JPH0738882Y2 - Optical connector cleaning tool - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention is an optical connector cleaning tool used to clean the inner surface of the alignment sleeve of an optical connector in the optical connector connection work. It is about.

(Prior Art) There are various types of optical connectors used for easy connection and disconnection in the connection between optical fibers. For example, F01 type specified in JIS C5970
Like the 04-type single-core optical fiber connector, an optical fiber is bonded and fixed to the center of a cylindrical rod-shaped ferrule, and inserted into a cylindrical alignment sleeve with a precise inner diameter to bring the end faces of the ferrules into contact with each other. Core connectors are known. All of these technologies achieve excellent connection characteristics by directly abutting the end faces of fibers, and are widely used in the field of optical communication.

In such an optical connector, the optical fibers are connected by aligning the ferrules to be connected with each other with a high accuracy with micron order by an aligning sleeve and abutting them. If dust adheres to the inner surface of this alignment sleeve,
Accurate alignment of the abutting ferrules is impaired, the optical axes of the optical fibers are displaced from each other, and this axial displacement increases the connection loss. Therefore, when using the optical connector, the ferrule end surface and the inner surface of the alignment sleeve must be cleaned before the connecting work. When the ferrule is repeatedly attached to and detached from the aligning sleeve with dust on the aligning sleeve, dust may be transferred to the ferrule and adhere to the end face of the ferrule. In particular, if dust adheres to the end face of the optical fiber located at the center of the ferrule, the light will be blocked by dust and will not be transmitted, or a gap will be created between the abutted fiber end faces, resulting in splice loss or reflection loss. Cause an increase in Therefore, when connecting the optical connector, the inner surface of the alignment sleeve is usually cleaned in advance.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional ferrule end surface cleaning method, a cleaning method using a cotton swab or a cleaning paper which is hard to fluff as a cleaning tool is generally used. A conventional cotton swab is generally made by sticking a cotton thread having a short diameter and a large diameter to a rod-shaped core made of paper or the like with glue or the like. In such a cotton swab, the cotton threads are relatively coarsely entangled with each other and the gaps between the cotton threads are large, and it is difficult to reliably wipe off dust and oil.In order to improve the cleaning performance, an organic solvent such as alcohol is usually applied to the cotton thread portion. Apply and use. In this case, an organic solvent such as alcohol which is a combustible substance and is volatile has a drawback that it requires careful attention in use and is complicated to manage.

When cleaning, the cotton swab is rotated inside the alignment sleeve or is inserted and removed in the axial direction for cleaning.At this time, the cotton thread is scraped or peeled off by rubbing against the edge of the slit section of the alignment sleeve, and a new thread Scrap was sometimes generated. For this reason, conventionally, when a cotton swab is used, after cleaning, a method of blowing off the thread waste and the solvent with a gas such as CFC gas or carbon dioxide gas has been used. However, it is desirable to avoid the use of this CFC gas or carbon dioxide gas from the viewpoint of environmental protection.

Also, as optical connectors become smaller in the future, ferrules and alignment sleeves will become thinner. In this case, the conventional cotton swab-shaped cleaning tool in which a cotton thread or the like is wound around the core has a problem that the cotton thread portion is too large in diameter to enter the alignment sleeve and cleaning cannot be performed. For example, an ordinary thin cotton swab has an outer diameter
Wrap around 0.5mm cotton thread around 1mm core, diameter core
A cotton thread of about 2 mm is formed. As described above, in the conventional swab, the cotton thread portion is larger than the outer diameter of the core.

It is expected that the outer diameter of the ferrule and the inner diameter of the alignment sleeve will be about 1 mm or less in the future. In such a case, the cleaning unit should be about 1 mm in cleaning tool. In this case, for example, the core is made as small as 0.4 mm, and 0.3 mm of cotton thread is placed around it.
It may be possible to wrap it around. However, such a cotton swab has drawbacks such as ensuring sufficient strength when used and reliable cleaning of the cotton thread portion. In the traditional swab style,
It has been difficult to realize a cleaning tool that can be inexpensively and reliably cleaned and that can be applied to cleaning an alignment sleeve having a small diameter.

The object of the present invention is to clean the inner surface of the alignment sleeve of the optical connector, particularly the inner surface of the thin alignment sleeve of the optical connector by a simple operation regardless of the skill level of the operator, and at the time of cleaning, use an organic solvent such as ethanol or CFC gas. Without using the gas of
An object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector cleaning tool that can almost certainly reproduce a clean state.

