JPH0933733A - Optical branch module storage rack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical branch module storage rack which makes connecting operation efficient by shortening the connection wiring between an optical switch and an optical branch module. SOLUTION: The optical branch module storage rack 1, equipped with optical branch modules 2 which contain multiple optical fiber cables A and B individually and have optical couplers 3 inside and are arranged, stage by stage, and stored, and optical switches 10 and 11 for optically and selectively coupling a test branch coated optical fiber 4 branched from the optical cable 3 in each optical branch module 2 to a master-side optical fiber, is provided with optical switches 10 and 11, stage by stage; and the test branch coated optical fibers 4 of the respective optical branch modules 2 stored, stage by stage, are connected to the optical switches 10 and 11 provided, stage by stage, and each stage is provided with a selecting function for a branch coated optical fiber 4, thereby easily extending or replacing an optical switch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical branch module housing rack, and more particularly to an optical branch module housing rack having optical branch modules arranged in parallel at each stage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional optical branching module housing (so-called FTM (Fiber Termina-tion Module))
As an example, it is described in the 1992 IEICE General Conference Proceedings, Communication No. 2, page 492. As shown in FIG. 14, each of the optical branching modules 101 accommodated in parallel at each stage of the FTM rack 100 has, for example, a subscriber side optical cable core 102 and a station side optical cable core 1.
03 is a device for connecting to an optical coupler 103, and an optical coupler 104 having a multiplexing / demultiplexing function is provided in the optical branching module 101.
, And two test branch cords 105 are drawn out from the optical coupler 104. Therefore, two test branch core wires 105 are drawn out from one optical cable core wire 106 guided into the optical branch module 101.

A large number of optical branching modules 101 are arranged side by side on each stage of the FTM rack 100 so as to be freely drawn out. Further, all the test branch core wires 105 drawn out from each stage are connected to the optical switch 107 housed in the lowest stage of the FTM rack 100. As the optical switch 107, the optical switch disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-67101 is used, and each branch core wire 105 is provided in each step in the V groove of the optical fiber array member (optical fiber array) arranged in layers. They are installed side by side. Further, two master-side optical fibers 108 are led out from the optical switch 107, and the master-side optical fibers 108 are led to a test rack (so-called TEM (Test Equipment Module) rack) not shown. In addition, in this TEM rack, for maintenance and inspection,
A tester (not shown) for detecting a trouble point of the optical fiber is arranged.

[0004]

However, since the conventional optical branch module housing rack is configured as described above, there have been the following problems.

That is, since all the test branch core wires 105 discharged from each stage are collectively connected to one optical switch 107 accommodated in the lowermost stage of the optical branch module housing rack 100, The switch 107 becomes large. Furthermore, since the connection wiring between each optical branching module 101 and the optical switch 107 becomes very long and increases at the same time,
There is a risk that they may become entangled with each other. Then, since the connection wiring extends so as to extend over each step, it is necessary to provide a space for accommodating a large number of connection wirings in the optical branch module housing rack 100. Then, during connection work or maintenance inspection of the connection wiring in the optical branch module housing 100, a long connection wiring may be entangled or an excessive force may be applied to the connection wiring, resulting in disconnection of the connection wiring. was there.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in particular, an optical branch module housing in which the connection wiring between the optical switch and the optical branch module is shortened to improve the efficiency of the wiring work. The purpose is to provide a rack.

[0007]

An optical branching module accommodating rack according to the present invention individually accommodates optical fibers of a plurality of cores and has an optical coupler therein, and the optical branching module accommodating racks are arranged in parallel at each stage. In an optical branching module housing rack including an optical branching module and an optical switch for selectively optically coupling a test branch core branched from an optical coupler in each optical branching module with a master side optical fiber, An optical switch is provided for each stage, and the test branch core of each optical branch module housed in each stage is connected to the optical switch provided in each stage, and the branch core has a selection function for each stage. It has a different structure.

Further, the optical switch has a structure provided with an optical fiber array member having test branch cores arranged in parallel and a master side optical fiber for selectively optically coupling the branch cores.

Preferably, the optical switch may be arranged in parallel with respect to the plurality of optical branching modules in each stage.

Preferably, the optical switch may be arranged below the plurality of optical branching modules in each stage.

Preferably, the master side optical fiber is fixed to the tip of a movable arm fixed to the head base,
The movable arm is configured to be driven in the arrangement direction of the branch core wires by the coupling position selection mechanism and to be driven in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the branch core wires by the movable arm drive mechanism.

