JP3405158B2 - How to measure and strip optical fiber cords - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber cord for stripping an end portion of a plastic optical fiber cord to expose a fiber core portion by a predetermined length. Scale /
It relates to the method of peeling. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to expose a fiber core portion A having a predetermined length L3 to an end portion of an optical fiber cord C having a length L1, FIGS. The method was performed as shown in FIG. [0003] First, the optical fiber cord C with the coating B covered is separated by a pair of feed-in / pull-back rollers 104 between the two cutting blades 101 at the retracted position separated from each other (see FIG. 9). C is fed in, and both cutting blades 104 are closed to cut the optical fiber cord C. Then, after returning both cutting blade portions 101 to the retracted position again, the feeding / retracting roller 104 feeds the optical fiber cord C by the length L3. In this state, the both cutting blades 101 are closed and moved to the cutting positions (see FIG. 10) to cut into the covering portion B.
In the state where is located at the cut position, the optical fiber cord C is pulled back by the feed / return roller 104 to peel off the coating B at the end, exposing the fiber core portion A over the length L3. [0004] The connection of the end of the optical fiber cord C exposing the fiber core portion A to the optical connector is performed as shown in FIG. That is, the fiber core portion A exposed at the end of the optical fiber cord C is inserted into the ferrule 112 from the back side of the optical connector 110 and the fiber core portion A protruding from the ferrule 112 is inserted. The end face was pressed against the hot plate 114 to perform mirror surface transfer processing. [0006] However, conventionally,
The optical fiber cord C in a state where the covering portion B is covered
9 was cut by the cutting blade 101, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 10, since the fiber core portion A is cut by the cutting blade portion 101 having the V-shaped blade 102, the force at the time of cutting the fiber core portion A in contact with the V-shaped blade 102. As shown in FIG. 12, the fiber core portion A
May be chipped or the cut surface may be cracked in the axial direction as shown in FIG. For this reason, when the connector 110 is connected to the end of the optical fiber cord C, even if the end face of the fiber core portion A protruding from the ferrule 112 is subjected to mirror surface transfer processing,
It was not possible to finish the mirror completely, causing connection loss. Therefore, conventionally, before connecting the connector 110 to the end of the optical fiber cord C, the end of the fiber core A exposed in advance is cut with a dedicated fiber cutter or the like to clean the end face. The surface was finished. As described above, conventionally, the fiber core A
Since the end face of the optical fiber cord could not be finished to a clean surface, a separate process of cutting the fiber end with a dedicated fiber cutter or the like was required later, and the work of measuring and stripping the optical fiber cord was very troublesome. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord which can finish a cut surface with a simpler method. With the goal. [0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is to feed an optical fiber cord having a coating portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of a fiber core portion along a predetermined processing line. Feeding and pulling-back means for pulling back, each having a radius of curvature smaller than the radius of the covering portion and having a substantially semicircular shape substantially corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the fiber core portion , and extending outward at both ends thereof; The guide blade that opens is shaped
A pair of cutting blades having a formed bent blade, which can be freely opened and closed at a retreat position for the optical fiber cord on the processing line, a cutting position at the coating portion, and a cutting position of the fiber core portion. Measuring and stripping the optical fiber cord, wherein the curved blades of the pair of cutting blades cut the fiber core while substantially uniformly contacting the entire area in the circumferential direction of the fiber core. A method for measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord, wherein a coating portion at an end portion of the optical fiber cord is peeled off to expose a fiber core portion by a predetermined length by using an apparatus. Along the distance between the two cutting blades at the retracted position, and the tip of the optical fiber cord is stopped at a position further away from the cutting position by the cutting blade by a fixed amount than the predetermined length. A first step of moving the cutting blades to the cutting position to cut into the coating of the optical fiber cord, and in a state where the cutting blades are cut into the fiber core portion, A second step of pulling back the optical fiber cord from between the cutting blade portions by the predetermined length by both feeding / retracting means and peeling the covering portion, and after the second step, the optical fiber cord is located at the cutting position. A third step of closing both the cutting blades to the cutting position to cut and separate the fiber core portion of the optical fiber cord. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method for measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. First, a description will be given of a measuring and stripping apparatus used in the use of the optical fiber cord measuring and stripping method. As shown in FIG. 1, the measuring and stripping apparatus includes a first guide pipe 12A and a pair of upper and lower first feeding and feeding units in order from the upstream side to the downstream side along the processing line X. A pull-back roller 10A, a second guide pipe 12B, a pair of upper and lower cutting blades 1, a third guide pipe 12C, and a pair of upper and lower second feed / return rollers 10B are provided. The first guide pipe 12A, the second guide pipe 12B and the third guide pipe 12C are each formed in a funnel shape expanding toward the upstream side of the processing line X. Then, when the plastic optical fiber cord C is fed from the upstream side of the processing line X, the optical fiber cord C is connected to the first guide pipe 12A, the second guide pipe 12B, and the third guide pipe 12C.
