JPH09251135A - Optical fiber type switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clean switch suitable for reducing the size and thickness, being easy to handle, performing sure and stable connection changeover operation and having a simple structure. SOLUTION: This switch is provided with a positioning groove base 2 having optical fibers 4 or ranged on the fixing side in column, a moving body 1 being freely oscillated and provided with a positioning head 5 to which the connection end part of an optical fiber 3 on the movable side is fixed, a moving device 7 for moving the moving body 1 along the end face of the optical fiber 4 on the fixing side and moving the optical fiber 3 on the movable side to the desired optical fiber 4 on the fixing side and an actuator 6 fixing the optical fiber 3 on the movable side by descending it on the positioning groove base 2 and connecting it to the optical fiber 4 on the fixing side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber type switch for mechanically switching and connecting optical fibers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various optical communication systems using optical fibers have been proposed and developed, and various support systems have been developed for monitoring whether the optical communication system is functioning normally, and for maintenance and management. Is being developed. In such a system, in addition to the automatic test function of the optical core, it is known to have a remote switching means for the core by a switching connector to automatically switch the core.

For example, as such a core wire switching means,
A large number of multi-fiber optical fiber terminals are provided in a straight line in a casing filled with a refractive index matching agent, and a large number of optical fibers on the moving side are attached to a moving body that freely moves by a predetermined sliding means. An optical fiber type switch has been developed in which the movable side optical fiber can be selectively connected to the large number of fixed side optical fibers.

Furthermore, since the clamper presses the optical fiber against the V groove, there is a possibility that the optical fiber may bend at the boundary with the clamper surface to cause an unexpected adverse effect.

[0005]

By the way, in such an optical fiber type switch, for example, a driving means such as a motor or a solenoid is used to vertically move a clamper for pressing the optical fiber, thereby moving the optical fiber on the moving side. The connection end of is pressed from above and fixed in a positioning groove (for example, V groove). However, such a driving means has a mechanical structure, and it is difficult to reduce the dimension in the height (thickness) direction, which is a bottleneck in realizing high-density mounting. Further, such a driving means is accompanied by a mechanical sliding portion, wear powder is generated from this sliding portion, and if this wear powder is diffused in the matching agent and adheres to the connecting end face of the optical fiber, the There is a risk of causing troubles such as deterioration of typical connection characteristics.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has a simple mechanism and is easy to handle.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a clean optical fiber type switch that can perform a reliable and stable connection switching operation, and is suitable for downsizing, particularly thinning.

[0007]

That is, according to the invention described in claim 1, there is provided a positioning groove base provided with positioning grooves in which a plurality of fixed side optical fibers are arranged in a row, and at least one moving side. A moving body on which the optical fiber is mounted; and a moving device that moves the moving body along the end face of the fixed side optical fiber to position the moving side optical fiber and the desired fixed side optical fiber, In an optical fiber type switch for switching the optical communication path by moving the moving side optical fiber relative to the fixed side optical fiber, the connection end side of the moving side optical fiber is directed to a positioning groove base with respect to the moving body. And a connection means for optically connecting the movable side optical fiber to any of the fixed side optical fibers.

In the invention according to claim 2, the connecting means has a positioning head in which the connecting end side of the moving side optical fiber is fixed, and the connecting head is tilted to connect the moving side optical fiber. And an actuator for fixing the connection end of this moving-side optical fiber to the positioning groove.

In the invention according to claim 3, the connecting means is a magnetic body provided near the connecting end of the moving side optical fiber, and the moving side optical fiber is attracted / adsorbed by magnetic force. The connection end side of is lowered onto the positioning groove base,
An electromagnetic clamp device for fixing the moving-side optical fiber to the positioning groove is provided.

[0010]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2
FIG. 1A is a perspective view and a side view showing an overall outline of an optical fiber type switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The optical fiber type switch of the first embodiment is N × M type (N and M are integers of 1 or more, and particularly N = 1 in this embodiment).
Of the changeover switch of the one moving side optical fiber 3
An actuator 6 and a moving mechanism 7 are provided for optical connection between any one of the M fixed-side optical fibers 4. The fixed-side optical fiber 4 has a positioning groove on the positioning groove base 2 fixed on an appropriate base 70 (see, for example, FIG. 1).
The optical fibers 3 on the moving side are fixed to the positioning head 5 on the side of the moving body 1 which is moved by the moving device 7.