Preferably, the coupling position selecting mechanism includes a screw shaft extending in the arrangement direction in a case for accommodating the head base and the optical fiber arrangement member, and a female screw portion provided on the head base and screwed with the screw shaft. And a drive source for driving the screw shaft.

[0013]

In the optical branch module housing rack according to the present invention, the test branch core drawn from the optical branch module of each stage is connected to the optical switch provided in each stage.
Therefore, the test light output from the OTDR or the like is incident from the master side optical fiber of any optical switch in each stage. Then, this test light is introduced into the optical coupler after passing through the test branch core selected in the optical switch, and then introduced into the optical fiber to be measured. Therefore, it is possible to measure the trouble point of the optical fiber to be measured using the light returned by Rayleigh scattering. Therefore, the optical branch module housing rack of the present invention can be provided with a function of selecting a test branch core wire for each stage, and an optical switch can be added or replaced for each stage. Can be easily accommodated.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the optical branch module housing according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of the optical branch module housing rack of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the optical branch module. A plurality of thin box-shaped optical branch modules 2 are arranged in parallel at each stage of an optical branch module housing rack (hereinafter referred to as FTM rack) 1 shown in FIG. Is a device for connecting the cable core wire A to the cable core wire B on the station side (see FIG. 3), and is closely arranged between one outer vertical frame 1a and one intermediate frame 1b, and It is arranged in a state of being suspended on a horizontal frame 1c having a shelf shape provided for each stage.

As shown in FIG. 3, each optical branch module 2
An optical coupler 3 having a multiplexing / demultiplexing function is housed therein, and two test branch wires 4 are drawn out from the optical coupler 3. Therefore, two test branch core wires 4 are drawn out from one cable core wire A guided into the optical branch module 2. In addition, each optical branch module 2
Is configured so that it can be pulled out through the rail-shaped guide means G.

When the cable core A for 400 cores is accommodated in each stage of the FTM rack 1, 50 optical branch modules 2 for accommodating the eight cable cores A are required for each stage. . Then, 16 test branch core wires 4 are drawn out from each optical branch module 2 that accommodates the eight core wires.
Therefore, 800 test branch core wires 4 are drawn out at each stage of the FTM rack 1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
At each stage of the M rack 1, at one end and in the center, 2
The optical switches 10 and 11 are arranged, and the optical switch 1
As shown in FIG. 3, 0 and 11 are fixed on a shelf-shaped horizontal frame 1c provided in each step. Also, as shown in FIG.
A branch core wire 4 drawn out from each optical branch module 2 is connected to each of the optical switches 10 and 11 via a connection wiring 12. A plurality of optical branching modules 2 arranged side by side on the right side of the optical switch 10 in FIG. 1 are connected to the optical switch 10 arranged at the end, and an optical switch 11 arranged in the center is connected to the optical switch 11 in FIG. A plurality of optical branching modules 2 arranged side by side on the right side of the optical switch 11 are connected.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the FTM rack 1,
The shelves for arranging the optical branching modules 2 side by side consist of five stages, and two optical switches 10 and 11 are arranged in each stage. Then, to each optical switch 10, 400 test branch core wires 4 drawn from 25 optical branch modules 2 arranged in parallel in the left half of FIG. 1 are connected. Similarly, each optical switch 11 is also arranged in the right half of FIG.
The 400 test branch cores 4 drawn from the individual optical branch modules 2 are connected.

Therefore, at each stage of the FTM rack 1, 50
Since the optical branch modules 2 are arranged side by side, 25 optical branch modules 2 are carried by one optical switch 10 and 25 optical branch modules 2 are carried by one optical switch 11, each optical branch module 2 and each optical switch 10, 11
The connection wirings 12 for connecting the wirings can be laid along the horizontal frame 1c, the connection wirings 12 can be made extremely short, and the wiring amount and wiring density in the FTM rack 1 can be significantly reduced. Moreover, the efficiency of the wiring work can be improved.

Next, the optical switch 10 to which the 400 test branch wires 4 are connected will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the optical switch 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing K. In this housing 2, an optical fiber arranging member 13 for arranging the 400 test branch core wires 4 extended to the optical switch 10 through the connection wiring 12 in parallel and a movable arm 14 are arranged. A sealed case 16 for enclosing the block-shaped head base 15 is provided. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined number of V-grooves 17 extending linearly in the optical fiber coupling direction are formed on the surface of each optical fiber array member 13. One side of each V-groove 17 is used as a first optical fiber fixing groove 17a for fixing the 400 core branch wires 4 with an adhesive, and the other side of each V-groove 17 is fixed to the movable arm 14. It is used as a second optical fiber introducing groove 17b for introducing the master side optical fiber 19. By reducing the pitch of the V-grooves 17, it is possible to arrange the 400 test branch optical fibers 4 on the optical fiber array member 13 side by side in the array direction (X direction).

