JPH1031122A - Jig for expanding optical fiber and jig for connecting optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To expand the coated optical fibers branched from an optical fiber ribbon to a required parallel pitch and to facilitate the holding of the expanded state thereof by providing a jig with plural through-holes to be inserted with the respective coated optical fibers from the respective terminals of guide grooves toward the other face at the required parallel pitch. SOLUTION: The front ends of the respective coated optical fibers branched from the optical fiber ribbon are pressed to a contact part 12 for positioning the fibers and are then introduced to the guide grooves disposed to be connected to the contact part 12 and are shifted toward the terminals 13b thereof. These guide grooves 3 are then gradually expanded in the spacings between each other to the required parallel pitch at the terminals 13b and, therefore, the coated optical fibers may be expanded to the required parallel pitch at the terminals 13b of the respective guide grooves 13. When the coated fibers arrive at the terminals 13b of the respective guide grooves 13, the respective coated optical fibers are inserted into the respective through-holes 14 disposed toward the other end face at the required pitch from the terminals 13b of the guide grooves 13, by which the easy holding of the expanded state of the respective coated optical fibers is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jig for expanding an optical fiber and a jig for connecting an optical fiber used for an optical fiber connecting operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a subscriber optical fiber cable for constructing a subscriber optical fiber network connecting a telephone station and each subscriber requires optical fiber cores by the number of each subscriber. A huge number. For this reason, from the viewpoint of increasing the density of communication lines, an optical fiber cable for a subscriber is used in which a plurality of optical fiber cores called an optical fiber tape are aligned.

[0003] In addition, branching of the optical fiber core from the optical fiber tape to each subscriber is performed by branching from the optical fiber tape into a plurality of optical fibers such as a single core or two cores, and each optical fiber. The connection is performed by connecting optical fiber cores for drawing in to each subscriber to the fiber cores.

[0004]

When branching from the optical fiber tape to each optical fiber core and connecting it to the drawing optical fiber core, in order to secure the connection workability,
An optical fiber connector having an optical axis alignment means such as a V-groove or a sleeve method arranged at a predetermined parallel pitch is required. In this connector, each optical fiber core wire branched from the optical fiber tape is expanded in accordance with the parallel pitch of the optical axis alignment means, and the expanded state is maintained and guided to the optical axis alignment means. There is a need.

[0005] The present invention relates to a method for connecting an optical fiber core so that the optical fiber core branched from the optical fiber tape can be easily expanded to a required parallel pitch and the expanded state can be easily maintained. The task is to ensure the workability of the work.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the optical fiber parallel pitch expansion jig for achieving the above-mentioned problem, on one surface, a contact portion that contacts and positions the tips of a plurality of optical fiber core wires forming an optical fiber tape,
A plurality of guide grooves provided to be connected to the corresponding contact portions and gradually expanding the mutual intervals of the respective optical fiber core wires branched from the optical fiber tape to have a required parallel pitch at each end. And a plurality of insertion holes through which the respective optical fibers are inserted from the respective ends of the guide grooves toward the other surface at the required parallel pitch.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber connecting jig for maintaining and fixing an expanded state for achieving the above-mentioned object, wherein the optical fiber is connected to a groove for inserting an optical fiber tape and communicates with the groove. A base provided with a plurality of insertion portions in the longitudinal direction for inserting respective optical fiber core wires branched from the tape and expanded at a required parallel pitch, and the optical fiber tape pivotally attached to the base so as to be freely opened and closed; An upper cover for pressing and fixing each optical fiber core to the base is provided.

[0008]

In the optical fiber expanding jig of the present invention, the tip of each of the optical fiber ribbons branched from the optical fiber tape is brought into contact with the positioning contact portion and then connected to the corresponding contact portion. If you guide it to the provided guide groove and move toward the end,
Since each guide groove gradually widens the mutual interval to have a required parallel pitch at each end, each optical fiber core wire can be expanded to a required parallel pitch at the end of each guide groove.
At the end of each guide groove, each optical fiber core is inserted from the end of the guide groove into each of the insertion holes provided at the required pitch toward the other surface, thereby expanding each optical fiber core. The open state can be easily maintained.