The moving body 1 of this embodiment is sent out by a moving device 7 of a ball screw type so as to move along the tip surface of the fixed side optical fiber 4. On the upper surface of the moving body 1, a swingable positioning head 5 and an actuator 6 for swinging the positioning head 5 are mounted.

On the upper surface of the positioning groove base 2, as shown in FIG. 1, V-grooves 2A for positioning which are equal to or larger than the number of fixed side optical fibers 4 are provided in parallel. Also each V
In the groove 2A, the fixed-side optical fiber 4 is partway in the longitudinal direction.
Are arranged and fixed, and the connection-side end faces of these fixed-side optical fibers 4 are arranged in a straight line. And each V groove 2
In A, the fixed side optical fiber 4 and the moving side optical fiber 3
An accurate positioning connection with is made.

The moving side optical fiber 3 has a movable body 1 at the tip side.
However, the tip portion beyond this is floating in the air due to the rigidity of the optical fiber itself. That is, the moving-side optical fiber 3 is arranged slightly above the fixed-side optical fiber 4 fixed in the V-groove 2A in order to prevent contact with the V-groove 2A during switching movement. When the connection is switched, the moving optical fiber 3 is moved by the moving device 7
By this, it is possible to move in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 without being in contact with the V groove 2A.

The moving device 7 has a hole 1A provided in the moving body 1.
Is supported by a guide shaft 71 that is slidably inserted into
The moving body 1 is provided with a screw shaft 72 screwed into the female screw hole 1B. These shafts 71, 72 are
The two side plates 70A (see FIG. 1) standing upright on the base 70 are rotatably supported with 5A as a fulcrum.
One end of the screw shaft 72 is a drive source fixed to the side plate 70,
For example, it is connected to the shaft of a pulse motor (not shown). By giving a step input to this pulse motor to drive it intermittently, the screw shaft 72 rotates by a predetermined angle,
The moving body 1 on the ball screw type screw shaft 72 moves precisely.

Further, the moving device 7 is provided with origin detecting means such as a magnetic switch (not shown) which is a non-contact switch, and the moving body 1 has a detecting piece (not shown) for the magnetic switch. Is provided. If the moving body 1 moves to the shaft end side and the origin (home position) of the moving body 1 is set by this magnetic switch, positioning is performed with this position as a reference. For example, from the origin position to the tip of the second fixed-side optical fiber 4, the moving-side optical fiber 3
When the tip end of the moving optical fiber 3 is transferred, the rotation amount of the shaft corresponding to the transfer amount is obtained in advance, and a step input of a number that realizes the rotation amount is given from the motor control unit to the pulse motor to move the optical fiber 3 on the moving side. Can be positioned with high precision. In order to shorten the movement switching time, if the first positioning operation is completed from the origin position, the pulse motor holds it at that position, and in the next switching operation, the moving body 1 once returns to the origin position. Instead, it is preferable to control so as to move directly to the next position. In this case, the number of steps required for the (P + 1) th movement from the Pth movement can be easily calculated.

The operating principle of this moving device is not limited to the ball screw system, and may be a direct drive system such as a linear system. The origin detecting means is not limited to the magnetic switch which is a non-contact type switch, and various kinds of means can be applied.

The actuator 6 is a device for inclining the tip of the moving-side optical fiber 3 which has been moved to a desired position by the moving device 7 to drop it on the V-groove 2A and fixing it in a stable state. It is provided below the base end of the positioning head 5 on the moving body 1. That is, the actuator 6 of this embodiment is designed so that the tip end side of the positioning head 5 is inclined downward by utilizing the electromagnetic repulsive force, and for this reason, the electromagnetic coil 61 for excitation is provided, and A magnet 62 is fixed to the lower surface of the actuator 6 directly above the electromagnetic coil 61 so that the facing portions have the same pole (for example, N poles). Although the actuator 6 of this embodiment utilizes electromagnetic force,
Of course, other than this, piezo type actuators and motor type,
Fluid pressure and various other types can be used. That is, it is a general term for a drive source that swings the positioning head. Further, in order to prevent the positioning head 5 from tilting toward the tip side when the moving body 1 is moved, the positioning head 5 is raised in the horizontal direction. Therefore, an appropriate means such as a spring having a certain elastic force is used for the moving body. It is preferable to provide it between 1 and 1.

