8-core optical cord 11 are provided.
One end of a is pulled in, and the connector 13 provided at one end of the 8-core optical cord 12b and the connector provided at one end of the 8-core optical cord 11a are coupled. In addition, 8 drawn out from each of the 8-core packages 29a to 29h
The core optical cord 12b is divided into two and is drawn into each of the 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27 and 27a as a four-core tape 31, and other than the 8-core optical cord 11a extracted from each of the 8-core packages 29a to 29h. 8 MT at the end
A connector 13 is provided.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an optical wiring accommodating portion, each of which is composed of 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27 and 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27a.
Optical fiber lines to be wired to the x80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e and the respective 8-core packages 29a to 29h are stored.

Further, 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27, 27
In a, the optical fibers of the two-core optical cord 12a and the optical fibers of the four-core tape 31 that are respectively drawn are aligned in a line and held as fixed-side optical fibers,
The movable optical fiber is coupled to the test optical fibers 32a and 32b.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of the optical fiber core wire selection device shown in FIG. In the figure, the drive unit control circuit 23 and the power supply control unit 2 are provided on the left side of the main body housing 1a.
4 are provided, and 1 × 37 optical switch cell 27 and 1 ×
The 37 optical switch cell 28a and each of the 2 × 80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e are controlled. Also, 1 x 37
Optical switch cell 27 and 1 × 37 optical switch cell 27a
And the 2 × 80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e are mounted vertically at predetermined positions in the upper stage of the main body housing 1a, and the 8-core packages 29a to 29h are mounted vertically at predetermined positions in the lower stage. Has been done.

The optical switch cells 27, 27a, 2 mounted on the central portion in the vertical direction of the main body housing 1a, that is, on the upper stage.
8a to 28e and lower 8-core packages 29a to 29h
An optical wiring accommodating portion 30 is provided between the
The extra length portions of the plurality of 2-fiber optical cords 12a and 8-fiber optical cords 12b for coupling the 7-optical switch cells 27 and 27a with the 2 × 80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e and the 8-fiber packages 29a to 29h are optical wiring accommodating portions. It is housed in 30.

The core wire selecting apparatus of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10 has an excellent effect that it is smaller and simpler in structure than the core wire selecting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. is there.

As described above, the characteristic feature of the third embodiment is that each of the 8-core packages 29a to 29h and 2 of the 8-core packages 29a to 29h is selected according to the optical fiber core wire series of the subscriber optical cable 41.
The x80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e can be arranged in combination, and can be expanded corresponding to the optical fiber core line series. Also, 1 × 37 optical switch cells 27 and 1
The switch configuration by the two-stage cascade connection of the x37 optical switch cell 27a and the 2x80 optical switch cells 28a to 28e, and the 1x37 optical switch cell 27 and the 1x37 optical switch cell 27a and the 8-core packages 29a to 29h. By having two configurations, a switch configuration with a one-stage cascade connection, it is possible to more economically select the test optical fiber core line according to the optical fiber core line series of the subscriber optical cable 41. It is in.

In the first to third embodiments described above,
Although 2 × 50, 2 × 16, 1 × 25, 1 × 37, and 2 × 80 optical switch cells were used, the present invention is not limited to the number of cores shown in 1 × N and 2 × N optical switch cells. However, the optical switch cells having other numbers of cores may be used.

Although the case where the motor and the solenoid are used as the driving means of each optical switch cell is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the effect of the present invention can be obtained even if other driving means is used. You can

Furthermore, as the configuration of the optical fiber core wire selection device, a configuration in which various optical switch cells are combined is conceivable, and it may be used for actual switching of the optical fiber line, not for connecting the test device. Needless to say.

[0060]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
According to this, in each optical switch cell, at least 1 is set for a plurality of fixed-side optical fibers held in a row in a plurality of positioning guide grooves without using an optical connector.
The movable side optical fiber is moved by the moving means in the alignment direction of the fixed side optical fibers and in the direction orthogonal to the aligned direction, and the end face of the movable side optical fiber with respect to the end face of any of the fixed side optical fibers. Since the optical fibers are arranged so as to face each other, and the end faces of the optical fibers are made to face each other along the guide groove so as to couple these optical fibers, in the case of performing a multiple-to-multiple connection switching such as M × N. However, it is not necessary to provide a complicated and expensive drive mechanism. As a result, the size of the device can be reduced, and a highly reliable and inexpensive optical fiber core selection device can be realized.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the above effects, the connection between the optical switch cells and between the optical switch cells and the host device is performed through a removable optical connector, Since the connections between the optical switch cells and between the optical switch cells and the host device can be freely changed, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to easily cope with optical fiber cables of various numbers of cores.

