Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an optical fiber fusion splicer and an optical fiber
[0002]
fusion splicing method.
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-145838
filed on August 31, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
Background Art
Patent Documents 1 and 2 each disclose an optical fiber fusion splicer that fusionsplices
ends of a plurality of optical fibers (mass fiber) configuring one of fiber groups
to ends of a plurality of optical fibers (mass fiber) configuring the other of fiber groups
by electric discharge heating such that ends of a pair of fibers facing each other are
spliced to each other. In the optical fiber fusion splicer, a method of changing a
splicing condition (for example, an amount of voltage or electrical current) depending
on the number of the optical fibers is disclosed. In Patent Document 3, an optical fiber
fusion splicing method of changing a splicing condition depending on a diameter of an
optical fiber is disclosed.
Citation List
Patent Literature
[0003] PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H7-287139
PTL 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H5-119226
PTL 3: Japanese Patent No. 4429540
[0004]
[0005]
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
However, regarding a mass fiber that is conventionally and widely used, the number
of the kinds of mass fibers was low, and the number of the kinds of distances between
centers of the optical fibers adjacent to each other (hereinafter, referred to as a fiber
pitch) was also low.
In recent years, mass fibers with various specification are used, and the number of
the kinds of fiber pitches also increases. For example, a mass fiber is also used which
has a plurality of the number of kinds of different fiber pitches but not have all the
same fiber pitch.
However, in the optical fiber fusion splicers and the fusion splicing methods of
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[0006]
Patent Documents 1 to 3, since the splicing condition is set only by the number of
optical fibers and the diameters thereof, there is a problem in that a pair of mass fibers
may not be fusion-spliced to each other by a suitable splicing condition. In the case in
which the splicing condition is not suitable, a connection loss increases in the mass
fibers that were subjected to fusion-splicing.
The invention was conceived in view of the above-described circumstances and has
an object thereof to provide an optical fiber fusion splicer and an optical fiber fusion
splicing method which can fusion-splice optical fibers under a splicing condition in accordance
with a fiber pitch.
Solution to Problem
[0007] An optical fiber fusion splicer according to a first aspect of the invention includes: a
replaceable groove-formed unit having a plurality of first positioning grooves and a
plurality of second positioning grooves, the first positioning grooves causing a
plurality of first optical fibers to be arranged at an equal distance, the second positioning
grooves causing a plurality of second optical fibers to be arranged at an equal
distance, the first optical fibers constituting a first mass fiber and having a plurality of
first glass parts, the second optical fibers constituting a second mass fiber and having a
plurality of second glass parts; a lighting part that illuminates, with light, the first
optical fibers and the second optical fibers which are arranged on the groove-formed
unit; a lens that condenses the light passing through the first glass parts, regions around
the first glass parts, the second glass parts, and regions around the second glass parts; a
camera that captures an image formed by the lens; a pair of discharge electrodes that
heat and melt, by electric discharge, the first glass parts of the first optical fibers and
the second glass parts of the second optical fibers which are arranged on the grooveformed
unit; a high-voltage-generating circuit that generates an electric discharge
between the pair of the discharge electrodes; a movable stage that moves the first
optical fibers in a longitudinal direction of the first mass fiber and moves the second
optical fibers in a longitudinal direction of the second mass fiber; an image processor
that, based on the image captured by the camera, acquires at least one of a fiber pitch
of the first optical fibers and a fiber pitch of the second optical fibers; and a splicing
condition processor that sets a splicing condition corresponding to the acquired fiber
pitch by selection or calculation thereof.
[0008] In the aforementioned optical fiber fusion splicer, the splicing condition processor
sets a splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch acquired by the image
processor. Consequently, the first optical fibers constituting the first mass fiber can be
fusion-spliced one-to-one to the second optical fibers constituting the second mass
fiber under a splicing condition in accordance with a fiber pitch.
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[0009]
[0010]
[0011]
[0012]
In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to the first aspect of the invention, the
image processor determines the number of the first optical fibers and the number of the
second optical fibers based on the image, and the splicing condition processor may set
the splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of the first optical fibers, the
fiber pitch of the second optical fibers, the number of the first optical fibers, and the
number of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation thereof.
In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to the first aspect of the invention, based
on the image, the image processor acquires at least one of diameters of the first optical
fibers or at least one of diameters of the second optical fibers, and the splicing
condition processor may set the splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of
the first optical fibers and the diameters of the first optical fibers by selection or calculation
thereof, or, sets the splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of the
second optical fibers and the diameters of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation
thereof.
In the optical fiber fusion splicer according to the first aspect of the invention, based
on the image, the image processor acquires at least one of diameters of the first optical
fibers and at least one of diameters of the second optical fibers, and the splicing
condition processor may set the splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of
the first optical fibers, the fiber pitch of the second optical fibers, the diameters of the
first optical fibers, and the diameters of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation
thereof.

