JP2002318312A - Optical fiber coating removal apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for removing the coating of an optical fiber, with which the coating of a prescribed length at an intermediate section of the optical fiber is accurately removed without damaging the surface of clad. SOLUTION: The device is provided with a pair of fiber holders (2) for linearly holding the intermediate section of the optical fiber (1), a pair of blades (3a, 3b: 6a, 6b) for forming a notch on the coating of the optical fiber which is linearly held, heating means (4a, 4b: 7a, 7b) for heating the pair of blades at a prescribed temperature. The coating is removed by moving the pair of blades along the axial direction of the optical fiber in a state that the notch is formed on the coating with the pair of blades heated at a high temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing an optical fiber coating, and more particularly to a method for removing a coating on an optical fiber intermediate portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, to form a fiber component such as a coupler or a connector, it is necessary to remove a coating on an intermediate portion of an optical fiber. In this case, in the prior art, the coating of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber is removed by hand using an appropriate blade.

[0003]

As described above, in the prior art, since the coating on the intermediate portion of the optical fiber is removed by hand using a blade, there is a disadvantage that the clad surface is easily damaged. In addition, since the coating is removed by hand using a blade, the length of the coating removal part cannot be controlled with high precision, and as a result, fiber components such as couplers and connectors cannot be miniaturized. There was an inconvenience.

[0004] By the way, there is conventionally known an apparatus which removes a coating of an end portion of an optical fiber instead of an intermediate portion of the optical fiber. In this type of conventional coating removing apparatus, a cut is formed in the coating using a pair of blades (blades) in a state where the coating to be removed is entirely heated and swollen, and a pair of cuts is formed in the cut. By moving the blade along the axis of the optical fiber, the coating on the end of the optical fiber is removed.

In the above-described conventional coating removing apparatus, the pair of blades cannot be formed deeply to the clad surface so as not to damage the clad surface. Therefore, the shape of the cut surface formed by the cut cannot be sharpened. The length of the coating removal part cannot be controlled with high precision. In other words, even if the conventional stripping device applied to stripping the end of the optical fiber is applied to stripping the middle of the optical fiber, the length of the stripped portion cannot be controlled with high accuracy. However, it is not possible to reduce the size of fiber components such as couplers and connectors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to remove a coating of an intermediate portion of an optical fiber over a predetermined length with high precision without substantially damaging the cladding surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber coating removing apparatus and method capable of performing the following.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heating step of heating a pair of blades to a predetermined temperature, and a step of heating the pair of blades heated to the predetermined temperature. A notch forming step of forming a cut in the coating of the optical fiber, and a coating removing step of removing the coating by moving the pair of blades along the axial direction of the optical fiber with the cut formed in the coating. And a method of removing an optical fiber coating.

According to a preferred aspect of the first invention, prior to the notch forming step, a holding step of holding an intermediate portion of the optical fiber in a straight line is included. In this case, it is preferable that in the notch forming step, a notch is formed in the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion held linearly.

Further, in this case, the notch forming step and the coating removing step may include a step of forming a pair of blades along the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion in a state where the first notch is formed in the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion. A first step of removing the coating by moving the optical fiber in the first direction, and the optical fiber intermediate at a predetermined position spaced from the first cut formed in the first step in the first direction. The coating is removed by moving a pair of blades in a second direction opposite to the first direction along the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion with the second cut formed in the coating of the portion. It is preferable to include the following second step.

Further, in this case, in the first step, the first notch is formed and the coating is removed using a first pair of blades. In the second step, the first pair of blades is formed. It is preferable that the formation of the second cut and the removal of the coating be performed using a pair of blades of a second set different from the blades.

According to a preferred aspect of the first invention,
A residue removing step of removing a residue of the coating remaining between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut through the first step and the second step. In this case, in the residue removing step, it is preferable to blow off the residue of the coating with hot air.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pair of blades for forming a cut in a coating of an optical fiber, and heating means for heating the pair of blades to a predetermined temperature. Removing the coating by moving the pair of blades along the axial direction of the optical fiber in a state where a cut is formed in the coating with a pair of heated blades. Provide equipment.

According to a preferred aspect of the second invention, there is provided a pair of fiber holders for holding an intermediate portion of the optical fiber in a straight line. In this case, a first cut for forming a first cut in the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion.
Forming a second notch in the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion along a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion at a predetermined position spaced from the first notch at a pair of blades in the set; It is preferable to have a pair of blades of a second set for performing the operation.

In this case, first guide means for guiding the pair of blades of the first set along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber to form the first cut. And second guide means for guiding the second pair of blades in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion to form the second cut. Is preferred.

