Optical fiber splicing device, auxiliary splicing device and optical fiber splicing method
By adopting the bonding method and the first alignment connection method in the fiber splicing technology, the problem of structural failure and splicing difficulty of hollow fibers and space-division multiplexed fibers during the welding process is solved, and the fast, accurate connection and low loss effects of the fibers are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311294320.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-09-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-04
AI Technical Summary
When the existing fiber splicing technology deals with hollow fibers and space-division multiplexed fibers, welding will cause damage to the fiber structure, and the existing splicing method is difficult to achieve precise alignment, resulting in large connection losses.
The fiber splicing device and auxiliary splicing device are used to replace the melting connection by bonding, and the first alignment connection is adopted to achieve accurate alignment and quick connection of the optical fibers using external fixtures and optical adhesives.
It avoids the damage to the optical fiber structure, realizes fast and accurate connection of optical fibers, reduces connection losses, and is suitable for new optical fibers such as hollow fibers and space-division multiplexed fibers.
Smart Images
Figure CN119758533A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical fiber communication technology, and in particular to an optical fiber splicing device, an auxiliary splicing device and an optical fiber splicing method. Background Art
[0002] In a large number of fiber optic application scenarios, fiber interruptions are inevitable. For example, during the construction of urban construction, the fiber may be dug up carelessly, and frequent natural disasters may also cause the fiber to be damaged, interrupted or degraded. In addition to the above application scenarios, there are also a large number of scenarios that require active fiber optic truncation and connection. For example, if the configured optical fiber is too long or too short, in order to ensure a more reasonable system installation, it is necessary to cut off the long optical fiber and connect it, and add a new section of optical fiber to the short optical fiber to ensure the length. For the standard definition of communication, it is also agreed that the optical fiber will use a connection method to extend the length after a certain length. It can be said that the development of optical fiber connection technology is also the basis for the widespread application of optical fiber.
[0003] In existing optical network applications, a large number of optical fiber connections are made by fusion splicing and splicing. These two connection methods are not only fast and stable, but also have low loss. Therefore, in most application scenarios where optical fiber needs to be connected, fusion splicing and splicing are used to achieve connection.
[0004] However, for new optical fibers such as hollow-core optical fibers and space-division multiplexing, fiber fusion splicing will have a very large impact. For example, for hollow-core optical fibers, the melting process will cause the internal structure of the optical fiber to collapse; and for the connection of optical fiber splicing, the general method currently used is to use a section of binding sleeve, place the optical fiber in the binding sleeve, and use the binding sleeve to ensure the alignment of the optical fiber. However, in order to facilitate the effective entry of the optical fiber into the sleeve, a relatively large structure is often required to guide the optical fiber. A relatively large gap also needs to be reserved between the optical fiber and the sleeve so that the optical fiber can easily enter and exit. The existence of the gap also makes it easy to deviate when aligning the optical fiber. In addition, even if there is a gap, it is not an easy task to insert the optical fiber into the sleeve with a very small gap based on the scale of the optical fiber, and it will be even more difficult to perform alignment after insertion. Summary of the invention
[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide an optical fiber splicing device, an auxiliary splicing device and an optical fiber splicing method, which are suitable for splicing new optical fibers such as hollow optical fibers, space division multiplexing optical fibers, etc.
[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an optical fiber splicing device, comprising: an external fixer, having a first end and a second end opposite to each other arranged along its own axis, comprising a first external fixer, a first connecting groove being arranged at the center of the first external fixer, and first injection grooves being arranged at the first end and the second end of the first external fixer, respectively; wherein the first connecting groove is used for placing a first section of optical fiber and a second section of optical fiber to be connected, and the first injection groove is used for injecting optical glue along the first end and the second end of the first external fixer to bond the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber to the first external fixer.
