JPH08194127A - Moving method and moving device for optical fiber and fusion splicing machine using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To move optical fibers after fusion up to a heater of a reinforcing sleeve so as not to twist and slacken the fibers and not to bring the fibers into contact with the projections on the front surface of a fusing machine. CONSTITUTION: A fusing section 14 on the front surface 11 of the fusing machine is provided with a clamping and moving device 52 only on, for example, the left side thereof. This moving device 52 is constituted by freely oscillatably mounting a lever 82 at a stationary table 54 and freely oscillatably mounting a moving table 60 having a clamper 68 at its free end. The lever 82 is held shifted backward and one of the fused optical fibers 48 is held in the clamper 68. The lever 82 is moved by the left hand and the moving table 60 is moved forward and simultaneously, the other of the optical fibers is moved in the same direction as the direction of the moving table 60. The optical fiber is made to ride over the obstructions on the front surface 11 or is applied with tension so as not to loosen and is prevented from loosening by ways of moving the right hand during the movement. The horizontal transportation of the multiple optical fibers possible as well. Since the moving device is formable to a smaller size, the installation thereof at the fusing machine is possible.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of moving an optical fiber after fusion splicing to a position of a heater (for reinforcement) in an optical fiber fusion splicer, and an apparatus used directly for carrying out the method. And a fusion splicer using these devices or methods.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[Explanation of the upper surface of the fusion splicer] Since it is necessary in the case of the present invention described later, first, the parts on the upper surface of the fusion splicer will be briefly described (those not related to the present invention are omitted). 4 and 5, 10 is the main body of the fusion machine, and 11 is the upper surface thereof. For convenience of explanation, the arrow 1 indicates the front / rear and left / right directions.
Make a decision like 2. On the upper surface 11, there are the fusion-bonding portion 14 where the discharge electrode is arranged and the heater 32 with a built-in heater. At the rear of the paper, there is a liquid crystal display that monitors the vicinity of fusion, but this is not shown.

The fused portion 14 is as follows. That is, 16 is a base having a V groove 18 (positioning an optical fiber for positioning, and a single V groove or a plurality of V grooves are formed depending on the number of connection cores) (FIG. 5), and 20 is an optical core. It is a stand on which the covered part of the wire is placed. A clamper 22 for clamping the optical fiber set in the V groove 18 is provided at the tip of the arm 24. The base of the arm 24 rotates in the front-back direction. Further, the clamper 26 for clamping the covering portion set on the table 20 also rotates in the front-back direction. FIG.
Shows a state in which the clampers 22 and 26 are closed, and FIG. 5 shows an open state. 28 is an electrode, and 30 is an elevating mirror for two-way observation. Regarding the optical system around the mirror, see, for example, Fujikura Technical Report No.87, p.47-49 (1994
Month).

The heater 32 includes a ceramic heater 34 (FIG. 5), a partially transparent central lid 36 and left and right lids 38, 3.
9 and 9. The lids 36, 38, 39 can be opened and closed in the front-rear direction. 4 shows a closed state, and FIG. 5 shows an open state.

[Conventional Moving Device] An example is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The handle 40 having an inverted U shape is provided with clampers 42 on both sides. In addition, the fusion machine body 10
The jig receiver 44 and the jig receiver 46 are provided at the positions on the side surface of the contacting portion on the left and right sides of the fusion bonding portion 14 and the heater 32, respectively. When the fusion is finished, the optical fiber 48 is as shown in FIG. 50 is a heat-shrinkable reinforcing sleeve.

The tip of the handle 40 is inserted into the jig receivers 44 (on both sides of the fusion bonding portion 14). And the clamper 42
The optical fiber 48 is clamped with. The clamper 42 has a built-in weak spring (not shown) so that the arrow 43
The optical fiber 48 is rotated in the direction of and the optical fiber 48 is given a weak tension so as not to sag. Next, the lids 36, 38, 39 of the heater 32 and the clamper 2 of the fusion-bonding part 14
Open 2, 26 (Fig. 5). Handle 40 to jig receiver 44
And the reinforcing sleeve 50 is moved to the center. Handle 4
0 is replaced with a jig receiver 46 (on both sides of the heater 32), and the optical fiber 48 is moved onto the heater 32. Lid 3
Close 6, 38 and 39. Further, the optical fiber 48 is removed from the clamper 42. The reinforcing sleeve 50 is heated and contracted.

