JP4830614B2 - Manufacturing method of optical waveguide connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a connector for optical waveguides which are used to connectors connecting the optical waveguide to other optical parts.

As a connector for an optical waveguide used when an optical waveguide such as an optical fiber ribbon or a polymer waveguide is connected to another optical component by a connector, an optical waveguide connector shown in FIG. 8 is known.
In the optical waveguide connector 1 shown here, the tip of a flat optical waveguide 2 is accommodated and held in a ferrule member 3.
As shown in FIG. 8A, the ferrule member 3 is formed with an insertion hole 3b through which the optical waveguide 2 is inserted in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body 3a. In addition, a pair of positioning holes 3c into which positioning pins for positioning on a mating connector part (for example, an MT connector) are press-fitted are formed in the main body 3a where the insertion hole 3b is opened.

  The optical waveguide 2 inserted into the insertion hole 3b of the ferrule member 3 is filled with the adhesive 5 between the insertion hole 3b and fixed to the ferrule member 3 by curing of the adhesive 5, and then the distal end surface 2a. Is polished.

  Until now, as a manufacturing method of the ferrule member 3, a manufacturing method manufactured by injection molding of a resin material has been widespread. In that case, the insertion hole 3b and the positioning hole 3c are formed by combining a core with the upper and lower molds forming the outer shell of the main body 3a.

  By the way, in the case of the optical waveguide connector 1 having the above structure, in order to keep the connection loss with the mating connector low, the axial deviation between the optical fiber of the mating connector and the optical waveguide 2 in the optical waveguide connector 1 is made as small as possible. For this purpose, not only the positional deviation (axial deviation) between the center of the connector and the center of the insertion hole 3b, which is determined by the pair of positioning holes 3c, is reduced, but the insertion hole 3b is formed in the optical waveguide 2. It is indispensable to form it with high accuracy in accordance with the outer diameter size.

  When the polymer waveguide is used as the optical waveguide 2, if the connection loss with the mating connector is suppressed to a low loss of, for example, 0.3 dB or less, the gap between the insertion hole 3 b and the optical waveguide 2 is reduced. It is indispensable to form the insertion hole 3b with high accuracy so that the clearance is several μm or less.

By the way, the outer diameter of the polymer waveguide is generally about 3 to 5 mm in width dimension w and about 100 μm in thickness dimension t, which is much smaller than that of the conventional optical fiber ribbon.
Therefore, the core used for molding the insertion hole 3b in the molding die of the ferrule member 3 becomes a thin piece having a thickness of about 100 μm, and the core is easily deformed. Problems such as a decrease in yield due to defects occurred.

In order to avoid such problems, an optical waveguide connector 6 shown in FIG. 9 has been proposed.
This optical waveguide connector 6 has a structure in which a ferrule member 7 that accommodates and holds the distal end portion of the optical waveguide 2 and is connected to the mating connector is divided into two vertically. Thereby, the upper main body 7a and the lower main body 7b constituting the ferrule member 7 have an insertion groove 8 serving as an insertion hole through which the optical waveguide 2 is inserted and a positioning groove 9 serving as a pair of positioning holes. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  With such a structure, when the upper main body 7a and the lower main body 7b constituting the ferrule member 7 are injection-molded, a groove serving as an insertion hole or a positioning hole is exposed on the outer surface. There is no need to combine a thin-walled core with the mold, and molding with a high yield can be realized.

JP 2000-2820 A

However, in the case of the optical waveguide connector 6 using the ferrule member 7 divided into two parts as described above, an assembly process for bonding and integrating the upper main body 7a and the lower main body 7b is necessary at the time of manufacture. Due to this assembly process, it is difficult to improve the productivity of the optical waveguide connector.
Further, in the assembly process in which the upper body 7a and the lower body 7b are bonded and integrated, the error in the dimensional accuracy of the insertion hole and the positioning hole becomes larger than the reference due to the error in the bonding accuracy between the upper body 7a and the lower body 7b. As a result, connection loss may increase.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the need to combine a thin-walled core with a molding die used for injection molding of a ferrule member, and can improve productivity by improving the yield when manufacturing the ferrule member. realized stably high precision positioning of the optical waveguide is to provide a method for manufacturing a connector for optical waveguides which can reduce the connection loss due to axial misalignment.

