JPH04104205A - Method for reinforcing fusion spliced part of multiple optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the tensile break strength and reliability of the spliced part of optical fibers by adhering and fixing the optical fibers in the state of maintaining the optical fiber arrangement right after fusion splicing. CONSTITUTION:The multiple fibers 2 are positioned in V-grooves and are clamped 3 by means of clampers. The optical fibers 2 are then fusion spliced and an adhesive 4 is dropped to the sliced part of the optical fibers 2 to cover the circumference of the optical fibers 2 and the spacings between the optical fibers 2 each other, by which the optical fibers 2 are adhered and fixed to each other and are tentatively reinforced. The spliced part is thereafter taken out and a protective sleeve 5 consisting of a heat shrinkable tube is put on the spliced part. While some tension is applied to the spliced pat, the protective sleeve 5 is shrunk by heating, thereby integrated to the fibers to attain normal reinforcement. The damaging of the optical fiber surfaces by the contact and rubbing of the optical fibers 3 in the spliced part with each other is prevented in this way.

Description

【発明の詳細な説明】 （産業上の利用分野） 本発明は多心光ファイバの一括融着接続における接続部
の補強方法に関するものである。DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for reinforcing a joint in batch fusion splicing of multi-core optical fibers.

（従来の技術） 多心光ファイバの一括融着接続は、多心光ファイバの端
面を切揃え、接続機のＶ溝に接続すべき多心光ファイバ
の端面を相対向させて突合せ、放電熱によって溶着する
方法であり、２心から最大１２心まで任意に接続する技
術が開発されている。(Prior art) Bulk fusion splicing of multi-core optical fibers involves trimming the end faces of the multi-core optical fibers, aligning the end faces of the multi-core optical fibers to be connected to the V-groove of the splicing machine, and butting them to face each other. This is a welding method, and technology has been developed to arbitrarily connect 2 to 12 cores.

多心光フアイバ心線（＋）の端末部の被覆を除去して露
出した光ファイバ（２）（第４図参照）を軸合せして整
列させる位置は、第３図に示すように、多心光フアイバ
心線を構成する光ファイバ（２）の外径ｄ　（＋２５ｊ
■）と接続機の■構台（３Ｉ）のＶ溝（３１ａ）でピッ
チｐ　（２５０声園）が決められている。As shown in Fig. 3, the position where the optical fibers (2) (see Fig. 4) that are exposed by removing the coating of the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber (+) and align them is determined by Outer diameter d (+25j
The pitch p (250 voices) is determined by the V-groove (31a) of the ■) and the connecting device's gantry (3I).

モして融着接続後の接続部は第４図に示すように、上記
■溝（３１ａ）及びクランパ（３２）でクランプ（３）
されているため、光フアイバ相互の間隔は！２５μ園の
状態にあるが、融着接続後は以下の操作を行なう。After fusion splicing, the joint is clamped (3) using the groove (31a) and the clamper (32), as shown in Figure 4.
Because of this, the distance between the optical fibers is! Although it is in the state of 25μ garden, perform the following operation after fusion splicing.

■クランパ（３２）を開いて接続部を接続機から取出す
。■Open the clamper (32) and take out the connection part from the connection machine.

■第５図に示すように、接続部上に例えば熱収縮チュー
ブの如き保護スリーブ（５）をかぶせる。(2) As shown in FIG. 5, cover the connection part with a protective sleeve (5) such as a heat shrink tube.

■上記接続部を補強装置まで移動する。■Move the above connection to the reinforcement device.

■補強装置に接続部をセットする。■Set the connection part on the reinforcement device.

■接続部に若干の張力をかけ、加熱によって前記保護ス
リーブ（５）を収縮させて一体化し、補強する。(2) A slight tension is applied to the connection part, and the protective sleeve (5) is shrunk and integrated by heating to strengthen it.

（解決しようとする課題） 上述のような光ファイバの融着接続後、補強終了マでの
■〜■の工程において、接続部の張力をゆるませる。こ
の際、光ファイバが曲げられたり、捻られたりすること
により、光フアイバ同士が接触又はこすれ合い、光フア
イバ表面（ガラス）に傷が発生し、断線が生しる。(Problem to be Solved) After the above-described fusion splicing of optical fibers, the tension in the spliced portion is loosened in the steps ① to ② after the reinforcement is completed. At this time, when the optical fibers are bent or twisted, the optical fibers come into contact with each other or rub against each other, causing scratches on the surface (glass) of the optical fibers and causing disconnection.