Further, the optical fiber connecting jig of the present invention comprises:
With the upper lid opened, the optical fiber tape in which the optical fiber cores are expanded to the required parallel pitch by the optical fiber expanding jig is inserted into the groove for inserting the optical fiber tape provided on the base. Each of the optical fiber core wires expanded to the required parallel pitch while
After fitting each optical fiber core wire provided in the longitudinal direction of the base in communication with the groove part to each fitting part for fitting, the upper lid which can be opened and closed with respect to the base is closed, and the optical fiber tape and the required parallel pitch are formed. Each expanded optical fiber core can be pressed and fixed in a state of protruding by a predetermined length. In this manner, the optical fiber cores branched from the optical fiber tape are fixed at a required parallel pitch, and in this state, the operation can be shifted to the connection operation of the optical fiber cores.

[0010]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of an optical fiber expanding jig according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of expanding the optical fiber core, and FIG.
(B) is during the expansion, and (c) is at the end of the expansion.

In these figures, T is an optical fiber tape, t is a single-core optical fiber core branched from the optical fiber tape T, and 10 is a single-core optical fiber core t which is expanded to a required parallel pitch. It is a jig.

The optical fiber tape T has, for example, a diameter of 12
Four 250 μm diameter optical fiber core wires t in which a 5 μm glass optical fiber is primarily coated with a polymer material are juxtaposed at a pitch of 0.25 mm and bound in a tape shape with a secondary coating of a polymer material. 0.3mm, tape width 1.
It is 1 mm. The connection end of the optical fiber tape T is peeled off from the secondary coating and branched into optical fiber cores t.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber expanding jig 10 is made of a rectangular body made of a synthetic resin.
A concave portion 12 is formed on one side as an abutting portion for abutting and positioning a plurality of optical fiber cores t forming the optical fiber tape T on one side thereof. This recess 12 has a width that fits in a natural state when the respective optical fiber cores t branched from the optical fiber tape T abut,
The bottom surface is provided with a parallel pitch substantially equal to the pitch of each optical fiber core wire t, and the introduction portions 13a into four guide grooves 13 corresponding to the number of the optical fiber core wires t are formed.

Each guide groove 13 is formed such that the optical fiber cores t branched from the optical fiber tape T are gradually and equally spread from the starting end 13a so that the mutual interval becomes a required parallel pitch. As it extends, it gradually becomes deeper, and reaches the end 3b at the parallel pitch of the capillary tubes 33 as the optical axis aligning means of the optical fiber connector 30 shown in FIG. From each end 3b, an insertion hole 14 that penetrates the jig body 11 toward the other surface at a parallel pitch after the expansion is formed. The width w of the groove 13 is
Assuming that the diameter of the optical fiber t is d, w = d + 10 μ
The distance is appropriately set so as to satisfy m to 2d-10 μm. The frontage of the insertion hole 14 also has a size of w × w.

As described above, this optical fiber expanding jig 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a configuration in which each optical fiber core t branched from the optical fiber tape T can be expanded corresponding to a required parallel pitch, that is, a parallel pitch of the capillary tubes 33 which are optical axis aligning components of the optical fiber connector 30. ing.

In the optical fiber expanding jig 10, the concave portion 12, the guide groove 13 and the insertion hole 14 are formed by cutting the jig main body 11 or by using resin together with the jig main body 11. It is manufactured by integral molding.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, instead of forming a rectangular body, it can be formed in a sector shape in a plan view along the guide groove 13 and the like, so that it can be easily held.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show an optical fiber connecting jig 20.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of an upper cover opened state in which the optical fiber core wire t expanded by the above-described optical fiber expanding jig 10 is fitted into a groove of a base, and FIG. 6 is an upper cover in FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 5 with the upper lid closed.

As shown in FIG. 5, an optical fiber connecting jig 20 is provided with a pair of upper lids 21 on a base 21 which can be held by hand.
a and 21b are attached via a hinge 22 so as to be openable and closable. On the inner surface of the base 21, an insertion groove 23 for the optical fiber tape T and each of the branched optical fiber cores t is formed. The portions 23a and 23d have a width in which the optical fiber tape T fits, and a plurality of fitting portions into which the expanded optical fiber cores t are fitted, respectively, and the other edge portion 23b has the optical fiber tape T Each of the optical fiber cores t branched from the optical fiber connector 30 is a groove that fits at a parallel pitch of a capillary 33 as an optical axis aligning means of the optical fiber connector 30. A recess 23c is formed between 23d and 23b of the fitting groove 23 so that each optical fiber core wire t is bent at a safe curvature and guided to each groove 23b on the other side edge.

The inner surfaces of the upper covers 21a and 21b are provided with elastic bodies 24a and 24b made of rubber or the like, respectively.
When the members 1a and 21b are closed, the optical fiber tape T and the respective optical fiber cores t are pressed and fixed by the elastic bodies 24a and 24b (see FIGS. 6 and 7). Inside the front edges of the upper lids 21a, 21b and the base 21, magnets 25, 25 which are attracted to each other, are provided.
1b is fixed to the base 21 by the magnets 25, 25, and the optical fiber tape T and each optical fiber core t are pressed and held.