The end face gap between the fixed side optical fiber 2 and the moving side optical fiber 3 in the connected state is such that there is no hindrance to the optical connection between the optical fibers within the V-groove (there is a connection loss thereof). Set.

Therefore, in order to switch the moving side optical fiber 3 which has been connected to the specific fixed side optical fiber 4 to another fixed side optical fiber 4, the electromagnetic coil 61 of the actuator 6 is fed with power. The electromagnetic coil 61 is demagnetized by being cut off. Then, since the magnetic repulsive force between the electromagnetic coil 61 and the magnet 62 disappears, only the elastic force of the spring acts, and the positioning head 5 tilted downward rises. As a result, the moving-side optical fiber 3 that has been fixed in the V-groove 62A separates and floats from the V-groove 62A, so that the connection state with the fixed-side optical fiber 4 can be released.

In this way, the moving side optical fiber 3 is
After being lifted from the groove 62A to be in a free state, the pulse motor is driven to move the moving body 1 to a position where the moving side optical fiber 3 corresponds to the desired fixed side optical fiber 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the moving optical fiber 3 is moved to just above the tip of the fixed optical fiber 4 to be connected.

After that, the actuator 6 is operated.
That is, power is supplied to the electromagnetic coil 61 to excite it, and the magnet 6
It is tilted by using magnetic repulsive force between the two. As a result, the distal end of the moving-side optical fiber 3 that has been levitated in the horizontal direction is also tilted, and the desired fixed-side optical fiber 2 is fitted into the fixed V-groove 2A so as to be pressed, and the moving-side optical fiber 4 The optical connection can be reliably made between the and.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an overall outline of another optical fiber type switch according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will not be repeated. The optical fiber type switch of the second embodiment is an M × N type (N and M are integers of 1 or more,
In particular, in this embodiment, N = 1), which is a changeover switch, and includes one moving-side optical fiber 3 fixed to a moving body 1'having a substantially L-shaped block shape, and a positioning groove base 2.
The optical switching connection is performed between the positioning grooves, for example, the N fixed-side optical fibers 4 arranged one by one in the V groove 2A.

As shown in FIG. 4, the movable side optical fiber 3 has its tip end side fixed to the upper side of the moving body 1'and floats in the air due to the rigidity of the optical fiber itself, and has a suitable magnetic property at the tip end portion. A magnetic pipe 31 made of a material is inserted and fixed. In addition, the moving-side optical fiber 3 positions the distal end side of the moving-side optical fiber 3 via the magnetic pipe 31 by exciting the electromagnetic clamping device 8.
Suction and suction to and perform precise alignment. The magnetic material on the connection end side of the moving side optical fiber is not limited to a magnetic pipe, and for example, an appropriate magnetic paint is attached to or applied to the outer peripheral surface of the connection side of the moving side optical fiber, The tip of the fiber may be plated with an appropriate magnetic material, but it is preferably as light as possible.

In addition to the above, the magnetic substance is applied to the tip of the optical fiber by sandwiching it between two magnetic substance pieces,
There are a method of fixing with an adhesive on the magnetic piece and a method of forming a magnetic body around the optical fiber by using a magnetic or elastic material described later, but the point is that the magnetic body should be given to the tip of the optical fiber. Is. Further, the shape of the magnetic body is not particularly limited to the pipe shape, and may be a shape that can be easily meshed with the lower positioning block, for example, a lower wedge shape.

4 and 5 are schematic views showing the principle of connection of the optical fibers in the optical fiber type switch of the present invention, in which the moving side optical fiber 3 is in contact with the upper surface of the V groove 2A at least during the switching movement. In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 4, it is arranged slightly above the fixed-side optical fiber 4 fixed in the V-groove 2A, and when the connection is switched, the moving-side optical fiber is moved by the moving device 7. 3 is V groove 2A
It is possible to move in the direction (X) perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

Incidentally, the operating principle of this moving device is not limited to the ball screw system, and may be a direct drive system such as a linear system. The origin detecting means is not limited to the magnetic switch which is a non-contact type switch, and various kinds of means can be applied.

