JPS63271406A - Switching device for optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the switching time of optical communication at the time of switching by a simple constitution, by constituting so that a pin is drawn out of two optical fiber connecting members which have been connected to each other, and one connecting member is dropped down by its dead weight and allowed to about on the connecting member. CONSTITUTION:Optical fiber connecting parts 9, 11 are held by a pair of erect parts 26a of a roughly U-type pressing member 25, 5he connecting part 10 is held by the other erect parts 26a, supported by a holding pin 27, respectively, and by inserting a guide pin in the optical axis direction, optical fibers are joined. By pushing the guide pin into the connecting part 10 side by a pin moving part, a joint state of the connecting parts 9, 10 is released, and when the pin 27 is drawn out, the connecting part 10 drops down by its dead weight, and the end faces of the connecting members 11, 10 abut on each other instantaneously. Subsequently,the guide pin is pushed into the connecting member 11 direction from the connecting member 10 side, and optical fiber end faces of both the members are connected. Accordingly, the connection of optical fibers can be switched in a short time by a simple structure, and the interrupting time of optical communication can be shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a switching device for an optical connector connecting optical fiber cables.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

In order to connect two optical fibers, it is first necessary to align the two optical fibers accurately with each other.
When recombining fibers of different types, the optical communication for breaking the connection and recombining the fibers is interrupted, so it is necessary to do it as quickly as possible.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 11, guide pin insertion holes 3a, 4a, 3b, 4b are provided in the optical fiber connecting member 9, 10 to which the optical fibers are connected, and after the respective coupling end surfaces are butted together, the guide pin 31 is inserted. .31 was inserted into the guide pin insertion holes 3a, 4a or 3b, 4b to improve the accuracy of the connection. In other words, it is difficult to achieve accuracy on the micron level by simply butting the coupling end surfaces of optical fiber connecting members against each other, and it is usually shown in Fig. 10 (a).
>, the optical fibers 6.6, 6. The optical fibers 7.7, 7.... are connected to the end faces of the optical fibers 7.7, 7.・
The end faces of ... do not match. Therefore, optical fiber 6.6,6
．． ... and the optical fiber 7°7.7. As a means for aligning the end faces of the optical fibers with high accuracy, a guide pin 31 is inserted into the guide pin insertion hole of the optical fiber connecting member to improve accuracy. As shown in Fig. 9, the method for switching this optical connector is to first install the optical fiber connection members 9 and 10 in the coupled state and the optical fiber connection member 11 as shown in Fig. 9 (a>), and then connect the optical fibers. The coupling is canceled by moving the connecting member 10 to the right (FIG. 2(b)). In this case, the moving distance is such that one end of the guide pin clears the coupling end surface 9a of the optical fiber connecting member 9, as shown in the figure. Optical communication is cut off because it is necessary to do so. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize communication failure as much as possible, so it is necessary to perform optical communication at high speed. The fiber connecting member 10 is moved in the direction of the other optical fiber connecting member 11. This also has to be moved in a short time for the reasons mentioned above.Therefore, conventionally, the optical fiber connecting member 10 or The holding member was collided with the holding member.After that, the same figure (d
), the optical fiber connecting member 10 was moved to the left and recombined with another optical fiber connecting member 11. In other words, conventionally, the optical fiber connecting member can move in the following three directions: (1) movement in the right direction ((b) in the same figure), (2) movement in the downward direction ((C) in the same figure), and (2) movement in the left direction ((d) in the same figure). Switching was done through the process, which resulted in the following drawbacks.

First of all, the optical fiber connection member must be moved in a short time because the optical communication in the above process is interrupted, but moving it at high speed in a U-shape throughout the process requires two stops along the way. This is extremely difficult as it includes

Second, since the optical fiber connecting member collides with the fixed member at high speed when moving downward ((C) in the same figure), the optical fiber connecting member 10 and the guide pin 31 vibrate, and in this state, other It is difficult to accurately insert the guide pin into the guide pin insertion hole of the optical fiber connecting member 11.

