JPS60228061A - Device for polishing end face of optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the efficiency and accuracy of polishing, improve operating properties and lengthen the life of polishing sheets, by rotatively positioning an optical fiber holder between polishing disks which perform eccentric rotation and are exclusively used for processing steps, and by continuously supplying polishing water to the center of each disk. CONSTITUTION:When a rotary arm holder 5 is lifted by a knob 10 and rotatively positioned on a rough polishing disk 2, a pin 8 is engaged in a positioning hole 9a to eccentrically rotate disks 2, 3, 4 simultaneously so that the tip face of a ferrule pushed on a polishing sheet S1 by the weight of a main body is roughly polished. At the time of the polishing, polishing water is supplied to the polishing sheet S1 to cool the ferrule and wash away dust made by the rough polishing. When the rough polishing is completed in several minutes set by a timer T, the knob 10 is lifted to a disengage the pin 8 out of the positioning hole 9a to move up the arm holder 5, turn it to the lapping disk 3, and engage the pin 8 in another positioning hole 9b. After lapping is performed, the arm holder 5 is turned and positioned on the fine polishing disk 4. Fine polishing is then performed for a prescribed time so as to carry out accurate finishing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a polishing device for one end face of an optical fiber, and is improved in polishing efficiency, polishing precision, operability, and the like.

Conventional end face polishing equipment for optical fibers, etc., uses a method to gradually finish one end face of an optical fiber by attaching and exchanging abrasive sheets from coarse to fine grains to a disk that moves eccentrically and rotationally. . When using this method, the polishing sheet must be replaced between each process, so
The polishing efficiency is very poor, and the polishing sheet tends to be incompletely adhered, resulting in a decrease in polishing accuracy. Furthermore, since the above operations are performed during the polishing process, the number of operations on the polishing apparatus increases, which worsens the polishing time and operability. And of course, if the supply of water, which serves as the polishing liquid, to the polishing surface of the tip of the optical fiber is intermittent or incomplete, the polishing sheet will become clogged and the required polishing accuracy will not be achieved. However, there were many problems such as the abrasive sheet being rejected at an early stage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an optical fiber end face polishing device that not only improves polishing efficiency and polishing precision, but also extends the life of the polishing sheet by fully supplying polishing water, and improves operability. We aim to provide the following.

That is, in the present invention, rough scraping and lapping.

In addition to providing a dedicated polishing disk that moves eccentrically and rotationally for each polishing process, an arm stand that holds a large number of optical fibers is rotated and positioned between the polishing disks in each process, and is placed at the center of the top surface of the polishing disk. Polishing water is actively and continuously supplied to the position, and used polishing water is collected from the tray.

As a result, special disks and polishing sheets are provided for each process of roughing, lapping, and boring, and multiple optical fiber connectors are held on the rotating arm stand, making it easy to change processes simply by rotating the arm stand. In addition, polishing water is continuously supplied to the polishing sheet, which prevents the sheet from clogging, and has succeeded in extending the life of the sheet and dramatically improving polishing accuracy, polishing efficiency, and operability. .

Hereinafter, the optical fiber end face polishing apparatus of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 100 denotes an end polishing apparatus of the present invention, in which a polishing disk 2 for roughing is mounted on the upper surface 1a of a cubic housing 1. Endo disc for wrapping 3. 5. A polishing disk 4 for polishing and a rotating arm stand capable of holding the end faces of up to six optical fiber connectors for polishing. It also includes a polishing water supply tank 6 and the like.

