Optical fiber full-automatic welding method and system

Abstract

The invention discloses an optical fiber full-automatic welding method and system. The welding method comprises the following steps that S1, two optical fibers are clamped, so that the two optical fibers are arranged reversely, and at the moment, the two optical fibers are located at initial positions; s2, respectively stripping the coating layers of the two optical fibers, and cleaning the stripping areas of the two optical fibers; s3, the stripping areas of the two optical fibers are rubbed in a sliding mode, so that the optical fibers are broken, and then a flat welding end face is formed; and S4, controlling the two optical fibers with the flat welding end surfaces to reach a target position, enabling the welding end surfaces of the two optical fibers to be aligned, and sequentially performing welding and coating operation on the two optical fibers so as to splice the two optical fibers into one optical fiber. Through the mode, the fusion splicing method provided by the invention can realize full-automatic stripping, cleaning, cutting, fusion splicing and coating operation of the optical fiber, and is matched with a fusion splicing system, so that the optical fiber processing efficiency is greatly improved, the quality consistency and reliability of the processed optical fiber are relatively high, and the production cost is greatly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of optical fiber processing, and particularly to a full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method and system. Background Art

[0002] In the industrial production process of fiber lasers, since various optical devices are usually connected by optical fibers, the optical fiber fusion splicing point is the weakest part of the system, and the processing quality of the fusion splicing point determines the stability of the fiber laser system. Optical fiber fusion splicing usually requires the cooperation of multiple devices with different functions to achieve.

[0003] However, there are usually some problems in the related processes. For example, for the cutting operation used to obtain the fusion splicing end face, in the prior art, it is usually by grinding or cutting. The grinding and polishing method can obtain a high-quality optical fiber end face, but the operation process is cumbersome, and the dust generated during the grinding process will pollute the environment; the cutting method is simple in operation and high in processing efficiency, but the disadvantage is that during the cutting process of large-core optical fibers, the pressing block for clamping the optical fiber will apply torsional stress to the optical fiber, resulting in a large inclination angle of the cut optical fiber end face, and the existence of this stress will cause the optical fiber to vibrate when breaking, damaging the blade and resulting in poor cutting quality.

[0004] Based on this, the present application proposes a new full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method and system to overcome the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application mainly provides a full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method and system to solve the problems of poor cutting quality and low processing efficiency in the prior art.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted in the present application is: A full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method includes the following steps: S1: Clamp two optical fibers so that the two optical fibers are arranged in the reverse direction. At this time, the two optical fibers are in the initial position; S2: Remove the coating layers of the two optical fibers respectively, and clean the removed areas of the two optical fibers; S3: Slide and rub the removed areas of the two optical fibers so that the optical fibers break to form flat fusion splicing end faces; S4: Control the two optical fibers with flat fusion splicing end faces to reach the target position, align the fusion splicing end faces of the two optical fibers, and perform fusion splicing and coating operations on them in sequence to splice the two optical fibers into one optical fiber.

[0007] As a preferred solution, after step S2 and before step S3, it further includes: putting two optical fibers under a preset tensile force, and respectively hitting two laser beams on the stripped areas of the two optical fibers to eliminate the stress of the optical fibers.

[0008] As a preferred solution, in step S2, the stripped coating layer is recycled to ensure the cleanliness of the stripped area of the optical fiber.

[0009] As a preferred solution, the stripping operation in step S2 includes: driving the stripping tool to act on the coating layer to be stripped of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber can rotate step by step at a preset angle.

[0010] As a preferred solution, the cleaning operation in step S2 includes: driving the wiping belt to clean the stripped area of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber can rotate step by step at a preset angle.

[0011] As a preferred solution, the fusion splicing operation in step S4 includes: hitting two laser beams set at a preset angle on the two aligned optical fibers, thereby realizing fusion splicing.

[0012] As another aspect of the present invention, a full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system is also proposed, which includes a laser, a beam splitting module, and a corresponding fixture assembly and processing mechanism. Among them, the fixture assembly and the processing mechanism are both configured to be two, so as to perform the method described in any one of the above on two optical fibers.

[0013] As a preferred solution, both the fixture assembly and the processing mechanism are arranged on the carrier table.

[0014] As a preferred solution, each processing mechanism includes an observation lens, and the observation lens is used to observe the butting situation of the two butted optical fibers.

[0015] As a preferred solution, it further includes a first optical path component, a second optical path component, and a third optical path component. Both the first optical path component and the second optical path component include a plurality of reflectors to define two non-interfering optical paths, respectively guiding the laser beams to the stripped areas of different optical fibers; the third optical path component includes a beam splitter and a plurality of reflectors. The beam splitter is used to split a laser beam into two laser beams, and the plurality of reflectors are used to define the optical path of the laser beam so as to make the two laser beams incident on the butting part of the two optical fibers to perform fusion splicing on the two optical fibers.

