KR100256668B1 - Automatic measurement device and method of ferrule for multi-core optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An automatic measurement device and a method of ferrule for a multi-core optical connector are provided to automatically measure various geometrical factors of the multi-core optical connector using a non-contact coordinate measuring machine, a measuring jig, a coaxial illuminator and a rear projection illuminator. CONSTITUTION: A coordinate measuring machine(11) is moved along X, Y, Z axises by external drive force, and is connected to an outer PC. A jig(12) is seated on the coordinate measuring machine(11) and has a central groove for clamping a ferrule sample(10). A rear projection illuminator(16) is mounted under the jig(12) to project light so that the diameter and center position of an optical fiber hole formed in the ferrule sample(10) can be measured. A coaxial illuminator(17) is mounted to be separated from the top surface of the jig(12) to project light so that the sides and angle of the ferrule sample(10) can be measured.

Description

Ferrule automatic measuring device and method for multi-core optical connector

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic measuring device and method for measuring ferrules for multi-core optical connectors for automatically measuring non-alignment factors of ferrules for multi-core optical connectors using a non-contact three-dimensional measuring device. The present invention relates to an automatic ferrule measuring apparatus and a measuring method for a multi-core optical connector capable of automatically measuring a.

In recent years, as the development of science and technology requires human beings to receive more information, light has been used to transmit a lot of information at once as a communication means for receiving various information. The transmission of information by light also requires more capacity and high speed in order to utilize multimedia technologies such as voice, data, and moving images, and thus, the optical cable, which is a transmission medium, is being converted from the current single-centered to multi-centered.

Optical cable has a short circuit for difficulty in manufacturing technology and proper network configuration, and this short circuit must be connected to maintain the optical path, and the optical fiber connection must be made very precisely to minimize loss. As such a connection method, the optical connector used in the place where permanent connection by a connector and repeated detachment is currently used is used. Although the loss characteristics of the multi-core optical connector are slightly worse than those of the multi-core optical connector, the multi-core optical connector is advantageous in terms of flexibility in application and connection time of the optical cable.

Until now, multi-core optical connectors have been implemented by basic alignment principles such as overlapping single cores, forming V grooves on silicon substrates, and inserting optical fibers into precisely formed fine holes.

Multi-core optical connector is to ensure the continuity of the optical fiber by using the geometrical precision of the ferrule, so a technique that can automatically measure these geometric elements with a precision of 0.1㎛ class is required. The geometric elements to be measured on the connection surface of the multi-core optical connector, that is, the misalignment factors, include diameter and pitch for circular holes, relative position from the alignment reference plane, width and height of the ferrule, etc. to be. For these measurements, a measuring method using a contact coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is generally commercialized, and in this case, since the diameter of the circular hole is formed to a small value of 125 μm, a measuring probe (Probe ) Is impossible to insert. In addition, since the measurement object has various dimensions ranging from 0.1 μm to several mm, while measurement accuracy is required to be about 0.1 μm, it is necessary to link the precision stage to the measurement using optical microscope and computer vision among several possible measurement methods. It is known to be the most suitable.

As described above, the purpose of the optical connector is to maintain the optical path using the structure (ferrule) of the ferrule for the multi-core optical connector, that is, the broken optical path with a very precise manufacturing, and the multi-core optical connector is a Main purpose is to maintain the optical path to the optical fiber at the same time. The geometrical elements of these ferrules are directly related to the optical connector characteristics, and the precision of the ferrule and the characteristics of the optical connector have the same correlation. For this reason, in order to develop and secure a multi-core optical connector, a measurement technology of less than 1/10 of the optical connector manufacturing precision should be secured.

In addition, the characteristics of multi-core optical connectors using ferrules, which are structures with precisely shaped micro-holes, depend on the geometric precision of ferrules, so accurate measurement of these misalignment elements is the key to ferrule production technology, and the optical properties are predicted in advance. It is a key technology to see.

As a conventional technique for measuring the optical properties of the ferrule, a method of measuring the diameter and the relative center position of the optical fiber hole by using the illumination is proposed. However, the above method has a problem in that it is difficult to measure the distance or angle to the side of the ferrule serving as the misalignment factor.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the non-contact three-dimensional measuring instrument, the measuring jig, the coaxial illumination, and the illumination illumination method of various geometric elements of the multi-core optical connector using precisely molded fine holes (ferrules). It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ferrule measuring apparatus and measuring method for a multi-core optical connector to measure automatically by using a.

