JPH08234042A - Fusion splicing device for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a fusion splicing device for optical fibers which has a high shielding effect to wind in spite of the formation of a windproof cover to a smaller size and is capable of fusion splicing the optical fibers by maintaining the stable atmosphere in this windproof cover. CONSTITUTION: This optical fiber fusion splicing device has a pair of discharge electrodes 1a, 1b, a pair of V-groove blocks 3a, 3b, a holder fixing base 7A and the windproof cover for covering the parts of at least a pair of the discharge electrodes 1a, 1b. The windproof cover has inside walls 12 between the V-groove blocks 3a, 3b and the holder fixing base 7A. These inside walls 12 have optical fiber through-holes 14. The windproof cover has outside walls 11 on the outer side of the inside walls 12 and these outside walls 11 are installed in the parts of the holder 7 and have holder through-holes 13. The inside walls 12 and the outside walls 11 are integrally installed at the windproof cover. The windproof cover is dividable at the plane inclusive of the optical fiber through-holes 14 and the holder through-holes 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an optical fiber fusion splicing device in which end faces of optical fibers are butted against each other and are fusion spliced by using discharge energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The basic structure of an optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus and a method for connecting optical fibers using the apparatus are shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to (a) and (b). First, the coating on the connection end side of each of the two optical fiber core wires 5a and 5b to be connected is removed so as not to scratch the optical fiber 4 and cut into a predetermined length. The connection end portion where the coating is removed and the optical fiber 4 is exposed is set in the optical fiber fusion splicing device.
The optical fiber fusion splicer is provided with discharge electrodes 1a and 1b which are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval, and V grooves 9 are formed on both left and right sides orthogonal to the directions of the discharge electrodes 1a and 1b. A pair of V groove blocks 3a and 3b are arranged. Then, the optical fibers 4 of the optical fiber cores 5a and 5b are respectively housed in the V grooves 9 of the V groove blocks 3a and 3b, and axial alignment (positioning) is performed. In this state, a discharge is generated between the discharge electrodes 1a and 1b, the discharge energy is applied to the connection end of the optical fiber 4 to melt the connection end, and the optical fibers 4 are butt-pressed to each other to bring the optical fiber into contact with each other. The fusion splicing of the optical fibers 4 of the core wires 5a and 5b is achieved.

By the way, recently, the optical transmission line is becoming longer, and accordingly, the optical fiber core wire is also required to have higher density and higher strength. Therefore, high strength is also required for the fusion spliced portion of the optical fiber core. The fusion splicing of the optical fiber cores is not always performed in a place where the indoor working environment is prepared, and is often at the roadside of a highway or on a steel tower. In the fusion splicing in such a working environment, the discharge becomes unstable due to the influence of the surrounding wind, etc., and uniform heating is not performed at the connection end of the optical fiber,
This is one of the causes of fusion splicing failure and hinders high strength fusion splicing. Therefore, in order to eliminate one of the causes of the fusion splicing failure and achieve high strength, it has been proposed to cover the vicinity including the discharge electrode with a box-shaped windshield cover.

[0004]

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of an optical fiber fusion splicing device provided with a windshield cover. 70 is a windshield cover, 7 is optical fiber cores 5a and 5b
Is a holder for fixing to the fusion splicing device. The holder 7 is further connected to the holder fixing base 7A. The holder fixing base 7A is movable in the axial direction of the optical fiber 4 so that the connection ends of the optical fibers 4 facing each other can be abutted against each other.

In the example of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIG.
The windshield cover 70 is provided with a partition wall 71 so as to cover the interior of the windshield cover 70 with the holder 7 as a boundary. The partition wall 71 of the windshield cover 70 is provided with a holder through hole 72 for allowing the holder 7 to penetrate therethrough. Holder through hole 72
Has a certain gap with the holder 7 so that the optical fiber 4 held by the holder 7 can be moved in the axial direction. Since the holder 7 is made larger in consideration of workability of mounting the optical fiber core wire 5a (5b), the gap between the holder through hole 72 and the holder 7 is also large. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the windshield cover 70 sufficiently blocks the wind.
In addition, in FIG. 7, the windshield cover 70 has a holder through hole 7
The lid 70A and the bottom body 70B are divided by a horizontal plane including 2 and the lid 70A can be opened and closed by a rotary hinge 73 provided on one side surface.

An optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus as shown in FIG. 8 has been proposed as a means for compensating for the drawbacks of the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of FIG. In the example of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIGS. 8A and 8B, the windshield cover 80 is extended to the outside of the holder 7 and is provided so as to completely include the holder 7 inside. In this example, since the optical fiber core wire 5a (5b) penetrates the windshield cover 80, the optical fiber core wire through hole 82 provided in the partition wall 81 of the windshield cover 80 and the optical fiber core wire 5a (5b). 7) is smaller than that shown in FIG. 7, the effect of blocking wind is enhanced.

On the other hand, since the windshield cover 80 needs to cover the outer periphery of the holder 7, it is inevitably large and the fusion splicing device itself is inevitably large. Therefore, it has the drawbacks of poor workability and trouble in transportation. In the example of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIGS. 9A and 9B, the partition wall 91 of the windshield cover 90 is provided inside the holder 7. Also in this example, the windshield cover 9
The optical fiber core 5a penetrates the partition wall 91 of 0.
(5b), the gap between the optical fiber core wire through hole 92 of the partition wall 91 and the optical fiber core wire 5a (5b) is small. However, since the partition wall 91 is close to the fusion splicing portion, more specifically, the discharge electrode, inside the windshield cover 90, there is a drawback that it is easily affected by the surrounding wind even if the gap is small.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems and provides an optical fiber fusion splicing device which has a high wind-shielding effect even when the windshield cover is made small, and is capable of fusion splicing in a stable atmosphere inside the windshield cover. It is intended to be provided.

[0009]

The present invention has the following means in order to solve the above problems.

The optical fiber fusion splicing device of the present invention comprises a pair of discharge electrodes facing each other with a predetermined spacing, and a connection arranged on both left and right sides orthogonal to the directions of the pair of discharge electrodes. A V-groove block in which V-grooves for locating each connection end of the optical fiber to be formed are formed, and a holder for holding the optical fiber to be connected arranged outside the V-groove block in the axial direction of the optical fiber, In an optical fiber fusion splicing device including a holder fixing base for fixing the holder and a windshield cover covering at least the pair of discharge electrodes, the windshield cover includes the V groove block and the holder fixing base. An inner wall having an optical fiber through hole through which an optical fiber to be connected can penetrate and an outer wall having a holder through hole through which the holder can penetrate are integrally provided outside the inner wall. Characterized in that it is dividable up and down in a plane including the optical fiber through-hole and the holder holes.

[0011]

According to the optical fiber fusion splicing device of the present invention, the windshield cover has an inner wall having a holder through hole through which an optical fiber to be connected can be inserted between the V groove block and the holder fixing base, and the inner wall. Since an outer wall having a holder through hole through which the holder can penetrate is integrally provided on the outside of the above, and the surface including the optical fiber through hole and the holder through hole can be divided into upper and lower parts, Has an effect.

The size of the windshield cover is within the range of the holder fixing base. Therefore, the entire device does not become large, so workability is good and it is easy to carry. Further, since the windshield cover is provided with the inner wall and the outer wall, the windshield cover has a high effect of blocking wind, and the inside of the windshield cover can be maintained in a stable atmosphere. As a result, stable fusion splicing can be achieved. Further, since the windshield cover can be divided at the surface including the optical fiber through hole and the holder through hole, it is easy to take out the connected optical fiber after fusion splicing. Furthermore, since the inner wall and the outer wall are provided integrally with the windshield cover, the windshield cover can be opened and closed with a single operation.

[0013]

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention. 1 to 4, the same parts as those of the conventional one are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 10 is a windshield cover of the optical fiber fusion splicer of this embodiment. Reference numeral 11 is an outer wall of the windshield cover 10, and 12 is an inner wall of the windshield cover 10. The outer wall 11 and the inner wall 12 are provided integrally with the windshield cover 10. The outer wall 11 is an optical fiber core wire 5a (5b)
Is provided in the portion of the holder 7 that holds the. The outer wall 11 has a holder through hole 13 through which the holder 7 can pass, as shown in FIGS.

The inner wall 12 is provided between the V-groove blocks 3a and 3b and the holder fixing base 7A so as to cover the pair of discharge electrodes 1a and 1b and the pair of V-groove blocks 3a and 3b. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the inner wall 12 has an optical fiber through hole 14 through which the optical fiber 4 to be connected having the coating removed can penetrate. The windshield cover 10 is the outer wall 1
1 and a surface including the holder through hole 13 and the optical fiber through hole 14 provided in the inner wall 12 can be divided into upper and lower parts. Specifically, it can be divided into a lid body 10A and a bottom body 10B. In this embodiment, the rotary hinge 15 is used to cover the lid 10A.
Is rotated to open and close the windshield cover 10.

