JP2012032725A - Small-diameter bending optical connector and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-diameter bending optical connector that allows a loss variation by vibration or mechanical shock to be restrained and breakage probability to be sufficiently reduced, and a method for manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: A small-diameter bending optical connector 21 includes a bent optical fiber fixing component 28 and an optical connector housing 29. The bent optical fiber fixing component 28 includes a bent optical fiber 30, ferrules 31 and 31, and a fixing-component housing 32. The bent optical fiber 30 has a bent portion 33 and straight line portions 34 and 34 continuing to the bent portion 33. The fixing-component housing 32 has ferrule spaces 43 and 43, a bent-portion space 44 and straight-line portion spaces 45 and 45. The optical connector housing 29 has fitting portions 48 and 48 and a fixing-component recess 49. The bent portion 33 is fixed by an adhesive 52.

Description

  The present invention relates to a small-diameter bending optical connector used locally at a bending portion of an optical transmission line and a method for manufacturing the small-diameter bending optical connector.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique of an optical connector (referred to as an optical module in the literature) that is locally used at a bending portion of an optical transmission line. Hereinafter, the configuration and structure of the optical connector will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  The optical connector 1 includes a plug portion 2, an optical fiber storage portion 3, and a receptacle portion 4. The optical connector 1 has a structure in which a plug portion 2, an optical fiber storage portion 3, and a receptacle portion 4 are integrated.

  The plug part 2 has a ferrule 5, a spring 6, and a fitting part 7 for accommodating them. The plug portion 2 is configured such that the ferrule 5 can move by a predetermined amount along the longitudinal direction of the plug portion 2 by deformation of the spring 6.

  The receptacle part 4 includes a ferrule 8, a sleeve 9, and a fitting part 10 that accommodates these. The ferrule 8 is housed in the sleeve 9 on the tip side.

  The optical fiber housing 3 has a short optical fiber 11 and a housing space 12 for housing the optical fiber 11. A ferrule 5 and a ferrule 8 are respectively assembled to the terminal of the optical fiber 11. The optical fiber 11 is accommodated in a free state without being particularly fixed in the accommodation space 12.

  The optical connector 1 is formed so that the angle formed by the longitudinal direction of the plug portion 2 and the longitudinal direction of the receptacle portion 4 is 90 ° (in Patent Document 1 below, the angle can be varied by rotating means). Possible examples are also disclosed). The optical fiber 11 is bent approximately 90 ° between the ferrule 5 and the ferrule 8.

  In the above configuration and structure, when the optical connector 1 is locally used at a bending portion in the middle of the optical transmission path, the ferrule 5 moves to the optical fiber housing portion 3 side due to deformation of the spring 6. At this time, the optical fiber 11 in the accommodation space 12 absorbs the movement of the ferrule 5 by the bending shown by the dotted line in the figure.

  In Patent Document 1 below, if the outer diameter (cladding diameter) of the optical fiber 11 is 40 μm to 90 μm, the optical fiber 11 having high mechanical reliability and low loss even if the bending radius is reduced. It is disclosed that it can be realized. In addition, regarding the optical fiber 11, a general (general purpose) outer diameter of 125 μm is not applicable, and if an outer diameter of 125 μm is used, the bending radius is 5 mm (R = 5 mm). It is disclosed that it is necessary to ensure mechanical reliability under certain conditions.

JP 2007-102112 A

  Since the optical fiber 11 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is housed in a free state without being particularly fixed in the housing space 12, when subjected to vibrations or impacts, the optical fiber 11 is accompanied accordingly. There is a possibility that the bending loss changes as the bending state changes. Therefore, in some cases, the bend radius (R) is instantaneously small, and as a result, there is a risk that loss increases and signal waveform is deteriorated.

