JPH091450A - Method for polishing end face of optical connector for ribbon fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To project precisely optical fiber parts with few polishing sags by inserting fixedly a press fit pin into a guide pin hole to polish the end faces of the optical fibers. CONSTITUTION: Since a press fit pin 6 has a dummy part 9, polishing pressure is dispersed to adhesives 5 and the dummy part 9 of the press fit pin 6, the polishing pressure is not applied to the end face of an optical connector and polishing sags are hardly caused. Also, since in the subsequent polishing process the press fit pin 6 is shaped to have a conically tapered part 8 pressed into intimate contact with a guide pin inserting hole in the tip part of the optical connector, the press fit pin 6 is held with a wedge effect even if the dummy part 9 is removed by the polishing action in the adhesive removing process. Thus, since the polishing pressure is concentrated to protect a guide pin hole inlet in which the polishing sags are liable to be caused, the polishing sags are hardly caused.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, in optical fiber communication systems, a large number of ribbon fibers having a ribbon shape in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in parallel have been introduced in order to reduce the cost of the optical fibers. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an end face polishing method for realizing physical contact by suppressing polishing sag of an optical connector for ribbon fibers for connecting ribbon fibers together, and projecting only the optical fibers from the surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 is an outline view of a ferrule of a ribbon fiber optical connector before polishing. The ferrule is made of a thermosetting resin to which an inorganic substance is added. At both ends,
Guide pin holes (a) and (a ′) for accommodating guide pins for aligning the two ferrules are provided. A plurality of (four in the figure) optical fibers (1), (2), (3), and (4) for connection are arranged in the central portion. The optical fiber is fixed to the ferrule with an adhesive (5). The end face polishing is performed as follows. In the planar polishing method for the ribbon fiber optical connector, the guide pin hole of the optical connector is polished in an open state. However, since the diameter of the guide pin hole is as large as 0.7 mm,
As shown in FIG. 2, there is a problem in that polishing sagging occurs around this area, and precise flat surface polishing cannot be performed.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a polishing method for polishing an end face of a ribbon fiber optical connector with a small amount of polishing sag and for accurately projecting an optical fiber portion.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the invention of claims 1 to 5, in order to suppress the polishing sag that occurs during polishing, it is press-fitted into the guide pin hole of the optical connector of the member to be polished. The pin is fixed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat polishing method in which an end face of an optical fiber is intentionally projected from an end face of an optical connector, wherein a polishing pad and a diamond whose surface is napped in a non-woven fabric during a mid-finish polishing step This is accomplished using a particulate liquid abrasive.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. However, what is shown below is only one embodiment of the present invention.
It does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the press-fitting pin (6) which is the polishing jig of the present invention, and can be easily inserted into the guide pin holes (a), (a ') of the optical connector shown in FIG. A cylindrical main body (7) having a possible outer diameter and a dummy portion (9) larger than the diameter of the guide pin holes (a) and (a ′).
In addition, it has a shape including a conical taper portion (8) provided between the main body portion (7) and the dummy portion (9). The press-fitting pin (6) which is the polishing jig of the present invention
Is inserted into the guide pin holes (a) and (a ') from the direction of the main body portion (7) before polishing and an appropriate pressure is applied, the conical taper portion (8) becomes a wedge due to the wedge effect. It is fixed to the guide pin holes (a) and (a '). The press-fitting pins (6) and (6 ') are shown in FIG. 4 as guide pin holes (a) and (a').
It shows the state of being inserted and fixed in.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining a polishing method for an optical connector for ribbon fiber in which the fiber strand polishing jig of the present invention is assembled in the polishing apparatus, and the polishing disk (20) of the polishing apparatus is revolved. It is a figure-8 movement consisting of exercise and rotation.
It consists of a mechanism for polishing an object to be polished. The polishing process includes adhesive removal, rough polishing, intermediate finish polishing, and finish polishing. On the polishing plate (20), a polishing film or polishing cloth (10) suitable for each step is attached. An attachment member (21) for vertically holding an object to be polished is installed on the polishing plate (20), and an optical connector, which is a plurality of objects to be polished, is assembled. A pressure mechanism (23) is provided on the support portion (22) of the attachment member (21), and polishing is promoted by utilizing this pressure.

[0009]

Since the press-fitting pin, which is the polishing jig of the present invention, has the dummy portion, the polishing pressure is dispersed between the adhesive (5) and the dummy portion of the press-fitting pin during the adhesive removing step, so that the optical connector is used. No polishing pressure is applied to the end faces, and polishing sag is less likely to occur.

