JPH0996735A - Optical fiber connecting tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the butt connection of optical fibers by utilizing an optical fiber connector for fixing the optical fibers to a body by energizing force by providing the connecting tool with a separating member for forcibly expanding the body in a separating direction by overcoming its energizing force and a pressing mechanism for pressing this separating member to the optical fiber connector. SOLUTION: This optical fiber connecting tool includes the body 11 of the tool which has a clamping part 10a to be clamped by the hand, a support 12 which freely attachably and detachably supports the optical fiber connector, a wedge 13 as the separating member for forcibly expanding the body in the direction of separating the body against the energizing force of a C-shaped spring by pressing the wedge toward the optical fiber connector supported at the support 12 and the pressing mechanism 14 for pressing this wedge 13 toward the optical fiber connector. As a result, the operation to hold the optical fibers and to release the holding may be carried out simply by operating the tool with the one hand. Then, the butt connection of the optical fibers, switching of the connection, etc., of the optical fiber connector are easily carried out by one operator and the efficiency and accuracy of the work for optical connection are improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber connecting tool suitable for butt-connecting optical fibers in an optical fiber connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an optical fiber connector has a structure in which two butted optical fibers are fixed in the same housing. The aligning and positioning structure of the optical fiber connector includes (1) a structure in which an optical fiber is inserted into both ends of a precision thin tube (hereinafter, "microcapillary") and abutted against each other; And (3) a structure in which an optical fiber is carried at the center of three precision rods or three precision balls and positioned.

[0003]

In the case of the above-mentioned optical fiber connector, however, the following problems have arisen due to the structure in which the optical fiber is simply fixed in the housing. That is, due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the housing fixing the abutted optical fibers and the optical fiber, the abutted state of the optical fibers changes when the temperature changes. As a result, there is a problem that the connection loss of the optical fiber fluctuates. Further, in the housing, the optical fiber is held by an elastic body. However, due to the deterioration of the elastic body over time, the holding force of the optical fiber is reduced, the butting state of the optical fiber changes, and the connection loss fluctuates. There were also problems.

Further, when a means for suppressing the fluctuation of the connection loss is provided, the structure may be complicated, and it may be troublesome to connect the optical fibers using the above-mentioned alignment positioning structure. To be done. Especially when using for connection when troubles such as disconnection in the optical fiber network or failure of optical parts occur, quick connection work is required, so optical fiber connection that can easily and accurately connect optical fibers Development of a container was required.

In view of the above problems, in recent years, for example, an optical fiber connector as shown in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 7216317 has been proposed. The optical fiber connector 1 shown in FIG. 3 holds a pair of optical fibers 3 centered and positioned so that they can be abutted and connected between two split main bodies 2, and is mounted on the outside of the main body 2 as a biasing means of C type. The holding force of the optical fiber 3 is applied to the main body 2 by the urging force of the spring 4, and the optical fiber 3 is held and fixed. Optical fiber connector 1
In, the C-shaped spring 4 is expanded within the elastically deformable range to insert the optical fibers 3 from both longitudinal ends of the main body 1, and then the urging force of the C-shaped spring 4 is applied to the main body 1 again. The optical fiber 3 is stably held and fixed in the butted state. However, since the optical fiber connector 1 is small in size, the work of expanding the C-shaped spring 4 is difficult, and the optical fiber 3 must be inserted into the main body 2 while expanding the C-shaped spring 4. However, it was difficult to optically connect the optical fibers 3 to each other with a desired connection loss. Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of a dedicated tool for easily performing the butt connection of the optical fibers 3 in the optical fiber connector 1.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and a pair of optical fibers are butt-positioned and clamped so that a pair of optical fibers can be butted and connected to a main body of a split structure, and the urging force of a urging means attached to the main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connecting tool capable of facilitating butt connection of optical fibers using an optical fiber connector for fixing the optical fiber to the main body.

[0007]

The present invention has the following features to attain the object mentioned above. That is, in the optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 1, the pair of optical fibers are aligned and positioned so as to be butt-connectable to the main body of the split structure, and the optical fiber is attached to the main body by the urging force of the urging means attached to the main body. A connection tool used when butt-connecting optical fibers by using an optical fiber connector for fixing the optical fiber connector, the support base detachably supporting the optical fiber connector, and the optical fiber supported on the support base. And a pressing mechanism for pressing the separating member against the optical fiber connector by pressing the separating member to spread the main body against the urging force of the urging means. This is the means for solving the above problems.