And is guided along the processing line X. Also, a first feeding / retracting roller 1
0A is provided at a position between the first guide pipe 12A and the second guide pipe 12B, and the second feeding / retracting roller 10B is connected to the third guide pipe 10B.
Is provided at the downstream position. First feed / retract roller 1 for each pair
0A and the second feed-in / pull-back roller 10B are configured such that the upper and lower intervals can be adjusted.
Each is configured to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions by rotation drive means (not shown). And the first of each upper and lower
And second feed / return rollers 10A, 10B
By rotating the optical fiber cord C on the processing line X in the forward or reverse direction while sandwiching the optical fiber cord C from above and below, thereby sending the optical fiber cord C downstream or upstream. It is configured so that it can be pulled back to the side. The pair of cutting blades 1 is arranged between the second guide pipe 12B and the third guide pipe 12C. As shown in FIG. 2, a curved blade 2 having a substantially semi-arc shape corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the fiber core portion A is formed on each of the opposite sides of the two cutting blade portions 1. Guide blades 3 are formed at both ends of the blade 2 to expand outward toward the processing line X side. In addition, each pair of cutting blades 1
The cutting position (see FIG. 3) where the curved blade 2 cuts into the coating portion B of the optical fiber cord C from the retracted position (see FIG. 2) in which the space between the two cutting blade portions 1 is most opened by vertical driving means (not shown). ) And a cutting position (not shown) in which the curved blade 2 is completely closed. Next, a method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord using the measuring and stripping apparatus will be described. First, the optical fiber cord C arranged on the upstream side of the processing line X is sequentially placed in the first guide pipe 12A, between the upper and lower first feeding / retracting rollers 10A, and in the second guide pipe 12B. Insert it. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the pair of cutting blades 1 are in the retracted position and the first feeding
By rotating the pullback roller 10A in the direction of the arrow P, the optical fiber cord C is fed toward the downstream side, that is, between the two cutting blades 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, both cutting blades 1 are positioned at a distance (L3 + α; α> 0) from the end face of the optical fiber cord C. In the case where the optical fiber cord C is connected to a connector (see FIG. 11), L3 is a value for accommodating the fiber core portion A in the ferrule 112 of the optical connector 110. The length is such that only the amount of processing performed when the fiber core portion A protruding from the end of the ferrule 112 is mirror-transferred is considered. At this position, the two cutting blades 1 are closed to the cutting positions as shown by the two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, and are cut into only the covering portion B of the optical fiber cord C. In the state where both cutting blades 1 are cut into the covering portion B, the first feeding / retracting roller 10A is rotationally driven in the direction opposite to the arrow P direction as shown in FIG. The optical fiber cord C is pulled back by the length L3 to the upstream side, and both cutting blades 1 are positioned at a position apart from the end of the optical fiber cord C by the length α. Thereby, the length L3
The fiber core portion A is exposed over the range. Next, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, both cutting blades 1 are closed to the cutting position, the fiber core A is cut, and the tip D is cut off. As a result, the fiber core portion A is exposed at one end of the optical fiber cord C over the length L3. Then, after the cutting blades 1 are opened to the retracted position, the first feeding / retracting roller 10A is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow P to move the optical fiber cord C to the downstream side with a length L1 ( (See FIG. 7). The fed optical fiber cord C is fed through the third guide pipe 12C and between the second feeding / retracting rollers 10B. In this state, the optical fiber cord C is cut by the two cutting blades 1 and then the second feed / retract roller 10 is applied to the cut optical fiber cord C.
The feeding / pulling-back operation by B and the closing / opening operation by the cutting blade unit 1 are performed in the same manner as described above, and the other end of the optical fiber cord C is scaled and peeled. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, an optical fiber cord C having a length L1 in which the fiber core portion A is exposed over the length L3 at both ends is obtained. As described above, according to the optical fiber cord measuring and stripping method of the present invention, the semicircular curved blade 2 corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the fiber core portion A of the optical fiber cord C.
Since the fiber core portion A is cut by the cutting blade portion 1 having the fiber core portion A, the bent blade 2 contacts the fiber core portion A almost uniformly over the entire circumferential direction of the fiber core portion A.
