WO2009081964A1

WO2009081964A1 - Optical fiber connecting device and optical fiber connecting method

Info

Publication number: WO2009081964A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/073529
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoshinari Maeda
Original assignee: Nf Techno Summit Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-12-25
Filing date: 2008-12-25
Publication date: 2009-07-02
Also published as: JP2011117985A

Abstract

This object aims to provide an optical fiber connecting device that can suppress optical transmission loss such as micro-bending loss and can achieve an optical connection with low loss by relatively simple work. The optical fiber connecting device is provided with a rectangular base unit in which an optical fiber guiding path is defined along a longitudinal direction, a sleeve that is arranged at a part of the optical fiber guiding path defined in the base unit and in which exposed core members are connected with each other for performing optical communication, and a pair of fiber fixing knobs that are arranged at both edges of the base unit in the longitudinal direction and make the optical fiber guided in the optical fiber guiding path held in such a way that the fiber is pushed into the guiding path toward the sleeve, wherein the sleeve is arranged in the vicinity of one of the pair of the fiber fixing knobs and the fiber guiding path between the other end of the pair of the fiber fixing knobs and the sleeve guides the held optical fiber in a flexible state.

Description

Optical fiber connection device and optical fiber connection method

The present invention relates to an optical fiber connecting device for connecting optical fibers used for optical communication and an optical fiber connecting method using the connecting device.

As a method of connecting optical fibers, generally, a method of melting and welding the tip of an optical fiber, a method using a mechanical splice, and connector connection are used. The method using a mechanical splice is a method in which the tip ends of two optical fibers are butted together with a dedicated device without using a connector.

In connection of optical fibers when using mechanical splices, it is necessary to prevent connection loss due to optical axis misalignment and gaps on the connection surface, and various devices are used to prevent these. However, in a technique using a general mechanical splice, in addition to a device for connecting an optical fiber, a dedicated tool is required to install this device. Therefore, it is difficult to work in a high place or a place where a work yard cannot be secured sufficiently, and the work efficiency is low.

Also, in the optical fiber connection device in the prior art, since the force to hold the optical fiber is weak, most of them easily come off when pulled even with a slight force.

Thus, in Patent Document 1, an adapter is attached to the tip of two optical fibers, the optical axis is aligned by engaging the base and the adapter with a slide rail, and the optical fiber is connected. Is disclosed. According to this technique, an optical fiber can be connected by locking a base part and an adapter by a lever provided on the base part without using a dedicated tool.

Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for connecting the tips of optical fibers by attaching different connectors to the tips of two optical fibers and fitting them together. According to this technology, even if the other optical fiber is slightly moved back and forth due to the reaction of the pressure from one optical fiber, the connection in the sleeve is maintained by maintaining the bent state in the connector. Can do.

In addition, the optical fiber butted inside the sleeve installed in the center of the resin base is fixed at both ends of the resin base in a predetermined bending state by the press-extrusion fixing part, so that a dedicated tool is not required. There is also known an optical fiber connection device that enables optical connection with one device (see, for example, Patent Document 3). By using such an optical fiber connection device, the optical fiber is fixed in a bent state. Therefore, the optical connection state can be continued without using glass-containing resin with little temperature change as the resin used for the base.

JP-A-2005-31708 JP 2005-92125 A Japanese Patent No. 3784826

However, even in the optical fiber connecting device having the structure described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, a dedicated tool is not necessary for connecting the optical fiber, but a dedicated device must be attached to each optical fiber to be connected. I must. In addition, although resin is used for the connection device from the viewpoint of cost, it is necessary to bend the optical fiber because the expansion or contraction due to temperature change is larger than that of the optical fiber. In order to improve the characteristics of the optical connection, in order to minimize the bending, the material of the optical fiber connection device must use a glass-filled resin having a degree of expansion or contraction of the optical fiber. Therefore, there also arises a problem that the material selection range of the optical fiber connection device is narrow.