Thirdly, all three processes require different directions and require high speed and precision, which complicates the equipment and equipment required for switching, resulting in high economic costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector switching device that can shorten the time during which optical communication is interrupted by shortening the entire process required for switching optical connectors.

[Means for solving problems]

An optical connector switching device according to the present invention couples a pair of optical connectors to an optical fiber connection member holding means that holds a pair of optical fiber connection members and another optical fiber connection member in a coupled state. A coupling member moving means for sliding the coupling member of the optical fiber connecting member; and a coupling member moving means for sliding the coupling member of the optical fiber coupling member; An optical fiber connecting member moving means for moving the optical fiber connecting member to the member, and a connecting member moving means for sliding the slid connecting member or another connecting member between one optical fiber connecting member and the other optical fiber connecting member. It is characterized by

[Operation] Since the present invention is configured as described above, the optical fiber connecting member is held by the optical fiber connecting member holding means, and the optical fiber connecting member is held by the optical fiber connecting member holding means.
The connecting member is slid by the action of the connecting member moving means,
The coupled state of the optical fiber connecting member is released. When the coupled state is released, the optical fiber connecting member moving means acts to slide the optical fiber connecting member along the coupled end surface, so that the optical fiber connecting member and the optical fiber connecting member are butted against each other. In this case, the coupling member moving means acts to slide the coupling member within the optical fiber connecting member, so the coupling member moves, for example, to the left, and the optical fiber connecting member and the optical fiber connecting member are recoupled. Ru.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. In this embodiment, a guide pin as shown in FIG. 11 is used as the coupling member.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a perspective view showing an optical connector switching device according to the present invention and a process diagram showing its operation. This switching device first consists of connection member holding parts 12, 13, 14, and 1 that hold a pair of optical fiber connection members and another optical fiber connection member that are connected with high precision by guide pins.
5.16. The other optical fiber connecting member is placed parallel to the optical fiber connecting member that is not recombined among the above pair of optical fiber connecting members (so that the joint end surfaces are on the same plane).
It is held by the connecting member holder 13.14 (FIG. 2(a)). At least two of these connection member holding parts hold the optical fiber connection member in the direction of the arrow in the figure (hereinafter referred to as "
"y direction". ), and can be applied to optical connectors of different sizes.

Note that these connection member holding parts 12, 13.14 are
As shown in the figure, it has a float mechanism 19, and this flow 1
~The mechanism 19 is mounted on a fine movement stage 39 that can be moved slightly in a direction (hereinafter referred to as the X direction) for separating the optical fiber connecting members in a coupled state. As shown in the figure, this fine movement stage has a rail section 39a in the X direction at the bottom.
, 39a, and is connected to the base 17 by a rail, so that it can be moved slightly in the X direction.

The guide pin moving unit 18 is composed of push pins 18a, 18a for pushing out the guide pins and a push pin drive ll@18b, and a float mechanism is mounted on a fine movement stage 39 behind the optical fiber connecting member 9 as shown in FIG. It is attached via 19.

Therefore, even if the positions at which the connecting members are held are slightly different, the structure is such that the guide pins can be smoothly moved by the float mechanisms 19, 19.

Since this guide pin moving part is for sliding the guide pin that connects the optical fiber connecting member 9 and the optical fiber connecting member 10 (see Fig. 2), the push pin '1
The guide pin moving unit 1 is moved so that the driving direction of the optical fiber connecting member 9 matches the guide pin insertion direction of the optical fiber connecting member 9.
8 is attached to a fine movement stage 39.