According to claim 3, in addition to the above effect, in each optical switch cell, two or more movable-side optical fibers are collectively moved by the moving means, so that the movable-side optical fibers are moved. This has the effect that the structure of the moving means can be simplified when the number of fibers is increased.

Further, according to claim 4, in addition to the above effect, since the refractive index matching agent is enclosed in the optical fiber coupling portion, it is very excellent that connection switching can be performed with low loss. It is effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an optical fiber core wire selection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a conventional optical fiber core wire selection device.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a 2 × 50 optical switch cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a 2 × 50 optical switch cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of a main part of a 2 × 50 optical switch cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a 2 × 16 optical switch cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing the optical fiber core selection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing an optical fiber core wire selection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an optical fiber core wire selection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing an optical fiber core wire selection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical fiber core selection device, 1a ... Main body housing, 2
... 2x50 optical switch cells, 3 ... 2x16 optical switch cells, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d ... movable side optical fibers, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d ...
Fixed side optical fiber, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d… Guide groove, 7a, 7b, 7
c, 7d ... Head part, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d ... Package, 9 ... M
PO adapter, 9a ... MPO connector, 10a ... Optical pulse tester (OTDR), 11 ... 8-fiber optical cord, 11a ... 8-fiber optical cord with connectors at both ends, 12, 12a ... 2-fiber optical cord,
12b ... 8-core optical cord, 13 ... 8MT connector, 14 ... Alignment direction drive motor, 15 ... Vertical drive solenoid, 16 ...
Lead screw, 17 ... Guide rail, 18 ... Leaf spring, 19a ... Fiber holder, 19b ... Supporting tool, 20 ...
Suction plate, 21, 21a ... Cord retainer, 22 ... Drive control connector, 22a ... Connection terminal, 23 ... Drive unit control circuit, 24 ...
Power control unit, 25 ... Extra length storage unit, 26 ... 1x25 optical switch cell, 26a ... 1x25 optical switch cell, 27 ... 1x
37 optical switch cells, 27a ... 1 × 37 optical switch cells,
28a-28e ... 2x80 optical switch cell, 29a-29h ... 8
Core package, 30 ... Optical wiring accommodating portion, 31 ... Four-core tape, 32a to 32d ... Test optical fiber, 35 ... Core wire selecting device, 35a ... Matrix portion, 35b ... Head portion optical connector,
36a, 36b ... Optical connector, 37a, 37b ... Optical fiber, 38 ...
Changeover switch section, 38a ... Head section, 38b ... Head section, 38
c ... Matrix section, 38d ... Matrix section, 39a, 39b ... Optical fiber, 40 ... Optical branching module, 40a ... Optical coupler,
40b ... Optical filter, 41 ... Subscriber optical cable, 41a ...
Optical fibers a, 42 ... Fault slicing device, 43 ... Outside office transmission device (OT), 44 ... Inside office transmission device (IT).

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Naoyuki Atobe 1-1-6, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber core selection device for selectively coupling any one of a plurality of optical fibers and at least one optical fiber to be coupled to switch an optical path of light propagating through the optical fiber. A holder having a plurality of positioning guide grooves for holding the ends of the plurality of fixed-side optical fibers in parallel with each other and aligning the end faces in a row; and an end face of at least one movable-side optical fiber A support tool that supports the fixed-side optical fiber so as to face the end surface of the fixed-side optical fiber, and a moving unit that moves the tip end portion of the movable-side optical fiber in the alignment direction of the fixed-side optical fiber and in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction. A plurality of optical switch cells each having a plurality of optical switch cells, wherein the plurality of optical switch cells are cascade-connected by coupling the movable side optical fiber to the fixed side optical fiber. Fiber selection device. 2. The optical fiber core selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch cells are connected to each other and the optical switch cells are connected to a host device via a detachable optical connector. . 3. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch cell has two or more movable side optical fibers, and the movable side optical fibers are collectively moved by the moving means. Core selection device. 4. The optical switch cell is enclosed in a container together with a refractive index matching agent for matching the coupling between the movable side optical fiber and the fixed side optical fiber. The optical fiber core wire selection device described.