In order to achieve the above object, a manufacturing method of an optical waveguide connector according to claim 1 according to the present invention comprises a positioning member having a positioning portion for positioning an optical waveguide having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape about an axis. And a ferrule member having an insertion hole through which the optical waveguide is inserted, and a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector in which the optical waveguide is accommodated in the insertion hole of the ferrule member , the adhesive to the positioning portion In order to prevent adhesion of the light guide, the positioning member having a counterbore that communicates with the positioning portion or an inclined surface that guides to the positioning portion is opposed to the ferrule member, and the light guide is inserted through the insertion hole. A centering step of positioning the waveguide at a predetermined position of the insertion hole while restricting the position of the waveguide by the positioning portion at the back from the distal end portion of the positioning member; And having an adhesive filling the adhesive in a gap between the optical waveguide and the insertion hole through.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical waveguide connector manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the optical waveguide and the ferrule member are arranged in the thickness direction of the optical waveguide. A clearance between the insertion hole and the optical waveguide is larger than that between the positioning portion of the positioning member and the optical waveguide in the thickness direction .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method according to the first or second aspect, wherein the positioning member and the ferrule member are opposed to each other in the vertical direction. The optical waveguide is inserted into the ferrule member from the vertical direction.

  A method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the positioning member is an axis of the insertion hole. The ferrule member is coupled to the ferrule member through at least a pair of positioning pins protruding along the center.

Method of manufacturing an optical waveguide connector of claim 5 according to the present invention is to provide an optical waveguide connector manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the positioning portion of the front Symbol positioning member said It is formed as a groove that regulates the position of the optical waveguide in the width direction,
Positioning in the width direction of the optical waveguide by guiding the tip of the optical waveguide inserted through the insertion hole into the groove of the positioning member, and fitting the upper surface of the optical waveguide guided in the groove into the groove It has the press positioning process which positions the optical waveguide in the thickness direction by pressing the bottom of the groove with the pressing member.

The optical waveguide inserted through the insertion hole of the ferrule member is positioned at a predetermined position of the insertion hole by a positioning member disposed opposite to the tip of the ferrule member. Therefore, even if the insertion hole of the ferrule member relaxes the dimensional tolerance and the dimension setting that leaves a relatively large clearance around the optical waveguide, an axial deviation occurs between the ferrule member and the optical waveguide. There is no.
Therefore, a larger clearance can be set between the optical waveguide and the insertion hole of the ferrule member than between the positioning portion of the positioning member and the optical waveguide. Further, by setting a large clearance between the optical waveguide and the insertion hole, even when the core is used for forming the insertion hole when the ferrule member is formed by injection molding, the core is a thin piece. Can be avoided. In other words, the core used for forming the insertion hole can be improved with difficulty in deformation due to an appropriate thickness, thereby preventing the occurrence of molding defects due to the deformation of the core and improving the yield of the ferrule member. Can be planned.

