JPH11352335A - Coating removing device for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating removing device which is good in workability, makes it possible to easily obtain a desired removal length and is excellent in portability. SOLUTION: This device 9 has a coating removing body 13 including coating removing means 22, 31 which remove the coating material of an optical fiber 1 which is projected from a fiber holder 2 and is inserted therein and a holder holding body 14 which holds the fiber holder 2 freely advanceably and retreatably with respect to the coating removing body 13. Positioning members 47a, 47b which are freely retractable toward the opposite other sides are mounted at one or both of the coating removing body 13 or the holder holding body 14. The coating removing body 13 or the holder holding body 14 is butted against the positioning member in a projecting state, to set the min. spacing distance between the coating removing body 13 and the holder holding body 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating removing apparatus for removing a coating material of an optical fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to facilitate handling of an optical fiber, a plurality of optical fiber wires coated with a primary coating layer are arranged in parallel and in a line, and are collectively coated with a secondary coating layer. A so-called optical fiber ribbon, which is integrated in a shape, is widely used. As this optical fiber tape, in order to increase the density of the optical fiber, a thin type in which the secondary coating layer is formed thinner is manufactured,
Is being used.

Conventionally, this type of optical fiber ribbon is
It is used by cutting at a predetermined part to connect with other optical fibers and devices, but when cutting this optical fiber ribbon, it is necessary to remove the coating layer and expose the bare fiber . For this coating removal, a coating removing device that removes the coating material of the optical fiber ribbon at a time is often used.

[0004] As this kind of coating removing apparatus,
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a fiber holder 2 to which an optical fiber (optical fiber ribbon) 1 is fixed is held by a holder holder 3, and the distal end of the optical fiber 1 has a pair of upper and lower cutting blades. The optical fiber 1 is sandwiched between the cutter holders 4 to cut the coating material of the optical fiber 1, and the tip side of the optical fiber 1 is placed on a hot plate heated to a temperature not oxidized by a heater or the like in advance by a heater or the like. Things are known.

In this apparatus, after the coating material on the hot plate is melted by heat, the holder holding member 3 is moved in a direction opposite to the distal end side with the guide rod 5 as a guide, so that the distal end side is moved from the cutting position. The movement of the coating material is regulated by the cutting blade, whereby the bare fiber is pulled out, and the coating material is removed.

The bare fiber from which the coating has been removed is inserted into a ferrule or the like to be terminated. There are a plurality of types of ferrules, and the lengths of the bare fibers to be inserted are different. Therefore, when removing the coating of the optical fiber 1 using the above-described coating removing apparatus, it is necessary to change the removal length in accordance with the ferrule.

Conventionally, when the removal length is changed by the above-described coating removing device, a spacer 6 having a predetermined width is prepared as shown in FIG. 7, and the shaft portion 7 is inserted into the fitting hole 8 of the holder holder 3. By fitting, the minimum separation distance between the cutter holder 4 and the holder holder 3 was adjusted. Thereby, the length of the coating material on the tip side from the cutting position was adjusted.

[0008]

However, the above-described conventional optical fiber coating removing apparatus has the following problems. It is necessary to prepare several types of spacers 6 in accordance with the removal length of the covering material. However, depending on the size of the spacers 6, one fitting hole 8 cannot be used, and a plurality of fitting holes having different inner diameters are provided. It is necessary to devise this method, which causes an increase in cost.

In addition, a plurality of spacers 6 must be carried separately from the coating removing device, which is inconvenient to carry, and there is a risk that the spacers 6 may be lost. Further, each time the spacer 6 is replaced, the shaft portion 7 is replaced.
Must be fitted in the fitting hole 8 and workability is poor.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has good workability even when removing a covering material.
An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber coating and removing apparatus which can easily obtain a desired removal length and is excellent in portability.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following constitution. The optical fiber coating removing device according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber coating removing device removes a coating material of the optical fiber fixed to the fiber holder with one end protruding, and the optical fiber coating removing device is protruded from the fiber holder. An optical fiber is configured to be insertable, an uncoated member having an uncoated member that removes the coated material of the inserted optical fiber, and the fiber holder detachably mounted is mounted on the uncoated member with respect to the uncoated member. And a holder that can move forward and backward, and a positioning member that can come and go toward an opposing counterpart is attached to one or both of the coating removing body and the holder holding body, and the positioning in a protruding state is provided. The minimum distance between the stripped body and the holder holder is set by contacting the stripped body or the holder holder against the member. And it is characterized in that is.

