JP6673765B2 - Method for manufacturing ferrule with optical surface and optical surface and ferrule with optical surface and integrated fiber - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a ferrule with an integrated optical surface and a ferrule with an integrated optical surface obtained by the method of manufacturing a ferrule with an integrated optical surface.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, optical transmission media such as optical fibers and optical waveguides have been used for optical communication. The optical transmission body is optically connected to another optical component or another optical transmission body with its tip held by a ferrule made of resin.

  In recent years, from the viewpoint of increasing the density of electronic components and improving productivity, a ferrule for an optical connector in which a plurality of optical transmission bodies are fixed to a resin ferrule has been developed (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

  Patent Literature 1 describes a ferrule for an optical connector in which a plurality of optical fibers are fixed to a ferrule made of resin. The ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Literature 1 is manufactured by molding a ferrule by molding, and then fixing the optical fiber to the ferrule with an adhesive.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing a ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the ferrule of the ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Literature 1 includes a lower mold 10, an upper mold 20, a nest 30, and a guide pin hole forming for forming a guide pin hole. It is manufactured using a pin 41 and a pin holder 40 holding an insertion hole forming pin 42 for forming a fiber insertion hole. The lower mold 10 has a concave portion 11 opened on the upper surface, a V-shaped groove 12 for holding a guide pin hole forming pin 41 and an insertion hole forming pin 42 disposed at positions sandwiching the concave portion 11, and disposed on the inner surface of the concave portion 11. And a filled resin injection port 13. A nest insertion opening 21 for inserting and removing the nest 30 is formed through the upper mold 20. The insert 30 is formed in a shape complementary to the insert opening 21.

  In the method of manufacturing a ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Document 1, a guide pin hole forming pin 41 and an insertion hole forming pin 42 are arranged in the V groove 12 of the lower mold 10. Next, the upper mold 20 into which the insert 30 is inserted is put on the lower mold 10 and the mold is clamped. At this time, the guide pin hole forming pin 41 and the insertion hole forming pin 42 are urged by the insert 30 toward the lower mold 10 side. Next, the resin is poured into the cavity from the resin injection port 13. After keeping the pressure, the molded product (ferrule) is taken out of the mold.

  Next, an optical fiber is inserted into the fiber insertion hole. Finally, an optical fiber is fixed to the ferrule by pouring an adhesive from a position where the nest 30 was arranged at the time of molding, and a ferrule for an optical connector is manufactured.

JP 2004-062100 A

  However, the ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Literature 1 has a problem that the manufacturing process is complicated because the ferrule and the optical fiber need to be fixed with an adhesive.

  On the other hand, insert molding using an optical fiber can be considered as a method for solving the above-mentioned complicated manufacturing process. However, in the insert molding using an optical fiber, a region other than the position where the optical fiber is positioned is molded by pouring a resin into the cavity while positioning the optical fiber with a mold. Next, the mold in which the optical fiber is positioned is removed, and different molds are arranged to form an area where the optical fiber is positioned. As described above, in the insert molding using the optical fiber, it is necessary to use two sets of dies, or to use two dies and one upper mold, and thus the production cost is increased. there were.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a fiber-integrated optical surface-equipped ferrule having an optical transmitter and a ferrule joined to an end of the optical transmitter, which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured. An object of the present invention is to provide a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface manufactured by a method of manufacturing a surface-mounted ferrule.

  The method for manufacturing a ferrule with an integrated optical surface according to the present invention includes an optical transmission body, and an optical surface disposed to face an end face of the optical transmission body, and is bonded to an end of the optical transmission body. A ferrule with a fiber-integrated optical surface having a ferrule, wherein the light is placed in a cavity of a mold for molding the ferrule such that the end face faces a position to be the optical surface. Arranging a transmitting body, and moving a pair of sliding pieces constituting a part of the inner surface of the cavity, so that an end face of the optical transmitting body is exposed in the cavity; And fixing the optical transmission body between the pair of sliding pieces, and filling the cavity with a light-transmitting resin composition and solidifying the optical transmission body. And the end face facing the After the step of obtaining a ferrule main body constituting a part of the ferrule having a surface, and the step of obtaining the ferrule main body, the pair of sliding pieces are moved to form the sliding pieces. Filling the solidified space with the resin composition, solidifying and joining the optical transmission member to obtain an optical transmission member supporting portion that constitutes a part of the ferrule, and obtaining the optical transmission member from the mold. And a step of taking out a ferrule with a fiber-integrated optical surface that includes the ferrule main body and the optical transmission body support, and has the ferrule joined to the optical transmission body.

