JPH0244656B2 - HIKARIFUAIBAKEEBURUSHUTANKEISEIHOHOOYOBISOCHI - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for inserting and attaching a plug member to an end of an optical fiber cable.

(Prior art) Today, as optical technology using optical fibers is rapidly developing, there is a strong need for a relatively low-cost connector that can easily connect optical fiber cables (hereinafter referred to as cables) to each other. . Early optical systems required glazing and epoxy bonding techniques, but the development of low-attenuation plastic fibers has resulted in connector systems that are faster to finish and easier to assemble than traditional optical systems. being developed. One such connector is manufactured by AMP Incorporatep under the trade designation "OPTIMATE" and is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 244,526, filed March 16, 1981.

This "OPTIMATE" connector is equipped with a plug member that is attached to the end of the cable, and a device that attaches this plug member to the end of the cable is
Disclosed in No. 215615. The plug member comprises an elongate tubular body having an internal cylindrical retaining sleeve for receiving the cable end through the retaining sleeve and into the tubular body. In the case of JP-A No. 58-215615, the end of the cable fixed to the cable retaining device protrudes forward from the cable retaining device by a length that is received in the plug member, and the cable retaining device is connected to the plug member. The movement toward the member causes the forwardly projecting portion of the cable end to be inserted through the retaining sleeve and into the plug member, and ultimately to fit together with the retaining sleeve into the plug member.

However, when inserting the cable end into the plug member through the retaining sleeve, a high insertion force is required due to the large friction between the retaining sleeve and the cable. There is a problem in that this front protruding portion buckles and bends due to the relationship with the plug member, making it difficult to insert it into the plug member.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cable termination forming method and apparatus that can prevent the cable from bending as described above during the process of inserting the cable into the plug member.

(Structure of the Invention) The method of the present invention includes clamping the end of a cable by a plurality of cable clamping means at a predetermined interval at a predetermined distance inside the tip, and, on the other hand, plug-clamping a tubular plug member. the end of the cable is press-fitted into the pipe of the plug member by gripping and pressing against the end of the cable, and at the time of this press-fitting, the cable is clamped by the cable clamping means at the end as the cable is press-fitted. The cable is opened in order from the closest side, and the length of the cable between the part held by the cable clamp means and the part press-fitted into the plug member is kept below a certain level, so that the cable can be inserted into the plug member without buckling. It is characterized by the following.

In the device of the present invention, a plurality of cable clamp means clamp the end of the cable at a predetermined distance from the tip at a predetermined distance, and a plug holding means holds a tubular plug member. the distance between the cable clamping means and the plug holding means is brought closer to each other by a press-fitting means, and the cable end is sequentially press-fitted into the pipe of the plug member;
During this press-fitting, each cable clamping means is controlled by the cable clamp actuating means, and as the amount of press-fitting increases, the cable clamping means on the side closer to the end of the cable is opened in order, and the cable clamping means is clamped by the cable clamping means. This feature is characterized in that the length of the cable between the part and the part press-fitted into the plug member is kept below a certain level.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, when inserting a cable end into a plug member, the length of the cable between the portion clamped by the cable clamp means and the portion press-fitted into the plug member is always kept below a certain level. Since the buckling limit load of this portion can be increased, buckling does not occur even if a large insertion force is applied to the cable, and the cable can be inserted into the plug member reliably.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a termination forming device according to the present invention, showing a cable clamp means 100 for releasably clamping the cable 7, and a cable clamp actuating means 200 for causing the cable clamp means 100 to clamp and release the cable 7. , and a plug clamping means 300 for gripping the plug member 1 and pressing it against the end of the cable 7.
Incidentally, this plug clamping means 300 is composed of a plug holding means and a cable press-fitting means. The cable clamp means 100 includes a T-shaped stand 103 fixed to a lower support plate 101 and a vertically movable cylinder 105 (not shown) attached to an upper support plate 102.
It has a gate-shaped frame 104 that can move up and down, and the cable 7 can be moved up and down by vertical movement of the gate-shaped frame 104.
It is designed to be opened and held between it and the character-shaped base 103. On the tip side (inside) of this gate-shaped frame 104, there are three pairs of upper and lower plug members 110a, 110b, 12, each of which is vertically movable.
0a, 120b and 130a, 130b are arranged, and the cable 7 can be held at a predetermined interval by these three sets of plug members. In this figure, the upper part of the gate-shaped frame 104 is not shown, so that the clamping means on the inner side thereof can be seen.