Furthermore, since the ferrule member is a monolithic structure product, the ferrule member itself does not require an assembling process such as bonding as compared to a conventional product having a two-part structure, thereby reducing the number of manufacturing processes. It is also possible to improve productivity by synergy with the aforementioned improvement in yield.
In addition, if the positioning member is formed with high accuracy, the optical waveguide inserted through the insertion hole of the ferrule member can be easily and reliably performed by performing the alignment process and the bonding process using the positioning member. Since it can be positioned at the axial center of the insertion hole and the occurrence of axial deviation can be prevented, it is possible to obtain an optical waveguide connector with low connection loss due to axial deviation.
In addition, the positioning member, for example, is manufactured by dicer processing to increase the manufacturing cost, but because the positioning member itself is a jig that can be used repeatedly, compared to the case of forming the ferrule member with high accuracy, The influence on the manufacturing cost is small, and the manufacturing cost of the optical waveguide connector can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector and an optical waveguide connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The “optical waveguide” in this specification includes various optical transmission means such as an optical waveguide, a polymer waveguide, and an optical fiber ribbon, and in each embodiment, optical transmission is performed. The case where a polymer waveguide is applied to the path will be described. 1A and 1B are perspective views of a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a state before the optical waveguide is inserted into the ferrule member, and FIG. A state in which the waveguide is inserted, (c) shows a state in which the optical waveguide inserted in the ferrule member is positioned by the positioning member.
2A and 2B are explanatory views of the manufacturing process of the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view in the middle of inserting the optical waveguide through the ferrule member, and FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the alignment process which positions the optical waveguide penetrated by the positioning member, (c) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the adhesion process which adhere | attaches and fixes the optical waveguide in the ferrule member which finished the alignment process with an adhesive agent (D) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the process of excising an excess part according to the front end surface of a ferrule member after an adhesion process, (e) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector for optical waveguides completed.

The optical waveguide connector 11 formed by the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method of the first embodiment is such that the tip of the flat optical waveguide 2 is accommodated and held in a ferrule member 13.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the ferrule member 13 has an insertion hole 13b that passes through the optical waveguide 2 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped body 13a. In addition, a pair of positioning holes 13c into which positioning pins 14 for positioning on mating connector parts (for example, MT connectors) are press-fitted are formed in the main body 13a where the insertion holes 13b are opened, in parallel with the insertion holes 13b. Yes. Furthermore, an opening 13d for filling the insertion hole 13b with an adhesive is provided on the upper surface of the main body 13a so as to communicate with the insertion hole 13b.

In the manufacturing method of this embodiment, the optical waveguide 2 inserted into the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 is positioned at the center of the insertion hole 13b using the positioning member 16.
The positioning member 16 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped body 16 a formed with a positioning portion 16 b that passes through the optical waveguide 2 and a positioning hole 16 c that is coupled to the ferrule member 13 by a positioning pin 14.
In the present embodiment, the positioning portion 16b is a hole having a rectangular cross section into which the optical waveguide 2 is fitted. Both the positioning portion 16b and the positioning hole 16c are formed through.

  The insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 and the positioning portion 16b of the positioning member 16 are both through-holes having a rectangular cross section through which the optical waveguide 2 is inserted. However, the positioning portion 16b is formed with high accuracy so that the axial deviation of the inserted optical waveguide 2 is within a range of several μm. The clearance between the optical waveguide 2 and the insertion hole 13b is set to be larger than the clearance between the optical waveguide 2 and the positioning portion 16b.

  In the present embodiment, the ferrule member 13 is a molded product made of an epoxy resin or a PPS (polyphenylene oxide) resin. The positioning member 16 is made of any one of carbide steel, Si, quartz glass, epoxy resin, or PPS (polyphenylene oxide) resin, and is formed by a precision processing method used in dicer processing or a semiconductor process. Further, the positioning member 16 is subjected to a surface treatment that makes it difficult for an adhesive to adhere thereto.

Next, a method for manufacturing the optical waveguide connector 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the positioning member 16 and the ferrule member 13 are coupled to each other with a pair of positioning pins 14 in a state where the distal end surfaces are opposed to each other. At this time, a separation distance s of 10 μm or more is ensured between the tip surfaces facing each other. Then, the optical waveguide 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 13 b of the ferrule member 13.

  Next, the alignment process shown in FIG. In this alignment step, the tip of the waveguide 2 that has passed through the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 is fitted to the positioning portion 16b of the positioning member 16, and the position of the tip of the waveguide 2 is fitted by the fitting with the positioning portion 16b. Is controlled at the center of the ferrule member 13, and a tension T in the direction of the central axis of the ferrule member 13 is applied to the proximal end side of the optical waveguide 2 so that the optical waveguide 2 in the insertion hole 13b is positioned at the axial center of the insertion hole 13b. Align.