Therefore, in the optical fiber sheath removing apparatus of the present invention, the holder is advanced with respect to the sheath removing member with the positioning member protruding toward the opposing partner, and the positioning member is moved toward the partner. When it comes into contact with the side, the advancement of the holder holding member is stopped, and the minimum separation distance between the coating removing member and the holder holding member is set in accordance with the amount of protrusion of the positioning member. As a result, the insertion amount of the optical fiber protruding from the fiber holder into the sheath-removed body is adjusted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the positioning member has a rod shape and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the fiber holder moves forward and backward. A plurality of shafts having different lengths are rotatably supported on the axis around the axis.

Therefore, in the optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to the present invention, when the positioning member is rotated about the axis and projected to the opposing opposing sides, the coating removal is performed in accordance with the amount of projection of the positioning member. By setting the separation distance between the body and the holder holder, the insertion amount of the optical fiber protruding from the fiber holder into the stripped body is adjusted.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, an example in which the positioning member is provided on the holder holder will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 9 denotes an optical fiber coating removing apparatus, and reference numeral 2 denotes a fiber holder.

The fiber holder 2 includes a base 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and two plate-like opening / closing members 11 and 11 hinged so as to be freely opened and closed with respect to an upper surface 10a of the base 10.
And At the center in the width direction of the upper surface 10a of the base 10, a groove (not shown) is formed extending in the full length direction. The fiber holder 2 fits the optical fiber 1 linearly into the groove with both openable members 11 and 11 opened to the upper surface 10a, and then closes the openable members 11 and 11 to close the optical fiber 1. Is fixed with one end protruding. Further, rectangular parallelepiped projections 12 are formed at the center in the width direction of both ends in the length direction of the fiber holder 2.

The coating removing device 9 is provided on the coating removing body (cutter head) 13 and on the fiber holder 2 side of the coating removing body 13 so that the fiber holder 2 can advance and retreat with respect to the coating removing body 13. Holder 14 and holder 14
Shaft 46 and rod-shaped positioning member 4 attached to
7a and 47b. Stripped body 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes cutter holders 15, 16 each having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The cutter holders 15 and 16 are hinged at one side edge 17 so that the opposing surfaces 15a and 16a are joined to each other and open and close to each other.

Side edge 1 of opposing surface 15a of cutter holder 15
On the side opposite to 7, two guide holes 18 are formed in the direction along the side edge 17. At the center in the width direction of the facing surface 15a, there is formed a guide groove 19 which extends in the length direction of the optical fiber which is the above-mentioned advance / retreat direction and positions the optical fiber 1 in the width direction. Is set to about １ ／ of the thickness of the optical fiber 1. At the end of the guide groove 19 opposite to the fiber holder 2, a concave portion 20 is provided.
Are formed. A rectangular hole 21 having a rectangular shape in a plan view is provided in the middle of the guide groove 19 in the longitudinal direction so as to be orthogonal to the guide groove 19.
A cutting blade 22 extending in the length direction
Are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 23 having a U-shape in cross section is formed in the cutter holder 15.
The bottom 24 is inclined by 30 ° with respect to the facing surface 15a such that one end side S approaches the facing surface 15a. The hole 23 is open at the bottom surface 24 on the facing surface 15 a, and the opening is a rectangular hole 21. On the bottom part 24, the above-mentioned coating removing means 22, which is made of a thin plate and has elasticity, for example, made of spring steel, has a cutting edge directed to one end S and facing the rectangular hole 21, and is provided via a holding plate 25. It is fixed with mounting screws 26.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
6 is opposite to the side edge 17 of the facing surface 16a.
Guide pins 27, 27 for positioning the cutter holders 15, 16 by fitting into the cutters 8, 18 are provided at two places in the direction along the side edge 17. At the center in the width direction of the facing surface 16a,
A guide groove 28 extending in the length direction of the optical fiber 1 and positioning the optical fiber 1 in the width direction is provided in the cutter holder 1.
The guide grooves 19 are formed so as to face the guide grooves 19 when closed, and the depth of the guide grooves 28 is set to about の of the thickness of the optical fiber 1. The optical fibers 1 protruding from the fiber holder 2 can be inserted into these guide grooves 19 and 28.