[0016] The beneficial effect of this application is: Different from the prior art, this application discloses a full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method and system. The fusion splicing method proposed by the present invention can realize the full-automatic stripping, cleaning, cutting, and coating operations of optical fibers. Cooperating with the fusion splicing system, the optical fiber processing efficiency is greatly improved, and the quality consistency and reliability of the processed optical fibers are both relatively high, and the production cost is greatly reduced. Description of the Drawings

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of the full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method provided by the present application; Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the first embodiment of the full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system provided by the present application; Figure 3 is Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the fixture assembly and its adjustment mechanism in the full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system; Figure 4 is Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the processing mechanism in the full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system; Figure 5 is Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the stripping module in the processing mechanism; Figure 6 is Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the cleaning module in the processing mechanism; Figure 7 is Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the cutting module in the processing mechanism; Figure 8 is Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the coating module in the full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system. Detailed implementation manners

[0019] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0020] The terms "first", "second", and "third" in the embodiments of the present application are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first", "second", and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically and clearly defined. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further includes steps or units not listed, or optionally further includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0021] Reference to "embodiments" in this context means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The phrase appears in various places in the specification and does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0022] The present application provides a fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method. Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 , which is a flowchart of the fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method provided by the present application. It includes the following steps: S1: Clamp two optical fibers so that the two optical fibers are arranged in the reverse direction. At this time, the two optical fibers are in the initial position; S2: Remove the coating layers of the two optical fibers respectively, and clean the stripped areas of the two optical fibers; S3: Scratch the stripped areas of the two optical fibers so that the optical fibers break to form flat fusion splicing end faces; S4: Control the two optical fibers with flat fusion splicing end faces to reach the target position, align the fusion splicing end faces of the two optical fibers, and perform fusion splicing and coating operations on them in sequence to splice the two optical fibers into one optical fiber. It can be understood that after step S2 and before step S3, it further includes: making the two optical fibers under a preset tensile force, and respectively hitting two laser beams on the stripped areas of the two optical fibers to eliminate the stress of the optical fibers.

[0023] In step S2, the stripped coating layers are recycled to ensure the cleanliness of the stripped areas of the optical fibers.

[0024] The cleaning operation in step S2 includes: driving a wiping belt to clean the stripped areas of the optical fibers, and the optical fibers can rotate step by step at a preset angle.

[0025] The fusion splicing operation in step S4 includes: hitting two laser beams arranged at a preset angle on the two aligned optical fibers to achieve fusion splicing.

[0026] The present application also provides a fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system 100. Refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 which is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system provided by the present application.

[0027] The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system 100 includes two groups of fixture assemblies 10, an adjustment mechanism 20, two groups of processing mechanisms 30, a laser device 40, and a coating module 50. The two groups of fixture assemblies 10, the adjustment mechanism 20, the two groups of processing mechanisms 30, the laser device 40, and the coating module 50 are all arranged on a carrier table 101.

[0028] Among them, the two groups of fixture assemblies 10 are respectively used to clamp an optical fiber, and the two optical fibers are arranged in opposite directions. The two groups of fixture assemblies 10 are arranged in parallel, so that the two sections of the clamped and fixed optical fibers are parallel, and the two clamped optical fibers are arranged in opposite directions. Then, after cutting to form a flat fusion splicing end face, it is convenient to butt the fusion splicing end faces of the two optical fibers, achieving better butt joint quality between the fusion splicing end faces, and the two optical fibers can be spliced into one optical fiber after fusion splicing.

[0029] Refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 which is Figure 2 a schematic structural diagram of the fixture assembly and its adjustment mechanism in the fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system. The fixture assembly 10 includes a first fixture 11 and a second fixture 12, and the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 are used to clamp an optical fiber. The two groups of fixture assemblies 10 are installed on the adjustment mechanism 20, and the adjustment mechanism 20 is used to drive the two groups of fixture assemblies 10.

[0030] The adjustment mechanism 20 includes two first driving members 21 arranged side by side. The first fixtures 11 of the two groups of fixture assemblies 10 are respectively connected to a first driving member 21. Thus, the first driving member 21 can drive the first fixture 11 to move in the first direction, so that the optical fiber remaining on the first fixture 11 can be aligned and fused.

[0031] The adjustment mechanism 20 further includes a second driving member 22. The number of the second driving members 22 is four. The first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 are respectively connected to a second driving member 22. The second driving member 22 drives the corresponding first fixture 11 or second fixture 12 to move in the second direction, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. Among them, driving the first fixture 11 and / or the second fixture 12 in the second direction can apply a pulling force to the clamped optical fiber or butt the two optical fibers.

[0032] Optionally, the number of the second driving members 22 is two, and the two first fixtures 11 are respectively connected to the corresponding second driving members 22.

[0033] The adjusting mechanism 20 further includes four third driving members 23. The first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 are respectively connected to one of the third driving members 23. The third driving member 23 drives the corresponding first fixture 11 or second fixture 12 to rotate around the second direction to rotationally adjust the optical fiber.

