JP3278539B2 - Extra length processing method and extra length processing structure for connection part of optical cable with connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a structure for processing excess connection length in a connection box of an optical cable having an optical connector coupled to a terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of optical fibers accommodated in two opposing optical fibers are connected by an optical connector provided at the tip of the optical fiber, an optical fiber guided from each optical cable terminal is used. Since there is variation in the length to the end of the core wire, in order to absorb the variation in length and connect all the optical connectors, attach a connector with an extra length to the optical fiber core wire conventionally. I have.

FIG. 5 shows a prior art of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram of a method of processing a connection excess length proposed by the present inventors in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-354217. In the figure, 21 is an optical cable, 22 is an optical fiber tape bundle, 23 is a connector assembly, 24 is a connector assembly fixing member, 25 is an optical cable locking portion, 26 is a connection box, and 27 is an intermediate member.
The two optical cables 21 are locked by the optical cable locking section 25 and fixed to the connection box 26. A large number of optical fiber ribbons are drawn from the terminal of the optical cable 21. The optical fiber ribbon is pulled out more than the length required for connection. The optical fiber tape core bundle 22 is formed by laminating a plurality of, for example, five, optical fiber tape cores and bundling them using a heat-shrinkable tube.

At the tip of the optical fiber ribbon 22,
A connector combination 23 is provided. The connector assembly 23 is obtained by coupling optical connectors provided at the ends of the optical fiber ribbons constituting the optical fiber ribbon bundle 22. The connector combined bodies 23 of the optical fiber ribbons 22 pulled out from the respective optical cables 21 are connected via an intermediate member 27. The connected connector combination 23 is fixed to the connector combination fixing member 24. At this time, connector connector 23
The optical fiber tape bundle 22 is connected to the connector unit fixing member 24 once from the optical cable terminal, and is disposed so as to be reversed and reach the connector unit fixing member 24.

[0005] The space between the connector combined member fixing member 24 and the optical cable terminal of the optical cable 21 is an area where the optical fiber tape core bundle 22 pulled out from the other optical cable 21 is folded back. By arranging the connector assembly fixing member 24 substantially at the center of the connection box 26, a substantially equal return space is provided for each optical cable 21.

[0006] In connection work of the optical cable 21, the optical cable is locked to the connection box 26 by the optical cable locking portion 25, the optical fiber tape core bundle 22 is taken out, and the connector assembly of the optical fiber tape core bundle 22 to be connected. 23
Join each other. Then, after the connector combination 23 is coupled, the coupling portion may be rotated by a half turn to be fixed to the connector combination fixing member 24. With such a simple task,
Each optical fiber can be coupled, and each optical fiber ribbon can be made extra long. Therefore, workability can be remarkably improved as compared with the case where extra length is conventionally taken for each optical fiber.

In this prior art method, a plurality of optical fiber ribbons with connectors drawn from respective optical cable terminals of a plurality of optical cables are laminated for each of a plurality of optical fibers, and attached to each of the laminated optical fiber tapes. By configuring the combined body as one connector for the optical connector thus obtained, it is possible to avoid troublesome extra length processing that is performed for each optical fiber ribbon, and to entangle the optical fiber ribbon. , The workability is improved.

However, in general, once an optical cable is connected, it is necessary to change the connection in units of optical fiber ribbons in the optical cable due to a later increase in the number of lines, a change in route, or the occurrence of a fault. In this case, in the optical cable connection structure having the above-described structure, it is difficult to attach and detach the optical connector in units of the optical fiber ribbon, and to route the optical fiber ribbon.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can handle a bundle of optical fiber cores comprising a plurality of optical fiber cores at a time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a structure for processing an extra length of a connection portion of an optical cable with a connector, which allows an optical connector to be detached and routed in a unit of a core.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber core bundle formed by binding a plurality of optical fiber cores drawn from an optical cable terminal, and an optical fiber attached to the optical fiber core. The connector is a single connector combined body, and after the connector combined body is moved beyond its fixed position, it is turned over and the optical fiber core bundle is arranged so as to reach the fixed position of the connector combined body. In the long processing method, the bundled optical fiber cores and the connector assembly of the optical connector attached to the optical fiber core are configured to be separable for each optical fiber core. Things.