保護スリーブを接続部にかぶせた後の断線は発見し難く
、そのまま補強されることが多い。又断に至る確率が高
く、接続部の信頼性は低いものがあった。After a protective sleeve is placed over a connection, a break in the wire is difficult to detect and is often reinforced. There was a high probability of disconnection, and the reliability of the connections was low.

（課題を解決するための手段） 本発明は上述の問題点を解消した多心光フアイバ融着接
続部の補強方法を提供するもので、その特徴は、多心光
ファイバを一括融着接続した後、該接続部に接着剤を滴
下して光ファイバの外周及び光フアイバ相互の間隔を覆
い、融着接続直後の光フアイバ配列を維持した状態で光
ファイバラ接着固定及び仮補強した後、上記接続部を融
着機より取出し、しかる後本補強を行なうことにある。(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a method for reinforcing a multi-core optical fiber fusion splicer that solves the above-mentioned problems. After that, adhesive is dripped onto the connection part to cover the outer periphery of the optical fibers and the spacing between the optical fibers, and after fixing and temporarily reinforcing the optical fibers with adhesive while maintaining the alignment of the optical fibers immediately after fusion splicing, the above connection is performed. The part is taken out from the fusion machine, and then the main reinforcement is performed.

（作用） 多心光フアイバ心線は被覆材によって保護すると共に、
その被覆材によって光ファイバの配列ピッチが保持され
ている。光ファイバを融着接続する場合には、被覆を除
去し、光ファイバ（１２５メーφのガラス）を露出させ
る必要がある。従って、接続後における接続部は通常！
（第４図参照）＝２０−園において光ファイバが１２５
１−間隔で空間的に並んでおり、張力をゆるめるだけで
光フアイバ同士が接触する。(Function) The multi-core optical fiber is protected by a coating material, and
The arrangement pitch of the optical fibers is maintained by the covering material. When fusion splicing optical fibers, it is necessary to remove the coating and expose the optical fibers (125 meter diameter glass). Therefore, the connection after connection is normal!
(See Figure 4) = 20 - 125 optical fibers in the garden
The optical fibers are spatially lined up at 1-interval intervals, and simply by loosening the tension, the optical fibers come into contact with each other.

通常光ファイバを切断（端面カット）する場合、外周の
ある一点にガラスと同等又はそれ以上の硬度の材料の鋭
角部でこすることにより光フアイバ表面に数ミクロンの
傷を与え切断する。このように、光ファイバは光フアイ
バ同士が接触又はこすれ合うことにより光フアイバ表面
に切断傷と同等の傷が発生する。Normally, when cutting an optical fiber (cutting the end face), a certain point on the outer periphery is rubbed with an acute edge of a material with a hardness equivalent to or higher than that of glass, thereby creating a scratch of several microns on the surface of the optical fiber. In this way, when the optical fibers come into contact with each other or rub against each other, scratches similar to cutting scratches occur on the surface of the optical fibers.

本発明においては、光ファイバの融着接続後、＋２５ｊ
■間隔の配列状態において、接続部に市販の接着剤、紫
外線硬化型樹脂の接着剤等を滴下することにより、光フ
アイバ相互の空間部に接着剤が流れ込み、光ファイバの
周囲に接着剤による保護膜が形成される。接着剤の硬化
によって、接続部の光ファイバはその間隔は１２５ｊ■
の等間隔に保持固定されると共に、仮補強されることに
なる。従って、以後の工程において、上記接続部に曲げ
や撓みを生じさせても１、接続部の光フアイバ同士が接
触し合ったり、こすれ合って光フアイバ表面に傷が発生
することはない。In the present invention, after fusion splicing of optical fibers, +25j
■By dropping commercially available adhesive, ultraviolet curable resin adhesive, etc. onto the connection part when the spacing is arranged, the adhesive flows into the space between the optical fibers, and the area around the optical fibers is protected by the adhesive. A film is formed. As the adhesive hardens, the distance between the optical fibers at the connection section is reduced to 125J■
They will be held and fixed at equal intervals and will be temporarily reinforced. Therefore, even if the connecting portion is bent or deflected in the subsequent steps, the optical fibers at the connecting portion will not come into contact with each other or rub against each other and cause scratches on the surface of the optical fibers.

