JPH11119034A - Device for manufacturing optical wiring board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical wiring board manufacturing device for automatically wiring optical fibers. SOLUTION: An optical fiber 1 is fixed on an adhesive or bonding layer 5 formed on a board 4 by stress for bending the fiber 1 by the tip of a wiring head 2. A through hole 3 for vertically passing the fiber 1 to the board 4 is formed on the head 2 and the tip of the head 2 is conically expanded so that the radius of curvature of an abutting point on the fiber 1 is made larger than the radius of curvature of a cut end of the fiber 1 and chamfered radius of an outer periphery is made larger than the superposed thickness of the fiber 1, or a part brought into contact with the fiber 1 is preferably constituted of a material of which friction coefficient is smaller than that of the fiber 1. It is also available to move a capillary in the through hole 3 as a cut mechanism for the fiber 1. The head 2 is preferably provided with an optical fiber feeding mechanism, an adjusting mechanism, an attaching/detaching mechanism and/or a rotary mechanism. The head 2 is preferably loaded on arms of plural XY plotters to be independently moved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber circuit board.

In the field of electronic circuit boards, a technique for forming a circuit pattern by arbitrarily arranging thin electric wires on a substrate is known from US Pat. No. 4,818,058 (1989). This is to operate the wiring head corresponding to the pen of the XY plotter and wire the wire covered with the pressure-sensitive adhesive to an arbitrary position on the printed circuit board. It is a wiring device.

On the other hand, regarding an optical fiber circuit wiring board,
1993 Phoc, 43nd, Electron.Components Technol.Conf.
A technique for forming a circuit pattern by arbitrarily arranging optical fibers on a substrate is known from the paper "Optical Fiber Circuits" by WHolland, JJ Burack, RPStawicki on page 711. This is an automatic wiring device that operates a wiring head corresponding to a pen of an XY plotter to wire an optical fiber to an arbitrary position on a flexible substrate having an adhesive layer formed on a surface thereof. Japanese Patent No. 2574611 discloses the optical wiring board itself. Another technique for aligning optical fibers is a tape fiber manufacturing technique.

However, in order to apply the conventional electronic circuit wiring technology to the optical fiber circuit wiring, it is necessary to suppress the difference in handling of the optical fiber and the electric wire, especially the microbending of the optical fiber which causes an increase in the optical loss. . The basic technology of optical fiber circuit wiring is wiring, fixing the optical fiber to the board, freely wiring the circuit pattern, wiring further, wiring again, wiring again, mounting Some problems must be solved, such as the method of cutting a broken optical fiber. In particular, the structure of the wiring head for realizing these methods is important, but has not been clarified by the conventional optical wiring technology. Also, with the tape fiber technology, it is not possible to form an arbitrary arrangement or create a circuit pattern.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to accurately follow the movement of a wiring head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus for automatic wiring that enables multiple wiring.

[0006]

An optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention uses a wiring head to lay an optical fiber for wiring on a substrate having an adhesive layer or an adhesive layer formed thereon. The plate manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that the optical fiber is attached to the adhesive layer or the adhesive layer by a stress that bends the optical fiber at the tip of the wiring head, and is fixed to the substrate.

When laying an optical fiber on a substrate on which an adhesive layer or an adhesive layer is formed, instead of applying pressure from above the optical fiber, light is applied to the adhesive layer or the adhesive layer by repulsion generated when the optical fiber is bent. Attach and fix the fiber. Thereby, wiring and fixing can be performed simultaneously. Also, at the intersection of the optical fibers laid on the substrate,
The upper fiber intersects the lower fiber without bonding, thereby reducing microbending, which is a local bending of the optical fiber. Partially floating wiring is also possible.

It is desirable that the wiring head of the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has a through hole through which an optical fiber passes.
In this case, the optical fiber is sandwiched between the substrate and the through hole, and the optical fiber can be bent. The cross section of the through hole is circular, and if the hole diameter is close to the diameter of the optical fiber through which the hole passes, the play between the through hole and the optical fiber can be reduced, and the optical fiber can accurately move the wiring head. The wiring is followed. The side surfaces of the through holes do not necessarily have to be continuous. For example, a linear shape may be used in combination with a ring, a spiral, or the like.

This through hole is desirably perpendicular to the substrate. If the through-hole is oblique to the substrate, the wiring head must be rotated to enable wiring in all directions, but if it is vertical, no rotation mechanism is required. Therefore, the configuration of the wiring head is simplified.