[0034] Refer to Figure 2 and Figure 4 wherein Figure 4 is Figure 2 a schematic structural diagram of the processing mechanism in the fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system. Two sets of processing mechanisms 30 are respectively arranged corresponding to two sets of fixture assemblies 10, and each includes a stripping module 32, a cleaning module 34 and a cutting module 36. The stripping module 32 is used to strip the coating layer of the optical fiber clamped by the fixture assembly 10. The cleaning module 34 cleans the stripping area of the optical fiber. The cutting module 36 is used to scratch the stripping area of the optical fiber under a preset tensile force so that the optical fiber breaks to remove the end of the optical fiber.

[0035] In this embodiment, the first set of processing mechanisms 30 is arranged vertically corresponding to the first set of fixture assemblies 10, and the second set of processing mechanisms 30 is arranged horizontally corresponding to the second set of fixture assemblies 10.

[0036] The carrying platform 101 is provided with a gantry 102. The first set of processing mechanisms 30 is installed on the gantry 102 and arranged in a vertical posture, and the second set of processing mechanisms 30 is installed on the carrying platform 101 and arranged in a horizontal posture, so that the two sets of processing mechanisms 30 can be staggered from each other to avoid mutual interference.

[0037] The first set of processing mechanisms 30 sequentially strip the coating layer, clean the stripping area and scratch the stripped area after cleaning of the optical fiber clamped on the first set of fixture assemblies 10. The second set of processing mechanisms 30 sequentially strip the coating layer, clean the stripping area and scratch the stripped area after cleaning of the optical fiber clamped on the second set of fixture assemblies 10. These two processing processes can be carried out simultaneously.

[0038] The stripping module 32, the cleaning module 34 and the cutting module 36 are arranged side by side and move sequentially along the second direction under drive, so as to act on the optical fiber sequentially.

[0039] Among them, the stripping module 32 uses a stripping tool to strip the coating layer in a preset area on the optical fiber. The tool exit position and the cutting depth of the stripping tool can be accurately controlled, so that the stripping opening of the optical fiber is neat and smooth; the cleaning module 34 collects the wiping belt to clean the stripping area. By using the cleaning module 34 to replace manual wiping, the wiping efficiency can be improved, and the areas that are not cleaned or missed due to human factors can be avoided, improving the cleaning quality and consistency; the cutting module 36 uses a cutting tool to scratch the stripping area of the optical fiber, so that the optical fiber breaks from the scratch under a preset tension, thereby forming a relatively flat splicing end face.

[0040] In addition, after the cleaning module 34 finishes cleaning the stripping area, the laser device 40 is used to irradiate the laser on the stripping area of the optical fiber to complete stress elimination before scratching; the two sets of fixture assemblies 10 are also used to align the remaining optical fiber, and the laser device 40 is also used to splice the two aligned optical fibers. The coating module 50 is used to recoat the spliced optical fiber, thereby splicing two optical fibers into one optical fiber.

[0041] By setting two sets of fixture assemblies 10 to clamp and fix the optical fiber, and the stripping module 32 can automatically strip the coating layer of the optical fiber, and the cleaning module 34 can automatically clean the stripping area of the optical fiber. The laser device 40 also eliminates the stress of the optical fiber before scratching the optical fiber to release the stress during the clamping process. Eliminating the stress can reduce the assembly difficulty of the fixture assembly, improve the quality of the splicing end face, make the subsequent formed splicing end face flatter, reduce the damage of the optical fiber to the cutting tool, effectively improve the stability of optical fiber cutting, and extend the service life of the cutting tool; the fixture assembly 10 also applies a tension to the optical fiber, and the cutting module 36 scratches the stripping area of the optical fiber under a preset tension, so that the optical fiber breaks, thereby forming a flat splicing end face. By accurately controlling the preset tension and the scratching force applied to the optical fiber, the cutting quality of the optical fiber can be improved, the splicing end face formed after optical fiber cutting is flatter, and the damage to the cutting tool is also reduced; the fixture assembly 10 further aligns the remaining optical fiber, and the laser device 40 can splice the two aligned optical fibers in sequence. Subsequently, the coating module recoats the spliced optical fiber, thereby forming a complete optical fiber. The whole process runs automatically and orderly according to the program without manual operation intervention, greatly improving the efficiency of manufacturing optical fibers, ensuring the consistency of manufacturing quality, and greatly reducing the labor cost.

[0042] In this embodiment, the fixture assembly 10 further includes an optical fiber support (not shown in the figure). The optical fiber support is arranged between the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12. The optical fiber support is provided with a first V-groove (not shown in the figure), and the optical fiber clamped by the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 is also located in the first V-groove.