Further, in the technique of Patent Document 3, when an optical fiber is inserted into each sleeve for optical connection, a bent portion of the optical fiber having a relatively small curvature is easily formed, and so-called microbending loss is likely to occur. For this reason, since it is necessary to set the deflection to be small in advance, it is necessary to select an expensive resin having a small expansion coefficient, and in order to prevent the optical fiber from being cut by bending with a small curvature, the work is meticulous. Attention is needed.

In addition, the matching oil sealed in the sleeve for optical connection may be used with a different viscosity depending on the usage environment. For this reason, there are problems such as making it difficult to insert the optical fiber, and, when a slit for matching oil relief is provided, careful work is required to bring the fiber butting position into the slit range.

Therefore, in view of the above technical problems, the present invention can suppress an optical transmission loss such as a microbending loss, and can realize an optical connection with a low loss by a relatively simple operation and an optical fiber. An object is to provide a connection method.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, the optical fiber connection device of the present invention optically connects an optical fiber formed by covering a core material with a covering material by attaching the core materials exposed at the tip part thereof. An optical fiber connecting device for forming a rectangular base part in which an optical fiber guide path is formed along a longitudinal direction, and an exposed core member provided in a part of the optical fiber guide path formed in the base part A pair of fibers that are connected to each other and optically connected to each other, and a pair of fibers that are arranged at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the base portion and hold the optical fiber guided by the optical fiber guide path toward the sleeve A fixing knob, and the sleeve is disposed in the vicinity of one of the pair of fiber fixing knobs. Write to the optical fiber guide path between said sleeve is characterized by guiding a state deflection optical fibers to be held.

In the optical fiber connection device of the present invention having such a structure, the sleeve is disposed in the vicinity of one of the pair of fiber fixing knobs, and the optical fiber guide path between the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs and the sleeve is Since the optical fiber to be held is guided in a bent state, the optical fiber fixed to one of the pair of fiber fixing knobs is fixed with almost no bending, but is fixed to the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs. Since the distance between the fixing portion and the sleeve can be increased, the optical fiber can be fixed with a large deflection. Therefore, it is not necessary to hold the optical fiber in a shape with a small curvature, and optical transmission loss such as microbending loss can be suppressed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the optical fiber connection device of the present invention, the optical fiber guide path between the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs and the sleeve is extended in a curved shape. Since the optical fiber is arranged with bending in the optical fiber guide path, providing an optical fiber guide path extending in a curved shape prevents stress on the optical fiber itself and realizes a low-loss connection. Further, according to an example of the optical fiber connection device of the present invention, a lid portion is attached to the base portion so as to cover the optical fiber guide path formed in the base portion, and the fiber fixing knob attaches an optical fiber to the lid portion. It can be set as the structure which has the clamping part fixed by pressing.

The sleeve is a member that is optically connected by bringing exposed core materials together, and can be inserted by pushing in an optical fiber with the core material exposed from both ends. In such a sleeve, the inside of the introduction hole of the optical fiber can be filled with matching oil, and a slit may be formed in the optical fiber joint portion of the sleeve, and the slit is connected to the connection hole. The adhesive can be filled during assembly of the device.

In the optical fiber connection method of the present invention for solving the above technical problem, an optical fiber in which a core material is covered with a coating material is optically connected by attaching the core materials exposed at the tip part thereof. An optical fiber connection method for filling a matching oil into an optical fiber introduction hole of a sleeve incorporated in a part of an optical fiber guide path formed in a base portion, and introducing an optical fiber filled with the matching oil A step of inserting one of a pair of optical fibers to be optically connected into the hole so as to penetrate with the end portion exposed, and a step of returning the inserted optical fiber so that the end portion is at the optical joining position And a process of abutting the other end of the pair of optical fibers to be optically connected to one end of the optical fiber at the optical joining position. Characterized in that it.

According to the optical fiber connection method of the present invention, even if matching oil is present, the optical fiber is inserted into the insertion hole so as to penetrate once, so that a predetermined matching oil gap region is formed inside the insertion hole. The other optical fiber can be surely pushed into the insertion hole. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to insert the optical fiber from both sides so that the core members exposed at the tip end are attached to each other in accordance with the position of the slit.

