JPH1039147A - Branching or multifiber/single fibercord converting section of coated optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a branching and converting section to single fibercord capable of executing branching of a coated fiber ribbon or converting thereof to single fibercords in a small space and easily and exactly executing the work. SOLUTION: Parallel optical cords 5 are inserted into the receiving part 10 of an optical connector 9 of which the inner shape of the receiving part 10 of the parallel optical cords 5 coincides with the external shape of the paralleled optical cords 5 and of which the axial centers of the insertion holes 12 of bare optical fibers 1c are aligned to the optical axis of the connector for the corresponding coated optical fiber ribbons. These parallel optical cords are extended as optical fibers 1a in a free cavity part 13f. The bare optical fibers 1c are inserted into V-grooves 11 and are inserted into the insertion holes 12 in the V-groove 11 parts and insertion hole 12 parts of a ferrule F as the bare optical fibers 1c. A resin curable with the lapse of time is injected into the cavity part 13 and the insertion holes 12 and is cured. The connecting end face of the connector 9 is polished and is connected to a connector for the corresponding coated optical fiber ribbons.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape slot type optical cable (hereinafter, referred to as "TSO cable") attached to or laid over a cable conduit, which is installed in a factory or building (hereinafter, simply referred to as "premises"). ) And a multi-fiber / single-fiber conversion section of an optical fiber ribbon (hereinafter simply referred to as “tape ribbon”) after being drawn into the optical fiber ribbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 7, an optical fiber cable is provided to protect an optical fiber core from external forces such as tension and pressure generated when the cable is laid in a cable conduit or laid on a utility pole. A required number of tape cores 1 are stacked and stored in each helical groove 2c of a slot rod 2b having a tension member 2a at the center, and an interposition 2e is arranged around the core.
The TSO cable 2 provided with d is adopted.

[0003] When the TSO cable 2 is pulled into the premises, the subsequent work is extension of a cable rack, cable tray or cabinet, branching, multi-core / single-core conversion, connection to terminal equipment, and the like. In addition, no external force such as tension or pressure affecting transmission characteristics is applied to the optical fiber core. Therefore, the rigid and expensive T
It is not preferable to use the SO cable 2 as it is from the viewpoints of easiness of construction and economy, and in some cases, the optical fiber core wire is locally bent or damaged due to the presence of the slot rod 2b. In some cases, even the transmission characteristics are impaired.

Therefore, after the TSO cable 2 is pulled into the premises, as shown in FIG.
The processing is generally performed as follows. That is, in the first process, the optical fiber cable (hereinafter, simply referred to as “optical cable”) Q or the optical fiber tape is used to connect several tape cores 1 to each other by the tape core connector 9 or the branch portion 8 or the like. Code (hereinafter simply referred to as “tape code”) 3
The second processing is multi-core /
A single-core optical fiber cord (hereinafter, simply referred to as an “optical cord”) 5 through a single-core conversion section 8 ′ (see FIG. 5), and the optical cord 5 is extended through a single-core connector 7. The third process involves connecting the optical cord 5 to a terminal of the optical / electrical converter R (see FIG. 7). The connection of the optical fiber is best obtained by fusion splicing from the viewpoint of transmission characteristics only.However, in consideration of the time required for the connection work, workability, and cost, Most of them use an optical fiber connector, or use a branch portion (multi-core / single-core conversion portion) 8 to which the optical fiber connector is applied.

Here, the conventional structure of the branch portion (multi-core / single-core conversion portion) 8 of the tape core 1 is provided with an insertion hole H for the tape cord 3 at one end and the other end as shown in FIG. Optical cord 5
Branch in the case 4 having a through hole h for drawing
(Single-core conversion) processing. The branching (multi-core / single-core conversion) process in the case 4 is necessary for construction from the end of the tape cord 3 in which the tension fiber 3a is wrapped around the tape core wire 1 and the jacket 3b is provided thereon. Length 3mm
And the tension fiber 3a are stepped off, and the outer peripheral resin coating 1b (see FIG. 8) of the tape core 1 is removed to obtain a branched single-core optical fiber 1a. Optical fiber strand 1 extending from it
a is covered with a tensile fiber 5a, covered with a protective tube 5b to form an optical cord 5, the optical cord 5 is pulled out from the through-hole h, and a time-curable resin 6 is injected into the space in the case 4 to form an optical cord 5. It becomes. At the end of the optical cord extending from the through hole h of the case 4, a connector 7 for extending the optical cord therefrom is mounted.