[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an auxiliary splicing device, which is applied to an optical fiber splicing device as described above, comprising: an external fixer holder, comprising a first external fixer holder and a second external fixer holder, the first external fixer holder being used to hold the first external fixer, and the second external fixer holder being used to hold the second external fixer, so that the first external fixer and the second external fixer are radially docked; an optical fiber holder, which is used to hold the optical fiber for movement, comprising a first optical fiber holder and a second optical fiber holder, the first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder being movable toward each other along the axial direction of the first external fixer, so that the optical fiber is docked at the first connecting groove; and a glue applicator, which is arranged on the optical fiber holder, comprising a first glue applicator and a second glue applicator, the first glue applicator and the second glue applicator being able to apply optical glue into the external fixer along the injection cavity at the first end and the second end of the external fixer, so that the first section of the optical fiber and the second section of the optical fiber are bonded to the external fixer.
[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for splicing optical fibers, comprising:
[0009] Take two sections of optical fiber to be connected by using the first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder and place them in the first external fixture;
[0010] Align the two optical fibers to be connected;
[0011] Injecting optical glue into the two sections of optical fiber to be connected respectively by a first glue applicator and a second glue applicator, so that the optical fiber is bonded to the first external fixator;
[0012] docking the first external fixator with the second external fixator;
[0013] Optical glue is injected into the two sections of optical fibers to be connected respectively through the first glue applicator and the second glue applicator, so that the optical fibers are adhered to the second external fixer.
[0014] According to the optical fiber splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application, it is suitable for the splicing of new optical fibers such as hollow optical fibers and space-division multiplexing optical fibers. It adopts a bonding method instead of a fusion connection, so it will not cause damage to the structure of the optical fiber. It also adopts an alignment connection method instead of an insertion connection method, thereby being able to achieve rapid connection of optical fibers with a very small size and precise alignment, thus overcoming the problem that optical fibers are not easy to align.
[0015] Furthermore, according to the auxiliary splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application, the cold splicing method is used to replace the existing fusion connection method, thereby ensuring that the fiber end face and structure are not damaged during the fusion connection process, thereby ensuring the connection loss and transmission characteristics of new optical fibers such as hollow optical fibers and space-division multiplexing optical fibers.
[0016] In addition, the present application further provides an optical fiber splicing method based on the above-mentioned optical fiber splicing device and auxiliary splicing device. Since the above-mentioned optical fiber splicing device and auxiliary splicing device are adopted, the optical fiber splicing method has all the technical effects of the above-mentioned optical fiber splicing device and auxiliary splicing device. Through the optical fiber splicing method provided by the present application, the optical fiber is first pressed into the external fixator without the need for insertion. Therefore, the optical fiber can ensure higher-precision connection alignment in the connection cavity of the external fixator, and the external fixator can be processed into a relatively small size to meet the connection at any position in the optical fiber. Compared with the existing optical fiber splicing method, the optical fiber splicing method provided by the present application optimizes the optical fiber insertion connection method and converts it into a press-in connection method, thereby being able to achieve rapid optical fiber connection with a very small size and a more precise alignment method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. In addition, in the drawings, the same parts are marked with the same reference numerals, and the drawings are not drawn according to the actual scale.
[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the overall structure of an optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the disassembled structure of the optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0020] Figure 3 A radial cross-sectional view of an optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of applying the optical adhesive provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0022] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a first external fixator provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0023] Figure 6A schematic diagram showing the structure of a first external fixator holder / a second external fixator holder provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0024] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a first optical fiber holder / a second optical fiber holder provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;
[0025] Figure 8 The process of the optical fiber splicing method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown as follows Figure 1 ;
[0026] Fig. 9 The process of the optical fiber splicing method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown as follows Figure 2 .