[0007]

The device described above is a separate unit because it cannot be attached to the fusion machine because it uses a large handle 40. Also, the optical fiber 48
Requires a clamper 42 to tension and hold the. If there is an imbalance in the left and right tensions, the center of the optical fiber fusion part will shift to the left or right.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a mechanical clamp moving device is provided on either side of the fusion-bonding portion so that the clamp position in the left-right direction of the optical fiber is substantially fixed and does not move. It is important to move the connection point of the optical fiber while holding the other position while holding the other and moving the optical fiber while keeping the same. As a specific example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamp moving device 52 is provided only on either the left side or the right side of the fusing part 14 on the upper surface 11 of the fusing machine 10. The moving device 52 swingably attaches a lever 82 to the upper surface 11 or the side surface of the upper side of the fusion splicer directly or through an appropriate member, and a moving table 60 having an optical fiber clamper 68 at the free end of the lever 82. Is configured to be swingable. In this figure, it is attached to the upper surface 11. And
The lever 82 is tilted backward or forward, and one side of the fusion-spliced optical fiber 48 is clamped by the clamper 68 of the movable table 60, and then the lever 82 is manually rotated to move the lever 82. The platform 60 is moved forward or backward, and at the same time, the connected optical fiber 48 is connected.
The other end is gripped and manually moved in the same direction as the moving table 60, thereby moving the optical fiber 48 to the position of the heater 32.

A movable table having an optical fiber clamper may be attached to the fusion machine main body 10 via a parallel crank mechanism as illustrated in FIG.

The lever 82 may be mounted directly on the upper surface 11 as described above, or for stability, it may be mounted on a suitable base as in the embodiment described later. The lever 82 is preferably attached to the upper surface 11 so as to swing in the front-rear direction by a left-right pin so as to be rotatable about the pin. The mounting of the movable table 60 to the lever 82 is performed in the same manner. However, the swinging direction is not necessarily limited to the front-back direction. That is, the swinging direction and the moving direction are preferably only in the front-rear direction for stabilizing the tension, but by adopting another mounting mechanism or providing a pin mounting portion with play, the front-back direction can be changed. It is within the design range to have some degree of freedom to other than. The structure of the clamper 68 is the optical fiber 4
Any material that can clamp 8 can be used.

[0011]

[Work]

(1) One of the fusion-spliced optical fibers 48 is attached to the moving table 6
After being clamped by the clamper 68 of 0, the lever 82 is rotated by, for example, the left hand to move the movable table 60 forward or backward, and at the same time, the connected optical fiber 4 is connected.
When the other of 8 is moved with the right hand in the same direction as the moving table 60, the moving table 60 held by the left hand passes over the upper surface 11 by a height corresponding to the length of the lever 82. At this time, the other hand of the optical fiber 48 can be manipulated by the right hand to get over the obstacle while visually observing obstacles on the upper surface 11 such as the lift mirror 30. It is also possible to apply the tension while adjusting the tension so that the optical fiber 48 does not sag. The moving platform 60 that has moved lands on a predetermined position determined by the length of the lever 82. This landing position is exactly the heater 32
If you design it so that it is on the left side of, the subsequent work will be easier. The length of the lever 82 is equal to the length of the optical fiber 48 when moving.
Needless to say, it should have a margin that does not touch the obstacle. (2) By making the movable table 60 swingable with respect to the lever 82, the movable table 60 can be manually kept horizontal during movement. Therefore, the twist of the optical fiber can be prevented. This is particularly advantageous in the case of collective fusion splicing of multi-core optical fibers.

When the parallel crank mechanism is used, the movable table 60 can be automatically moved while being kept horizontal.

[0013]

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 will be described. This example is the case where the clamp moving device 52 is on the left side of the fusing part 14, the heater 32 is in front of the fusing part 14, and is a single-core optical fiber. For example, a FSM-30S type manufactured by our company. It can be applied to the fusion machine. First, the moving device will be described.

FIG. 2 shows an example thereof. The clamp moving device 52 includes a fixed base 54, a movable base 60, and a lever (connecting rod) 82 that couples these. The fixed base 54 (see FIG.
(C) etc., a movable table 60 is stably placed on it, and its main body 56 is composed of an elongated substantially U-shaped integral block in the front and rear direction, and a wall-shaped convex portion 58 is provided on the rear portion of the upper surface 57. Have. The upper surface 57 continuous with the convex portion 58 forms a horizontal surface,
The movable table 60 is temporarily placed on this on the fusion side.