The through-hole has a tip that expands in a trumpet shape, and the value obtained by combining the radius of curvature of the trumpet shape and the radius of the portion that does not spread and the value of the trumpet-like depth are determined by the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber breaks. It is desirable to be configured to be large. When the bending radius of the optical fiber is large, the bending stress is small, and when the radius is small, the bending stress is large. Such a trumpet shape is suitable for obtaining the necessary force for attaching and fixing the optical fiber to the adhesive layer or the adhesive layer of the substrate within the range of the curvature where the optical fiber does not break.

It is preferable that the radius of the chamfer at the outer periphery of the tip of the wiring head is larger than the overlapping thickness of the optical fibers to be wired. In other words, in order to further lay on the laid optical fiber, it is necessary to cross over the previously laid optical fiber without displacing it, and this can be achieved by chamfering the outer periphery of the tip of the wiring head. become.

Further, it is desirable that a portion of the wiring head in contact with the optical fiber is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the optical fiber. If the friction between the optical fiber and the through hole that bends the optical fiber is large, the optical fiber slides poorly, making it difficult to feed out the optical fiber from the through hole following the movement of the wiring head. Tension is applied to the optical fiber connecting the portion adhered and fixed to the substrate and the wiring head, and the wiring is broken or disconnected. In order to obtain a wiring line that accurately follows the movement of the wiring head, it is necessary that the optical fiber be smoothly fed. By configuring the portion of the wiring head that is in contact with the optical fiber with a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the optical fiber, it is possible to accurately obtain the wiring along the movement of the wiring head even when the optical fibers are stacked.

Further, it is desirable that the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention include a thin tube having both ends opened at an inner diameter smaller than the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber breaks so as to be movable, for example, in a through hole of a wiring head. With such a configuration, the optical fiber can be broken by causing a sharp sharp bend locally between the substrate and the thin tube, thereby cutting the optical fiber at an arbitrary position in the wiring. be able to.

It is preferable that the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes an optical fiber feeding mechanism for feeding an optical fiber to the wiring head or pulling the optical fiber back from the wiring head. Use of such a mechanism is convenient when wiring and collecting optical fibers.

Further, in the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is desirable that the attaching portion of the wiring head has an adjusting mechanism for controlling a force for pressing the optical fiber against the substrate and a distance between the wiring head and the substrate. . By this mechanism, for example, even when the wiring is overlapped and the wiring head is lifted to increase the distance from the substrate, the magnitude of the force pressing the optical fiber drawn out from the wiring head can be kept constant.
This mechanism is preferably provided in a wiring head mounting portion of an XY plotter for drawing a wiring pattern.

Further, in the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the wiring head mounting portion has a configuration that allows the mounting and dismounting of the wiring head, so that a plurality of wiring heads can be replaced. Is desirable. By providing a mechanism capable of replacing a plurality of wiring heads, it becomes possible to perform automatic wiring in which various optical fibers such as color identification optical fibers and electric wiring are mixed.

Further, in the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the wiring head is provided with a plurality of XY moving independently.
It is desirable to be mounted on the arm mechanism of the plotter. By providing such a mechanism, a plurality of wirings can be performed simultaneously.

Further, in the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the through-hole for passing the optical fiber is not perpendicular to the substrate but at a certain angle, and the wiring head mounting portion is connected to the wiring head. A mechanism for rotating may be provided. In this way, by arranging the optical fiber at a small angle with respect to the substrate, the bent portion of the optical fiber is reduced, and there is an advantage that the optical fiber can be laid more accurately. However, it is necessary to rotate the wiring head in order to eliminate an error from the design in the wiring of the curve. Therefore, by providing a head rotating mechanism, it is possible to accurately perform wiring in all directions without providing a through hole in the wiring head.

[0019]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating the use state of the wiring head, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged cross-sectional view in a usage state of the tip end of the wiring head. The optical fiber 1 has a coating outer diameter of 0.25 mm, and the wiring head 2 has an outer diameter of 5 mm and a length of 20 mm.
A through-hole 3 having a diameter of 0.4 mm is provided in a fluororesin (Teflon) rod having a diameter of 0.4 mm, and the tip is processed into a trumpet shape. The substrate 4 is formed by applying a silicone resin adhesive 5 to a thickness of 0.05 mm on a polyimide film having a size of A4 plate and a thickness of 0.1 mm. The optical fiber 1 was fixed on the substrate 4 by passing the optical fiber 1 through the through hole 3 provided in the wiring head 2 and operating the wiring head so as to bend the substrate 4 on which the adhesive 5 was applied. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the cross-sectional shape of the trumpet-like portion in the through hole of the wiring head. Through hole
13 has a diameter b of 0.4 mm and a through-hole that contacts the optical fiber 11
Thirteen trumpet-shaped portions had a curvature radius a of 1 mm and a depth c of the trumpet-shaped portion was 1.4 mm. The radius of curvature at which the optical fiber 11 breaks is about 1 mm. With such dimensions, the radius at which the optical fiber 11 is bent by being sandwiched between the through hole 13 provided in the wiring head 12 and the substrate 14 is always larger than the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber 11 breaks.

