JPH11101919A - Optical fiber butting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To apply the adequate amt. of refractive index matching agent between end faces of optical fibers butted against each other without damaging the end faces of the optical fibers. SOLUTION: In the state where the optical fibers 10, 20 are butted against each other at the end faces with the distance therebetween being adjusted, a tip end of an arm 40 is immersed in the refractive index matching agent 30 stored in a pot 31 and the refractive index matching agent 30 is applied and stuck to the tip end thereof, thereby holding this and moving the arm 40 to above the butted part, and thereafter, the arm 40 is lowered downward to bring the refractive index matching agent 30 applied and stuck to the tip end of the arm 40 into contact with the optical fibers 10, 20 and the refractive index matching agent 30 is transferred between the tip end faces of the optical fibers 10, 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber butting apparatus for abutting end faces of optical fibers, and more particularly, to an optical fiber butting apparatus having a function of applying a refractive index matching agent for reducing Fresnel reflection at the end faces. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of an optical fiber, the end faces of the optical fiber are abutted to perform a characteristic test or the like.
May be interconnected. In this case, when an operation to eliminate Fresnel reflection at the end face is to be performed, a refractive index matching agent is applied between the end faces to reduce Fresnel reflection. The work to avoid Fresnel reflection is
For example, by using an OTDR measurement device, a measurement light pulse incident from the other end of one optical fiber is propagated through the butting portion to the other optical fiber, and the backscattered light from these optical fibers is measured. Work to measure the characteristics and condition of the optical fiber such as transmission loss, or to transmit the measuring light incident from the other end of one optical fiber to the other optical fiber For measuring the optical power emitted from the other end of the device.

In a conventional optical fiber butting apparatus, a plate-like member wetted with a matching agent is brought into contact with the end face of the optical fiber to apply the matching agent to the end face of the optical fiber, and then the end faces of the optical fibers are brought into contact with each other. I try to move it. In some cases, a matching agent is dropped between the end faces of the optical fibers in a state where the end faces of the optical fibers abut against each other.

[0004]

However, when the conventional plate member is brought into contact with the end face of the optical fiber, the end surface itself may come into contact with the plate member, which may be damaged. However, there are problems that it is difficult to accurately set the end face spacing and that it is difficult to supply a matching agent.

Further, in the case where the matching agent is dropped between the end faces of the abutted optical fibers, the excess matching agent is liable to be scattered, it is difficult to control the amount of dropping, and a small amount of dropping is sufficient. However, there is a problem that the amount of the matching agent consumed is increased, and it is particularly difficult to set a dropping amount when a multi-core optical fiber is abutted together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, the present invention provides an optical fiber having a refractive index matching agent coating function, which has no risk of damaging the end face of the optical fiber, easily controls the coating amount, and is suitable for multi-fiber optical fiber batch abutment. It is an object to provide a fiber butt device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber butting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an optical fiber holding means for holding optical fibers in a state where end faces of the optical fibers are butted; Means for storing the refractive index matching agent, matching agent holding means for holding the matching agent by applying the stored refractive index matching agent, and the matching portion from the outer circumferential direction of the optical fiber to its abutting portion. And a moving means for bringing the matching agent into contact with the agent holding means.

When the matching agent holding means is brought into contact with the butting portion of the optical fiber from the outer circumferential direction of the optical fiber and the matching agent is brought into contact with the matching agent holding means, the matching agent applied to the matching agent holding means is exposed to light due to surface tension. The gap between the fiber end faces is filled. The matching agent holding means is approached from the outer circumferential direction of the optical fiber, and the matching agent applied thereto only contacts the optical fiber end face, but the matching agent holding means itself does not contact the optical fiber end face. Therefore, the end face of the optical fiber is not damaged. By changing the shape and the like of the matching agent holding means, the amount of the matching agent applied can be adjusted, and it is easy to apply an appropriate amount of the matching agent. Since the refractive index matching agent is applied in a state where the end faces of the optical fibers are in contact with each other, it is possible to accurately set the end face interval in the butted portion.