The 400-core test branch core wire 4 adhesively fixed to the first optical fiber fixing groove 17a is led out of the hermetically sealed case 16 through a through hole 16a provided in the hermetically sealed case 16, and at the same time, the housing. Each of them is led out to the outside through the branch core wire drawing portion 20 provided in K. Furthermore,
The two-core master-side optical fiber 19 fixed to the tip of the movable arm 14 has a through hole 16 provided in the sealed case 16.
It is led out to the outside of the hermetically sealed case 16 via b, and is led out to the outside via the master side optical fiber drawing portion 21 provided in the housing K. The through holes 16a, 16
After inserting the branch core wire 4 and the master-side optical fiber 19, b is sealed in a liquid-tight state or sealed with an adhesive.

Further, inside the housing K, there is provided a coupling position selecting mechanism C for driving the head base 15 in the arrangement direction (X direction) of the test branch core wires 4. The coupling position selecting mechanism C is provided with the head base 15 and the optical fiber array member 1.
3, a screw shaft 22 extending in the arrangement direction (X direction) in the sealed case 16, a female screw portion 23 provided on the head base 15 and screwed into the screw shaft 22, and a drive for driving the screw shaft 22. Encoder 24 as a source
A motor 24 with a and a bearing 25 fixed to the sealed case 16 for supporting the screw shaft 22 are provided. By placing the motor 24 outside the sealed case 16, the motor 24 is not affected by the light reflection preventing agent (for example, silicon oil) sealed in the sealed case 16, and the motor 24 needs to be oil-sealed. Disappears.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a control unit that controls the rotation of the motor 24. Further, in the sealed case 16, the head base 15
Guide means (not shown) for guiding the X in the X direction is provided.

Next, the movable arm 14 and the movable arm drive mechanism D described above will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the movable arm 14 is composed of a plate-shaped first movable arm 32 located above and having a spring property, and a second movable arm 33 located below and having a spring property. It is configured.
The base end of the first movable arm 32 is fixed to the upper step surface 34a of the mounting base 34 fixed to the head base 15 with a screw or the like, and the base end of the second movable arm 33 is fixed to the lower step surface 34b of the mounting base 34. It is fixed with screws.

A spring portion 33a made of a single spring plate is provided at the center of the second movable arm 33. The spring portion 33a urges the second movable arm 33 downward in a steady state. , The master side optical fiber 19 is V
In order to correct the positional deviation when it is introduced into the groove 17, the lateral displacement is possible. Further, the second movable arm 3
A block-shaped movable head 33b is fixed to the tip of the movable head 33b, and a two-core master-side optical fiber 19 is obliquely downward (the optical fiber array member 13) on the lower surface of the movable head 33b.
It is fixed toward the V groove 17). The first movable arm 32 is also formed of a spring plate and is urged downward in a steady state.

A movable arm drive mechanism D is provided adjacent to the side of the movable arm 14 described above. The movable arm drive mechanism D includes an electromagnetic solenoid 35 fixed to a mounting base 34, an L-shaped swing portion 36 that swings by pressing a plunger 35a of the solenoid 35, and a mounting base located above the plunger 35a. A support shaft 37 that is fixed to the shaft 34 and extends in the X direction to rotatably support the swing portion 36; and a free end of the swing portion 36 that is biased rearward (in the direction of arrow E) and between the mounting base 34 and the swing portion 36. The coil spring 38, the first movable arm 32 and the second movable arm 32 extending from the upper part of the inner surface of the swing portion 36 in the X direction.
A first actuation bar 39 that is arranged between the movable arm 33 and lifts the first movable arm 32, and extends in the X direction from the lower part of the inner side surface of the swing portion 36, and the second movable arm 33.
The second movable arm 33 which is arranged below the
And an operating bar 40.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the movable arm 1
4 is in a steady state (a so-called V contact state in which the master side optical fiber 19 is introduced into the V groove 17 of the optical fiber array member 13), the plunger 35a retracts, and the swing portion 36 moves.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow E by the urging force of the winding spring 38 to engage the first movable arm 32
The engagement between the movable arm 33 and the second operation bar 40 is released. As a result, the tip of the second movable arm 33 is pressed by the tip of the first movable arm 32, so that the master-side optical fiber 19 is in V contact with the optical fiber array member 13.

