JPH09285766A - Optical connector cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep cleanliness uniform, to eliminate personal errors, to secure the transmission quality of a light transmitting system and to enhance measuring accuracy by providing a rotating shaft and its driving mechanism on one end of a casing and furnishing an optical connector cleaning part with the fresh cleaning face appearing in each cleaning. SOLUTION: When an optical connector is cleaned, a supporting rod 14 is pressed on a face to be cleaned along with a cleaning tape 4, and a switch 13 is turned on to together rotate the shaft 3, turntable 10, cleaning tape holding part 18 and supporting rod 14 by a motor 15 along with the cleaning tape 4. When the cleaning is finished, the switch 13 is turned off to stop the rotation, a tape winding part 9 is operated to move the tape 4 to a cleaning tape housing part 8 from a cleaning tape storing part 7 by a specified length, and the part of the tape 4 at the tip of the supporting rod 14 is renewed. When the tape 4 is completely wound in the housing part 8, the cleaning tape holding part 18 is changed for the one provided with a fresh cleaning tape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning a connection surface of an optical connector incorporated in equipment, equipment, etc. for light measurement, light transmission and the like.

An optical connector incorporated in a device or equipment such as an end face board of an optical measuring device or an optical transmission device has a connecting surface not on the outer surface due to its structure, and is located at a depth of about 1 cm inside. A cotton swab as shown in FIG. 1 is used for cleaning. In the figure, 1 is a cotton part and 2 is a shaft part. When cleaning the optical connector, the shaft part 2 is manually rotated while the cotton part 1 is in contact with the surface to be cleaned.

[0003]

In the manual cleaning using the cotton swab as described above, dust and the like may not be completely removed, and further, the degree of removal of the dust and the like may vary from person to person. Therefore, it is not possible to secure a reproducible and uniform cleaning degree. In the analog video optical transmission method, it is necessary to increase the return loss of the optical transmission line compared to the conventional digital transmission method, but when the reflection characteristics at the connector connection end plate are poor and the prescribed transmission quality cannot be satisfied. There was also. In such a case, the connector connecting surface has to be re-cleaned many times, or in some cases, the optical connector inside the device or the equipment has been removed, and another cleaning tool has to be used for cleaning.

Also, in the case of performing a characteristic evaluation test or the like, if the cleaning of the connector connecting surface is incomplete, the measurement accuracy of the return loss or the loss value cannot be improved. Therefore, it may not be possible to determine whether the measurement result is due to the characteristics of the object to be measured or due to a measurement error.

According to the present invention, when cleaning the connection surface of an optical connector incorporated in a device, equipment, etc. for optical measurement, optical transmission, etc., the cleaning level is kept uniform and individual differences are eliminated. An object of the present invention is to provide a new optical connector cleaning device for ensuring the transmission quality of the optical transmission system and improving the measurement accuracy of the characteristic evaluation test and the like.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical connector cleaner of the present invention comprises a rotary shaft at one end of a housing and a drive mechanism for the rotary shaft, and a tip of the rotary shaft at each cleaning. It is characterized by having an optical connector cleaning section where a new cleaning surface appears. It is convenient if the optical connector cleaning unit has a structure in which it is detachably connected to the rotary shaft. The cleaning surface of the optical connector cleaning unit may be a cleaning tape. Further, the removable optical connector cleaning unit may be a cleaning rod.

Further, an electric motor which can be driven by a battery may be used as the driving mechanism, and
A mechanism may be used in which a movable shaft is provided in the housing and vertical movement of the movable shaft is converted into rotational force. Further, it is convenient to provide an optical connector plug fitting portion for fixing the housing perpendicularly to the end face of the optical connector in the peripheral portion of the rotating shaft. Furthermore,
It would be more convenient if a mechanism for pressing the optical connector cleaning portion against the surface to be cleaned against the surface to be cleaned with a constant pressure by utilizing this optical connector plug fitting portion is provided.

Since the optical connector cleaner according to the present invention uses a new cleaning surface every time it is cleaned, the cleaning effect can be further enhanced. Also, since the cleaning unit uses a mechanism that allows only the wiping member to be replaced,
According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an optical connector cleaner which is excellent in economy.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 3 is a rotary shaft, 4 is a cleaning tape, 5 is a motor, 6 is a battery, 7 is a cleaning tape housing, 8 is a cleaning tape housing,
9 is a tape winding unit, 10 is a turntable, 11 is an upper casing, 12
Is a lower housing, 13 is a switch, 14 is a support rod, 15 is a support rod stopper, 16 is a conductor wire, 17 is a conductor plate, and 18 is a cleaning tape gripping portion.

When cleaning the optical connector, the support rod 14 is pressed against the surface to be cleaned together with the cleaning tape 4, the switch 13 is turned on, and the motor 5 is used to rotate the rotary shaft 3 and the rotary base.
10, the cleaning tape gripping portion 18 and the support rod 14 are rotated together with the cleaning tape 4. After the cleaning is completed, the switch 13 is turned off to stop the rotation, and the tape winding section 9 is operated to move the cleaning tape 4 from the cleaning tape accommodating section 7 to the cleaning tape accommodating section 8 by a predetermined length, and the support rod 14 Cleaning tape 4 on the tip
The part of is made a new part.