[0043] Refer toFigure 5 , Figure 5 is Figure 4 a schematic structural view of the stripping module in the processing mechanism. The stripping module 32 includes a first driving mechanism 320 and a stripping tool 322. The first driving mechanism 320 is connected to the stripping tool 322 and is used to drive the stripping tool 322 to act on the coating layer to be stripped of the optical fiber and strip a preset length of the coating layer. The part of the optical fiber to be stripped is located in the first V-groove. Wherein, the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 are also used to gradually rotate the optical fiber at a preset angle so that the stripping tool 322 can strip the new coating layer to be stripped.

[0044] The first V-groove bears the optical fiber, which can make the central axis of the optical fiber collinear in the first V-groove, and the position of the optical fiber will not shift, so as to ensure that the stripping incision of the stripping tool 322 on the optical fiber and the cutting depth at each place are consistent, the stripping opening of the optical fiber can be neat and smooth, and the coaxiality of the optical fiber rotation can also be ensured, improving the quality stability of the optical fiber.

[0045] The first driving mechanism 320 drives the stripping tool 322 to move, controls the cutting position and cutting depth of the stripping tool 322, and with the assistance of the optical fiber support, the stripping depth of the stripping tool 322 for each coating layer can be kept consistent, and the stripping opening of the optical fiber is also neat and smooth.

[0046] The first driving mechanism 320 is a three-dimensional electric slide table, which can drive the stripping tool 322 to move forward and backward, left and right, and up and down. In this embodiment, the first direction is the front-back direction, the second direction is the left-right direction, and the third direction is the up-down direction. The first driving mechanism 320 can also be a combination of multiple driving parts, such as a combination of multiple motors and screw rod mechanisms, or a combination of multiple motors and belt mechanisms.

[0047] The specific process of stripping the coating layer is as follows: The first driving mechanism 320 lowers the stripping tool 322 along the third direction from the standby position to contact the coating layer to be stripped of the optical fiber, controls the cutting depth, moves the stripping tool 322 along the second direction, so as to strip a preset length of the coating layer, then controls the stripping tool 322 to rise a certain height to disengage from the optical fiber, and then rotates the optical fiber by a preset angle through the fixture assembly 10. The preset angle can be determined by the number of stripping times, and the preset angle is the ratio of 360 degrees to the number of stripping times. Then control the stripping tool 322 to return to the contact position with the coating layer to be stripped of the optical fiber, and cycle the stripping of the coating layer. After the 360-degree stripping of the optical fiber is completed, control the stripping tool 322 to return to the standby position.

[0048] The first driving mechanism 320 has high motion accuracy and can accurately regulate the downward cutting position and depth of the stripping tool 322, so that the downward cutting position and depth of the stripping tool 322 are the same each time. With the assistance of the optical fiber bracket, the stripping depth of the coating layer at each position is consistent, so that the stripping opening is neat and the stripping quality of the coating layer is high.

[0049] After the stripping tool 322 is used to strip at the same position a certain number of times, it will become blunt. The first driving mechanism 320 can also drive the stripping tool 322 along the first direction to adjust the contact of different positions of the stripping tool 322 with the optical fiber, thereby extending the service life of the stripping tool 322.

[0050] At present, stripping pliers or wire stripping pliers with a heating device are often used to strip the coating layer of the optical fiber. The stripping openings of the optical fibers stripped by these methods are not neat, and due to heating, the coating layer and the optical fiber cladding at the stripping opening of the optical fiber will separate, generating a separation layer, resulting in poor stripping quality of the optical fiber coating layer. Through repeated experiments, it is found that the poor coating layer stripping method is an important reason for local heating and even burning of the optical path in high-power fiber lasers.

[0051] In this application, through the precise driving provided by the first driving mechanism 320, the stripping tool 322 is controlled to strip the coating layer of the optical fiber. It can accurately control the downward cutting position and depth each time, and with the assistance of the optical fiber bracket, the coaxiality of the optical fiber is ensured, making the stripping opening of the optical fiber neat and smooth, and improving the stability of the fiber laser.

[0052] The optical fiber bracket is provided with adsorption holes at the bottom of the first V-groove. The adsorption holes are used to adsorb the optical fiber in the first V-groove, which can prevent the optical fiber from moving during stripping; both the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 have second V-grooves. The second V-grooves are used to position and clamp the optical fiber. The second V-grooves are arranged coaxially with the first V-groove, avoiding the risk of optical fiber position deviation caused by non-coaxial fixtures during the rotation of the optical fiber fixture during stripping, resulting in uneven stripping openings of the optical fiber and damage to the optical fiber.

[0053] Furthermore, the stripping module 32 further includes a tool rest base 324 and a tool rest cover 326. The first driving mechanism 320 is connected to the tool rest base 324, and the stripping tool 322 is installed on the tool rest base 324, so that the stripping tool 322 strips the coating layer in a bevel cutting posture, which is more convenient for downward cutting; the tool rest cover 326 is connected to the tool rest base 324 and clamps and fixes the stripping tool 322. The tool rest cover 326 is provided with an air suction port 327. The air suction port 327 is stacked on the cutting edge of the stripping tool 322. The air suction port 327 is used to recover the stripped coating layer, thus ensuring the cleanliness of the stripped area of the optical fiber.