  By the way, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for bending an optical fiber with a small diameter. However, there is a possibility that the bending radius is a barrier to the application of the optical fiber because of the risk of bending loss or breakage. In particular, when a glass optical fiber is bent with a small diameter, bending stress distortion increases as the glass diameter increases, and as a result, the probability of fracture increases, which may become a barrier.

  When using a general-purpose glass optical fiber having a clad diameter of 125 μm, a small bending radius of about R = 3 mm further increases the probability of breakage from the above. Accordingly, there is a concern that if such a small bending radius is locally used at a bending portion in the middle of the optical transmission path, it may lead to failure of the optical transmission path.

  In addition, when considering the case where a glass optical fiber having a large core diameter is used in consideration of connection loss, the cladding diameter increases as the core diameter increases (the optical fiber outer diameter also increases). Therefore, it can be said that there is a fear of breakage and it becomes difficult to bend with a small diameter.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and provides a small-diameter bending optical connector capable of suppressing loss fluctuation due to vibration and impact, and capable of sufficiently reducing the fracture probability, and a method for manufacturing the same. The issue is to provide. It is another object of the present invention to provide a small-diameter bending optical connector capable of improving productivity and reducing costs and a manufacturing method thereof.

  The small-diameter bending optical connector according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, includes a bent optical fiber fixing component and an optical connector housing for assembling the bent optical fiber fixing component. A bent optical fiber having a bent portion processed into a desired bending radius and a linear portion continuous to the bent portion, a ferrule to be assembled to each end of the linear portion of the bent optical fiber, and the ferrule are assembled to each other A fixed part housing having a space for a ferrule and a space for a bending part that accommodates the bending part, and the bending part accommodated in the space for the bending part is fixed by a fixing means. It is characterized by.

  A small-diameter bending optical connector according to a second aspect of the present invention is the small-diameter bending optical connector according to the first aspect, wherein a first micro-bending permissible space that allows micro bending of the linear portion extends from the end of the ferrule to the inside. It is characterized by forming.

  A small-diameter bending optical connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the small-diameter bending optical connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the ferrule and the second micro-bending allowable space that allow micro bending of the linear portion are provided. It forms between the space for bending parts, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The method of manufacturing a small-diameter bending optical connector according to claim 4, which has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, includes a bending light having a bending portion processed to a desired bending radius and a linear portion continuous to the bending portion. A bent optical fiber forming step for forming a fiber; a ferrule assembling step for performing a ferrule assembly at each end of the straight line portion before and after the bent optical fiber forming step; and the ferrule for a ferrule of a housing for a fixed part. Fixing the bent optical fiber by assembling it into a space, accommodating the bent portion in the bent portion space of the fixed component housing, and fixing the bent portion accommodated in the bent portion space with a fixing means Bending optical fiber fixing part forming step for forming parts, and bending optical fiber fixing part to optical connector housing Characterized in that it comprises an optical connector forming step of forming a small-diameter bending optical connector assembled to grayed, the.

  According to the present invention described in claim 1, if a bent optical fiber having a bent portion processed into a desired bending radius is included in the configuration, and bending stress distortion is removed during the processing of the bent portion, In providing an optical connector having a small bending radius, the optical fiber can be reduced in the probability of breakage. In addition, considering the case of using a glass optical fiber in which the core diameter is increased in consideration of connection loss, etc., and the cladding diameter is increased accordingly, the bending stress strain is removed during the bending process as described above. If it is made, when providing an optical connector with a small bending radius, there exists an effect that the fracture probability of an optical fiber can be made small. Providing a small-diameter bent optical connector that includes the bent optical fiber as described above also has an effect of preventing failure of the optical transmission line.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the bent portion of the bent optical fiber accommodated in the bent portion space is fixed by the fixing means, the bending state of the bent portion does not change even when subjected to vibration or impact. The effect of suppressing loss fluctuations is achieved.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the dimensional tolerance of the bending radius can be relaxed by including the fixed component housing in the configuration, the dimensional management of the bending portion in the bending optical fiber can be facilitated. There is an effect that can be done. Therefore, it is possible to improve productivity and reduce costs.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the variation in the size of the bent portion in the bent optical fiber can be absorbed in the first minute bending allowable space. Therefore, there is an effect that the dimension management of the bent portion can be further facilitated.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the variation in the size of the bent portion in the bent optical fiber can be absorbed in the second minute bending allowable space. Therefore, there is an effect that the dimension management of the bent portion can be further facilitated.

