JP2005352274A - Optical fiber connection member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber connecting member capable of surely inserting a connecting optical fiber to a connecting position and performing a connecting operation reliably.
An optical fiber connecting member 10 according to the present invention includes a substrate 20 for positioning a coated portion 12 of an optical fiber 11 and a glass fiber portion 13 from which an end coating has been removed, and a coated portion disposed on the substrate 20. 12 and a pressing plate 30 that presses the glass fiber portion 13 toward the substrate 20, and a storage portion 22 that stores the coating portion 12 of the optical fiber 11 is provided on the substrate 20 and the pressing plate 30. A fixing portion provided on the entrance side of the optical fiber 11 in the insertion direction and provided with a pressing portion 22b for fixing the covering portion 12, and a fixing portion on the front side of the fixing portion in the insertion direction so as to accommodate the end portion of the covering portion 12 An enlarged portion having a larger space is formed. The enlarged portion is provided by forming a recess 22 a in the presser plate 30.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber connecting member for connecting optical fibers to each other.

  As an optical fiber connection member for connecting optical fibers inexpensively and easily, the end faces of the optical fibers are set to face each other on a substrate on which a V-groove is formed, and are aligned and fixed by a mechanical structure. There are known mechanical splices (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). An example of the structure of the mechanical splice is shown in FIG. A cross-sectional view thereof is shown in FIG.

  A mechanical splice 51 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 holds and fixes the glass fiber portion 53 from above the substrate 55 on which the V-groove 54 for aligning the glass fiber portion 53 of the optical fiber 52 is formed. A pressing plate 56 and a clamp member 57 that clamps and fixes the substrate 55 and the pressing plate 56 from above and below are provided.

  When connecting the optical fiber 52 to the V-groove 54, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the wedge 59 is inserted into the wedge insertion groove 58 between the substrate 55 and the holding plate 56 and spread. After the optical fiber 2 is inserted into the gap from both sides and the glass fiber portions 53 are butted together, the wedge 59 is pulled out as shown in FIG. The inserted optical fiber 52 is pressed and fixed by the holding plate 56, and the optical fibers 52 butted on the V-groove 54 are connected to each other.

JP 2002-22997 A JP 2003-14969 A

  By the way, in the mechanical splice 51 as described above, the coating of the tip portion of the optical fiber to be connected is cut and removed. It is common to cut by force, and the end cross-sectional shape of the coating may be deformed by the shearing force applied at that time to become non-circular and the diameter may increase. Therefore, when the optical fiber is inserted between the V-groove of the substrate and the holding plate, the non-circular coated portion is clogged between the substrate and the holding plate before the tip of the glass fiber portion reaches the connection position. In some cases, the glass fiber portions could not be brought into contact with each other.

  Further, when the opening amount of the clamp member is increased so as to insert the optical fiber as far as it goes, the optical fiber may be detached from the V-groove and may not be positioned within the positioning tolerance, which is not preferable.

  The objective of this invention is providing the optical fiber connection member which can insert the optical fiber to connect reliably to a connection position, and can perform a connection operation | work reliably.

  An optical fiber connecting member according to the present invention capable of solving the above-mentioned problems is arranged on a substrate for positioning a coated portion of an optical fiber having a coating and a glass fiber portion from which the coating of the end portion is removed, and the substrate. A holding plate for holding the covering portion and the glass fiber portion toward the substrate is provided, and a storage portion for storing the covering portion of the optical fiber is provided on the substrate and the holding plate, A fixing portion that is on the entrance side of the optical fiber in the insertion direction and fixes the covering portion, and a space that is on the front side in the insertion direction than the fixing portion and that is larger than the fixing portion to accommodate the end portion of the covering portion. An enlarged portion is formed.

  According to the optical fiber connecting member configured as described above, the glass fiber portion from which the coating of the end portion is removed and the optical fiber having the coating portion are inserted between the substrate and the holding plate, The covering portion is housed in a housing portion provided on the substrate and the holding plate, and the glass fiber portion is pressed and fixed by the holding plate while being positioned on the substrate. Then, the insertion portion entrance side portion of the covering portion is fixed at a fixing portion provided in the insertion direction entrance portion of the optical fiber in the storage portion, and the front portion of the covering portion in the insertion direction is inserted of the optical fiber in the storage portion. It is stored in the enlarged portion provided in the front portion in the direction. Since this enlarged portion has a larger space than the fixed portion, even if the end portion of the coated portion of the optical fiber is deformed at the time of coating removal and becomes non-circular, for example, the coated portion is the same as the substrate. The tip of the glass fiber portion can be reliably inserted to the connection position without clogging and being caught between the presser plates. Therefore, the optical fiber can be reliably connected.

