JP3106433B2 - Optical fiber twist prevention transfer jig - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer jig for preventing twisting of an optical fiber, and more particularly, in an optical fiber fusion splicing machine, twisting of an optical fiber between a fusion splicing position and a protection member mounting position. The present invention relates to a jig for moving over obstacles without causing the obstacle to move.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a jig for preventing twisting of an optical fiber in an optical fiber fusion splicer, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No.
No. 004 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2-258288 are known.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a transfer jig disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-54004 has a pair of left and right "L" shaped arms 1 having a base 1a connected by a hinge 2. As shown in FIG. ,
1 and each tip 1b of the pair of arms 1, 1;
1b is provided with a pair of holding members 3, 3 which are fixed to both sides of the connecting portion 4a of the optical fiber 4 with the pair of holding members 3, 3.

Accordingly, the optical fiber 4 set at the working position of the fusion splicer 6 of the fusion splicer 5 is gripped while the transfer jig is bent in a "V" shape (FIG. 4). The transfer jig is extended straight (FIG. 3), and is moved from the fusion device 6 to the work position of the reinforcement device 8 of the fusion splicer 5 while bypassing the obstacle 7 on the way, and set in the reinforcement device 8. It has become.

The above-mentioned transfer jig has a structure in which an operator holds the transfer jig in his / her hand, and the transfer jig itself is not fixed in the work of holding the optical fiber 4 and the work of setting the same in the reinforcing device 8. Therefore, the work becomes unstable, and the set position may be shifted or the optical fiber 4 may be damaged. In the transfer operation, the transfer jig was distorted, and the optical fiber 4 was easily twisted or bent.

The transfer jig disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-258288 is an improvement over the above drawbacks. This Japanese Patent Application 2-
The outline of the transfer jig disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 258288 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, a rotating shaft 10 is supported by a shaft support member 9 provided on one side of the fusion splicer 5.
Rotating arms 11, 11a are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 10, respectively.
(This pivot arm may be a one-joint arm or a two-joint arm, and in the illustrated example, a two-joint arm is shown). A grip 13 for gripping the optical fiber 4 is pivotally supported. A timing belt (not shown) is stretched between the rotating shaft 10 and the support shaft 12.

Therefore, according to the transfer jig of FIG. 5, the ends of the pair of optical fibers 4 are connected to the fusion device 6 of the fusion splicer 5.
Then, by rotating the rotating shaft 10 by a drive motor (not shown), the right and left gripping tools 13 are simultaneously rotated, and the connecting portion 4a of the optical fiber 4 is passed over the obstacle 7 and The heat-shrinkable tube (not shown) having a predetermined length loosely fitted to the optical fiber 4 is moved to the connecting portion 4a, and the heat-shrinkable tube is heated by the reinforcing device 8. And the connecting portion 4 of the optical fiber 4
a.

[0008]

According to the above-mentioned transfer jig, a pair of right and left rotating arms are linked by a rotating shaft, and the optical fiber is gripped and fused by a holding tool pivotally supported at the tip of each rotating arm. From the position to the reinforcement position. In other words, the left and right rotating arms pivotally supporting the optical fiber gripper are synchronously transmitted by the rotating shaft, and the joint operation of the rotating arms is performed via the timing belt. However, since the left and right rotating arms are merely connected at their base ends by the rotating shaft, it is extremely difficult for the operator to synchronize the left and right rotating arms, and a shift occurs on the left and right sides. There is a disadvantage that the optical fiber is easily twisted.
Such a problem is further amplified by the fact that the gripper is pivotally supported by the rotating arm and linked by the timing belt. Further, the above configuration has a disadvantage that the operation of the transfer jig is complicated and slow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement of the above-described drawback, and is directed to a fusion splicer capable of transferring an optical fiber from a fusion position to a reinforcement position without twisting, bending, or damaging the connection portion of the optical fiber. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber transfer jig.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber twist prevention transfer jig according to the present invention comprises an optical fiber connected at a first connection point which is a fusion part of a fusion splicer. In a jig for gripping both sides of the fiber and transferring the optical fiber to a second connection point which is a reinforcing heating section, a fixing frame fixed to the fusion splicer, a first connection point and a second connection point A pair of rotating arms pivotally supported by the fixed frame so as to rotate about the middle of the arm, and having a bent portion bent so that the distal end extends upward at the first connection point, and the pair of rotating arms And a connecting plate for connecting the distal ends of the pair of turning arms to each other, and gripping portions provided at the bending portions of the pair of rotating arms for clamping the optical fiber.