  According to the present invention described in claim 4, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a manufacturing method according to the small-diameter bending optical connector having the above-described effect.

It is a figure which shows the small diameter bending optical connector of this invention, (a) is a block diagram, (b) is explanatory drawing of a use condition. It is a perspective view which shows a bending optical fiber fixing component. It is a figure which shows the bending optical fiber of the state which provided the ferrule in the terminal, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the housing for fixed components of a base side, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view. It is a figure which shows an optical connector housing, (a) is a front view of the optical connector housing of a base side, (b) is a front view of the optical connector housing of a cover side. It is a figure which concerns on a bending optical fiber fixing component formation process, (a) is a figure before fixing a bending part, (b) is a figure after fixing a bending part. (A) is a figure which concerns on a bending optical fiber fixing component formation process, (b) is a figure which concerns on an optical connector formation process. (A)-(d) is a figure which concerns on formation when a bending radius is large and a bending radius is small. (A) is a figure which concerns on the modification of the housing for fixed components of a base side, (b) is a figure which concerns on the modification of a small diameter bending optical connector. It is sectional drawing of the optical connector of a prior art example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a small-diameter bending optical connector of the present invention. 2 is a diagram showing a bent optical fiber fixing component, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a bent optical fiber with a ferrule provided at the terminal, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a base-side fixing component housing, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram related to a bent optical fiber fixing component forming process, FIG. 7 is a diagram related to an optical fiber fixing component forming process and an optical connector forming process, and FIG. 8 is a case where the bending radius is large and the bending radius is FIG. 9 is a diagram related to a modification, and FIG. 9 is a diagram related to a modification.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a small-diameter bending optical connector of the present invention. The small-diameter bending optical connector 21 is a component used locally at a bending portion 23 in the middle of the optical transmission line 22. In this embodiment, the first optical fiber receptacle 24 and the second optical fiber receptacle 25 are optically connected. And a structure and structure that can be mechanically and mechanically connected. The longitudinal direction of the first optical fiber receptacle 24 and the longitudinal direction of the second optical fiber receptacle 25 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other in this embodiment. The small-diameter bending optical connector 21 can bend the optical transmission line 22 by approximately 90 ° (the bending angle is an example, and an arbitrary bending angle may be set).

  The first optical fiber receptacle 24 and the second optical fiber receptacle 25 each have a ferrule 26 provided in the transmission path 22 and a fitting portion 27 that accommodates the ferrule 26 and fits into the small-diameter bending optical connector 21. ing. The optically and mechanically connected structure to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21 is an example.

  The small-diameter bending optical connector 21 includes a bending optical fiber fixing component 28 and an optical connector housing 29 to which the bending optical fiber fixing component 28 is assembled. First, each of the above configurations will be described.

  1 and 2, the bent optical fiber fixing component 28 includes a bent optical fiber 30, ferrules 31 and 31, and a fixing component housing 32. The ferrules 31 and 31 are respectively assembled to the ends of the bending optical fiber 30, and the ferrules 31 and 31 and the bending optical fiber 30 are accommodated in predetermined positions of the fixed component housing 32.

  1 and 3, the bending optical fiber 30 is a short optical fiber in which the length necessary for the bending portion 23 is secured, and here, a glass optical fiber having a clad diameter of 125 μm is used. (The clad diameter of the conventional example may be 90 μm to 40 μm). The bent optical fiber 30 has a bent portion 33 bent at approximately 90 °, and straight portions 34 and 34 continuing to the bent portion 33.

