阅读说明：本技术 光连接部件 (Optical connecting component ) 是由 金内靖臣 于 2019-08-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：光连接部件(1)具有：光纤(10)；第一固定部件(20、30),其对光纤(10)的一端部进行固定；以及第二固定部件(40),该第二固定部件(40)具有：外周壁(42)及内周壁的任意一者或两者,其通过粘接剂与所述光纤(10)粘接,具有供所述光纤(10)沿着的曲率；以及定位部,其在该第二固定部件(40)的一端对所述第一固定部件(20、30)进行定位。(The optical connection component (1) comprises: an optical fiber (10); first fixing members (20, 30) that fix one end of an optical fiber (10); and a second fixing member (40), the second fixing member (40) having: either or both of an outer peripheral wall (42) and an inner peripheral wall, which is bonded to the optical fiber (10) by an adhesive and has a curvature along which the optical fiber (10) follows; and a positioning portion that positions the first fixing member (20, 30) at one end of the second fixing member (40).)

1. An optical connecting member, comprising:

an optical fiber;

a first fixing member that fixes one end portion of the optical fiber; and

a second fixing member for fixing the second fixing member,

the second fixing member includes: either or both of an outer peripheral wall and an inner peripheral wall which are bonded to the optical fiber by an adhesive and have a curvature along which the optical fiber follows; and a positioning portion that positions the first fixing member at one end of the second fixing member.

2. The optical connecting component of claim 1,

the second fixing member includes a side wall from which either or both of the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall is vertically projected, and has an open surface on a side opposite to the side wall with a wall surface of either or both of the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall interposed therebetween.

3. The optical connection component according to claim 1 or 2,

the positioning portion further has a tapered surface connected to the vertical positioning surface on the basis of a positioning surface parallel to the optical fiber at the one end portion and a positioning surface perpendicular to the optical fiber at the one end portion.

4. The optical connection component according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the first fixing member has a hole through which the optical fiber passes.

5. The optical connection component according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the first fixing member includes 2 plate-like members that clamp one end portion of the optical fiber.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an optical connection component. The priority of japanese patent application No. 2018-158779, which was filed on 8/27/2018, is claimed in the present application and is incorporated into the present specification in its entirety by reference thereto in accordance with the contents thereof.

Background

As an optical module is miniaturized, there is a demand for a lower height optical connection component in order to reduce the height of an optical fiber from a substrate when one end of the optical fiber is vertically connected to the substrate on which an optical element such as a light emitting element, a light receiving element, and an optical circuit is mounted. In order to reduce the height of the optical connecting member, it is necessary to bend the vicinity of the distal end of the optical fiber with a small radius. In view of this, patent document 1 discloses an optical connector in which a bent hole is opened in a connector body, and an optical fiber is inserted through the hole and fixed, thereby bending the optical fiber.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2007-156006

Disclosure of Invention

An optical connection component according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an optical fiber; a first fixing member that fixes one end portion of the optical fiber; and a second fixing member having: either or both of an outer peripheral wall and an inner peripheral wall which are bonded to the optical fiber by an adhesive and have a curvature along which the optical fiber follows; and a positioning portion that positions the first fixing member at one end of the second fixing member.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a front view showing an example of an optical fiber core included in an optical connecting member of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a side view showing the optical fiber core wire of FIG. 1A.

Fig. 2A is a front view showing an example of the first fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention in a state where an optical fiber is fixed.

Fig. 2B is a plan view showing the first fixing member of fig. 2A in a state where an optical fiber is fixed.

Fig. 2C is a front view showing another example of the first fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention in a state where the optical fiber is fixed.

Fig. 2D is a plan view showing the first fixing member of fig. 2C in a state where the optical fiber is fixed.

Fig. 3A is a perspective view showing an example of the second fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a side view of the second fixing member shown in fig. 3A.

Fig. 3C is a view showing an example in which the first fixing member is mounted on the second fixing member shown in fig. 3A.

Fig. 4A is a perspective view showing another example of the second fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a side view of the second fixing member shown in fig. 4A.

Fig. 4C is a view showing an example in which the first fixing member is mounted on the second fixing member shown in fig. 4A.

