JPH0862519A - Optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an optical switch where axial deviation is not caused at the optical connection part of optical fibers even when external stress acts. CONSTITUTION: The optical switch is constituted as a whole by providing a fiber arraying body 3 where a guide groove 3b for positioning an optical fiber is formed, a fiber introducing body 6 where a guide groove 6b is formed, a movable head for movably holding the optical fiber 4, and a carrying mechanism for driving the movable head. The optical fibers to be optically connected are mutually positioned. Since the fiber arraying body 3 is constituted separately from the fiber introducing body 6, the guide groove 3b formed on the fiber arraying body 3 is formed to be minimum length. Thus, the fiber arraying body 3 is inexpensively produced by plastic molding and the fiber introducing body 6 easily abraded is formed of abrasion resistant material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical switch for optically coupling optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical scan switch having a connector table in which a large number of connectors are arranged in a matrix is connected to a two-dimensionally movable master connector is known ("C-449, 10-core package 1"). × 1000 Optical Scan Switch ”, IEICE Spring National Convention (19
1998), P4-238).

[0003]

In the conventional connector table, a plurality of connectors are physically arranged to form a two-dimensional array of optical fibers. Therefore, there is a drawback that the optical fibers held by different connectors are not accurately arranged and the optical fibers held by the master connector cannot be accurately connected.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical switch according to the present invention is an optical switch for selectively optically coupling a second optical fiber to any of a plurality of first optical fibers. Then, one end faces of the plurality of first optical fibers are arranged at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of first guide grooves for positioning the second optical fibers to be optically coupled with the first optical fibers are formed. A fiber array body, a fiber introducer formed as a separate body from the fiber array body, and having a plurality of second guide grooves continuous with each first guide groove of the fiber array body, and a second optical fiber are moved. It comprises a movable head which is freely held, and a conveying means which drives the movable head and moves the second optical fiber to predetermined first and second guide grooves. And this fiber introduction body has a positioning portion formed by a concave portion or a convex portion for positioning the movable head, and the movable head is
It is characterized by having a fitting portion that fits with this positioning portion.

[0005]

The moving means drives the movable head to convey the second optical fiber into a predetermined second guide groove on the fiber introducing body. As a result, the predetermined first optical fiber and the second optical fiber
Optically couple with an optical fiber.

Further, in this fiber array, since the portion where the first optical fibers are fixed in the arrayed state and the first guide groove for positioning the second optical fiber are integrally formed, the first optical fiber is formed. And the second optical fiber can be accurately aligned.

Further, by configuring the fiber array body and the fiber introducing body as separate bodies separated from each other, the length of the first guide groove of the fiber array body and the length of the second guide groove of the fiber introducing body can be arbitrarily set. Can be set to. Ie 2
It suffices that the second optical fiber can be stably positioned with the total length of the two guide grooves butted together, and the ratio of the lengths of the two guide grooves may be selected in consideration of the convenience of manufacturing and the material cost.

By providing a guide pin for positioning on the fiber array body and providing a receiving portion for receiving the guide pin on the fiber introducing body, the positioning of the both can be facilitated.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An optical switch according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols in the description.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical switch according to this embodiment comprises a fiber array body 3 in which one end of a tape fiber 1 is fixed, a fiber introducing body 6 connected to the fiber array body 3, and a tape. The movable head 5 that holds the optical fiber to be connected to the fiber 1, the transport mechanism 24 that displaces the movable head 5, and the like constitute the main part, and these are fixed on the base 12.

FIG. 3 shows only the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 taken out. The fiber array 3 fixes one end of each optical fiber 2 (first optical fiber) constituting the tape fiber 1 and a fiber fixing portion 3a in which one end surface of the fiber is arranged at a constant interval, and a light to be connected. Support part 3 in which guide groove 3b for positioning the fiber is formed
c, and a concave slit 3d is formed between the fiber fixing portion 3a and the supporting portion 3c in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 3b. A guide pin 8 is projectingly provided on the fiber fixing portion 3a and is disposed in a V groove formed on the supporting portion 3c.

On the other hand, the fiber introducing member 6 has an upper surface
A guide groove 6b connected to the guide groove 3b and a V groove 6a for positioning the main body are formed, and the V groove 6a is formed in a position and shape facing the V groove of the fiber fixing portion 3a. Therefore, by arranging the guide pin 8 inside the series of V grooves, the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 are positioned (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). Although only a few guide grooves 3b and 6b are illustrated for convenience of description, in practice, a large number (e.g., about 80) are provided at a constant pitch of, for example, 0.25 mm. .