According to a preferred embodiment of the second invention,
Third guide means for guiding the pair of blades of the first set along the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion in a state where the first cut is formed, and the third guide means in a state where the second cut is formed. And a fourth guiding means for guiding the two pairs of blades along the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion.

Further, according to a preferred aspect of the second invention, there is provided a residue removing means for removing the residue of the coating remaining between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut. . In this case, it is preferable that the residue removing means has a nozzle for blowing hot air on the residue of the coating.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, a cut is formed in a coating of an optical fiber with a pair of blades heated to a high temperature, and the pair of blades are cut along the axial direction of the optical fiber with the cut formed in the coating. The coating is removed by moving. Specifically, for example, an intermediate portion of the optical fiber is held linearly using a pair of fiber holders, and the optical fiber intermediate portion is held along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion held linearly. A cut is made in the coating of.

According to a more specific aspect, in a state where the first cut is formed in the coating of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber, the pair of blades of the first set is oriented in the first direction along the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber. To remove the coating. Next, in a state where a second cut is formed in the coating of the optical fiber middle portion at a predetermined position spaced from the first cut in the first direction, the second pair of blades are axially moved in the optical fiber middle portion. The coating is removed by moving along a second orientation opposite to the first orientation. If a coating residue remains between the first cut position and the second cut position, the coating residue is blown off with hot air.

As described above, in the present invention, prior to the formation of the cut, the pair of blades is heated to a high temperature, and a thermal film (high-temperature air layer) is formed around the tip. Therefore, even if the tips of the pair of blades heated to a high temperature do not reach the clad surface, a notch having a sharp cut surface near the clad surface is formed by the action of the thermal film formed around the tips. It is formed. as a result,
According to the present invention, it is possible to remove the coating of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber over a predetermined length with high accuracy without substantially damaging the clad surface.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a pair of fiber holders 2a for holding an intermediate portion of an optical fiber 1 in a straight line.
And 2b. The pair of fiber holders 2a and 2b are well-known holding means, and a detailed description of the configuration is omitted.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment also includes a first pair of blades for forming a cut in the coating of the optical fiber 1 along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 held in a straight line. Ceramic heaters 4a and 4b as heating means for heating the first pair of blades 3a and 3b to a predetermined temperature, respectively.
And Here, the upper blade 3a and the ceramic heater 4a in the figure are integrally attached to the holding portion 5a, and the lower blade 3b and the ceramic heater 4b in the figure.
Are integrally attached to the holding portion 5b.

Further, the apparatus according to the present embodiment comprises a second pair of blades for forming cuts in the coating of the optical fiber 1 along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 held in a straight line. 6a and 6b, and ceramic heaters 7a and 7b for heating the second pair of blades 6a and 6b to a predetermined temperature, respectively. Here, the upper blade 6a and the ceramic heater 7a in the figure are integrally attached to the holding portion 8a, and the lower blade 6b and the ceramic heater 7b are connected to the holding portion 8a.
b.

Here, each blade (3, 6) is formed of a heat-resistant metal such as stainless steel.
Further, each of the ceramic heaters (4, 7) is connected to a power supply source 9 via a wiring not shown. Thus, the ceramic heaters (4, 7) to which the voltage is applied by the voltage control or the PID control (time proportional control) are heated to a predetermined temperature, and thus each blade (3, 6) is heated to a predetermined temperature. . Instead of the ceramic heater, for example, other heating means using a Peltier element can be used.

Further, the apparatus of the present embodiment has a first guide portion 10 for guiding the holding portions 5a and 5b to slide along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 (direction indicated by an arrow F1 in the figure). And a second guide portion 11 for slidingly guiding the holding portions 8a and 8b along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 (a direction indicated by an arrow F2 in the figure). In other words, the first guide portion 10 is provided with a first pair of blades 3a and 3a for forming the cut.
First guide means for guiding b along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 is configured. Also, the second
The guide portion 11 constitutes second guide means for guiding the second pair of blades 6a and 65b along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 to form a cut.

Further, the apparatus according to the present embodiment has a third guide for slidingly guiding the first guide portion 10 and the second guide portion 11 along the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 (the direction indicated by arrow F3 in the figure). A section 12 is provided. In other words, the third
The guide portion 12 includes third guide means for guiding the first pair of blades 3a and 3b along the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 in a state where the cut is formed, and a second set in a state where the cut is formed. Fourth guide means for guiding the pair of blades 6a and 6b along the axial direction of the optical fiber 1 is constituted.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a basic coating removing operation of the optical fiber coating removing apparatus of the present embodiment. In the optical fiber coating removing apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, light is emitted using a first pair of blades 3a and 3b heated to a high temperature (for example, 50 ° C. to 500 ° C.). A first cut is made in the fiber 1. In particular,
For example, the right thumb touches the holding portion 5b holding one blade 3b, and the index finger and the middle finger of the right hand touches the holding portion 5a holding the other blade 3a. The holding section 5a and the holding section 5b are moved along the first guide section 10 in the direction facing each other until the other blade 3a comes closest to each other.