Only the movable table 60 is shown in FIG. The main body 62 is in the shape of an elongated rectangular plate, has a thick rear portion, and has a knob 64 thereon. A rubber sheet 66 is attached to the upper surface of the front end of the main body 62 to facilitate the clamping of the optical fiber 48. A clamper 68 is swingably attached to the main body 62 by a pin 70. That is, the clamper 68 is rotatable about the pin 70 at a certain angle. A rubber sheet 72 is also attached to the lower surface of the front end of the clamper 68 to facilitate the clamping of the optical fiber. The rear end side 68A of the clamper 68 and the main body 62
A spring 74 is attached between and, and the force of the spring 74 always closes the front end side of the clamper 68 so that the rubber sheets 72 and 66 are in contact with each other. When the convex portion 76 is tilted backward, the clamper 68 swings around the pin 70 and the clamper 68 opens. A thin pin-shaped fiber guide 78 is erected on the left side edge of the front portion of the main body 62. In order to avoid this, a notch 80 is formed on the left side edge of the front part of the clamper 68. With the clamper 68 open,
When the optical fiber 48 is fed inward until it hits the positioning fiber guide 78, the feeding position of the optical fiber 48 is always constant, and the destination position when the heater is moved can be determined.

A lever 82 is swingably attached to the front end of the fixed base 54 with a pin 84. The rear end of the movable table 60 is swingably attached to the free end of the lever 82 by a pin 86. The pins 84 and 86 are inserted in the left-right direction. Therefore, the lever 82 and the movable base 60 respectively swing in the front-back direction. Hold the knob 64 and hold the lever 82
2 is rotated rearward, as shown in FIG.
0 rests on the fixed base 54, and its rear portion hits the convex portion 58 and is stabilized. Also, hold the knob 64 and hold the lever 8
When 2 is rotated forward, the state of FIG.
As shown in (d), the movable table 60 moves forward.

The clamp moving device 52, as shown in FIG.
It is provided, for example, only on the left side of the fused portion 14. However, it is not necessarily limited to be provided on the upper surface of the main body, and may be provided on the side surface. That is, the provision on the right side and the left side means that the operator can arrange the clamp moving device on either side. When the movable table 60 is at the rear and rests on the fixed table 54 (see FIG.
(A)), the tip (the portion where the rubber sheets 66 and 72 are provided to clamp the optical fiber 48) is substantially the fusion-bonded portion 1.
4 on the center line in the front-back direction. Also,
When the moving table 60 moves forward (FIG. 1 (b)), the tip of the moving table 60 is substantially on the center line of the heater 32 in the front-rear direction.

Next, the moving method will be described with reference to FIG. When the fusion of the optical fibers 48 is completed, the clamp moving device 52 keeps the moving table 60 on the fixed table 54.
Then do the following: The lids 36, 38, 39 of the heater 32 are opened. The clamper 68 is opened, the left optical fiber 48 is put in, and the clamper 68 is closed while lightly abutting on the fiber guide 78. This keeps the clump position of the optical fiber 48 constant. Alternatively, the clamper 68 has already been
Alternatively, the optical fiber 48 may be clamped. The right hand R holds the outside of the reinforcing sleeve 50 of the right optical fiber 48. Open the clampers 22 and 26 on both sides with the left hand. The left hand L holds the knob 64 and conveys the optical fiber 48 to the heater 32. At this time, the movable table 60 is kept substantially horizontal. Also, with the right hand R, the optical fiber 4
The optical fiber 48 is operated so as not to be excessively bent or twisted, and the optical fiber 48 does not come into contact with the holder of the electrode 28 or the protrusions such as the mirror 30. Here, the meaning of "simultaneous" is not necessarily strict, and allows a slight time difference between operations on both sides. Close the lid 38 on the left side of the heater 32 with the left hand. The reinforcing sleeve 50 is set in the center of the heater 32. The remaining lids 36 and 39 of the heater 32 are closed. At this time, light tension is applied lightly with the right hand so that the optical fiber 48 is not loosened. The reinforcing sleeve 50 is heated.

[0019]

Second Embodiment As shown in FIG. 3, a crank mechanism is used.
In order to eliminate the inclination of the clamper during movement, two parallel cranks are used as shown in the figure, but one crank may be used. The fixed base 54 is slightly longer in the front-back direction than in the first embodiment. The moving table 60 ((b) in the figure) has the same structure as the clothespin. The clamper 68 is swingably attached to the thick plate-shaped main body 62 by the pin 70, and the tip end is always closed by the spring 74. Clamper 68 when the rear part is pushed down
Opens. Other parts. This is the same as the moving table 60 of the first embodiment. The lever 90 is attached by pins 92 and 93 between the front ends of the fixed base 54 and the movable base 60. Further, the lever 9 is provided between the center of the fixed base 54 and the rear portion of the movable base 60.
A lever 94 having the same length as 0 is attached with pins 96 and 97. The distance between the pins 92 to 96 and the pins 93 to 97
Equalize the distances of. By doing so, the movable table 60 can be moved while keeping the horizontal position. FIG. 3A shows a moving table 60.
Is in the rear, and (c) shows the state of moving to the front.