Detailed Description

[ problems to be solved by the invention ]

In the optical connector disclosed in patent document 1, when the optical fiber from which the coating is removed is inserted into a hole through which the optical fiber is inserted, there is a possibility that the optical fiber is broken. The invention provides an optical connector component which is easy to assemble and operate for bending an optical fiber and does not need a connector component with a bent hole.

[ description of embodiments of the invention ]

First, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

(1) An optical connection component according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an optical fiber; a first fixing member that fixes one end portion of the optical fiber; and a second fixing member having: either or both of an outer peripheral wall and an inner peripheral wall which are bonded to the optical fiber by an adhesive and have a curvature along which the optical fiber follows; and a positioning portion that positions the first fixing member at one end of the second fixing member.

According to this configuration, the optical fiber is bonded along either or both of the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall of the second fixing member, whereby the optical connecting member can be obtained in which the assembling operation for bending the optical fiber is easy, and a connector member having a bent hole is not necessary.

(2) Preferably, the second fixing member includes a side wall that protrudes vertically from either or both of the outer circumferential wall and the inner circumferential wall, and has an open surface on a side opposite to the side wall with a wall surface of either or both of the outer circumferential wall and the inner circumferential wall interposed therebetween. According to this configuration, the first fixing member on which the optical fiber is mounted can be easily mounted on the second fixing member, and the possibility of damage to the optical fiber when the optical fiber is bent is reduced.

(3) Preferably, the positioning portion further includes a tapered surface connected to the vertical positioning surface, on the basis of a positioning surface parallel to the optical fiber at the one end portion and a positioning surface perpendicular to the optical fiber at the one end portion. According to this configuration, when the first fixing member on which the optical fiber is mounted on the second fixing member, the optical fiber at the portion protruding from the first fixing member is prevented from contacting the positioning portion of the second fixing member and being damaged.

(4) The first fixing member may have a hole through which the optical fiber passes, and (5) the first fixing member may include 2 plate-like members that clamp one end portion of the optical fiber. According to this configuration, the first fixing member can be selected from a plurality of configurations.

[ details of embodiments of the present invention ]

Preferred embodiments of the optical connecting member according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used in different drawings to designate the same components, and the description thereof may be omitted. The present invention is not limited to the examples of the embodiments, and includes all modifications within the scope of the features described in the claims and the equivalent scope. In addition, as long as a plurality of embodiments can be combined, the present invention includes a mode in which arbitrary embodiments are combined.

(embodiment 1)

Fig. 1A and 1B are a front view and a side view respectively showing an example of an optical fiber included in an optical connecting member according to the present invention. Fig. 2A and 2B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an example of the first fixing member included in the optical connecting member according to the present invention in a state where the optical fiber is fixed. The optical fiber 10 has: at least 1 core 11 made of silica glass; a cladding 12 provided around the core 11 and having a refractive index lower than that of the core 11; and a resin coating layer 14 covering the periphery of the cladding layer 12. The core 11 and the cladding 12 made of glass constitute a glass fiber 13.

As shown in fig. 2A and 2B, for example, one end portions of 4 optical fibers 10 are fixed to the first fixing member 20. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1B, the cladding 14 at one end of the optical fiber 10 is removed to expose the cladding 12 of the glass fiber 13, and the exposed glass fiber 13 is fixed to the first fixing member 20. The first fixing member 20 is a member for aligning the optical fibers 10, and is a glass capillary member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and having pores 21. The inner diameter of the pores 21 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the glass fiber 13, and when the glass fiber 13 is inserted into and inserted through the pores 21, the glass fiber 13 is loosely fitted and positioned so as to be movable forward and backward. The first fixing member 20 and the glass fiber 13 are fixed by filling an adhesive into the gap between the fine hole 21 and the glass fiber 13 by capillary action.

Fig. 2C and 2D are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing another example of the first fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention, to which an optical fiber is fixed. The first fixing member 30 is composed of a V-groove substrate 31 made of glass and a flat substrate 32 made of the same glass. The V-groove substrate 31 has, for example, 4V-grooves 33 arranged in parallel, and each V-groove 33 has a size that allows the glass fiber 13 to be placed thereon. The flat substrate 32 is a flat surface having a size covering each V-groove 33 of the V-groove substrate 31. The glass fibers 13 are placed on the respective V-grooves 33 of the V-groove substrate 31, and the flat substrate 32 is used as a cover. The flat substrate 32 is fixed to the V-groove substrate 31 together with the glass fibers 13 by an adhesive. The first fixing member 30 including the V-groove substrate 31 and the flat substrate 32 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, similarly to the first fixing member 20.

