JPS60217304A - Method and device for terminal processing of optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute easily a terminal processing, and to solve a problem of a difference of skill of a worker by polishing vertically the end face of an optical fiber by a grind stone first, and thereafter, removing the covered part of the optical fiber mechanically or by a solvent and a mechanical means. CONSTITUTION:Two pairs of optical fiber core wire clamps 9, 10 moving in the direction as indicated with an arrow is provided on a substrate B. Between them, a pair of primary cover removing felt rollers 11 and a pair of secondary cover removing edge 12 moving in the direction as indicated with an arrow are placed. An optical fiber 1 is polished vertically to a specular surface by inserting the optical fiber 1 between the clamps 9, 10 and executing the clamp 10, and oscillating and rotating a polishing grind stone 13 in the direction vertical to the axis of the optical fiber 1. When the polishing is ended, the grind stone 13 is stopped, the clamp 9 and the edge 12 are closed and the clamp 10 is opened, the clamp 9 moves backward, the edge 12 strips off the secondary cover 2, and the primary cover 3 is wiped off by the felt roller 11. When the end of the optical fiber whose cover has been removed passes through the felt roller 11, the clamp 9 is opened. In this way, the terminal processing is executed easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for terminating an optical fiber used in an optical transmission line.

[Technical background]

Permanent splicing of optical fibers necessarily requires termination treatment of the optical fiber, that is, removal of the coating layer of the optical fiber and mirror cutting of the optical fiber, but this termination treatment requires skill.

Therefore, it is desired to automate the terminal processing process so that even unskilled people can easily connect, or to improve the efficiency of the connection work.

[Conventional technology and problems]

First, a conventional conventional optical fiber terminal processing method will be explained with reference to FIGS.

In the figure (A), 1 indicates an optical fiber core made of quartz glass, 2 indicates a secondary coating layer, and 3 indicates a primary coating layer. Using a wire stripper, remove the secondary coating layer 2 as shown in the figure (B), and wipe the primary coating layer 3 with gauze or paper soaked in a solvent as shown in the figure (c).
The optical fiber 6 is completely exposed. Next, as shown in figure Φ), a cutting wound 4' is given at the cutting position with the cutting blade 7 of the optical fiber cutting tool, and the plate blade 5 of the cutting tool is cut as shown in figure □(g)). The optical fiber 6 is bent and cut by applying bending stress to the optical fiber 6.

These operations are performed manually, but the problems in this series of steps include the speed of application of the cutting blade 7, the gripping force 8 of the cutting tool on the optical fiber 6, and the bending speed of the leaf spring 5. This has a subtle effect on the cutting state of the optical fiber 6, resulting in differences between operators. That is, there is a problem in that the cutting conditions differ depending on the operator, and as a result, the connection loss of the optical fiber 6 is affected.

[Purpose and structure of the invention]

The present invention is directed to an optical fiber terminal processing method that eliminates the above-mentioned problem, that is, the skill difference among workers, and allows even unskilled workers to easily perform good terminal processing, and a processing device that automates the processing method. , the termination of the optical fiber is achieved by first polishing the end face of the optical fiber at right angles with a grindstone, and then removing the coating of the optical fiber by mechanical means or a combination of solvent and mechanical means. It is possible to automatically carry out the terminal processing using a device in which each mechanical part is arranged so that the terminal processing is carried out on the same axis.

〔Example〕

The implementation of the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 8.

The same parts as in FIG. 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the overall configuration of the device.

Two pairs of optical fiber core clamps 9 and 10 that are movable in the direction of the arrow are spaced apart from each other on the substrate B, and the optical fiber core 1
are arranged so that their gripping position centers are on the same axis, and between these two pairs of optical fiber core clamps 9 and 10, one pair of primary coating removal is performed on the fiber inlet side near the clamp 9. Felt roller 11 for this felt roller 11
A pair of secondary coating removal blades 12 that are movable in the direction of the arrow are arranged between the clamp 10 and the clamp 10 so as to have seven tangents on the same axis. Plate-shaped polishing wheel 1 that rotates at right angles
3 is disposed, and the polishing wheel 13 is held in a depressed state by a polishing pressure load spring 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a dust receptacle surrounding these mechanical parts, and although not shown, the driving parts are each driven by a motor in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

A method for processing the end of an optical fiber using the apparatus configured as described above will be explained step by step.