[Constitution of device]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cleaning tool for an optical connector according to the present invention comprises a tubular cleaning cloth or knitting string woven from an ultrafine thermoplastic synthetic fiber and / or Alternatively, the rear end is melted, solidified, and reduced in diameter to form a rod-shaped introduction portion, and the tubular cleaning cloth or the portion of the braid is used as the cleaning portion of the inner surface of the alignment sleeve of the optical connector. To do.

(Function) The cleaning part is not a twisted thread like a conventional cotton swab, but is composed of a tubular cleaning cloth or knitting string woven with ultrafine fibers.
Threads are not loosened or broken during cleaning, and thread waste is less likely to occur.

Moreover, since the cleaning cloth or the braid itself is flexible, the cleaning cloth or the braid portion efficiently adheres to the inner surface of the aligning sleeve on the surface to be cleaned, and the contact surface area is significantly larger than that of the conventional swabs, which is effective. It can be cleaned.

Since it does not require a core, the entire cleaning part can be composed of a cleaning cloth or a cleaning braid even when it has a small diameter.
Realize reliable cleaning.

Since the tip has a small diameter and is appropriately rigid, it is easy to pass this portion inside the thin alignment sleeve, and workability is good.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a cleaning tool of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along line AA and BB of FIG. 1 for explaining the structure, respectively. is there. 4 and 5 are explanatory views of the process of cleaning the optical connector adapter using the cleaning tool of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning tool 1 of the present invention melts the front end 2 and the rear end 4 of a tubular cleaning cloth or braid 11 woven from ultrafine thermoplastic synthetic fibers of 0.1 denier or less. This is a structure that is transformed into a rod-shaped hardened portion 11 '. The cleaning unit 3 is a cylindrical cleaning cloth or a knitting cord 11 itself, and has a hollow structure with a high elasticity. Cleaning is done in this part. The tip 2 is melted and deformed into a thin rod shape to eliminate the fray of the fiber and to pass through the inside of the thin split sleeve.
1 '. Further, the rear end 4 is also a hardened portion 11 'to eliminate the fraying of the fibers.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. The cleaning part 3 is a cylindrical cleaning cloth or a braid 11, and the inside thereof is hollow. In this figure, the hardened portion 11 'is the rear end 4.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the tip 2 of the cleaning tool 1 of FIG. The tip 2 is made into a rod-shaped hardened portion 11 'by melting a cleaning cloth or a braid 11 by heat and then stretching it into a small diameter and shaping it.

4 and 5 are explanatory views of the process of cleaning the optical connector adapter using the cleaning tool of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view when the cleaning tool 1 is inserted into the alignment sleeve 5, Fifth
The figure illustrates the cleaning process in sequence.

In FIG. 4, only the alignment sleeve 5 to be cleaned is shown, and the optical connector adapter is not shown.
The aligning sleeve 5 is a cylindrical member, is provided with a slit 52, and its inner surface 51 is ground to a micron precision with high precision. Tapers 53 are provided at both ends of the cylindrical portion so that a ferrule (not shown) can be easily inserted. Cleaning tool 1
Then, the tip 2 of the hardened part 11 'is inserted from the end of the alignment sleeve 5 for cleaning.

FIG. 5 shows the order of cleaning. The optical connector adapter 6 holding the alignment sleeve 5 is shown in phantom in the figure. First, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the hardening portion 11 ′ of the tip 2 of the cleaning tool 1 is inserted into the alignment sleeve 5 from one side of the alignment sleeve 2. At this time, the diameter of the tip 2 is made sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of the alignment sleeve 5, and the tip 2 smoothly penetrates the inside of the alignment sleeve 5 without interfering with the inner surface 51 of the alignment sleeve 5 or the like. Further, since the tip 2 is a hardened portion 11 'having an appropriate hardness, it can be easily penetrated without being twisted or caught in the middle. The length of the hardened portion 11 'is not less than the width of the optical connector adapter 6 so that when the cleaning tool 1 is passed through the alignment sleeve 5, the tip 2 comes out from the other end of the optical connector adapter 6. .