Next, referring to FIGS. 5 to 9, the movable head 5
Will be described. The movable head 5 is formed by cutting the rear portion of the lower surface thereof to form an inclined surface 53, and the fiber fixing block 17 is attached to this portion while inclining forward and downward. The optical fiber 4 is fitted in the fitting groove 17a on the lower surface of the fixed block 17, and the pressing plate 17b is applied to the outer periphery of the optical fiber 4, and the pressing plate 17b is fixed to the fixing block 17 with an adhesive. ing. As a result, the optical fiber 4 is attached to the movable head 5 with a certain distance and with its tip inclined forward and downward. The movable head 5 holds the optical fibers 4 in such a state. In the held state, the movable head 5 arranges the optical fibers 2 (X direction) and the longitudinal direction (Z direction).
Direction) and a direction (Z direction) orthogonal to this X direction.

Further, a V-groove-shaped pin fixing groove 18 is formed on both outer sides of the optical fiber 4 at the tip of the lower surface of the movable head 5 in parallel with the optical fiber 4 (FIG. 6A). Then, the guide pin 1 made of a hard metal is provided in the pin fixing groove 18.
9 is fitted, and a part of the guide pin 19 projects from the lower surface of the movable head 5. In the illustrated example, the pin fixing groove 18 is formed in the fixed block 5a, and the fixed block 5a
Is fixed to the concave portion 5b of the movable head 5, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration example. Also, the fixed block 5a
Has a recess 5c as an escape space in which the optical fiber 4 can bend when the optical fiber 4 is inserted into the second fiber fixing groove 9. A V-groove 20 into which the guide pin 19 is fitted is provided in the fiber introducing body 6 and is formed into a guide groove 6b.
It is formed in parallel with.

Therefore, when the movable head 5 is moved to a predetermined position above the fiber introduction body 6 and then lowered, the second optical fiber 4 bends around the fixing portion with the fiber fixing block 17 as a fulcrum, and the tip portion of the fiber. Is a guide 6b
To fit. By further lowering the movable head 5, the guide pin 1 protruding from the lower surface of the movable head 5
9 is fitted in the V groove 20. In this state, the movable arm 28
If the pressing force by the is maintained, even if the external stress in the X direction is applied to the movable head 5, the guide pin 19 made of the hard metal is V
As the movable head 5 is engaged with the groove 20,
It is possible to maintain the reliable optical connection of the optical fibers 2 and 4 without shifting in the direction.

FIG. 6B shows an embodiment in which the V groove into which the guide pin 19 is fitted is also used as the guide groove 6b for positioning the optical fiber. In this case, V of the guide groove 6b
The opening width of the groove is set to about 250 μm. The outer diameter of the optical fiber is approximately 125 μm, and the outer diameter of the guide pin 19 is set to 230 to 250 μm. Therefore, FIG.
According to the configuration of (b), the guide groove 6b has the guide pin 19
The second optical fiber 4 can be fitted into the guide groove 6b sufficiently deep, and the guide pin 19
Also, a part of it is fitted in the guide groove 6b.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, if a slight pressing force is applied to the movable head 5 from above with a part of the guide pin 19 fitted in the guide groove 6b, the fiber arrangement direction (X Even when an external stress (direction) is applied, the movable head 5 is accurately positioned without shifting in the X direction.

The cross-sectional shapes of the guide pin 19, the guide groove 6b and the V groove 20 are not limited to the illustrated examples. Also, the number of guide pins 19 is not limited. In the illustrated example, the two guide pins 19 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval.
One can achieve the intended purpose. In addition,
When the number of guide pins 19 is one, it is desirable to add an appropriate supporting means so that the movable head 5 does not tilt.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the other drawings, the movable head 5 has elasticity, and is composed of a first movable arm 26 and a second movable arm 27 which are vertically spaced from each other. The movable arm 28 is attached to the tip of 28, and is linked and connected to a first motor 29, which is a drive source.

The details of the transport mechanism 24 for moving the movable arm 28 will be described below. First, a mechanism for moving the movable arm 28 in the arrangement direction of the optical fibers 2 by the first motor 29 will be described. The first motor 29 is arranged at one end of the base 12, and a screw shaft 30 connected to the motor shaft of the first motor 29 is horizontally provided on the base 12 by a bearing plate 31. A first movable member 32 is interlocked with the screw shaft 30. That is, the pressing arm 33 and the engagement wire 34 having a spring property protrude from the rear end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the first movable member 32 with a predetermined distance therebetween, and the pressing arm 33 presses the screw shaft 30. The engagement wire 34 is engaged with the thread groove of the screw shaft 30. Therefore, the first movable member 32 can move left and right along the screw shaft 30 by rotating the screw shaft 30 in the forward and reverse directions.