First, when the switch is pressed, the felt roller 11 starts rotating at a low speed in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG. Send it until it hits the end. When the end face 16 of the optical fiber core 1 hits the grinding wheel 13, the grinding wheel 13
A pressure sensor (not shown) attached to the grinding wheel 13 closes a pair of core wire clamps 10 close to the fourth grinding wheel 13.
Grip the core wire 1 as shown in the figure. When the grip is finished, a limit switch (not shown) is activated to release the grindstone 1.
3 begins to rotate while rocking in a direction perpendicular to the end surface 16 of the optical fiber core 1, as shown by the arrow direction, and polishes the end surface of the core wire 1. At this time, a constant polishing pressure is applied to the end surface 16 of the core wire 1 by the spring 14. Although not shown in the figure, the grindstone 13 is appropriately coated with a solvent such as alcohol.

Next, when the set polishing time is reached, a timer is activated and the grindstone 13 is stopped, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. The wire clamp 10 is closed, then the wire clamp 10 is opened, and then the wire clamp 9 begins to retreat in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG. The secondary coating 2 is then peeled off by the closed secondary coating removal blade 12, and subsequently the primary coating 3 is wiped off by the felt roller 11, as shown in FIG. The felt roller 11 is impregnated with alcohol to improve removal performance, and although the alcohol is not shown, the structure is such that the alcohol is replenished from a tank as needed.

Further, the felt roller 11 changes from low-speed rotation to high-speed rotation at the same time as the core wire clamp 9 begins to retreat in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 6), thereby shortening the time for removing the primary coating 3.

When the end of the optical fiber 6 from which the coating has been removed passes through the felt 6--roller 1, the wire clamp 9 is stopped by this limit switch, although the limit switch is omitted in FIG. Now, holding the core wire 1 in your hand, press the switch to open the core wire clamp 9, and at the same time, all the driving parts return to their positions at the time of step ('), t,, p), You are now ready to start terminal processing.The time required from the start until now, that is, the terminal processing time for one fiber is approximately 40 minutes.
Seconds.

Debris generated during terminal processing falls into a debris receptacle 15 provided at the bottom of the device, where it is processed and disposed of.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the method of the present invention, the process of mirror-polishing the end face of a cored optical fiber and then removing the secondary coating and then the primary coating can be easily carried out using an apparatus. This eliminates the need for skill and the need for experienced personnel.

Furthermore, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the working time can be significantly shortened from the conventional several minutes to one minute or less.

Furthermore, in the conventional terminal processing method, one of the major problems was damage caused by cutting debris of the optical fiber, but by using the method and apparatus of the present invention, there is an advantage that such damage does not occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 (6), (B), (C), trowel), (E)
1 is a process explanatory diagram of a conventional optical fiber terminal processing method. two. , '-FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. 3 to 8 show the operation of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention and are explanatory views of the steps of the method of the present invention. 1...Optical fiber, 2...Secondary coating, 3...Primary coating,
4. Cutting scratch, 5. Leaf spring, 6. Optical fiber, 7.
... Cutting blade, 8... Gripping force, 9.10... Optical fiber core clamp, 11... Felt roller, 12...
- Removal blade, 13 - Polishing grindstone, 14... Polishing pressure load spring, 15... Debris receiver, 16... Optical fiber end face. 11 Figure soil/

Claims (1)

[Claims] (+) The terminal processing of the optical fiber is performed by first polishing the end face of the optical fiber at right angles with a grindstone, and then removing the coating of the optical fiber core mechanically or by using a solvent and mechanical means. Characteristic optical fiber terminal processing method. (2) A pair of primary coating removal rollers and a secondary coating removal blade are arranged between two pairs of optical fiber core clamps on the same axis, starting from one clamp, and abrasive pressure is applied to the outside of the clamps. 1. An optical fiber terminal processing device, characterized in that a polishing grindstone is arranged which is held in a pressed state by a load spring and swings and rotates in a direction perpendicular to the axis.