[0054] The tool rest cover 326 is also connected with a suction device to generate a negative pressure suction force in the blade area of the stripping tool 322 through the suction port 327, so as to collect the stripped coating layer and avoid the contamination of the optical fiber by the coating debris.

[0055] Refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 is Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram of the cleaning module in the processing mechanism.

[0056] In this embodiment, the cleaning module 34 includes a second driving mechanism 340, a wiping module 342 and a dropper 344. The second driving mechanism 340 is connected to the wiping module 342, and the dropper 344 is connected to the wiping module 342 for dripping a cleaning liquid onto the wiping belt on the wiping module 342. The second driving mechanism 340 is used to drive the wiping belt to clean the stripping area of the optical fiber; wherein, the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 are also used to gradually rotate the optical fiber at a preset angle so that the wiping belt can clean a new stripping area.

[0057] The second driving mechanism 340 may include a vertical electric slide and a horizontal electric slide. The vertical electric slide is connected to the horizontal electric slide, and the wiping module 342 is connected to the vertical electric slide. The horizontal electric slide is used to drive the wiping module 342 to move along the second direction to adjust the cleaning position of the optical fiber, and the vertical electric slide is used to drive the wiping module 342 to move up and down along the third direction to adjust the wiping force between the wiping belt and the optical fiber.

[0058] The cleaning module 34 further includes a cleaning bottle and a pump. The cleaning bottle is connected to the pump through a pipeline, and the pump is connected to the dropper 344 through a pipeline to drip the cleaning liquid onto the wiping belt through the dropper 344. The pump can control the amount of cleaning liquid during the wiping process, and the cleaning liquid can be alcohol or clean water, etc.

[0059] Specifically, the wiping module 342 includes a first rotating shaft 341, a second rotating shaft 343, a movable pulley 345, a plurality of fixed pulleys 346, a first photoelectric sensor 347 and a second photoelectric sensor 348. Both ends of the wiping belt are respectively wound around the first rotating shaft 341 and the second rotating shaft 343, and the wiping belt is also guided by the movable pulley 345 and the plurality of fixed pulleys 346; the movable pulley 345 is arranged adjacent to the first rotating shaft 341, and the first photoelectric sensor 347 and the second photoelectric sensor 348 are respectively arranged on both sides of the movable pulley 345.

[0060] When the first photoelectric sensor 347 detects the movable pulley 345, the rotation of the first rotating shaft 341 pauses, and the rotation of the second rotating shaft 343 starts, so that the wiping belt applies a pulling force to the movable pulley 345, thereby driving the movable pulley 345 to move towards the second photoelectric sensor 348; when the second photoelectric sensor 348 detects the movable pulley 345, the rotation of the second rotating shaft 343 pauses, and the rotation of the first rotating shaft 341 starts, so that the pulling force of the wiping belt on the movable pulley 345 decreases, and then the movable pulley 345 moves back towards the first photoelectric sensor 347.

[0061] The first rotating shaft 341 and the second rotating shaft 343 are respectively driven to rotate by motors. The wiping belt can be a lint-free cloth, which is installed on the first rotating shaft 341 and guided by the movable pulley 345 and multiple fixed pulleys 346 and then transmitted to the second rotating shaft 343 for recycling on the second rotating shaft 343.

[0062] The wiping module 342 includes a support frame. The second driving mechanism 340 is connected to the support frame. The first rotating shaft 341, the second rotating shaft 343, the movable pulley 345, multiple fixed pulleys 346, the first photoelectric sensor 347, the second photoelectric sensor 348 and the dropper 344 are all connected to the support frame. The movable pulley 345 is movably connected to the support frame and can reciprocate between the first photoelectric sensor 347 and the second photoelectric sensor 348 under the action of pulling force and elastic force. The pulling force is provided by the wiping belt, and the elastic force is provided by elastic members such as springs. The spring can specifically be a compression spring or a torsion spring; when the pulling force is greater than the elastic force, the movable pulley 345 moves towards the second photoelectric sensor 348; when the elastic force is greater than the pulling force, the movable pulley 345 moves towards the first photoelectric sensor 347; induction sheets are respectively arranged on both sides of the movable pulley 345. When the movable pulley 345 moves to the first photoelectric sensor 347 or the second photoelectric sensor 348, the induction sheets can be detected by the first photoelectric sensor 347 or the second photoelectric sensor 348. By cyclically controlling the start and stop of the first rotating shaft 341 and the second rotating shaft 343, the consumption of the wiping belt can be saved while ensuring the cleaning quality of the optical fiber.