（実施例） 第１図は本発明の多心光フアイバ融着接続部の補強方法
の具体例の説明図で、同図（イ）は要部の上面図、同図
（ロ）は（イ）図のＸ−Ｘ断面図である。(Example) Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the reinforcing method for a multi-core optical fiber fusion splicing part of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view of the main part, and (b) is a top view of the main part. ) is a sectional view taken along line XX in the figure.

従来同様、多心光ファイバ（２）をＶ溝に位置決めし、
クラッパにてクランプ（３）シて光ファイバ（２）を融
着接続する。そしてこの状態で上記光ファイバ（２）の
接続部に市販の接着剤又は紫外線硬化型樹脂等の接着剤
（４）を滴下して、光ファイバ（２）の周囲及び光ファ
イバ（２）相互の間隔を覆って、光ファイバ（２）相互
を接着固定すると共に仮補強する。その後、融着接続機
のクランプ（３）を開いて上記接続部を取出し、第５図
のように熱収縮チューブから成る保護スリーブ（５）を
接続部上にかぶせ、補強装置へ移動させる。As before, position the multi-core optical fiber (2) in the V groove,
Clamp (3) with a clapper to fusion splice the optical fiber (2). In this state, an adhesive (4) such as a commercially available adhesive or an ultraviolet curing resin is dripped onto the connection part of the optical fiber (2), and the adhesive (4) is applied around the optical fiber (2) and between the optical fibers (2). The optical fibers (2) are bonded and fixed to each other over the gap and temporarily reinforced. Thereafter, the clamp (3) of the fusion splicer is opened to take out the connection part, a protective sleeve (5) made of heat shrink tube is placed over the connection part as shown in FIG. 5, and the connection part is moved to the reinforcing device.

補強Ｖ；置において、接続部に若干の張力をかけ、加熱
によって前記保護スリーブ（５）を収縮させて一体化し
、本補強を行なう。Reinforcement V: At the position, a slight tension is applied to the connection portion, and the protective sleeve (5) is contracted and integrated by heating to perform main reinforcement.

なお、前記において、光ファイバの接続部を融着接続機
から取出した後、第２図のように、さらに接続部全長（
通常約２（１＋ｍ）を同じ接着剤を用いて接着固定して
もよい。しかし、光フアイバ同士を接着させないために
は、第１図に示す方法で、充分効果がある。In the above, after taking out the spliced part of the optical fiber from the fusion splicer, as shown in Figure 2, the total length of the spliced part (
Usually about 2 (1+m) may be adhesively fixed using the same adhesive. However, in order to prevent the optical fibers from adhering to each other, the method shown in FIG. 1 is sufficiently effective.

４心光フアイバを用いて、本発明の補強方法を実施した
。４心光フアイバを融着接続後第１図に示すように接続
点を中心（クランプの間約５−１）に、接着剤を滴下し
た。接着剤としては市販されている速乾性のもの（Ａ）
、市販されている瞬間接着剤（Ｂ）、紫外線硬化型樹脂
（Ｃ）を用いた。接着剤の活性度は２０００ｃｍ、ｐ以
下であれば、光ファイバの中心点に滴下すると、接着剤
は光フアイバ同士の間隔の空間に自然と流れ込み、第１
図（０）のように、光フアイバ全体を覆って、接着固定
する。又接着剤の滴下量は、１２心光フアイバでマツチ
軸頭程度（０，１ｇ以下）、４心光フアイバでは１７３
程度で充分である。接着剤は（Ａ）で１分、（Ｂ）で１
０秒、（Ｃ）で１０秒で硬化し、第１図（ロ）のように
、光フアイバ全体を接着固定することができた。The reinforcing method of the present invention was carried out using a four-core optical fiber. After the four-core optical fibers were fusion-spliced, adhesive was dripped around the connection point (approximately 5-1 between the clamps) as shown in FIG. Commercially available quick-drying adhesive (A)
, a commercially available instant adhesive (B), and an ultraviolet curing resin (C) were used. If the activity of the adhesive is less than 2000cm, p, when it is dropped onto the center point of the optical fiber, the adhesive will naturally flow into the space between the optical fibers, and the first
As shown in Figure (0), the entire optical fiber is covered and fixed with adhesive. In addition, the amount of adhesive dropped is about the same as the head of a pine shaft (0.1 g or less) for a 12-core optical fiber, and 173 for a 4-core optical fiber.
It is enough. Adhesive (A) for 1 minute, (B) for 1 minute
It cured in 10 seconds at 0 seconds and (C), and the entire optical fiber could be adhesively fixed as shown in FIG. 1 (B).