  The fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface according to the present invention includes an optical transmitter and a ferrule joined to an end of the optical transmitter, and the ferrule has an end face of the optical transmitter inside the ferrule. A ferrule main body made of resin, which is disposed and includes an optical surface disposed so as to face the end face, and which has a light transmitting property, and a part of the light transmitting body is disposed therein and at least two surfaces facing each other And a resin-made optical transmission body support portion joined to the ferrule main body so as to be exposed to the outside, and the two surfaces are formed in parallel with the optical transmission body and on the outer shape of the optical transmission body. A correspondingly shaped projection is formed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing a ferrule for an optical connector described in Patent Document 1. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3A to 3E are views showing the configuration of a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface. FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a mold. 5A to 5D are diagrams for explaining a method of manufacturing a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a description will be given of a ferrule with a fiber-integrated optical surface, which is an insert molded product, and then a method of manufacturing the ferrule with a fiber-integrated optical surface.

(Structure of fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface)
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the fiber-integrated optical surface ferrule 100, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the fiber-integrated optical surface ferrule 100, the internal structure of which is indicated by broken lines. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a fiber-integrated ferrule 100 with an optical surface. 3A is a plan view of the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100, FIG. 3B is a bottom view, FIG. 3C is a front view, FIG. 3D is a rear view, and FIG. FIG. In the following description, the surface on which the optical surface 132 is arranged is described as “front”.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B and FIGS. 3A to 3E, the fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface 100 includes an optical transmission body 110 and a ferrule 120. The fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 can be manufactured by injection molding as described later.

  The type of the optical transmission body 110 is not particularly limited. The types of the optical transmission body 110 include an optical fiber, an optical waveguide, and the like. In the present embodiment, the optical transmission body 110 is an optical fiber. The optical fiber may be a single mode type or a multi mode type. The number of optical transmission bodies 110 is not particularly limited, and is four in the present embodiment. The four optical fibers (optical transmission body 110) are arranged along a direction (Y direction in FIG. 2; long axis direction) connecting the front and back surfaces of the ferrule with an optical surface with an integrated fiber, and the optical surface with an integrated fiber. The ferrules 100 are arranged in a row at regular intervals in a direction connecting the left side surface and the right side surface (X direction in FIG. 2; short axis direction). One end of the optical transmission body 110 is disposed in the ferrule 120 such that an end face thereof faces the optical surface 132 of the ferrule main body 122, and the remaining part of the optical transmission body 110 is exposed to the outside from the rear surface. ing.

  The ferrule 120 holds the optical transmission member 110 and is inserted into another optical component to optically connect the optical transmission member 110 and the other optical component. The ferrule 120 is joined to an end of the optical transmission body 110. The ferrule 120 has two through holes 121 through which a pair of guide pins are inserted. The two through holes 121 are formed along the Y direction. Further, the two through holes 121 are arranged at both ends in the X direction of the ferrule 120 so as to sandwich the optical transmission body 110. The ferrule 120 has a ferrule main body 122 and an optical transmission body support portion 123.

  The ferrule main body 122 includes an optical surface 132 in which the end face of the optical transmission body 110 is disposed and facing the end face. The ferrule body 122 is formed of a light-transmitting resin material. Further, the ferrule main body 122 is disposed so as to surround the optical transmission member support portion 123 disposed at the center of the ferrule 120. The ferrule main body 122 is in contact with the front surface, the left side surface, and the back surface of the optical transmission member support portion 123. Further, the ferrule main body 122 does not contact the top surface, the bottom surface, and the right side surface of the optical transmission member support portion 123. That is, the planar shape of the ferrule body 122 is substantially U-shaped.

  On the front surface of the ferrule main body 122, a front concave portion 131 for connecting to another optical component is formed, and two through holes 121 are opened. An optical surface 132 is arranged on the bottom surface of the front recess 131. The shape of the front concave portion 131 in plan view is not particularly limited as long as it can be connected to other optical components and the position of the optical surface 132 can be secured. In the present embodiment, the planar shape of the front concave portion 131 is a substantially rectangular shape with four chamfered corners.

  The optical surface 132 is an optical surface that condenses light from the optical transmission body 110 or that condenses light incident from the outside on the optical transmission body 110. In the present embodiment, the shape of the optical surface 132 is a convex lens surface that is convex from the bottom surface of the front recess 131 toward the opening of the front recess 131. The planar shape of the optical surface 132 is a circle. It is preferable that the central axis of the optical surface 132 coincides with the optical axis of the end face of the optical transmission body 110. The number of optical surfaces 132 is the same as the number of optical transmission bodies 110. That is, in the present embodiment, the number of optical surfaces 132 is four.

