JP3273245B2 - Optical connector ferrule cutting tool - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ferrule used as a member for aligning and holding optical fibers in an optical connector used for connecting optical fibers to each other or connecting an optical fiber to another optical device. In particular, the present invention relates to a tool used for cutting and removing a molding gate portion in the manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, the structure of this type of ferrule is shown in FIG.
This will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The ferrule 11 includes an insertion portion 12 inserted into the counterpart alignment sleeve and a base 13 following the insertion portion.
4 are formed. In this example, the outer shape of the flange 14 is substantially elliptical as shown in the figure.

[0003] A through hole 15 is formed through the cylindrical insertion portion 12 and the base portion 13 at the axial center position thereof. In this example, a capillary 16 is housed and held in the through hole 15 as shown in FIG.
The fiber element wire 18a of the optical fiber 18 is inserted and held in the small hole 17 of FIG. The ferrule 11 is generally manufactured by injection molding, and in this case,
A gate is arranged on the peripheral surface of the flange 14. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the gate is cut and removed after molding. The gate 19 in the form of a film (thin film) is provided so as to surround the periphery of the flange 14.

The gate 19 is cut by the die 21 and the punch 2
2 is performed. At this time, in the related art, the die 21 is simply used as a cradle for the flange 14, and a concave portion 23 having a cut shape corresponding to the outer shape of the flange 14 is formed on the distal end surface of the punch 22. The hole 24 of the die 21 is an escape for the base 13 of the ferrule 11.

[0005]

As described above, in the prior art, the recess 23 corresponding to the outer shape of the flange 14 for cutting the gate 19 is provided on the tip end surface of the punch 22. Can be formed by, for example, electric discharge machining, but it is difficult to form by other machining methods, that is, there is no flexibility in the machining method.

Further, in a ferrule having a complicated flange shape, the shape of the concave portion 23 is also complicated, and forming such a concave portion 23 by electric discharge machining is troublesome and costly. An object of the present invention is to provide a tool for cutting a gate of an optical connector ferrule which can be simply and inexpensively configured in view of the above-mentioned problems.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tool for cutting a gate of an injection-molded optical connector ferrule having a flange and a gate provided on a peripheral surface of the flange. A die having a hole corresponding to the outer shape of the flange, and a punch for pushing the flange into the hole. The die is composed of a combination of a plurality of blocks, and the hole is formed by the combination of the blocks.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the tip is located in the hole, the core is accommodated in the die, and the core is elastically biased in a direction of coming out of the hole, and the tip surface thereof is provided. Are located substantially on the opening surface of the hole.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a ferrule 11 before a gate 19 is cut is also shown. In this example, the die 31 has a hole 32 having a cut shape corresponding to the outer shape of the flange 14 of the ferrule 11. Dice 31
As shown in the figure, in this example, the block is composed of a combination of a base block 33 and two rod-shaped blocks 34 and 35, and the blocks 34 and 35 are fixed to the block 33 by screws 36, respectively.

The opening shape of the hole 32 on the upper surface of the die 31 is as follows.
In this example, two opposing sides of the oval are formed by the side surfaces of the blocks 34 and 35, and both opposing arc portions are formed by the inner wall surface of the block 33. ing. On the other hand, a hole 38 capable of accommodating the insertion portion 12 of the ferrule 11 is formed in the distal end surface of the punch 37.

To cut the gate 19, the ferrule 11 is positioned on the die 31, the punch 37 is lowered in the direction of the arrow, and the tip surface is brought into contact with the side surface of the flange 14, and the flange 14 is inserted into the hole 32 of the die 31. The gate 19 is cut at the edge of the hole 32 and separated from the flange 14. Dice 3 as above
According to the cutting tool composed of 1 and the punch 37, the cutting shape is formed by a combination of a plurality of blocks 33 to 35, and the individual blocks 33 to 35 can be manufactured by, for example, general cutting. Because
It can be easily manufactured and has a large degree of freedom in the processing method.

In addition, even if the flange of the ferrule 11 has a complicated shape different from the above-described example, the plurality of blocks constituting the die 31 may be divided according to the shape and easily manufactured. Even a cutting tool used for gate cutting of a ferrule having a complicated flange shape can be easily manufactured. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.
The workability of the cutting tool shown in (1) can be further improved.

In this example, a core 41 is accommodated in a die 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the core 41 has a tip portion 42 located in the hole 32 of the die 31 and a large diameter portion 4 following the tip portion 42.
3 at the center, the base 13 of the ferrule 11
A hole 44 capable of accommodating the same is formed through. Dice 31
A hole 45 having a large diameter reaching the bottom surface is provided in a portion following the hole 32. The large diameter portion 43 of the core 41 is located in the hole 45. As shown in FIG. 3, the die 31 is used, for example, installed on a base 46.
A coil spring 47 is interposed between the core 6 and the core 41.

The core 41 is urged upward by the elastic biasing force of the coil spring 47, that is, in the direction of coming out of the hole 32, and its large-diameter portion 43 is pressed against the blocks 34 and 35 to be prevented from coming off. In this state, the end surface of the distal end portion 42 of the core 41 is substantially located on the opening surface of the hole 32, that is, the upper surface of the die 31, as shown in FIG. 3B. Core 4 as above
By providing 1 on the die 31, when the gate 19 of the ferrule 11 is cut, the core 41 is pushed down together with the flange 14 by the punch 37 and sinks. On the other hand, after the gate 19 is cut, when the punch 37 is raised, the core 41 returns to the original position, and the ferrule 11 is pushed upward by the core 41. Therefore, the handling of the ferrule 11 becomes easy, and the workability after cutting is reduced. Can be improved.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, a dice is formed by a combination of a plurality of blocks, and a hole for cutting the gate is formed by the combination of the blocks. Even if the shape, that is, the ferrule flange shape is complicated, it is divided so that it can be manufactured easily, so that individual blocks can be manufactured by general cutting, etc., so that cutting tools can be simplified It can be configured at low cost.

Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the ferrule is pushed out of the die after the gate is cut, so that the ferrule can be easily handled and workability can be improved in that respect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 2;

3A is a plan view of the dice in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a ferrule.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where the optical fiber is held by the ferrule of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional ferrule gate cutting tool.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference Jikken Sho 60-16431 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/24 G02B 6/36-6/40

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tool for cutting said gate of an optical connector ferrule which has a flange and is provided with a gate on a peripheral surface of the flange and which is injection-molded, wherein the hole corresponds to the outer shape of the flange. And a punch for pushing the flange into the hole, wherein the die is constituted by a combination of a plurality of blocks, and the hole is formed by a combination of the blocks. Cutting tools. 2. The cutting tool for an optical connector ferrule according to claim 1, wherein a tip is located in the hole, a core is accommodated in the die, and the core is elastically biased in a direction to come out of the hole,
A cutting tool for an optical connector ferrule, the tip surface of which is substantially located at the opening surface of the hole.