The clamp member is actuated by a cable clamp actuating means 200 to clamp and release the cable 7, which will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing only the clamp member and cable clamp actuating means 200 in FIG.
2, 205 through the upper and lower cam shafts 203, 20
6 and rotates the camshafts 203 and 206. The upper camshaft 203 is connected to the upper clamping means 110
Each clamping means 110a, 120a, 1 extends within the space formed inside the clamping means 110a, 120a, 130a.
Upper cams 210a and 220 are located at positions corresponding to 30a.
a, 230a, and the lower camshaft 206 extends within the inner space of the lower clamp members 110b, 120b, 130b, and
Lower cams 210b and 220 are placed at positions corresponding to 30b.
b, 230b. On the other hand, lower clamp member 1
10b is guided by rods 114b and 115b on both sides to be able to move up and down, and is supported by a spring 11.
2b and 113b. Similarly, the other lower clamp members 120b and 130b are guided so as to be vertically movable and are urged upward. Upper clamp members 110a, 120a, 130
Similarly, a is guided so as to be able to move up and down, and is urged downward. Therefore, due to the above-mentioned urging force, the upper clamp members 110a, 120a, 13
0a and lower clamp members 110b, 120b, 13
0b are brought into contact with each other, and the cable 7 can be held between them. On the other hand, in the case of the upper and lower cams, for example, taking the upper cam 210a and the lower cam 210b as an example, the convex portions of the cams align with the rollers 111 of the upper and lower clamp members 110a and 110b in accordance with the rotation of the cams.
a, 111b, and the upper clamp member 110a
The upper and lower clamp members 1 are moved upward, the lower clamp member 110b is moved upward, and the lower clamp member 110b is moved downward against the urging force of the spring.
The cable 7 is released from being held by the cables 10a and 110b.

The relationship between the rotation of the cam and the movement of the clamp member in this case will be explained with reference to FIG. 3, taking the upper cams 210a, 220a, 230a and the upper rollers 111a, 121a, 131a as examples. Figure 3 shows the upper camshaft 20
The cams 210a and 220 rotate in 90° increments of 3.
a, 230a and upper rollers 111a, 121a, 1
In the diagram showing changes in the position of the cam 31a, first, when the cams 210a, 220a, and 230a are in the state shown in the top row, it is assumed that the rotation angle is 0°. At this time, the upper rollers 111a, 121a, 131a are all in a lowered state, and the upper clamp members 110a, 120
a, 130 is also decreasing. Lower cam 210b, 2
20b, 230b and lower rollers 111b, 12
1b and 131b are vertically symmetrical, and at the 0° position, the lower clamp members 110b, 120b, 1
30b is pushed up by a spring,
The upper and lower clamp members abut.

Next, when the upper cam shaft 203 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise in the figure (this position is referred to as the 90 degree position), the upper cam 230a rotates the upper roller 131a as shown in the second stage of the figure. Push up. At this time, the lower cam 23
0b pushes down the lower roller 131b, and the clamping by the clamp members 130a and 130b is released.
Next, at the 180° position, rotated another 90°,
Upper cams 230a and 220a are connected to upper roller 131
a and 121a, and push up the clamp member 13.
Holding and clamping member 1 by 0a, 130b
The clamping by 20a and 120b is released. At the 270° position, which is further rotated by 90°, the clamping by all clamp members is released. In other words, each clamp member can be operated in sequence in accordance with the rotation of the upper and lower camshafts 203 and 206 by 90 degrees.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, the plug clamping means 3
00 will be explained. Plug clamp means 30
0 is provided with a plug holder 302 having a plug member 301 formed of an elastic member such as rubber that receives the plug member 1 attached to its tip, and this plug holder 302 is moved in the front and rear direction (in the direction of arrow B) by a plug motor 310. ), and is moved in the front-back direction together with this rod 303 by the back-and-forth movement of the rod 303. Furthermore, the plug motor 310, rod 303, plug holder 302, etc. are integrated into the cylinder 34.
0, it is moved in the left and right direction (in the direction of arrow A).
Incidentally, the plug clamping means 300 also has a plug cutter means 350, and a cutter 352 operated by a cylinder 351 cuts the excess fiber core 8' protruding from the distal end of the cable 7 inserted into the plug member 1. It is now possible to remove the .

FIGS. 4A to 4C are views sequentially showing the connection of the cable 7 and the plug member 1 by the above device, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the plug member 1 attached to the end of the cable 7. . The cable 7 has a core fiber core 8 covered with a jacket 9, and before being attached to the plug member 1, the jacket 9 at the tip is partially peeled off to expose the fiber core 8. The plug member 1 is in the form of an elongated tube with a cylindrical retaining sleeve 3 inside.
A protrusion 4 is formed outwardly. By inserting this cable 7 into the plug member 1 through the holding sleeve 3 (Fig. 4B) and cutting out the fiber core 8 protruding from the side opposite to the insertion side (Fig. 4C), the cable 7 is made into a cable as shown in Fig. 5. The plug member 1 is attached to the end of the plug 7. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the outward protrusion 4 of the holding sleeve 3
This ensures that the holding sleeve 3 is held within the tubular body, and the inward protrusion 5 prevents the cable 7 from coming off.