[0027] Description of reference numerals:
[0028] 11. First external fixator; 12. Second external fixator; 13. Connecting cavity; 14. Injection cavity; 15. First external fixator holder; 16. Second external fixator holder; 17. Fixing piece; 18. Holder horizontal adjustment piece; 19. Holder vertical adjustment piece;
[0029] 21. First optical fiber holder; 22. Second optical fiber holder; 23. Clamping member; 24. Optical fiber horizontal adjustment member; 25. Optical fiber vertical adjustment member; 26. Angle adjustment member;
[0030] 31. a first glue applicator; 32. a second glue applicator;
[0031] 4. Heat shrink tubing;
[0032] 5. Light source;
[0033] 6. Microscope. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0035] In existing optical network applications, a large number of optical fiber connections are made by fusion splicing and splicing. These two connection methods are not only fast and stable, but also have low loss. Therefore, in most application scenarios where optical fiber needs to be connected, fusion splicing and splicing are used to achieve connection.
[0036] However, with the use of various new optical fibers, the use of fusion splicing to perform optical fiber connections has begun to show various disadvantages. In the process of fusion splicing, the optical fiber needs to melt and then sinter the connecting section, which will inevitably change the structure of the optical fiber itself. For conventional single-mode optical fibers, the slight structural change of the connection end point will hardly affect the transmission signal. However, for hollow-core optical fibers and new optical fibers for space division multiplexing, fiber fusion splicing will cause a very large impact. Typically, for hollow-core optical fibers, the melting process will cause the internal structure of the optical fiber to collapse, destroying the transmission process of the hollow-core optical fiber. In addition to the damage to the optical fiber transmission mechanism caused by structural collapse, the collapsed molten body will also form a strong reflection at the optical fiber end point. Existing experiments have shown that the loss of hollow-core optical fiber fusion splicing is far greater than the loss caused by splicing.
[0037] For the connection of optical fiber splicing, the general method currently used is to use a binding sleeve, place the optical fiber in the binding sleeve, and ensure the alignment of the optical fiber through the binding sleeve. However, in order to facilitate the effective entry of the optical fiber into the sleeve, a relatively large structure is often required to guide the optical fiber. A relatively large gap also needs to be retained between the optical fiber and the sleeve so that the optical fiber can easily enter and exit. The existence of the gap also makes it easy to deviate when aligning the optical fiber, which is one of the reasons why the loss of existing splicing is greater than the loss of fusion splicing.
[0038] In addition, even if there is a gap, it is not easy to insert the optical fiber into the sleeve with a very small gap according to the size of the optical fiber, and it will be even more difficult to perform alignment after insertion. Therefore, the actual application of existing splicing is to bind the optical fiber in a large ceramic sleeve and make it into a movable connector, which is connected using a special flange. Because of its large size and high cost, it is usually only applicable to the optical port of the device, where it is necessary to frequently realize the location of optical interruption and continuation. At present, the optical fiber splicing method is generally not used at the location where two sections of optical fiber need to be connected.
[0039] In order to overcome the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application introduce the device and method of the present application in combination with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the overall structure of an optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the disassembled structure of the optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 3 A radial cross-sectional view of an optical fiber splicing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of applying the optical adhesive provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a first external fixator provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a first external fixator holder / a second external fixator holder provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 7A schematic diagram showing the structure of a first optical fiber holder / a second optical fiber holder provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 8 A flow chart of an optical fiber splicing method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.
[0040] Specifically, please combine Figures 1 to 7 The embodiment of the present application provides an optical fiber splicing device, including an external fixer, the external fixer is provided with a first end and a second end opposite to each other along its own axis, and the external fixer includes a first external fixer 11 and a second external fixer 12, the first external fixer 11 is provided as follows Figure 1 At the lower end position shown, the center of the first external fixer 11 is concave to form a first connecting groove, and the first end and the second end of the first external fixer 11 are concave to form a first injection groove; the first connecting groove and the first injection groove have different degrees of concaveness, and the specific concave size is introduced later, and the second external fixer 12 is provided with a second connecting groove at the center, and the first end and the second end of the second external fixer 12 are respectively provided with a second injection groove; wherein, the first external fixer 11 and the second external fixer 12 are butt-jointed in the radial direction, so that the first connecting groove and the second connecting groove are butt-jointed to form a connecting cavity 13, and the first injection groove and the second injection groove are butt-jointed to form an injection cavity 14; the connecting cavity 13 is used to place the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber to be connected, and the injection cavity 14 is used to inject optical glue along the first end and the second end of the first external fixer 11, so as to bond the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber to the external fixer.