The optical fibers 10 fixed to the first fixing members 20 and 30 may be 1 or a plurality of optical fibers other than 4, or may be optical fiber ribbon-shaped core wires obtained by ribbonizing a plurality of optical fibers 10 arranged in parallel with each other with a common coating layer. The optical fiber 10 may be an optical fiber having a single core or a plurality of cores. The first fixing members 20 and 30 to which the optical fiber 10 is fixed have their distal ends polished together with the glass fiber 13 and are fixed to an optical element mounting substrate, not shown, by an adhesive, for example. The material of the first fixing members 20 and 30 is preferably glass in terms of matching the thermal expansion coefficient with the glass fiber 13, but may be resin.

Further, when the optical fiber 10 is fixed to the first fixing members 20 and 30, the glass fiber 13 is exposed and fixed to the first fixing members 20 and 30, but may be fixed in a state where the coating layer 14 is provided. Therefore, in the present invention, the term "optical fiber" refers to a structure in which a glass fiber is provided with a coating layer, but includes a structure in which a glass fiber is exposed by removing a part of the coating layer. In the present embodiment, the first fixing members 20 and 30 are provided on one end side of the optical fiber 10, but the first fixing members 20 and 30 may be attached to the other end side of the optical fiber 10 to polish the distal end portion.

Fig. 3A is a perspective view showing an example 40 of the second fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention, and fig. 3B is a side view of the second fixing member 40. Fig. 3C is a diagram showing an example in which the first fixing member is mounted on the second fixing member 40. The second fixing member 40 is a member for bending the optical fiber 10, and positions the first fixing member 20 (or the first fixing member 30, hereinafter, the first fixing member 20 is described as an example) to which the optical fiber 10 is fixed at one end side, and the optical fiber 10 is bent along an inner peripheral surface of an outer peripheral wall 42 provided in the second fixing member 40.

As shown in fig. 3A, the second fixing member 40 includes a side wall 41 having an arc shape in the YZ plane and an outer peripheral wall 42 having an arc shape projecting from the side wall 41 in the vertical direction (X-axis direction). The thickness of the outer peripheral wall 42 in the X-axis direction is a thickness that prevents the optical fiber 10 from coming off when the first fixing member 20 described later is mounted. The second fixing member 40 has a positioning portion 43 at one end thereof for positioning the first fixing member 20.

In the present embodiment, the positioning portion 43 includes: a positioning boss 46 projecting from one end portion of the side wall 41 of the second fixing member 40; and an end portion of the outer peripheral wall 42, which is opposed to the positioning boss 46. More specifically, the positioning portion 43 includes: the end of the peripheral wall 42 has a positioning surface 44A parallel to the XZ plane, a positioning surface 44B parallel to the XY plane, a positioning surface 44A 'parallel to the XZ plane of the positioning boss 46, a positioning surface 44B' parallel to the XY plane, and a side wall 41. The spacing between the positioning surface 44A of the outer peripheral wall 42 and the positioning surface 44A' of the positioning boss 46 is equal to the width of the 2-plane parallel to the arrangement plane of the optical fibers 10 of the first fixing member 20. Here, the positioning surfaces 44A and 44A 'parallel to the XZ plane are positioning surfaces parallel to the optical fiber 10, and the positioning surfaces 44B and 44B' parallel to the XY plane are positioning surfaces perpendicular to the optical fiber 10.

The second fixing member 40 has an open surface on the opposite side of the side wall 41 with the wall surface of the outer peripheral wall 42 interposed therebetween. Therefore, when the positioning portion 43 of the second fixing member 40 positions the first fixing member 20 to which the optical fiber 10 is fixed, the first fixing member 20 is aligned so that the arrangement surface of the optical fibers 10 fixed to the first fixing member 20 is parallel to the XZ plane, and the first fixing member 20 is inserted into the positioning portion 43 of the second fixing member 40 from the open surface side (the X-axis direction positive side). Then, the first fixing member 20 is inserted until it abuts against the side wall 41.