According to the optical fiber connection device of the present invention, since the optical fiber fixed to the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs can increase the distance between the fixing portion and the sleeve, it is fixed with a relatively large deflection. be able to. Therefore, it is not necessary to hold the optical fiber in a shape with a small curvature, and optical transmission loss such as microbending loss can be suppressed. Moreover, since it becomes unnecessary to hold | maintain an optical fiber in the shape where a curvature becomes small, the operator can perform the connection operation | work simply.

According to the optical fiber connection method of the present invention, even if matching oil is present, the other optical fiber can be reliably pushed into the insertion hole thereafter. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to insert the optical fiber from the both ends so that the cores exposed at the tip end of the optical fiber are aligned with each other, and the operator can easily perform the optical connection work. .

It is a perspective view which shows the optical fiber connection device of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional side view of the optical fiber connecting device of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary figure of the fiber fixing knob of the optical fiber connecting device of one embodiment of the present invention, and is a figure showing the state before fixation. It is a fragmentary figure of the fiber fixing knob of the optical fiber connecting device of one embodiment of the present invention, and is a figure showing a mode at the time of fixation. It is process sectional drawing of the connection method using the optical fiber connection apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state before optical fiber insertion. It is process sectional drawing of the connection method using the optical fiber connecting device of one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which penetrated the optical fiber in the sleeve. It is process sectional drawing of the connection method using the optical fiber connecting device of one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which returned the optical fiber to the predetermined position. It is process sectional drawing of the connection method using the optical fiber connecting device of one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which inserted the other optical fiber. It is a sectional side view of the optical fiber connection device of other embodiments of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 This apparatus 11 Base part 12 Optical fiber guide path 13

Sleeves

14 and 15 Fiber fixing knobs 16 and 17 Optical fiber 18

Lid part

19 and 20

Opening part

21 and 22 Recessed part 23 Introduction hole 25 Engagement part 31 Optical fiber cable 32 Optical fiber core material 32t Tip Part 33 sleeve 34 introduction hole 35 taper 36 matching oil 42 concave part 43 sleeve 44 slit 45 adhesive 48 lid part

Preferred embodiments of the optical fiber connection device and the optical fiber connection method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber connection device of this embodiment. The device 10 is formed on a rectangular base portion 11 in which an optical fiber guide path 12 is formed along the longitudinal direction, and the base portion 11. Provided in a part of the optical fiber guide path 12 and disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 11 and the sleeve 13 for attaching the exposed core members together for optical connection. A pair of

fiber fixing knobs

14 and 15 for holding the

optical fibers

16 and 17 guided by the optical fiber guide path 12 so as to be pushed in, and a rectangular formed on the base portion by covering the upper surface side of the base portion 11. A lid 18 is provided so as to cover the shaped base 11.

The base portion 11 is made of synthetic resin such as polycarbonate or ABS having predetermined heat resistance and rigidity, and has a structure in which

fiber fixing knobs

14 and 15 are disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of a substantially rectangular casing. have. Opening

portions

19 and 20 for introducing

optical fibers

16 and 17 are provided at both ends of the base portion 11 in a state where the lid portion 18 is overlapped, and a position sandwiched between the base portion 11 and the lid portion 18. The

optical fibers

16 and 17 inserted through the

openings

19 and 20 are introduced into the circular sleeve 13 existing in FIG. Here, the position of the sleeve 13 is not near the center of the casing of the base portion 11 in the longitudinal direction, but is particularly close to one fiber fixing knob 15 and far from the other fiber fixing knob 14. That is, the sleeve 13 is disposed in the vicinity of one of the fiber fixing knobs 15 and the optical fiber guide path 12 between the other fiber fixing knob 14 and the sleeve 13 has a shape that draws a gentle curve in the side section as shown in FIG. And the optical fiber 16 held in the optical fiber guide path 12 is guided in a bent state.