Here, the first guide portion 10 is configured such that, when one blade 3b and the other blade 3a are closest to each other, the tip of one blade 3b and the tip of the other blade 3a are linear. Is set so as to reach near the surface of the clad 1b (see FIG. 2B) of the optical fiber 1 held at the position shown in FIG. On the other hand, a thermal film (high-temperature air layer) is formed around the tips of the pair of blades 3a and 3b heated to a high temperature. Therefore,
Even if the tips of the pair of blades 3a and 3b heated to a high temperature do not reach the surface of the clad 1b, a sharp cut is made to the vicinity of the surface of the clad 1b by the action of the thermal film formed around the tips. A first notch having a surface is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, with the first cut formed in the coating 1a (for example, urethane acrylate) of the optical fiber 1, the pair of blades 3a and 3b are moved in the axial direction of the optical fiber 1. The coating 1a is peeled and removed by moving to the left side in the figure. Specifically, while maintaining the state where one blade 3b and the other blade 3a are closest to each other, that is, the state where the holding unit 5b and the holding unit 5a are closest to each other, the first guide unit 10 is moved to the holding unit 5b. And it is moved to the left side in the figure along the third guide part 12 integrally with the holding part 5a. Here, the third
The guide portion 12 is set such that the tip portions of the one blade 3b and the other blade 3a cannot move to the right side in the drawing from the position of the first cut to be formed.

In this embodiment, the pair of blades 3
Since a and 3b are heated to a high temperature, the optical fiber 1 is locally heated to a high temperature by the action of the tips. Therefore, due to the difference in the linear expansion coefficient between the urethane acrylate forming the coating 1a of the optical fiber 1 and the optical material forming the cladding 1b, a force acts to promote the separation of the coating 1a from the surface of the cladding 1b. . As a result, in the present embodiment, the coating 1a is smoothly peeled and removed from the surface of the clad 1b from the position of the first cut toward the left side in the figure, regardless of the strength of the urethane acrylate forming the coating 1a. Is done.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), a second pair of blades 6a and 6
A second cut is formed in the optical fiber 1 using b. Specifically, as in the case of the first pair of blades 3a and 3b, for example, the thumb of the right hand is brought into contact with the holding portion 8b holding one blade 6b, and the other blade 6
After the index finger and the middle finger of the right hand are brought into contact with the holding portion 8a for holding the second blade 6a, the second guide portion 11 is moved until one blade 6b and the other blade 6a come closest to each other.
Are moved along the directions along the directions. Here, the third guide portion 12 is set such that the distal ends of the one blade 6b and the other blade 6a cannot move to the left side in the drawing from the position of the second cut to be formed.

Thus, a second cut having a sharp cut surface up to the vicinity of the surface of the clad 1b is formed in the optical fiber 1 at a position separated by a predetermined distance from the first cut. Next, although not shown, a pair of blades 6 are formed in a state where the second cut is formed in the coating 1a of the optical fiber 1.
a and 6b are moved rightward in the figure along the axial direction of the optical fiber 1. Specifically, while maintaining the state in which one blade 6b and the other blade 6a are closest to each other, the second guide 11 is held by the holding portions 8b and 8a.
Is moved along the third guide portion 12 to the right side in the figure. Thus, the coating 1a is smoothly peeled and removed from the surface of the clad 1b from the position of the second cut to the right side in the drawing.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the residue of the coating remaining between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut in the present embodiment is removed. In the present embodiment, the coating 1a on the left side in the drawing is removed from the position of the first cut by the action of the first pair of blades 3a and 3b, and the second coating is then removed by the action of the second pair of blades 6a and 6b. After removing the coating 1a on the right side in the figure from the position of the cut, the first
Coating residue 1 between the cut position and the second cut position
c may remain. In this case, in the present embodiment, the coating residue 1c is blown to the coating residue 1c to blow the coating residue 1c to the cladding 1b.
Blow away from surface. Further, when there is a possibility that the coating may burn due to the hot air and damage the optical fiber, the coating may be formed by blowing hot air of nitrogen gas (for example, 50 ° C. to 500 ° C.) according to the type of the optical fiber. It is preferable to remove the residue 1c by blowing off the surface of the clad 1b.

