JPH11258460A - Individual aligning device for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform the aligning of high accuracy with microscopic scale regardless of a large aligning amount for multicore optical fibers, by aligning a constant number of multicore optical fibers at one side of left and right aligning devices, and performing the aligning of the residual optical fibers by an aligning device at the other side. SOLUTION: In an aligning device A, the points of four optical fibers which are half of the optical fibers, and loaded and placed in a V-groove 22 of a support part 21 are displaced in the vertical and lateral directions corresponding to the fine displacement of the V-groove 22, whereby the microscopic aligning operation to the fixed counter-optical fibers to be aligned is performed. Further in an aligning device B, the points of the remained four optical fibers are similarly loaded and placed on a V-groove 32 of a support part 31, and the aligning operation with the fixed counter-optical fibers is performed. Accordingly the individual aligning of the optical fibers comprising a number of cores can be realized with remarkably high accuracy with a simple structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber individual aligning apparatus, and more particularly to an optical fiber individual aligning apparatus capable of individually aligning each optical fiber constituting a multi-core optical fiber tape. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When performing simultaneous fusion splicing of a multi-core optical fiber, two fixed multi-core V-grooves each having a precisely processed V-groove are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right sides. The outer diameter axes of the right and left optical fibers to be fused to the V-groove on the groove base are placed and fixed almost together, and the core axes of the right and left optical fibers are adjusted by the surface tension acting on the optical fibers during discharge heating. Had been done.

However, since the optical fiber is eccentric or bent, this surface tension alone is not enough to greatly reduce the connection loss, and it is necessary to perform a centering operation for each core. Has become.

Therefore, as a means for individually aligning the multi-core optical fiber, there is known an individual aligning device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-196208, which has already been filed by the same applicant as the present applicant. ing.

This individual aligning device is applied exclusively to a type having a relatively small number of cores, for example, a four-core tape fiber, and includes an aligning device 101 having an arm shape as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, a fixed guide block 102 provided with a V-groove or the like is disposed at a position opposite to the centering device 101 for mounting an optical fiber of a mating side to be connected.

In the centering device 101, a V-groove 104 for supporting the optical fiber 100 as shown in FIG. 5 is provided at the tip (free end) side of an arm 103 branched and divided into four. As shown in FIG. 4, a piezoelectric element 105 serving as a driving unit is branched into four arms 103.
Each of the divided branches is provided independently of each other.
In the centering device having such a configuration, when the distal end portion of each arm constituting the free end is deformed and moved, the branch portions do not interfere with each other and the amount of centering is large, so that accurate centering work can be performed. It has features that can be performed.

[0007]

As such an individual centering device, for example, in Japan, a four-core optical fiber is used exclusively as a multi-core optical fiber for a relay system. There is no problem in individual alignment especially if it is a thing.

[0008] However, in the case of a subscribed system in Japan and in Europe and the like, eight optical fibers are used, and it is difficult for this type of individual alignment device to cope with eight optical fibers. That is, if this individual alignment device is applied to an eight-core device as it is, the number of arms will be four to eight, and the number of piezoelectric elements will be eight to sixteen. Therefore, in order to secure a space for installing a large number of piezoelectric elements, the arm must be physically extended in the longitudinal direction.

[0009] However, the machining of the arm portion is usually performed by electric discharge machining. At this time, the influence of machining distortion is apt to be remarkable, and machining satisfying the requirement of constant accuracy is extremely difficult.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is to perform high-precision alignment on a microscopic scale despite a large alignment amount for a multi-core optical fiber. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber individual alignment device which can be manufactured and does not require a high-level processing operation for manufacturing.

[0011]

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is an invention in which an arm provided with the same number of fiber grooves as the number of core wires of a multi-core optical fiber on the distal end side and a position adjustment of each surface of the fiber groove are individually performed. A centering device having a driving means for performing the operation, an individual centering device for optical fibers facing and facing left and right, wherein one of the left and right centering devices has a constant number of the multi-core optical fiber. And the other optical fiber is fixed and held, and the other optical fiber fixed and held by the one-side aligning device is aligned by the other-side aligning device. A fixed number of optical fibers to be aligned by the side alignment device are fixedly held.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a model diagram showing an optical fiber individual alignment device according to this embodiment. The individual alignment device for optical fibers of this embodiment performs alignment of eight optical fibers independently of each other.
It is composed of a pair of right and left relative and directly aligned aligning devices A and B, and these aligning devices A and B have the same configuration and are arranged by 180 ° half-turn.

Each of these alignment devices A and B is formed in a long and substantially L-shaped block shape, and only one side is divided into a plurality (half of the number of optical fiber cores into four) so as to complement each other. The arm 1 includes a branched / split arm 1 and driving means (piezoelectric element in this embodiment) (not shown) provided at each of the branched / split portions of the arm 1. It is used as a two-dimensional actuator that is responsible for the alignment of (four cores) optical fibers. In addition,
The arm 1 is a laminated body of a thin plate member integrally formed with the base 11 by electric discharge machining. Although not particularly shown, the arm 1 is pressed by an appropriate member that contacts the upper end of each arm 1 and urges the arm 1 downward. I have.