The optical fiber core bundle may be bound by a binding member which does not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber and loosely binds the optical fiber core bundle. It can be directly and easily attached and detached at any position of the optical fiber core,
It is also characterized by using a binding member having a half-split pipe structure, or by using a spiral tube, and also characterized by dispersing and disposing the binding member at a plurality of locations of the optical fiber core bundle. Things.

Further, the connector assembly is configured such that each optical connector is fixed to a connector gripping member which grips the number of optical fiber cores in a state where each optical connector is coupled to the optical connector of the optical fiber terminal facing each other. , To be arranged and fixed at a fixed position in the optical cable connection box,
The connector combined body has a space on the outer periphery of the connector combined portion that does not affect the optical characteristics of the bundled optical fiber core wires, and the respective arrangements are not interchanged inside the connector gripping member. It is also characterized in that the position is regulated and fixed by a position regulating member that regulates the position.

Further, according to the present invention, an optical fiber core is drawn from each optical cable terminal of a plurality of optical cables, and the optical connectors attached to the optical fiber core are connected to each other in the optical cable connection box while leaving an extra length. In the connection portion excess length processing structure of the optical cable with a connector, the optical fiber cores drawn out from each optical cable terminal are bundled into a plurality of bundles to form an optical fiber core bundle, and attached to the optical fiber core. A plurality of optical connectors are used as one connector combined body, and the optical fiber core bundle is arranged so as to be turned over after reaching the fixed position of the connector combined body to reach the fixed position of the connector combined body, and to be bundled. The optical fiber core and the connector assembly of the optical connector attached to the optical fiber can be separated for each optical fiber. That has been made is characterized in.

[0014] The optical fiber core bundle may be bound by a binding member which does not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber and loosely binds the optical fiber core bundle. A binding member having a half-pipe structure that can be directly and easily attached and detached to an arbitrary position of an optical fiber core wire, or a spiral tube is used. The present invention is also characterized in that the binding members are dispersedly arranged at a plurality of positions of the optical fiber bundle.

Further, the connector connector is fixed to a connector holding member that holds each optical connector in a state where each optical connector is connected to the connector connector of the opposing optical cable terminal for each of the bundles of optical fiber cores. It is also characterized in that it is arranged and fixed at a fixed position in the optical cable connection box, and further, the connector combined body has a space that does not affect the optical characteristics of the bundled optical fiber core. It is also characterized in that it is provided on the outer periphery of the connector coupling portion and the position is regulated by a position regulating member that regulates the position so that each array is not interchanged inside.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the operation at the time of connecting the optical cables is performed in units of the optical fiber core bundle by forming the optical fiber core bundle by bundling the optical fiber cores pulled out from the optical cable terminal. Thereby, workability can be improved. In addition, the bundled optical fiber core and the connector assembly of the optical connector attached to the optical fiber core are configured to be separable for each optical fiber core, so that connection after the optical cable connection is established. At the time of work such as replacement, work can be performed for each optical fiber core.

Further, since the optical fiber core bundle is bound by the binding member which does not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber and loosely binds the optical fiber core bundle, the binding member can be handled normally after the binding. Then, if you do not want to move easily on the optical fiber core in the tangential direction, but want to move it intentionally, gently bind it so that it can be easily moved by shifting it in the tangential direction. This enables separation of each optical fiber. As the binding member, a binding member having a half-split pipe structure, which can be directly and easily attached and detached to an arbitrary position of the optical fiber core, or a spiral tube, the optical fiber core is used. Is easy to separate. By distributing the binding members at a plurality of positions of the optical fiber core bundle, it is possible to eliminate the entanglement and to facilitate the handling of the optical fiber core bundle.

Further, the connector holding member is configured such that each optical connector is fixed to the connector holding member which holds the optical fiber cable at every binding number in a state where each optical connector is connected to the optical connector of the optical cable terminal facing each other. Can be
By arranging and fixing at a fixed position in the optical cable connection box, the connector combined body further has a space on the outer periphery of the optical connector combined portion that does not affect the optical characteristics of the bundled optical fiber core. By having the position regulation by a position regulation member that regulates the position so that each arrangement is not exchanged inside the connector gripping member, the arrangement of the optical fibers is facilitated, and the arrangement is disordered. Can be eliminated.