  Moreover, the optical fiber connection member which concerns on this invention WHEREIN: It is preferable that the recessed part for forming the said enlarged part is provided in the said press plate. In order to form the enlarged portion, it is possible to easily provide the enlarged portion with a simple shape by forming a recess in the holding plate, rather than changing the shape of the substrate having the optical fiber positioning shape.

  In the optical fiber connecting member according to the present invention, it is preferable that the depth of the concave portion is 0.1 mm or more and 0.4 mm or less. The optical fiber connecting member configured in this way, for example, when connecting an optical fiber whose outer diameter is 0.9 mm, properly accommodates in the enlarged portion without clogging the deformed portion of the coating in the accommodating portion. can do.

  Moreover, the optical fiber connection member which concerns on this invention WHEREIN: It is preferable that the length of the said optical axis direction of the said recessed part is 1 mm or more and 4 mm or less. For example, when connecting an optical fiber having an outer diameter of 0.9 mm, the optical fiber connecting member configured as described above appropriately accommodates the deformed portion of the coating in the enlarged portion without clogging the accommodating portion. Can do.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the optical fiber connection member which concerns on this invention accommodates the glass fiber part which remove | eliminated the coating | cover of two optical fibers facing each other from the both ends of the said board | substrate, and connects. The optical fiber connecting member configured in this way is, for example, a mechanical splice, and can reliably connect optical fibers having a coating.

  Moreover, the optical fiber connection member according to the present invention has a built-in fiber housing in which the housing portion that houses the coated portion of the optical fiber is housed on one side and the glass fiber that is connected to the glass fiber portion is housed on the other side. It is preferable to provide the part. The optical fiber connecting member configured as described above is, for example, a mechanical splice type optical connector, and can reliably connect the built-in fiber and the external optical fiber internally, and can assemble the optical connector accurately. it can.

According to the present invention, even if the end portion of the covering portion is deformed and the diameter is increased, the enlarged portion can be accommodated in the enlarged portion, so that the optical fiber to be connected is surely inserted to the connection position. And the connection work can be performed reliably.
In addition, since the end of the covering portion is housed in the enlarged portion, even if the coating and expansion / contraction of the connecting member due to temperature change or the like occurs, the change in length can be absorbed in the enlarged portion, and transmission loss of the optical fiber Occurrence of problems such as increase in the number of wires and disconnection is unlikely to occur.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an optical fiber connection member concerning the present invention is described based on a drawing. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the optical fiber connecting member of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the storage portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of a -A line.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber connecting member 10 of the present embodiment is a so-called mechanical splice. The substrate 20 that positions the optical fibers 11 to be connected to each other, and the optical fiber 11 disposed on the substrate 20 is the substrate 20. And a clamp member 18 that clamps and fixes the substrate 20 and the press plate 30 from above and below.
The substrate 20 has an outer diameter of the glass fiber portion 13 so that the glass fiber portion 13 from which the coating portion 12 at the tip of the optical fiber 11 is removed is positioned at the center portion in the optical axis direction of the optical fiber 11 to be connected. A V-groove 24 having a corresponding size is formed. In addition, V-grooves 25 having a size corresponding to the outer diameter of the covering portion 12 are formed on both sides of the substrate 20 so as to position the covering portion 12 of the optical fiber 11. Although the sizes of the V grooves 24 and 25 are different, the height positions are adjusted so that the glass fiber portion 13 that is the center of the optical fiber 11 is arranged in a straight line.

The presser plate 30 has a glass presser portion 31 that presses the glass fiber portion 13 positioned in the V-groove 24 of the substrate 20 toward the substrate 20 at the center portion in the optical axis direction of the optical fiber 11 to be connected, and both side portions thereof. Is composed of a covering pressing portion 32 that presses the covering portion 12 positioned in the V groove 25 of the substrate 20 toward the substrate 20. The press plate 30 has a flat portion in contact with the optical fiber. In the pressing plate 30, the glass pressing portion 31 and the covering pressing portion 32 may have either a separate structure or an integrated structure.
And the connection part which fixes and connects in the state which faced | matched the front-end | tips of the glass fiber part 13 by the V groove 24 of the board | substrate 20 and the glass holding | suppressing part 31 is comprised, Thus, a storage portion 22 for storing and fixing the covering portion 12 is configured.