Of the pair of optical fiber connection members, the optical fiber connection member 10 to be recombined is held by another connection member holder 15, 16. These connection member holding parts 15.
One of the 16 is configured to be slidable in the direction of the arrow (y direction) as shown in FIG. 1, so it can be applied to optical connectors of different sizes. The connection member holding parts 15, 16 are mounted on a high-speed movement stage 20 that can move at high speed in the y direction. As shown in FIG. 1, this high-speed moving stage 20 also has a rail section 20 at the bottom.
a and 20a, which are connected to the rail stand 21 and the rail. Since this rail is provided in the y direction, this high-speed movement stage 20 acts to translate the optical fiber connecting members to be recombined along the coupling end faces of the optical fiber connecting members. As a mechanism for realizing this high-speed movement, for example, the high-speed movement stage 20 is biased in the direction of the other optical fiber connecting members 11 using a spring, and when the coupling state between the optical fiber connecting members 9 and 10 is released, There is a device that applies a trigger and slides on the rail using a spring force, and stops by colliding with the fixed member 8, for example.Instead of the spring, a solenoid or a pulse motor may be used, but in this case, the slider slides on the rail at a predetermined position. Precise control is required to be able to stop. What is important here is that the optical connectors are uncoupled and recoupled on the same plane, and moreover, they are moved at high speed over the shortest distance, so this can be done in as short a time as possible. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments as long as it is a mechanism that can achieve this purpose.

Note that, before moving this optical fiber connecting member, the optical fiber connecting members 9 and 11 may be moved backward by the operation of the fine movement stage 39 (FIG. 2). However, what is important here is the distance to retreat, which is limited to a range δ (approximately 50 μm) that does not cause any trouble to optical communication. Within this range, there is no need to move in a short time, so there is plenty of time, and precise control is also easy. When moving the optical fiber connecting member 10 at high speed, the corners 10G and 11G of the joint end faces of the optical fiber connecting member 10 and the optical fiber connecting member 11 do not collide, thereby preventing damage due to collision of the optical fiber connecting member. can do.

Note that after the movement of the optical fiber connecting member is completed, the optical fiber connecting member 10 is returned to a predetermined position by the operation of the fine movement stage 39. As another embodiment for achieving this purpose, for example, as shown in FIG.
This is a case in which the coupling end face of optical fiber connecting member 1 is held in advance in a manner set back from the coupling end face of optical fiber connecting member 12. In this case,
After the guide pin clears the coupling end surface, it is not necessary to move the optical fiber connecting member 9 with the fine movement stage 39.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the guide pin moving part 18 is
It is fixed on a fixing base 23 facing other optical fiber connecting members 11 (FIG. 1). This guide pin moving part 18
has the same configuration as described above, so the explanation will be omitted. Push pin 18a.

18a, the optical fiber connecting member 10 is connected to the high-speed moving stage 2.
0, the guide pin insertion hole of the optical fiber connecting member 10 and the push pin 18a.

18a are arranged to face each other (Fig. 2(C)
). After the optical fiber connecting member 10 moves, the optical fiber cable 24 connected to the optical fiber connecting member 10
The point is that the guide pin 31 is configured to be able to move without coming into contact with the guide pin 31 (FIG. 2(d)).

Therefore, as long as the guide pin 31 can be pressed without coming into contact with the optical fiber cable 24 of the optical fiber connecting member 10, it may be circular or square.
I don't mind.

In this embodiment, the guide pin moving unit 18 first slides the guide pin 31 to the right, moves the optical fiber connection member 10, and then slides the guide pin 31 to the left again. However, the guide pin 31 may be configured to first slide to the left and then to the right. In this case, the guide pin displacement parts 18.18 are arranged behind the optical fiber connection members 10 and 11, respectively. In this case, another guide pin 31 is inserted into the optical fiber connecting member 14 in advance, and the guide pin 31 can be inserted immediately after the optical fiber connecting member 10 has moved, so that the optical connector can be switched in a shorter time. Become.

One embodiment of the switching device according to the present invention has been described above, and here, as shown in FIG. It may be configured to be fixed by a mouth-shaped holding member 25 that can be opened and closed. In this case, there is no need for a mechanism for moving at least two of the connecting member holding parts 12.13.degree. 14 in the y direction, and the mechanism can be simplified, resulting in an economical advantage. In general, it is easy to pick up the optical fiber connecting member, and since it is held from four directions, reliability as a holding means is improved.

The shape of the push pin of the guide pin moving part 18 corresponds to the shape of the guide pin of the optical connector, and the shape of the push pin is circular if it is a round bar, and the shape is square if it is a square bar. Match the number of guide pins.