Thus, the optical fiber connection jig 2
Numeral 0 denotes a configuration in which each of the optical fiber cores t branched and expanded from the optical fiber tape T can be held in an expanded state corresponding to the parallel pitch of the capillary tubes 33 as the optical axis aligning means of the optical fiber core connector 30. It has become.

FIG. 8 shows a capillary tube 3 as an optical axis aligning means.
3 shows an example of an optical fiber connector 30 having three optical fibers splicers, in which s is a single optical fiber core for drawing in, s ′.
Is an optical fiber exposed by stripping the coating of the optical fiber core s.

The optical fiber connector 30 has an insertion hole 32a for inserting an optical fiber core t branched from the optical fiber tape T and an optical fiber core s for drawing in the standing wall on both sides of the base part 31. And 32b are formed in the same number on the same axis. The pitch (interval) between the introduction holes 32a and 32b is appropriately selected in consideration of the workability of inserting the optical fiber cores t and s, and is, for example, 2 mm.

On the flat surface between the two compatible walls of the base component 31, four capillary tubes 33 having an outer diameter of 2 mm, an inner diameter of 126 μm, and a length of 20 mm are fixed in parallel at a pitch of 2 mm. The holes of this capillary tube 33 are the introduction holes 3 on both sides.
2a and 32b communicate with the same axis. Each capillary 33
A slot 34 having a width of 1 mm is formed at the center of the hole, and a refractive index matching agent c is filled from the slot 34.

The pressing members 3 of the optical fibers t and s are provided on both walls of the base component 31 located on both sides of the capillary tube 33.
5 and 36 are provided, and the pressing member 35 on one side is provided.
Consists of a pressing piece 35b and a bolt 35a that can move up and down in the cavity of the upright wall. The pressing piece 35b has a length extending over the entire length of the introduction hole 32a in the column direction, and the bolt 35a is screwed to the center of the upper surface of the upright wall.
b moves up and down so as to simultaneously press all of the optical fiber cores t in the introduction hole 32a.

The pressing member 36 on the other side has a plurality of bolts 3
6a, and each of the bolts 36a
b, it is screwed to the standing wall, and individually presses the optical fibers s in the introduction hole 32b by rotation.

As described above, the optical fiber connector 30
Is a state in which one of the optical fiber cores t branched from the optical fiber tape T is spread and arranged corresponding to the parallel pitch of the capillary 33 as an optical axis aligning part, and the other optical fiber core is s are individually connected.

Next, an optical fiber connecting method using the optical fiber expanding jig 10, the optical fiber connecting jig 20, and the optical fiber connecting device 30 will be described.

The operation of expanding the optical fiber core wires t to a required parallel pitch by using the optical fiber expanding jig 10 is as follows. First, the end to which the optical fiber tape T is connected is connected to each optical fiber with an appropriate jig. The optical fiber t is branched into fiber cores t, and as shown in FIG. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2B, while pressing the tip of the optical fiber core wire t against the bottom surface of the concave portion 12,
When the optical fiber tape T is pulled forward as indicated by an arrow, the optical fiber core t is inserted into the introduction portion 13 connected to the recess 12.
Each of the guide grooves 13 enters the guide groove 13 from a, and the pitch between the guide grooves 13 is gradually widened as the guide grooves 13 expand, so that a required parallel pitch is obtained at the guide groove end 3b. At this time, since the guide groove 13 is gradually deepened, the optical fiber core wire t hardly comes off the guide groove 13.
If the optical fiber core wire t reaches the groove end 13b, the same figure (c)
As shown in (1), it is inserted into the insertion hole 14 to complete the expansion, and the operation shifts to the next operation using the optical fiber connection jig 20.

The operation of the optical fiber connecting jig 20 is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 5, with the upper lids 21a and 21b opened, the optical fiber expansion shown in FIG. The optical fiber tape T passed through the jig 10 is inserted into the insertion grooves 23a,
Then, the upper cover 21a, 21b is closed, and the tape-shaped portion and each core wire t are pressed and fixed. After the pressing and fixing is completed, the optical fiber expanding jig 10 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 and removed from the optical fiber core wire t. Thereafter, the operation shifts to the connection operation with the single optical fiber core s.