The optical fiber guide path 12 is composed of a groove formed in the base portion 11, and when viewed from the top surface, the

openings

19 and 20 for introducing the

optical fibers

16 and 17 into the substantially center of the base portion 11 are linearly formed. It is extended to tie. When viewed from the side, the optical fiber guide path 12 extends horizontally from an opening 19 formed at one end of the base portion 11 substantially to the upper surface of the base portion 11 and is a fiber fixing knob. 14 passes through the fiber fixing knob 14 and is bent so as to gradually approach the bottom surface side to reach the lowest point 12b, and then gradually rises again to reach the upper surface holding point 12r. It has been extended to draw. From the upper surface holding point 12r, the optical fiber guide path 12 is extended substantially horizontally and inserted into the sleeve 13. The optical fiber guide path 12 on the side of the fiber fixing knob 15 from the sleeve 13 extends substantially horizontally, and the optical fiber 17 is linearly guided from the sleeve 13 to the outside of the apparatus and fixed by the fiber fixing knob 15. . Further, since the optical fiber can be bent depending on the shape of the optical fiber guide path 12, it can be applied in either the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

The optical fiber guide path 12 is covered with the sleeve 13 by a lid portion 18 provided so as to cover the base portion 11. The lid 18 is a plate made of synthetic resin such as polycarbonate or ABS having predetermined heat resistance and rigidity, and since it has transparency, the operation of inserting the optical fiber into the sleeve 13 is performed while visually observing. Can do. The upper half of the sleeve 13 is fitted into a rectangular recess 22 provided on the back surface of the lid 18, and the bottom half of the sleeve 13 is fitted into a rectangular recess 21 provided in the base 11.

The sleeve 13 is a member for optically connecting the pair of

optical fibers

16 and 17 inside thereof, and the inside of the optical fiber introduction hole 23 reduces the irregular reflection of the end face of the optical fiber called matching oil to reduce the connection loss. The liquid for injection is injected, and the

optical fibers

16 and 17 are connected inside the introduction hole 23 of the optical fiber. Use matching oils with a viscosity suitable for the usage environment. The introduction hole 23 of the sleeve 13 is a hole drilled in a substantially straight line, and the diameter thereof is slightly larger than the core material of the

optical fibers

16 and 17. Accordingly, as will be described later, one optical fiber 17 is incorporated in the sleeve 13 so as to pass through the introduction hole 23 and then returned, and then the other optical fiber 16 is abutted in the sleeve 13 so that reliable optical connection is performed. It will be. Tapers 24 are formed at both ends of the sleeve 13, and by pushing the pair of

optical fibers

16 and 17 toward the sleeve 13, the tip of the optical fiber is guided along the surface of the taper 24 into the introduction hole 23. The sleeve 13 is made of a ceramic material such as zirconia or a metal material such as nickel, iron, copper, cobalt, tungsten, or an alloy thereof in order to reduce connection loss.

Here, the optical fiber used in the optical fiber connection device 10 of the present embodiment will be briefly described. The optical fiber includes a core having a central portion with high light transmittance, and a covering material covering the core, for example, An optical fiber having a diameter of φ0.25 mm or φ0.9 mm is used. The diameter of the introduction hole 23 of the sleeve 13 is appropriately selected according to the diameter of the optical fiber to be introduced. The optimum inner diameter of the sleeve is φ0.1252 mm to φ0.1258 mm for quartz fiber with a diameter of 0.125 mm, and there are types such as φ0.23 mm and φ0.5 mm for POF (plastic fiber). A value obtained by adding φ0.002 mm to φ0.008 mm to the diameter, more preferably a value obtained by adding φ0.0002 mm to φ0.0008 mm, is preferably used as the inner diameter of the sleeve.