The first movable member 32 is fixed to the upper surface of a flat plate-shaped second movable portion base 35. A block-shaped mounting base 36 is fixed to the upper surface of the second movable member 35, and the first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 2 are mounted on the mounting base 36.
The base end of 7 is fixed by a plurality of fixing screws 36.

As shown in FIG. 2, a guide block 38 is provided on the lower surface of the flat plate-shaped second movable member 35.
The guide block 38 is slidably fitted into a guide groove 41 of a U-shaped guide member 40 fixed with an opening facing upward with respect to a groove 39 formed on the upper surface of the base 12.

Therefore, when the guide block 38 moves in the guide groove 41, the second movable member 35 can be stably moved while maintaining a predetermined posture. The first guide thin plate 42 and the second guide thin plate 4 are provided on both ends of the upper surface of the second movable member 35.
3 is fixed (shown in FIG. 1). First guide thin plate 4
The tip of 2 is bent at a right angle, and this bent portion is slidably engaged with a step portion 44 formed on the base 12. As a result, the second movable member 35 can move horizontally more stably in combination with the action of the guide block 38 described above. In addition, the tip of the second guide thin plate 43 is the base 12
The horizontal movement is stopped by engaging with the stopper 45 provided on the side.

Here, the first and second movable arms 26, 27
A more detailed structure of the above will be described based on FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 10, the first movable arm 26 is formed of a metal plate having a spring property, and its base end is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting base 36 with a fixing screw 37. In order to increase flexibility, the first movable arm 26 is formed so as to become narrower toward the tip thereof, and the tip bending portion has a movable head 5 with a bent portion.
It is fixed by spot welding on the upper surface of. Further, on the lower surface of the intermediate portion of the first movable arm 26, a substantially U-shaped receiver 51 is provided.
(The action will be described later) is fixed.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the second movable arm 27 is formed by stacking a plurality of thin leaf springs and spot welding the end portions of the laminated leaf springs 27a to each of the laminated leaf springs 27a. Are connected in a staggered manner. The end of the uppermost leaf spring 27b is bent in a hook shape.
The hole 21 formed in the mounting base 36 to the screw hole 23 of the front projection 36a of the mounting base 36, and the fixing screw 37 through the washer 22.
By screwing into the screw hole 23, the uppermost leaf spring 2
7b is fixed to the mount 36.

A bent portion 27e is formed on both sides of the leaf spring 27d of the uppermost layer, and the rear portion of the movable head 5 is fitted inside the bent portion 27e and fixed with an adhesive. Since the second movable arm 27 is configured by connecting the plurality of leaf springs 27a in zigzag in this manner, the zigzag portion of the intermediate layer is expanded and contracted by using the uppermost leaf spring 27b as a support portion. A soft spring property can be given to the movable head 5, and the movable head 5 can be elastically supported. Especially,
In this embodiment, since a plurality of leaf springs are laminated and connected in zigzag to form a spring, the spring dimension is substantially lengthened in a smaller space, and greater flexibility is provided. A soft spring can be configured to enable smooth elastic support of the movable head 5.

The movable arm 28 is composed of the first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 27 having the above-mentioned structure, and the movable head 5 is supported by the tips of the first and second movable arms 26 and 27 to stably stabilize the fiber. The array 3 can be moved in the X direction. A second motor 46 is installed at one end of the base 12 as a drive source for moving the movable arm 28 in the X direction.

A fan gear 48 meshes with the motor pin-on 47 of the second motor 46. This fan-shaped gear 48
Is fixed to a shaft 52 projecting from the end of an actuation rod 49 which is composed of a shaft rod having an eccentric shaft or a shaft rod having a non-round circular cross section. The shafts 52 at both ends of the operating rod 49 are supported by a bearing plate 50 fixed on the base 12.

As described above, the U-shaped receiver 51 is fixed to the lower surface of the first movable arm 26. The lower surface of the receiver 51 slidably contacts the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49. There is. Accordingly, the second motor 46 causes the operating rod 49 to rotate through the motor pinion 47 and the sector gear 48 through the shaft 52 for a predetermined angle, whereby the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod 49 moves up and down about the shaft 52. , The first movable arm 26 and the second movable arm 27 move up and down integrally through the receiving member 51 which is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface, and the movable head 5 of the optical fiber 4 moves up and down accordingly. it can.