Specifically, the optical fiber coating removing apparatus of the present embodiment comprises a hot air supply section 14 for supplying hot air,
A nozzle 13 for blowing the hot air 13a supplied from the hot air supply unit 14 toward the coating residue 1c is provided. In this way, by blowing the hot air 13a toward the coating residue 1c, the coating residue 1c can be loosened while avoiding cooling, and the coating residue 1c can be reliably removed. In the case where the coating residue 1c cannot be removed only by the action of the hot air 13a, the coating residue 1c is applied to the coating residue 1c by the tip of the nozzle 13 (for example, a groove (various portions formed at the tip of the nozzle 13). The hot air 13a is blown toward the coating residue 1c while applying an external force in the form of bringing the groove 13b into contact with the coating residue 1c (see FIG. 4), so that the coating residue 1c is more reliably removed. be able to.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a nozzle according to a modification. Referring to FIG. 5, a nozzle 23 serving as a residue removing unit according to a modification is configured to apply air at room temperature or an inert gas (for example, nitrogen) to the residue of the coating (indicated by reference numeral 1c in FIGS. 3 and 4). A plurality of (five in FIG. 5) discharge ports 23b to 23f for spraying are provided. At the tip of the nozzle 23, a groove 23a having a width t smaller than the diameter of the coating of the optical fiber and larger than the diameter of the cladding of the optical fiber is formed. The outlet 23b is formed at the center of the bottom surface of the groove 23a, and the other four outlets 23c to 23f are symmetrically arranged around the center outlet 23b.

Further, the tip of the nozzle 23 is formed of a material which is harder than the coating and softer than the cladding. Specifically, for example, a PEEK material can be used as a material that is harder than the coating made of urethane acrylate and softer than the cladding made of quartz glass. PEEK is a thermoplastic material that is harder than ordinary plastic materials and can withstand high temperatures (eg, 260 ° C.), and is commercially available under the trade name of polyether ether ketone.

As described above, in the nozzle 23 according to the modified example of FIG. 5, the groove 23a having the width t smaller than the diameter of the coating and larger than the diameter of the clad is formed. Therefore, even if hot air is not always blown, the nozzle 2 is blown while blowing air at room temperature or inert gas.
The coating residue 1c can be reliably removed by causing the groove 23a formed at the tip of the third member 3 to contact the coating residue 1c. The tip of the nozzle 23 is formed of a material that is harder than the coating and softer than the cladding. Therefore, even when the tip of the nozzle 23 touches the clad when removing the coating residue 1c, the clad does not substantially damage the clad. Therefore, it is possible to blow the room temperature air or inert gas without blowing hot air. The coating residue 1c can be reliably removed.
By blowing the air or the inert gas at a certain periodic interval, for example, at a periodic interval of about 1 Hz to 10 Hz, instead of continuously blowing the air or the inert gas, it is possible to apply a pressure change to the residue, thereby further increasing the power. It becomes possible to remove the residue.

As described above, in this embodiment, prior to the formation of the cut, the first pair of blades 3a and 3a
b and the second pair of blades 6a and 6b are each heated to a high temperature, and a thermal film is formed around the tip. Therefore, even if the tips of the pair of blades 3a and 3b heated to a high temperature do not reach the surface of the clad 1b, the heat film formed around the tips of the pair of blades 3a and 3b sharpens the vicinity of the surface of the clad 1b. A first cut having an appropriate cut surface is formed, and the coating 1a is smoothly peeled and removed from the position of the first cut toward the left side in the figure.

Similarly, by the action of the pair of blades 6a and 6b heated to a high temperature, a second cut having a sharp cut surface is formed up to the vicinity of the surface of the clad 1b. The coating 1a is smoothly removed and removed toward the right side. Here, the interval between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut, that is, the length of the coating removing portion is managed with high accuracy by the action of the third guide portion 12. As a result, in the present embodiment, the coating 1a of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber 1 can be removed with high precision over a predetermined length without substantially damaging the surface of the cladding 1b. Further, in the present embodiment, since the blade heated to a high temperature forms the cut while melting the coating to some extent, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to form the tip of the blade with high precision and sharpness.

In the above-described embodiment, the first cut is formed using the first pair of blades 3a and 3b, and the coating 1a is peeled off from the position of the first cut toward the left side in the figure. At the same time, a second cut is formed using a second pair of blades 6a and 6b,
The coating 1a is peeled off from the cut position toward the right side in the figure. However, without being limited to this, the peeling and removal of the coating 1a from the position of the first cut and the position of the first cut to the left in the drawing, and the formation of the second cut and the position of the second cut from the position of the second cut to the right in the drawing The removal of the coating 1a can be performed using a common pair of blades.