When the cleaning tape 4 is completely wound up in the cleaning tape storage portion 8, the cleaning tape storage portion 7 and the cleaning tape grip portion 18 integrated with the cleaning tape storage portion 8 are provided with a new cleaning tape. Exchange. When the cleaning tape gripping portion is replaced, the upper housing 11 and the lower housing 12 are separated and the cleaning tape gripping portion 18 is exposed and replaced.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 3 to 18 represent parts corresponding to the respective numbers in FIG. 2, 19 is an optical connector plug fitting portion, and 20 is a pressing mechanism composed of a spring.

In this embodiment, the optical connector cleaner according to the present invention is fitted and fixed to an optical connector plug (not shown) by the optical connector plug fitting portion 19, and at this position, the tip portion of the support rod 14 is fixed. Via the cleaning tape 4,
By compressing the spring of the pressing mechanism 20, the surface to be cleaned (not shown) is contacted with a constant pressing force. The cleaning procedure is the same as in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is a cleaning rod, 22 is a rotating shaft, 23 is an upper housing, 24 is a lower housing, and other reference numerals represent parts corresponding to the respective numbers in FIG. In this embodiment, the upper housing 23 is bent in the middle part so that it can be easily gripped by the hand. The surface of the cleaning rod 21 is a cleaning surface. The cleaning rod 21 is detachably engaged with the rotary shaft 22 and is replaced with a new one after every cleaning. The cleaning procedure is the same as in the first embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 20 is a pressing mechanism composed of a spring, 25 is an optical connector plug fitting portion, and other reference numerals indicate the portions corresponding to the respective numbers in FIG. In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the optical connector cleaner according to the present invention is fitted and fixed to an optical connector plug (not shown),
At this position, the tip of the cleaning rod 21 comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned (not shown) with a constant pressing force by compressing the spring of the pressing mechanism 20. The cleaning procedure is the same as in the first embodiment.

[Fifth Embodiment] FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 26 is a push button, 27 is a spring, 28 is a rotation conversion unit, 29 is a movable shaft, 30 is an upper holding plate, 31 is a lower holding plate, 32 is an upper housing, 33 is a lower housing, and others. The reference numerals of () indicate the parts corresponding to the respective numbers in FIG. In this embodiment, when the push button 26 is pushed, the upper holding plate 30 moves down together with the movable shaft 29 and compresses the spring 27. The movable shaft 29 reaches the rotation conversion unit 28. Release the push button 26 and the spring 27
The position of the movable shaft 29 also returns to its original position due to the restoring force of the moving shaft 29. At this time, the rotation conversion unit 28 changes the upward movement of the movable shaft 29 into rotation. The cleaning procedure is the same as in the first embodiment.

[Sixth Embodiment] FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 20 is a pressing mechanism composed of a spring, 34 is an optical connector plug fitting portion, and other reference numerals indicate the portions corresponding to the respective numbers in FIG. In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the optical connector cleaner according to the present invention is fitted and fixed to an optical connector plug (not shown),
At this position, the tip of the cleaning rod 21 comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned (not shown) with a constant pressing force by compressing the spring of the pressing mechanism 20. The cleaning procedure is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0018]

According to the optical connector cleaning device of the present invention, when cleaning the connection surface of an optical connector incorporated in equipment, equipment, etc. for optical measurement, optical transmission, etc., the cleaning degree is kept uniform. It is possible to eliminate individual differences, as a result of which the transmission quality of the optical transmission system is secured and the measurement accuracy of the characteristic evaluation test and the like can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a cotton swab conventionally used for cleaning an optical connector connecting surface.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cotton part 2 Shaft part 3, 22 Rotating shaft 4 Cleaning tape 5 Motor 6 Battery 7 Cleaning tape accommodating part 8 Cleaning tape accommodating part 9 Tape winding part 10 Rotating table 11, 23, 32 Upper case 12, 24, 33 Lower part Housing 13 Switch 14 Support rod 15 Support rod stop 16 Conductor wire 17 Conductor plate 18 Cleaning tape gripping portion 19, 25, 34 Optical connector plug fitting portion 20 Spring pressing mechanism 21 Cleaning rod 26 Push button 27 Spring 28 Rotation converting portion 29 Movable shaft 30 Upper pressing plate 31 Lower pressing plate

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An optical connector cleaner comprising: a housing provided with a rotary shaft and a drive mechanism for the rotary shaft at one end thereof; and an optical connector cleaning section provided at a tip of the rotary shaft so that a new cleaning surface appears each time cleaning is performed. . 2. The optical connector cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector cleaning portion is detachably connected to the rotary shaft. 3. The optical connector cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning surface of the optical connector cleaning section is a cleaning tape. 4. The optical connector cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the detachable optical connector cleaning section is a cleaning rod. 5. The optical connector cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism includes an electric motor. 6. A movable shaft is provided in a housing, and the drive mechanism is provided with a mechanism for converting vertical movement of the movable shaft into a rotational force. The optical connector cleaner described. 7. The optical connector fitting portion for fixing the housing perpendicularly to the end face of the optical connector is provided in the peripheral portion of the rotating shaft, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6. The optical connector cleaner described. 8. The optical connector cleaning device according to claim 7, further comprising a pressing mechanism for pressing the optical connector cleaning portion against the surface to be cleaned with a constant pressure.