[0006]

The branch (multi-core / single-core conversion section) of the above-mentioned conventional tape ribbon 1 has a complicated structure and a large occupied space. However, there is a problem that the inside of the cabinet is filled with a tape cord, an optical cord, and a branch portion (multi-core / single-core conversion portion), and the size of the cabinet must be increased.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems.
In branching or converting to a single core, the space required for it is made as small as possible, and the operation for converting to a single or double branch can be easily and accurately performed. It is an object to provide a multi-core / single-core converter.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a bare optical fiber insertion hole, a V-groove for introducing a bare optical fiber into the insertion hole, and an optical fiber strand. And a receiving portion for receiving a required number of single-core optical fiber cords, wherein the optical axis corresponds to the optical axis corresponding to the insertion hole. The connector, which coincides with the optical axis of the fiber ribbon connector, and whose inner shape of the receiving portion substantially matches the outer shape of the required number of parallel single-core optical fiber cords,
The sheath and coating resin of the single-core optical fiber cord are peeled off, and a required number of parallel single-core optical fiber cords are inserted into the receiving portion, and the exposed optical fiber wire portion is peeled off and housed in the cavity. Then, a configuration is employed in which the bare optical fiber portion is inserted into the insertion hole while being fitted into the V-groove, and the space between the cavity and the insertion hole is filled with a time-curable resin.

In the present invention configured as described above,
The outer shape of the juxtaposed optical cord and the inside shape of the hole for receiving the optical code are substantially the same, and the optical fiber from the receiving hole to the ferrule is an optical fiber strand protected with a coating resin, and the ferrule is Since the part of the optical fiber to be fitted into the connector is bare and stored in key points (V-groove 11, insertion hole 12) of the connector, it is fixed with a time-curable resin, and the end face of the connector is polished and connected to the corresponding connector. The construction time and cost are reduced, the occupied space is reduced, and a secure connection is made.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector for an optical fiber ribbon connector, wherein a plurality of optical fiber ribbon connectors are combined with a number of optical fiber ribbons less than that of the connector. Insert the optical fiber ribbon with the number of cores equal to or less than the number into the tape core receiving portion, and peel off the outer resin coating of the tape core at the portion extending from the receiving portion to form a single core. And removing the resin coating of the portion of the optical fiber that fits into the V-groove of the ferrule and the insertion hole of the bare optical fiber to form a bare optical fiber, and fitting the bare optical fiber into the V-groove as described above. A configuration is adopted in which the resin is inserted into the insertion hole, and the space between the hollow portion of the ferrule and the insertion hole of the bare optical fiber is filled with a time-curable resin.

In the present invention configured as described above,
Using a connector prepared in advance, combining and inserting a desired number of tape cores into this connector, and forming a branch portion of the tape core in an arbitrary combination by connecting to a connector to be connected. Comes.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector 9 prepared in advance has four optical cords 5.
The receiving portion 10 having an inner shape substantially matching the outer shape of the side-by-side arrangement, the free cavity portion 13f extending from the receiving portion 10 to the V groove 11 of the ferrule F, and the connector 9 corresponding to the ferrule F portion are opposed to each other. It is composed of a guide pin 14 and a guide pin hole 16 for preventing the optical axis from being displaced when joined (see FIG. 4). In the ferrule F portion, a V groove 11 is further provided near the free cavity 13f. Bare optical fiber 1
c insertion hole 12 is provided. Note that a clamp leaf spring 17 (see FIG. 4) for holding the connection between the pair of connectors is provided as an accessory part.

Before forming the multi-core (tape core) / single-core conversion section, the length from one end of the optical fiber cord 5 to the required length (the length from the receiving section 10 of the connector 9 to the end of the insertion hole 12 of the bare optical fiber). ) Is stripped off to expose the optical fiber 1a, and the required length of the tip of the optical fiber 1a (the length from the V-groove 11 of the ferrule to the end of the insertion hole 12 of the bare optical fiber). The bare optical fiber 1c is exposed by peeling off the resin coating 1d and the coating resin 1e.