In addition, the present invention measures the diameter and the relative center position of the optical fiber hole of the ferrule specimen using the irradiation light, and irradiates light to the jig surface fixing the specimen using coaxial illumination and the side and angle of the specimen through the reflection thereof Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic measuring device and a method for measuring ferrules for multi-core optical connectors, which enable the measurement to predict optical characteristics before assembly of the optical connector.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a configuration of a ferrule specimen for measurement according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the stage and the probe of the three-dimensional measuring instrument used in the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment configuration of an automatic measurement device for ferrules for multi-core optical connector according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a jig for automatic measurement of the ferrule specimen according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: optical fiber hole 10: ferrule specimen

11: 3D measuring machine 12: jig

15: glass 16: boat illumination

17: coaxial lighting

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a three-axis movement means moving in the X, Y, Z axis by a driving force provided from the outside, and connected to an external computer; A jig placed on an upper portion of the three-axis moving means and having a groove formed at a center thereof so as to insert and fix the ferrule specimen to protrude; Emission illumination means mounted on a lower portion of the jig to project light to measure a diameter and a center position of the optical fiber hole formed in the ferrule specimen; And it provides a ferrule automatic measuring device for a multi-core optical connector comprising a coaxial illumination means for projecting light so as to be mounted at a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the jig to measure the side and angle of the ferrule specimen.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of placing the jig on the Y-axis stage of the three-dimensional measuring machine moving in the X, Y, Z axis; Inserting and fixing the ferrule to protrude into the groove of the jig; Measuring the diameter and relative center position of the optical fiber hole by transmitting the light projected from the irradiation light mounted to the lower part of the jig groove through the glass into the optical fiber hole of the ferrule specimen; Converting from the illumination to the coaxial illumination after the step, and moving the Y-axis stage from the optical fiber hole measurement of the ferrule specimen to the side measurement position according to the design value of the input ferrule specimen; Projecting light mounted on the upper surface of the jig at a predetermined distance; And reflecting the projected light on the jig surface provides a method for automatically measuring the ferrule for multi-core optical connector comprising the step of measuring the side distance and angle of the ferrule specimen.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention;

Ferrule automatic measurement apparatus and measuring method for a multi-core optical connector according to the present invention is implemented by measuring the geometric elements of the multi-core optical connector with a single measuring instrument to predict the optical characteristics before assembly of the optical connector, Figure 1 As shown in the cross-sectional view of the ferrule specimen shown in FIG. 10, the ferrule specimen 10 has a structure in which a chamfer surface of a predetermined size is formed on both sides thereof. In addition, the diameter of the hole 1 equal to the number of the optical fibers to be connected (c1 to c8), the central position, the distance between the centers (pitch), and the optical fiber holes from one surface of the ferrule specimen to the measurement element of the ferrule specimen 10. The distance 2, the length of the chamfer surface 3 of the ferrule specimens, the width 5 of the ferrule and the height 4 from the bottom surface to the center of the optical fiber hole are shown in FIG. Automatic measurement can be made with (11).

The three-dimensional measuring instrument 11 performs an X-axis frame 6 for performing X-axis movement, a Y-axis frame 7 for performing Y-axis movement, and a Z-axis movement as shown in FIG. It consists of a Z-axis frame (9) equipped with (8), and is connected to an external computer.

The configuration of the measuring device using the three-dimensional measuring device 11 for the non-aligned elements of the ferrule specimen 10 as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, a jig 12 is disposed on an upper surface of the Y-axis frame 7 of the three-dimensional measuring instrument 11 and fixes the ferrule specimen 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the jig 12 has a groove 12b having the same shape as the ferrule specimen 10 so that the ferrule specimen 10 is inserted therein, and the projection 13 is fitted to the projection 13. A ferrule fixing piece 12a of two parts to be fixed, a supporting piece 14 mounted on both sides of the bottom surface of the ferrule fixing piece 12a, and a glass which is attached to the lower part of the supporting piece 14 to transmit the illumination It consists of 15.

Here, the ferrule specimen 10 fitted into the groove 12b of the ferrule fixing piece 12a has a structure that is mounted to protrude by a predetermined size, and the surface of the jig 12 in the present embodiment is light It has a roughness of the mirror surface that can reflect, so that the light can be reflected smoothly.

In order to measure the diameter and relative center position of the optical fiber hole 1 formed in the ferrule specimen 10 on the lower side of the glass 15, the light emitted from the light source 16a and the light source 16a is condensed. The illuminating light 16 which consists of the lens 16b projecting by (15) is mounted.

In addition, the coaxial illumination 17 is mounted at a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the jig 12 to measure the side and angle of the ferrule specimen 10. The coaxial illumination 17 is a light emitting source 17a. And a mirror 17b for converting the path of the light projected from the light emitting source 17a in the 90 ° direction, and a lens 17c for condensing the light reflected through the mirror 17b and projecting the light onto the jig 12. It is composed of At this time, the light projected from the lens 17c is reflected from the jig-like surface and is projected to the side of the ferrule specimen 10 so that the side angle of the ferrule can be measured.

The measurement method using the ferrule measuring apparatus for a multi-core optical connector configured as described above is as follows.

In the ferrule structure as shown in FIG. 1, the ferrule element is measured using a three-dimensional measuring instrument 11 connected to a computer and a jig 12 that fixes the ferrule specimen 10 to measure objects related to holes and sides. do.