  Positioning projections 133 are formed opposite to each other on the inner surface of the ferrule main body 122 in contact with the front surface of the optical transmission member support portion 123 and the inner surface of the ferrule main body 122 in contact with the rear surface of the optical transmission member support portion 123. ing. The positioning protrusion 133 defines a positional relationship between the ferrule main body 122 and the optical transmission body support 123. The shape of the positioning projection 133 is not particularly limited as long as the above-described function can be exhibited. In the present embodiment, the shape of the positioning projection 133 is a rectangular parallelepiped. The right side surface of the positioning protrusion 133 is disposed so as to be flush with the right side surface of the ferrule main body 122. Further, through-holes 121 are respectively opened on the surfaces facing each other between the two positioning projections 133.

  The light transmission body support portion 123 is joined to the ferrule main body 122 such that a part of the light transmission body 110 is disposed inside the light transmission body support portion 123 and at least two surfaces (a top surface and a bottom surface) facing each other are exposed to the outside. . The light transmission body support portion 123 is formed of a resin material. The optical transmission member support portion 123 is disposed at the center of the ferrule 120 and is partially surrounded by the ferrule main body 122. Positioning concave portions 141 are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the optical transmission member support portion 123 at positions corresponding to the positioning convex portions 133 of the ferrule main body 122, respectively. The shape of the positioning concave portion 141 is a shape complementary to the positioning convex portion 133. That is, the shape of the positioning recess 141 is a rectangular parallelepiped. In addition, through holes 121 are respectively opened on the surfaces facing each other between the two positioning recesses 141. On two opposing surfaces of the optical transmission member support portion 123, a convex portion having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the optical transmission member 110 is formed in parallel with the optical transmission member 110. On the top surface and the bottom surface of the body support portion 123, a first convex ridge 142 corresponding to the through hole 121 and four second convex ridges 143 corresponding to the four optical transmission bodies 110 are formed, respectively. The first protrusions 142 and the through holes 121 are formed in parallel with each other. The second ridge 143 and the optical transmission body 110 are formed parallel to each other. The shape of the second ridge 143 cut along a plane along the X direction and the Z direction is a semicircle, that is, the shape of the second ridge 143 is a semi-cylindrical shape. The top and bottom second ridges 143 are combined to form a columnar shape. This cylindrical shape is the same as the outer shape of the optical transmission body 110.

  As described above, the end of the optical transmission body 110 is joined (fixed) to the ferrule main body 122, and the portion closer to the base end than the end is joined (fixed) to the optical transmission body support portion 123. The base end portion is joined (fixed) to the ferrule body 122. Further, the through hole 121 is located between the front ferrule main body 122 and the rear ferrule main body 122 and between them, and is formed in the optical transmission member support portion 123. And consists of parts.

  Further, the positional relationship between the ferrule main body 122 and the optical transmission body support portion 123 is such that two inner side surfaces of the ferrule main body 122 including the positioning protrusion 133 and two outer side surfaces of the optical transmission body support portion 123 including the positioning concave portion 141. Is positioned by

(Manufacturing method of ferrule with optical surface integrated with fiber)
Next, a method of manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 will be described. In the manufacturing method of the ferrule 100 with an optical surface integrated with a fiber according to the present embodiment, the ferrule 120 (the ferrule main body 122 and the optical transmission body support portion 123) is manufactured by injection molding, and at the same time, the end of the optical transmission body 110 is ferruled. Fixed to 120. Further, the method for manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 according to the present embodiment can be performed using one set of dies. First, a mold for molding the ferrule 120 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the mold 200. In FIG. 4, the upper die 220 and the upper die slide piece 240 are omitted. 5A to 5D are views for explaining a method of manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule 100 with an optical surface.

  First, the mold 200 used for injection molding will be described. The mold 200 may be one set. The number of divisions and division positions of the pieces of the mold 200 are not particularly limited. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A to 5D, in the present embodiment, the mold 200 includes a lower mold 210, an upper mold 220, a lower mold sliding piece 230, an upper mold sliding piece 240, And a side sliding piece 250.

