JPH11174263A - Optical fiber clamp and fusion splicer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To improve accuracy and workability of optical fiber fusion splicing. A pressure block (2a) for pressing and fixing an optical fiber (1) placed on a V-groove member (50), a support arm (2) for holding the other end of the pressure block (2a), and a support arm (2). An optical fiber clamp 10 comprising a rotating shaft fitting 3 fixed to an end, a support outer cylinder 4 for slidably storing the rotating shaft fitting 3, and an urging spring. 30 is fixed, and a positioning slit 40 is perforated on the side surface of the support outer cylinder 4.
0 is moved along the positioning slit 40 to position the pressure block 2a via the rotating shaft 3 and the support arm 2, and the pressure block 2a is placed on the V-groove member 50 by the urging spring. The optical fiber 1 is fixed by pressure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber clamp which presses and fixes an optical fiber, which is aligned on a V-groove member, at the time of fusion splicing of an optical fiber and aligns the optical axes.
And an optical fiber fusion splicer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To splice an optical fiber, an end face of an optical fiber to be connected faces a V-groove of a V-groove member having a V-shaped groove (hereinafter, referred to as a V-groove) on the surface. And connected by heating and melting by the discharge from the discharge electrode.

[0003] In this case, if the optical axes of the end faces of the optical fibers to be connected do not coincide with each other, that is, if there is a so-called axis deviation, a connection loss occurs. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Pressurizing block 2a from above optical fiber 1 placed on top
, It is necessary to heat and melt the optical fiber 1 in a state where the optical axes of the end faces of the opposing optical fibers 1 are aligned. For this reason, an optical fiber clamp is used in which the optical fiber 1 placed on the V-groove member 50 is pressurized and fixed by the pressing block 2a from above to suppress axial deviation. In this optical fiber clamp, a positioning mechanism for determining an accurate position on the V-groove and a pressing mechanism for pressing the optical fiber with a constant pressure are indispensable.

(Structure of Conventional Optical Fiber Clamp) In a conventional optical fiber clamp, as shown in FIG. 4, a pressing block 2 for pressing and fixing an optical fiber placed on a V-groove is used.
a and a support arm 2 for holding the pressure block at the tip
A rotating shaft 3 fixed to the other end of the support arm in a right angle direction, and a supporting outer cylinder 4 for slidably storing the rotating shaft and supporting the same; FIG. As shown in (1), a direction in which the pressure block 2a presses the optical fiber on the V-groove member via the support arm 2 with respect to the rotary shaft fitting 3 inside the support outer cylinder 4 (hereinafter, referred to as a pressure direction). ), A positioning claw 3d connected to the shaft bracket leg 3c below the rotary shaft bracket 3, and a position for determining the position of the pressure block 2a by sandwiching the claw from both sides. It consists of a guide bearing 3e. The center axis of the guide bearing 3e is fixed to a part of the fusion splicing device.

[0005] The operation method of the optical fiber clamp at the time of fusion splicing is described in the conventional fusion splicing apparatus shown in FIG.
An example in which a pair of optical fiber clamps 10 shown in FIG. Optical fiber clamp support arm 2
Is held so that the pressing block 2a is located in the opposite direction to the V-groove member 50 about the rotary shaft metal fitting for convenience of the connecting operation except at the time of fusion splicing.

Accordingly, in fusion splicing, first, each of the adjusting knobs 3a of the pair of optical fiber clamps 10 is picked up by a fingertip and lifted, and the positioning claws 3d are inserted between the respective guide bearings 3e to pressurize. The position of the block 2a is specified. By releasing the adjustment knob 3a in this state, the force of the urging spring 3b is applied in the pressing direction, and V is applied by the pressing block 2a via the support arm 2.
The optical fiber 1 on the groove member 50 is pressurized to correct the axial deviation.