  In the optical fiber connection member 10 of the present embodiment, the storage portion 22 that stores the covering portion 12 is structurally and functionally divided into two portions before and after the insertion direction of the optical fiber 11. The entrance-side portion in the insertion direction of the storage portion 22 (near both sides in FIG. 1) is a fixing portion for fixing the covering portion 12. The covering portion 12 is fixed in the V-groove 25 by pressing so as to position it reliably. On the other hand, in the front portion of the storage portion 22 in the insertion direction (near the center in FIG. 1), a recessed portion 22a is formed in the covering presser portion 32 so as to expand the space of the storage portion, thereby providing an enlarged portion. Yes. In this enlarged portion, a space slightly larger than the covering portion 12 of the optical fiber 11 is provided, and the covering portion 12 inserted from the entrance side is allowed to move slightly in the radial direction.

  When connecting the optical fibers 11 using the optical fiber connecting member 10, as shown in FIG. 3, the notch 23 formed between the substrate 20 and the presser plate 30 has a tapered portion at the tip. The formed wedge 19 is pushed in so that the substrate 20 and the holding plate 30 are slightly separated. Then, the optical fiber 11 is inserted between the V-groove 25 of the substrate 20 and the covering presser 32, and the tip of the glass fiber portion 13 is connected to a desired connection position between the V-groove 24 and the glass presser 31. To reach. At this time, for example, even if the front end portion of the coating portion 12 is non-circularly deformed when the coating is removed to expose the glass fiber portion 13 and is larger than the prescribed outer diameter of the optical fiber 11, the coating portion 12. The front end portion is housed in an enlarged portion in which the recess 22a is formed. In addition, the covering portion 12 first passes through the fixing portion, but since this fixing portion is shorter than the conventional portion, even if the front end portion of the covering portion 12 is deformed, it is elastically deformed by the force in the insertion direction. The fixing portion can be passed through.

  As described above, in the optical fiber connecting member 10 of the present embodiment, the covering portion 12 is not clogged and caught between the substrate 20 and the holding plate 30, and the tip of the glass fiber portion 13 is reliably inserted to the connecting position. be able to. Therefore, the optical fiber 11 can be reliably connected.

In addition, the size of the enlarged portion formed in the storage portion 22 that stores the covering portion 12 is appropriately set depending on the diameter of the optical fiber 11 to be connected. For example, when the diameter of the covering portion 12 is 0.9 mm, the depth D (see FIG. 2) of the recess 22a is preferably 0.1 mm or more and 0.4 mm or less. Moreover, when the diameter of the coating | coated part 12 is 0.9 mm, it is desirable to set it as 1 mm or more and 4 mm or less as the length L of the optical fiber optical axis direction of the recessed part 22a. By setting the enlarged portion to such a size, a deformed portion of the covering portion 12 that is generally seen can be appropriately accommodated.
The enlarged portion may be provided up to the front end of the covering presser portion 32 or may be provided halfway.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the enlarging portion is formed by enlarging the space of the storage portion by providing the recessed portion 22a in the covering presser portion 32 is exemplified, but the V groove 25 of the substrate 20 is enlarged. The enlarged portion can also be formed by increasing the spreading angle of the V-groove. Furthermore, it is possible to enlarge both the covering presser 32 and the substrate 20 to form an enlarged portion.

In the above embodiment, the optical fiber connecting member as a mechanical splice has been described. However, in the present invention, an optical fiber connecting member as an optical connector can be used.
An optical fiber connecting member 40 shown in FIG. 4 is a mechanical splice type optical connector, and a ferrule 41 as a built-in fiber storage portion in which a glass fiber 13a is built in the front end side (left side in the figure) in the connection direction with another connector. It has. And the optical fiber connection member 40 of this embodiment connects the optical fiber 11 from the back with respect to the glass fiber 13a incorporated in the ferrule 41, The above-mentioned optical fiber connection member is behind the ferrule 41. 40, the substrate 20a for positioning the optical fiber 11, the pressing plate 30a for pressing the optical fiber 11 disposed on the substrate 20a toward the substrate 20a, and the substrate 20a and the pressing plate 30a are sandwiched from above and below. And a clamp member 18 to be fixed.

