KR20040069075A - A connector for plastic optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A connector for use in a plastic optical fiber is provided to simplify the process as well as to easily implement the connection of the optical fiber. CONSTITUTION: A connector(1) for use in a plastic optical fiber includes a housing(10), a plastic optical fiber, a capsule(30) and a guide unit(40). The plastic optical fiber is connected to the one side of the housing(10). The capsule(30) is installed in such a way that it is contact to the polished plastic optical fiber in the housing(10) and a refractive index matching liquid is inserted into the capsule(30). And, the guide unit(40) is formed on the other side of the housing(10) for guiding the plastic optical fiber to be connected into the capsule(30) of the housing(10).

Description

Connector for plastic optical fiber {A connector for plastic optical fiber}

The present invention relates to a connector for a plastic optical fiber, and more particularly to a plastic optical fiber connector that can be easily connected to a branched optical fiber even without the expert knowledge or expertise.

Background Art With the rapid development of the information and communication field, optical fibers capable of transmitting and receiving large amounts of information in place of conventional copper wires are widely used. Currently, the optical fiber mainly used is a single-mode glass optical fiber made of silica, and has been applied for long distance transmission because of its excellent transmission characteristics and band characteristics. However, since the glass optical fiber is vulnerable to external impacts, only the backbone network operators who have professional knowledge and construction technology in laying and construction could be installed. In addition, in the short distance optical fiber installed in buildings and apartments, copper UTP cable has been used as a substitute because glass cores having a core diameter of only 8 to 9 μm are difficult to handle.

However, due to the recent rapid increase in the amount of information transmission, bottlenecks began to occur at the connection points between the optical fiber installed on the outside of the building and the copper wire installed in the building, and due to the limitation of the bandwidth of the copper wire, the copper wire in the indoor wiring section Plastic Optical Fibers (POFs) are starting to spotlight.

Plastic optical fibers are manufactured using polymers of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) series, and recently, fluorine-substituted polymers having excellent material dispersion characteristics have been used as materials. In terms of transmission loss, the transmission loss of the initial plastic optical fiber was thousands of dB / km, but now it is lowered to several tens of dB / km, and the use of single-mode optical fiber is not only in the 650nm area of the conventional single mode fiber but also in the 850nm area of the multimode optical fiber. The wavelength band can be used up to 1300 ~ 1500nm.

Due to the above advantages, plastic optical fibers are widely used in recent years for short-range networks. Unlike long-distance installations, short-range use means that there are many connections by frequent branching and connection. An optical connector is essential for the connection of branched optical fibers. One of the major components required in any optical system, the optical connector serves to connect two optical fibers or to connect optical fibers to the optical system, while protecting the optical fiber's cross section from physical damage and damaging the optical fiber during bonding and disassembly. It serves to prevent this from going.

A conventional optical fiber connector 1 for plastic optical fibers is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B, and FIG. 3 shows a process of coupling the optical fiber 2 to the connector 1.

Referring to the conventional optical connector structure with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3, in order to connect the optical fiber 2 to the connector 1, the end of the plastic optical fiber 2 must first be cut to a predetermined length to remove the coating. Preferably, the sheath is removed to a length such that the optical fiber is exposed to the outside when the optical fiber is pushed into the connector, and the optical fiber is coupled to the connector. And in the state which pushed the optical fiber 2 in the connector 1, it fixes to a connector firmly with the fixing pin 4 so that an optical fiber may not move. When the optical fiber is fixed to the connector, the length of the woman exposed to the outside of the connector is cut by a cutting device, and the optical connector is completed by heating and polishing the cut surface to align the optical axis.

As described above, in order to connect the conventionally branched optical fiber, quite a variety of additional equipment is required. For example, as a separate device, a cutter for cutting an optical fiber, a fixing pin and a connector fixing device used to fix the optical fiber to the connector, and a polishing device for polishing the cross section of the optical fiber are required. However, even if the equipment is well equipped, there is a problem that can not easily perform the connection of the branched optical fiber unless a skilled technician.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a connector for a plastic optical fiber and a method for manufacturing the optical fiber that can be connected to a branched optical fiber without anyone having a separate equipment easily.

The following drawings attached to this specification are illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the detailed description of the invention to serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention, the present invention is a matter described in such drawings It should not be construed as limited to.

1 is a perspective view of an optical connector according to the prior art.

2A and 2B illustrate coupling an optical fiber to an optical connector according to the prior art.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of coupling an optical fiber to an optical connector according to the prior art.

4 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of coupling an optical fiber to a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6A and 6B illustrate a process of coupling an optical fiber to a connector according to the present invention.

7A and 7B are enlarged views of the fixing part of the guide unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 7A is a state before coupling optical fibers, and FIG. 7B is a view showing a state after coupling optical fibers.