[0041] In the embodiment of the present application, when splicing optical fibers, the two optical fiber sections to be spliced should first be preliminarily connected to each other and then placed on one of the external fixers (generally the first external fixer 11 located at the lower end) for positioning. In this way, compared with the existing optical fiber splicing method, the step of inserting the optical fiber into the external fixer is omitted, thus overcoming the technical difficulty of the optical fiber being difficult to insert into the external fixer.
[0042] In the embodiment of the present application, the first external fixator 11 and the second external fixator 12 are two semi-cylinders, which form a complete cylinder after docking, and the structures of the two are symmetrical. It should be noted that the first external fixator 11 and the second external fixator 12 can also be two semi-cubes, and the specific structure can be set according to the cross-section of the optical fiber to be suitable for the placement and clamping of the optical fiber. Therefore, such adjustment and change of the specific shape of the first external fixator 11 and the second external fixator 12 does not deviate from the principle and scope of the present application, and should be limited within the protection scope of the present application.
[0043] In an optional example, the inner diameter of the connecting cavity 13 is adapted to the diameters of the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber.
[0044] Furthermore, the inner diameter of the connecting cavity 13 is smaller than the inner diameter of the injection cavity 14 .
[0045] Furthermore, the inner diameter of the injection cavity 14 is larger than the diameters of the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber, and the size difference between the inner diameter of the injection cavity 14 and the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber is not less than 10 microns.
[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the external fixator adopts a concave design. A concave groove with a diameter consistent with the diameter of the optical fiber is designed in the middle section of the external fixator, namely, a connecting cavity 13, which is used for the two sections of optical fiber to be butted here. A concave groove with a diameter slightly larger than the radius of the optical fiber diameter is designed at both ends of the external fixator, namely, an injection cavity 14. The diameter difference is preferably not less than 10 microns, which is convenient for the penetration of optical glue and does not cause instability due to excessive gaps. It is used for the filling of ultraviolet optical glue to ensure the bonding strength of the ultraviolet optical glue after curing. In the embodiment of the present application, a small amount of ultraviolet optical glue will penetrate into the tiny gap between the optical fiber in the middle section of the external fixator and the concave of the external fixator due to surface tension to form a thin layer of ultraviolet optical glue. When the ultraviolet optical glue is cured, the optical glue in the enlarged inner groove at both ends of the external fixator realizes a stronger bonding surface and maintains the bonding strength. The optical glue in the gap in the middle section of the external fixator only realizes a weaker bonding surface.
[0047] In an optional example, the optical fiber splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes a heat shrink tube 4, which is sleeved on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator to tighten the external fixator.
[0048] It should be noted that the heat shrink tube 4 is sleeved on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator and can be moved relative to the external fixator.
[0049] According to the optical fiber splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application, it is suitable for the splicing of new optical fibers such as hollow optical fibers and space-division multiplexing optical fibers. It adopts a bonding method instead of a fusion connection, so it will not cause damage to the structure of the optical fiber. It also adopts an alignment connection method instead of an insertion connection method, thereby being able to achieve rapid connection of optical fibers with a very small size and precise alignment, thus overcoming the problem that optical fibers are not easy to align.