  The lower mold 210 mainly forms the lower half of the ferrule body 122. The lower die 210 includes a ferrule main body concave portion 211 having a shape corresponding to the lower half of the ferrule main body 122, two first concave streaks 212 supporting virtual guide pins for forming two through holes 121, And four second concave ridges 213 corresponding to the transmission body 110. Further, a through hole 214 for a sliding piece through which the lower die sliding piece 230 slides is formed in the center of the bottom surface of the concave portion 211 for the ferrule main body. Furthermore, a side sliding piece 250 is slidable on the front side of the ferrule main body concave portion 211.

  The lower sliding piece 230 mainly forms the lower half of the optical transmission member support portion 123. The lower sliding piece 230 has a third recess 231 corresponding to a virtual guide pin for forming the through hole 121, four fourth recesses 232 corresponding to the optical transmission body 110, and positioning of the ferrule main body 122. It has a convex portion 133 and two step portions 233 corresponding to the optical transmission member support portion 123. The lower die sliding piece 230 moves in the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 4) inside the sliding piece through hole 214.

  The upper die 220 mainly forms the upper half of the ferrule body 122. The upper sliding piece 240 mainly forms the upper half of the optical transmission body support. In the present embodiment, the upper die 220 has the same shape as the lower die 210, and the upper die sliding piece 240 has the same shape as the lower die sliding piece 230. The description of the shape is omitted.

  The side sliding piece 250 mainly forms the front concave portion 131 and the optical surface 132. The side sliding piece 250 has a side convex portion 251 for forming the front concave portion 131, and a guide pin through hole 252 corresponding to the virtual guide pin. The side convex portion 251 has a shape complementary to the front concave portion 131. Further, a concave portion 253 for an optical surface corresponding to the optical surface 132 is formed on the top surface of the side convex portion 251. The side sliding piece 250 moves in the front and rear direction (Y direction in FIG. 4) in the inside of the ferrule main body concave portion 211 of the lower die 210.

  Next, a method of manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface 100 by injection molding will be described. The method of manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 includes a step of disposing the optical transmission body 110 in the cavity of the mold 200 and a step of fixing the optical transmission body 110 with the pair of sliding pieces 230 and 240 sandwiching the optical transmission body 110. And a step of forming the ferrule main body 122, a step of forming the optical transmission member supporting portion 123, and a step of taking out the fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface 100.

  First, the optical transmitter 110 is arranged in the cavity of the mold 200 for molding the ferrule 120. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5A, the lower die slide piece 230 is moved such that the top surface of the lower die slide piece 230 and the top surface of the lower die 210 are located substantially on the same plane. Further, the top surface of the convex portion of the side sliding piece 250 is moved to a position to be the bottom surface of the front concave portion 131. Then, the optical transmission body 110 is arranged on the second concave 213 and the fourth concave 232. At this time, the end face of the optical transmission body 110 is arranged so as to face the position to be the optical surface 132 (the optical surface concave portion 253). In addition, the virtual guide pins are arranged on the first concave stripes 212 and the third concave stripes 231, and are inserted through the guide pin through holes 252.

  Next, the optical transmission body 110 is fixed by a pair of sliding pieces 230 and 240. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5B, the upper die 220 is placed on the lower die 210, and the upper die slide piece 240 is moved so as to be in contact with the lower die slide piece 230. At this time, the optical transmission body 110 is fixed by the lower mold slide piece 230 and the upper mold slide piece 240 and is also fixed by the lower mold 210 and the upper mold 220 such that the end face is exposed in the cavity. You.

  Next, the ferrule main body 122 is formed. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5B, the first gate 215 is fixed in a state where the optical transmission body 110 is fixed by the lower mold sliding piece 230 and the upper mold sliding piece 240 and the lower mold 210 and the upper mold 220. The cavity is filled with a light transmissive resin composition (see FIG. 4) and solidified. At this time, since the optical transmission body 110 is fixed at two places by the mold 200, there is no displacement even if the cavity is filled with resin. By maintaining the pressure in this state, the ferrule main body 122 is obtained.

  Next, the optical transmission member support portion 123 is formed. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5C, the lower sliding piece 230 is moved downward and the upper sliding piece 240 is moved upward. By moving the lower sliding piece 230 and the upper sliding piece 240 in this manner, a space surrounded by the ferrule body 122, the lower sliding piece 230, and the upper sliding piece 240 is formed. It is newly formed. This space has the same shape as that of the optical transmission member support portion 123. In this state, the space is filled with the resin composition from the second gate 216 (see FIG. 4) and solidified. By maintaining the pressure in this state, the ferrule main body 122 is obtained.