The four optical cords 5 prepared as described above are inserted in parallel into the receiving portion 10 of the connector 9 so that the protective tube 5
b is stopped at a position where it slightly enters from the end of the receiving portion 10. Between the receiving part 10 and the V-groove 11 of the ferrule F, the optical fiber 1a from which the protective tube 5b is peeled off
Is made not to intersect, and reaches the V-groove 11 of the ferrule F. The bare optical fiber 1c extending from there is
It is inserted into the insertion hole 12 along the bottom of the V groove 11. When the optical cord 5 is attached to the connector 9 as described above, the time-hardening resin 6 is injected into the gap between the cavity 13 (including the free cavity 13f) of the ferrule F and the insertion hole 12. If the hardening resin with time is injected after inserting the bare optical fiber 1c into the insertion hole 12, it is difficult to flow into the insertion hole 12, so that
Before the bare optical fiber 1c is inserted, the time-curable resin 6 is sucked from the end of the insertion hole 12 with a vacuum pump so that the hardening resin 6 with time passes.
2 should be filled beforehand. After the time-curable resin injected as described above is cured, the protruding bare optical fiber 1c is cut off from the end face of the connector 9, and the end face is polished.

When the optical cord 5 extending from the connector 9 comes out of the receiving portion 10 of the connector 9, an elastic material such as rubber or plastic is used as a material in order to prevent local bending from being applied. It is preferable to provide a boot 15 that performs the following. Further, when the time-curable resin injected into the cavity 13 flows between the optical fiber 1a and the protective tube 5b due to the capillary phenomenon, the portion becomes hard and the optical fiber becomes easily broken. Care must be taken so that the curable resin does not flow as described above (for example, a highly viscous jelly-like material may be filled in the gap between the optical fiber 1a and the protective tube 5b).

The tape core 1 is inserted into the receiving portion 10 of the connector corresponding to the branch connector 9 having completed the above processing. When the inserted tape core 1 exits the receiving portion 10, the outer peripheral resin coating 1b is removed to form a single-core optical fiber 1a, and the ferrule F passes through a free cavity portion 13f.
Resin coating 1d and coating resin 1e all the way to V-groove 11
Is removed and the same processing as that of the connector 9 is performed as the bare optical fiber 1c.

The connector 9 processed as described above and the connector 9 to which the parallel optical cord 5 is connected are brought into contact with the connecting surface by fitting the guide pin 14 into the guide pin hole 16 and a separately prepared clamp plate. By fitting a spring 17 over both connectors 9, 9,
The multi-core / single-core conversion is completed by being connected to the single-core optical cord 5 (see FIG. 4).

In the above embodiment, the four-core tape is converted to an optical code, but two, eight, and twelve cores are used as the connectors on the side of the tape. It is possible to convert not only 2 hearts / single heart, 8 hearts / single heart, 12 hearts / single heart, but also a combination of 2,4,8,12 hearts into single hearts. At the end converted to a single core, the single-core connectors 7, 7 'can be set as appropriate to facilitate subsequent extension and connection to terminal equipment.

Next, an embodiment according to the second aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, there is a branch from a 4-core ribbon 1 to a 2-core ribbon 1 '. Two two-core ribbon fibers 1 'are prepared, and a connector 7 for the two-core ribbon cable 1' is set at one end by a known means. The other end has a length necessary for setting the branching connector 9 and then removes the outer peripheral resin coating 1b (see FIG. 8) to form a single-core optical fiber 1a, and further, a free cavity. Take a length corresponding to the length of the portion 13f, and then proceed with the resin coating 1d and the coating resin 1e.
(See FIG. 8) to obtain a bare optical fiber 1c.

The two-core tape 1 'prepared as described above is inserted in parallel into the receiving portion 10 of the connector 9, and is stopped at a position where the end of the outer peripheral resin coating 1b is slightly inserted from the end of the receiving portion 10. The optical fiber 1a is located in a portion extending from the receiving portion 10 to the V groove of the ferrule F.
The bare optical fiber 1c is located in the groove 11 and the insertion hole 12. The tip of the bare optical fiber 1c is inserted through the insertion hole 12,
After fitting in the V-groove 11, the cavity 13 (including the free cavity 13f) and the insertion hole 12 are filled with the time-curable resin 6. Since the hardening resin 6 with time hardly flows into the gap after the bare optical fiber 1c is inserted into the insertion hole 12,
Before inserting the bare optical fiber 1 c into the insertion hole 12, it is preferable to suction the connection end face of the connector 9 with a vacuum pump and to fill the hardening resin in advance with time.

When the time-curable resin 6 has cured, the excess bare optical fiber protruding from the connection end face of the connector 9 is broken off and the end face is polished. Here, when the core ribbon 1 ′ extending from the connector 9 comes out of the receiving portion 10 of the connector 9, the boot 1 made of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic is used to prevent local bending.
5 is preferably provided.