[0019] If necessary, the connector gripping member gripping the above-mentioned opposing connectors after coupling them may include:
It goes without saying that it can be handled as a connector assembly.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a connecting portion of an optical cable with a connector according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an optical cable, 2 is an optical fiber tape bundle, 3 is a connector assembly, 3 'is an optical connector, 4 is a connector holding member, 5 is a connector holding member fixing member, 6 is a binding member, and 7 is an optical cable member. The stop part 8 is a connection box. The figure shows a state in which the lid of the connection box 8 is removed, and the illustration of the lid is omitted. The two optical cables 1 are locked by the optical cable locking section 7 and fixed to the connection box 6. In FIG. 1, the terminal portion of the optical cable 1 is locked, but the cable terminal may be protruded into the connection box 6 to lock the optical cable 1 in the middle. Although the two optical cables 1 are arranged coaxially in FIG. 1, they may be arranged off-axis.

A large number of optical fiber ribbons are drawn from the terminal of the optical cable 1. The optical fiber ribbon is pulled out more than the length required for connection. This optical fiber tape is laminated every plural sheets,
The optical fiber tape core bundle 2 is bundled by the coupling member 6. The binding member 6 is loosely bound such that it does not easily move in the tangential direction (axial direction) on the optical fiber tape in a normal handling after the plurality of optical fiber tapes are bound. If you want to move
It can be easily moved by pressing it tangentially with a finger.

At the end of the optical fiber ribbon 2, a connector assembly 3 is provided. The connector assembly 3 is a general term for the optical connectors 3 ′ provided at the tips of the optical fiber ribbons constituting the optical fiber ribbon 2. Each of the optical connectors 3 ′ may be disjointed, but may be formed with an engaging portion so as to be capable of being connected and separated, and are integrally connected by engaging a plurality of optical connectors with the engaging portion. Thus, a connector assembly can be configured. In this case, the optical connectors can be separated from each other by releasing the engagement. A plurality of optical connectors may be integrally assembled to form a connector assembly using a coupling assisting member that integrally joins the discrete optical connectors 3 ′. In such a case, Separation into individual optical connectors is possible by removing the coupling assisting member.

The connector assembly 3 of the optical fiber ribbon bundle 2 pulled out from each optical cable 1 is joined at a connector gripping member 4. The connector holding member 4 is fixed to the connection box 8 by the connector holding member fixing member 5. At this time, the optical fiber ribbon core bundle 2 connected to the connector combination 3 passes from the cable end to the side of the connector gripping member 4 where the connector combination 3 is fixed, and is reversed to reach the connector gripping member 4. To place.

The space between the connector gripping member 4 and the cable end of the optical cable 1 is an area where the optical fiber tape core bundle 2 pulled out from the other optical cable 1 is turned back. By arranging the connector gripping member 4 substantially at the center of the connection box 8, it is possible to provide the optical cables 1 with a substantially equal space for folding. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to arrange the connector gripping member 4 close to one of the cable ends.

In connection work of the optical cable 1, the optical cable 1 is locked to the connection box 8 by the optical cable locking portion 5,
The optical fiber tape cores are taken out, laminated and bound by a binding member 6 for each predetermined group. If the attachment of the optical connector and the binding by the binding member 6 are performed at the time of manufacturing the optical cable, the connection operation is simplified. It is preferable that a color and a pattern are attached to the binding member 6 and that the binding member 6 can be identified by an appropriate method such as a symbol or a character. In any case, the connector coupling bodies 3 of the bundled right and left optical fiber tape core bundles 2 are coupled within the connector gripping member 4. Then, the connector holding member 4 holding the connector combined body is rotated by a half turn to be fixed to the connector holding member fixing member 5. By such a simple operation, the respective optical fiber ribbons can be connected, and the extra length of each optical fiber ribbon can be obtained. Therefore, conventionally,
Compared to taking extra length for each optical fiber,
Workability can be remarkably improved.

In this embodiment, the connector assembly 3
Although the connector gripping member 4 is used for the connection, the configuration described above makes it easy to separate the optical connector for each optical fiber ribbon. But,
The connector gripping member 4 is not always necessary, and may be configured to be connectable using an intermediate member according to the configuration of the connector combined body 3. A coupling mode can be adopted.