[0007]

However, an outer diameter of 100 mm which is placed opposite to the V-groove in a state where the terminal coating is peeled off.
In order to match the optical axes of the optical fibers 1 to be connected to each other on the order of μm, a very high-precision clamping operation is required. That is, the V-groove 50 of the V-groove member 50 is formed by the pressing block 2a.
a precisely at a predetermined position of the optical fiber 1 to be connected, which is placed facing the
Need to be pressurized.

For this reason, in the conventional optical fiber clamp, as a positioning mechanism, the pressing block 2a is connected to the positioning claw 3d fixed to the shaft bracket leg 6 via the support arm 2 and the rotating shaft bracket 3. And a guide bearing 3e for positioning the pressure block 2a by sandwiching the claws from both sides.

However, at the time of fusion splicing, it is necessary to adjust the clearance between the positioning claw 3d and the guide bearing 3e due to a dimensional change due to a change in environmental temperature or the like. There is a problem that requires. In addition, as a result of this positioning mechanism being required to have high precision, these portions including the shaft fitting leg 3c occupy a relatively large volume, which hinders miniaturization of the device.
Further, there is a problem that the configuration of the fusion splicing device is complicated and the cost of parts is high. On the other hand, the fusion splicing of optical fibers is performed in a work environment including various inferior states, and there is a demand for extremely large fusion splicing of optical fibers.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a pressure block for pressurizing and fixing an optical fiber placed on a V-groove member, a support arm for holding the pressure block at the tip,
A rotating shaft bracket fixed to the other end of the support arm,
A supporting outer cylinder that slidably accommodates the rotating shaft bracket, and an optical fiber clamp that is housed in the supporting outer cylinder and has both ends fixed to the inner wall of the supporting outer cylinder and the rotating shaft bracket. A positioning pin is fixed to the rotating shaft bracket, a positioning slit is perforated in a side surface of the support outer cylinder, and the positioning pin is fixed to the positioning slit by a rotational force applied by the urging spring. Positioning the pressure block by abutting against the side surface of the optical fiber, and pressing the optical fiber with the pressure block mounted on the V-groove member by the force in the pressure direction applied by the urging spring. An optical fiber clamp characterized by being fixed by pressing.

Further, the present invention is an optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus using the optical fiber clamp.

According to the optical fiber clamp of the present invention, a simple positioning mechanism for guiding the positioning pin of the supporting outer cylinder by the positioning slit of the supporting outer cylinder by the rotating shaft bracket and the urging spring having both ends fixed to the supporting outer cylinder. Since the pressure block is accurately positioned, the positioning adjustment time can be significantly reduced.

Further, the optical fiber clamp of the present invention has a simple positioning mechanism, and the mechanism and the pressing mechanism share some members, thereby realizing miniaturization of the apparatus.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows an optical fiber fusion splicer of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows an optical fiber clamp of the present invention, and FIG.
2 shows a partial sectional view of the optical fiber clamp shown in FIG.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 5 to 7. Note that the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

(Optical Fiber Clamp) First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pressing block 2 a is
Has a plane parallel to the surface including the V groove 50a. With this plane, the optical fiber 1 to be connected, which is placed facing the V-groove 50a on the V-groove member 50,
Pressure is applied to the surface of the groove member 50 in a vertical direction and the groove member 50 is fixed.

The support arm 2 has a pressure block 2a at its tip.
, And the other end is fixed in a direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft bracket 3,
It has a function of transmitting the force of the fingertip transmitted via the adjustment knob 3a and the force applied to the rotating shaft 3 by the urging spring 3b to the pressing block 2a.

Therefore, the position of the pressure block 2a in the rotation direction and the vertical direction is determined with the movement of the support arm 2 in the rotation direction and the vertical direction about the rotation shaft fitting 3, and the support arm 2 is moved. By the force applied via
It has a function of pressing the optical fiber 1 placed in the V groove 50a on the groove member 50.

