JP2002182072A - Optical connector assembling method and assembling tool - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a ferrule in which light can be irradiated inside a ferrule in order to ensure the curing of the adhesive in the assembling process of an MT connector using a photocurable adhesive. SOLUTION: An end portion 42a is covered and removed, and an optical fiber tape 42 whose end is cut with high precision is set in a ferrule 41, and the end of the optical fiber 42 and the ferrule end surface 413 are aligned with a dummy ferrule 51, and light is applied. In the method for assembling an optical connector, in which the optical fiber 42 and the ferrule 41 are fixed in a short time by using an adhesive 40 that cures, the adhesive 40 is efficiently irradiated with light, and the adhesive 40 and the optical fiber 42 In order to fasten the
While irradiating light from the window 414 of the ferrule 41, incorporating the optical fiber 52 into the dummy ferrule 51, and passing light through the optical fiber 52, irradiating light also from the end face direction of the ferrule 41, It is characterized in that the curing efficiency of the adhesive 40 is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an assembling method and an assembling tool for an optical connector capable of connecting and disconnecting single-core and multi-core optical fibers by simple operations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various optical connectors are used in optical communication systems. Recently, MT type connectors that can easily connect and disconnect optical fiber tapes and MPO type connectors that can be easily connected and disconnected by push-pull operations have been proposed. Both connectors use the MT ferrule for the connection portion of the optical fiber. An optical connector using an MT ferrule has a structure in which optical fibers to be connected are easily aligned with each other by a guide pin, and is a very useful technology in terms of simplicity, weight, and cost.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional MT connector. The MT connector includes an MT connector plug 1, a fitting pin 2, and a clamp spring 3. The multi-core optical connector plug 1 includes a ferrule 11, an optical fiber tape 12, and a boot portion 13. These components are fixed by the adhesive 10. The multi-fiber optical connector plugs 1 are arranged by fitting pins 2 inserted into fitting pin holes 112 provided in a ferrule, and are fastened by a clamp spring 3. Thereby, the connection between the end faces of the multi-core optical fiber is realized.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a method of assembling a conventional multi-core optical connector plug 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the main agent of the optical fiber thermosetting adhesive and the curing agent are sufficiently stirred, and the adhesive 10
And a small amount of the adhesive 10 is dropped on the ferrule window 114. Next, the multi-core optical fiber tape 12 whose end is removed by coating is inserted into the fiber hole 111 of the ferrule 11 using a core insertion tool. After the insertion of the core wire, the multi-core optical fiber tape 12 is pulled back by a few mm, checked for any breakage, and inserted again. Next, an adhesive is dropped on the ferrule window 114 for bonding and fixing the ferrule 11 and the multi-core optical fiber tape 12. These are set together with the core insertion tool in the connector heater, and the adhesive filled in the ferrule 11 is heated and cured for 10 minutes or more. After the adhesive is cured by heating, the optical fiber protruding from the ferrule end face 113 is cut at the boundary with the adhesive by glass cutting, and the ferrule end face 113 is polished to complete the connector.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned method has a disadvantage that it takes time and effort to assemble since polishing and heating must be performed in the process of assembling the connector. Recently,
An MT connector assembling method and an assembling tool which have alleviated these disadvantages have been proposed. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 6, this method employs a ferrule 11 whose end face 113 is polished in advance.
Is used. First, after inserting the optical fiber tape 12 whose tip is covered and removed with high precision to the ferrule 11, the cut surface of the optical fiber 112 a is aligned with the end surface 113 of the connector using the dummy ferrule 14. Next, an adhesive 20 capable of high-speed curing at room temperature is dropped from the ferrule window 114, and the ferrule 11, the optical fiber tape 12, and the boot 13 are fixed. According to this method, the polishing step and the heating step can be omitted at the time of assembling, and the assembling method and the assembling tool can be greatly simplified.