Next, the bonding step shown in FIG. 2C is performed while maintaining the alignment state shown in FIG. In this bonding step, an adhesive 18 having a predetermined refractive index is injected from the opening 13d into the insertion hole 13b, and the adhesive 18 is filled in the gap between the optical waveguide 2 inserted through the insertion hole 13b and the insertion hole 13b. It is a process.
When the adhesive 18 filled in the gap between the optical waveguide 2 and the insertion hole 13b is cured, as shown in FIG. 2D, the tip of the ferrule member 13 is at a position P on the tip surface of the ferrule member 13. The excess optical waveguide 2 protruding to the side is cut, and the positioning member 16 is separated from the ferrule member 13 to obtain the completed optical waveguide connector 11 as shown in FIG.
In the case of the present embodiment, a thermosetting adhesive for optical connectors is used as the adhesive 18, and a material having a linear expansion coefficient close to that of the ferrule material 13 and having low water absorption is suitable.
Further, the end face processing of the ferrule member 13 is performed by cutting using a processing machine such as cleavage, polishing, or dicer.

According to the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method shown in the first embodiment, the optical waveguide 2 inserted into the insertion hole 13 b of the ferrule member 13 is positioned opposite to the tip of the ferrule member 13. Is positioned at the axial center of the insertion hole 13b. Therefore, even if the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 is sized so that the dimensional tolerance is relaxed and a relatively large clearance is left around the optical waveguide 2, the insertion hole 13b is between the ferrule member 13 and the optical waveguide 2. Axis deviation does not occur.
Therefore, as described above, a larger clearance can be set between the optical waveguide 2 and the insertion hole 13 b of the ferrule member 13 than between the positioning portion 16 b of the positioning member 16 and the optical waveguide 2.
Further, by setting a large clearance between the optical waveguide 2 and the insertion hole 13b, when the ferrule member 13 is formed by injection molding, the core is used for forming the insertion hole 13b. It is possible to avoid the child becoming a thin piece. In other words, the core used for forming the insertion hole 13b can be improved with difficulty in deformation due to an appropriate thickness, thereby preventing the formation of a molding defect due to the deformation of the core and reducing the yield of the ferrule member 13. Improvements can be made.

  Furthermore, since the ferrule member 13 is a monolithic structure product, the ferrule member 13 itself does not require an assembly process such as bonding as compared to a conventional product having a two-part structure. Productivity can also be improved by synergy with the above-described improvement in yield.

  Moreover, if the positioning member 16 is formed with high precision, the optical waveguide 2 inserted through the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 by performing the alignment process and the adhesion process using the positioning member 16 Since it can be easily and reliably positioned at the center of the insertion hole 13b and can prevent the occurrence of an axial shift, the optical waveguide connector 11 can be obtained with a low connection loss due to the axial shift.

  Further, the high accuracy of the positioning member 16 causes an increase in the manufacturing cost of the positioning member 16, but the positioning member 16 itself is a jig that can be used repeatedly, so that it is compared with the case where the ferrule member 13 is formed with high accuracy. Then, the influence on the manufacturing cost is small, and the manufacturing cost of the optical waveguide connector 11 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, according to the manufacturing method of the optical waveguide connector of the first embodiment, a separation distance s of 10 μm or more is ensured between the positioning member 16 and the ferrule member 13 that are disposed to face each other. When the bonding process is performed on the optical waveguide 2 inserted into the insertion hole 13 b of the ferrule member 13, it is possible to prevent the adhesive 18 overflowing on the distal end side of the ferrule member 13 from adhering to the positioning member 16. It is possible to prevent the work from being delayed due to a troublesome work such as removal of the adhesive 18 attached to 16.

  The positioning member 16 is configured to be coupled to the ferrule member 13 via at least a pair of positioning pins 14 protruding along the axial center of the insertion hole 13b. That is, the connection between the ferrule member 13 and the positioning member 16 has the same structure as that when the ferrule member 13 is connected to the mating connector. Therefore, the structure of the ferrule member 13 is obtained by adopting the manufacturing method using the positioning member 16. There is no complication.

  Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, the ferrule member 13 is formed of an epoxy resin or PPS (polyphenylene oxide) resin suitable for injection molding, so that the production cost of the optical waveguide connector 11 can be reduced by mass production by injection molding. Reduction can be achieved.

  Since the positioning member 16 is formed of a material such as cemented carbide, Si, quartz glass, or resin having high hardness and excellent wear resistance, it can withstand repeated use, and at the same time, High-precision positioning becomes possible.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to the present invention.
In the second embodiment, a part of the positioning member 16 shown in the first embodiment is improved, and a counterbore (dent) communicating with the positioning portion 16b is formed on the distal end surface of the positioning member 16. 16d is formed. In this way, the substantial separation distance between the front end surfaces of the ferrule member 13 and the positioning member 16 that are opposed to each other increases, and the adhesive 18 that fills the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 in the adhering step becomes the optical waveguide. Even when it flows to the positioning member 16 side through 2, the adhesion of the adhesive 18 to the positioning member 16 can be reliably prevented. Although not shown in the figure, instead of the counterbore 16d, the guide 18 formed on the distal end surface of the positioning member 16 as an inclined surface for guiding the optical waveguide 2 to the positioning portion 16b is used. Adhesion to the positioning part 16b can also be prevented.

2 shows an example in which the optical waveguide 2 is mounted on the ferrule member 13 with the positioning member 16 and the ferrule member 13 facing each other in the horizontal direction.
However, the positioning member 16 and the ferrule member 13 may be opposed to each other in the vertical direction, and the waveguide 2 may be inserted through the ferrule member 13 from the vertical direction.

  In the case of this manufacturing method, a tension that tensions the optical waveguide 2 works due to the weight of the optical waveguide 2 and the positioning member 16, and it is not necessary to perform special pulling or the like in order to apply the tension to the optical waveguide 2. Therefore, it is not necessary to equip a support structure or the like that suppresses the axial deviation of the optical waveguide 2 caused by the clearance of the insertion hole 13b when performing the bonding process or the like, and simplifies the manufacturing equipment. be able to.

4A and 4B are perspective views of a third embodiment of a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to the present invention. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a state before the optical waveguide is inserted through the ferrule member, and FIG. 4B is a ferrule. FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a state in which the optical waveguide is inserted through the member, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view of a state in which the optical waveguide inserted through the ferrule member is positioned by the positioning member.
In the third embodiment, a part of the positioning member 16 shown in the first embodiment is improved, and the positioning portion 16b is not a hole penetrating the inside of the main body 16a, but the width of the optical waveguide 2 is increased. It is formed as a groove for regulating the position in the direction.
In the manufacturing method of the optical waveguide connector of the third embodiment, the tip of the optical waveguide 2 inserted through the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 is positioned at the positioning portion of the positioning member 16 as shown in FIG. The optical waveguide 2 is positioned in the width direction by being guided into the groove 16b. Next, the upper surface of the optical waveguide 2 guided in the groove is pressed against the bottom of the groove by the pressing member 19 fitted in the groove, and a pressing positioning process for positioning the optical waveguide 2 in the thickness direction is performed.
Then, with the tip of the optical waveguide 2 positioned by the positioning member 16, the ferrule member 13 is filled with the adhesive 18, and the optical waveguide 2 is fixed to the ferrule member 13.
Although not shown, when the adhesive 18 filled in the ferrule member 13 is hardened, the optical waveguide 2 protruding from the tip of the ferrule member 13 is cut off as in the case of FIG. Connector 11 is completed.