The rotating shaft 3 is slidably housed in the supporting outer cylinder 4 and is supported vertically. That is, the rotating shaft fitting contacts the supporting outer cylinder 4 via the supporting bearing 4a at the upper part of the supporting outer cylinder 4, and at the lower part, the rotating shaft of the rotating shaft fitting 3 is inserted into the bearing hole at the lower part of the supporting outer cylinder 4. It is supported by being inserted.

A columnar positioning pin 30 is joined to the rotating shaft 3 in a direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft 3, and a positioning slit 40 is bored in the support outer cylinder 4.
Into the positioning slit 40 and the positioning pin 3
0 is brought into contact with the positioning contact surface 40a of the positioning slit 40, so that the V
A position on the groove member is specified. In addition, positioning slit 4
Although 0 is perforated on the side surface of the support outer cylinder 4, it is not limited to a slit having an opening, and may be a groove-like slit having a bottom.

Further, both ends of a biasing spring 3b are connected to the rotating shaft fitting 3 and the support outer cylinder 4, and the force of the biasing spring is applied to the rotating shaft fitting 3 in the rotating direction and the pressing direction. This force is transmitted to the pressure block 2a via the arm 2. As a result, in the pressing direction, the gravity of the member and the urging spring 3
A predetermined pressure is generated by the force b, and the pressing block 2a can press and fix the optical fiber 1 on the V-groove member 50 at a predetermined pressure.

The magnitude of the pressure of the pressure block 2a is as follows:
First, it is necessary that the value be such that the axis deviation of the optical fiber 1 can be suppressed at a minimum.
When the optical fiber 1 on the groove 50a is pressed by the pressing block 2a, the opposing optical fiber 1 can be slid by another force to bring the end face close to the groove 50a. It is necessary that the pressure range be lower than the value at which buckling occurs.

The magnitude of this pressure depends on the V-groove member 50.
Although it depends on the number of optical fibers to be connected, the distance between both ends of the force spring 3b can be transferred to the rotating shaft bracket 3 and the supporting outer cylinder 4 without changing the force spring 3b each time the number of optical fibers changes. The pressure can be adjusted to a desired pressure by changing the fixing position according to the number of optical fibers.

Even if the thickness of the positioning pin 30 is wider than the width of the positioning slit 40 of the support outer cylinder 4 and there is a gap between the positioning pin 30 and the side surface of the positioning slit 40,
The positioning pin 30 moves the positioning contact surface 40a by the force in the rotation direction of the rotating shaft 3 applied by the pressing spring 3c.
The optical fiber 1 on the V-groove member 50 can be accurately pressed and fixed at a predetermined position.

As the biasing spring 3c, a twist spring is preferable, but a combination of a torsion spring and a compression spring may be used. In addition, the present invention is not limited to a spring, and a magnetic force or the like can be used.

The positioning slit 40 is formed in an inverted L shape not only in a vertical direction but also in a direction orthogonal thereto. The positioning slit in the vertical direction is a slit for specifying the position of the pressure block 2a, and the slit in a direction perpendicular to this is a slit for moving the support arm 2 and the pressure block 2a in the rotation direction. The latter is specifically used to position the pressure block 2a on the V-groove member 50 at the time of fusion splicing, and to position the pressure block 2a in the opposite direction to the V-groove member 50 at other times.

The flange 5 and the leg 6 are members for fixing the optical fiber clamp 10 to the base 100 of the optical fiber fusion splicer.

(Fusion Splicing Apparatus Using Optical Fiber Clamp) The optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention is obtained by mounting the optical fiber clamp 10 of the present invention on a conventional optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 5, a V-groove member 50 having a V-groove 50a on the surface thereof on the base 100,
A predetermined position of the optical fiber 1 placed opposite to the groove member 50 is fixed to a pair of the optical fiber clamp 10 of the present invention mounted so that the pressing block 2a can pressurize, and the V groove 50a. A pair of discharge electrodes 6 mounted in orthogonal directions
It consists of 0.