[0006]

The conventional MT connector assembling method described above has a drawback that a heating step is required and the assembling time is lengthened. On the other hand, even in a new connector assembling method, there is a problem that it is difficult to select an adhesive that hardens at a high speed and a curing method thereof. For example, a light-curing adhesive or the like is a candidate for an adhesive used in a new assembling method, but it is difficult to irradiate light into the ferrule due to the structure of the ferrule. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a ferrule window 1 for dropping the adhesive is provided on the MT ferrule.
14 exists, but the fine hole 1 in which the optical fiber is installed
15 and the fiber installation section 116 are incorporated inside the ferrule.

Therefore, even if the adhesive is dropped from the ferrule window 114, flows into the fiber setting portion 116, and is irradiated with light from the ferrule window 114 to cure the adhesive, the light hardly reaches the fiber setting portion 116. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a long time to cure the adhesive. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to irradiate the inside of a ferrule with light in order to ensure the curing of an adhesive during the assembly process of an MT connector using a photocurable adhesive. That is, when the optical fiber is set on the ferrule and the two are fixed, the curing of the adhesive to be used is efficiently performed in a short time.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical connector assembling method according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein an optical fiber tape whose end is removed and whose tip is cut with high precision is placed in a ferrule. In the method for assembling an optical connector, the tip of the optical fiber and the ferrule end face are aligned with a dummy ferrule, and the optical fiber and the ferrule are fixed in a short time using an adhesive that is cured by light. In order to efficiently irradiate and fix the adhesive and the optical fiber at high speed, while irradiating light from the window of the ferrule, an optical fiber is incorporated into the dummy ferrule, and light is passed through the optical fiber. Thereby, light is irradiated also from the end face direction of the ferrule, thereby improving the curing efficiency of the adhesive.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical connector assembling tool comprising the dummy ferrule used in the optical connector assembling method.

[0010]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an optical connector connector assembling tool according to claim 1, FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a dummy ferrule 51, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an end face portion of the MT ferrule 41. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, after the dummy ferrule 51 is used to align the tip of the coating removal portion 42a of the optical fiber tape 42 with the end face 413 of the MT ferrule 41, the ferrule window 41
4, the adhesive 40 is dropped. As the MT ferrule 41, the same one as the conventional MT ferrule shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is used, and the optical fiber tape 42 includes a coating removing portion 42a and a coating portion 42b, and the coating removing portion 42a
Is inserted into the MT ferrule 41.

An elastically deformable boot portion 43 is mounted between the coating removing portion 42a and the coating portion 42b. As the adhesive 40, a light-curable adhesive, that is, a light-curable adhesive is used. In particular, if an adhesive that can be cured at high speed at room temperature is used, the fixing can be performed in a short time. The ferrule window 414 is irradiated with not only the adhesive 40 dropped but also light for curing the dropped adhesive 40. An optical fiber tape 52 is incorporated in the dummy ferrule 51 as shown in FIG.

That is, the optical fiber tape 52 comprises an optical fiber core portion 52a from which the coating is removed and an optical fiber tape portion 52b covered by the coating. An elastically deformable boot portion 53 is mounted between them. The optical fiber core portion 52a is inserted into the dummy ferrule 51, is individually guided by the optical fiber installation portion 516, and is positioned in the fine hole portion 515. Optical fiber tape 52b
Project from the rear part of the dummy ferrule 51, and the other end of the optical fiber tape part 52b is connected to the light source 6. Therefore, the light emitted from the light source 6 passes through the optical fiber 52 and is emitted from the optical fiber portion 511 on the end face 513 of the dummy ferrule 51. Further, the dummy ferrule 51 is provided with a fitting pin hole 512 for connecting the ferrule 41 to each other.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the light emitted from the optical fiber core 52a of the dummy ferrule 51 is MT
The light is inserted into the ferrule 41 and enters the optical fiber 42a. For example, as the optical fiber core 52a incorporated in the dummy ferrule 51, the core 52
When the multimode optical fiber composed of the aa and the cladding 52aa is selected, the diameter of the core 52aa of the multimode optical fiber is 50 μm or 62.5 μm, whereas the optical fiber 42a incorporated in the MT ferrule 41 is a single mode optical fiber. The core portion 42 of the optical fiber
Since the diameter of aa is 10 μm, a part of the light emitted from the optical fiber core portion 52a leaks to the cladding portion 42aaa of the optical fiber 42a, and is propagated around the optical fiber 42a in the process of propagating through the optical fiber 42a. Leaking into