In the vicinity of the end of the guide groove 28 on the side opposite to the fiber holder 2, guide pins 29, 29 protruding from the facing surface 16a are provided at the same distance as the width of the guide groove 28. A rectangular hole 30 having a rectangular shape in a plan view is provided in the middle of the guide groove 28 in the longitudinal direction so as to be orthogonal to the guide groove 28, and the rectangular hole 30 extends in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular hole 30. A cutting blade 31 serving as a coating removing means is disposed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 32 having a U-shape in cross section is formed in the cutter holder 16.
The second bottom 33 is inclined by 30 ° with respect to the facing surface 16a such that one end side S approaches the facing surface 16a. The hole 32 is opened at the bottom surface 33 on the facing surface 16 a, and the opening is a rectangular hole 30. The bottom portion 33 is provided with the above-mentioned coating removing means 3 having a thin plate shape and elasticity.
1, with the cutting edge facing one end S of the optical fiber 1 and facing the rectangular hole 30, and
It is fixed at. These coating removing means 22 and 31
The optical fibers 1 are positioned at equal distances from the center in the thickness direction of the optical fiber 1 positioned by the guide grooves 19 and 28, respectively.
It is arranged so as to have an interval slightly larger than the thickness of the sheet.

The cutter holder 16 is provided with a plurality of (two) fitting holes 36 at both sides in the width direction along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 1. The holes 36, 36 have guide rods 37, 37, respectively.
Are fixed on one end side S of the cutter holder 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the other end T of the guide rods 37, 37
A large-diameter locking portion 38 is provided at the tip end of the groove. V-shaped grooves 50 and 51 having a V-shaped cross section are provided on the outer peripheral surface on one end side S of the locking portion 38 at intervals. Are formed around the axis.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the holder holder 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a board portion 39 having a substantially rectangular shape in a front view, and locking portions formed at both ends in the length direction of the board portion 39 so as to project upward perpendicular to the board portion 39. The locking portions 40, 40 have recesses 41, 41 formed on the opposite side (upper side in FIG. 4D) of the substrate 39.

The optical fiber 1 is mounted on the holder holder 14.
The fiber holder 2 fixed to the
The lower surface 10b is fitted between the substrates 0 and 40 until the lower surface 10b contacts the substrate 39. At this time, the concave portions 41 of the locking portions 40, 40,
The projections 12 and 12 of the fiber holder 2 are fitted to 41, respectively.

Here, the fiber holder 2 can be fitted to and released from the holder holder 14 by applying an external force to the extent of the hand of an operator, and the fitted state is maintained by releasing the application of the external force. The fitting force is set so as to be adjusted.

On both sides in the width direction of the substrate portion 39, fitting holes 42, 42 are formed along the length direction. Mating hole 4
2 and 42 are fitting holes 3 formed in the cutter holder 16.
6 and 36, and guide rods 37 and 3 respectively.
7 is movably fitted in the length direction. Here, these guide rods 37, 37 and fitting holes 42,
Reference numeral 42 indicates that the guide rods 37, 37 move with respect to the fitting holes 42, 42 by applying an external force to the extent of a hand of an operator, and the positions are fixed to the fitting holes 42, 42 when the application of the external force is released. Such a fitting force is set.

Further, as shown in FIG.
2 and 42, two fitting grooves 4 are spaced apart in the width direction.
8, 48 are formed to extend in the length direction. These fitting grooves 48, 48 are provided with positioning members 47a, 4
The positioning members 47a and 47b can be fitted into and released from the holder holder 14 by applying an external force to the extent of the hand of an operator. The fitting force is set so that the mating state is maintained.

As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), a fitting hole 46 into which the shaft 46 is fitted is formed in the substrate portion 39 along a direction orthogonal to the length direction and Fitting groove 48, 4
8. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the positioning members 47a and 47b has a shaft body 46.
Further, it is rotatably supported around the shaft body 46.

Further, as shown in FIG.
7a and 47b, when in the use position in which the rotating tip is opposed to the coating removing body 13, the protrusion amount from the holder holding body 14, the positioning member 47a has a length L1, the positioning member has a length L2, The lengths are set so as to be different from each other and so as not to protrude from the holder holder 14 when in the retracted position where the rotating tip is rotated 180 ° from the use position.

On the other hand, on one end side S of the holder holder 14,
Female screws 43, 43 are formed from above so as to face the fitting holes 42, 42, respectively, so as to be orthogonal to the axes of the fitting holes 42, 42. As shown in FIG. 2, ball plungers 44 are screwed into the female screws 43. Balls 45 urged in a direction approaching the fitting holes 42, 42 are held on the fitting holes 37, 37 side of the ball plungers 44, 44.

When the fiber holder 2 is fitted and held in the holder holder 14 as described above, the axis of the projecting portion of the optical fiber 1 fixed and supported is guided by the guide rod 3.
The optical fibers 1 are parallel to the axes of the optical fibers 1 and 37 and are inserted into the guide grooves 19 and 28 of the cutter holders 15 and 16 so as to coincide with the axis of the optical fiber 1 positioned in the width direction.