According to the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method of the third embodiment, when the positioning member 16 is manufactured by resin injection molding, the positioning portion 16b is formed into a groove, thereby complicating the molding die. The positioning portion 16b can be molded without using the core which becomes, and the highly accurate positioning portion 16b can be easily formed.
The optical waveguide 2 inserted into the groove serving as the positioning portion 16b can be firmly regulated by pressing the flat optical waveguide 2 with the pressing member 19 so that the insertion hole of the ferrule member 13 is inserted. The optical waveguide 2 inserted through 13b can be firmly positioned at the axial center of the ferrule member 13. In order to firmly regulate the position of the optical waveguide 2 to the positioning portion 16b, the optical waveguide 2 may be sucked by a pump from a suction hole (not shown) formed in the bottom surface of the groove of the positioning portion 16b.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing an essential part of a fourth embodiment of the optical waveguide connector manufacturing method according to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the fracture surface A of FIG. It is.
In the manufacturing method according to the fourth embodiment, the inclined surface 21 that restricts the position of the optical waveguide 2 in the width direction on the bottom surface of the groove (16b) is formed on both sides of the groove serving as the positioning portion 16b of the positioning member 16. And the chamfer 23 which contacts the inclined surface 21 is formed in the optical waveguide 2 pressed by the bottom face of a groove | channel (16b) by the press member 19 (refer FIG. 4).

  According to the manufacturing method of the fourth embodiment, the optical waveguide 2 inserted into the groove (16b) as the positioning portion of the positioning member 16 includes the inclined surfaces 21 formed on both sides of the groove (16b), By contact with the chamfered portion 23 formed in the optical waveguide 2, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), centering in the width direction is surely performed, and accurate positioning without axis deviation becomes possible.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing an essential part of a fifth embodiment of the method for manufacturing an optical waveguide connector according to the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. .
In the fifth embodiment, a substantially cylindrical protrusion 25 that restricts the position of the optical waveguide 2 in the width direction is provided on the bottom surface of the groove serving as the positioning portion 16b of the positioning member 16, and is guided into the groove 16b. A V-shaped notch 26 that engages with the protrusion 25 is formed on the tip surface of the optical waveguide 2 to be formed.
According to this manufacturing method, the optical waveguide 2 inserted into the groove as the positioning portion 16 b of the positioning member 16 includes the protrusion 25 provided on the bottom surface of the groove (16 b) and the notch 26 formed in the optical waveguide 2. As shown in FIG. 6 (b), the centering in the width direction is reliably performed, and accurate positioning without any axial deviation becomes possible.

In each of the above embodiments, the optical waveguide 2 is positioned at the center of the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 on the distal end surface of the connector, as shown in FIG. That is, even if the clearance is set large between the insertion hole 13b and the optical waveguide 2, and the insertion hole 13b does not include an inner wall surface for regulating the optical waveguide 2 in the width direction or height direction of the hole center, The optical waveguide 2 is positioned with high accuracy by the positioning member 16 at a predetermined position of the insertion hole 13b. Therefore, the positioning member 16 has, for example, the axial deviation between the ferrule member 13 and the optical waveguide 2 within 10 μm even if the clearance between the optical waveguide 2 and the insertion hole 13 b is 10 μm or more (500 μm or less). A suppressed optical waveguide connector 11 can be manufactured.
As shown in FIGS. 7B to 7D, the ferrule member 13 includes one or two inner wall surfaces that can contact the optical waveguide 2 to regulate the position of the optical waveguide 2 and is positioned. The positioning accuracy for the optical waveguide 2 can be further increased by adjusting the position of the positioning hole 13c into which the positioning pin 14 (see FIG. 1) is press-fitted for coupling the member 16.

