JPH0735949A - Optical fiber terminating ferrule part - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the optical fiber terminating ferrule part with which the reduction of the number of parts of a working robot is possible and the miniaturization of the, working robot is possible in the case of handling of the optical fiber with a robot hand. CONSTITUTION:This optical fiber terminating ferrule part 5 has a circular 'cylindrical optical fiber supporting part 1 in which an optical fiber 2 is inserted and a cylindrical coated optical fiber holding part 3 which is coupled to one end 1a of the optical fiber supporting part 1 and holds a coated optical fiber 4. Outer peripheral surfaces of respectively the same outside diameter are formed in at least a part of the optical fiber supporting part 1 and at least a part of the coated optical fiber holding part 3. Large-diameter cylindrical parts 1c, 3a are formed in a part where at least either of the coupling part of the optical fiber supporting part 1 and the coated optical fiber holding part 3 is fitted to the other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber terminating ferrule part which is advantageous when an optical fiber is handled by a work robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical fiber terminating ferrule is a basic constituent element of an optical connector. Generally, a columnar optical fiber wire support part in which an optical fiber wire is inserted and supported and an optical fiber wire support part of this optical fiber wire support part. It is composed of a cylindrical optical fiber core holding portion which is coupled to one end and holds the optical fiber core.

Since there is no technique for directly handling the ferrule part of the optical fiber by the work robot, the ferrule part generally has different shapes of the optical fiber element wire supporting part and the optical fiber core wire holding part.

[0004]

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when an optical fiber is to be handled by a work robot, the ferrule part 7 of the optical fiber must be securely held by the pair of claws 6 and 6 of the robot hand. It is necessary to hold them, but in order to securely hold them, it is necessary to form holding surfaces 6a and 6a on each of the pair of claws 6 and 6 so as to match the outer diameter of the portion holding the ferrule portion 7.

However, as described above, the ferrule part of the conventional optical fiber is different in shape from the optical fiber element wire support part and the optical fiber core wire holding part, and the outer diameters thereof are also formed to have different sizes. Therefore, in order to surely hold the ferrule part of the optical fiber, when holding the optical fiber strand supporting part, the claw of the robot hand dedicated to the optical fiber strand supporting part must be prepared.

For this reason, when an optical fiber is to be handled by the work robot, different claws of the robot hand must be used every time the optical fiber bare wire support portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion are held. , The number of robot hands has increased, the work robot has become larger,
Further, there is a problem that the number of parts of the work robot also increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the number of parts of the work robot and to downsize the work robot when the optical fiber is handled by the robot hand. The purpose is to provide an optical fiber terminating ferrule part.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a columnar optical fiber wire support part in which an optical fiber wire is inserted and supported, and an optical fiber wire support part connected to one end part of the optical fiber wire support part. In addition, in an optical fiber terminating ferrule part comprising a cylindrical optical fiber core wire holding part for holding the optical fiber core wire, at least a part of the optical fiber element wire support part and at least a part of the optical fiber core wire holding part. , Forming an outer peripheral surface having the same outer diameter, and forming a large-diameter cylindrical portion at a portion where either one of the coupling portions of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion is fitted to the other It is characterized by that.

[0009]

According to the present invention, since the optical fiber terminating ferrule portion as described above is used, the optical fiber element wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion have portions having the same outer diameter. When the optical fiber is handled by gripping with the claw of the robot hand, the claw of the robot hand having the same shape can surely grip the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion.

Further, since a large-diameter cylindrical portion is formed at a portion where either one of the coupling portion between the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion is fitted to the other, this portion is formed as one portion. When gripping with a robot hand to handle an optical fiber, the optical fiber termination ferrule part can be handled with the other robot hand within the same operating range, no matter which direction the optical fiber termination ferrule part is rotated.

Further, since the large-diameter cylindrical portion is formed at the portion where either one of the coupling portion between the optical fiber strand supporting portion and the optical fiber core holding portion is fitted to the other, the optical fiber strand supporting portion is formed. The strength of the connecting part between the optical fiber and the optical fiber core holding part can be secured, and the reliability is high.In addition, when the optical fiber termination ferrule part is grasped by the robot hand and inserted into the adapter, this optical fiber termination ferrule part is used. Even if the gripped robot hand slides in the insertion direction, the robot hand stops at the large-diameter cylindrical portion, so the large-diameter cylindrical portion functions as a stopper, and the small gripping force of the robot hand causes the optical fiber termination ferrule. The part can be inserted into the adapter.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of an optical fiber terminating ferrule part according to the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical optical fiber element wire support portion formed of, for example, ceramic or the like and having an optical fiber element wire 2 inserted and supported therein. Reference numeral 3 denotes one end 1a of the optical fiber element wire support portion 1 formed of, for example, a stainless alloy. Is a cylindrical optical fiber core holding part that holds the optical fiber core 4 while being coupled to the optical fiber core supporting part 1.
And the optical fiber core wire holding portion 3 constitute an optical fiber terminating ferrule portion 5. The optical fiber is
The optical fiber element wire 2, the optical fiber core wire 4, and a coating portion (not shown) that covers the optical fiber core wire 4 are formed.