The four-core ribbon 1 is inserted into the receiving portion 10 of one of the connectors 9 corresponding to the branch connector 9 having completed the above processing. When the tape core wire 1 is inserted, the outer peripheral resin coating 1b is removed when the tape core wire 1 exits the receiving portion 10 to become a single core optical fiber 1a, and the resin coating is applied to the V-groove of the ferrule F through the free cavity portion 13f. 1d and the coating resin 1e are removed to obtain a bare optical fiber 1c, and the same processing as that of the connector 9 is performed.

The connector 9 which has been processed as described above and the connector 9 which has connected the parallel two-core ribbon cable 1 '.
The four-core tape core 1 is formed by fitting the guide pin 14 into the guide pin hole 16 so as to abut the connection surface, and fitting the separately prepared clamp leaf spring 17 over both connectors 9, 9. It is branched into a tape ribbon 1 '(see FIG. 4).

In the above-described embodiment, the two-core
Although the branching into a core tape core wire is performed, a branch of a combination of 2 cores, 4 cores, and 8 cores by adopting a connector of 8 cores and 12 cores in addition to the 4 cores as a connector on the tape core line side. It is possible. Further, in the above embodiment, since two tape ribbons are juxtaposed on the branch side, the interval between adjacent tape ribbons becomes large. When manufacturing the core wire, the outer peripheral resin coating 1b of the adjacent portion
If the thickness is adjusted so as to be zero, the intervals between the cords can be matched.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the branching of the ribbon (multi-core / single-core conversion) is performed by using a prepared connector member. Multi-core / single-core conversion section)
It can be done easily and accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a left side view of the first embodiment. FIG. 1B is a front view of the first embodiment. FIG. 1C is a right side view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line XX of the previous figure.

FIG. 3 is a structural view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 (a) Optical connector assembly plan view (b) Optical connector assembly front view (c) Optical connector assembly partial view (spring)

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a conventional multi-core / single-core converter.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a laid state according to the related art.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a tape slot type optical cable.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an optical fiber ribbon.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 optical fiber ribbon (tape ribbon) 1a optical fiber 1b outer resin coating 1c bare optical fiber 1d resin coating 1e coating resin 2 tape slot type optical cable 2a tension member 2b slot rod 2c spiral groove 2d jacket 2e intervening 3 Optical fiber tape cord (tape cord) 3a Tensile fiber (of tape cord) 3b Jacket 4 Case 5 Single core optical fiber cord (optical cord) 5a Tensile fiber (of optical cord) 5b Protective tube 6 Temporary curing resin 7 Single-core optical cord connector (optical cord connector) 7 'Branch tape core connector 8 Branch 8' Multi-core / single-core converter 9 Tape core connector 10 Receptor 11 V-groove 12 Insertion hole (bare optical fiber 13) Cavity 13f Free cavity 14 Guide pin 15 Boot 16 Guide pin hole 17 Pump leaf spring F Ferrule L Cabinet Q Optical fiber cable

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An insertion hole for a bare optical fiber, a V-groove for introducing a bare optical fiber into the insertion hole, a hollow portion for guiding an optical fiber to the V-groove, and filling with a time-curable resin.
An optical connector comprising a receiving portion for receiving a required number of single-core optical fiber cords, wherein an axis of said insertion hole coincides with an optical axis of a corresponding optical fiber ribbon connector, and an inner shape of said receiving portion. The required number of the single-core optical fiber cords parallel to the outer shape of the parallel-arranged single-core optical fiber cords, the sheath and the coating resin of the single-core optical fiber cords are stripped off, and the required number of the single-core optical fiber cords parallel to the receiving portion Through,
The bare optical fiber portion exposed by the step stripping is housed in the hollow portion, the bare optical fiber portion is inserted into the insertion hole while being fitted in the V-groove, and a time-curable resin is inserted into the gap between the hollow portion and the insertion hole. A multi-core / single-core conversion section of an optical fiber ribbon, characterized by being filled. 2. A method of combining a plurality of optical fiber ribbon connectors with a number of optical fiber ribbons smaller than the number of core wires of the connector to match the number of optical fiber ribbon connectors. , An optical fiber ribbon having a smaller number of cores, is inserted into the tape core receiving portion, and the outer peripheral resin coating of the portion of the tape core extending from the receiving portion is peeled off to obtain a single-core optical fiber. And removing the resin coating of the optical fiber at the portion fitted into the V-groove of the ferrule and the insertion hole of the bare optical fiber to obtain a bare optical fiber,
The bare optical fiber is inserted into the insertion hole while being fitted into the V-groove, and the space between the hollow portion of the ferrule and the bare optical fiber insertion hole is filled with a time-curable resin, and Branch.