When the optical fiber clamp 10 is mounted on the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus, the pressing block 2a is mounted on the V-groove member while the side surface of the positioning pin 30 is in contact with the positioning contact surface 40a. After adjusting the position of the support outer cylinder 4 with respect to a clamp receiving port (not shown) of the base 100 so as to be located at a predetermined position on the base 50, the leg 6 is inserted until the flange 6 contacts the surface of the base 100. And fixed.

(Method of Fusion Splicing Optical Fiber by Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing Apparatus) When the optical fiber 1 is fusion spliced by the optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus, first, as shown in FIG. 7 is cut off, and the ends are trimmed to be opposed to the V-groove 50a of the V-groove member 50 (not shown) at an interval L of about 2 mm to 3 mm as illustrated in FIG. And place it. As the optical fiber 1 to be fusion spliced, FIG.
As illustrated in (b), even in the case of an optical fiber core,
It may be an optical fiber ribbon.

Adjusting knob 3 of optical fiber clamp 10
a is pinched with a fingertip and rotated to move the pressure block 2a, which is held on the opposite side of the V-groove member 50, onto the V-groove member 50, and the positioning adjustment pins 30 move the 30 in the vertical direction of the positioning slit 40. Adjustment knob 3a pushed into the slit
Let go. This operation is performed simultaneously for the pair of clamps 10.

When the optical fiber 1 is pressed by the pressure block 2a and the optical axes of the optical fibers 1 are aligned with each other, as shown in FIG. In the sandwiched state, the optical fiber 1 is slid by applying another force to the optical fiber 1 so that the distance LL between the end faces is 10 μm.
approach to about 20 to 20 μm. In this state, a discharge is caused between the discharge electrodes 60 to be heated and melted, thereby completing the connection.

[0032]

According to the optical fiber clamp of the present invention, the rotating shaft bracket and the urging springs whose both ends are fixed to the supporting outer cylinder are provided.
Since a simple positioning mechanism for accurately guiding the positioning pins of the support outer cylinder by the positioning slits of the support outer cylinder is employed, the time for positioning adjustment can be significantly reduced.

In the optical fiber clamp of the present invention, since the positioning mechanism and the pressing mechanism are integrated, a relatively complicated positioning mechanism including a conventional positioning claw and a guide bearing sandwiching the claw from both sides is unnecessary. Thus, the optical fiber fusion splicing operation can be performed accurately and easily even under a poor working environment, with a reduction in the size and weight of the device and a reduction in cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus using an optical fiber clamp of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber clamp of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the inside of a support outer cylinder of the optical fiber clamp of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view and a sectional view showing a conventional optical fiber clamp.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a coating of an end of an optical fiber to be connected is removed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the optical fibers aligned on the V-groove member are pressed and held by a pressing block.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing sliding and approaching of an optical fiber under a pressure block during fusion splicing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Optical fiber 2: Support arm 2a: Pressure block 3: Rotating shaft bracket 3a: Adjusting knob 3b: Force spring 4: Support outer cylinder 4a: Support bearing 5: Support flange 6: Leg 30: Positioning pin 40: Positioning slit 40a: Positioning contact surface 50: V groove member 50a: V groove 60: Discharge electrode 100: Base

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pressure block for pressurizing and fixing an optical fiber placed on a V-groove member, a support arm for holding the pressure block at the tip, and fixed to the other end of the support arm. A light comprising a rotating shaft fitting, a supporting outer cylinder slidably housing the rotating shaft fitting, and a biasing spring housed in the supporting outer cylinder and having both ends fixed to the supporting outer cylinder and the rotating shaft fitting. In the fiber clamp, a positioning pin is fixed to the rotating shaft bracket, a positioning slit is perforated in a side surface of the support outer cylinder, and the positioning pin is rotated by a force in a rotating direction applied by the urging spring. The pressing block was positioned by contacting the side surface of the positioning slit, and the pressing block was placed on the V-groove member by the force in the pressing direction applied by the urging spring. Light fa An optical fiber clamp characterized by fixing the rivets under pressure. 2. An optical fiber fusion splicing apparatus using the optical fiber clamp according to claim 1.