In the optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 2,
2. The optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 1, wherein the urging means is a C-shaped spring attached to the outside of the main body, and the separating member is pushed into a halved boundary of the main body through an opening of the C-shaped spring. Thus, the main body is formed into a shape that expands within the elastically deformable range of the C-shaped spring.

In the optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 3,
The optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 2, wherein the separating member has a tapered portion that increases the opening amount of the opening of the C-shaped spring as the separating member is pushed into the opening of the C-shaped spring. .

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an optical fiber connecting tool of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description. Reference numeral 10 in the drawing is an optical fiber connecting tool of the present embodiment. The optical fiber connector 10 is used for butt-connecting the optical fibers 3 in the optical fiber connector 1 shown in FIG. 3, and has a tool body 11 having a grip portion 10a that is gripped by hand.
And a support base 1 for detachably supporting the optical fiber connector 1.
2 and a wedge 13 as a separating member that spreads in the direction of separating the main body 2 against the biasing force of the C-shaped spring 4 by being pressed toward the optical fiber connector 1 supported by the support 12. And a pressing mechanism 14 for pressing the wedge 13 against the optical fiber connector 1.

The support base 12 is installed at the tip portion (upper side in FIG. 1) of the tool body 11 so as to insert and support the optical fiber connector 1 in the insertion groove 15. Internal groove 15
Has an inner surface shape that substantially matches the outer shape of the optical fiber connector 1. A support position adjusting member 16 for adjusting the support position corresponding to the size of the optical fiber connector 1 is installed at the bottom of the insertion groove 15. A recess 17 is formed in a part of the inner insertion groove 15. In this recess 17, a tip 19 of an extruding rod 18 for pushing out the optical fiber connector 1 inserted in the insertion groove 15 is arranged. The extruding rod 18 is a support shaft 2 attached to the support base 12.
Since it is supported so as to rotate about an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the insertion groove 15 by 0, the tip 19 is displaced inward and outward of the insertion groove 15 by rotation. An end portion of the push-out rod 18 opposite to the tip end 19 is an operation end 21 projecting outward of the support 12.
The operating end 21 is configured to be displaced manually so that the distal end 19 is displaced and the optical fiber connector 1 is pushed out from the insertion groove 15. Guide grooves 22 for guiding the optical fiber 3 to be inserted into the optical fiber connector 1 inserted in the insertion groove 15 are formed in portions of the support base 12 located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the insertion groove 15. The guide groove 22 is a V groove, a U groove, or the like, and is configured to substantially coincide with the centering axis of the optical fiber connector 1 inserted in the insertion groove 15.

The wedge 13 is a plate-shaped member in which tapered portions 24, which are inserted into the separation boundary of the main body 2 of the optical fiber connector 1, are projected at a plurality of positions on one side. Optical fiber connector 1
The main body 2 is formed with taper grooves 25 having expanded separation boundaries at a plurality of longitudinal positions, and the wedge 13 is opened at a plurality of longitudinal positions of the opening 26 of the C-shaped spring 4 of the optical fiber connector 1. The tapered groove 25 is aligned with the wedge insertion opening 27 formed by widening the portion 26, and the tapered portion 25 is inserted into the wedge insertion opening 27.
The opening 26 is widened by pushing it into the taper groove 25 (see FIG. 3). Wedge 13
The main body 2 is expanded within the range in which the C-shaped spring 4 is elastically deformable. Further, since the taper portion 24 is formed so that the thickness dimension thereof gradually increases from the tip end side to the base end side, the opening amount of the taper groove 25 is set in correspondence with the pushing amount into the taper groove 25. It is designed to change slowly.

The wedge 13 is detachably attached by a screw 23 to a movable block 28 which is guided by the tool body 11 and is slidable in a direction in which the wedge 13 approaches and separates from the support base 12. The movable block 28 includes the support 11 and
A support shaft 30 that is installed between the block portion 29 of the tool body 11 that is provided apart from the support base 12 is guided via a bearing 31 to move in a direction perpendicular to the support base 12. It is like this. The movable block 28 is biased toward the block portion 29 by a biasing member (not shown) such as a spring.