  Finally, the fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface 100 is taken out. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5D, the ferrule 120 including the ferrule main body 122 and the optical transmitter support portion 123 and joined to the optical transmitter 110 from the opened mold 200 is formed. Take out the ferrule 100 with a fiber-integrated optical surface having the above. Through the above steps, the fiber-integrated ferrule with optical surface 100 can be manufactured. The fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface 100 manufactured in this manner has a top surface and a bottom surface of the optical transmission member support portion 123, and a top surface and a lower surface of the upper sliding piece 240 to which the optical transmission member 110 is fixed. Since it is formed by the top surface of the sliding piece 230, a shape corresponding to the optical transmission body 110 is formed. In addition, since the positioning protrusion 133 and the positioning recess 141 are formed by the step portion 223 of the lower die slide piece 230 and the step portion of the upper die slide piece 240, the ferrule main body 122 and the optical transmission body support portion 123 are fixed. You.

(effect)
As described above, the manufacturing method of the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface according to the present embodiment uses the lower die sliding piece 230 and the upper die slide with the end face of the optical transmission body 110 exposed in the cavity. The ferrule main body 122 is formed by supporting the optical transmission body 110 with the moving piece 240. Then, using the space formed by the movement of the lower die sliding piece 230 and the upper die slide piece 240, the optical transmission body support portion 123 is formed. As described above, the method of manufacturing the fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface according to the present embodiment uses the fiber having the optical transmission body 110 and the ferrule 120 bonded to the optical transmission body 110 using a set of molds. The ferrule with integrated optical surface 100 is manufactured. Therefore, the method for manufacturing a ferrule with an optical surface with an optical surface according to the present embodiment can easily and inexpensively manufacture the ferrule with an optical surface with an integrated fiber 100.

  The fiber-integrated ferrule with an optical surface according to the present invention is useful, for example, for optical communication using an optical transmitter.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lower mold 11 Concave part 12 V groove 13 Resin injection port 20 Upper mold 21 Nesting insertion port 30 Nesting 40 Pin holder 41 Guide pin hole forming pin 42 Insertion hole forming pin 100 Fiber integrated type ferrule with optical surface 110 Optical transmission body 120 Ferrule 121 Through-hole 122 Ferrule main body 123 Optical transmission body support part 131 Front concave part 132 Optical surface 133 Positioning convex part 141 Positioning concave part 142 First convex ridge 143 Second convex ridge 200 Mold 210 Lower mold 211 Ferrule main body concave part 212 First Concave strip 213 Second concave strip 214 Sliding piece through hole 215 First gate 216 Second gate 220 Upper die 230 Lower die slide piece 231 Third concave strip 232 Fourth concave strip 233 Step 240 Upper die slide piece 250 Side sliding piece 251 Side convex part 252 Through hole for guide pin 253 Light Facade recess

Claims (2)

A method of manufacturing a fiber-integrated optical surface-equipped ferrule, comprising: a light transmitting body, and an optical surface disposed opposite to an end face of the light transmitting body, and a ferrule joined to an end of the light transmitting body. So,
A step of disposing the optical transmission body in a cavity of a mold for molding the ferrule so that the end face faces the position to be the optical surface,
By moving a pair of sliding pieces that constitute a part of the inner surface of the cavity, the optical transmission body is moved by the pair of sliding pieces so that the end face of the optical transmission body is exposed in the cavity. A step of sandwiching and fixing,
In a state where the optical transmission body is fixed with the pair of sliding pieces, the cavity is filled with a light-transmitting resin composition and solidified, and the ferrule has the optical surface facing the end surface. Obtaining a ferrule body that constitutes a part of
After the step of obtaining the ferrule main body, the pair of sliding pieces are moved, the space formed by the movement of the sliding pieces is filled with a resin composition, solidified, and joined to the optical transmission body. Obtained, a step of obtaining an optical transmission body support portion constituting a part of the ferrule,
Removing the optical transmission body, the ferrule body and the optical transmission body supporting portion, the ferrule with the fiber-integrated optical surface having the ferrule joined to the optical transmission body,
A method for producing a ferrule with an optical surface integrated with a fiber, comprising: An optical transmitter,
And a ferrule joined to an end of the optical transmission body,
The ferrule is
An end face of the optical transmission body is disposed therein, including an optical surface disposed opposite to the end face, a resin-made ferrule main body showing light transmittance,
A part of the optical transmission body is disposed therein, and has a resin optical transmission body support portion joined to the ferrule body so that at least two surfaces facing each other are exposed to the outside,
On the two surfaces, a convex portion having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the optical transmission body is formed in parallel with the optical transmission body.
Fiber integrated ferrule with optical surface.

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