  The bending part 33 is processed into a small bending radius (assuming a desired bending radius is sufficient), for example, about R = 3 mm. The bending portion 33 is formed by being bent and cured to the bending radius so that bending stress distortion does not remain while heating with a heater or the like. Even if the bending part 33 is bent, the distortion remaining in this part is very small. For this reason, even if it is the said bending radius, the probability that the bending part 33 will fracture | rupture in a long term is a sufficiently small thing (the bending part 33 does not have a possibility of fracture | rupture in the long term, and what is bent simply? Different). The bent portion 33 is formed as a portion between the virtual lines L1 and L1 in FIG.

  The straight portions 34 and 34 are formed as portions between the virtual lines L1 and L2. The straight portions 34 and 34 are formed not only as a part for assembling the ferrules 31 and 31 but also as a part for absorbing the dimensional tolerance of the bending radius of the bending part 33 (absorption of the dimensional tolerance). Will be described later).

  The ferrules 31 are the same, and only one of them will be described below. The ferrule 31 is a substantially cylindrical member made of metal or resin, and the outer surface of the cylinder is formed in a stepped shape. That is, the ferrule 31 has a large diameter part and a small diameter part. Moreover, the cylinder inner surface of the ferrule 31 is also formed in the step shape.

  Reference numeral 35 in the ferrule 31 indicates an optical fiber insertion hole as a portion through which the linear portion 34 is inserted and fixed. Reference numeral 36 indicates a first micro-bending allowable space that allows the linear portion 34 to be micro-bending. Further, reference numeral 37 indicates an optical fiber guiding taper formed between the first minute bending allowable space 36 and the optical fiber insertion hole 35. Furthermore, reference numeral 38 indicates a taper formed at the rear end portion of the ferrule 31.

  The optical fiber insertion hole 35 is formed so as to penetrate the center of the front end surface 39 of the ferrule 31. The first minute bending allowable space 36 is formed as an internal space from the taper 38 to the optical fiber guiding taper 37. The optical fiber guiding taper 37 is arranged and formed in a stepped portion on the inner surface of the cylinder.

  2 and 4, the fixed component housing 32 is a molded product made of synthetic resin, and includes a fixed component housing 40 on the base side and a fixed component housing 41 on the cover side. . The base-side fixed component housing 40 and the cover-side fixed component housing 41 have the same configuration and structure and are surface-bonded 42. In the following, one of them will be described as a representative (use of the cover-side fixed component housing 41 is optional. When used, it is effective in preventing and protecting the bent optical fiber 30 and the like). Note that when not used, the configuration of the optical connector housing 29 described later is changed to correspond to this).

  The base-side fixed component housing 40 has ferrule spaces 43 and 43, a bent portion space 44, and straight portion spaces 45 and 45, and is formed to have a substantially fan-shaped appearance. . The ferrule spaces 43 and 43, the bent portion space 44, and the straight portion spaces 45 and 45 are formed in a concave shape. The bent portion space 44 and the straight portion spaces 45, 45 are formed in shallow groove shapes extending between the ferrule spaces 43, 43. One or the other of the ferrule space 43 and the straight portion space 45 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other in this embodiment.

  The ferrule space 43 is a recess having a semicircular cross section for accommodating and assembling the ferrule 31, and is formed according to the diameter of the large diameter portion of the ferrule 31 and the length in the longitudinal direction. In the ferrule space 43, a straight portion space 45 is coupled. In addition, a bending portion space 44 is coupled to the straight portion space 45 with the same width.

  The bending portion space 44 is set so that the outer radius r1 that is the concave outer curve is equal to or greater than the maximum value of the bending radius in the bending optical fiber 30. Further, the inner radius r2 that is the inner curve is set to be equal to or smaller than the minimum value of the bending radius in the bending optical fiber 30. The shape of the bent optical fiber 30 is not particularly limited as long as it can be accommodated so that no stress is applied to the bent portion 33.