According to the transport mechanism 24 of this embodiment, by driving the first motor 29 and the second motor 46, the movable head 5 moves in the depth direction (Y direction) of the guide groove 6b within a predetermined range. At the same time, by moving in the arrangement direction (X direction) of the guide grooves 6b, the optical fiber 4 can be made to escape from the guide groove 6b, go over the ridge of the guide groove, and move to another guide groove. Thereby, the optical connection with the optical fiber 2 can be switched. In this embodiment, a pair of optical fibers 4 are attached to the movable head 5 and move integrally, so that two optical paths can be switched at the same time.

Further, one feature of the optical switch described above is that the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 described above are not integrally formed but are separately formed. Here, a method of manufacturing the fiber array 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 16 and FIG. 3 described above.

The fiber array 3 can be formed of Si material as in the prior art, but as shown below,
It is also possible to mold with plastic. First,
Molding pins 102 for forming fiber fixing holes are arranged in a mold cavity (not shown) for molding plastic (FIG. 16A). The small diameter portion 101 at the tip of the molding pin 102 has a diameter of φ12 according to the outer diameter of the optical fiber 2.
It is set to 5 μm.

Next, the epoxy resin 103 is filled in the mold cavity and cured. Then, after curing, the molding pin 102 is pulled out. As a result, the optical fiber line 2
A substrate 100 having a large number of insertion holes (reference numeral 102) into which a is to be inserted is obtained.

Next, the optical fiber line 2 is inserted into each of the insertion holes.
a is inserted, and the optical fiber 2 at the tip thereof is brought into a state of protruding outside from the insertion hole. In this state, an adhesive is applied to the optical fiber 2 protruding from the base 100, and the adhesive is filled in the insertion hole to fix the optical fiber line 2a to the base 10.
It is fixed to 0 (FIG. 16 (b)).

Next, the optical fiber 2 protruding from the base body 100 and the shaded portion in FIG.
5) is removed by grinding or the like. As a result, in the optical fiber 2, the lower half from the center portion remains on the base body 100 (portion indicated by reference numeral 3c in FIG. 3). At the time of this grinding, as shown in FIG. 17, the semi-cylindrical unnecessary fiber is dropped and removed by the resistance at the time of grinding. This is because the adhesive strength of the optical fiber is smaller than the grinding resistance because the length of this portion is short. Through such steps, the fiber array 3 shown in FIG. 3 is completed.

Since the fiber fixing portion 3a and the supporting portion 3c can be integrally formed by manufacturing in this way, the guide groove 3b on the supporting portion 3c and the fiber fixing portion 3a can be formed.
The alignment with the optical fiber 2 can be realized with extremely high accuracy.

The plastic molding as described above has been desired because it can be manufactured at a low cost, but on the other hand, the molding pin 10 disposed in the mold cavity is desired.
Since the second small-diameter portion 101 is extremely thin and easily bent, it must be formed as short as possible. However, in order to stably position the optical fiber to be connected, a considerably long thin portion is required. Therefore, the plastic molding of such a type of fiber array body had to be abandoned. Therefore, as in this embodiment, the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 are formed as separate bodies,
By setting each part of the fiber array body 3 to a length as shown in FIG. 16 (c), it becomes possible to control the bending of the molding hole due to the pin bending without any problem, and stable and low-cost member molding can be performed. It will be possible.

In addition to the fiber array body 3, the material of the fiber introducing body 6 can be appropriately selected. That is, the guide groove 6 b of the fiber introduction body 6 is a portion that directly contacts the optical fiber 4 held by the movable head 5, and has a larger mechanical wear than the fiber array body 3. Therefore, it is desirable that the fiber introducing member 6 is made of a material having excellent wear resistance such as a ceramic member or a metal member. Further, the surface of the guide groove 6b that comes into contact with the optical fiber 4 may be subjected to wear-resistant surface treatment.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the positioning of the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 is performed by using the V groove and the guide pin 8 which are formed at the relatively same position. However, the fiber array body 3 and the fiber introducing body 6 and the guide pin 8 may be further fixed by using the clamp member 110 having a shape in which an annular part is cut out (see FIG. 18). Note that the guide groove 6b formed in the fiber introducing body 6 is not limited to the V groove as shown in FIG. 18 and the like, and as shown in FIG. 19, the cross section thereof is half as in the guide groove 3b of the supporting portion 3c. It may be formed as a circular guide groove 6c.