このようにして補強した４心光フアイバの接続部の引張
り破断強度は約７　ｋｇで、通常の接続部の引張り破断
強度の約２倍に向上した。The tensile strength at break of the connection of the four-core optical fiber reinforced in this way was about 7 kg, which is about twice the tensile strength at break of a normal connection.

（発明の効果） 以上説明したように、本発明の多心光フアイバ融着接続
部の補強方法によれば、融着接続直後の光フアイバ配列
を維持した状態で、光ファイバを接着固定することによ
り、光フアイバ同士の接触等により光ファイバが傷つく
ことがないので光フアイバ接続部の引張り破断強度が大
幅に向上し、光ファイバの接続部の信頼性が著しく向上
る。(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the method for reinforcing a multi-core optical fiber fusion splicer of the present invention, optical fibers can be adhesively fixed while maintaining the optical fiber arrangement immediately after fusion splicing. As a result, the optical fibers are not damaged due to contact between the optical fibers, so the tensile strength at break of the optical fiber joint is greatly improved, and the reliability of the optical fiber joint is significantly improved.

又このような光ファイバの仮補強は市販の接着剤が使用
でき、安価で使用量も少なく、作業性がよく、容易に実
施できる。In addition, commercially available adhesives can be used for temporary reinforcement of optical fibers, which are inexpensive, require a small amount of use, have good workability, and can be easily implemented.

【図面の簡単な説明】[Brief explanation of drawings]

第１図は本発明の補強方法の具体例の説明図で、同図（
イ）は要部の上面図、同図（ロ）は（イ）図のＸ−Ｘ断
面図である。 第２図は本発明の補強方法の他の具体例の要部の上面図
である。 第３図は融着接続機における光ファイバの位置決め状態
の説明図、第４図は接続後の光ファイバの位置状態図、
第５図は接続部に保護スリーブをかぶせた状態図である
。 １・・・多心光フアイバ心線、２・・・光ファイバ、３
・・・■宿合、４・・・接着剤、５・・・保護スリーブ
。 第　１　目 （イ） ３（光）〆バ７ラノフリ ／ 茅　２ＴｇＪFIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the reinforcing method of the present invention.
A) is a top view of the main part, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view of essential parts of another specific example of the reinforcing method of the present invention. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the positioning state of the optical fiber in the fusion splicer, Figure 4 is a diagram of the position of the optical fiber after splicing,
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the connection portion covered with a protective sleeve. 1...Multi-core optical fiber core wire, 2...Optical fiber, 3
... ■ Camping, 4... Adhesive, 5... Protective sleeve. 1st eye (a) 3 (light) 〆ba 7 Ranofuri/Kaya 2TgJ

Claims (1)

【特許請求の範囲】[Claims] （１）多心光ファイバを一括融着接続した後、該接続部
に接着剤を滴下して光ファイバの外周及び光ファイバ相
互の間隔を覆い、融着接続直後の光ファイバ配列を維持
した状態で光ファイバを接着固定及び仮補強した後、上
記接続部を融着機より取出し、しかる後本補強を行なう
ことを特徴とする多心光ファイバ融着接続部の補強方法
。(1) After fusion splicing multicore optical fibers at once, adhesive is dripped onto the spliced portion to cover the outer periphery of the optical fibers and the spacing between the optical fibers, maintaining the optical fiber arrangement immediately after fusion splicing. 1. A method for reinforcing a multi-fiber optical fiber fusion splicing section, which comprises: adhesively fixing and temporarily reinforcing the optical fibers, taking out the splicing section from a fusion splicer, and then performing main reinforcement.