[0050] The embodiment of the present application also provides an auxiliary splicing device, which is applied to the above-mentioned optical fiber splicing device. The auxiliary splicing device includes an external fixator holder, an optical fiber holder and a glue applicator. The external fixator holder includes a first external fixator holder 15 and a second external fixator holder 16. The first external fixator holder 15 is used to hold the first external fixator 11, and the second external fixator holder 16 is used to hold the second external fixator 12, so that the first external fixator 11 and the second external fixator 12 are radially docked; the optical fiber holder is used to hold the optical fiber for movement, and the optical fiber holder includes The first optical fiber holder 21 and the second optical fiber holder 22 are included. The first optical fiber holder 21 and the second optical fiber holder 22 can move toward each other along the axial direction of the first external fixer 11 so that the optical fiber can be docked in the first connection groove. The auxiliary splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application also includes a glue applicator, which is arranged on the optical fiber holder. The glue applicator includes a first glue applicator 31 and a second glue applicator 32. The first glue applicator 31 is located at the first end of the first external fixer 11 and is arranged toward the injection groove. The second glue applicator 32 is located at the second end of the first external fixer 11 and is arranged toward the injection groove. The first segment of optical fiber and the second segment of optical fiber that are replaced and connected are respectively inserted toward each other along the first end and the second end of the first segment of the fixer 11. The first glue applicator 31 and the second glue applicator 32 apply optical glue to the first external fixer 11 along the injection grooves at both ends of the first external fixer 11, so that the first segment of optical fiber and the second segment of optical fiber are fixedly spliced in the first connection groove.
[0051] In an optional example, the first external fixator holder 15 and the second external fixator holder 16 both include a holder body 17, a holder horizontal adjustment member 18 and a holder vertical adjustment member 19. The holder horizontal adjustment member 18 is arranged on the holder body 17, and is used to adjust the horizontal movement distance of the first external fixator 11 or the second external fixator 12 to adjust the position of the first external fixator 11 or the second external fixator 12 in the horizontal direction; the holder vertical adjustment member 19 is arranged on the holder body 17, and is used to adjust the vertical movement distance of the first external fixator 11 or the second external fixator 12 to adjust the position of the first external fixator 11 or the second external fixator 12 in the vertical direction.
[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the first external fixator holder 15 and the second external fixator holder 16 are both made of transparent quartz glass to form an alignment platform, and can also transmit the ultraviolet light wavelength used for curing the ultraviolet optical glue. The second external fixator holder 16 is used to keep the second external fixator 12 stable during the connection process, so only one of the external fixator holders can be adjusted to connect with the other external fixator.
[0053] In an optional example, the first fiber holder 21 and the second fiber holder 22 each include a clamping member 23, a fiber horizontal adjustment member 24 and a fiber vertical adjustment member 25. The fiber horizontal adjustment member 24 is disposed at the end of the clamping member 23 to adjust the horizontal movement distance of the optical fiber so as to adjust the position of the optical fiber in the horizontal direction; the fiber vertical adjustment member 25 is disposed at the end of the clamping member 23 to adjust the vertical movement distance of the optical fiber so as to adjust the position of the optical fiber in the vertical direction.
[0054] In an optional example, the first optical fiber holder 21 and the second optical fiber holder 22 further include an angle adjustment member 2, which is disposed at the end of the clamping member 23 and is used to adjust the orientation angle of the optical fiber.
[0055] It should be noted that the above-mentioned horizontal adjustment member, vertical adjustment member and angle adjustment member are all commonly used structures, so their specific structures are not shown in the drawings.
[0056] Optionally, the auxiliary splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes a light source 5, which is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator holder and is used to irradiate the optical fiber to solidify the optical adhesive.
[0057] Optionally, the optical fiber splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes a microscope 6, and the microscope 6 is used to observe the connection status of the optical fibers.
[0058] The microscope 6 is near the external fixator and is used to observe the optical fiber connection state. The light source 5 is an ultraviolet light source 5, which is used to cure the ultraviolet optical glue. Therefore, the present application corresponds to the above-mentioned one, and the material of the external fixator is a material that allows ultraviolet rays to pass through.
