JP6928014B2 - How to fix the block member to the optical connector and how to manufacture the optical connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a fixing method及beauty optical connector of the block member to the optical connector.

In an optical fiber cable for laser optical transmission, a block member made of quartz is fused to the tip of the optical fiber, and the block member is arranged inside the tubular portion of an optical connector attached to the end of the cable. It is known (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-08649 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-081127

By the way, in the optical fiber cables disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when a block member is fixed to a tubular portion of an optical connector with an adhesive, when the adhesive is irradiated with laser light due to misalignment, the adhesive is released. There is a concern that the optical connector may burn out due to burning.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for fixing a block member to a tubular portion of an optical connector that suppresses burning of the optical connector.

The present invention is a method of fixing a quartz block member to a metal tubular portion in an optical connector, in which the block member is placed inside the tubular portion and then on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion. Me however the block member by forming a protrusion protruding inwardly is irradiated with a laser beam, performing the irradiation of the laser beam, in the state in which heated to thermally expand the tubular portion.

The present invention is a method for manufacturing an optical connector including a connector main body including a metal tubular portion and a quartz block member arranged inside the tubular portion, and is inside the tubular portion. After arranging the block member in the tube, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion is irradiated with a laser beam to form an inwardly projecting protruding portion, thereby crimping the block member and irradiating the cylinder with the laser beam. This is done by heating the shape and making it thermally expanded.

According to the present invention, the block member is crimped by irradiating the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion in which the block member is arranged with laser light to form an inwardly protruding protruding portion, so that no adhesive is used. The block member is fixed to the tubular portion, whereby the burnout of the optical connector can be suppressed.

It is a vertical sectional view of an optical connector structure. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the fixing structure of the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is 1st explanatory drawing which shows the assembly method of the optical connector structure. It is a 2nd explanatory drawing which shows the assembly method of the optical connector structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of fixing the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the 1st modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the 2nd modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the 3rd modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the 4th modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the 5th modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the 6th modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the 7th modification of the structure which fixed the block member to the tubular part of an optical connector.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an optical connector structure C in which an optical connector 20 is attached to an end portion of an optical fiber 10. The optical connector structure C is configured at an incident end and / or an outgoing end of an optical fiber cable for laser light transmission mounted on, for example, a laser processing machine.

The optical fiber 10 includes a bare optical fiber 11 and a jacket 12 that covers the bare optical fiber 11.

The bare optical fiber 11 has a core 11a having a relatively high refractive index and a clad 11b having a relatively low refractive index covering the core 11a. The core 11a is made of, for example, non-doped pure quartz. The clad 11b is formed of, for example, quartz doped with a dopant (F, B, etc.) that lowers the refractive index.

The jacket 12 may be composed of a single layer formed of an ultraviolet curable resin, a thermosetting resin, or the like, or may be, for example, an inner buffer layer of a silicone resin and an outer coating of a nylon resin or a fluororesin that coats the inner buffer layer. It may be composed of two layers with a layer.

The end portion of the optical fiber 10 has a fiber exposed portion 10a in which the jacket 12 on the distal end side is peeled off to expose the bare optical fiber 11, and a jacket covering portion 10b covered with the jacket 12 on the rear side thereof. A mode stripper 13 for emitting clad mode light formed by roughening the outer peripheral surface of the bare optical fiber 11 of the fiber exposed portion 10a may be provided.

The optical connector 20 includes a connector main body 21 made of a metal tubular member made of stainless steel or the like. Inside the connector main body 21, a fiber accommodating space 211 having a large inner diameter is provided in an intermediate portion thereof so as to extend in the length direction. As will be described later, the fiber accommodating space 211 is provided with the fiber exposed portion 10a in which the mode stripper 13 is configured. Therefore, from the viewpoint of effectively absorbing and dissipating the clad mode light emitted from the mode stripper 13. It is preferable that the inner wall surface thereof has a large surface area due to roughening. Further, inside the connector main body 21, a fiber fitting portion 212 having a small inner diameter, which is continuously formed behind the fiber accommodating space 211, is provided.