Thus, the 2-plane parallel to the array plane of the optical fibers 10 of the first fixing member 20 in the rectangular parallelepiped shape is positioned by the positioning surface 44A of the outer peripheral wall 42 and the positioning surface 44A' of the positioning boss 46. The surface of the first fixing member 20 into which the optical fiber 10 is inserted is positioned on the positioning surface 44B of the outer peripheral wall 42 and the positioning surface 44B' of the positioning boss 46. The side wall 41 positions the 1 plane of the first fixing member 20 perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the optical fibers 10. At this time, as shown in fig. 3C, the optical fiber 10 is bent along the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall 42. In this state, the first fixing member 20 and the positioning portion 43, and the optical fiber 10 and the inner circumferential surface of the outer circumferential wall 42 are fixed by an adhesive agent not shown, and the optical connecting member 1 is obtained. The adhesive can be supplied from the open surface side of the second fixing member 40.

The second fixing member 40 may be made of any material such as glass, metal, or resin as long as the outer peripheral wall 42 and the positioning portion 43 can be integrally formed by cutting, molding, or the like. As shown in fig. 3B, the positioning surface 44B of the outer peripheral wall 42 and the positioning surface 44B 'of the positioning boss 46 preferably have tapered surfaces 45 and 45', respectively. Thus, when the first fixing member 20 is positioned on the second fixing member 40 and the optical fiber 10 is bent, the first fixing member 20 can be prevented from being displaced from the positioning portion 43, and the cladding layer 14 of the optical fiber 10 and the glass fiber 13 inside the cladding layer can be prevented from contacting the positioning portion 43 and being damaged. The tapered surfaces 45, 45 'are connected to positioning surfaces 44B, 44B' perpendicular to the optical fiber 10, respectively.

(embodiment 2)

Fig. 4A is a perspective view showing another example 50 of the second fixing member included in the optical connecting member of the present invention, and fig. 4B is a side view of the second fixing member 50. Fig. 4C is a diagram showing an example in which the first fixing member is mounted on the second fixing member 50. The second fixing member 50 is a member for bending the optical fiber 10, and positions the first fixing member 20 (or the first fixing member 30) to which the optical fiber 10 is fixed at one end side thereof, and the optical fiber 10 is bent along an outer peripheral surface of an inner peripheral wall 52 provided at the second fixing member 50.

As shown in fig. 4A, the second fixing member 50 includes a side wall 51 having an arc shape in the YZ plane and an inner peripheral wall 52 having an arc shape protruding from the side wall 51 in the vertical direction (X-axis direction). The thickness of the inner peripheral wall 52 in the X axis direction is a thickness that enables the optical fiber 10 to be placed when the first fixing member 20 described later is mounted. The second fixing member 50 has a positioning portion 53 at one end thereof for positioning the first fixing member 20.

In the present embodiment, the positioning portion 53 includes: a positioning boss 56 projecting from one end portion of the side wall 51 of the second fixing member 50; and an end portion of the inner circumferential wall 52, which is opposed to the positioning boss 56. More specifically, the positioning portion 53 includes: a positioning surface 54A parallel to the XZ plane and a positioning surface 54B parallel to the XY plane at the end of the inner peripheral wall 52, a positioning surface 54A 'parallel to the XZ plane and a positioning surface 54B' parallel to the XY plane of the positioning projection 56, and the side wall 51. The interval between the positioning surface 54A of the inner peripheral wall 52 and the positioning surface 54A' of the positioning boss 56 is equal to the width of the 2 surfaces of the first fixing member 20 parallel to the arrangement surface of the optical fibers 10. Here, the positioning surfaces 54A and 54A 'parallel to the XZ plane are positioning surfaces parallel to the optical fiber 10, and the positioning surfaces 54B and 54B' parallel to the XY plane are positioning surfaces perpendicular to the optical fiber 10.