[0063] Multiple fixed pulleys 346 are connected to the support frame to define the movement path of the wiping belt, so that the wiping belt can move more smoothly. Some of the fixed pulleys 346 are used to tension the wiping belt, some fixed pulleys 346 are used to change the movement path of the wiping belt, and some fixed pulleys 346 are used to make the wiping belt form an attitude that can contact the optical fiber.

[0064] In the specific wiping process, the second driving mechanism 340 drives the wiping belt to move into contact with the stripping area of the optical fiber and form a certain wiping force, and move along the extension direction of the optical fiber to wipe the optical fiber. During the movement, the first rotating shaft 341 and the second rotating shaft 343 cyclically start and stop to clean the stripping area of the optical fiber.

[0065] In the process of manufacturing high-power fiber lasers, impurities are likely to be generated in the fiber cladding after the fiber coating is stripped. Therefore, it is usually necessary to clean the cladding area of the fiber with the stripped coating. The cleaning effect of large-core fibers affects the further improvement of the power of fiber lasers and the stability of products.

[0066] Compared with the current defects of manually wiping the fiber cladding: the wiping force is not easy to control, it is impossible to keep the wiping force consistent. If the force is too large, it is easy to damage the fiber stripping port; if the force is too small, it cannot be cleaned thoroughly; manual operation cannot accurately rotate the fiber, which easily leads to incomplete cleaning of some areas of the fiber and there are cleaning omission areas; the manual wiping efficiency is low. The cleaning module 34 provided in this application can accurately control the cleaning force of the wiping belt on the fiber stripping area by using the second driving mechanism 340, achieving no damage to the fiber and clean cleaning. At the same time, the fixture assembly 10 can rotate the fiber step by step at a preset angle to ensure that the stripped area of the fiber is cleaned comprehensively and without dead angles, avoiding the existence of cleaning omission areas, and the cleaning module 34 runs automatically with high cleaning efficiency.

[0067] With reference to Figure 3 and Figure 7 , in which Figure 7 is Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram of the cutting module in the processing mechanism.

[0068] The fixture assembly 10 applies a preset pulling force to the fiber after cleaning the stripped area of the fiber; the cutting module 36 includes a third driving mechanism 360, a scratching driving mechanism 362 and a cutting tool 364. The third driving mechanism 360 is connected to the scratching driving mechanism 362, and the cutting tool 364 is installed on the scratching driving mechanism 362. The third driving mechanism 360 is used to perform a primary drive on the scratching driving mechanism 362 and the cutting tool 364, so that the cutting tool 364 approaches the stripped area of the fiber, and the scratching driving mechanism 362 is used to perform a secondary drive on the cutting tool 364, so that the cutting tool 364 scratches the stripped area of the fiber.

[0069] The third driving mechanism 360 may include a vertical electric slide and a horizontal electric slide. The vertical electric slide is connected to the horizontal electric slide, and the scratching driving mechanism 362 is connected to the vertical electric slide; the third driving mechanism 360 adjusts the contact position between the cutting tool 364 and the fiber, and the scratching driving mechanism 362 is used to drive the cutting tool 364 to scratch the fiber, so that the fiber breaks at the scratching position under the preset pulling force to form a flat port.

[0070] The cutting tool 364 is finely driven in multiple stages by the third driving mechanism 360 and the scratching driving mechanism 362, so that the cutting tool 364 can stably scratch the optical fiber with the same scratching force, ensuring that the quality of each optical fiber cutting is consistent.

[0071] The scratching driving mechanism 362 includes a mounting bracket 363, a driving motor 365 and a rotating pulley 366. The driving motor 365 and the rotating pulley 366 are both arranged on the mounting bracket 363. The driving motor 365 is connected to the rotating pulley 366 through belt drive. The cutting tool 364 is mounted on the rotating pulley 366. Among them, the rotating pulley 366 drives the cutting tool 364 to rotate a preset angle, so that the cutting tool 364 scratches the optical fiber, and then the scratched optical fiber breaks at the scratching part under a preset tensile force.

[0072] Optical fiber cutting is an important link in the optical fiber fusion process. Optical fiber fusion almost always requires the optical fiber tip to have a smooth and flat end face perpendicular to the optical fiber axis. The flatness and smoothness of the optical fiber end face directly affect the performance of the fusion point of two optical fibers. The flatter and smoother the optical fiber end face, the smaller the deformation of the optical fiber during the fusion hot pressing process, the lower the loss of the optical fiber, and the higher the power that the optical fiber can withstand.

[0073] The fixture assembly 10 provided in this application applies a preset tensile force to the optical fiber. The cutting module 36 scratches the optical fiber in the stripping area with a consistent force. When the set tensile force value is reached, the cutting tool is finely controlled to cut the optical fiber to break it. This method can accurately control the tensile force on the optical fiber and the scratching force of the cutting tool, so that the quality of the formed optical fiber end face is relatively high. Compared with obtaining a smooth and flat optical fiber end face by grinding, the grinding process is cumbersome, and it is easy to generate dust to pollute the optical fiber and the operating environment, and the efficiency is low. The cutting-like method of tensile force and scratching adopted in this application takes advantage of the fact that the main material of the optical fiber is glass material, and its property is brittle. This method can efficiently cut the optical fiber and obtain a high-quality optical fiber end face, and basically no dust will be generated.