  In the optical waveguide connector 11 manufactured by any one of the manufacturing methods shown in the above embodiments, the optical waveguide 2 is positioned with high accuracy by the positioning member 16 disposed opposite to the tip of the ferrule member 13 at the time of manufacturing. Since the axial deviation of the optical waveguide 2 can be kept small, for example, the deviation in the width direction between the axial center of the optical waveguide 2 and the axial center of the insertion hole 13b of the ferrule member 13 is suppressed to 10 μm or less. As a result, it is possible to obtain excellent connection characteristics with a connection loss of 0.3 dB or less.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an optical waveguide connector manufacturing method according to the present invention, where (a) shows a state before inserting an optical waveguide through a ferrule member, and (b) shows an optical waveguide inserted through a ferrule member. (C) is a state in which the optical waveguide inserted through the ferrule member is positioned by the positioning member. FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing method of the optical waveguide connector shown in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional view in the middle of inserting the optical waveguide through the ferrule member, and FIG. FIG. 4C is a longitudinal sectional view showing an alignment process for positioning, FIG. 5C is a longitudinal sectional view showing an adhesion process for adhering and fixing an optical waveguide with an adhesive, and FIG. FIG. 4E is a longitudinal sectional view of the completed optical waveguide connector. FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides which concerns on this invention, (a) is the state before inserting an optical waveguide in a ferrule member, (b) inserts an optical waveguide in a ferrule member (C) is a perspective view of the optical waveguide positioned by the positioning member. (A) is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 4th Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides which concerns on this invention, (b) is sectional drawing by the fracture surface A of (a). (A) is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 5th Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides which concerns on this invention, (b) is a B arrow directional view of (a). It is the figure which showed the clearance gap between an insertion hole and an optical waveguide of the connector for optical waveguides formed with the manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides which concerns on this invention, (a) The clearance gap was formed around the optical waveguide The front view which shows a mode, (b) is a front view which shows a mode that the position of the optical waveguide was regulated by one inner wall surface of the insertion hole, (c), (d) is the position regulation of the optical waveguide by the two inner wall surfaces of the insertion hole. It is a front view which shows the mode made. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional method for manufacturing a connector for an optical waveguide, (a) is a state before the optical waveguide is inserted into a ferrule member, and (b) is a perspective view of a state in which the optical waveguide is bonded and fixed with an adhesive. It is a perspective view of the other conventional connector for optical waveguides.

Explanation of symbols

2 Optical waveguide 11 Optical waveguide connector 13 Ferrule member 13a Main body 13b Insertion hole 13c Positioning hole 13d Opening 16 Positioning member 16a Main body 16b Positioning portion (groove)
16c Positioning hole 18 Adhesive 21 Inclined surface 23 Chamfered portion 25 Protrusion 26 Notch

Claims (5)

A positioning member having a positioning portion for positioning an optical waveguide having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape at the axial center and a ferrule member having an insertion hole through which the optical waveguide is inserted, and the light guide is inserted into the insertion hole of the ferrule member. A method for manufacturing a connector for an optical waveguide containing a waveguide,
In order to prevent adhesion of the adhesive to the positioning part, the positioning member having a counterbore communicating with the positioning part or an inclined surface that guides to the positioning part is opposed to the positioning part and the ferrule member, and the insertion is performed. Aligning the optical waveguide inserted through the hole with the positioning portion located behind the distal end of the positioning member and aligning it with a predetermined position of the insertion hole; and
An optical waveguide connector manufacturing method comprising: an adhesion step of filling an adhesive into a gap between the optical waveguide inserted through the insertion hole and the insertion hole.
The clearance between the optical waveguide in the thickness direction of the optical waveguide and the insertion hole of the ferrule member is larger than the clearance between the positioning portion of the positioning member and the optical waveguide in the thickness direction , The manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides of Claim 1.
  The method for manufacturing a connector for an optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member and the ferrule member are opposed to each other in the vertical direction, and the optical waveguide is inserted through the ferrule member from a vertical direction.   The said positioning member is couple | bonded in the state facing the said ferrule member via the at least one pair of positioning pin which protruded along the axial center of the said insertion hole. The manufacturing method of the connector for optical waveguides of description. Positioning section of the front Symbol positioning member is formed as a groove located regulating the optical waveguide in the width direction,
Positioning in the width direction of the optical waveguide by guiding the tip of the optical waveguide inserted through the insertion hole into the groove of the positioning member, and fitting the upper surface of the optical waveguide guided in the groove into the groove 5. The optical waveguide connector according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressing positioning step of positioning the optical waveguide in a thickness direction by pressing the bottom of the groove with a pressing member. Production method.

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