The electromagnetic clamp device 8 is a device for dropping the tip of the moving optical fiber 3 which has been moved to a desired position by the moving device 7 onto the V groove 2A and fixing it in a stable state. It is provided at the lower step of the tip side of 1 ', and moves in the direction of the connecting end face of the optical fiber together with the moving body 1'. The clamp device 8 of this embodiment includes an electromagnetic coil 81 and a positioning block 82.

When the electromagnetic coil 81 is connected to the fixed-side optical fiber 4, prior to this, the electromagnetic coil 81 is supplied with power from a power source (not shown) to generate a magnetic force, which excites the positioning block 82 to aerate directly above it. The magnetic pipe 31 that has floated above is attracted to the V groove 82A of the positioning block 82, adsorbed and fixed, and roughly positioned.

The positioning block 82 is fixed to the lower end of the moving body 1'via the electromagnetic coil 81, and a V groove 82A is formed in the center of the upper surface. In addition,
As shown in FIG. 4, the V groove 82A is provided at a position slightly higher than the V groove 2A on the positioning groove base 2 for fixing the fixed side optical fiber 4, and the moving side light dropped in the V groove 82A. The tip portion of the fiber 3 is firmly locked in the V groove 2A by the spring force of the fiber itself, and is fixed in a stable state so that precise positioning can be performed.

The end face gap between the fixed side optical fiber 2 and the moving side optical fiber 3 in the connected state does not hinder the optical connection between the optical fibers within the V groove, as in the first embodiment. Set to about (so that the connection loss becomes).

Therefore, in order to connect the movable side optical fiber 3 which has been connected to the specific fixed side optical fiber 4 to another fixed side optical fiber 4 by switching, the electromagnetic clamp device 8 is firstly connected.
By de-energizing the electromagnetic coil 81, the electromagnetic coil 81 and the positioning block 82 are demagnetized. Then
The electromagnetic pipe 31 that has been sucked and adsorbed in the V groove 82A
Is released from the magnetic force and jumps up by the restoring (spring) force of the moving-side optical fiber 3 itself, and is separated / floated from the V groove 82A, so that the connection state with the fixed-side optical fiber 4 can be released.

In this way, the moving side optical fiber 3 is
After it is lifted from the groove 82A and is in a free state,
The pulse motor is driven to move the moving body 1 ′ to a position where the moving side optical fiber 3 faces the desired fixed side optical fiber 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the moving optical fiber 3 is moved to just above the tip of the fixed optical fiber 4 to be connected.

After that, the electromagnetic clamp device 8 is operated. That is, power is supplied to the electromagnetic coil 81 and the positioning block 8
Energize 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the magnetic pipe 31 is attracted by magnetic force and descends, is dropped into the V groove 82A, and is fixed in position, so that the distal end portion of the moving-side optical fiber 3 that has been horizontally levitated. Also, the desired fixed-side optical fiber 2 is fitted into the fixed V-shaped groove 2A so as to be pressed, and the optical connection with the movable-side optical fiber 4 can be reliably performed in a stable state. Here, in order for the connecting end of the moving-side optical fiber 3 to be pressed into the V-groove 2A of the positioning groove base 2, the tip of the moving-side optical fiber 3 must be positioned.
It is necessary to incline toward the V groove 2A of the V groove 2A, and for this purpose, for example, the bottom of the V groove 82A is inclined as shown, or the entire mechanism on the moving (moving body 1 ') side is fixed (positioning groove base 2). ) Side. 4 and 5, the height difference between the positioning block 82 and the positioning groove base 2 is exaggerated in order to facilitate understanding of the description.

As described above, in these embodiments, the fixed side optical fiber and the movable side optical fiber were connected without interposing a matching agent. However, the entire apparatus is hermetically sealed and the periphery including the connecting portion of the optical fiber is By immersing the liquid in the matching agent layer containing the refractive index matching agent, the matching liquid supply mechanism can be omitted and the deterioration of the matching liquid can be significantly reduced. As another embodiment of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when there are a plurality of moving side optical fibers 3 (multicore connection), the outer diameter of the magnetic pipe 31 is set to the multicore optical fiber arrangement. By changing the shape of the lower positioning block 82 according to the pitch, the entanglement of the optical fibers 3 at the tip of the multi-core optical fiber can be prevented. Further, although there is no particular description as to the kind of the magnetic material, ferrite-based, rare earth-cobalt-based, rare-earth iron-based, etc. may be used, and a magnetic or plastic rubber magnet or plastic magnet obtained by processing these may be employed.