As described above, the holder holding member 14 detachably holds the fiber holder 2 and, when mounted, moves the fiber holder 2 with respect to the sheath removing member 13.
The optical fiber 1 is positioned in the width direction of the fixed optical fiber 1, and moves freely in the axial direction of the optical fiber 1, that is, only in the length direction.

The optical fiber coating removing apparatus 9 having the above-described configuration.
The operation using is described below. Here, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the positioning member 47a is set to the use position,
A procedure for removing the coating material of the optical fiber 1 with the positioning member 47b located at the retracted position will be described. First, the two opening / closing members 11 of the fiber holder 2 are connected to the base 1.
The optical fiber 1 is set on the base 10 in a state where the optical fiber 1 is opened with respect to
Is fixed with one end thereof protruding from the fiber holder 2.

Next, the cutter holder 15 of the coating removal body 13
The fiber holder 1 is inserted into the guide groove 28 with one end of the optical fiber 1 protruding from the cutter holder 16 in the open state and guided by the guide pins 29, 29 provided on the cutter holder 16. 2 is fitted between the locking portions 40 of the holder holder 14.

Here, the holder holding member 14 is removed from the cover removing member 1.
3, the positioning member 4 as shown in FIG.
7a is abutted against the cutter holder 16, and the coating removing body 13 and the holder holding body 14 are positioned with the minimum separation distance between them set to the length L1 which is the amount of protrusion of the positioning member 47a. . As a result, the amount of insertion of the optical fiber 1 protruding from the fiber holder 2 into the sheath removing body 13, that is, the length of the optical fiber 1 located on the tip side from the sheath removing means 31 is adjusted.

Then, the cutter holder 15 hinged to the cutter holder 16 is closed so that its opposing surface 15a is joined to the opposing surface 16a of the cutter holder 16. At this time, the guide pins 27, 2 of the cutter holder 16
The guide grooves 19 and 28 and the coating removing means 22 and 31 are accurately positioned by fitting the 7 and the guide holes 18 and 18 of the cutter holder 15 and positioning the cutter holders 15 and 16 with each other. Thereby, the optical fiber 1 is positioned in the width direction by the guide grooves 19 and 28. When the cutter holder 15 is closed, the guide pins 29, 29 enter the recess 20 of the cutter holder 15, so that the opening and closing of the cutter holders 15, 16 is not hindered.

On the other hand, the cutter holder 15 is
6, the coating removing means 22, 31 is cut into the coating material 1b with a slight gap in the bare fiber 1a as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when the holder holding body 14 is retracted from the cutter holder 16 together with the fiber holder 2 to the other end T in the length direction of the optical fiber 1 by guiding the guide rod 33 together with the fiber holder 2 as shown in FIG. One end S of the coating material 1b of the fiber 1 from the coating removing means 22, 31 is connected to the coating removing means 22, 31.
Removed by shavings. The shaved coating material 1b is discharged from the holes 23 and 32 where the coating removing means 22 and 31 are provided.

The holder holder 14 has a structure in which the ball 45 of the ball plunger 42 engages with the V groove 51 of the guide rod 33 and the locking portion 38 of the guide rod 33 locks on the holder holder 14. Stops the movement. Thus, the bare fiber 1a having the length of the removal length L is obtained while being positioned with respect to the fiber holder 2.

Next, the optical fiber 1 from which the coating material 1b has been removed in this manner is removed from the coating removing device 9 while being fixed to the fiber holder 2, and the connector (not shown) is connected to the fiber holder 2 as it is. To make optical connection. Since the positioning members 47a and 47b are fitted and housed in the fitting grooves 48 and 48 of the holder holding body 14 while maintaining the fitted state, the positioning members 47a and 47b are detached from the holder holding body 14 at the time of the removing operation. It will not hinder you.

Next, a procedure for removing the coating material using the positioning member 47b will be described. First, the length of the optical fiber to be projected is fitted to the holder holder 14 having the same length as the above, and the positioning member 47a is set to the retracted position, and the positioning member 47b is set to the use position. Rotate and position around body 46.

By performing the coating removing operation in the same procedure as described above, the coating removing member 13 and the holder holding member 14 are removed.
Is set to the length L2, and the bare fiber 1a having the length of the removal length (L + L1-L2) is:
It is obtained in a state where it is positioned with respect to the fiber holder 2.