When the movable arm 14 is moved in the arrangement direction (X direction) of the test branch core wires 4 in order to switch the optical connection, as shown in FIG. 9, the V side contact state of the master side optical fiber 19 is obtained. Plunger 35 because it is necessary to solve
a is moved forward, and the plunger 35a
While pressing, the swing part 36 is rotated in the direction of arrow F about the support shaft 37. As a result, the first movable arm 32 is pushed up by the first operation bar 39, and the second
While pushing up the movable arm 33, the V-contact state of the master side optical fiber 19 is released.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 6, the movable arm drive mechanism D is provided with a sensor section 41 for detecting the displacement of the movable arm 14. The sensor unit 41 is mounted on the mounting base 3
4 is composed of an optical sensor 42 fixed to the lower surface 34b and a light shielding plate 43 fixed to the tip of the first operation bar 39 and coming in and out of the optical sensor 42. Therefore,
When the light shielding plate 43 shields the optical sensor 42 by the swing of the swing portion 36, as shown in FIG. 8, the second movable arm 33 descends, and the master side optical fiber 19 moves to the optical fiber array member 13. It is determined that the V groove 17 is in V contact. When the light blocking of the optical sensor 42 is released,
As shown in FIG. 6, the second movable arm 33 moves up and the master side optical fiber 19 moves to V of the optical fiber array member 13.
It is determined that the groove 17 is not in V contact.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned optical switch 10 will be described.

First, based on an optical fiber switching command from the control unit 26, the motor 34 is driven to rotate the screw shaft 22 by a predetermined amount and move the head base 15 to an arbitrary position. At this time, the solenoid 35
The plunger 35a is moved forward to release the V contact state of the master side optical fiber 19 (see FIG. 9). Then, by retracting the plunger 35 a of the solenoid 35, the tip of the second movable arm 33 is pressed by the tip of the first movable arm 32, and the master side optical fiber 1
9 is moved in the direction orthogonal to the X direction, the master side optical fiber 19 is guided into the desired V groove 17, and the desired optical coupling is completed.

As described above, from the optical switch 10,
Two master-side optical fibers 19 are drawn out, and each master-side optical fiber 19 is guided to a test rack (so-called TEM (Test Equipment Module) rack) not shown. In this TEM rack, a tester (not shown) for detecting trouble points of the optical fiber for maintenance and inspection.
Is arranged.

Since the optical switch 11 also has the same structure as described above, the description thereof is omitted here.

The optical branch module housing rack of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a plurality of thin box-shaped optical branching modules 2 are arranged in parallel at each stage of an optical branching module housing rack (hereinafter referred to as FTM rack) 50. The modules 2 are densely arranged in parallel between the outer vertical frame 1a and the intermediate frame 1b, and are arranged in a state of being suspended from a horizontal frame 1c having a shelf shape provided for each stage.

At each stage of the FTM rack 50, 1
Each optical switch 51 is arranged, and each optical switch 51 is
It is fixed on the horizontal frame 1c at a position below the optical branching module 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, each optical switch 5
A branch core wire 4 drawn out from each optical branch module 2 is connected to 1 via a connection wire 12. And
All the optical branching modules 2 arranged in parallel in each stage are connected to the optical switches 51 arranged in each stage.

As shown in FIG. 12, the FTM rack 50 has five shelves for arranging the optical branching modules 2 in parallel, and one optical switch 51 is arranged in each shelf. Then, on one end side of each optical switch 51, 25 optical branching modules 2 arranged side by side in the left half of FIG.
The 400 test branch core wires 4 drawn out from are connected. Similarly, at the other end of each optical switch 51, 400 test branch core wires 4 drawn from 25 optical branch modules 2 arranged in parallel in the right half of FIG. 11 are connected. Therefore, at each stage of the FTM rack 1,
Fifty optical branch modules 2 are arranged side by side, and one optical switch 51 bears 50 optical branch modules 2.

Next, the above-mentioned optical switch 51 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 13, a plurality (two in this example) of optical fiber arranging members 13 are arranged in parallel in the sealed case 16 so as to face each optical fiber arranging member 13. (Two in this example) movable arms 14
Are arranged side by side in the X direction, and the optical fiber array member 13 and the movable arm 14 have a one-to-one relationship. In this case, each movable arm 14 is fixed to a split type head base 15, respectively. The head base 15 may be an integrated type.