Preferably, a reinforcing sleeve is loosely inserted in the optical fiber, and the rotating arm is temporarily stopped in the fixed frame at an intermediate point where the rotating arm moves from the first connection point to the second connection point. There is provided a stopper means for performing the operation.

[0012]

After the optical fiber is spliced at the first working point,
By gripping the connection plate and rotating the pivot arm about the fulcrum, the optical fiber grasped by the grasping portion can be transferred from the first working point to the second connection point over an obstacle. it can. In this case, the pair of rotating arms are connected by a connecting plate on the distal end side from the bent portion, and the left and right rotating arms are connected at a plurality of locations by the respective shaft supports and the connecting plate. It is easy to rotate and synchronize the sides,
No twist occurs in the connected optical fiber. Further, during the transfer of the optical fiber, the rotation arm is temporarily stopped by the stopper pin and the locking member, and the reinforcing sleeve is gently moved to the connection portion of the optical fiber at the stop position.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a transfer jig according to the embodiment, FIG. 2a is a side view, and FIG. 2b is an enlarged sectional view of stopper means. The fixing frame 14 of the transfer jig is configured by combining both side frames 14a and both end frames 14b arranged in parallel in a rectangular shape, and connecting ends of the respective frames using a fixing bracket 15. Reinforcing portions 16 are formed by partially protruding both side frames 14a of the fixed frame 14 downward.
A nut 18 is fixed to the reinforcing portion 16 such that a screw hole is positioned in the guide groove 17. Then, the fixing frame 14 is placed on the upper portion of the fusion splicer 5, the fixing bolt 19 is screwed into the nut 18, and the side of the fusion splicer 5 is pressed at the tip thereof, thereby fixing the fixing frame 14. It can be fixed to the upper part of the destination connection machine 5.

The base ends of a pair of left and right rotating arms 21 are pivotally supported by the support shafts 20 on both side frames 14a. The distal ends of the left and right rotating arms 21 are integrally connected by a connecting plate 22 extending left and right. Two portions of the rotating arm 21 are bent in opposite directions, and a clamp 24 is fixed to the first bent portion by two small screws 23 as a holder for the optical fiber 4. The clamp 24 is formed by pivotally supporting two sandwiching members 24a by a support shaft 25 so as to be openable and closable.
By closing a, the optical fiber 4 can be held.

A stopper pin 26 is provided in the middle of the rotating arm 21. The stopper pin 26 is provided at a position closer to the distal end than the two bent portions of the rotating arm 21, and the stopper pin 26 is provided around the support shaft 20 of the rotating arm 21.
The stopper pin 26 and the clamp 24 are provided at a distance of about 35 °. A hole 27 is formed in the side frame 14a of the fixed frame 14.
The stopper pin 26 is formed in the hole 27.
Is provided movably in the axial direction by a contraction spring 28. The locking member 29 and the contraction spring 28 are housed in a case 32 attached to the fixed frame 14 (see FIG. 2B). Also, both sides 1 of the fixed frame 14
4a, two locking projections 30 for restricting the rotation of the rotating arm 21 at a position of 180 ° are provided on both sides of the support shaft 20 as a center.

Next, the operation of the optical fiber transfer jig according to this embodiment will be described.

First, the fixing bolt 19 is tightened, and its tip is pressed against the side surface of the fusion splicer 5 to fix the fixing frame 14 to the fusion splicer 5. At this time, the reinforcing sleeve 31 is loosely inserted into one of the optical fibers 4 to be connected. Reinforcement sleeve 3
Reference numeral 1 denotes a heat-shrinkable plastic tube.

Next, at a first working point A, the optical fiber 4 is fused at the connecting portion 4a by a fusion device (not shown). At this time, the turning arm 21 is turned so as not to hinder the connection operation, and the connecting plate 22 is turned to the intermediate point B or the second working point C side.

When the connection operation of the optical fiber 14 is completed, the rotating arm 21 is moved to a first working point A shown by a solid line in the figure, and both ends of each connected optical fiber 4 are clamped by the clamp 24. In this case, the left and right optical fibers 4 are separately clamped, but in this state, the optical fibers 4 are clamped so that a slight tension is applied.

Next, the connecting plate 22 is gripped, and FIGS.
When the optical fiber 4 is pulled to the left in (a), the optical fiber 4 clamped by the clamp 24 via the rotating arm 21 starts an arc movement around the support shaft 20 and passes over the obstacle 7 on the way.