Further, in the subsequent polishing process, the shape of the press-fitting pin has a conical taper portion which can be tightly fixed to the guide pin insertion hole at the tip of the optical connector. Even if it is removed by polishing, it is retained by the wedge effect. As a result, the guide pin hole entrance where the polishing pressure is concentrated and polishing sagging is likely to occur is protected, so that the polishing sagging is less likely to occur.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a state in which the rough-polishing process is completed by assembling the press-fitting pin which is the polishing jig of the present invention, and the dummy part of the press-fitting pin is completely removed by the polishing action. However, the conical taper portion provided on the press-fitting pin is fixed to the guide pin hole by the wedge effect. Therefore, the guide pin hole can be maintained in a sealed state, and polishing sag near the guide pin hole entrance can be suppressed. The press-fitting pin in the above description has a structure having a dummy portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the guide pin hole, but the point is that it is sufficient if there is a dummy portion during polishing, so the taper portion is extended. It will be clear that the shape is also acceptable. However, if there is a dummy part having the above-mentioned shape, the asymmetry on the left and right becomes clear, and it becomes easy to distinguish which side is the main part, and workability is improved.

Next, the material of the press-fitting pin will be described. Since the purpose of using the press-fitting pin is to suppress polishing sag near the entrance of the connector guide pin hole, the material of the press-fitting pin is required to have hardness equal to or higher than that of the connector. Furthermore, since the press-fitting pin is a disposable consumable member, it is required to be a material that can be manufactured at low cost. From the above points, a resin that can be processed by injection molding and a metal that can be forged such as ceramics and a header are suitable.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a polishing mechanism in which only the fiber portion of the polishing method of the present invention is intentionally projected, and a polishing pad (10) made of a non-woven fabric and having a raised surface is used in the intermediate finishing polishing step. Then, a liquid abrasive (11) of diamond particles is applied and polished. The abrasive particles selectively polish the plastic part of the optical connector (A) having a hardness lower than that of the optical fiber (F). As a result, the polishing rate of the optical connector end face (A) increases and the polishing rate of the optical fiber part (F) decreases, so that a processed end face shape in which the optical fiber part projects can be obtained.

According to the polishing method of the present invention, the polishing pad, which is made of a non-woven fabric and has a raised surface, can promote the free floating motion of the diamond particles as the polishing agent. To polish. Thereby, the fiber part can be projected in a short time.

Further, by limiting the thickness of the polishing pad to less than 1 mm, the amount of elastic deformation of the polishing pad caused by the applied pressure can be suppressed and polishing sag can be suppressed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the effect of implementation. It can be observed that the 8-core fiber located at the center of the processed end surface is projected by about 1 micron. Moreover, it can be observed that the sagging between the valley portion of the fiber and the entrance portions of both guide pin holes is within 0.5 micron, and the processed end face shape is good.

[0017]

As described above, since the press-fitting pin is inserted into the guide pin hole of the optical connector which is the object to be polished for polishing, the polishing sag can be suppressed to 1 micron or less. Moreover, since the guide pin hole is completely sealed by the press-fitting pin, it is possible to prevent the abrasive from entering the guide pin hole, and as a result, it is possible to perform simple cleaning. Further, by performing end face polishing using a polishing pad whose surface is a raised fabric and a liquid abrasive composed of diamond particles, the optical fiber portion can be projected in a short time, so that a high-performance ribbon fiber connector Can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional polishing method.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a connector polished by a conventional method.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an insertion pin used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a polishing mechanism for projecting the fiber portion of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connector polished by the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (A), (a ') Guide pin hole (6), (6') Press-fit pin (7) Body of press-fit pin (8) Tapered part of press-fit pin (9) Dummy part of press-fit pin (10) Polishing pad (11) Liquid abrasive of diamond particles (20) Polishing plate (21) Mounting member (22) Support part (23) Pressurizing mechanism

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Manabu Kainuma 1-3-1 Gotenyama, Musashino City, Tokyo NTT Advanced Technology Co., Ltd. (72) Shinji Nagasawa Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Uchisaiwaicho 1-6 No. 1 Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method for polishing an end face of an optical fiber connector for ribbon fibers, which is made of a resin containing an inorganic substance and has a plurality of optical fibers arranged inside two guide pin holes. A method for polishing an end face of a ribbon fiber optical connector, which comprises inserting and fixing a press-fitting pin into the end and polishing the end face. 2. A main body having a press-fitting pin whose outer diameter allows easy insertion into a guide pin insertion hole of the optical connector, and a conical shape whose one end has a larger diameter toward the tip. The method of polishing an end face of an optical connector for ribbon fibers according to claim 1, comprising a taper portion. 3. A main body part having a press-fitting pin shape having an outer diameter that can be easily inserted into a guide pin insertion hole of the optical connector, a dummy part having a diameter of the guide pin hole of the optical connector, and the main body. The end face polishing method for a ribbon fiber optical connector according to claim 1, comprising a conical taper portion provided between the portion and the dummy portion. 4. The material of the taper portion of the press-fitting pin is resin,
The method for polishing an end face of an optical connector for a ribbon fiber according to claim 2, which is made of ceramics or metal. 5. The method of polishing an end face of an optical connector for a ribbon fiber according to claim 3, wherein the material of the taper portion and the dummy portion of the press-fitting pin is resin, ceramics or metal. 6. A ribbon fiber optical connector in which the press-fitting pin is inserted and fixed in the guide pin hole is formed by combining a polishing pad made of a non-woven fabric and having a thickness of less than 1 mm and a liquid abrasive of diamond particles. The method for polishing an end face of an optical connector for a ribbon fiber according to claim 1, which comprises polishing.