The connector main body 21 includes a cylindrical tubular portion 213 provided so as to project toward the tip end side, and a block accommodating portion 214 is provided inside the cylindrical tubular portion 213. The block accommodating portion 214 has a cylindrical hole portion 214a on the distal end side and a conical hole portion 214b continuous behind the cylindrical hole portion 214a. The tip of the cylindrical hole portion 214a is open. The conical hole portion 214b is formed so that the inner diameter gradually decreases toward the rear, and the top thereof is continuous with the fiber insertion hole 215 communicating with the fiber accommodation space 211.

Further, the optical connector 20 includes a quartz block member 22 arranged in the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213. The block member 22 may be made of pure quartz or may be made of dopant-doped quartz. The block member 22 has a cylindrical portion 22a on the distal end side and a conical portion 22b continuous behind the cylindrical portion 22a. The outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 22a is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical hole portion 214a of the block accommodating portion 214. The conical portion 22b corresponds to the shape of the conical hole portion 214b of the block accommodating portion 214, and is formed so that the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the rear. The block member 22 may be made of a columnar member.

In the block member 22, the cylindrical portion slightly protrudes from the tubular portion 213, the remaining portion thereof is arranged inside the tubular portion 213, and the conical portion 22b is the cone of the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213. It is provided so as to fit into the hole portion 214b. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the portion corresponding to the cylindrical hole portion 214a on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 is laser-processed at six locations at intervals of 60 ° in the circumferential direction. A spot-shaped recess 216 is formed as a processing mark, and a spot-shaped protrusion 217 protruding inward is formed in the cylindrical hole portion 214a of the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213. Has been done. In the block member 22, the cylindrical portion 22a is crimped by these six protruding portions 217 and fixed to the tubular portion 213 with six-point support.

Further, the optical connector 20 includes a block member 22 protruding from the tubular portion 213 and a cylindrical cover member 23 provided so as to cover the recess 216 formed by laser processing and to be fitted onto the tubular portion 213.

In this optical connector structure C, the end portion of the optical fiber 10 is inserted from the rear of the connector main body 21 of the optical connector 20. The tip of the exposed fiber portion 10a is fused and connected to the rear end of the block member 22 arranged in the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213 through the fiber insertion hole 215. The fiber exposed portion 10a in which the mode stripper 13 is formed is provided so as to extend the fiber accommodation space 211 in the length direction. The jacket covering portion 10b is internally fitted and held in the fiber fitting portion 212. The optical fiber 10 may be fixed to the optical connector 20 by other physical means and / or chemical means (not shown).

Next, a method of assembling the optical connector structure C will be described.

First, at the end of the optical fiber 10, the jacket 12 having a predetermined length is peeled off from the tip to form the fiber exposed portion 10a and the jacket covering portion 10b. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the bare optical fiber 11 of the fiber exposed portion 10a is roughened to form the mode stripper 13.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the end portion of the optical fiber 10 is inserted from the rear of the connector main body 21 and passed so as to protrude from the tip end, and the block member 22 is fused and connected to the tip end.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3B, the optical fiber 10 is pulled back, and the block member 22 is provided in the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213, and the cylindrical portion 22a is coaxially provided in the cylindrical hole portion 214a. , The conical portion 22b is arranged and held so as to fit into the conical hole portion 214b.

After that, as shown in FIG. 4, in the portion corresponding to the cylindrical hole portion 214a on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213, the laser beam L is spotted at six locations at intervals of 60 ° in the circumferential direction. Irradiate. As a result, a spot-shaped recess 216 is formed in the laser irradiation portion on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213, and correspondingly projects inward into the cylindrical hole portion 214a of the block accommodating portion 214 inside the tubular portion 213. The spot-shaped protrusions 217 are formed, and the columnar portion 22a is crimped by these six protrusions 217 to fix the block member 22 to the tubular portion 213 with six-point support. The caulking position of the cylindrical portion 22a of the block member 22 in the length direction may be the center in the length direction, the tip side from the center, or the rear side from the center. good. Examples of the laser used for this laser processing include a YAG laser, a fiber laser, an excimer laser, and the like, and among these, the YAG laser is preferable.

Finally, the cover member 23 is attached so as to be externally fitted to the tubular portion 213.

According to the method of fixing the block member 22 in the optical connector 20 as described above, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 in which the block member 22 is arranged is irradiated with the laser beam L to provide the protruding portion 217 protruding inward. Since the block member 22 is crimped by forming, the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213 without using an adhesive, whereby the burnout of the optical connector 20 can be suppressed.