  The bent portion space 44 is formed as a portion between the imaginary lines L3 and L3 in FIG. The straight portion space 45 is formed as a portion between the ferrule space 43 and the virtual line L3.

  1 and 5, the optical connector housing 29 is a molded product made of synthetic resin, and includes a base-side optical connector housing 46 and a cover-side optical connector housing 47. The optical connector housing 46 on the base side and the optical connector housing 47 on the cover side have the same configuration and structure and are surface-bonded.

  The optical connector housing 46 on the base side and the optical connector housing 47 on the cover side are assembled with the fitting portions 48 and 48 into which the first optical fiber receptacle 24 and the second optical fiber receptacle 25 are fitted, and the bent optical fiber fixing component 28. It has a recessed part 49 for a fixed part which is the tip. The fitting portions 48 are arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal in the present embodiment. The fitting portions 48, 48 communicate with the fixed component concave portion 49, and the small diameter portions of the ferrules 31, 31 are inserted into the communication portion. The ferrules 31 and 31 are configured such that the distal ends protrude into the fitting portions 48 and 48.

  When the front ends of the ferrules 31 and 31 protrude into the fitting portions 48 and 48, these portions function as a first optical fiber plug 50 and a second optical fiber plug 51. The first optical fiber plug 50 is formed so that it can be optically and mechanically connected to the first optical fiber receptacle 24. The second optical fiber plug 51 is also formed so that it can be optically and mechanically connected to the second optical fiber receptacle 25 (for example, there is a lock structure, but this illustration is omitted).

  The recessed part 49 for fixed parts is formed so as to be recessed according to the external shape of the fixed part housing 32 (the fixed part housing 40 on the base side and the fixed part housing 41 on the cover side).

  Next, the assembly of the small-diameter bending optical connector 21 will be described based on the above configuration and structure.

<Bending optical fiber formation process>
In FIG. 3, in this step, the bent optical fiber 30 having the bent portion 33 and the linear portions 34 and 34 continuing to the bent portion 33 is formed. Specifically, the bending optical fiber 30 is formed by bending with a small bending radius of, for example, R = 3 mm so as not to leave bending stress strain while heating with a heater or the like, and then curing.

<Ferrule assembly process>
In FIG. 3, in this step, ferrules 31 and 31 are assembled to the straight portions 34 and 34 of the bent optical fiber 30, respectively. Specifically, the straight portion 34 is inserted from the rear end portion of the ferrule 31 and inserted into the optical fiber insertion hole 35, and is fixed by a known fixing method such as an adhesive. At this time, fixing is performed by protruding the end portion of the linear portion 34 from the front end surface 39 of the ferrule 31 (see FIG. 6). Such a ferrule assembling step may be performed before the bending portion 33 is bent in the bending optical fiber forming step.

<Bending optical fiber fixing part formation process>
6 and 7A, in this step, the bent optical fiber 30 in a state where the ferrules 31 and 31 are assembled to the terminal is connected to the fixed component housing 32 (the fixed component housing 40 and the cover side housing 40). At the same time, the bent portion 33 of the bent optical fiber 30 is fixed by the adhesive 52 and the bent optical fiber fixing component 28 is formed.

  Specifically, the ferrules 31 and 31 are accommodated in the ferrule spaces 43 and 43 in the base-side fixed component housing 40, and the bent portion 33 is accommodated in the bend portion space 44 in the base-side fixed component housing 40. This is first performed (see FIG. 6A). Next, the bending portion 33 accommodated in the bending portion space 44 is fixed with an adhesive 52 (see FIG. 6B). When the dimensional tolerance of the bending radius at the bending portion 33 is large or small, the ferrules 31 and 31 slightly protrude from the ferrule spaces 43 and 43. However, this protrusion will be absorbed later. The space of the reference numeral 53 generated by the protrusion corresponds to the second micro-bending allowable space described in the claims (described later).

