JP4628962B2 - Optical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connector for butt-connecting optical fibers.

A conventional optical connector is composed of an element composed of a pair of clamp members that sandwich an optical fiber and a clamp spring that houses the element, and is positioned so that the optical fiber can be abutted and connected to the opposing surface of the clamp member on the base side. The aligning V-groove is formed in the longitudinal direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2). The V groove near the connection portion is filled with a refractive index matching agent in order to reduce the connection loss at the butt surface of the optical fiber and obtain a high return loss.
When connecting optical fibers, wedges are inserted from the side ends between the clamp members to create a gap between the base and the lid, and optical fibers are inserted from both ends of the element and abutted on the V-groove. After that, the wedge is pulled out to connect the optical fibers. However, when the wedge is inserted between the base and the lid, the refractive index matching agent is divided into a portion adhering to the V-groove and a portion adhering to the lid, and when the wedge is pulled out from the clamp member Air may be mixed in the refractive index matching agent. If air bubbles are present in the refractive index matching agent, light is diffusely reflected by the air bubbles, resulting in a phenomenon that the connection loss increases and the return loss decreases, which greatly impairs the reliability of the optical fiber line. Become.

Thus, in Patent Document 3, a cavity communicating with the V-groove is provided in one or both of the V-groove substrate (base) and the upper plate (lid), and the V-groove and the cavity are filled with a refractive index matching agent. An invention of a fiber connection member is disclosed. According to the invention described in Patent Document 3, since the cavity is filled with the refractive index matching agent, the refractive index matching agent is sufficiently filled in the vicinity of the V groove, and the refractive index matching agent is near the V groove. It is said that air will not be caught inside.
Japanese Patent No. 3540096 Japanese Patent No. 3675991 Japanese Patent No. 3400663

  However, in the case of the invention described in Patent Document 3, since there is a cavity on the surface of the V-groove substrate or the upper plate, the optical fiber cannot be pressed sufficiently by the lower surface of the upper plate, and the optical fiber may not be securely clamped. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. When a wedge is inserted between a base and a lid to butt-connect optical fibers, bubbles are not involved in the refractive index matching agent. And it aims at providing the optical connector which can clamp an optical fiber reliably.

To achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a base and a lid, and includes a pair of clamp members that sandwich an optical fiber between opposing surfaces, and a clamp spring that houses the pair of clamp members, In the optical connector in which an alignment groove that is positioned and aligned so as to be able to abut and connect an optical fiber is formed on the facing surface of the base that faces the lid, a communication groove that extends laterally from the alignment groove includes: A surface of the base facing the lid is formed to have substantially the same depth as the alignment groove, and the communication groove is filled with a refractive index matching agent.
In the present invention, the communication groove may be formed on both sides of the base with the alignment groove interposed therebetween.
In the present invention, the communication groove may be formed only on the open side of the pair of clamp members with the alignment groove interposed therebetween.

  In the present invention, the communication groove may extend to a side end portion of the base.

  In the present invention, a reservoir for storing a refractive index matching agent may be formed at one end of the communication groove.

  In the present invention, the reservoir portion may be a reservoir groove extending in parallel with the alignment groove.

  In the present invention, a reservoir for storing the refractive index matching agent may be formed on the facing surface of the lid that faces the base.

Further, in the present invention, prior SL reservoir is, across the tone Kokoromizo may only be formed on the open side of the pair of clamping members.

  In the present invention, the communication groove extending laterally from the alignment groove is formed on the opposing surface of the base facing the lid, and the communication groove is filled with a refractive index matching agent. When the wedge is inserted between them, the refractive index matching agent is supplied from the communication groove, so that the refractive index matching agent is not divided into a portion adhering to the alignment groove and a portion adhering to the lid. For this reason, bubbles are not involved in the refractive index matching agent. Further, since the refractive index matching agent is stored in the groove communicating with the aligning groove, the optical fiber can be securely clamped by sufficiently pressing the optical fiber with the lower surface of the lid.

Embodiments of an optical connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of an optical connector in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connector 1 has a rod-like split structure that is substantially circular or square in cross section when integrated, and includes a pair of clamp members 4, 4 including a base 2 and a lid 3, The clamp members 4 and 4 are each provided with an elongated clamp spring 5 having a U-shaped cross section that can substantially store the entire clamp members 4 and 4.