Next, regarding the detailed configuration of each part, the swing 7-arm base 5 has its base end bearing hole 5a rotatably attached to the upper shaft part 7σ of the support 7 placed on the substrate 10' in the housing 1. has been approved by. The vertical position of the swing arm stand 5 is determined by being received by the upper surface of a flange 7b extending from the upper shaft portion 7a of the support column 7. In addition, the rotational positioning of the rotating arm base 5 is performed using a positioning hole "(Lr 9AI
This is done by engaging one of the holes 90 as shown in the figure.
When the pin 8 is engaged with the pin 8, the tip of the arm stand is positioned on the polishing disk 3 for lapping. Therefore, the pin 8 is in the hole 9a.
When the pin 8 is engaged with the hole 9C', the arm stand 5 is positioned on the polishing disk 2 for roughing, and when the pin 8 is engaged with the hole 9C', it is positioned on the polishing disk 4 for polishing. Reference numeral 1o denotes a handle attached to the upper surface of the middle of the arm stand 5. When the arm stand 5 is pivotally positioned on each polishing disk, the handle is lifted and the pin 8 is inserted into the hole 91Z.
+ 9h+ c+c is used to pull it out, pivot it to a predetermined position, and engage the bin 8 again in the desired hole 9a to 9c. At the tip of the arm stand 5, a large number of holding holes 5h, . A collet chuck 12 for gripping the ferrule 11 of a cotter attached to the tip of the optical fiber F and the main body 13 are inserted into the holding hole 5h from above.
bottle 13 (Z engages with the notch groove 5C. The above-mentioned holding hole 5
b Collet chuck inserted into... and its main body 1
3, the tip end surface of the ferrule 11 is pressed against the polishing sheet S2 stuck to the surface of the polishing disk 30. with this,
The end face of the ferrule 11 of the optical fiber is polished by the eccentric and rotating disk 3. Then, the conversion of the process is as follows: When the arm stand 5 is lifted to the chain line position, the pin 13α is engaged with the bottom of the notch groove 5c, the collet chuck 12 and the main body 13 are floated from the disk 3, and the arm stand 5 is lifted up. does not impede turning. Reference numeral 20 denotes an optical fiber stand, in which a shaft 21 is rotatably inserted into the center hole 7C of the pillar 7, held at a predetermined height by a collar 22, and equipped with a U-shaped hanger 23 at the top end. There is. The main body 13 of the collet chuck is inserted into each holding hole 5b, and the held optical fiber F is hung on the hook of the optical fiber stand, and the direction is changed when the swivel arm base 5 is rotated. Due to the group of lights changing, the hanger on the stand will also follow in that direction.

Next, we will explain the drive mechanism for each of the polishing disks 2 to 4. In FIG. 2, we will explain one drive mechanism (the others have the same configuration). The flange δα is fixed with pins 26, and the inner cylinder 25h is aligned with the through hole lOα′ of the substrate 10′. Bearings n and 28 are press-fitted on the upper and lower sides of the inner cylinder 25h, and the eccentric shaft 4 is supported on this inner ring. The lower end of the eccentric shaft protrudes downward from the through hole lOα of the substrate lO, into which the timing pulley I is fitted. For this timing pulley (equipment) and the other two discs 2 and 4,
A timing belt 33 is wound around the timing pulley of the drive motor M placed above. Now, when the drive motor M is started, each eccentric shaft (only 29 is shown) -
Rotate it to Sai. Above the cylindrical base portion, a bulged large diameter portion 25C is provided, and the internal gear is screwed onto this top ring portion 25d with several screws. I is a cylindrical ring which is rotatably fitted into a support shaft hole α which eccentrically connects the pair of eccentric shafts above. The lower binion σ is meshed with the internal gear afterward, and the polishing disk 3 is attached to the upper flange 36b with several screws so that its parallelism can be adjusted. When the pair of eccentric shafts is rotated by the drive motor M, the spindle hole α performs an eccentric movement (crank movement),
The cylindrical ring and disc 3 that are fitted and supported thereon move eccentrically, and also rotate (rotate) as the binion 361Z rolls on the inner periphery of the internal gear in a direction opposite to the direction of eccentric movement.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a water tray disposed below each polishing disk 2 to 4, and the 7 rasoji 40h is placed on the open upper surface of the housing 1 so that the annular gutter 40α is located directly below the outer periphery of the disks 2 to 4 that move eccentrically. 1α
It is attached with screws. A drain pipe 41 is connected to the annular gutter 40α of the water receiving tray 40 via a joint pipe 42, and its tip faces a drain tank 43 disposed at the lower part of the housing 1.

Of course, drain pipes (not shown) also face the drain tank 43 from other water trays. The drain tank 43 is also taken in and out through the opening/closing plate 1h.

Polishing sheet 8 attached to the upper surface of each of the polishing disks 2 to 4
The polishing water supplied to polishing water 1 to S3 is supplied from a supply tank 6 disposed at a high location on the upper surface 1a of the housing 1, and from a water supply pipe inserted into a through hole 5d drilled in the center of the tip of the swing arm base 5 using a vinyl pipe 45. 46. With this, the polishing water dripping from the lower end of the water supply pipe 46 is supplied to the center of the polishing sheets Sl to S3, and is diffused in the radial direction by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the disks 2 to 40.