Next, we will discuss another example of the optical connector switching device in the fifth section.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. The aforementioned embodiment (Fig. 1)
The difference is that the optical fiber connecting member 9 and the optical fiber connecting member 11 are stacked horizontally, and that a substantially U-shaped holding member 26 is used as a holding means for the optical fiber connecting member 10.
The holding pin 27 is used, and the natural falling motion of the optical fiber connecting member 10 due to its own weight is used as a means for moving the connecting member. Furthermore, a substantially U-shaped suppressing member 28 is used as a suppressing member for the guide pin insertion portion 22. The point is to use

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the approximately U-shaped holding member 26 is provided with standing portions 26a and 26b facing each other, and the holding pins 27 and 27 are provided in the standing portions 26a and 26b to pass through them. Holding pin insertion holes 29a, 30a, 29b, and 30b are provided.

The distance q between the upright portions 26a and 26b is not less than W (W + δ), where W is the width of the optical fiber connecting member and δ is the distance that does not hinder optical communication, as shown in FIG. It is configured as follows. The substantially U-shaped suppressing member 28 is obtained by displacing the U-shaped flat plate 22a in the above-described embodiment about the 90'' axis so as to form a U-shape.

In this embodiment, even if the guide pin slides to the right by the guide pin moving part 18 (not shown), the optical fiber connecting member 10 remains within the generally U-shaped retaining member 26. When the guide pin is moved and the coupling state between the optical fiber connecting member 9 and the optical fiber connecting member 10 is released, the optical fiber connecting member 10 moves to the upright portion 26a of the substantially U-shaped holding member 26 with the guide pin protruding. .

It falls naturally along 26b. Optical fiber connection member 9.
10.11 usually have the same shape, and the substantially U-shaped holding members 17.17 also have the same shape, so there is a high probability that the coupling end surface of the optical fiber connection member 10 after falling will be connected to another optical fiber connection member. 11, and the distance between the upright portions 26a and 26b is set to be greater than or equal to W and less than (W+δ), so there is no problem with natural falling, and recovery of optical communication after falling is facilitated. Part 1, approximately U-shaped suppression member 28
By sliding the guide pin into the insertion hole of the optical fiber connecting member 11, the coupling between the optical fiber connecting member 10 and the optical fiber connecting member 11 is completed. In this case, since the optical fiber connecting member 11 is held by the other holding pin 27, the optical fiber connecting member 11 will not move backward to the left when inserting the guide pin.

According to this embodiment, since there is no need to press the connecting member holding portion in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 1, the mechanism is simplified, and the processing of the device is facilitated, resulting in overall cost reduction. . Furthermore, the entire structure can be made more compact. Furthermore, since natural falling motion is used as a means of moving the connecting member, a moving mechanism (
(springs, solenoids, etc.) are not required, and the coupling end surfaces of the optical fiber connecting members are butted together with high precision as they fall, making it easy to restore optical communications.

Next, an embodiment of the optical connector switching device according to the present invention will be described based on FIG. 7. The embodiment described above (
The difference from the optical connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the switching device is used when the optical connector uses a sleeve 38 as its coupling means. Therefore, the coupling member moving means has a shape convenient for moving the sleeve, for example, a hook-shaped tip (hereinafter referred to as a "hooked member") as shown in FIG.
) 37a. Further, the coupling member moving means 37.37 is arranged to move the hook-shaped member 37a to a position where the sleeve 38 coupling the optical fiber connecting member 9.10 can be pushed out, for example, as shown in FIG. 7(a>). It is located.