5B, the tip 2 of the cleaning tool 1 is pulled out from the other end of the optical connector adapter 6 in the state of FIG. 5A, and the cleaning portion 3 of the cleaning tool 1 aligns the optical connector adapter 6 with each other. It is in the state of coming to the sleeve 5. In this state, the inner surface 51 of the alignment sleeve 5 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 3. The portion of the cleaning portion 3 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the alignment sleeve 5 in a normal state, but since it is hollow as shown in FIG. 2, it is contracted by pulling the tip 2 and enters the inside of the alignment sleeve 5. Inside the alignment sleeve 5, the inner surface 51 is pressed against the inner surface 51 with a suitable pressure. With the proper pressure, the cleaning unit 3 is in contact with the inner surface 51, and by further pulling the tip 2 of the cleaning tool 1, the cleaning unit 3 rubs the inner surface 51 to clean the inner surface 51. At this time, since the cleaning portion 3 is the tubular cleaning cloth or the braid 11 woven of ultrafine fibers, dust, oil, etc. attached to the inner surface 51 of the alignment sleeve 5 and the taper portion 53 can be wiped off reliably. That is, since a tubular cloth woven with a thread made of synthetic fiber of 0.1 denier or less or a braided string woven with this thread is used, there is no generation of thread waste during cleaning and no loosening. . Further, the fibers are much more closely gathered as compared with the conventional cotton swabs in which the threads are simply entangled, and the cleaning effect is enhanced.

FIG. 5 (c) shows the cleaning tool 1 from the state of FIG. 5 (b).
The front end 2 is pulled so that the rear end 4 reaches the inside of the alignment sleeve 5. At this time, the inner surface 51 of the alignment sleeve 5 has been cleaned by the cleaning unit 3 of the cleaning tool 1,
Dust and oil have been removed. Also, the rear end 4 of the cleaning tool 1
Also has a hardened portion 11 ', so that no lint or the like is generated. From this state, the tip 2 of the cleaning tool 1 is further pulled to pull out the cleaning tool 1
The cleaning operation is completed by pulling out the optical connector adapter 6 from the optical connector adapter 6.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning portion is not the twisted yarn as in the conventional cotton swab, but is composed of the tubular cleaning cloth or the braided string woven with the ultrafine fibers, so that the yarn is loosened or broken during cleaning. Difficult to generate lint.

Moreover, since the cleaning cloth or the braid itself is flexible, the cleaning cloth or the braid portion efficiently adheres to the inner surface of the aligning sleeve on the surface to be cleaned, and the contact surface area is significantly larger than that of the conventional swabs, which is effective. It can be cleaned.

Since it does not require a core, the entire cleaning part can be composed of a cleaning cloth or a cleaning braid even when it has a small diameter.
Realize reliable cleaning.

Since the tip has a small diameter and is appropriately rigid, it is easy to pass this portion inside the thin alignment sleeve, and workability is good.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the optical connector adapter having the thin split sleeve can be easily and surely cleaned.

Also, by using the cleaning tool of the present invention, unlike the conventional cleaning method, it is possible to perform cleaning without using an organic solvent such as alcohol, so that the storage and management of the organic solvent, which requires careful handling, are unnecessary, and There is no need to pay attention to fire.

Furthermore, since it does not use gases such as CFCs and carbon dioxide, which are believed to destroy the ozone layer, there is no concern about environmental pollution, and even if future gas usage is restricted, it is possible to clean optical connectors without problems. it can.

Further, since the cleaning is completed only by passing the cleaning tool from the tip through the split sleeve of the adapter, the cleaning can be performed without requiring special technique or complicated work.

The structure of the cleaning tool of the present invention is simpler than the conventional swab and can be realized at a low cost. Therefore, the cost increase due to cleaning can be avoided, and the disposable usage method can be adopted like the conventional swabs, so that the workability is improved and the troublesome management of the cleaning tool can be avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a cleaning tool for an optical connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a line BB of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction of an arrow, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views of a cleaning process by the cleaning tool of the present invention. 1 …… Cleaning tool 11 …… Cleaning cloth or braid 11 ′ …… Hardened part 2 …… Tip 3 …… Cleaning part 4 …… Rear end 5 …… Alignment sleeve 51 …… Inner surface 52 …… Slit 53 …… Taper Part 6 ... Optical connector adapter

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 61-103428 (JP, A) JP 60-39439 (JP, A) JP 55-58147 (JP, A) Actual development Sho 63- 88271 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A rod-shaped introduction portion is formed by melting, solidifying, and reducing the diameter of the leading end and / or the trailing end of a tubular cleaning cloth or knitting string woven from ultrafine thermoplastic synthetic fibers. A cleaning tool for an optical connector, wherein the tubular cleaning cloth or the portion of the braid is used as a cleaning portion on an inner surface of an alignment sleeve of the optical connector.