JPS63182610A - Connector structure of optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate connecting operation by positioning the bare cores of one and the other optical fiber cables which are inserted from both ends at a core guide-in hole part, bringing their ends into contact with each other and heating a connection guide itself, and fusion-splicing the bare cores to each other. CONSTITUTION:One and the other optical fiber cables 2 and 3 to be connected are inserted into one and the other end parts of the integrated connection guide 1, their exposed cores are positioned at the core guide-in hole part 6 at the center position,and their ends are brought into contact with each other at the position. Then an induction coil arranged at the periphery of this integrated connection guide 1 is powered on by a high-frequency power source to produce an AC magnetic field and thus eddy current loss or hysteresis loss is generated at the core guide-in hole part 6 of the connection guide 1 to heat the part. Then this heat is conducted to the bare cores contacting each other in the core guide-in hole part to fuse the connection part, thereby connecting one and the other optical fiber cables 2 and 3 to each other. Consequently, the connection is easily made with high efficiency.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a connector structure for an optical fiber cable.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a connector structure for permanently connecting one optical fiber cable to the other.

[Prior Art] As is well known, optical fibers have many properties such as low loss, broadband, non-induction, non-leakage, fire resistance, heat resistance, light weight, and small size, and are used in various communication fields. However, when this optical fiber cable is actually used, one of the problems is cable connection during installation. Therefore, if we look at the conventional optical fiber cable connection technology, the first method is to butt the ends of one optical fiber cable against the other end in space, and use electrodes on the butt surfaces to create an arc. The second method of connecting by discharging is to pass one optical fiber cable from one side of the glass sleeve and the other optical fiber cable from the other side, bringing the ends into contact with each other, and in this state, apply adhesive to the inner surface of the glass sleeve. Technique to connect by making the flow flow in, part 3 is to pass one optical fiber cable from one side of the heat shrink tube, pass the other optical fiber cable from the other side, heat the tube, heat shrink the tube, and then connect. There are various techniques to achieve this. Although these have been widely used in the past, it tends to be relatively difficult to achieve accurate correspondence between each core wire of one optical fiber cable and each core wire of the other optical fiber cable during connection. Therefore, recently, the following connection means have been used. That is, one connection guide for passing one optical fiber cable and the other separate connection guide for passing the other optical fiber cable are provided, and each connection guide has an introduction hole for an exposed core wire. To connect one optical fiber cable to the other using this, align the core wire introduction holes of one and the other connection guides, and in this state insert one optical fiber cable into one connection guide. and positioning the exposed core wire by passing it through the core wire introduction hole, and inserting the other optical fiber cable into the other connection guide, and positioning the exposed core wire by passing it through the core wire hole, and then Afterwards, a light beam is irradiated onto the abutting surfaces of one and the other to fuse and connect the core wires of the optical fiber cables of one and the other.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the above-mentioned prior art, the core wire of one optical fiber and the core wire of the other optical fiber are both positioned in the core wire introduction hole of the connection guide, and then reconnected. Since the end faces of the guides are aligned to make the connection, it is relatively easy to connect each core wire with relative precision, but there are still the following problems to be solved. In other words, even though the core wires of one and the other optical fiber cables are positioned and connected to the core wire introduction holes of each connection guide, when the corresponding connection is made, one connection guide and the other are connected. Since it is necessary to match the connection guides of the two optical fiber cables, it is necessary to use a microscope to determine the exact correspondence between each core wire of one optical fiber cable and each core wire of the other optical fiber cable. The connection work is difficult, and there are certain limits to improving efficiency. The second method uses a light beam irradiation device as a means of fusing the core wires of one and the other optical fiber connectors, which tends to increase equipment costs and running costs. Although there is a great need to easily perform this method on-site, there is a drawback in that it is not possible to promptly respond to this request.

Therefore, the objects of the present invention are (1) to provide a means for making the connection work easy and efficient;
The object of the present invention is to provide a connection means that can be implemented at lower equipment costs and running costs, and in particular, (1) to provide an optical fiber cable connector structure that can be easily implemented at an optical fiber cable installation site.