Since this embodiment is configured in this manner, when the optical fiber connecting members 9, 10, 11 are each held by the optical fiber connecting member holding means (not shown), the action of the coupling member moving means 37 causes The hook-shaped member 37a connects the sleeve 38 connecting the optical fiber connecting members 9 and 10 to the seventh
Slide it to the right as shown in Figure (b). In this state, the coupling state is released, but since the optical fibers are butted against each other, optical communication is not interrupted. Next, by the action of an optical fiber connecting member moving means (not shown), the optical fiber connecting member 10 is moved at high speed along the coupling end surface of the optical fiber connecting member 9, 10 to another optical fiber connecting member while holding the sleeve 38. Slide in 11 directions (see figure (C)). The other coupling member moving means 37 is
The optical fiber connecting member 10 is attached so as to be locked between the sleeve 38 and the optical fiber connecting member 10 (L) in a slid state. Note that the hook-shaped member 37a may be made of a resilient spring material, and in this case, the hook-shaped member 37a can be placed slightly closer to the optical fiber connecting member 10, as shown in FIG. 8(a). . When the optical fiber connecting member 10 slides, the hook-shaped member 37a is bent as shown in FIG. 8(b) and the optical fiber connecting member 1
Although it is locked at 0, it is configured so that movement of the coupling member is not hindered. In this case, since the hook-shaped member 37a can be attached within a certain range, attachment of the coupling member moving means 37 becomes easy. After the optical fiber connecting member 10 slides so as to be locked with the above-mentioned hook-shaped member 37a, the coupling member moving means 37 moves this hook-shaped member 37a as shown in FIG.
Because it acts to move it to the left as in d),
The sleeve 38 slides to the left, and the optical fiber connecting members 10 and 11 are brought into a coupled state. At this point, the optical connector switching is completed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, this invention shortens the process required to switch optical connectors to the minimum necessary one process, making it possible to switch optical connectors in a short time, and minimizing the time during which optical communication is interrupted. have an effect. The roughly shortened stroke has the effect of simplifying the mechanism and making processing and manufacturing of the switching device easier. Therefore, the cost can be reduced economically.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical connector switching device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a process diagram showing optical connector switching, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of an optical connector holding method according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the holding means for an optical connector according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the switching device according to the invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a process diagram for explaining one embodiment of the switching device according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a front view showing the optical connector holding means used in the switching device shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a process diagram for explaining an embodiment of a hook-shaped member; FIG. 9 is a process diagram for explaining a conventional optical connector switching device; FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a main part showing a guide pin inserted state; 1st
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an optical connector used in a switching device according to the present invention. 1.2.5... Optical fiber connection member, 3, 4... Guide pin insertion hole, 6, 7... Optical fiber, 8... Fixing member, 9, 10.11... Optical fiber Connection member, 1
2.13.14.15.16... Connection member holding part, 1
7... Base, 18... Guide pin moving part, 19...
・Float mechanism, 20... High speed movement stage, 21.
...Rail stand, 22...Guide pin insertion part, 23...
・Fixing stand, 24... Optical fiber cable, 25...
Mouth-shaped holding member, 26... substantially U-shaped holding member, 27.
...Holding pin, 28...Substantially U-shaped suppression member, 29.3
0... Holding pin insertion hole, 31... Guide pin insertion hole, 34... End face of optical fiber, 35... Clamp member, 36... Guide pin, 37... Sleeve moving part, 38 ...Sleeve, 39...Fine movement stage. Patent applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Yoshiki Hase d
, Ω^
^
Q+. Optical connector holding method Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Optical connector switching device Fig. 5 Approximately U-shaped holding member shown in Fig. 5 Fig. 6 An embodiment of the hook-shaped member shown in Fig. 7 Fig. 8 (a) (b) ) Figure 10 Optical connector Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Of a pair of optical fiber connection members that are coupled to each other via a coupling member that is movable in the optical axis direction, one of the optical fiber connection members is moved, and the other optical fiber A switching device for an optical connector that is recombined with a connecting member, comprising: an optical fiber connecting member holding means that holds the pair of optical fiber connecting members and the other optical fiber connecting member; and an optical fiber connecting member holding means that holds the pair of optical fiber connecting members and the other optical fiber connecting member; A coupling member moving means that allows an optical fiber connection member to be moved in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis; and an optical fiber connection that moves the one optical fiber connection member along its coupling end surface to the front surface of the other optical fiber connection member. A member moving means, and a coupling member moving means for sliding the slid coupling member or a separately prepared coupling member to fix the one and other optical fiber connection members in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. An optical connector switching device characterized by: 2. Switching of the optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the coupling member is a rod-shaped guide pin, and each of the optical fiber connection members is formed with an insertion hole for inserting the guide pin. Device. 3. The optical connector switching device according to claim 1, wherein the coupling member is a sleeve attached to the outside of the optical fiber connecting member.