The rotation arm 21 is moved from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
At the time of rotating by 35 °, the stopper pin 26 is engaged with the locking member 29, and the optical fiber 4 is temporarily stopped at the intermediate point B in the figure. At this time, the loosely fitted reinforcing sleeve 31 shown in the optical fiber 4 is gently moved with a fingertip to move it to the connecting portion 4a of the optical fiber 4.

Next, holding the connecting plate 22, FIG.
(A) is pushed down, and the rotating arm 21 is further rotated. As a result, the locking member 29 having a hemispherical tip is pressed by the stopper pin 26 and retreats against the spring 28, disengagement from the stopper pin 26, further rotating the rotating arm 21, and 2 Optical fiber 4 at work point C
Can be moved.

At this second working point C, the reinforcing sleeve 31 is set at the center of the heater of the reinforcing device 8.
Then, when the reinforcing device 8 is operated, the reinforcing sleeve 31 is heated and shrunk to be in close contact with the connecting portion 4a, and is in a state of protecting the connecting portion 4a. After the reinforcing work is completed at the second working point C, the connection work is completed by releasing the optical fiber 4 from the clamp 24.

As described above, one of the major problems in the fusion splicer is that the connection portion of the optical fiber is very likely to be broken by torsional stress during the transfer. Further, this twist is caused by a slight error in the operation of the connection operator before the optical fiber 4 is connected, the connecting portion 4a is covered with the reinforcing sleeve 31, the reinforcing device 8 is mounted, and the reinforcing operation is completed. What happens.

Therefore, the transfer jig is required to be easy to operate and highly reliable. In this regard, when the connecting operation was actually performed using the transfer jig according to the present embodiment, no twist occurred at the connecting portion 4a of the optical fiber 4. Further, the optical fiber 4 was transported after being fixed by the clamp 24, and the reinforcing operation was completed, and it took about 5 seconds from the clamp 24 to the opening, excluding the reinforcing heating time.

When the optical fiber 4 is transferred from the first working point A to the second working point C by half a turn by 180 °, the twisting phenomenon is zero and there is no problem in this point. Strength reliability was confirmed.

In the present invention, fixing means for fixing the fixing frame 14 to the fusion splicer 5, stopper means for temporarily stopping the rotating arm 21 at the intermediate point B, and a rotating arm for the optical fiber 4 The means for clamping to 21 and the like may have a configuration different from that of the embodiment.

[0029]

As described above, according to the optical fiber twist prevention transfer jig of the present invention, since the left and right rotating arms are connected by the connecting plate, the left and right rotating arms are held by the connecting plate. Since the arm and the optical fiber gripper can be reliably rotated synchronously, when the optical fiber is transported from the separating device to the reinforcing device over obstacles, twisting, bending, bending, etc., are performed between the left and right optical fibers. Does not occur. Thus, the connection portion of the optical fiber is not broken during the operation, and the efficiency of the connection operation and the reliability can be improved. Furthermore, the transfer jig of the present invention has a simple structure and good operability, and from this point, the connection operation can be performed quickly and efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an optical fiber transfer jig according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged sectional view of a stopper unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first example of a conventional transfer jig.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second example of a conventional transfer jig.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... optical fiber, 4a ... connection part, 5 ... fusion splicer, 6 ...
Fusion device, 7 obstacle, 8 reinforcement device, 14 fixed frame,
Reference numeral 20: support shaft, 21: rotating arm, 22: connecting plate, 24:
Clamp, 26: Stopper pin, 29: Locking member, 3
1. Reinforced sleeve.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Michiya 1-16-10 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Nihon Taiyo Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Yoshioka 1-16-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Ocean Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-134403 (JP, A) JP-A-59-102207 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB G02B 6/24-6/40

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A jig for gripping both sides of an optical fiber connected at a first connection point as a fusion splicing part of a fusion splicer and transferring the optical fiber to a second connection point as a reinforcement heating part. A fixing frame fixed to the fusion splicer; and a pivot supported by the fixing frame so as to rotate around an intermediate point between the first connection point and the second connection point, and to the first connection point. A pair of rotary arms having a bent portion whose distal end is bent upward in a certain state; a connecting plate connecting the distal ends of the pair of rotary arms with respect to the bent portion; and a pair of rotary arms A jig for preventing twisting of the optical fiber, the gripping part being provided at each of the bent portions of the arm and clamping the optical fiber. 2. The optical fiber has a reinforcing sleeve loosely inserted therein, and the fixed frame is provided with the rotation arm at an intermediate point where the rotation arm moves from the first connection point to the second connection point. 2. The jig for preventing twisting of an optical fiber according to claim 1, further comprising stopper means for temporarily stopping the moving arm.