6A to 6F, the end of the cable 7 is connected to the plug member 1 by the device of the present invention.
This section explains how to insert it into .

As shown in FIG. 6A, a portion of the jacket 9 at the tip end of the cable 7 is peeled off to expose the fiber core 8, and the cable 7 is attached to three sets of clamp members 1 by allowing the portion where the jacket 9 is not peeled off to protrude by a predetermined length.
10a, 110b, 120a, 120b, 130
a, 130b, the gate-shaped frame 104 and the T-shaped stand 103. Therefore, at this time, the upper and lower cam shafts are at the 0° position. Note that the predetermined length of the protrusion at this time is set to a length that does not cause buckling depending on the insertion force required to press the plug member 1 against this protrusion and insert the end of the cable 7. On the other hand, the plug member 1 is held by the plug receiving member 301 fixed to the plug holder 302, and in this state, as shown in FIG. The end of the cable 7 is inserted into the plug member 1 by pressing on the part. When the insertion of the protrusion is completed, the upper and lower camshafts 203 and 206 are rotated to the 90° position and the clamp members 230a and 230
b is opened, and the plug member 1 is further pressed by the amount released by this opening (6th C).
figure). Similarly, the upper and lower cam shafts 203, 20
6 to the 180° position and rotate the clamp member 220.
a, 220b, and further press the plug member 1 (Fig. 6D), then open the upper and lower camshafts 203, 2.
Rotate the clamp member 21 to the 270° position.
0a, 210b and completely insert the end of the cable 7 into the plug member 1 (FIG. 6E). In this way, the length of the part receiving the insertion force is kept short and the insertion is performed without buckling. In addition, at this time, the holding sleeve 3 of the plug member 1
is pressed against the sides of the portal frame 104 and the T-shaped base 103, and the retaining sleeve 3 is also completely pushed into the inside of the plug member 1. Next, the fiber core 8' protruding from the side opposite to the side where the cable 7 of the plug member 1 is inserted is inserted into the opening 3 of the plug holder 302.
02a includes a plug cutter means 35 shown in FIG.
0 cutter 352 is inserted to cut out the protruding portion of the fiber core. After this, the rod 303 is returned and the plug holder 302 and plug receiving member 301 are returned. At this time, since the plug member 1 is only held by the plug receiving member 301 made of an elastic body by frictional force, the plug member 1 remains connected to the cable 7, and the plug member 1 is attached to the end of the cable 7. installation is completed.

Next, the device for attaching the plug member 1 to the end of the cable 7 shown above will be explained using a more specific example.

7 to 10 show a cable termination forming device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 7 is a front view, FIG. 8 is a right side view, FIG. 9 is a rear view, and FIG. 10 is a plan view.
In these figures, there is a plug member 1 at the end of the cable 7.
The state shown in FIG. 6E is shown in the fully pushed-in state. The structure and operation of this device will be explained below using these figures.

First, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a lower support plate 101 and an upper support plate 102 are fixed to a main body frame (not shown) via a bracket (not shown), and the lower support plate 101 has an arcuate T-shaped upper surface. A character-shaped table 103 (the T-shaped table 103 is shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 7) is fixed, and a vertically movable cylinder 105 is fixed to the upper support plate 102. The rod 106 of this vertically moving cylinder 105 is connected to the gate-shaped frame 104, and the vertically moving cylinder 105 causes the gate-shaped frame 104 to move up and down. The upper and lower limit positions of the gate frame 104 are detected by sensing the movement of the shielding plate 109 attached to the gate frame 104 using photo sensors 107 and 108.

These gate-shaped frames 104 and T-shaped stands 10
Three sets of clamp members 110a, 110b, 120a, 120 are located on the back side of 3 (right side in FIG. 2).
b, 130a, 130b are arranged at equal intervals, and the internal space of these clamp members is connected to two cam shafts 20.
3,206 are arranged through it. This camshaft 20
3 and 206 are disks driven by motors 201 and 204 via belts 202 and 205, respectively, and have slits for rotation angle detection on the output shafts of the motors 201 and 204 and on the camshafts 203 and 206, respectively. is attached, and the rotation of the camshafts 203 and 206 is detected by a photo sensor. For example, a disk 261 having a slit 261a is attached to the output shaft of the lower motor 204 in FIG. 1, and its rotation is detected by photo sensors 262 and 263. However, these two photo sensors 262 and 263 can only detect rotation angles every 180 degrees, so they can be used in combination with a similar photo sensor and a disc (not shown) provided on the lower camshaft 206 to detect rotation angles every 90 degrees. Detection is performed.