Further, each head base 15 is provided in the housing K.
A coupling position selecting mechanism C for driving the test branch core wires 4 in the arrangement direction (X direction) is provided. This coupling position selection mechanism C has a screw shaft 22 extending in the arrangement direction (X direction) within the sealed case 16, as in the above-described configuration.
A female screw portion 23 screwed onto the screw shaft 22 and an encoder 24a as a drive source for driving the screw shaft 22.
It has a motor 24 with a bearing and a bearing 25 fixed to the sealed case 16 to support the screw shaft 22. Although not shown, guide means for guiding the head base 15 in the X direction is provided in the sealed case 16.

In the optical fiber arranging member 13 provided on one end side in the hermetically sealed case 16, 400 test branch core wires 4 drawn from 25 optical branch modules 2 are connected. Similarly, in the optical fiber array member 13 provided on the other end side, 25 optical branch modules 2
The 400 test branch core wires 4 drawn out from are connected. Therefore, in each stage, one optical switch 51 can handle 50 optical branching modules 2.

[0042]

Since the optical branch module housing according to the present invention is constructed as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, an optical switch is provided for each stage, and the test branch cores of the optical branch modules housed in each stage are connected to the optical switches provided in each stage, and the branch cores are provided for each stage. By providing the line selection function, the connection wiring between the optical switch and the optical branching module can be shortened, and the wiring work for each stage can be efficiently performed.

Further, by arranging the optical switch in each stage in parallel with the optical branching module or below the optical branching module, the accommodation space of the optical branching module in each stage is effectively used. can do.

Further, a coupling position selecting mechanism for driving a movable arm fixed to the head base is provided on the head shaft and the screw shaft extending in the arrangement direction in the case accommodating the head base and the optical fiber arranging member. An optical switch with a simple and compact structure is possible by configuring a female screw part that is screwed with the screw shaft and a drive source that drives the screw shaft, and it is easy to arrange the optical switch in each stage. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of an optical branch module housing rack of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship between an optical branch module and an optical switch, which are essential parts of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an optical switch adapted to the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a movable arm and a movable arm drive mechanism applied to the optical switch of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the movable arm and the movable arm drive mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which a master-side optical fiber provided on a movable arm is lowered to make a V contact state with an optical fiber array member.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state where the master side optical fiber is lifted and the V contact state is released with respect to the optical fiber array member.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the optical branch module housing rack of the present invention.

11 is a rear view of the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

12 is a diagram schematically showing the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

13 is a cross-sectional view showing an optical switch adapted to the optical branch module housing rack of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a conventional optical branch module housing rack.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 50 ... Optical branch module housing rack (FTM rack), 2 ...
Optical branch module, 3 ... Optical coupler, 4 ... Test branch core wire, 10, 11, 51 ... Optical switch, 13 ... Optical fiber array member, 14 ... Movable arm, 15 ... Head base, 1
9 ... Master side optical fiber, 22 ... Screw shaft, 23
... female screw part, 24 ... drive source, C ... coupling position selection mechanism, D
… Movable arm drive mechanism.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tetsuya Taguchi 1 Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Nobuo Tomita 1-6 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An optical branch module in which a plurality of optical fibers are individually accommodated and which has an optical coupler therein, and which is arranged and arranged in parallel at each stage, and the light in each of the optical branch modules. In an optical branch module housing rack including an optical switch for selectively optically coupling a test branch core branched from a coupler with an optical fiber on the master side, the optical switch is provided for each stage, and The test branch core wire of each of the optical branching modules housed in each stage,
Connected to each of the optical switches provided in each of the stages,
An optical branch module housing rack, wherein each branch has a function of selecting the branch core wire. 2. The optical switch comprises an optical fiber array member in which the test branch cores are arranged in parallel, and a master side optical fiber for selectively optically coupling the branch cores. The optical branch module housing rack according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The optical branch module housing rack according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch is arranged in parallel to a plurality of optical branch modules in each stage. 4. The optical branch module housing rack according to claim 1, wherein the optical switch is disposed below the plurality of optical branch modules in each stage. 5. The master-side optical fiber is fixed to a tip end portion of a movable arm fixed to a head base, and the movable arm is driven by a coupling position selecting mechanism in the arrangement direction of the branch cores and is movable. 3. The optical branch module housing rack according to claim 1, wherein the optical branch module housing is driven by an arm drive mechanism in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the branch cores. 6. The coupling position selection mechanism includes a screw shaft extending in the arrangement direction in a case accommodating the head base and the optical fiber arrangement member, and a screw shaft provided on the head base and screwed with the screw shaft. Female screw part to
The optical branch module housing rack according to claim 5, further comprising a drive source that drives the screw shaft.