The main function of the fiber introducing member 6 is to guide the optical fiber 4 held by the movable head 5 into the guide groove 3b of the fiber array member 3 without any trouble. Therefore,
The relative alignment accuracy between the fiber introduction body 6 and the fiber array body 3 may be relatively rough.

In the present embodiment described above, an optical switch device having one fiber array body is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and the fiber array bodies 3 are provided in multiple stages. It can also be applied to an optical switch that switches the optical connection between the optical fiber 4 and the optical fibers 2 at each stage by a transport mechanism (not shown) using a three-dimensional or three-dimensional moving stage.

[0043]

As described above, according to the optical switch of the present invention, when the movable head holding the second optical fiber is conveyed by the conveying means, the positioning portion of the fiber introducing body and the movable head are fitted together. Since the parts are fitted to each other, even if external stress in the fiber arrangement direction is applied to the second optical fiber, the optical axis is not displaced in the optical connection part, and the optical connection of the first and second optical fibers can be reliably maintained. .

Further, the fiber array body is integrally formed with a first guide groove for guiding the optical fiber to be connected, and the opposing fiber introduction body is provided with a second guide groove continuous with the first guide groove.
Since the guide groove is formed and configured separately from each other, the final positioning, which requires high accuracy, is to be performed on the fiber array side, and the shortage of the groove length required for connection must be compensated on the fiber introducer side. You can Therefore, the length of the first guide groove formed in the fiber array body can be minimized, and it becomes possible to form the fiber array body by plastic molding which has been difficult in the past.

Further, by constructing the fiber array body and the fiber introducing body as separate bodies, they can be formed of the optimum materials. For example, since the surface of the second guide groove of the fiber introducing body is easily worn,
It can also be formed of a wear resistant material.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire optical switch according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a fiber array body and a fiber introducing body taken out and shown.

4A is a front view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a vertical sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged bottom view of the movable head.

6A is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory view showing an engagement relationship between a guide pin and a guide groove as a modified example of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which an optical fiber is moved to the vicinity of a fiber introducing body by a movable head.

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which two optical fibers held by a movable head are guided to a guide groove of a fiber introducing body.

9 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a movable arm to which a movable head is attached.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a second movable arm, a movable head, and a mounting base.

12 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 11. FIG.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state in which the first movable arm is attached to the attachment base.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a state in which a second movable arm having a movable head is attached to a mounting base, a part of which is shown as a cross section.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing a state in which the movable arm of FIG. 13 and the movable arm of FIG.

16 (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate having a large number of insertion holes, and FIG. 16 (b) shows an optical fiber inserted into the insertion holes.
Sectional drawing which shows the state which applied or filled the adhesive agent, (c)
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which (b) is cut to form a fiber array body.

FIG. 17 is a partial perspective view showing an enlarged guide groove on a support in the fiber array body.

18 is a perspective view showing a state where a clamper member is attached to the fiber array body and the fiber introducing body shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a front view of FIG. 18.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Optical fiber (first optical fiber), 3 ... Fiber array body, 3b ... Guide groove (first guide groove), 5 ... Movable head, 6 ... Fiber introducing body, 6b ... Guide groove (second guide groove), 19 ... Guide pin, 20 ... V groove (positioning portion),
24 ... Transport mechanism.

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

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A second optical fiber in any one of the plurality of first optical fibers.
An optical switch for selectively optically coupling optical fibers, wherein one end faces of a plurality of the first optical fibers are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the second optical fibers to be optically coupled with the first optical fibers. And a plurality of second guide grooves, which are formed as separate bodies from the fiber array body in which a plurality of first guide grooves for positioning are arranged, and which are continuous with the respective first guide grooves of the fiber array body. A formed fiber introducing member, a movable head that movably holds the second optical fiber, a drive that drives the movable head, and moves the second optical fiber to predetermined first and second guide grooves. Means, the fiber introducing body has a positioning portion formed by a concave portion or a convex portion for positioning the movable head, the movable head has a fitting portion that fits with the positioning portion. Light switch. 2. The fiber array body has a guide pin projecting toward the fiber introduction body side, the guide pin defining the disposition position of the fiber introduction body with respect to the fiber array body. The optical switch according to claim 1, further comprising a housing portion that receives the guide pin. 3. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the fiber array body is formed of plastic. 4. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein at least the surface of the second guide groove of the fiber introducing member is made of a wear resistant material. 5. The first guide groove of the fiber array is formed to have a shorter length than the second guide groove of the fiber introducing body. Optical switch described.