[0074] Furthermore, as Figure 3 shown, each set of processing mechanisms 30 further includes an observation lens 33. After the observation lens 33 moves to the designated position, it can observe the two butt-jointed optical fibers, and then control the fixture assembly 10 to align the optical fibers through the observed images. After the alignment is completed, fusion is carried out.

[0075] The laser device 40 includes a laser, a beam splitting module, a first optical path component, a second optical path component, and a third optical path component. The beam splitting module is used to split the laser generated by the laser into two beams and direct them to the first optical path component and the second optical path component after the cleaning module has completed cleaning. The first optical path component is used to direct the laser onto the stripped area of one of the optical fibers, and the second optical path component is used to direct the laser onto the stripped area of the other optical fiber to eliminate stress before scribing. The two sets of fixture components are also used to align the remaining optical fibers. The beam splitting module is further used to split the laser generated by the laser into two beams and direct them to the third optical path component after the two optical fibers are aligned. The third optical path component is used to fuse the two aligned optical fibers.

[0076] The beam splitting module controllably distributes the laser to the first optical path component, the second optical path component, or the third optical path component. When eliminating stress, stress can be eliminated from the two optical fibers simultaneously. Thus, the beam splitting module splits the laser emitted by the laser into two beams at the same moment, and the two beams of laser are respectively incident on the first optical path component and the second optical path component to eliminate stress from the two optical fibers respectively. When fusing, the beam splitting module splits the laser into two beams and directs them to the third optical path component.

[0077] Among them, the third optical path component is used to direct two beams of laser set at a preset angle onto the butted optical fibers for fusing. For example, the two beams of laser can be incident on the optical fibers at an included angle of 150 degrees, 160 degrees, or 170 degrees.

[0078] Both the first optical path component and the second optical path component include multiple reflectors to define two non-interfering optical paths and direct the laser to different optical fibers respectively. The third optical path component includes a beam splitter and multiple reflectors. The beam splitter can split a beam of laser into two beams of laser, and the multiple reflectors can define the optical path of the laser and direct the two split beams of laser onto the butted part of the two optical fibers at different angles to fuse the optical fibers.

[0079] By heating the optical fiber with laser to the molten state before cutting, the torsional stress generated by the non-alignment of the two fixtures in the fixture component 10 clamping the optical fiber and the pressing of the optical fiber can be released. Releasing the stress has the following main advantages: reducing the assembly difficulty of the first fixture 11 and the second fixture 12 for the optical fiber; improving the quality of the fusion end face, making the formed fusion end face flatter and the angle smaller; reducing the damage of the optical fiber to the cutting tool, improving the stability of optical fiber cutting, and extending the service life of the cutting tool.

[0080] By using two beams of laser to be incident on the butted part of the two optical fibers at a preset included angle, that is, setting lasers on both sides of the butted part for fusing, energy can be evenly injected from both sides of the butted part, and the butted ends of the two optical fibers can be melted simultaneously, and the two optical fibers can be efficiently fused into one optical fiber.

[0081] Refer to Figure 8 ,Figure 8 Yes Figure 2 Schematic structural diagram of the coating module in the fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system.

[0082] The coating module 50 includes a fourth driving mechanism 51, a nozzle 52, a first coating fixture 53 and a second coating fixture 54. The fourth driving mechanism 51 is connected to the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54. Both the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 are provided with accommodation grooves 530. The fourth driving mechanism 51 is used to drive the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 to close, so as to limit the stripped area of the fused optical fiber in the accommodation cavity defined by the two accommodation grooves 530 buckled together. The nozzle 52 is arranged on the first coating fixture 53 and is used to spray coating liquid into the accommodation cavity.

[0083] The fourth driving mechanism 51 includes a vertical electric slide and a lifting displacement slide. The lifting displacement slide is arranged on the vertical electric slide. The first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 are connected to the vertical electric slide. The vertical electric slide is used to drive the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 to approach the fused optical fiber. The lifting displacement slide is used to drive the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 to close, so as to limit the stripped area of the fused optical fiber in the accommodation cavity defined by the two accommodation grooves 530 buckled together, and separate the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 after coating is completed.

[0084] The fourth driving mechanism 51 may further include a horizontal electric slide, and the horizontal electric slide is used to adjust the positions of the first coating fixture 53 and the second coating fixture 54 in the horizontal direction, so as to facilitate clamping the fusion joint of the optical fiber.

[0085] Optionally, the coating module 50 and one of the sets of processing mechanisms 30 may also be arranged on the same moving platform. Thus, under the drive of this moving platform, the stripping module 32, the cleaning module 34, the cutting module 36 and the coating module 50 complete their respective corresponding processes in sequence.