Figure 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state before coupling the optical fiber to the connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a side cross-sectional view showing after coupling the optical fiber to the optical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of the main references in the drawings>

1.Connector 10 .. Housing 20, 22. Fiber optic core

23. coated fiber 30. capsule 32. refractive index matching fluid

40..Guide part 41.Capsule accommodation part 42.Sleeve

43.

In order to achieve the above object, a connector for a plastic optical fiber according to the present invention is installed in a housing, a plastic optical fiber fixed to one side of the housing in a state in which the surface is polished, and in contact with the surface polished plastic optical fiber in the housing. And a guide portion which guides the capsule containing the refractive index matching fluid and a plastic optical fiber formed on the other side of the housing to be coupled to the capsule in the housing.

Preferably, the guide portion is formed with a projection so that the optical fiber is not easily pushed out, the projection includes a plurality of comb-like protrusions with respect to the direction to push the optical fiber. In addition, the refractive index matching fluid is a non-reactive material, the refractive index is the same as or similar to the core of the optical fiber, the material comprises one of glycerin, bromo benzene, bromo naphthalene, the capsule is easily driven by external force It is formed of a material such as polyethylene or polypropylene to be broken.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to the common or dictionary meanings, and the inventors should properly explain the concept of terms in order to explain their invention in the best way. Based on the principle that can be defined, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

4 is a perspective view showing the connector 1 for plastic optical fibers in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the drawings, the connector 1 of the present invention includes a housing 10, a plastic optical fiber core wire 20 fixed to one side of the housing 10, and the plastic optical fiber core wire inside the housing ( 20 is a capsule 30 containing the refractive index matching fluid 32 is installed in contact with the guide portion 40 is formed on the other side of the housing 10 to guide the plastic optical fiber to be coupled to the capsule 30 It is configured to include.

According to the present invention, the housing 10 is not limited to a specific shape in the connector for the optical fiber, and is generally used in step type and graded optical fibers including plastic optical fiber and plastic clad optical fiber. It has a form to which it applies.

In addition, the plastic optical fiber fixed to one side of the housing 10 is an uncoated optical fiber core wire 20, and is polished so that the cross section is perpendicular to the optical fiber axis in order to minimize the coupling loss.

In addition, a capsule 30 containing a refractive index matching fluid 32 is installed inside the housing 10. The capsule 30 is formed to be easily damaged by an external impact, the material is preferably polyethylene or polypropylene. In addition, the refractive index matching fluid 32 is a non-reactive substance which is the same as or similar to the central refractive index of the core, and is preferably composed of glycerin, bromobenzene, bromonaphthalene, or the like. Alternatively, a polymer resin may be employed, but in this case, polymerization may be incompletely present, resulting in unreacted monomers or bubbles.

According to the connector of the present invention, a guide portion 40 for guiding the sheathed optical fiber 23 to be introduced is formed in the housing 10. The guide portion 40 is again a capsule receiving portion 41 for receiving the capsule 30 containing the refractive index matching fluid 32, sleeve 42 for guiding the bent optical fiber is not bent during assembly and It is composed of a fixing portion 43 for fixing the coated optical fiber, wherein the sleeve 42 and the fixing portion 43 preferably forms a step as much as the coated thickness of the optical fiber. Therefore, the coated optical fiber introduced into the connector along the guide portion 40 has only the core wire portion from which the coating is removed to the sleeve 42, and the optical fiber 23 of the portion where the coating is not removed is naturally fixed by a step. Only the government 43 is received and fixed to the connector.

In addition, a protrusion 44 is formed on the fixing portion 43 of the guide portion 40 to hold the incoming optical fiber 22 so as not to fall out. At this time, preferably, the protrusion 44 is formed in the form of one or more comb-shaped protrusions in a direction in which the optical fiber 22 to be coupled is pushed to support the incoming optical fiber so as not to fall out.

Then, the operation of the connector for the plastic optical fiber having the above structure will be described.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of coupling an optical fiber to the connector 1 of the present invention. In addition, a state before the sheathed optical fiber 23 and the connector housing 10 are coupled is shown in FIG. 6A, and a state after the bonding is shown in FIG. 6B.

Referring to the operation with reference to the drawings, first, the coated optical fiber 23 exposes the core wire 22 by removing the coating before coupling to the housing 10. At this time, it is preferable that the length of the coated optical fiber 23 in which the coating is partially removed does not come into contact with the optical fiber core wire 20 formed on one side of the connector when the optical fiber is pushed into the housing so that the optical fiber is not refracted.

Subsequently, the optical fiber with the part of the coating removed is pushed into the housing 10 to join the optical fiber and the connector 1. For example, the exposed core 22 of the optical fiber enters the capsule receiving portion 41 and the sleeve 42 of the guide portion 40, and the coated optical fiber 23 is coupled to be caught by the fixing portion 43. This state is shown in FIG. 6B.