[Means for solving the problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following technical means. That is, in the present invention, each core wire of one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable to be connected to each other is inserted and positioned through the core wire introduction hole of a ceramic connection guide, and in this state, the exposed core wire of one optical fiber cable is connected to the exposed core wire of the other optical fiber cable. In an optical fiber cable connector structure in which the ends of the exposed core wires of the fiber cable are brought into contact and the mutually contacting end portions are heated, one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable are fusion spliced; is integrally formed with an insertion hole at both ends so that one optical fiber cable can be inserted from one end and the other end, and a core wire introduction hole is provided at approximately the center of the insertion hole. positioning the exposed core wires of one and the other optical fiber cables, which are formed with a section and inserted from both ends, in the core wire introduction hole section, and with their terminal ends in contact with each other,
This optical fiber cable connector structure is characterized in that the exposed core wires of the one and the other optical fiber cables are fused and connected by heating the connection guide itself by high-frequency induction heating.

In this case, the entire connection guide may be made of a conductive ceramic material that can be heated by high-frequency induction, or the connection guide itself may be made of a non-conductive ceramic material, but the core wire may be surrounded only in the core wire introduction hole so that the high-frequency induction A conductive ceramic material that can be heated may be provided, or the entire connection guide may be divided into an outer layer member and an inner layer member including a core wire introduction hole, and the inner layer member may be made of a conductive ceramic material that can be heated by high frequency induction. It's good.

[Function] With the above configuration, one and the other optical fiber cables to be connected are inserted through one end and the other end of this integrated connection guide, and each exposed core wire is positioned in the core wire introduction hole at the center position. , the ends of each are brought into contact at this position.

At this time, each core wire of one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable are positioned in the core wire introduction hole, so if you determine the insertion state from the end of one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable in advance, each The core wires come into corresponding contact.

That is, the connection guide of the present invention is not divided into one and the other separately for passing the optical fiber cables of one side and the other, but is an integral part that shares the core wire introduction hole at the center position. Since there is no need to perform work such as butting the end faces of two connection guides together, it is easy to connect the core wires in a precise manner. Now, once the core wires of one and the other optical fiber cables have been brought into contact with each other, the induction coil placed around the integral connection guide is supplied with power from a high-frequency power source to generate an alternating magnetic field, and the core wires of the connection guide are introduced. Eddy current loss or hysteresis loss is generated in the hole section to generate heat in that section, and the generated heat is transmitted to the exposed core wires that are in contact with each other in the core wire introduction hole section, and the contact portions are fused. This is used to connect one optical fiber cable to the other.

In the above case, if the entire integral connection guide is made of conductive ceramic acid, the position of the alternating magnetic field etc. should be selected so that heat is generated at the end face of the core wire introduction hole where the core wires that are in contact with each other are positioned. In addition, if conductive ceramics are arranged only in the core wire introduction hole part of this integral connection guide, the position of the alternating current magnetic field etc. should be selected so that heat is generated in that part. Furthermore, when a multilayer structure is formed and the inner layer member is made of conductive ceramic acid, the position of the alternating current magnetic field is adjusted so that heat is generated in the majority of the core wires of the inner layer member. etc. will be selected and implemented.

[Example] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1-11 Refer to FIGS. 1 to 3. This embodiment is an example in which the entire connection guide is made of conductive ceramic acid.

That is, reference numeral 1 indicates the entire connection guide, and from one end and the other end of the connection guide, one and the other optical fiber cables 2.
The insertion openings 4.5 are formed so that the screws 3 can be inserted therethrough, and they penetrate through each other. A core wire introduction hole 6 having a diameter smaller than that of the insertion opening 4 or 5 is formed approximately in this hollow shaft. The dimensions of the connection guide 1 as a whole are not particularly limited, but for example, the total length from one end to the other is 20.32 mm, the length of the core wire introduction hole 6 is 2.54 mm, and the length of the core wire introduction hole 6 is 2.54 mm. Diameter of mouth 4 or 5 1.07++ue
, the diameter of the core wire and the introduction hole 6 is about 0.18 mm.

In order to connect the exposed core @ 7 of one optical fiber cable 2 and the exposed core wire 8 of the other optical fiber pull 3 using such a connection guide 1, first, as shown in FIG. One optical fiber cable 2 is inserted into one insertion opening 4, and the other optical fiber cable 3 is inserted into the other insertion opening 5 of the connection guide l. Then, the exposed core wires 7 and 8 of each optical fiber cable 2 and 3 are passed through the core wire introduction hole 6, and the terminal ends 9 and 10 are passed through the core wire introduction hole 6.
Make contact inside.

In this case, in order to accurately match each of the core wires 7 on one side and each of the core wires 8 on the other side, one optical fiber cable 2 and the other optical fiber cable 3 are inserted into the insertion opening 4 or 5, respectively.
When inserting it into the body, it is inserted at a predetermined position.