The block unit 29 includes a block unit 29.
A pressing lever 32 for pushing the movable block 28 toward the support base 12 by being inserted between the movable block 28 and the movable block 28 near the block portion 29 is attached. The pressing lever 32 is an L-shaped member, one end of which is slidably arranged along a facing surface 33 of the block 29 facing the support 12 and the facing surface 33 and the movable block 28. The insertion portion 34 is inserted between the two. The other end of the pressing lever 32 has the insertion portion 3
4 is a manual unit 35 for manually moving.
The manual portion 35 is supported by a movable support member 36 that is inserted and supported by the block portion 29 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the moving path of the movable block 28. The movable supporting member 36 is urged by a urging member (not shown) in a direction projecting from the block portion 29. The manual part 35 is manually pressed against the biasing force acting on the movable support member 36 in a direction of pushing the movable support member 36 into the block part 29.

The position of the insertion portion 34 of the pressing lever 32 is fixed by tightening a fixing screw 37 provided on the block portion 29 to fix the movable supporting member 36. In addition, the movable support member 36 includes the block portion 29.
Since the stopper screw 38 screwed to the inside of the movable support member 36 is projected into the elongated hole 39 formed in the side surface of the movable support member 36 along the longitudinal direction of the movable support member 36, within the range of the length of the elongated hole 39. It is movable. When the stopper screw 38 is removed from the block portion 29, the movable support member 36
Can move freely regardless of the length of the long hole 39. The movable block 28 and the pressing lever 32 constitute the pressing mechanism 14.

The operation and effect of the present invention will be described below. The optical fiber connection tool 10 is held by the operator in the grip portion 1
0a is supported to support the tool main body 11 so that the support base 12 opens upward, and the manual portion 35 is manually pressed toward the block portion 29, whereby the inner insertion groove 1 of the pressing lever 32 is
5 is inserted into the taper groove 25 of the optical fiber connector 1.
3 is pushed in to widen the opening amount of the tapered groove 25.

That is, when the manual portion 35 is pressed toward the block portion 29, the insertion portion 34 of the pressing lever 32 is inserted between the facing surface 33 and the movable block 28 near the facing surface 33 to move the movable block. 28 is pressed toward the support base 12 and the wedge 1 is attached to the optical fiber connector 1 inserted in the insertion groove 15.
3 approaches. At this time, in the optical fiber connector 1, the support position adjusting material 16 causes the centering axis of the taper portion 24 of the wedge 13.
Since it is positioned so as to be on the movement trajectory of the tip, the taper groove 25 of the main body 2 and the wedge insertion opening 27 of the C-shaped spring 4 are formed.
Are aligned with each other and directed toward the movable block 28, so that the movement paths of the tapered groove 25 and the tip of the tapered portion 24 are aligned with each other. By doing so, by pushing the manual part 35 further deeper toward the block part 29,
The wedge 13 is automatically inserted into the tapered groove 25 via the wedge insertion port 27.

The movable block 2 by the pressing mechanism 14
The moving amount of 8 is adjusted so that the tip of the taper portion 24 does not reach the optical fiber 3 in the optical fiber connector 1 at the maximum. Further, since the tapered portion 24 is formed in a shape in which the thickness dimension gradually increases, it can widely correspond to the size of the optical fiber connector 1, the shape of the tapered groove 25, and the diameter dimension of the optical fiber 3.

When the taper portion 24 is pushed into the taper groove 25, the main body 2 of the optical fiber connector 1 is separated and the clamping force of the optical fiber 3 does not act, so that the optical fiber 3 can be freely inserted into and removed from the main body 2. become. When the work inside the optical fiber connector 1 is completed, the movable block 28 and the pressing lever 32 are automatically returned to their original positions by releasing the force for pressing the manual portion 35, and the taper groove 25
The tapered portion 24 is pulled out from. After pulling out the taper portion 24 from the taper groove 25, if the push rod 18 is operated,
The optical fiber connector 1 can be taken out from the insertion groove 15.