Similarly, when the positioning members 47a and 47b are positioned at the retracted position and the coating of the optical fiber 1 projecting from the fiber holder 2 and having the same length as above is removed, the length of the removed length (L + L1) is reduced. The obtained bare fiber 1a is obtained in a state of being positioned with respect to the fiber holder 2. That is, by adjusting the position of the positioning members 47a and 47b with respect to the cover removing body 13, L and (L +
(L1-L2) and (L + L1) can be obtained.

The apparatus for removing coating of the optical fiber according to the present embodiment can be used to change the removal length of the coating material of the optical fiber 1.
Since the positioning members 47a and 47b are merely rotated and moved to the use position or the retracted position, workability is greatly improved. In addition, since these positioning members 47a and 47b are attached to the holder holder 14, they do not fall down and are lost, and the portability is extremely excellent. Further, in order to correspond to the removal length of the coating material, the positioning member 4 is required.
Since it is only necessary to change the lengths of the holders 7a and 47b, there is no need to devise any means on the holder holder 14 side, and therefore, there is no increase in cost. Moreover, both positioning members 4
The holders 7a, 47b are fitted and stored in the fitting grooves 48, 48 of the holder holding body 14 in a state where the fitting state is maintained in any of the use position and the retracted position, and the holder is in the retracted position. Since it does not protrude from the holder 14, it does not come off from the holder holder 14 and does not hinder the coating removal operation or carrying.

In the above embodiment, two positioning members are attached to the holder holder only. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more positioning members may be attached. Further, a configuration of attaching to only the coating removal body or a configuration of attaching to both sides may be used. In the case of attaching to both, the number of positioning members that can be attached increases, so that it is possible to cope with a greater removal length.

Further, the positioning member is rotated around the shaft as means for projecting and retracting the positioning member between the coating removal member and the holder holding member.
A through-hole extending in the advance / retreat direction is formed, and a positioning member, one end of which is protrudable and retractable from the holder holding member, is slidably disposed in the through-hole, and is disposed so as to be locked at a desired position by a ball plunger or the like. Configuration may be used.

As a means for removing the coating of the optical fiber, the coating material is scraped by a cutting blade. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the coating material is heated using a hot plate as in the prior art. It may be one that melts. In addition, the optical fiber is a tape core coated with a plurality of bare fibers. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single core optical fiber can be handled by appropriately setting a guide groove and a guide pin. can do. Further, although the configuration in which the fiber holder is moved with respect to the cutter holder has been described, a configuration in which the cutter holder is moved with respect to the fixed fiber holder may be employed.

[0048]

As described above, the optical fiber sheath removing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention removes the sheath by being brought into contact with one or both of the sheath removing body and the holder holder against the opposing partner. A positioning member for setting a minimum separation distance between the body and the holder holding body is attached. Thereby, in the optical fiber coating removing apparatus, the minimum separation distance between the coating removing body and the holder holding body can be easily adjusted, the workability is greatly improved, and the positioning member is dropped. An excellent effect of no loss and improved portability is obtained.

In the optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to the second aspect, a plurality of positioning members having different lengths are rotatably supported on a plurality of members. As a result, the optical fiber coating removal apparatus has an excellent effect that it can easily cope with a plurality of removal lengths without increasing the cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is an external perspective view of a coating removing apparatus provided with a positioning member.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the coating removing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view in which the holder holding body is positioned at a position separated from the coating removing body.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) of a holder holding body constituting the coating removing apparatus is a left side view,
(B) is a plan view, (c) is a right side view, and (d) is a front view.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the coating removing device to which two positioning members are attached.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view in which a cutting blade is cut into a coating material.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an example of a conventional optical fiber coating removing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber (optical fiber tape core wire), 1b ... Coating material, 2 ... Fiber holder, 9 ... Coating removal device, 13 ... Coating removal body (cutter head), 14 ... Holder holder, 2
2, 31 ... Coating removing means (cutting blade), 47a, 47b ... Positioning members.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A coating material (1b) for an optical fiber (1) fixed to a fiber holder (2) with one end protruding.
An optical fiber coating removing device (9) configured to insert an optical fiber protruding from the fiber holder, and to remove a coating material of the inserted optical fiber. 31), and a holder holder (14) for holding the detachably mounted fiber holder so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the coating remover.
A positioning member (47a, 47b) is provided on one or both of the coating removing body and the holder holding body, the positioning member being capable of protruding and retracting toward an opposing counterpart. An optical fiber coating removal apparatus, wherein a minimum separation distance between the coating removal body and the holder holding body is set by abutting the removal body or the holder holding body. 2. The optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member has a rod shape, and has different lengths around axes located in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the fiber holder moves forward and backward. An optical fiber coating removing apparatus, wherein a plurality of optical fiber coatings are rotatably supported.