For this purpose, the ferrule specimen 10 whose primary end surface is polished is fixed to the jig 12, but the measurement cross section of the ferrule specimen 10 is mounted so as to slightly protrude from the jig 12 surface. Further, a hexagonal groove having the same shape as the ferrule specimen 10 is formed so that the jig has polarity so that the ferrule specimen 10 to be measured always has the same measurement order. In addition, the bottom surface of the ferrule specimen 10 is in contact with the glass 15 to enable the illumination of the light mounted on the lower portion of the glass (15).

In addition, the surface of the jig 12 has a mirror roughness, so that the light irradiated by the coaxial illumination 17 is reflected to capture an image of the side of the ferrule specimen 10. The jig 12 fixed with the measurement target ferrule specimen 10 is placed on the upper end of the X, Y Z-axis frames 6, 7, 9 of the 3D measuring instrument 11, and measurement starts. When the light is irradiated from the bottom of the ferrule specimen 10 by using the illumination light 16 and the image of the upper end of the ferrule specimen 10 is obtained through a CCD camera installed in a probe (not shown), only the optical fiber hole 1 receives light. This visible and the remaining part of the ferrule specimen 10 is not visible, so that the measurement elements associated with each optical fiber hole 1 can be measured through non-contact image analysis of these circles, and thus all the holes are measured sequentially. When the measurement related to the optical fiber hole 1 is finished, the illumination is changed from the illumination illumination 16 to the coaxial illumination 17, and acquires a side image. At this time, the stage is automatically moved from the hole measurement of the ferrule to the side measurement position by the design value of the ferrule specimen 10 inputted in advance for the automatic measurement of the measurement element. In the above measurement method, since the brightness of the lighting is a very important factor in the measurement, it is possible to design the lighting in consideration of the optimal image acquisition.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and drawings, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent to those who have

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to measure all of the measuring elements of the ferrule to be measured within the same measuring instrument and at the same measuring probe and to measure these measuring elements automatically using a computer connected to a precision three-dimensional measuring instrument. Can be.

When the optical fiber hole and side measurement of the ferrule are completed in two stages, the design value of the measured object and the measured value of the actual measured object are automatically compared. It is passed on to the optical connector assembly process. By doing so, it is possible to economically obtain many effects by judging by using information on the geometrical precision of the measured object to be molded before assembling that the prior art can only judge good and bad through assembly.

Claims (8)

3-axis moving means moving in the X, Y, Z axis by the driving force provided from the outside and connected to the external computer; A jig placed on an upper portion of the three-axis moving means and having a groove formed at a center thereof so as to insert and fix the ferrule specimen to protrude; Emission illumination means mounted on a lower portion of the jig to project light to measure a diameter and a center position of the optical fiber hole formed in the ferrule specimen; And Coaxial lighting means for projecting light so as to be mounted at a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the jig to measure the side and angle of the ferrule specimen Ferrule automatic measuring device for a multi-core optical connector comprising a. The method of claim 1, And said illuminating light means comprises a light emitting source, a lens for condensing the light projected from said light source, and a glass for transmitting the light projected from said lens to an optical fiber hole of a ferrule specimen. The method of claim 1, The ferrule automatic measuring device for a multi-core optical connector having a roughness of the mirror surface that the jig surface can reflect light. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The coaxial lighting means A light emitting source, a mirror for converting the path of the light projected from the light source in the 90 ° direction, and a lens for converging the light reflected through the mirror and projecting to the jig image surface. Placing a jig on the Y-axis stage of the 3D measuring instrument moving in the X, Y, and Z axes; Inserting and fixing the ferrule to protrude into the groove of the jig; Measuring the diameter and relative center position of the optical fiber hole by transmitting the light projected from the irradiation light mounted to the lower part of the jig groove through the glass into the optical fiber hole of the ferrule specimen; Converting from the illumination to the coaxial illumination after the step, and moving the Y-axis stage from the optical fiber hole measurement of the ferrule specimen to the side measurement position according to the design value of the input ferrule specimen; Projecting light mounted on the upper surface of the jig at a predetermined distance; And Reflecting the projected light onto a jig image to measure side distances and angles of the ferrule specimens; Ferrule automatic measurement method for a multi-core optical connector comprising a. The method of claim 5, Fixing the ferrule in the groove of the jig A process in which the ferrule specimen to be measured is manufactured in a hexagonal shape in which chamfers of a predetermined size are formed on both sides of the ferrule specimen so that the ferrule specimens always have the same measurement order, and the groove formed in the jig has the same shape as the ferrule specimen. Ferrule automatic measurement method for a multi-core optical connector further comprising a. The method of claim 5, Measuring the diameter and relative center position of the optical fiber hole A method for automatically measuring ferrules for multi-core optical connectors, comprising: acquiring an image of light passing through an optical fiber hole of a ferrule specimen and measuring the non-contact image; The method of claim 5, Measuring the side distance and angle of the ferrule specimen A method for automatically measuring ferrules for multi-core optical connectors, comprising: acquiring an image of light passing through a side of a ferrule specimen and measuring the non-contact image;

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