The second fixing member 50 has an open surface on the opposite side of the side wall 41 with the wall surface of the inner circumferential wall 52 interposed therebetween. Therefore, when the positioning portion 53 of the second fixing member 50 positions the first fixing member 20 to which the optical fiber 10 is fixed, the first fixing member 20 is aligned so that the arrangement surface of the optical fibers 10 fixed to the first fixing member 20 is parallel to the XZ plane, and the first fixing member 20 is inserted into the positioning portion 53 of the second fixing member 50 from the open surface side (the X-axis direction positive side). Then, the first fixing member 20 is inserted until it abuts against the side wall 51.

Thus, the 2-plane parallel to the arrangement plane of the optical fibers 10 of the first fixing member 20 in the rectangular parallelepiped shape is positioned by the positioning surface 54A of the inner peripheral wall 52 and the positioning surface 54A' of the positioning boss 56. The surface of the first fixing member 20 into which the optical fiber 10 is inserted is positioned on the positioning surface 54B of the inner peripheral wall 52 and the positioning surface 54B' of the positioning protrusion 56. The side wall 51 positions the 1 plane of the first fixing member 20 perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the optical fibers 10. In this state, in the present embodiment, first, the first fixing member 20 and the positioning portion 53 are fixed by an adhesive. Next, as shown in fig. 4C, the optical fiber 10 is bent along the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall 52. Then, the optical fiber 10 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall 52 using an adhesive, thereby obtaining the optical connecting member 1. The adhesive can be supplied by using the open surface of the second fixing member 50.

As for the material of the second fixing member 50, any of glass, metal, and resin may be used as long as the inner peripheral wall 52 and the positioning portion 53 can be integrally formed by cutting, molding, and the like, as in the second fixing member 40 of embodiment 1. As shown in fig. 4B, the positioning surface 54B of the inner peripheral wall 52 and the positioning surface 54B 'of the positioning boss 56 preferably have tapered surfaces 55 and 55', respectively. Accordingly, when the first fixing member 20 is positioned on the second fixing member 50 and the optical fiber 10 is bent, the first fixing member 20 can be prevented from being displaced from the positioning portion 53 and from contacting the positioning portion 53 and being damaged. The tapered surfaces 55, 55 'are connected to positioning surfaces 54B, 54B' perpendicular to the optical fiber 10, respectively

(embodiment 3)

In the present embodiment, the second fixing member has both an outer peripheral wall and an inner peripheral wall. Although not shown, the outer circumferential wall 42 of the second fixing member 40 according to embodiment 1 and the inner circumferential wall 52 of the second fixing member 50 according to embodiment 2 are provided. The end portions of the outer and inner peripheral walls have positioning portions for positioning the first fixing member 20. Further, a gap is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall and the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall, and the optical fiber 10 is inserted into the gap. The gap may be set to a size substantially equal to the diameter of the optical fiber 10, and the optical fiber 10 may be sandwiched between the outer circumferential wall and the inner circumferential wall. The gap may be larger than the diameter of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber 10 may be fixed in the gap between the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall by filling an adhesive from the open surface.

As described above, in each embodiment, the positioning portion is formed integrally with the end portion of the outer circumferential wall or the inner circumferential wall, but may be provided separately from the outer circumferential wall or the inner circumferential wall.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … an optical connection means, and,

10 … an optical fiber, wherein the optical fiber is,

11 … the core of the optical fiber,

12 … in the form of a clad layer,

13 … a glass fiber, wherein the glass fiber is a glass fiber,

14 … a coating layer, wherein the coating layer is,

20. 30 … a first securing member for securing the device to a vehicle,

21 … the pores of the porous ceramic body,

31 … V-shaped groove substrate,

a flat base plate of 32 … is provided,

33 … a V-shaped groove, wherein,

40 … a second securing member is provided,

41 …, the side wall of the container,

42 … at the outer peripheral wall thereof,

43 … at the location of the positioning part,

44A, 44A ', 44B' … positioning surface,

45. the tapered surface of the 45' … is,

46 … the positioning protrusion is used to fix the position,

50 … a second securing member for securing the device to a vehicle,

51 …, the side wall of the container,

52 … are formed on the inner peripheral wall thereof,

53 … the location of the parts to be positioned,

54A, 54A ', 54B' …,

55. the conical surface of the 55' … is,

56 … locating projection.