Next, an alternating current magnetic field is generated by supplying power to the induction coil from a high frequency power source (not shown), and eddy current loss or hysteresis loss is caused in the connection guide 1 in this alternating magnetic field. core wire 7.8
An eddy current loss or a hysteresis loss is generated in the area around the core wire introduction hole 6 surrounding the core wire to generate heat in the area, and the heat is transmitted to the core wires 7.8 that are in contact with each other, thereby welding the area. , which connects the ends together as shown in FIG. Core wire introduction hole 6 surrounding the core wire 7.8 mentioned above
Enabling heat generation in the surrounding area can be achieved by selecting the location of the alternating magnetic field.

Example 2-11 See Figures 4 and 5 In this example, the main body of the connection guide is made of non-conductive ceramics such as alumina, and only the part forming the core wire introduction hole is made of conductive ceramics. This is an example of the case where

That is, 1a indicates a connection guide main body made of non-conductive ceramics such as alumina, and 1b indicates a core wire introduction hole forming body, and these two constitute the entire connection guide 1.

In this example, it is the forming body 1b of the core wire introduction hole that is heated by high frequency induction, and the heat generated here is transmitted to the core wires that are in contact with each other, thereby fusion-bonding the contact core wires. .

Embodiment 3-11 Refer to FIGS. 6 and 7. This embodiment is an example in which the connection guide has double inner and outer layers. That is, the reference number IC indicates an outer layer guide made of non-conductive ceramics such as alumina, and the number 1d indicates an inner layer guide made of conductive ceramics, and the connection guide 1 is constituted by these inner and outer layer guides. In this case, a core wire introduction hole 6 is formed in the inner layer guide 1d. For this example,
The inner layer guide LD is heated by high frequency induction.
The heat generated here is transmitted to the core wires that are in contact with each other, and the contact core wires are fused and connected.

It goes without saying that in each of the embodiments in progress, by appropriately selecting the arrangement and frequency of the alternating magnetic field, the heating site and the heating temperature can be appropriately and optimally determined.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable are passed through the insertion openings of one and the other of the integrated connection guide, respectively, and the respective core wires are inserted. The core wires are positioned in the core wire introduction hole, and after facing each other, the core wires are fused and brought into contact with each other by high-frequency induction heating, thereby connecting one optical fiber cable to the other, making the connection easy and highly efficient. Furthermore, since it uses high-frequency induction heating, the connection work can be performed with relatively inexpensive equipment and low running costs, and it offers various practical advantages, such as being particularly easy to perform at the installation site.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The attached drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 to 3 are views of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one and the other optical fiber cables inserted into the connection guide and each core wire is positioned in the central core wire introduction hole, and FIG. Figures 4 and 5, which show the fusion splicing of the core wires of the other optical fiber cable, show the second embodiment. Figure 5 shows the location where the core wires are fusion spliced.
The cross-sectional views taken along the line x-X in the figure, Figures 6 and 7 show the third embodiment, and Figure 6 shows the core wires of one and the other optical fiber cables being fusion-spliced after high-frequency induction heating. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line Y--Y in FIG. 6.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) Insert and position each core wire of one optical fiber cable to be connected to the other optical fiber cable into the core wire introduction hole of the ceramic connection guide, and in this state, connect the exposed core wire of one optical fiber cable to the other optical fiber cable. In an optical fiber cable connector structure in which the ends of exposed core wires are brought into contact and the mutually contacting end portions are heated, one optical fiber cable and the other optical fiber cable are fusion spliced; An insertion hole is integrally formed at both ends so that the other optical fiber cable can be inserted from one end and the other end, and a core wire introduction hole is formed at approximately the center of this insertion hole. Then, the exposed core wires of one and the other optical fiber cables inserted from both ends are positioned in the core wire introduction hole, and with their terminal ends in contact, this connection guide itself is heated by high frequency induction heating. A connector structure for an optical fiber cable, characterized in that the exposed core wires of the one and the other optical fiber cables are fusion-spliced. (2) The optical fiber cable connector structure according to claim 1, wherein the entire connection guide is made of a conductive ceramic material. (3) The connection guide itself is made of a non-conductive ceramic material, and a conductive member is disposed so as to surround the exposed core wire positioned in the core wire introduction hole. Optical fiber cable connector structure described in section. (4) The connection guide is composed of an outer layer member and an inner layer member including a core wire introduction hole, and the outer layer member is made of a non-conductive ceramic material, and the inner layer member is made of a conductive ceramic material. A connector structure for an optical fiber cable according to claim 1.