Therefore, according to the optical fiber connecting tool 10 of the present invention, the clamping force of the optical fiber 3 in the optical fiber connector 1 can be applied and released by merely operating the optical fiber connecting tool 10 with one hand. Therefore, one operator can easily perform butt connection and connection switching of the optical fibers 3 in the optical fiber connector 1. Further, by adjusting the amount of pushing of the taper portion 24 into the taper groove 25, it is possible to widely correspond to the distance from the outer surface of the optical fiber connector 1 to the holding position of the optical fiber 3, the diameter of the optical fiber 3, etc. improves.

In the optical fiber connecting tool of the present invention, a pair of optical fibers is sandwiched by the center of the main body of the split structure such that they can be abutted and connected to each other, and the main body is exposed to the light by the urging force of the urging means attached to the main body. It can be used for butt connection and connection switching of optical fibers corresponding to various optical fiber connectors for fixing fibers. Further, the separating member may be configured by two members that can be engaged with respective separated portions of the main body, or the like, other than the member that is pushed into the boundary of the main body.

[0022]

As described above, according to the optical fiber connecting tool of the first aspect, a pair of optical fibers is attached to the main body by aligning and positioning it so that a pair of optical fibers can be butted and connected. A connecting tool used when butt-connecting optical fibers by using an optical fiber connector for fixing the optical fiber to the main body by the urging force of the urging means, the support for detachably supporting the optical fiber connector. A separating member, which is pressed against the table and the optical fiber connector supported by the supporting table to spread the main body in the direction of separating the main body against the urging force of the urging means; and the separating member. Since the connector has a pressing mechanism that presses the connector, it is possible to clamp and release the optical fiber in the optical fiber connector by operating it with one hand. In can easily perform butt connection and connection switching of optical fibers in the optical fiber connector, working efficiency and working accuracy of the optical connection can be improved.

According to the optical fiber connecting tool of the second aspect, in the optical fiber connecting tool of the first aspect, the urging means is a C-shaped spring mounted outside the main body, and the separating member is C. Since the main body is formed into a shape that expands within the elastically deformable range of the C-shaped spring by pushing it into the boundary of the main body through the opening of the mold spring, it is only necessary to push the separating member into the boundary of the main body. The optical fiber can be freely inserted into and removed from the optical fiber connector.
The work efficiency and work accuracy of the optical connection are further improved.

According to the optical fiber connecting tool of the third aspect, in the optical fiber connecting tool of the second aspect, as the separating member is pushed into the opening of the C-shaped spring, C
Since it has a taper part that increases the opening amount of the opening part of the mold spring, the distance from the outer surface of the optical fiber connector to the optical fiber clamping position and the diameter of the optical fiber can be widened by adjusting the pushing amount of the taper part. It can be applied and the versatility is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber connecting tool of the present invention.

2 is a plan view showing the optical fiber connecting tool of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber connector to which the optical fiber connection tool of FIG. 1 is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical fiber connector, 2 ... Main body, 3 ... Optical fiber, 4
... biasing means (C-shaped spring), 10 ... optical fiber connection tool,
12 ... Support base, 13 ... Wedge (separating means), 14 ... Pressing mechanism, 24 ... Tapered part, 26 ... Opening part.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body (2) having a two-part structure is sandwiched by a pair of optical fibers (3) aligned with each other such that they can be abutted and connected to each other, and the main body is illuminated by a biasing force of a biasing means (4) attached to the main body. Optical fiber connector for fixing fiber (1)
A connection tool (10) used for butt-connecting optical fibers by using a support base (1) for detachably supporting the optical fiber connector.
2), and a separating member (13) that is pushed toward the optical fiber connector supported by the supporting base to push the main body against the urging force of the urging means in the direction of separating the main body, and the separating member. Pressing mechanism (14) for pressing the member against the optical fiber connector
An optical fiber connecting tool comprising: 2. The optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 1, wherein the urging means is a C-shaped spring (4) mounted outside the main body, and the separating member is an opening (26) of the C-shaped spring. An optical fiber connecting tool, characterized in that the main body is formed into a shape that expands within the elastically deformable range of the C-shaped spring by pushing the main body into the boundary between the two parts via the. 3. The optical fiber connecting tool according to claim 2, further comprising a tapered portion (24) for increasing the opening amount of the C-shaped spring as the separating member is pushed into the opening of the C-shaped spring. Optical fiber connection tool characterized by.