The pair of

optical fibers

16 and 17 are fixed to the apparatus 10 by

fiber fixing knobs

14 and 15, respectively. Specifically, the

optical fibers

16 and 17 are supported by the

fiber fixing knobs

14 and 15 so as to be abutted inside the sleeve 13. . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fiber fixing knob 14 has a rotating piece 14a that rotates about a quarter of a circle around a rotating fulcrum 14c. A hook 14m for engaging with an engaging portion 25 fixed to the base portion 11 is provided at the tip of the rotating piece 14a. A frictional portion 14f is provided at the base end of the rotating piece 14a so as to contact the optical fiber 16 and push the optical fiber 16 toward the sleeve by frictional force. The hook 14m of the rotating piece 14a is engaged with the engaging portion 25. 4, the optical fiber 16 is fixed in such a manner that the friction portion 14f pushes the optical fiber 16 into the lid portion 18 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the optical fiber 16 is pushed to the sleeve side as the rotating piece 14a rotates, the optical fiber 16 is pushed to the sleeve side slightly from the point where the friction portion 14f is engaged with the optical fiber 16. The optical fiber 16 is fixed, and the optical fibers are abutted in the sleeve with such a force in the sleeve direction. At the time of this connection operation, the optical fiber 16 is inserted into the sleeve 13 to push out excess matching oil, returned to a fixed position and fixed with the fiber fixing knob 14, and then the optical fiber 17 is abutted within the sleeve 13 and is fixed with the fiber fixing knob 15. By fixing, necessary deflection is automatically generated. At this time, the optical fiber 17 is fed by an amount that causes the fiber fixing knob 15 to bend, and the optical fiber 16 is fixed by bending. The engaging portion 25 is a member for engaging with the distal end portion of the hook 14m that is elastically deformed as a result of the rotating piece 14a rotating, and is formed by projecting a part of the base portion 11. When the hook 14m is engaged with the engaging portion 25, the fiber fixing knob 14 is locked. However, when the operator releases the engagement between the engaging portion 25 and the hook 14m, the fiber fixing knob 14 is fixed to the optical fiber 16. Thus, the operation such as removing the optical fiber 16 from the apparatus or fixing it again can be performed.

In the optical fiber connection device of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the sleeve 13 is positioned closer to one optical fiber fixing knob 15, and the length of the optical fiber guide path 12 is longer on the other optical fiber fixing knob 14 side. Therefore, the optical connection can be realized while suppressing the microbending loss of the optical fiber 16 inserted into the optical fiber guide path 12. On the other hand, the optical fiber fixing knob 15 is a short distance, but is linear and has no bent portion, so that the loss of light transmission is minimized. Further, since the deflection occurs only on the other optical fiber fixing knob 14 side, the optical connection work is simplified and the working time is shortened compared to the case where both sides of the sleeve 13 are bent.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 8, the operation of inserting the optical fiber into the sleeve using the optical fiber connection device according to the present invention will be described in the order of steps. First, as shown in FIG. 5, an optical fiber cable 31 from which the covering material is removed near the tip end portion 32t and the optical fiber core member 32 is exposed, and a sleeve 33 for optically connecting a pair of optical fibers inside are prepared. The sleeve 33 is fixed by being sandwiched between the base portion and the lid portion as described above, but is not shown in FIGS. 5 to 8. An introduction hole 34 is formed inside the sleeve 33 so as to be longitudinally cut in the longitudinal direction, and tapered portions 35 for guiding the optical fiber to the introduction hole 34 are also formed at both ends of the sleeve 33. Matching oil 36 is previously sealed in the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33 in order to suppress light loss during connection. When stripping the optical fiber core 32 of the optical fiber cable 31, the coating material around the tip 32t can be removed by using a tool such as a fiber stripper, for example, and the stripped portion is dipped in alcohol. Rub and wash with paper or non-woven cloth. The tip 32t of the optical fiber cable 31 is cut cleanly using a fiber cutter.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, one optical fiber cable 31 is inserted into the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33. At this time, in the conventional connection method, since the optical connection is finally made near the center of the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33, the tip 32t is simply inserted to the vicinity of the center, but in this embodiment, One optical fiber cable 31 is inserted so that the tip end portion 32 t penetrates the sleeve 33. By operating the tip 32t of the first optical fiber so as to penetrate the sleeve 33 in this way, excess matching oil 36 introduced into the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33 is pushed out of the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33. Will be.