The following procedure is used to connect optical fibers with the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus configured as described above.
First, the lid 10A of the windshield cover 10 is rotated to open the inside of the windshield cover 10. Then 2 to connect
The coating on the connection end side of the optical fibers 5a and 5b of the book is removed so as not to scratch the optical fiber 4. Further, it is cut into a predetermined length. The connection end where the coating is removed and the optical fiber 4 is exposed is housed in the V groove 9 of the V groove blocks 3a and 3b, and the lid 10A of the windshield cover 10 is closed to block the inside of the windshield cover 10 from the outside. Thereafter, the holder fixing base 7A is moved and adjusted in the optical fiber axial direction to perform predetermined axis alignment (positioning). Normally the cover is closed before axial alignment. In this state, a discharge is generated between the discharge electrodes 1a and 1b, the discharge energy is applied to the connection end of the optical fiber 4 to melt the connection end, and the optical fibers 4 are butt-pressed to each other. The fusion splicing of the optical fibers 4 of the core wires 5a and 5b is achieved.

According to the optical fiber fusion splicing device of the present invention, the windshield cover 10 is provided with the optical fiber 4 inside the outer wall 11 having the holder through hole 13 through which the holder 7 can penetrate.
Inner wall 1 provided with an optical fiber through hole 14 through which
2 has, for example, an inner wall 12 in which an optical fiber through hole 14 is further provided inside the holder through hole 13 of the outer wall 11 so that the gap between the holder through holes 13 is somewhat large and at least the effect of blocking wind is provided. Therefore, the inside of the windshield cover 10 can have a sufficiently stable atmosphere.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 20 denotes a windshield cover, and an outer wall 21 of the windshield cover 20 is provided with a holder fixing base through hole 22 that penetrates the holder fixing base 7A together with the holder 7. Since other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the optical fiber fusion splicing device of this embodiment, the gap of the holder fixing base through hole 22 of the outer wall 21 is slightly larger than that of the holder through hole 13 of the first embodiment, and the effect of blocking the wind on the outer wall 21 is somewhat small. However, since it has the inner wall 12 inside which the optical fiber through hole 14 is provided as in the first embodiment, the inside of the windshield cover 20 can be made a sufficiently stable atmosphere. Although the V-groove blocks 3a and 3b are provided separately in the above two embodiments, they may be integrated. Further, the holder 7 and the holder fixing base 7A may be integrated.

[0018]

As described above, according to the optical fiber fusion splicing device of the present invention, the size of the windshield cover is within the range of the holder fixing base, and therefore the entire device does not become large, so workability is improved. Good and easy to carry. Also,
Since the windshield cover is provided with the inner wall and the outer wall, the windshield cover has a high effect of blocking wind, and therefore the inside of the windshield cover can be maintained in a stable atmosphere. As a result, stable fusion splicing can be achieved. Further, since the windshield cover can be divided at the surface including the optical fiber through hole and the holder through hole, it is easy to take out the connected optical fiber after fusion splicing. Furthermore, since the inner wall and the outer wall are provided integrally with the windshield cover, the windshield cover can be opened and closed with a single operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIG. 1 taken along the line AA.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC of the optical fiber fusion splicing device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment of the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a main part of an example of a conventional optical fiber fusion splicing device, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view showing the main part of another example of the conventional optical fiber fusion splicing device, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

FIG. 8A is a sectional view showing a main part of another example of the conventional optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along line EE thereof.

FIG. 9A is a sectional view showing a main part of another example of the conventional optical fiber fusion splicing device, and FIG. 9B is a sectional view taken along line FF thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b Discharge electrode 3a, 3b V groove block 4 Optical fiber 5a, 5b Optical fiber core wire 7 Holder 7A Holder fixing stand 10 Windshield cover 11 Outer wall 12 Inner wall 13 Holder through hole 14 Optical fiber through hole 15 Rotating hinge

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of discharge electrodes, which are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval, and respective connection ends of optical fibers to be connected, which are arranged on both left and right sides orthogonal to the directions of the pair of discharge electrodes. A V-groove block in which a V-groove for positioning is formed, a holder for holding an optical fiber to be connected and arranged outside the optical fiber in the V-groove block, and a holder fixing base for fixing the holder. An optical fiber fusion splicing device comprising a windshield cover covering at least the pair of discharge electrodes, the windshield cover being penetrated by an optical fiber to be connected between the V groove block and the holder fixing base. An inner wall having an optical fiber through hole capable of penetrating, and an outer wall having an outer wall having a holder through hole through which the holder can penetrate, which are provided outside the inner wall, and the optical fiber through hole and the holder. An optical fiber fusion splicer characterized in that it is vertically separable in a plane including a through hole.