On the other hand, the plug clamping means 300 is attached to a movable plate 330, and a plurality of rollers 331 are mounted on this movable plate 330, and the plate 332 is inserted into the grooves of these rollers 331.
is engaged. The plate 332 is an upper plate 33 fixed to a frame (not shown) via a spacer 333.
It is fixed at 4. A cylinder 340 is fixed to this upper plate 334, and the cylinder rod 34
1 is connected to the movable plate 330, and the cylinder 3
40 allows the cylinder rod 341 to be actuated to move the movable plate 330 in the left and right direction (in the direction of arrow A).

A motor 310 with a speed reduction mechanism and a bracket 311 are fixed to the lower surface of the movable plate 330. The motor 310 includes a rod 3 with a rack.
03 passes through and the rack engages a reduction gear in motor 310. Therefore, when the motor 310 is driven, the rod 303 reciprocates in the front-back direction (in the direction of arrow B). A plug holder 302 is fixed to the tip of the rod 303, and a plug receiving member 30 formed of an elastic material is attached to the plug holder 302.
1 is attached. This plug receiving member 30
1 has a hole smaller than the outer diameter of the locking portion of the plug member 1 for receiving the plug member 1. A rectangular opening 302a is formed in the plug holder 302 and communicates with the plug receiving hole. opening 30
A cutter 352 fits inside the cutter 2a, and this cutter 3
When the cable 7 is inserted into the plug member 1, the cable 52 is moved in the direction of arrow C by the cylinder 351 to cut off the fiber core 8 that comes out into the opening 302a.

On the other hand, a guide rail 312 is fixed to the bracket 311 and extends parallel to the rod 303, supporting the plate 313 via a plurality of rollers 314. The tip of the plate 313 is the plug holder 3
It is fixed at 02. A shielding plate 315 is fixed to the plate 313, and a cutout groove 316 is formed in the shielding plate 315. The bracket 311 is further provided with six first ones via support plates 317 and 318.
~The sixth photo sensors 321 to 326 are fixed,
These sensors face shielding plate 315.
These sensors are energized in accordance with the position of the cutout groove 316 of the shielding plate 315.

The termination forming operation by the apparatus having the above configuration will be explained.

Operation 1: The cable 7 is stripped from the jacket 9 by a preset length in the previous step, and is fed to the center of the T-shaped base 103 by a feeding mechanism (not disclosed).

Operation 2: The cylinder 105 is driven, the portal frame 104 is lowered, and the cable 7 is held between the portal frame 104 and the cylinder 105.

Operation 3: The cable clamping (that is, the portal frame 104 is at the lower limit position) is detected by the photo sensor 108, and the motor 20 is thereby detected.
1,204 are driven, and the upper and lower cam shafts 203,20
6 at the 0° position, and the cable 7 is clamped by three sets of clamp members. Note that before moving the camshaft to the 0° position, the camshaft is at the 270° position and all clamp members are open, and the motors 201 and 204 move the upper and lower camshafts from the 270° position to 180° to 90° to 0°. Reverse the cable 7 so that the cable 7 is attached to the outer clamp member 1.
Clamp them in order starting from 10a and 110b. Each clamp member is provided with a V-shaped groove for clamping the cable 7, and the cable 7 is caught in each V-shaped groove while correcting the bend in the cable. At this time, the tip of the cable 7 protrudes by a predetermined length (a length that does not cause buckling when the plug member 1 is attached) from the portion held by the clamp members 130a and 130b.

Operation 4: At the start of the operation, the plug holder 302 is moved by the motor 310 to the right end position in FIG.
10 by the upper end position (cylinder 340
The rod 341 has been moved to the retracted position) and is located at the initial position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. In the above-mentioned operation 2, cylinder 1
05 is driven, the motor 310 is driven, the rod 303 moves forward (moves to the left in FIG. 10), and the plug holder 302 moves from the initial position to the plug member 1.
The plug member 301 moves to a receiving position to receive the plug member 1, and grips the plug member 1 fed by an undisclosed device with the plug receiving member 301. Note that the position at this time is determined by detecting the notch groove 316 by the second photo sensor 322.