[0059] According to the auxiliary splicing device provided in the embodiment of the present application, the cold splicing method is used to replace the existing fusion connection method, thereby ensuring that the fiber end face and structure are not damaged during the fusion connection process, so as to ensure the connection loss and transmission characteristics of the hollow optical fiber and the space-division multiplexing optical fiber.
[0060] In existing optical network applications, a large number of optical fiber connections use fusion splicing. As the name suggests, fusion splicing is to connect two optical fiber segments at the end points of the connected optical fiber by melting them at high temperature. Since the invention of the fusion splicer, this connection method is not only fast and stable, but also has low insertion loss. Therefore, in most application scenarios where optical fiber splicing is required, this fusion method is used to achieve connection.
[0061] However, with the use of various new optical fibers, the use of fusion splicing to perform optical fiber connections has begun to show various disadvantages. In the process of fusion splicing, the optical fiber needs to melt and then sinter the connecting section, which will inevitably change the structure of the optical fiber itself. For conventional single-mode optical fibers, the slight structural change of the connection end point will hardly affect the transmission signal. However, for hollow-core optical fibers and new optical fibers for space division multiplexing, fiber fusion splicing will cause a very large impact. Typically, for hollow-core optical fibers, the melting process will cause the internal structure of the optical fiber to collapse, destroying the transmission process of the hollow-core optical fiber. In addition to the damage to the optical fiber transmission mechanism caused by structural collapse, the collapsed molten body will also form a strong reflection at the optical fiber end point. Existing experiments have shown that the loss of hollow-core optical fiber fusion splicing is far greater than the loss caused by splicing.
[0062] For the connection of optical fiber splicing, the general method currently used is to use a section of binding sleeve, place the optical fiber in the binding sleeve, and ensure the alignment of the optical fiber through the binding sleeve. However, in order to facilitate the effective entry of the optical fiber into the sleeve, a relatively large structure is often required to guide the optical fiber. A relatively large gap also needs to be retained between the optical fiber and the sleeve so that the optical fiber can easily enter and exit. The existence of the gap also makes it easy to deviate when aligning the optical fiber, which is one of the reasons why the loss of existing splicing is greater than the loss of fusion splicing.
[0063] In addition, even if there is a gap, it is not easy to insert the optical fiber into the sleeve with a very small gap according to the size of the optical fiber, and it will be even more difficult to perform alignment after insertion. Therefore, the actual application of existing splicing is to tie the optical fiber into a large ceramic sleeve and make it into a movable connector, which is connected using a special flange. Because of its large size and high cost, it is usually only applicable to the optical port of the device, where it is necessary to frequently realize the location of optical interruption and continuation. At present, the optical fiber splicing method is generally not used at the location where two sections of optical fiber need to be connected.
[0064] Therefore, in view of the defects of the existing splicing method, please combine Figure 8 The present application embodiment provides a fiber splicing method of the above-mentioned fiber splicing device, comprising:
[0065] S1: Take two sections of optical fiber to be connected by using the first optical fiber holder 21 and the second optical fiber holder 22 and place them in the first external fixture 11;
[0066] S2: Align the two optical fibers to be connected;
[0067] S3: injecting optical glue into the two sections of optical fibers to be connected respectively through the first glue applicator 31 and the second glue applicator 32, so that the optical fibers are bonded to the first external fixator 11;
[0068] S4: docking the first external fixator 11 with the second external fixator 12;
[0069] S5: Optical glue is injected into the two sections of optical fibers to be connected respectively by the first glue applicator 31 and the second glue applicator 32 , so that the optical fibers are bonded to the second external fixer 12 .
[0070] In an optional example, after the optical fiber is bonded to the second external fixer 12, the optical fiber splicing method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: S6: sleeve a heat shrink tube 4 on the outer peripheral side of the external fixer to tighten the external fixer.
[0071] In an optional example, during the bonding process of the optical fiber to the first external fixer 11 and the second external fixer 12, the optical fiber splicing method provided in the embodiment of the present application also includes: S7: irradiating the first external fixer 11 and the second external fixer 12 with ultraviolet rays through the light source 5 to accelerate the bonding speed of the optical fiber to the first external fixer 11 and the second external fixer 12.