Accordingly, the adhesive 40 filled in the optical fiber installation section 416 in the ferrule 41 is also irradiated with light,
The adhesive 40 in this portion can be cured. That is, M
When assembling the T-connector plug, the adhesive 40 is dropped onto the ferrule window 414, and in order to solidify the adhesive, light is irradiated from the ferrule window 414 and simultaneously the MT ferrule 41 is passed through the optical fiber 52a of the dummy ferrule 51.
By irradiating the optical fiber portion 41 a with light, the photo-curable adhesive 40 can be efficiently solidified in the ferrule 41. As described above, according to the present invention, by irradiating light efficiently from the end face direction of the ferrule, it becomes possible to promote the curing of the adhesive of the fiber installation portion 116.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, an MT connector having the same performance as the conventional MT connector can be manufactured in a shorter time than the conventional MT connector. That is, when inserting and fixing the optical fiber into the ferrule, a light-curing adhesive is used to irradiate the light from the window provided above the ferrule, as well as the light inside the ferrule with a dummy ferrule that can transmit light. And the adhesive can be cured from inside the ferrule.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the assembly of the MT connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a dummy ferrule of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a fiber portion when assembling the MT connector of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional MT connector.

FIG. 5 is an assembly process of a conventional MT connector.

FIG. 6 is a process of assembling a newly proposed MT connector.

FIG. 7 is a process of assembling a newly proposed MT connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 MT connector plug 2 Fitting pin 3 Clamp spring 11 Ferrule 12 Optical fiber tape 12a Optical fiber core part 12b Optical fiber tape part 13 Boot part 111 Fiber hole 112 Fitting pin hole 113 Ferrule end face 114 Ferrule window 115 Micro hole 116 Optical fiber installation part 41 MT connector plug 411 Fiber hole 412 Fitting pin hole 413 Ferrule end face 414 Ferrule window 415 Micro hole part 416 Optical fiber installation part 42 Optical fiber tape 42a Optical fiber core part 42b Coating part 42aa Optical fiber core 42aa Light Fiber clad part 43 Boot part 40 Light-curing adhesive 51 Dummy ferrule 511 Dummy ferrule optical fiber part 512 Fitting pin hole 513 Ferrule end face 514 Ferrule window 15 microporous portion 516 optical fiber installation section 52 dummy ferrule integrated optical fiber tapes 52a optical fiber portion 52b optical fiber ribbon unit 52aa optical fiber core 52aaa optical fiber clad portion 53 boot portion 6 sources

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinji Nagasawa 2-3-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (reference) 2H036 JA04 KA01 KA02 KA02 QA23 QA49 QA56

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber tape whose end is coated and removed, the end of which is cut with high precision is set in a ferrule, and the end of the optical fiber and the ferrule end face are aligned with a dummy ferrule. In the method of assembling an optical connector for fixing the optical fiber and the ferrule in a short time by using the ferrule in order to efficiently irradiate the adhesive with light and fasten the adhesive and the optical fiber. Along with irradiating light from the window part, an optical fiber is incorporated into the dummy ferrule, and light is also transmitted from the end face of the ferrule by passing light through the optical fiber, thereby improving the curing efficiency of the adhesive. A method for assembling an optical connector, comprising: 2. An assembling tool for an optical connector, comprising: the dummy ferrule used in the method for assembling an optical connector according to claim 1.