As described above, the clamp moving device 52 is attached to the fusing part 1
The case on the left side of 4 has been described. However, the moving device 52 may be provided on the right side of the fusion-bonding portion 14 as described above. In that case, the moving device 52 may be the same as that on the left side. Or one having a symmetrical structure with respect to an arbitrary line in the front-back direction (the fiber guide 78 or the lever 8
2 is on the opposite side).

Further, the heater 32 can also be used in a fusing machine provided behind the fusing part 14. In that case, the moving device 52 may be used with its front and back reversed.

In the above embodiment, the clamp moving device with the lever is used, and the moving direction of the optical fiber is specified to the front and back. However, the main point of the present invention is that one side is a mechanical moving device and the other side is a manual operation, so that the ease of operation and cost reduction are aimed at. Exists.
Further, it is obvious that the moving direction in the embodiment shows only the preferable moving direction, and that it is possible to provide a mechanism for giving the freedom of movement in the other direction by changing the mechanical components.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, one of the fusion-spliced optical fibers is mechanically clamped, and the optical fiber is moved while maintaining the clamped state, and one of the optical fibers is conveyed by hand. Thus, the optical fiber can be freely operated so as not to hit the parts on the upper surface 11. Further, if the operator is skilled in the operation, tension can be applied so that the optical fiber is not loosened. The twist of the optical fiber can be easily suppressed during the movement.
Also, multi-core optical fibers can be transported horizontally.

According to the invention of claim 2, a fusion splicer with a heater having good operability can be constructed. In the invention of claim 3, since the moving device can be downsized, it can be installed in the fusion machine. Since the center of the fusion spliced portion of the optical fiber does not shift to the left and right, the non-transparent reinforcing sleeve 50 can be used.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the movable table 60 is automatically kept horizontal during movement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a state before an optical fiber is moved by a moving device 52, and (b) is a state.
Indicates the state after movement.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing only the moving device 52 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique, showing a state immediately after fusion splicing of optical fibers.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a conventional technique, showing a state where an optical fiber is clamped to a moving device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Fusing machine main body 11 Fusing machine upper surface 14 Fusing part 16 units 18 V groove 20 units 22 Clamper 24 Arm 26 Clamper 28 Electrode 30 Lifting mirror 32 Heater 34 Heater 36, 38, 39 Lid 40 Handle 42 Clamper 44, 46 Jig holder 48 Optical fiber 50 Reinforcement sleeve 52 Clamp moving device 54 Fixing stand 56 Main body 58 Convex section 60 Moving stand 62 Main body 64 Knob 66 Rubber sheet 68 Clamper 70 Pin 72 Rubber sheet 74 Spring 76 Convex section 78 Fiber guide 80 Notch section 82 lever 84,86 pin 88 plate 90,94 lever 92,93,96,97 pin

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. At the upper side of an optical fiber fusion splicer,
An optical fiber clamp moving device is provided on either the left side or the right side of the fusion splicing part, and after fusion splicing, the optical fiber on the side opposite to the clamp moving device is gripped and clamped by the clamp moving device. Move the optical fiber to the heater side, and at the same time move the grip side optical fiber to the heater side to move the optical fiber connection part to the heater side. Moving the optical fiber in the optical fiber fusion splicer Method. 2. At the upper side of the optical fiber fusion splicer,
Provided on either the left or right side of the fusion part,
An optical fiber fusion splicer comprising: an optical fiber clamp moving device that clamps and moves one end of a fused optical fiber; and a heater that heats a connecting portion of the connected optical fibers. 3. At the upper side of the optical fiber fusion splicer,
A clamp moving device for an optical fiber provided on the upper surface side of either the fusion splicer on the left side or the right side of the fusion splicing part, wherein the clamp moving device has a moving base having an optical fiber clamper, The movable table is swingably supported by one end of a lever, and the other end of the lever is swingably attached to the main body side of the fusion splicer. . 4. An optical fiber fusion splicer in which a movable table having an optical fiber clamper is attached to the upper surface of the fusion splicer on either the left side or the right side of the fusion splicer via a crank mechanism. Mobile device.