When the optical fiber 11 is bent so as not to be broken, the optical fiber 11 is fixed to the adhesive layer 15 by a repulsive force generated by the bending. When the wiring head 12 is moved horizontally to the substrate 14, the optical fibers 11 sandwiched between the wiring head 12 and the substrate 14 are successively adhered and fixed, and the optical fibers 11 in the through holes have a small coefficient of friction. It slides through the hole 13 and is fed out one after another. This operation does not require an optical fiber feed mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the chamfered shape of the outer periphery of the tip of the wiring head. Assuming that the maximum number of the overlapping wirings 26 is six, the chamfer radius d of the outer periphery of the tip of the wiring head 22 is 2 mm. By using the adjusting mechanism of the wiring head together, it is possible to get over the wiring without breaking or removing the overlapped optical fiber. 24 is a substrate and 25 is an adhesive.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a case where an optical fiber is cut using a thin tube having both ends opened with an inner diameter smaller than the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber breaks. Optical fiber 31
Is bent and wired on the substrate 34 through the thin tube 36 inserted into the through hole 33 of the wiring head 32, and the raised thin tube 36 is lowered to reduce the curvature of the optical fiber 31 and cut. The inside diameter of the thin tube 36 is 0.3 mm, and the outside diameter is 0.3 mm.
6 mm, and the inner diameter of the through hole 33 is 0.7 mm. 35 is an adhesive.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an optical fiber feeding mechanism, a wiring head adjusting mechanism, and a wiring head attaching / detaching mechanism. An optical fiber 41 is bent on a substrate through a thin tube 46 inserted into a through hole of the wiring head 42. Usually, the thin tube 46 is lifted by a coil spring 47, and by pushing down the thin tube 46 against this spring, the optical fiber
41 can be cut at the tip of the wiring head.

The wiring head 42 whose outer periphery is wrapped by an iron plate is attracted to the groove 50 by the electromagnet 49 embedded in the replacement wiring head holder 48, and a plurality of wiring heads are arranged. By bringing the wiring head holder 51 provided with the same suction mechanism as that of the replacement wiring head holder 48 with the wiring head 42 attached thereto and switching the drive current of the electromagnet, the wiring head 42 is replaced with the replacement wiring head. It can be transferred from the holder 48 to the wiring head holder 51. By switching the driving current of the electromagnet, the wiring head 42 can be transferred from the wiring head holder 51 to the replacement wiring head holder 48.

The wiring head holder 51 is attached to the holder base 52 via a mechanism that slides up and down. A pair of rubber drums 53 that are rubbed and electrically rotated are attached directly above the through holes of the wiring head 42 mounted on the wiring head holder 51, and the optical fiber 41 is sandwiched therebetween. By rotating the drum pair 53, the optical fiber 41 can be sent and pulled back. If you do not need to feed optical fiber,
The two drums of drum pair 53 are isolated from each other and
Release 41 from holding.