Furthermore, the means for inclining the optical fiber on the moving side is not limited to the structure in which the actuator is mounted immediately below the positioning head. It is also possible to attach a drive source (actuator) for oscillating the positioning head to another portion, operate the drive source, and oscillate the positioning head. That is, the connection means in the present invention is a general term for the mechanism and method for swinging the positioning head.

[0036]

As described above, according to the optical fiber type switch according to the first aspect of the present invention, the moving body is moved to an appropriate position by the moving device, and the movable body is swingably provided. The moving side optical fiber fixed to the positioning head is moved to a position slightly (slightly) directly above the tip of the desired fixed side optical fiber, and relatively coarse positioning is performed, and then the moving body is fixed to the moving body. When the positioning head is tilted toward the tip side by the actuator provided and the moving side optical fiber is also tilted gently downward, the tip side of this moving side optical fiber is inserted and fixed in the positioning groove of the desired fixed side optical fiber. Therefore, the end faces of the optical fibers can be opposed to each other without pressing the moving side optical fiber from above, and the moving side optical fiber and the desired fixed side optical fiber. The connection switching can be performed.

According to the optical fiber type switch of the third aspect, the tip end of the moving side optical fiber fixed to the moving body is moved to an appropriate position and fixed on the positioning groove base as desired. After performing rough positioning directly above the tip of the side optical fiber, the electromagnetic force of the electromagnetic clamp device attracts and adsorbs the vicinity of the tip of the moving side optical fiber that has a magnetic body and places it in the positioning groove of the moving body. In addition to fixing, the tip of the moving optical fiber is fixed in the positioning groove of the desired fixed optical fiber, and the end faces of the optical fibers face each other and the end faces are aligned, so that the moving optical fiber and the desired fixed side The connection with the optical fiber can be switched.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an optical fiber type switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an optical fiber type switch according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an optical fiber type switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of connection operation of the optical fiber type switch according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the principle of connection operation of the optical fiber switch according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an essential part showing a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1'moving body 2 positioning groove base 2A positioning groove 3 moving side optical fiber 31 magnetic material 4 fixed side optical fiber 5 positioning head 6 actuator 7 moving device 8 electromagnetic clamping device 82A positioning groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A positioning groove base (2) provided with a positioning groove (2A) in which a plurality of fixed optical fibers (4) are arranged in a row, and at least one moving optical fiber (3) are mounted. The movable body (1) and the movable side optical fiber (3) and the desired fixed side optical fiber (4) by moving the movable body (1) along the end face of the fixed side optical fiber (4). A moving device (7) for positioning the moving side optical fiber (3) with respect to the fixed side optical fiber (4).
In an optical fiber type switch that relatively moves the optical communication path to switch the optical communication path, the connection end side of the moving side optical fiber (3) is tilted toward the positioning groove base (2) with respect to the moving body (1), An optical fiber type switch comprising a connecting means for optically connecting the movable side optical fiber (3) to any of the fixed side optical fibers (4). 2. A positioning head (5) in which the connecting means fixes the connection end side of the moving optical fiber (3), and the positioning head (5) is inclined to connect the moving optical fiber (3). An actuator (6) for lowering the end portion side onto the positioning groove base (2) and fixing the connection end portion of the moving side optical fiber (3) to the positioning groove (2A). The optical fiber type switch according to claim 1. 3. The magnetic means (31) provided in the vicinity of the connecting end of the moving side optical fiber (3), and the moving side optical fiber (3) attracting and adsorbing the magnetic body (31) by magnetic force. The connection end side of 3) is the positioning groove base (2)
The optical fiber type switch according to claim 1, further comprising: an electromagnetic clamp device (8) that is lowered to fix the moving side optical fiber (3) in the positioning groove (2A).