   The clamp members 4 and 4 are both rod-shaped members having a semicircular or square cross section, and are separated from each other on the opposing surfaces 7 and 8, and have an appropriate hardness such as plastic. It is made of material.

A V-shaped alignment groove 9 is formed in the longitudinal center of the facing surface 7 of the base 2 facing the lid 3 so as to position and align the optical fiber 6 (optical fiber single fiber) so that they can be connected to each other. Optical fiber guide grooves 15 for guiding the optical fiber 6 inserted from the outside of the clamp members 4 and 4 to the vicinity of the alignment groove 9 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the facing surface 7. The alignment groove 9 and the optical fiber guide groove 15 are arranged on the same straight line along the longitudinal direction of the base 2.
On the other hand, an optical fiber guide groove 15 similar to the facing surface 7 of the base 2 is also formed on the facing surface 8 of the lid 3 facing the base 2.

   In the aligning groove 9, the bare fiber 6 a exposed by removing the coating at the tip of the optical fiber 6 is stored, and in the optical fiber guide groove 15, the coating 6 b of the optical fiber 6 is stored.

   The clamp spring 5 is an elongated member that is slightly shorter than the clamp members 4 and 4 and is formed of a material such as beryllium copper. In the case of beryllium copper, those that have been formed into the desired shape and then age-cured, or those that have been heat-treated and coated with a fluororesin or the like are more preferred.

FIG. 2 shows the facing surface 7 of the base 2 in the vicinity of the connection point P of the optical fiber 6.
In the optical connector 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the connection point P of the optical fiber 6, a communication groove 10 extending laterally from the alignment groove 9 is formed on the facing surface 7 of the base 2. Further, a reservoir groove 13 extending in parallel with the aligning groove 9 is formed at the end portion of the one communication groove 10 as a reservoir portion 12 for storing the refractive index matching agent 11. . The cross sections of the communication groove 10 and the accumulation groove 13 are rectangular, and the depths of the communication groove 10 and the accumulation groove 13 are substantially the same as those of the alignment groove 9.
Note that the vicinity of the connection point P of the optical fiber 6 refers to a region about the width of the communication groove 10 including a portion where the optical fibers 6 and 6 are butted together.

  Refractive index matching agent 11 is filled in alignment groove 9, communication groove 10, and reservoir groove 13 near connection point P of optical fiber 6. As the refractive index matching agent 11, silicone-based grease having a refractive index close to that of glass is used. As the optical fiber (specifically, the bare fiber 6a), for example, a quartz optical fiber is used.

Next, operations and effects of the optical connector 1 according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 3 shows an operation of inserting a wedge (not shown) between the pair of clamp members 4 and 4 from the side end portion to open the pair of clamp members 4 and 4. When the wedge is inserted in the direction of the arrow A, the lid body 3 rotates upward with the side end opposite to the wedge as a fulcrum. Accordingly, the refractive index matching agent 11 filled in the communication groove 10 and the reservoir groove 13 flows into the alignment groove 9, and the optical fiber 6 is included between the base 2 and the lid 3. Eleven pillars are formed. Thus, the vicinity of the connection point P of the optical fiber 6 is always filled with the refractive index matching agent 11, and air is mixed into the refractive index matching agent 11 when the wedge is pulled out from the clamp members 4 and 4. There is no.

   Since the conventional optical connector has a structure in which the communication groove 10 and the reservoir 12 do not exist, the range in which the refractive index matching agent 11 is applied is considerably widened. Moreover, the refractive index matching agent 11 spreads over a wide range each time the optical connector is opened and closed. Thus, when the range of the refractive index matching agent 11 is wide, there is a high possibility that bubbles are entrained in the refractive index matching agent 11, and the bubbles that have entered the refractive index matching agent 11 are contained in the refractive index matching agent 11. The optical characteristics of the optical fiber 6 are adversely affected by moving the optical fiber 6 and contacting the optical fiber 6. Therefore, it is better to limit the application range of the refractive index matching agent 11 to some extent. In the optical connector 1 according to the present invention, the refractive index matching agent 11 is filled in the communication groove 10 and the reservoir 12 formed on the side of the alignment groove 9, so that the refractive index is only near the connection point P of the optical fiber 6. The application range of the matching agent 11 is limited. As a result, the possibility of entrapment of bubbles in the refractive index matching agent 11 is reduced, and the optical fiber 6 can be securely clamped by sufficiently pressing the optical fiber 6 with the lower surface of the lid 3.