  Subsequently, the base-side fixed component housing 40 is covered with the cover-side fixed component housing 41, and these are fixed by a fixing portion or an adhesive (not shown). At this time, the ferrules 31 and 31 are also fixed at predetermined positions of the ferrule spaces 43 and 43. For example, if the ferrules 31 and 31 shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 (b) are slightly protruding, they are fixed by slowly pushing them in. Since the ferrules 31 and 31 have the first micro-bending allowance space 36, as shown in FIG. 7A, the micro-bending of the linear portion 34 is allowed and the ferrules 31 and 31 can be fixed at predetermined positions. . Finally, the front end surface 39 is smoothed by polishing or the like so as to remove the end of the linear portion 34 protruding from the front end surface 39 of the ferrule 31 (the optical fiber end surface is smoothed and scattering at the end surface is performed). suppress). Thus, the formation of the bent optical fiber fixing part 28 is completed.

  As the adhesive 52 for fixing the bent portion 33 in connection with the formation of the bent optical fiber fixing part 28, for example, a UV curable resin is preferably used. In order to reduce bending loss, it is desirable to use a silicone-based and fluorine-based material having a low refractive index. As fixing by means other than the adhesive 52, it is preferable that pressing is performed using a pressing member (fixing means) made of a flexible material. It can be said that the bent portion 33 is not distorted by first setting the bent portion 33 to a fixed state by a fixing means such as an adhesive 52.

<Optical connector formation process>
7B, in this step, the bent optical fiber fixing component 28 is assembled to the optical connector housing 29 (the optical connector housing 46 on the base side and the optical connector housing 47 on the cover side), and the small-diameter bent optical connector 21 is assembled. To form. Specifically, the bent optical fiber fixing component 28 is first assembled to the fixing component concave portion 49 and the fitting portions 48 and 48 of the optical connector housing 46 on the base side. Next, the optical connector housing 47 on the cover side is covered with the optical connector housing 46 on the base side, and these are fixed by a fixing portion or an adhesive (not shown). Thus, the formation (assembly) of the small-diameter bending optical connector 21 is completed.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, according to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21, the bending optical fiber 30 having the bending portion 33 processed to a desired bending radius (R = about 3 mm) is configured. In addition, since the bending portion 33 is in a state in which the bending stress strain is removed at the time of formation, there is an effect that the breaking probability of the optical fiber can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Moreover, according to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the breaking probability of the optical fiber even when a glass optical fiber having a clad diameter of 125 μm, which is a general purpose, is used. If the breakage probability of the optical fiber can be reduced, the effect of preventing failure of the optical transmission line 22 is also achieved.

  Moreover, according to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21, the bending portion 33 accommodated in the bending portion space 44 is fixed by the adhesive 52, so that the bending state of the bending portion 33 is changed even when subjected to vibration or impact. There is an effect that it can be avoided. Therefore, there is an effect that loss fluctuation can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21, it is possible to loosen the dimensional tolerance of the bending radius due to the structure of the fixing component housing 32 (the fixing component housing 40 on the base side and the fixing component housing 41 on the cover side). Therefore, there is an effect that the dimension management of the bent portion 33 can be facilitated. Therefore, it is possible to improve productivity and reduce costs.

  Furthermore, according to the small-diameter bending optical connector 21, there is an effect that the variation in the dimension of the bending portion 33 can be absorbed by the first micro bending allowable space 36 and the second micro bending allowable space 53. Therefore, there exists an effect that the dimension management of the bending part 33 can be made easy.