  A connecting portion constituted by the V groove 24 of the substrate 20a and the glass pressing portion 31 of the holding plate 30a is disposed immediately behind the ferrule 41, and on the rear side thereof, the V groove 25 and the holding plate of the substrate 20a. A storage portion 22 for storing the covering portion 12, which is configured by the covering pressing portion 32 of 30 a, is disposed. A concave portion 22a is provided on the front side of the covering presser portion 32 in the same manner as the optical fiber connecting member 10, thereby forming an enlarged portion. And the pressing part 22b which presses the coating | coated part 12 to the V groove 25 is provided in the optical fiber insertion direction entrance side of this expansion part, and the fixing | fixed part is formed by this. The rear end portion of the glass fiber 13 a built in the ferrule 41 is positioned between the V groove 24 and the glass pressing portion 31.

  With such a configuration, the optical fiber 11 inserted from the entrance direction entrance side between the substrate 20a and the presser plate 30a is deformed by, for example, the front end portion of the covering portion 12 being non-circular, and the outer diameter is increased. Even so, the glass fiber portion 13 can be reliably inserted up to the connection position with the glass fiber 13 a built in the ferrule 41.

  In addition, the optical fiber connection member 40 includes a housing that is disposed outside the constituent members. The board 20a and the pressing plate 30a are housed inside the rear housing 16, and the front housing 17 is attached to the front side of the rear housing 16 via a flange portion 17a. The substrate 20a and the pressing plate 30a are urged forward by a spring 42 inside the rear housing 16. The ferrule 41 is housed inside the front housing 17.

  Thus, the optical fiber connecting member 40 can reliably connect the external optical fiber 11 to the built-in glass fiber 13a, and can be a highly reliable optical connector.

  In addition, the structure demonstrated by said embodiment is applicable similarly in the case of the optical fiber connection member for multi-core in this invention.

It is sectional drawing which shows embodiment as a mechanical splice of the optical fiber connection member which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the accommodating part shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing in the AA line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows embodiment as a mechanical splice of the optical fiber connection member which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional optical fiber connection member. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional optical fiber connection member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,40 Optical fiber connection member 11 Optical fiber 12 Covering part 13 Glass fiber part 18 Clamp member 20, 20a Substrate 22 Storage part 22a Recessed part 22b Pressing part 24, 25 V groove 30 Holding plate 31 Glass pressing part 32 Covering pressing part 41 Ferrule (Built-in fiber storage)
D Depth of recess L Length of recess

Claims (6)

A substrate for positioning the coated portion of the optical fiber having the coating and the glass fiber portion from which the coating of the end portion is removed, and a pressing plate that presses the coated portion and the glass fiber portion disposed on the substrate toward the substrate. Prepared,
A storage portion for storing the coated portion of the optical fiber is provided on the substrate and the pressing plate,
In the storage portion, there is a fixing portion that is on the entrance side of the optical fiber in the insertion direction and fixes the covering portion, and the end portion of the covering portion that is on the front side in the insertion direction with respect to the fixing portion is stored in the storage portion. An optical fiber connecting member, wherein an enlarged portion having a larger space than a fixed portion is formed.   The optical fiber connection member according to claim 1, wherein the pressing plate is provided with a recess for forming the enlarged portion.   The optical fiber connecting member according to claim 2, wherein a depth of the concave portion is 0.1 mm or more and 0.4 mm or less.   The optical fiber connecting member according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a length of the concave portion in the optical fiber optical axis direction is 1 mm or more and 4 mm or less.   5. The optical fiber connection member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein glass fiber portions from which coatings of two optical fibers have been removed are respectively stored facing each other from both ends of the substrate and connected. An optical fiber connecting member according to claim 1.   The optical fiber connecting member has the housing portion that houses the coated portion of the optical fiber on one side, and a built-in fiber housing portion in which the glass fiber that connects to the glass fiber portion is built on the other side. The optical fiber connecting member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the optical fiber connecting member is provided.

Images