In the connection box 8 described above, the case where two optical cables are connected has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to connection of three or more optical cables. For example, the present invention can be used when a multi-core optical cable is branched into two optical cables having a smaller number of cores.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the connector holding member, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part. In the figure, 9 is a connector gripping member main body, 10 is an optical fiber tape core,
11 is an optical connector, 12 is a holding member, 12a is a side piece, 1
3 is a connector fixing pin, and 14 is a locking member. The optical connectors 11 of the optical fiber ribbons 10 to be connected are connected and held by a holding member 12 as shown in FIG. The holding member 12 has at least side pieces 12a on both sides.
Is made of metal or synthetic resin so as to have elasticity, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the connector holding member main body 9. The side piece 12a has a notch through which the optical fiber ribbon 10 passes. The coupled optical connector 4 is sandwiched between the side pieces 12a of the holding member 12, and pressed by the connector fixing pins 13 as shown in FIG. The connector fixing pin 13
The optical connector 4 is fixed by hooking the tip of the wire to the locking member 14 of the connector holding member main body 9. Of course, other fixing structures may be employed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a specific example of the binding member described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 (A) shows a half-pipe structure in which an edge that has been split in half by a slit-shaped gap 6a is bent outward so as to be easily attached to and detached from an optical fiber tape core bundle. ing. Also, no damage is caused when attaching and detaching. FIG. 4B has a spiral tube structure. Both have a flexible material and structure that can be easily moved to bind the optical fiber ribbon, and can be directly and easily attached and detached to any position of the optical fiber ribbon. is there.

The extra length processing of the above embodiment will be described based on a specific example. In this specific example, a connection box for connecting a 100-fiber optical cable terminal was manufactured. 100-fiber optical cable
Consisting of 25 four-core optical fiber ribbons, five of the optical fiber ribbons were bound using a spiral tube as a binding member to improve the handleability during extra length processing in the connection box. . The binding member has a length of 10c.
Spiral tubes of about m are distributed in three places, so take out of the connection box of the four-fiber optical connector assembly corresponding to one four-fiber optical fiber tape assuming replacement after optical cable connection Also, the desorption workability was very good. In the four-fiber optical connector, the five types of optical connectors which have been connected are fixed to one connector holding member in a form corresponding to the optical fiber ribbon, and further, the connector holding member is connected to the optical connector near the center of the connection box. By fixing the optical connector to the fixed position, it is possible to take out from the fixed position in units of five sets and to attach and detach the optical connector in units of one set.

As described above, by attaching the binding members to the dispersed positions, there is an advantage that when the required length of the optical fiber ribbon is separated, the binding members need only be moved without removing the binding members.

In the comparative example, as in the prior art example described with reference to FIG. 5, the optical fiber ribbon pulled out from the optical cable terminal is moved over the fixing position of the connector assembly in units of 25 optical fiber ribbons. After that, the connection is reversed to perform the connection excess length processing. According to this method, since the optical fiber ribbon has no rigidity and the number of optical fibers increases, it is highly likely that they are entangled with each other, and a sufficient improvement effect on workability cannot be obtained. Conversely, if the optical fiber ribbon is bound using a shrinkable tube, an adhesive tape, or the like, after the optical cable is connected, the connection is replaced in units of optical fiber tape, specifically, in units of optical fiber tape. In this case, the optical connector cannot be taken out of the connection box to the outside while being connected, and cannot be detached.

The optical fiber ribbon in the above-described embodiment can be applied to one having an appropriate number of cores, such as four or eight. Further, the optical fiber core in the present invention is not limited to an optical fiber tape core, but can be applied to an appropriate optical fiber core such as a single core or an optical fiber unit having a small number of cores.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a plurality of optical fiber cores drawn out from an optical cable terminal are bundled into a plurality of optical fiber cores to form an optical fiber core bundle. The connection and the extra length processing are easy, and the extra length can be secured by arranging the optical fiber core bundle so as to be inverted after reaching the fixing position of the connector assembly and reach the fixing position of the connector assembly. Also,
Each of the bundled optical fiber cores and the connector assembly of the optical connector attached to the optical fiber core are configured to be separable for each optical fiber core, so that the optical fiber core after the optical cable is connected. There is an effect that work such as connection change of a unit can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a connection portion of an optical cable with a connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a connector gripping member.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a specific example of the binding member described in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a connection portion excess length processing method according to the prior art of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical cable, 2 ... Optical fiber tape core bundle, 3 ... Connector assembly, 3 '... Optical connector, 4 ... Connector holding member, 5 ... Connector holding member fixing member, 6 ... Binding member, 7
... Optical cable locking portion, 8 ... Connection box, 9 ... Connector holding member main body portion, 10 ... Optical fiber tape core wire, 11 ... Optical connector, 12 ... Holding member, 13 ... Connector fixing pin, 14
... locking member.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kei Sunaga, 1-chome, Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Shinji Nagasawa 1-6-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Mikio Tsutsumi 1-6-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation Examiner Eiichi Yoshida (56) References JP-A-7-199015 (JP, A) JP-A-3-245109 (JP, A) JP-A 5-11107 (JP, U) JP-A 61-155805 (JP, U) JP-A 60-133408 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/00 G02B 6/38