After inserting the sleeve 33 so as to penetrate, the tip 32t of the optical fiber cable 31 is returned to a predetermined position in the sleeve 33 as shown in FIG. As a result, the matching oil 36 remains on the inner wall of the introduction hole 34 inside the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33, but a gap is formed by the passage of the optical fiber core material 32 of the optical fiber cable 31. . When the distal end portion 32t of the optical fiber cable 31 is returned to a predetermined position in the sleeve 33, the rotating portion of the fiber fixing knob is operated and the optical fiber cable 31 is fixed in such a manner that it is pressed against the lid portion.

Next, when the other optical fiber 38 to be abutted inside the sleeve 33 is introduced by inserting the core member 37 into the sleeve 33, the tip end portion 32t and the tip end portion 37t are connected to the sleeve 33 as shown in FIG. These are abutted in the vicinity of the center of the optical fiber to achieve a desired optical connection. At this time, when the core member 37 of the optical fiber 38 is inserted into the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33, it has already been operated so as to penetrate the optical fiber cable 31, so that the matching oil 36 inside the introduction hole 34 has a gap. The core material 37 of the optical fiber 38 can be smoothly guided into the introduction hole 34.

In the case where a relatively large amount of matching oil having a relatively high viscosity is left in the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33 as in the prior art, the matching oil escapes by inserting optical fibers from both sides of the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33. In this method, the optical fiber cable 31 is inserted into the introduction hole 34 of the sleeve 33. However, in the method of the present embodiment, it is difficult to insert the optical fiber and a slit for releasing the matching oil is required. By operating so as to penetrate, a gap is formed in the matching oil 36 inside the introduction hole 34, and the core member 37 of the optical fiber 38 can be smoothly introduced even with the matching oil 36 having a high viscosity. 34, and the working efficiency is high. In other words, since the focus of work can be focused on the low loss in the optical connection rather than the optical connection itself, the method of the present embodiment can easily perform a highly accurate connection work.

FIG. 9 is an example of an optical fiber connection device according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, members having the same functions as those of the optical fiber connection device of the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 2 are assigned the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted here. In particular, in the optical fiber connection device according to the present embodiment, regarding the structural portion different from the previous device, the sleeve 43 has a structure having a slit 44 for allowing the matching oil to escape, and the slit 44 is filled with an adhesive 45. Is a point.

That is, the sleeve 43 is disposed in the vicinity of one of the fiber fixing knobs 15, and the optical fiber guide path 12 between the other fiber fixing knob 14 and the sleeve 43 has a gentle curve in the side cross section as shown in FIG. The optical fiber 16 extended in the shape and guided by the optical fiber guide path 12 in a bent state, and the optical fiber 17 between the other fiber fixing knob 15 supports a short distance substantially linearly. The tip portions of the

optical fibers

16 and 17 are abutted near the center of the sleeve 43, whereby optical connection is performed. A slit 44 is provided in communication with the concave portion 42 of the lid portion 48 and the sleeve 43 so as to open a joint portion where the tip portions of the

optical fibers

16 and 17 are abutted with each other. The slit 44 can be filled by filling the adhesive 45 after completion of the butt. For this reason, after the assembly, the strength of the optical connecting portion is maintained, and the occurrence of loss in the optical connecting portion is prevented in advance.

Various adhesives 45 can be used as the adhesive 45 introduced into the slit 44. From the viewpoint of heat resistance, the same synthetic resin material as that of the lid portion 48 as a housing, epoxy, other resin materials, or Phenol, other thermosetting resins, etc. can also be used. If a silicone adhesive having the same function as that of the matching oil is used, the optical fiber can be inserted into the sleeve 43 without enclosing the matching oil, thereby further facilitating the work.