  Subsequently, the bending optical fiber fixing component 28 will be supplementarily described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8A is a diagram when the bending radius of the bending portion 33 in the bending optical fiber 30 is formed with a desired dimension, and the bending portion 33 is in a fixed state at substantially the center position of the bending portion space 44. ing. The straight portions 34 and 34 are straight in the ferrules 31 and 31. By the way, when the bending radius is large and when the bending radius is small, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the micro bending of the linear portions 34, 34 is allowed in the first micro bending allowable space 36, 36. As a result, the ferrules 31, 31 can be fixed to a predetermined position. Of course, the microbending of the straight portions 34 and 34 is enabled by the formation of the first microbending allowance spaces 36 and 36, as shown in FIG. 8D, and the ferrules 31 and 31 and the bending portion space 44. It becomes possible by forming the second minute bending allowable space 53 between the two.

  Next, a modification will be described with reference to FIG. In the modification, a plurality of bent optical fibers 30 (see FIG. 3) can be used.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the ferrule spaces 43 and 43, the bent portion space 44, and the straight portion spaces 45 and 45 of the fixed component housing (base-side fixed component housing 40 ') are disposed outside. Similar to these, ferrule spaces 43 ′, 43 ′, bent portion spaces 44 ′, and straight portion spaces 45 ′, 45 ′ are provided.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the bent optical fiber fixing parts 28 and 28 are stacked one above the other.

  It goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Small diameter bending optical connector 22 ... Optical transmission path 23 ... Bending location 24 ... 1st optical fiber receptacle 25 ... 2nd optical fiber receptacle 26 ... Ferrule 27 ... Fitting part 28 ... Bending optical fiber fixing component 29 ... Optical connector housing 30 ... Bending optical fiber 31 ... Ferrule 32 ... Fixed part housing 33 ... Bending part 34 ... Linear part 35 ... Optical fiber insertion hole 36 ... First minute bending allowable space 37 ... Taper for optical fiber guide 38 ... Taper 39 ... End face 40 ... Base side fixed part housing 41 ... Cover side fixed part housing 42 ... Face joint 43 ... Ferrule space 44 ... Bending part space 45 ... Straight part part space 46 ... Base side optical connector housing 47 ... Cover side Optical connector housing 48 ... Fitting part 49 ... Fixed part recess 0 ... first optical fiber plug 51 ... second optical fiber plug 52 ... adhesive (fixing means)
53. Second minute bending allowable space

Claims (4)

A bent optical fiber fixing component and an optical connector housing for assembling the bent optical fiber fixing component;
The bent optical fiber fixing part,
A bent optical fiber having a bent portion processed into a desired bending radius and a linear portion continuous to the bent portion;
A ferrule to be assembled to each end of the straight portion of the bent optical fiber;
A fixed component housing having a ferrule space for assembling the ferrule and a bent portion space for accommodating the bent portion;
And comprising
A small-diameter bending optical connector, wherein the bending portion accommodated in the bending portion space is fixed by a fixing means. The small-diameter bending optical connector according to claim 1,
A small-diameter bending optical connector, wherein a first micro-bending allowable space that allows micro-bending of the linear portion is formed from the end of the ferrule to the inside. The small-diameter bending optical connector according to claim 1 or 2,
A small-diameter bending optical connector, wherein a second micro-bending allowable space that allows micro bending of the linear portion is formed between the ferrule and the space for the bending portion. A bending optical fiber forming step of forming a bending optical fiber having a bent portion processed into a desired bending radius and a linear portion continuous to the bent portion;
A ferrule assembling step that is performed either before or after the bending optical fiber forming step and that each attaches a ferrule to the end portion of the linear portion;
The ferrule is assembled in the ferrule space of the fixed component housing, the bent portion is accommodated in the bent portion space of the fixed component housing, and the bent portion accommodated in the bent portion space is further fixed by fixing means. A bending optical fiber fixing part forming step of forming a bending optical fiber fixing part by making it in a fixed state;
An optical connector forming step of forming the small-diameter bent optical connector by assembling the bent optical fiber fixing component to the optical connector housing;
A method of manufacturing a small-diameter bending optical connector, comprising:

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