[0086] The moving platform can be a horizontal moving platform or a planar moving platform, and the planar moving platform can provide movement in two perpendicular directions.

[0087] The coating module 50 may further include a glue bottle and a peristaltic pump. The peristaltic pump is used to pump the coating glue in the glue bottle to the nozzle 52 to re-coat the optical fiber through the nozzle 52.

[0088] Optionally, an external conduit can also be used to pump glue to the nozzle 52.

[0089] Different from the prior art, the present application discloses a full-automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method and system. The fusion splicing method proposed by the present invention can realize the full-automatic stripping, cleaning, cutting and coating operations of optical fibers. Cooperating with the fusion splicing system, the optical fiber processing efficiency is greatly improved, and the quality consistency and reliability of the processed optical fibers are relatively high, and the production cost is greatly reduced. By setting two sets of fixture components to clamp and fix the optical fiber, the stripping module can automatically strip the coating layer of the optical fiber, the cleaning module can automatically clean the stripped area of the optical fiber, and the laser device also eliminates the stress of the optical fiber before scratching the optical fiber to release the stress during the clamping process. Stress elimination can reduce the assembly difficulty of the fixture components, improve the quality of the fusion splicing end face, make the subsequent formed fusion splicing end face flatter, reduce the damage of the optical fiber to the cutting tool, effectively improve the stability of optical fiber cutting, and extend the service life of the cutting tool; the fixture components also apply a pulling force to the optical fiber, and the cutting module scratches the stripped area of the optical fiber under a preset pulling force, so that the optical fiber breaks, thereby a flat fusion splicing end face can be formed. By precisely controlling the preset pulling force and scratching force applied to the optical fiber, the cutting quality of the optical fiber can be improved, the fusion splicing end face formed after optical fiber cutting is flatter, and the damage to the cutting tool is also reduced; the fixture components further align the remaining optical fiber, and the laser device can fuse two aligned optical fibers in sequence, and then the coating module recoats the fused optical fiber, thereby forming a complete optical fiber. The whole process runs automatically and orderly according to the program without manual operation intervention, so that the efficiency of manufacturing optical fibers is greatly improved, the consistency of manufacturing quality can be guaranteed, and the labor cost is also greatly reduced.

[0090] The above are only the embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the specification and drawings of the present application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, shall be equally included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An all - automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method, characterized in that, The steps include: S1: Clamping two optical fibers so that the two optical fibers are arranged in opposite directions. At this time, the two optical fibers are located at initial positions; S2: stripping the coating layers of the two optical fibers respectively, and cleaning the stripped areas of the two optical fibers; S3: Sliding and rubbing the stripped areas of the two optical fibers to break the optical fibers and form a smooth fusion splice end face; S4: Control the two optical fibers with smooth fusion end faces to reach a target position so that the fusion end faces of the two optical fibers are aligned, and perform fusion splicing and coating operations on them in sequence to splice the two optical fibers into one optical fiber.

2. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After step S2 and before step S3, the method further includes: placing the two optical fibers under a preset tension, and respectively directing two laser beams at the stripping areas of the two optical fibers to eliminate stress on the optical fibers.

3. The optical fiber fully automatic fusion splicing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step S2, the stripped coating layer is recovered to ensure the cleanliness of the stripped area of the optical fiber.

4. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 1, wherein The stripping operation in step S2 includes: driving a stripping tool to act on the coating layer of the optical fiber to be stripped, and the optical fiber can be gradually rotated at a preset angle.

5. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 1, wherein The cleaning operation in step S2 includes: driving a wiping belt to clean the stripped area of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber can be rotated step by step at a preset angle.

6. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing method according to claim 1, characterized in that The fusion splicing operation in step S4 includes: directing two laser beams set at a preset angle onto the two aligned optical fibers, thereby achieving fusion splicing.

7. An all - automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system, characterized in that, The apparatus comprises a laser, a light splitting module, and correspondingly arranged clamp components and processing mechanisms, wherein the clamp components and the processing mechanisms are configured in pairs, so as to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 on the two optical fibers.

8. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system according to claim 7, wherein, The clamp assembly and the processing mechanism are both arranged on a carrying platform.

9. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system according to claim 7, wherein Each of the processing mechanisms includes an observation lens, which is used to observe the docking status of the two docked optical fibers.

10. The fully automatic optical fiber fusion splicing system according to claim 7, characterized in that, It also includes a first optical path component, a second optical path component and a third optical path component. The first optical path component and the second optical path component each include multiple reflectors to define two non-interfering optical paths, respectively guiding the laser to the areas to be stripped of different optical fibers; the third optical path component includes a beam splitter and multiple reflectors. The beam splitter is used to split a laser beam into two laser beams, and the multiple reflectors are used to define the optical path of the laser so that the two laser beams are incident on the butt joint of the two optical fibers to fuse the two optical fibers.

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