The optical fiber end face polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention is configured as described above and operates as follows. Six optical fibers can be polished at the same time, and each collet chuck 12 and main body 13 are connected to the holding holes 5h...
・Insert and hold. Then, when the swing arm stand 5 is lifted by its handle lO and swing-positioned onto the rough polishing disc 2, the bin 8 is engaged with the positioning hole 9α. Thereafter, the drive motor M is started to eccentrically rotate the disks 2 to 4 all at once, and the end surface of the ferrule 11 pressed against the polishing sheet 81 is roughened by the weight of the main body 13. During this polishing, polishing water is supplied to the polishing sheet Sl, and the ferrule 1
1, and wash away the abrasive dust generated during rough grinding.

When the timer T finishes roughing for several minutes, the handle 10 is lifted, the bin 8 is removed from the positioning hole 9a, and the swing arm stand 5 is floated as shown by the chain line in FIG. When the arm stand 5 is rotated toward the wrapping disk 3 while maintaining this state, the bin 8 will eventually engage with the next positioning hole 9b, and the arm stand 5 will be lowered and positioned (Figs. 1 and 2). solid line). After that, when the timer T is set to a predetermined time, the drive motor M is started and the disks 2 to 4 rotate eccentrically at the same time, lapping the tip surface of the ferrule 1 which presses against the polishing sheet S2 with its own weight. . Even during this polishing, polishing water is supplied from the water supply pipe 46 to the center of the polishing seat S2, and when the polishing water is diffused in the radial direction due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotational movement of the disk 30, it cools the ferrule 11 and Wash away the abrasive dust produced by wrapping.

As a result, the polishing water falling into the -water tray 4 is collected from the drain pipe 41 into the drain tank 43.

When the above-mentioned lapping is completed, the rotating arm stand 5 is rotated and positioned on the polishing disk 4 in the same way as before, and the tip surface of the ferrule 11 is finished by polishing for a predetermined time by the timer T.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the collet chuck 1
2. How to install optical fiber using this main body,
It is also possible to modify the holding hole 5b for bundle fibers and polish one or two sets of bundle fibers. Further, the number of steps is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be increased or decreased as appropriate. Alternatively, the polishing water may be made by sending tap water directly to the vinyl pipe 45 and discharging it to the outside from the drain pipe 41.

As described above, the optical fiber/one end surface polishing device of the present invention has the following features:
In addition to providing dedicated polishing disks that move eccentrically and rotationally for each process of roughing, lapping, and polishing, an arm stand that holds a large number of optical fibers is rotated and positioned between the polishing disks for each process. Polishing water is actively and continuously supplied to the center of the top surface of the disk, and used polishing water is collected in a water tray, so special disks and polishing sheets are provided for each process of roughing, lapping, and polishing. In addition, multiple optical fiber connectors are held on the rotating arm stand, and process changes can be easily performed by simply rotating the arm stand, and polishing water is continuously supplied to the polishing sheet.
In addition to preventing clogging of the sheet, it has many effects such as extending the life of the sheet and dramatically improving polishing accuracy, polishing efficiency, and operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the optical fiber end face polishing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Housing, 2-4... Polishing disc, 5... Swivel arm stand, 5b... Holding hole, 6... Supply tank, 7...
...Strut, 8...Bin, 9a-9C...Positioning hole, 10...Handle, M...Drive motor, F...Optical fiber, 12...Collet chuck, 13... Main body, 11... Ferrule, 5... Cylindrical base, 4... Eccentric shaft, A... Internal gear, A... Cylindrical ring, 40...
Water tray, 43... Drainage tank, 46... Water supply pipe, 8
1 to S3...polishing sheet, ■...optical fiber end face polishing device. Applicant Enshu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A dedicated polishing disk that rotates eccentrically for each process such as roughing, lapping, and boring, a swivel arm stand that holds the optical fiber and rotates and positions it between the above processes, and an optical fiber holding part of the swivel arm stand. An optical fiber end face polishing apparatus comprising: a water supply pipe provided in the polishing disk for supplying polishing water onto the polishing disks; and a water tray for collecting the polishing water on each of the polishing disks.