Operation 5: The cylinder 340 operates, the movable plate moves downward in FIG. 10, and the plug holder 30
The plug member 1 held at 2 is located on the axis of the cable 7 held therebetween. (This state is the state shown in Fig. 6A) Operation 6: When the movement of operation 6 is completed, the motor 3
10 is activated, the rod 303 is moved forward (moved to the left in FIG. 10), and the notch groove 316 is inserted into the third photo sensor 3.
When the position detected by motor 23 is reached, motor 3
10 stops. At this time, the plug member 1 is fitted into the protrusion of the cable 7 (the state shown in FIG. 6B).
Due to the stop signal of the motor 310, the motors 201,
204 is driven, the camshafts 203 and 206 are rotated to the 90° position, and the clamp members 130a and 1
The grip at 30b is released.

Operation 7: When the camshafts 203 and 206 are at the 90° position, the motor 310 is driven again to rotate the rod 30.
3 is advanced, and when the notch groove 316 reaches a position where it is detected by the fourth photo sensor 324, the motor 310 stops. This further increases the amount of engagement between the plug member 1 and the cable 7 (6th C
state). Below, the same operation is performed for the 180° and 270° positions of the camshafts 203 and 206,
The end of the cable 7 is fully inserted into the plug member 1, as shown in FIG. 6E.

Operation 8: When the cable 7 is fully inserted into the plug member, the opening 302a of the plug holder 302
The cutter 352 is operated to cut off the unnecessary fiber core 8' that protrudes inward.

Operation 9: When the core cutting work is completed, motor 3
10 rotates in the opposite direction, and the rod 303 retreats to a position where the notch groove 216 is detected by the first photo sensor 321. As a result, the plug member 1 is detached from the plug receiving member 301 (the state shown in FIG. 6F).

Operation 10: When the plug member 1 is removed from the plug receiving member 301, the portal frame 104 is raised by the cylinder 105.

Operation 11: When the rear end of the rod 303 is completed, the cylinder 340 is activated and the plug holder 302 returns to its initial position.

Operation 12: The cable 7 with the plug member 1 attached to the end on the T-shaped table 103 is sent to the next process for end face treatment of the cable core by an undisclosed feeding mechanism, and at the same time, the cable 7 is sent to the next process for end face treatment of the cable core. The next cable is fed onto the mold table 103 and the process is completed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are perspective views showing the cable termination forming device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic operation diagram showing the operation of the cam used in the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 4A to 4C are perspective views showing the cable termination forming device of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the state in which the plug member is attached to the cable; FIGS. 6A to 6F are sectional views sequentially showing the operation of attaching the plug member to the cable; FIG. 10 are diagrams showing the cable termination forming device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a front view, FIG. 8 is a right side view, FIG. 9 is a rear view, and FIG. 10 is a plan view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Plug member, 7... Cable, 100... Cable clamp means, 103... T-shaped stand, 104...
Portal frame, 200... Cable clamp actuation means, 203, 206... Camshaft, 300... Plug clamp means, 302... Plug holder, 303... Rod, 350... Plug cutter means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An end portion of an optical fiber cable consisting of a long and thin linear fiber core covered with a jacket is clamped at a predetermined interval by a plurality of cable clamping means at a predetermined distance inside the tip of the cable. , gripping an elongated tubular plug member to be attached to the end of the cable by plug clamp means, and pressing the plug member gripped by the plug clamp means against the end of the cable to clamp the end of the cable to the end of the cable. Press-fitting the plug member into the pipe, and in response to the press-fitting, release the cable clamping by the plurality of cable clamping means in order from the side closest to the end of the cable, so that the cable is clamped by the cable clamping means. A method for forming an end of an optical fiber cable, characterized in that the length between the part where the cable is inserted and the part press-fitted into the plug member is maintained at a certain length or less, so that the plug member can be attached without buckling the cable. . 2. A device for attaching an elongated tubular plug member to the end of an optical fiber cable consisting of an elongated fiber core covered with a jacket, the end of the cable being inserted a predetermined length inside from the tip of the cable. a plurality of cable clamping means for releasably holding the cable at fixed intervals at positions; a plug holding means for holding the plug member at the tip of the cable clamped by the cable clamping means; a cable clamp actuating means for releasing the clamping of the cable by a rotary cam or the like in order from the side closest to the tip of the cable; and a cable clamp actuating means that works in conjunction with the cable clamp actuating means to bring the distance between the cable clamp means and the plug holding means closer to each other. a cable press-fitting means for sequentially press-fitting an end of the cable into the pipe of the plug member, between a portion of the cable clamped by the cable clamp means and a portion press-fitted into the pipe of the plug member; An optical fiber cable termination forming device characterized in that the length is always kept below a certain length.