As described above, even in the structure in which the adhesive 45 is introduced into the slit 44 in the optical connection portion, the position of the sleeve 43 is closer to one optical fiber fixing knob 15, and the optical fiber guide path is on the other optical fiber fixing knob 14 side. Since the length 12 can be made long, the optical connection can be realized while suppressing the microbending loss of the optical fiber 16 inserted into the optical fiber guide path 12. Although one optical fiber fixing knob 15 is a short distance, it is linear and has no bent portion, so light transmission loss is suppressed as much as possible, and bending occurs on the other optical fiber fixing knob 14 side. Therefore, the optical connection work can be simplified and the working time can be shortened as compared with the case where both sides of the sleeve are bent. In addition, since the optical fiber connecting device is a small device that does not use a dedicated tool for connection, a large number of devices can be connected in a small space. *

In the above-described embodiment, the

fiber fixing knobs

14 and 15 for fixing the optical fiber by turning the rotating piece to fix the optical fiber have been described. However, the optical fiber is fixed by a structure that applies a pressing force of another structure to the optical fiber. It may be a thing. Further, although the base portion has a rectangular shape, the shape is not particularly limited to a rectangular shape, and may be a polygonal column shape or a cylindrical shape, for example.

Claims

An optical fiber connecting device for optically connecting an optical fiber formed by covering a core material with a covering material by attaching the core materials exposed at the tip of the optical fiber,
A base part in which an optical fiber guide path is formed along the longitudinal direction;
A sleeve provided in a part of the optical fiber guide path formed in the base portion, for attaching the exposed core members together for optical connection;
A pair of fiber fixing knobs arranged at both ends of the base portion in the longitudinal direction and holding the optical fiber guided by the optical fiber guide path toward the sleeve so as to be pushed in;
The sleeve is disposed in the vicinity of one of the pair of fiber fixing knobs, and the optical fiber guide path between the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs and the sleeve guides the held optical fiber in a bent state. Optical fiber connection device.
2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber guide path between the other of the pair of fiber fixing knobs and the sleeve is extended in a curved shape.
A cover part is attached to the base part so as to cover the optical fiber guide path formed in the base part, and the fiber fixing knob has a holding part for fixing the optical fiber by pressing it against the cover part. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein
2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber introduction hole of the sleeve is filled with matching oil when the optical fibers are joined.
5. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 4, wherein a slit is formed in an optical fiber joint portion of the sleeve.
2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the slit is filled with an adhesive during assembly.
2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber is a silica-based fiber, and the inner diameter of the sleeve has a diameter obtained by adding 0.0002 to 0.0008 mm to the outer diameter of the optical fiber to be inserted.
An optical fiber connection method for optically connecting an optical fiber formed by covering a core material with a covering material by attaching together the core materials exposed at the tip of the optical fiber,
Filling a matching oil into the introduction hole of the optical fiber of the sleeve incorporated in a part of the optical fiber guide path formed in the base part;
A step of inserting one of a pair of optical fibers to be optically connected into the introduction hole of the optical fiber filled with the matching oil so that the end portion is exposed; and
Returning the inserted optical fiber so that the end thereof is at the optical joining position;
And a step of abutting the other end portion of the pair of optical fibers to be optically connected to one end portion of the optical fiber at the optical joining position.
A pair of fiber fixing knobs for holding the optical fiber guided in the optical fiber guide path so as to be pushed in are provided, and the operation of abutting the optical fiber when abutting the other end of the pair of optical fibers is the fiber fixing 9. The optical fiber connection method according to claim 8, wherein the optical fiber connection method is performed by operating a knob.
The optical fiber connection device according to claim 3, wherein the lid portion is transparent so that a bent state after connection can be visually confirmed.
The optical fiber connection method according to claim 9, wherein the pair of fiber fixing knobs provided in the optical fiber guide path can be reset after visually confirming the joining state.
2. The optical fiber connection device according to claim 1, wherein a microbending loss is reduced by providing a single guide path for guiding the optical fiber in a bent state.