FIG. 4 shows various embodiments of the communication groove 10 and the reservoir 12. In each case, a wedge is inserted from the bottom of the figure.
FIG. 2A shows the case of FIG. 2. In addition to the communication groove 10, a retaining groove 13 extending in parallel with the alignment groove 9 is provided on the side where the wedge is inserted with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween. Only the communication groove 10 is provided on the opposite side of the center groove 9. (C) is provided with a communication groove 10 and a retaining groove 13 only on the side where the wedge is inserted with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween, and (e) is provided with the communication groove 10 on both sides with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween. A pool groove 13 is provided. In these cases, it is intended to increase the supply amount of the refractive index matching agent 11 to the alignment groove 9 by providing the reservoir groove 13.
(B) is a structure in which a long communication groove 10 is provided on the side where the wedge is inserted with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween, and only a short communication groove 10 is provided on the opposite side of the alignment groove 9. Further, (d) shows a structure in which a long communication groove 10 extending to the side end 2a of the base 2 is provided on the side where the wedge is inserted with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween, and the refractive index in the communication groove 10 is shown. The matching agent 11 is easily pushed into the connection point P of the optical fiber 6 with air.
(F) is provided with a recessed reservoir 12 that does not communicate with the aligning groove 9 on both sides of the aligning groove 9.
(G) is provided with a recess-like reservoir 12 communicating with the communication groove 10 in addition to the communication groove 10 on the side where the wedge is inserted with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween, and on the opposite side with the alignment groove 9 interposed therebetween. Is provided only with the communication groove 10.
(H) shows the facing surface 8 of the lid 3, and is provided with recessed reservoirs 14 on both sides of the lid 3 corresponding to the alignment groove 9. In addition to the base 2, the column of the refractive index matching agent 11 is more easily formed when the reservoir portion 14 is provided in the lid body 3.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of the optical connector which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning, it can change suitably. For example, in the above embodiment, the aligning groove 9 is a V groove, but an aligning groove having another shape such as a U groove other than the V groove may be applied.

It is a longitudinal direction sectional view showing one embodiment of an optical connector concerning the present invention. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the opposing surface of the base in the connection point vicinity of an optical fiber. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action and effect of the optical connector which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the opposing surface of the clamp member which showed the Example of the communicating groove | channel and the reservoir part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connector, 2 ... Base, 3 ... Cover body, 4 ... Clamp member, 5 ... Clamp spring, 6 ... Optical fiber, 7 ... Opposing surface, 8 ... Opposing surface, 9 ... Alignment groove, 10 ... Communication groove, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Refractive index matching agent, 12 ... Reservoir part, 13 ... Reservoir groove, 14 ... Reservoir part, 15 ... Optical fiber guide groove

Claims (8)

A pair of clamp members (4, 4) comprising a base (2) and a lid (3) and sandwiching an optical fiber (6) between opposing faces, and a clamp spring (5) for housing the pair of clamp members And an alignment groove (9) for positioning and aligning the optical fiber so that the optical fiber can be abutted and connected to the facing surface (7) of the base facing the lid.
A communication groove (10) extending laterally from the aligning groove is formed on the facing surface of the base facing the lid so as to have substantially the same depth as the aligning groove. The optical connector (1) is filled with a refractive index matching agent (11).   The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the communication groove is formed on both sides of the alignment groove in the base.   The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the communication groove is formed only on an open side of the pair of clamp members with the alignment groove interposed therebetween.   The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the communication groove extends to a side end portion (2 a) of the base.   The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein a reservoir (12) for storing a refractive index matching agent is formed at one end of the communication groove. 6. The optical connector according to claim 5 , wherein the pool portion is a pool groove (13) extending in parallel with the alignment groove. The reservoir | reserver part (14) which stores a refractive index matching agent is formed in the opposing surface (8) of the said cover body facing the said base, The Claim 1 thru | or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Optical connector. The optical connector according to claim 5 , wherein the pool portion is formed only on an open side of the pair of clamp members with the alignment groove interposed therebetween.

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