Claims
An optical fiber fusion splicer comprising:
a replaceable groove-formed unit having a plurality of first positioning
grooves and a plurality of second positioning grooves, the first positioning
grooves causing a plurality of first optical fibers to be
arranged at an equal distance, the second positioning grooves causing a
plurality of second optical fibers to be arranged at an equal distance, the
first optical fibers constituting a first mass fiber and having a plurality
of first glass parts, the second optical fibers constituting a second mass
fiber and having a plurality of second glass parts;
a lighting part that illuminates, with light, the first optical fibers and the
second optical fibers which are arranged on the groove-formed unit;
a lens that condenses the light passing through the first glass parts,
regions around the first glass parts, the second glass parts, and regions
around the second glass parts;
a camera that captures an image formed by the lens;
a pair of discharge electrodes that heat and melt, by electric discharge,
the first glass parts of the first optical fibers and the second glass parts
of the second optical fibers which are arranged on the groove-formed
unit;
a high-voltage-generating circuit that generates an electric discharge
between the pair of the discharge electrodes;
a movable stage that moves the first optical fibers in a longitudinal
direction of the first mass fiber and moves the second optical fibers in a
longitudinal direction of the second mass fiber;
an image processor that, based on the image captured by the camera,
acquires at least one of a fiber pitch of the first optical fibers and a fiber
pitch of the second optical fibers; and
a splicing condition processor that sets a splicing condition corresponding
to the acquired fiber pitch by selection or calculation thereof.
The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein
the image processor determines the number of the first optical fibers
and the number of the second optical fibers based on the image, and
the splicing condition processor sets the splicing condition corresponding
to the fiber pitch of the first optical fibers, the fiber pitch of
the second optical fibers, the number of the first optical fibers, and the
number of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation thereof.
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[Claim 3]
[Claim 4]
[Claim 5]
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The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein
based on the image, the image processor acquires at least one of
diameters of the first optical fibers or at least one of diameters of the
second optical fibers, and
the splicing condition processor sets the splicing condition corresponding
to the fiber pitch of the first optical fibers and the diameters
of the first optical fibers by selection or calculation thereof, or, sets the
splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of the second optical
fibers and the diameters of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation
thereof.
The optical fiber fusion splicer according to claim 1, wherein
based on the image, the image processor acquires at least one of
diameters of the first optical fibers and at least one of diameters of the
second optical fibers, and
the splicing condition processor sets the splicing condition corresponding
to the fiber pitch of the first optical fibers, the fiber pitch of
the second optical fibers, the diameters of the first optical fibers, and
the diameters of the second optical fibers by selection or calculation
thereof.
An optical fiber fusion splicing method, using an optical fiber fusion
splicer, and fusion-splicing a first mass fiber and a second mass fiber,
the optical fiber fusion splicer comprising:
a replaceable groove-formed unit having a plurality of first positioning
grooves and a plurality of second positioning grooves, the first positioning
grooves causing a plurality of first optical fibers to be
arranged at an equal distance, the second positioning grooves causing a
plurality of second optical fibers to be arranged at an equal distance, the
first optical fibers constituting a first mass fiber and having a plurality
of first glass parts, the second optical fibers constituting a second mass
fiber and having a plurality of second glass parts;
a lighting part that illuminates, with light, the first optical fibers and the
second optical fibers which are arranged on the groove-formed unit;
a lens that condenses the light passing through the first glass parts,
regions around the first glass parts, the second glass parts, and regions
around the second glass parts;
a camera that captures an image formed by the lens;
a pair of discharge electrodes that heat and melt, by electric discharge,
the first glass parts of the first optical fibers and the second glass parts
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[Claim 6]
[Claim 7]
[Claim 8]
[Claim 9]
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of the second optical fibers which are arranged on the groove-formed
unit;
a high-voltage-generating circuit that generates an electric discharge
between the pair of the discharge electrodes; and
a movable stage that moves the first optical fibers in a longitudinal
direction of the first mass fiber and moves the second optical fibers in a
longitudinal direction of the second mass fiber,
the fusion splicing method comprising:
acquiring a fiber pitch of the first optical fibers and a fiber pitch of the
second optical fibers, based on the image captured by the camera; and
setting a splicing condition corresponding to the acquired fiber pitch by
selection or calculation thereof.
The optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 5, wherein
the splicing condition is set before the first mass fiber is fusion-spliced
to the second mass fiber.
The optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 5 or claim
6, wherein
the number of the first optical fibers and the number of the second
optical fibers are determined based on the image, and
the splicing condition corresponding to the fiber pitch of the first
optical fibers, the fiber pitch of the second optical fibers, the number of
the first optical fibers, and the number of the second optical fibers is set
by selection or calculation thereof.