In the above-described embodiment, the step of forming the cut by bringing the pair of blades close to each other and the step of moving the pair of blades with the cut formed to peel off the coating are manually performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the notch forming step and the coating removing step can be respectively performed by automatic control as needed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the removal of the coating on the intermediate portion of the optical fiber.
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to the removal of the coating on the end of the optical fiber.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the tips of a pair of blades heated to a high temperature do not reach the clad surface, the action of the thermal film formed around the tips of the blades enables Since a notch having a sharp cut surface is formed up to the vicinity of the clad surface, it is possible to remove the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion over a predetermined length with high precision without substantially damaging the clad surface. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic operation of the optical fiber coating removing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of removing a coating residue remaining between a first cut position and a second cut position in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a coating residue is removed while an external force is applied to the coating residue by a tip portion of a nozzle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a nozzle according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 optical fiber 1a coating 1b clad 1c coating residue 2 fiber holder 3,6 blade 4,7 ceramic heater 5,8 holding unit 9 power supply source 10-12 guide unit 13,23 nozzle 14 hot air supply unit

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Otsuka 1-3-3 Azaminominamiminami, Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) 2H038 CA02 CA04

Claims (18)

[Claims] A heating step of heating a pair of blades to a predetermined temperature; a notch forming step of forming a cut in a coating of the optical fiber with the pair of blades heated to the predetermined temperature; A coating removing step of removing the coating by moving the pair of blades in the formed state along the axial direction of the optical fiber. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, before the notch forming step, a holding step of holding an intermediate portion of the optical fiber in a straight line. 3. The notch forming step is characterized in that a notch is formed in a coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion along a direction substantially orthogonal to an axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion held linearly. The method according to claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the notch forming step and the coating removing step include: forming a first notch in the coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion; A first step of removing the coating by moving in the direction of the first direction, and the first step from the first cut formed in the first step.
In a state where a second cut is formed in the coating of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber at a predetermined position spaced apart from the direction of the optical fiber, the pair of blades are opposite to the first direction along the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber. A second step of removing the coating by moving the coating in a second orientation. 5. In the first step, the first notch is formed and the coating is removed by using a first set of a pair of blades. In the second step, the first set of a pair of blades and 5. The method of claim 4, wherein forming the second cut and removing the coating using a second pair of different blades. 6. A method for removing a residue of the coating remaining between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut through the first step and the second step. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein in the residue removing step, the residue of the coating is blown off with hot air. 8. A pair of blades for forming a cut in the coating of the optical fiber, and a heating means for heating the pair of blades to a predetermined temperature, wherein the pair of blades are heated to the predetermined temperature. An optical fiber coating removing device, wherein the coating is removed by moving the pair of blades along an axial direction of the optical fiber in a state where a cut is formed in the coating with a blade. 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a pair of fiber holders for holding an intermediate portion of the optical fiber in a straight line. 10. A first set of a pair of blades for forming a first cut in a coating of the optical fiber intermediate portion along a direction substantially orthogonal to an axial direction of the optical fiber intermediate portion; A second set of a pair of blades for forming a second cut in the coating of the optical fiber middle section along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the optical fiber middle section at a predetermined position spaced from the cut. 10. The device of claim 9, comprising: 11. A first guide means for guiding the pair of blades of the first set along a direction substantially orthogonal to an axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber to form the first cut, and Second guide means for guiding the pair of blades of the second set along a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber to form a second cut. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein 12. A third guiding means for guiding the pair of blades of the first set along the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber with the first cut formed, and the second guiding means.
12. A fourth guide means for guiding the pair of blades of the second set along the axial direction of the intermediate portion of the optical fiber with the cut formed. The described device. 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising residue removing means for removing the residue of the coating remaining between the position of the first cut and the position of the second cut.
The apparatus according to any one of 0 to 12. 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the residue removing means has a nozzle for blowing hot air to the residue of the coating. 15. The residue removing means has a nozzle for blowing a predetermined gas to the residue of the coating, and the tip of the nozzle has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the coating of the optical fiber and the optical fiber. 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a groove having a width larger than the diameter of the cladding is formed. 16. The residue removing means has a nozzle for blowing a predetermined gas to the residue of the coating, and a tip portion of the nozzle is formed of a material harder than the coating and softer than the cladding. 16. The device according to claim 13, wherein the material is a thermoplastic material capable of withstanding a predetermined high temperature. 17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined gas is an inert gas. 18. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the residue is removed by spraying the predetermined gas onto the residue of the coating over a predetermined period (pulse pressure fluctuation). .