Here, if the optical connector structure C is used and the temperature of the optical connector 20 rises accordingly and the tubular portion 213 thermally expands, there is a concern that the block member 22 may be loosely fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking. NS. From the viewpoint of suppressing loosening of the fixing of the block member 22 to the tubular portion 213 due to caulking, the irradiation of the laser beam L is brought into a state in which the tubular portion 213 is heated by a heater or a laser to cause thermal expansion. It is preferable to do this. By irradiating the tubular portion 213 with the laser beam L in a state of being heated and thermally expanded in this way, the tubular portion 213 is crimped at a high temperature, so that the temperature of the optical connector 20 rises and the tubular portion 213 is raised. Even if it is thermally expanded, it is possible to prevent the block member 22 from being loosely fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking, and the degree of fixing is enhanced at room temperature. The heating temperature at this time is preferably 100 ° C. or higher and 500 ° C. or lower, and more preferably 150 ° C. or higher and 300 ° C. or lower. Further, from the viewpoint of suppressing the thermal expansion itself of the tubular portion 213 due to the temperature rise of the optical connector 20, it is preferable that the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 is plated with gold to improve heat dissipation.

In the fixing of the block member 22 to the tubular portion 213 by caulking, six spot-shaped protrusions 217 provided inside the tubular portion 213 at equal intervals of 60 ° in the circumferential direction are used. Although the support is performed by 6-point support, the method is not particularly limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 5, the intervals between the protrusions 217 may not be equal. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, it may be performed by three-point support by three spot-shaped protrusions 217 provided inside the tubular portion 213 at intervals of 120 ° in the circumferential direction. Further, it may be supported by a number of other spot-shaped protrusions 217. In this case, when the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213, the interval between the laser irradiation portions that irradiate the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 in a spot shape may be appropriately set.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking, as shown in FIG. It may be done by. In this case, when the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 may be continuously irradiated with laser light in the circumferential direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking, and is provided inside the tubular portion 213 so as to face each other and extend in the circumferential direction. It may be sandwiched by the protruding portion 217 of the arcuate ridge. In this case, when the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213, laser light may be irradiated to each of the two opposing locations on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 in the circumferential direction for a predetermined length.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking, as shown in FIG. And the inner wall of the tubular portion 213 may be sandwiched between the two. In this case, when the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 may be irradiated with a laser beam for a predetermined length in the circumferential direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the block member 22 may be fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking at a plurality of locations in the length direction of the tubular portion 213 and the block member 22. The caulking morphology at the plurality of places may be the same or may be different.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213 by caulking by a protruding portion 217 of a ridge provided inside the tubular portion 213 so as to extend in the length direction. It may be. In this case, when the block member 22 is fixed to the tubular portion 213, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 213 may be irradiated with a laser beam for a predetermined length in the length direction.

The present invention is useful for the technical field of fixing methods及beauty optical connector manufacturing method of the block member to the optical connector.

C Optical connector structure L Laser optical 10 Optical fiber 10a Fiber exposed part 10b Jacket covering part 11 Bare optical fiber 11a Core 11b Clad 12 Jacket 13 Mode stripper 20 Optical connector 21 Connector body 211 Fiber accommodation space 212 Fiber fitting part 213 Cylindrical part 214 Block accommodating part 214a Cylindrical hole part 214b Conical hole part 215 Fiber insertion hole 216 Concave part 217 Protruding part 22 Block member 22a Cylindrical part 22b Conical part 23 Cover member

Claims (2)

A method of fixing a quartz block member to a metal tubular part of an optical connector.
After placing the block member to the inside of the tubular portion, Me lend the block member by forming a protrusion protruding inwardly by irradiating a laser beam to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion,
A fixing method in which the irradiation of the laser beam is performed in a state where the tubular portion is heated and thermally expanded. A method for manufacturing an optical connector including a connector main body including a metal tubular portion and a quartz block member arranged inside the tubular portion.
After arranging the block member inside the tubular portion, the block member is crimped by irradiating the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion with a laser beam to form a protruding portion protruding inward.
A method for manufacturing an optical connector, in which the cylindrical portion is heated and thermally expanded by irradiating the laser beam.

Images