In the operation of the optical fiber connector 30, first, the bolt 35a of the connector 30 is loosened and the pressing piece 35
b and the bolts 36a are loosened and raised, and the optical fiber cores t and t are inserted into the introduction holes 32a and 32b on both sides.
s is set in a state where it can be inserted. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the optical fiber cores t fixed by the above-mentioned optical fiber connecting jig 20 is peeled off by a predetermined length from the primary coating of the distal end to expose the optical fiber t ′. After that, the optical fibers t 'are simultaneously inserted into the respective introduction holes 32a, and each of the optical fibers t' is
Position 3 Thereafter, the bolt 35a is screwed in to lower the pressing piece 35b to press and fix the optical fiber core t.

On the other hand, a single optical fiber s
Also, the coating at the tip is peeled off by a predetermined length to expose the optical fibers s ′, and they are inserted into the respective introduction holes 32b, each optical fiber s ′ is positioned in the capillary tube 33, and the optical fiber core t The optical fiber t 'is connected to the optical fiber t'. Thereafter, the bolt 36a is screwed in, the optical fiber core s is pressed and fixed at the tip, and the slot 3
According to 4, the refractive index matching agent c is added and filled. This allows
The connection of the optical fibers t 'and s' is completed.

In the above embodiment, the connection to the single-core optical fiber s has been described. The connection end of T also branches into an optical fiber core t having the number of cores corresponding to that of the optical fiber core s. For this reason,
The width, number, interval, and expansion amount of the guide grooves 13 of the optical fiber expanding jig 10 also correspond to the number of branches, and the branch of the other side portion 23b of the guide groove 23 of the optical fiber connecting jig 20. The width and groove width also correspond to the number of branches. Of course, it goes without saying that the optical fiber connector 30 also has the parallel pitch of the capillaries 33 and the bolts 35a and 36a adjusted to the pitch number.

The optical fiber expanding jig and the connecting jig of the present invention are used not only for an optical fiber connector, but also for an optical device for emitting or receiving light at a required parallel pitch and an optical fiber tape. It can also be used for connection.

[0034]

According to the optical fiber expanding jig of the present invention, the optical fiber cores branched from the optical fiber tape can be expanded to a required parallel pitch by a simple operation.

Further, according to the optical fiber connecting jig of the present invention, the optical fiber cores branched from the optical fiber tape can be fixed at a required parallel pitch, and the optical fibers arranged at the required parallel pitch can be fixed. It becomes easy to guide the optical fiber core wire to the optical fiber connector having the axis aligning means.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when constructing a subscriber-based optical fiber network, good work in branch connection from the optical fiber tape of the optical table for the subscriber to the optical fiber for drawing in to each subscriber. Can secure the nature.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an optical fiber expanding jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the expanding operation of the embodiment, wherein FIG. 3A is before expansion, FIG. 3B is during expansion, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the optical fiber expanding jig.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of an optical fiber connection jig according to the present invention in a state where an upper cover is opened;

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the partially removed state of FIG. 5 in a state where an upper lid is closed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 5 in a state where an upper lid is closed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an optical fiber connection operation according to the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 T Optical fiber tape t Optical fiber core wire 10 Optical fiber expanding jig 12 Contact portion for positioning the tip of optical fiber core 13 Parallel groove expanding guide groove 13b for optical fiber core 13b Guide groove end 14 Insertion hole 20 Optical fiber connection jig 21 Base 21a, 21b Upper lid 22 Hinge 23a, 23d Optical fiber tape fitting groove 23b Optical fiber core wire fitting

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hirokazu Takeuchi 2-7-1 Hararashi, Otsu-shi, Shiga Prefecture Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. (72) Katsumi Inada 2-7-1 Hararashi, Otsu-shi, Shiga Prefecture Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] An optical fiber tape is provided on one surface with a contact portion for abutting and positioning the ends of a plurality of optical fibers forming an optical fiber tape, and connected to the corresponding contact portion and branched from the optical fiber tape. A plurality of guide grooves which gradually expand the mutual spacing of the optical fiber cores to make the required parallel pitch at each end, and the other surface is provided at the required parallel pitch from each end of the guide groove. An optical fiber expanding jig comprising a plurality of insertion holes for inserting respective optical fiber core wires toward the optical fiber. 2. A groove for fitting an optical fiber tape, and a plurality of fitting portions communicating with the groove for fitting each of the optical fiber cores branched from the optical fiber tape and expanded at a required parallel pitch. An optical fiber connecting jig comprising: a base provided in the direction; and an upper lid pivotally attached to the base so as to be openable and closable to press and fix the optical fiber tape and each optical fiber core to the base.