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] An optical fiber core bundle drawn out of an optical cable terminal is bundled into a plurality of optical fiber cores to form an optical fiber core bundle, and an optical connector attached to the optical fiber core is used as one connector combined body. In the method of processing a connection part excess length of a connector-attached optical cable in which the optical fiber cable bundle is arranged so that the connector assembly is turned over after exceeding the fixing position and reaches the fixing position of the connector assembly. A connection part extra length of an optical cable with a connector, wherein each optical fiber core and a connector assembly of an optical connector attached to the optical fiber core are configured to be separable for each optical fiber core. Processing method. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber core bundle is bound by a binding member that does not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber and loosely binds the optical fiber core bundle. For processing excess length of connection part of optical cable with cable. 3. The binding member according to claim 2, wherein the binding member has a half-split pipe structure that can be directly and easily attached to and detached from an arbitrary position of the optical fiber. A method for processing an excess length of a connection portion of an optical cable with a connector as described in the above. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a spiral tube is used as the binding member. 5. The optical fiber bundle according to claim 2, wherein the binding members are dispersedly arranged at a plurality of positions of the optical fiber bundle.
The method for processing a connection part extra length of an optical cable with a connector according to any one of the above items. 6. The connector combined body is configured such that each optical connector is fixed to a connector gripping member gripped for each number of bundled optical fibers in a state where each optical connector is coupled to an optical connector of an optical cable terminal facing each other. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the connector is disposed and fixed at a fixed position in the optical cable connection box. 7. The connector coupling body has a space on the outer periphery of the connector coupling portion that does not affect the optical characteristics of the bundled optical fiber core wires, and each arrangement is the same as that of the connector gripping member. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the position is regulated and fixed by a position regulating member that regulates the position so as not to be replaced inside. 8. An optical cable with a connector for extracting an optical fiber core from each optical cable terminal of a plurality of optical cables and connecting the optical connectors attached to the optical fiber core in an optical cable connection box while leaving an extra length. In the connection excess length processing structure, the optical fiber cores drawn out from the respective optical cable terminals are bundled into a plurality of optical fiber cores to form an optical fiber core bundle, and a plurality of optical connectors attached to the optical fiber cores. Are combined into a single connector, and the optical fiber bundles are arranged so as to be reversed after reaching the fixing position of the connector combination to reach the fixing position of the connector combination, and the bundled optical fibers are connected to each other. And the connector assembly of the optical connector attached to the optical fiber is configured to be separable for each optical fiber. A connection part extra length processing structure for an optical cable with a connector, characterized by: 9. The optical fiber core bundle according to claim 8, wherein the optical fiber core bundle is bound by a binding member that does not affect the optical characteristics of the optical fiber and loosely binds the optical fiber core bundle. Extra connection length processing structure of optical cable with connector. 10. A binding member having a half-split pipe structure, which can be directly and easily attached to and detached from an arbitrary position of an optical fiber core wire, is used as the binding member. Item 10. A connection part extra length processing structure for an optical cable with a connector according to Item 9. 11. The excess length processing structure for a connector-equipped optical cable according to claim 9, wherein a spiral tube is used as the binding member. 12. The optical fiber bundle according to claim 9, wherein the binding members are dispersedly arranged at a plurality of positions of the optical fiber bundle.
12. A connection part excess length processing structure for an optical cable with a connector according to any one of items 11 to 11. 13. The connector coupling body is fixed to a connector gripping member that grips each optical fiber core in a state where each optical connector is coupled to a connector coupling body of an optical cable terminal facing each other. 9. The structure for processing a connection part extra length of an optical cable with a connector according to claim 8, wherein the structure is arranged and fixed at a fixed position in the optical cable connection box. 14. The connector coupling body has a space on the outer periphery of the connector coupling portion that does not affect the optical characteristics of the bundled optical fiber core wires, and each arrangement is the same as that of the connector gripping member. 14. The connection portion excess length processing structure of an optical cable with a connector according to claim 13, wherein the position is fixed by a position regulating member that regulates the position so that the inside is not replaced.