6B, the end of the optical fiber core wire 22 reaches the capsule accommodating part 41 through the inside of the connector, for example, the fixing part 43. At this time, since the breakable capsule 30 containing the refractive index matching fluid 32 is located in the capsule accommodating portion 41, the capsule 30 is destroyed at the same time as the optical fiber core wire 22 enters. As a result, the refractive index matching fluid 32 inside the broken capsule spreads inside the capsule accommodating portion 41 and evenly immerses the optical fiber core wire 22 introduced into the capsule accommodating portion 41. .

Therefore, even if the coated plastic optical fiber 23 is not cross-sectioned for optical axis alignment as in the prior art, the refractive index matching fluid 32 evenly surrounds the optical fiber, thereby suppressing the occurrence of light scattering or light loss. In addition, exposing the coating so that the coupling portion between the cross-sectioned optical fiber 20 and the incoming optical fiber core wire 22 is as close as possible reduces unnecessary mode dispersion.

7A and 7B are enlarged views of the fixing part 43. Referring to this, Figure 7a shows the shape of the projection 44 formed in the fixing portion before the optical fiber is pushed, the soft projection is formed to project perpendicular to the inner peripheral surface of the fixing portion 43. Here, the shape of the protrusion 44 is not particularly limited, and may be formed diagonally along the direction in which the optical fiber is pushed.

In addition, Figure 7b is a view showing a state in which the optical fiber is pushed into the connector, the projections 44 formed perpendicular to the inner peripheral surface of the fixing portion 43 forms a comb-shape while lying diagonally along the optical fiber entry direction. . As a result, it is easy to insert the optical fiber, but on the contrary, the resistance friction is large to pull out the optical fiber, so that the optical fiber does not fall easily.

8 and 9 are side cross-sectional views illustrating a coupling relationship between the connector 10 and the coated optical fiber 23 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, and the same reference numerals as those of FIGS. 6A and 6B perform the same function.

Referring to the drawings, the core wire 22 of the coated optical fiber 23 having an irregular longitudinal section without being subjected to cross-sectional processing unlike the conventional art is coupled to the connector and received up to the capsule accommodating portion 41 of the guide portion. The optical fiber core wire 22 inserted to the capsule accommodation portion 41 destroys the capsule 30 containing the refractive index matching fluid 32 and is impregnated by the refractive index matching fluid 32 in the capsule accommodation portion 41. The optical fiber core 22 is wrapped. Therefore, the optical fiber core wire 20 formed by cross-sectional polishing in the housing 10 of the connector in advance and the optical fiber core wire 22 drawn in from the outside are surrounded by the refractive index matching fluid 32 to be coupled.

According to the present invention, until now, when cutting a plastic optical fiber without a special tool, the cross section becomes very rough or inclined, which decreases the coupling efficiency when it is connected with other optical fibers, so that it is known that cross-sectional polishing is necessary when connecting optical fibers. . However, in the case of plastic optical fibers, since the incident light exhibits multimode behavior, scattering loss inevitably occurs due to the higher-order mode even if the surface is polished. Therefore, in the present invention, by impregnating the end face of the roughly cut optical fiber using a refractive index matching fluid 32 having a refractive index higher than that of the cladding of the plastic optical fiber and having a refractive index similar to that of the core, scattering loss of the refractive index is suppressed Can be suppressed as much as possible.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by the limited embodiment and drawing, this invention is not limited by this and is within the equal range of a common technical idea in the technical field to which this invention belongs, and a claim to be described below. Of course, various modifications and variations are possible.

According to the connector for a plastic optical fiber of the present invention and a method of manufacturing the same, by inserting a fluid that can match the refractive index into the connector there is no need to process the cut surface for optical axis alignment when coupling the optical fiber. Therefore, not only the process is simplified, but anyone can easily connect the optical fiber which only the skilled worker can do.

Claims (6)

housing; A plastic optical fiber fixed to one side of the housing while being polished in one end; A capsule installed inside the housing to contact the end face polished plastic optical fiber and containing a refractive index matching fluid; And And a guide part formed on the other side of the housing to guide the plastic optical fiber to be coupled to the capsule in the housing. The method of claim 1, The guide portion is a plastic optical fiber connector, characterized in that the projection is formed so that the pushed optical fiber is not easily pulled out. The method of claim 2, The projection is a plastic optical fiber connector, characterized in that formed in the form of a plurality of comb-like projections in the direction of pushing the optical fiber. The method of claim 1, The refractive index matching fluid is a non-reactive material, characterized in that the refractive index is the same as or similar to the core of the optical fiber connector for plastic optical fibers. The method of claim 1, The refractive index matching fluid is a connector for plastic optical fiber, characterized in that made of any one of glycerin, bromo benzene, bromo naphthalene. The method of claim 1, The capsule is a plastic optical connector, characterized in that made of a material such as polyethylene or polypropylene which is easily broken by an external force.