[0009]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the end faces of a pair of optical fibers 10 and 20 are abutted such that the end faces are at a predetermined interval. On the other hand, the refractive index matching agent 30 is stored in the pot 31, and the tip of the arm 40 is immersed in the refractive index matching agent 30. After that, the arm is moved to above the butting portion, and is lowered from above to lower. The matching agent 30 applied to the distal end of the optical fiber 40 is brought into contact with the optical fibers 10 and 20. Although a moving mechanism of the arm 40 is not shown, an appropriate mechanism may be adopted.

First, when the arm 40 is lowered from above the pot 31, the arm 40 is immersed in the refractive index matching agent 30 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). As shown, a certain amount of the refractive index matching agent 30 is applied to the lower end of the arm 40. In this way, by applying the matching agent 30 to the lower end of the arm 40, a certain amount of the matching agent 30 is held and carried by the arm 40, and the matching agent 30 is
When they come into contact with the optical fibers 0 and 20, they move toward the optical fibers 10 and 20 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a specific embodiment. Here, the optical fibers to be abutted are in many pairs. That is, a large number of optical fibers (core wires) 10,
Tape fibers 11 and 21 in which 20 are bundled in a tape shape are clamped by pressing members 13 and 23 on clamp tables 12 and 22. At their ends, protective coatings and the like are peeled off, and a number of optical fibers (cores) 10, 2
0 are exposed and each is positioned in each groove of the V-groove blocks 14, 24. An objective lens 51 of a TV camera is arranged near the butting portion of the optical fibers 10 and 20, so that an image of the butting portion is photographed.

An image signal obtained by the TV camera is sent to a control device (not shown) for image processing.
The distance between the end faces 20 is measured, a driving mechanism (not shown) is driven, the clamp tables 12 and 22 are moved in the forward and backward directions, and a large number of pairs are kept in a state where the end face intervals are maintained at a predetermined interval. The end faces of the optical fibers 10 and 20 are butted against each other. Then, a weak discharge is caused between the discharge electrodes 52, thereby cleaning the vicinity of the end face. Although omitted in the figure, the objective lens 51 of the TV camera is not shown.
Are covered with a lens cover, and are protected from flying matter during the discharge.

After the end faces of the pair of optical fibers 10 and 20 are brought into contact with each other, a refractive index matching agent 30 is applied between the end faces. The refractive index matching agent 30 is stored in a pot 31, and the rollers 3 and 32 are rotated by a
A refractive index matching agent 30 is adhered to the surfaces of 3 and 32. A coating piece 41 is provided at the tip of the arm 40, and the refractive index matching agent 30 is coated on the coating piece 41 by bringing the coating piece 41 into contact with the surface of the roller 33. Here, the coating piece 41 is made of a Teflon plate, and is long enough to cover the entire width of the many optical fibers 10 and 20 arranged.

After the refractive index matching agent 30 is applied to the coating piece 41 at the tip of the arm 40, the arm 40 is moved by a mechanism (not shown) so that the upper end of the optical fiber 10, 20 is located above the abutting portion. Is further lowered, and the refractive index matching agent 30 applied to the coating piece 41 is brought into contact with the optical fibers 10 and 20.

That is, the refractive index matching agent 30
In the state where is coated, as shown in FIG. 4A, the refractive index matching agent 30 is attached to the lower end of the coated piece 41, and when this is lowered and comes into contact with the optical fibers 10 and 20, As shown in FIG. 4B, the refractive index matching agent 30 enters the gap between the end faces and fills the gap. Thereafter, when the coated piece 41 is pulled up, the matching agent 30 remains between the end faces,
The coating piece 41 is hardly attached to the lower end.

The shape of the lower end of the coating piece 41 can be formed in various ways, but here, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 4 (c), it is rounded and a cut 42 is formed. ing. The cuts 42 are formed in a large number of optical fibers 1
Grooves (recesses) extending in the arrangement direction of 0 and 20. Since the matching agent 30 is stored in the cuts 42, the amount of the matching agent 30 held at the lower end of the coating piece 41 increases. That is,
Since the coating piece 41 of the Teflon plate relatively easily repels the liquid material, the notch 42 is used to store the matching agent 30. By adjusting the radius of the roundness at the lower end of the coating piece 41 and the size of the cut 42, the matching agent 3
0 can be supplied between the end faces by a necessary amount without excess or deficiency. In other words, if the amount is too small, the gap between the end faces is not enough, so that the Fresnel reflection cannot be completely suppressed and the loss may increase. , And contaminates the V-groove, thereby increasing the time and labor for cleaning. However, these disadvantages do not occur.