The arm 1 of the centering device A (the centering device B also has the same configuration) has an area of only approximately half of the front end (front) side which is branched and divided into four parts, and the base end (rear) side is integrated. Base 11
, And the remaining half region is divided into an immovable portion 3 connected to the base 11 while remaining one from the distal end side. The base 11 is bolted to a fixed portion (not shown) serving as a reference.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the centering portion 2 is bent upward at the branched / split end portion,
A V-groove (V-groove in this embodiment, but may be a U-groove or a combination of U-groove and V-groove) 22 is provided in the bent support portion 21, and each surface of the V-groove 22 for supporting the optical fiber is provided. Are individually adjusted by the aforementioned driving means. In the centering portion 2, a slit 23 cut out from the upper end of the arm 1 is provided at an appropriate position which is at least shifted from the base 11 by the width of the piezoelectric element.
A is formed. The slits 23A, the thrust conducting projections provided at the lower part of the branch portion 23, the mounting of the transmission block and the piezoelectric element, and the like are described in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
This is the same as that described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 196208, which is described in detail in this publication.

The immovable portion 3 is also bent upward at the tip end, and the bent support portion 31 is provided with a V-shaped groove 32.
Is provided. In addition, since the immovable portion 3 of the aligning device A is not provided with a driving means, it is not aligned, but the aligning device B on the opposite side (aligning portion) is individually aligned.

At least two piezoelectric elements, which are driving means, are provided independently for one arm 1 in a direction in which their own expansion and contraction directions intersect. When the distal end side of the arm 1 is displaced so as to be twisted up, down, left and right, each of the bearings (at the distal end of the branch portion) constituting the free end slightly moves in a desired position direction.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when a voltage is applied to one or both of the pair of left and right piezoelectric elements as the driving means (because the lower end of the piezoelectric element, not shown, is fixed to a reference base), the applied voltage value is reduced. In response, the piezoelectric element expands and contracts, so that the upper end slightly fluctuates (moves up and down). This variation is transmitted to each branch 23 of the arm 1.

The branch portion 23 is a base 1 fixed to a stationary state.
When the expansion and contraction amounts of the piezoelectric elements are equal, the support portion 21 at the tip of the arm only moves substantially vertically only with the vicinity of the slit 23A as a fulcrum. When either the left or right piezoelectric element is driven or the amount of expansion and contraction in the right and left is controlled by changing the voltage value applied to the left and right piezoelectric elements, the support 21
Can be controlled not only in the up-down direction but also in the right-left twisting direction as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in this centering device A, the bearing 21
The tips of the four optical fibers, which are mounted and placed in the V-groove 22, are displaced up, down, left, and right in accordance with the minute deformation of the V-groove 22, thereby causing the other end to be aligned. It is possible to perform a microscopic centering operation with a fixed optical fiber (movably mounted on the stationary part side of the centering device B). Also, in the centering device B, the tips of the remaining four optical fibers are similarly mounted and placed in the V-grooves of the support portion, so that the optical fiber fixed on the other side (of the centering device A). (Mounted on the stationary part 3 side in a stationary state).

The optical fiber individual alignment device according to the present invention is, of course, not limited to this embodiment. For example, movable portions and fixed portions facing and facing each other may be alternately arranged every other center. Also, for example,
For the centering device on one side, a movable part is provided at the center and fixed parts are provided on both sides of the movable part (for example, in the case of a total of eight cores, four movable parts are provided at the center and both right and left sides of the movable part are provided. The centering device on the other side facing / facing the fixed portion may be provided with a fixed portion at the center, and movable portions may be provided on both left and right sides of the fixed portion (center portion). A fixed part with four cores and a movable part with two cores on each of the left and right sides).

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, one half of the multi-core optical fiber is centered on one side of each of the left and right centering devices facing and facing each other, and the other side is aligned. Is arranged so that the other half of the multi-core optical fiber is aligned, in other words, it is a configuration in which two aligning devices of the conventional mechanism are opposed to each other and facing each other in the opposite shape. However, it has a simple configuration in which the size and processing distortion of each alignment device are suppressed to the same level as before, and individual alignment of an optical fiber with many cores can be realized with extremely high accuracy, This has the effect of dramatically expanding the application range of the core fusion machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an individual alignment device for an optical fiber according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an X enlarged view showing a support portion and a V-groove of the device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional individual alignment device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a V-groove of a bearing portion of the individual centering device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Arm 11 Base 2 Aligning part 21 Supporting part 22 V groove 23 Branch part 23A Slit 3 Immobile part 31 Supporting part 32 V groove 100 Optical fiber A, B alignment device

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Manabu Kubota Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An arm (1) having the same number of fiber grooves (22, 23) as the number of core wires of a multi-core optical fiber (100) at the distal end side, and position adjustment of each surface of the fiber grooves (22, 23). (AB) having driving means for individually performing the adjustment
Is an optical fiber individual alignment device facing and facing right and left, and one of the left and right alignment devices (A and B) (A)
The multi-core optical fiber (100) performs a certain number of centering operations and the other optical fiber (100) is fixed and held. The one-side centering device (A) is used by the other-side centering device (B). ), A counterpart optical fiber (100) of the other optical fiber (100) fixed and held is aligned, and a certain number of optical fibers (100) aligned by the one-side alignment device (A). An optical fiber individual aligning device configured to fix and hold the mating optical fiber (100). 2. An arm (1) having the same number of fiber grooves (22, 23) as the number of core wires of the multi-core optical fiber (100). Only the corresponding supporting portion (31) is fixed integrally with the base portion (11) of the arm to form the immovable portion (3) which does not fluctuate slightly with each other, and supports the remaining number of fiber grooves. Existing bearing (2
2. The optical fiber individual aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving means is provided only in 1) and is configured as an aligning section (2) which is individually finely displaced and moved for each core wire. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein each drive means comprises at least two piezoelectric elements attached to each branch (23) extending to each bearing (21) of said arm (1). 3. The optical fiber individual alignment device according to 1 or 2.