[0013] The optical fiber wire supporting portion 1, a support hole 1b which this is formed in a predetermined length in a cylindrical shape in the embodiment of uniform outer diameter D _1, the center optical fiber wire 2 is inserted and supported Has been drilled. Fiber optic cable holder 3
Is a large-diameter cylindrical portion 3a into which the one end 1a of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 is fitted, and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 3b into which the optical fiber core wire 4 extending from the large-diameter cylindrical portion 3a is inserted.
It is formed by. The outer diameter D ₂ of the small diameter cylindrical portion 3b is
It is formed with an outer diameter D ₁ and the same dimension of the optical fiber elements supporting part _{1 (D 1 = D 2)} . The outer diameter D ₃ of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 3a is the maximum outer diameter of the outer peripheral surfaces of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 and the optical fiber core holding portion 3.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the optical fiber terminating ferrule portion 5 according to the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the optical fiber element wire supporting portion 1 is different. at one end 1a, to form a concave hole 1a 'one end 3c of the optical fiber core wire holding portion 3 formed in a cylindrical shape with a uniform outer diameter D ₂ is fitted, the maximum outer diameter D one end portion 1a _This is the point where the large-diameter cylindrical portion 1c of ₃ is formed.

As in these embodiments, since the same outer diameter portion is formed in the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 and the optical fiber core wire holding portion 3, when the optical fiber is handled by the robot hand of the work robot, which direction is used? Even if the optical fiber terminating ferrule part is facing, if the same outer diameter part of the optical fiber element support part 1 and the optical fiber core wire holding part 3 is gripped by the claw of the robot hand, the claws of the robot hand of the same shape will work together. The robot can be reliably gripped in the same opening / closing operation range, therefore the number of robot hands can be reduced and the work robot can be miniaturized.Also, when multiple robot hands are provided, the same shaped claw can be shared for each robot hand. The number of parts can be reduced, the cost of the work robot can be reduced, and the mechanism can be simplified. The same outer diameter portion formed on the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 and the optical fiber core wire holding portion 3 is not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment, but may be formed on at least a part thereof.

Further, since the large-diameter cylindrical portions 1c and 3a are formed at the portions where one of the connecting portions of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 and the optical fiber core holding portion 3 is fitted to the other, the connecting portions are formed. Can be secured and the reliability is high.
When inserting the optical fiber terminating ferrule part 5 into an adapter (not shown), even if the robot hand holding the optical fiber terminating ferrule part 5 slips in the inserting direction, the robot hand is Since it stops, this large-diameter cylindrical portion functions as a stopper, and the optical fiber termination ferrule portion can be inserted into the adapter with a small gripping force of the robot hand.

Further, one of the robot hands holds the large-diameter cylindrical portions 1c and 3a, and the other robot hand forms the optical fiber terminating ferrule portion 5, and the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1 and the optical fiber core wire holding portion 3 are provided. When the robots are replaced, the interference between the two robot hands can be prevented because the opening and closing operation ranges of the two robot hands are different, and the mechanism of the robot hand and the control device can be simplified. it can.

[0018]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a columnar optical fiber wire support portion in which an optical fiber wire is inserted and supported and an end portion of the optical fiber wire support portion are coupled. An optical fiber terminating ferrule part including a cylindrical optical fiber core wire holding part for holding an optical fiber core wire, at least a part of the optical fiber element wire support part, and at least a part of the optical fiber core wire holding part, respectively. Since the outer peripheral surface with the same outer diameter is formed, when handling an optical fiber with a work robot, the same hand shape of the robot hand can be used to open and close the optical fiber bare wire support and the optical fiber core holding part with the same opening and closing operation of the robot hand's claw. You can surely grip in the range,
It is possible to reduce the number of robot hands by making them common and reduce the number of work robots.Also, even if multiple robot hands are provided, the same shape claw can be shared for each robot hand, reducing the number of parts. Therefore, the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the large-diameter cylindrical portion is formed in a portion where either one of the connecting portions of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core holding portion is fitted to the other, the strength of the connecting portion can be secured. The reliability is high, and when the optical fiber terminal ferrule part is inserted into the adapter, even if the robot hand holding the optical fiber terminal ferrule part slips in the insertion direction, Since it stops at the section, this large-diameter cylindrical section functions as a stopper, and the optical fiber termination ferrule section can be inserted into the adapter with a small gripping force of the robot hand.

In addition, when the one robot hand holds the large-diameter cylindrical portion and the other robot hand switches the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion forming the optical fiber terminating ferrule portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion, Two robot hands have different claw open / close range,
It is possible to prevent interference between the two robot hands, and to simplify the mechanism and the control device of the robot hand.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of an optical fiber terminating ferrule part of the present invention attached to an optical fiber.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of an optical fiber terminating ferrule part of the present invention attached to an optical fiber.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where an optical fiber terminating ferrule part is held by a robot hand.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 optical fiber bare wire supporting portion 1a 1 end 1a 'recessed hole 1b supporting hole 1c large diameter tubular portion 2 optical fiber bare wire 3 optical fiber core holding portion 3a large diameter tubular portion 3b small diameter tubular portion 3c one end portion 4 optical fiber Core wire 5 Optical fiber termination ferrule part 6 Robot hand claw 6a Holding surface 7 Ferrule part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A column-shaped optical fiber core supporting part in which an optical fiber core is inserted and supported, and a cylindrical optical fiber core which is coupled to one end of the optical fiber core supporting part and holds an optical fiber core. In an optical fiber termination ferrule part including a holding part, at least a part of the optical fiber element wire supporting part and at least a part of the optical fiber core wire holding part are each formed with an outer peripheral surface having the same outer diameter, Optical fiber termination ferrule part. 2. A large-diameter cylindrical portion is formed at a portion where either one of the connecting portions of the optical fiber bare wire supporting portion and the optical fiber core wire holding portion is fitted to the other. The optical fiber termination ferrule part described.