Here, a so-called intermittent supply system is adopted in which the refractive index matching agent 30 is applied to the tip of the arm 40, and then the arm 40 is moved to supply the optical fiber 10, 20 to the abutting portion. However, as shown in FIG. 5, an endless supply system such as a belt pulley mechanism can be employed. In FIG. 5, a belt 45 is stretched between the pulleys 43 and 44, and the belt 45 is
When the belt 45 moves as indicated by the arrow a due to the rotation of the pulleys 43 and 44, the roller 33 rotates. Since the roller 33 is in contact with the roller 32 immersed in the refractive index matching agent 30 stored in the pot 31, the matching agent 30 is attached to the surface thereof. Thus, the refractive index matching agent 30 adheres to the belt 45. Although FIG. 5 shows only the components for supplying and applying the matching agent 30, the optical fibers 10, 2
Other configurations such as holding of 0 are the same as those in FIG.

When one pulley 44 is lowered downward as shown by the arrow b, the refractive index matching agent 30 attached to the belt 45 comes into contact with the butted portions of the optical fibers 10 and 20. That is, when the belt 45 is formed of a steel wire having a circular cross section, the matching agent 30 applied around the belt as shown in FIG. 6A is replaced with the optical fiber 1 as shown in FIG.
It touches 0 and 20 and moves between its end faces. When the pulley 44 is moved upward, the aligning agent 30 remains between the end faces as shown in FIG. 6C, and hardly adheres to the belt 45.

On the other hand, when the cross section of the belt 45 is flat, that is, when the belt 45 is a tape made of a material such as resin, as shown in FIG.
5 and the amount of the matching agent 30 adhering to FIG.
As shown in (c), the amount applied between the optical fibers 10 and 20 and the end faces thereof is large.

As described above, the application amount of the matching agent 30 varies depending on the cross-sectional shape of the belt 45. A circular shape as shown in FIG. 6 is suitable for applying a small amount, and a flat shape as shown in FIG. If there is a large amount, it can be applied in a large amount, so that it may be appropriately selected according to the case.

The above description is for one embodiment, and it is a matter of course that the present invention is not limited to this. The specific configuration and the like can be variously changed.

[0022]

As described above, according to the optical fiber butting device of the present invention, it is easy to apply an appropriate amount of the refractive index matching agent between the butting end surfaces without fear of damaging the optical fiber end surfaces. Also, in the case of multi-fiber optical fiber batch abutment, a refractive index matching agent can be applied collectively between many end faces thereof. Since the pot for storing the refractive index matching agent can be arranged at any position with respect to the optical fiber butting portion, it is possible to design the overall positional relationship in consideration of workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view for explaining the operation in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a more specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining the operation in the specific embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of another specific embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view for explaining the operation in another specific embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an operation when the shape is changed in another specific embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20 Optical fiber 11, 21 Tape fiber 12, 22 Clamp base 13, 23 Pressing member 14, 24 V groove block 30 Refractive index matching agent 31 Pot 32, 33 Roller 34 Motor 40 Arm 41 Coating piece 42 Cut 43, 44 Pulley 45 Belt 51 Objective lens 52 Discharge electrode

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Michiro Oi 1-840 Mitsuhashi, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Fujikura Rubber Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An optical fiber holding means for holding the optical fibers in a state where the end faces of the optical fibers are abutted with each other, a means for storing a refractive index matching agent, and applying the stored refractive index matching agent. A light source, comprising: a matching agent holding unit for holding the matching agent by being moved; and a moving unit for bringing the matching agent holding unit close to and contacting the matching agent from an outer peripheral direction of the optical fiber to an abutting portion thereof. Fiber butt device.