The holder base 52 is fixed to the angle 54. The angle 54 is attached to a stage 56 via a sliding mechanism that moves up and down by a motor 55. Stage 56 is X
It is attached to the arm of the Y plotter. Two electromagnets 57 are fixed to the angle 54, and a permanent magnet 58 connected to the wiring head holder 51 is placed between the two electromagnets 57. The permanent magnet 58
It floats in the air due to the repulsive force of the electromagnet 57. The stress at which the optical fiber 41 is bent at the tip of the wiring head 42 displaces the permanent magnet 58 upward through the wiring head holder 51. From the relationship between the amount of displacement and the repulsive force, the motor 55 is driven to move the angle 54 up and down, and the distance between the wiring head and the substrate is adjusted so that a constant stress is applied to the optical fiber.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a case where a plurality of wiring heads are operated. The wiring head 62 equipped with the optical fiber 61 is arranged in the replacement wiring head holder 68,
The optical fiber feeding mechanism, the wiring head adjustment mechanism, and the wiring head attaching / detaching mechanism were attached to the arm 69 of the XY plotter. Arm 69 from one of the arranged wiring heads 62
Then, the optical fiber feeding mechanism is driven to slightly send out and release the optical fiber, and the optical fiber 61 is wired on the substrate on which the adhesive 65 is applied. When the necessary wiring is completed, the thin tube is depressed to cut the optical fiber, and the optical fiber feeding mechanism is driven to slightly pull back and release the optical fiber, and is replaced with the wiring head for the next operation. In order to redo the wiring immediately after the wiring, the operation of the wiring is reversed, whereby the adhesively fixed optical fiber is smoothly removed and returned from the through hole.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a wiring head having a rotation mechanism for wiring at a small angle. The optical fiber 71 was wired on the adhesive 75 applied to the substrate 74 through the bent through hole 73 of the wiring head 72. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the trumpet-shaped portion in the through hole as described above. In this case, the diameter of the through hole 73 is 0.3 mm, and the radius of curvature is 1.4 mm. FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a wiring head having a rotation mechanism for wiring at a similarly small angle. In this case, the optical fiber 81 is bent by the pulley 86 at the tip of the wiring head 82, and is wired on the adhesive 85 applied to the substrate 84.

[0030]

As described above, according to the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, a multiplexed wiring that follows a movement of the wiring head accurately and has a simple wiring head structure. Can be obtained. Furthermore, it is possible to realize the wiring of the cross-connect wiring pattern including many overlapping optical fibers. Further, in the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the rewiring and the cutting of the wiring in the middle of the wiring are enabled, so that an excellent automatic wiring apparatus can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a wiring head of an optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a cross-sectional shape of a trumpet-shaped portion in a through hole of a wiring head.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a chamfered shape of a tip outer periphery of a wiring head.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a case where an optical fiber is cut using a thin tube having an inner diameter smaller than the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber breaks and having both ends opened.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an optical fiber feeding mechanism, a wiring head adjustment mechanism, and a wiring head attaching / detaching mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a case of operating a plurality of wiring heads.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a wiring head having a rotation mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining another wiring head having a rotation mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 61, 71, 81 Optical fiber 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, 72, 82 Wiring head 3, 13, 23, 33, 73 Through hole 4, 14, 24, 34, 74, 84 Wiring board 5, 15, 25, 35, 65, 75, 85 Adhesive layer or adhesive layer 26 Overlap wiring 36, 46 Narrow tube 47 Coil spring 48, 68 Replacement wiring head holder 49, 57 Electromagnet 50 Groove 51 Wiring Head Holder 52 Holder Base 53 Drum Pair 54 Angle 55 Motor 56 Stage 58 Permanent Magnet 69 XY Plotter Arm 86 Pulley

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takushi Yoshida 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus for laying an optical fiber for wiring on a substrate on which an adhesive layer or an adhesive layer is formed, using a wiring head, comprising: An optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus, wherein an optical fiber is attached to an adhesive layer or an adhesive layer by bending stress and is fixed to a substrate. 2. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiring head has a through hole through which an optical fiber passes. 3. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the through hole is perpendicular to the substrate. 4. The through hole has a tip that expands in a trumpet shape, and the value obtained by combining the radius of curvature of the trumpet shape and the radius of the portion that does not spread and the value of the trumpet shape are determined by the curvature at which the optical fiber breaks. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus is configured to be larger than the radius. 5. The wiring head according to claim 2, wherein a chamfer radius of a tip outer periphery of the wiring head is larger than an overlapping thickness of the optical fibers to be wired. Optical wiring board manufacturing equipment. 6. The optical wiring board according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the wiring head in contact with the optical fiber is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the optical fiber. apparatus. 7. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a thin tube having an inner diameter smaller than the radius of curvature at which the optical fiber breaks is open at both ends so that the optical fiber passes therethrough. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to the above. 8. An optical fiber feeding mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising an optical fiber feeding mechanism for feeding an optical fiber to the wiring head or pulling the optical fiber from the wiring head. Optical wiring board manufacturing equipment. 9. The wiring head mounting portion includes an adjusting mechanism for controlling a force for pressing an optical fiber against a substrate and a distance between the wiring head and the substrate. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the above. 10. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion of the wiring head has a configuration in which the wiring head is detachable. 11. The optical wiring board according to claim 1, wherein the wiring head is mounted on arm mechanisms of a plurality of XY plotters, each of which moves independently. apparatus. 12. The optical wiring board manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is not perpendicular to the substrate, and a mechanism for rotating the wiring head is provided.