[0072] In an optional example, during the bonding process of the optical fiber to the first external fixer 11 and the second external fixer 12 , the optical fiber splicing method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: S8: observing the splicing state of the optical fiber through the microscope 6 .
[0073] Specifically, the first external fixer 11 is firstly accurately placed in the holding groove to maintain a stable state, so that only the concave depression of the first external fixer 11 is retained on the connection alignment platform, so that the optical fiber to be connected can be easily placed in the concave depression. Secondly, two sections of optical fiber to be connected are placed in the concave depression of the first external fixer 11, and the optical fiber is fixed to the optical fiber holder. Furthermore, the glue is applied by the glue applicator. When the glue application reaches a satisfactory state, the ultraviolet optical glue between the optical fiber and the concave depression of the first external fixer 11 is cured by the ultraviolet optical glue bonding light source 5 to achieve the preliminary connection and alignment of the optical fiber. The upper external fixer is further held by the second external fixer 12 holder to cover the optical fiber and apply ultraviolet optical glue to achieve bonding of the optical fiber and the entire external fixer. Finally, the heat shrink tube 4 is pushed to the position of the external fixer for heat shrinkage to achieve reinforcement of the optical fiber connection.
[0074] In an optional example, the optical fiber splicing device includes a microscope 6 , and during the optical fiber splicing process, the connection status of the optical fibers is observed through the microscope 6 .
[0075] Adjust the optical fiber holder under the observation of microscope 6 to ensure the alignment of the optical fiber, and observe the glue application status through microscope 6.
[0076] The present application further provides a fiber splicing method based on the above fiber splicing device and auxiliary splicing device. Due to the use of the above fiber splicing device, the present application has all the effects of the above fiber splicing device. Through the device and method of the present application, the optical fiber can ensure a higher precision connection alignment in the connection cavity of the external fixator. At the same time, the external fixator can be processed into a relatively small size to meet the connection at any position in the optical fiber. Compared with the existing fiber splicing method, the fiber splicing method provided by the present application can achieve fast connection of optical fibers with a very small size and a more precise alignment method.
[0077] It should be noted that the phrases "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "an exemplary embodiment", "some embodiments", etc. mentioned in the specification indicate that the described embodiments may include certain features, structures or characteristics, but not every embodiment may include the certain features, structures or characteristics. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a certain feature, structure or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether explicitly or not explicitly described.
[0078] It should be easily understood that “on,” “above,” and “over” in the present disclosure should be interpreted in the broadest manner, so that “on” means not only “directly on something,” but also includes the meaning of “on something” with intervening features or layers therebetween, and “above” or “over” includes not only the meaning of “above” or “over,” but also may include the meaning of “above” or “over something” with no intervening features or layers therebetween (i.e., directly on something).
[0079] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "including a..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.
[0080] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.
Claims
1. An optical fiber splicing device, characterized in that: include: The external fixator is provided with a first end and a second end opposite to each other along its own axial direction, and comprises a first external fixator, a first connecting groove is provided at the center of the first external fixator, and a first injection groove is provided at the first end and the second end of the first external fixator respectively; The first connecting groove is used to place the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber to be connected, and the first injection groove is used to inject optical glue along the first end and the second end of the first external fixer to bond the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber to the first external fixer.
2. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The external fixator further comprises a second external fixator, a second connecting groove is provided at the center of the second external fixator, and a second injection groove is provided at the first end and the second end of the second external fixator respectively; The first external fixer is butted with the second external fixer in a radial direction, so that the first connection groove is butted with the second connection groove to form a connection cavity, and the first injection groove is butted with the second injection groove to form an injection cavity.
3. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the connecting cavity is matched with the diameters of the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber.
4. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the connecting cavity is smaller than the inner diameter of the injection cavity.
5. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the injection cavity is larger than the diameter of the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber, and the size difference between the inner diameter of the injection cavity and the first section of optical fiber and the second section of optical fiber is not less than 10 microns.
6. The optical fiber splicing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: It also includes a heat shrink tube, which is sleeved on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator and is used to tighten the external fixator.
7. An auxiliary splicing device, applied to the optical fiber splicing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: include: An external fixator holder, comprising a first external fixator holder and a second external fixator holder, wherein the first external fixator holder is used to hold the first external fixator, and the second external fixator holder is used to hold the second external fixator, so that the first external fixator and the second external fixator are butted against each other in a radial direction; An optical fiber holder, used for holding the optical fiber for movement, comprises a first optical fiber holder and a second optical fiber holder, wherein the first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder can move toward each other along the axial direction of the first external fixator so that the optical fiber can be docked in the first connection groove; as well as The glue applicator is arranged on the optical fiber holder, and includes a first glue applicator and a second glue applicator. The first glue applicator and the second glue applicator can apply optical glue into the external fixator along the injection cavity at the first end and the second end of the external fixator to bond the first section of optical fiber, the second section of optical fiber and the external fixator.
8. The auxiliary splicing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first external fixator holder and the second external fixator holder both include: A gripper body; a gripper horizontal adjustment member, disposed on the gripper body, for adjusting a horizontal movement distance of the first external fixator / the second external fixator, so as to adjust a position of the first external fixator / the second external fixator in a horizontal direction; and The holder vertical adjustment member is arranged on the holder body and is used to adjust the vertical movement distance of the first external fixator / the second external fixator so as to adjust the position of the first external fixator / the second external fixator in the vertical direction.
9. The auxiliary splicing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder both include: Clamping parts; An optical fiber horizontal adjustment member, disposed at the end of the clamping member, for adjusting the horizontal movement distance of the optical fiber to adjust the position of the optical fiber in the horizontal direction; and The optical fiber vertical adjustment member is arranged at the end of the clamping member and is used to adjust the vertical movement distance of the optical fiber so as to adjust the position of the optical fiber in the vertical direction.
10. The auxiliary splicing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder further include an angle adjustment member, which is disposed at the end of the clamping member and is used to adjust the orientation angle of the optical fiber.
11. The auxiliary splicing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a light source, which is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator holder and is used to irradiate the optical fiber to cure the optical adhesive.
12. The auxiliary splicing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a microscope, which is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator holder and is used to observe the connection status of the optical fiber.
13. An optical fiber splicing method of the optical fiber splicing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, using the auxiliary splicing device according to any one of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that: include: Take two sections of optical fiber to be connected by using the first optical fiber holder and the second optical fiber holder and place them in the first external fixture; Align the two optical fibers to be connected; Injecting optical glue into the two sections of optical fiber to be connected respectively by a first glue applicator and a second glue applicator, so that the optical fiber is bonded to the first external fixator; docking the first external fixator with the second external fixator; Optical glue is injected into the two sections of optical fiber to be connected respectively by the first glue applicator and the second glue applicator, so that the optical fiber is adhered to the second external fixer.
14. The optical fiber splicing method according to claim 13, characterized in that: After the optical fiber is bonded to the second external fixator, the optical fiber splicing method further comprises: A heat shrink tube is sleeved on the outer peripheral side of the external fixator to tighten the external fixator.
15. The optical fiber splicing method according to claim 13, characterized in that: During the bonding of the optical fiber to the first external fixator and the second external fixator, the optical fiber splicing method further comprises: The first external fixer and the second external fixer are irradiated with ultraviolet rays by a light source to accelerate the bonding strength between the optical fiber and the first external fixer and the second external fixer.
16. The optical fiber splicing method according to claim 13, characterized in that: During the bonding of the optical fiber to the first external fixator and the second external fixator, the optical fiber splicing method further comprises: Observe the splicing status of the optical fiber through a microscope.