, The finish of the end face after the cutting becomes clean. Further, when the fiber core portion A is cut in this way, the optical fiber cord C including the coating portion B is not cut, but the fiber core portion A with the coating portion B peeled off. , The finish of the end face becomes clearer at this point as well. Therefore, unlike the prior art, there is no need for a separate step of finishing the cut surface with a dedicated fiber cutter or the like.
The cut surface can be finely finished with a simpler method and with stable quality. In order to cut the fiber core portion A by the curved blade 2, the radius of curvature of the fiber core portion A must be changed.
Must be formed to be substantially the same as or slightly larger than the radius of the outer peripheral shape of. For example, an outer diameter of 2.2 mm formed by coating a coating portion B on a fiber core portion A having an outer diameter of 1 mm.
When the optical fiber cord C is measured and peeled, the cutting blade 1 in which the curved blade 2 is formed in a semicircular shape having a diameter of 1 mm can be used. When the curved blade 2 is cut into the cut position, the radius of curvature is preferably smaller than the radius of the cover B in order to cut the cover B more completely. . As described above, according to the optical fiber cord measuring and stripping method of the present invention, the optical fiber cord is cut to a predetermined length with the cutting blade cut into the fiber core portion. Only after pulling back from between the two cutting blade portions and peeling the covering portion, both cutting blades at the cutting positions are closed to the cutting position to cut and separate the fiber core portion of the optical fiber cord. The fiber core portion in a state where the portion has been peeled can be cut by the two cutting blades, and the finish of the cut end surface becomes clean. Also, half of the covering part
Since the fiber core is cut by a cutting blade having a radius of curvature smaller than the diameter and having a semicircular curved blade corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the fiber core of the optical fiber cord, the bending blade Cuts the fiber core portion while making contact almost uniformly over the entire circumferential direction of the fiber core portion, and the finish of the cut end face is also beautiful at this point. Therefore, a separate step of finishing the cut surface with a dedicated fiber cutter or the like as in the related art is not required, and
The cut surface can be finely finished by a simpler method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical fiber cord measuring and stripping apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a cutting blade portion and an optical fiber cord in one step of the above measuring and stripping method. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a cutting blade portion and an optical fiber cord in another step of the above measuring and stripping method. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one step in a method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord. FIG. 5 is a view showing another step in the method of measuring and stripping the optical fiber cord. FIG. 6 is a view showing still another step in the method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord. FIG. 7 is a side view showing an optical fiber cord. FIG. 8 is a view showing a conventional method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a cutting blade portion and an optical fiber cord C in one step of a conventional optical fiber cord measuring and stripping method. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a cutting blade portion and an optical fiber cord C in another step of a conventional method of measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process of connecting an optical fiber cord and a connector. FIG. 12 is a side view showing one state of a fiber core portion at an end of an optical fiber cord. FIG. 13 is a side view showing another state of the fiber core portion at the end of the optical fiber cord. [Description of Signs] 1 Cutting blade part 2 Curved blades 10A, 10B Feed-in / pull-back roller A Fiber core part B Coating part C Optical fiber cord

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-256006 (JP, A) JP-A-5-107415 (JP, A) JP-A-6-335132 (JP, A) JP-A-61-244497 (JP) , A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] A feeding / retracting means for feeding / retracting an optical fiber cord having a coating portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of a fiber core portion along a predetermined processing line. Guide blades each having a radius of curvature smaller than the radius of the covering portion and having a substantially semicircular shape substantially corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the fiber core portion are formed at both ends thereof.
A pair of cutting blades having a bent blade, a retractable position for the optical fiber cord on the processing line, a cutting position in the covering portion, and a cutting position of the fiber core portion which can be freely opened and closed. An optical fiber cord measuring and stripping apparatus, wherein the curved blades of the pair of cutting blades cut the fiber core while substantially uniformly contacting the entire area of the fiber core in the circumferential direction. A method for measuring and stripping an optical fiber cord, which exposes a fiber core portion by a predetermined length by peeling off a coating portion at an end of the optical fiber cord, wherein the optical fiber cord is attached to the processing line. After being fed between the two cutting blades at the retreat position along the same position, after stopping the tip of the optical fiber cord at a position further away from the cutting position by the cutting blade by a predetermined amount than the predetermined length. First to cut the to cover portions of both the cutting blade portion the optical fiber cord is moved to the cut position
In the state where both cutting blades are cut into the fiber core portion, the feeding / pulling-back means pulls back the optical fiber cord by the predetermined length from between the two cutting blade portions and the coating portion. And a third step of cutting and separating the fiber core portion of the optical fiber cord by closing both cutting blades at the cutting position to the cutting position after the second step. And stripping the optical fiber cord.