Optical waveguides – With splice – Fusion splicing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-25
2001-02-20
Spyrou, Cassandra (Department: 2872)
Optical waveguides
With splice
Fusion splicing
C385S095000, C385S134000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06190057
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber ribbon fusion splicing apparatus that is used to strip off the jacket of optical fibers at end portion and splice the fiber end to each other, and more specially relates to an optical fiber ribbon Fusion splicing apparatus having an optical fiber jacket stripper.
2. Related Background Art
An optical fiber jacket stripper, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-147503 is known. This stripper is used to heat and soften the synthetic resin jackets of the distal ends of optical fibers and then strip them off when the optical fibers are to be spliced to each other. Since the jackets are removed after they are heated and softened, the jackets can be cleanly removed without any damage to the bare optical fibers inside the jackets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above jacket stripper is connected to an external power supply through a connection cord to be used. When an operator performs jacket removing operation while holding this jacket stripper with his/her hand, the connection cord may interfere with the operation. Therefore it is desired to improve such a jacket stripper to achieve further workability in a fusion-splicing process including jacket removal.
The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and provides a fusion-splicing apparatus which can strip off the optical fiber jackets and splice the optical fiber ends to each other with high workability.
An optical fiber ribbon Fusion splicing apparatus according to the present invention comprises an optical fiber jacket stripper and a fusion splicer. The jacket stripper includes a hand-held main body, a power supply input terminal formed on one surface of the main body, a clamping and heating element for clamping a distal end portion of an optical fiber jacket and softening the distal end portion by heating with a heat accumulator which is electrically heated and has a large heat capacity, a pair of cutting blades for cutting a fiber jacket, and a jacket stripping mechanism which is placed to oppose the clamping and heating element through the cutting blades and which slides in a longitudinal direction of the optical fibers with respect to the clamping and heating element while clamping the proximal end portion of the optical fiber, thereby stripping off the fiber jacket from the distal end portion. And the fusion splicer includes a fusion splicing portion for fusion-splicing the opposing end faces of optical fibers whose jackets are stripped off by the jacket stripper, a power supply unit connected to an external power supply or an internal power supply which is a built-in electric power generating unit or a rechargeable battery, a mount portion formed on upper surface of the optical fusion splicer for mounting the jacket stripper, and a contact terminal disposed at the mount portion and electrically connected to the power supply input terminal when the jacket stripper is mounted on the mount portion.
According to the present invention when the jacket stripper is mounted on the mount portion of the fusion splicer while the jacket stripper is not used, power can be easily supplied to the jacket stripper. The jacket stripper attached to the fusion splicing apparatus of the present invention can be disconnected from the power supply when the remover is to be used. In jacket removing operation, therefore, the connection cord that may interfere with the operation need not be used. This facilitates the operation. Even when the power supply to the clamping and heating element is disconnected in this operation, the heat accumulator with the large heat capacity can substantially prevent a drop in the temperature of the clamping and heating element during the time required to soften the fiber jacket. Consequently, the fiber jacket can be reliably and easily removed without any damage to the bare optical fiber inside the fiber jacket.
Preferably, the heat accumulator can keep a temperature of the clamping and heating element at 60° C. and above for 30 seconds after the power supply to the clamping and heating element is stopped when the temperature of the clamping and heating element rises over 70° C.
With this arrangement, adequate temperature can be kept for a sufficiently long period of time to soften the fiber jacket.
Preferably, the jacket stripper has a rechargeable battery in the main body, the rechargeable battery being capable of supply power to the clamping and heating element. In this case, even if the power from the fusion-splicing apparatus is interrupted, power can be supplied from the rechargeable battery to the clamping and heating element to allow the jacket stripper to operate for a long period of time.
The jacket stripper may further comprise a switch for switching such that a current from the power supply terminal is supplied to either the rechargeable battery and the clamping and heating element. With this switch, priority can be given to either temperature raising operation for the heat accumulator or charging operation.
The jacket stripper may further comprise a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the heat accumulator, and a temperature controlling circuit for performing switching control on the switch on the basis of a temperature detected by the temperature sensor. In this case, the temperature of the heat accumulator can be stably controlled.
This apparatus may further comprise an adapter for electrically connecting the power supply input terminal to the contact terminal. This adapter may be capable of being connected to an external power supply as well as the contact terminal.
With this arrangement, various power supplies can be used, and a further improvement in workability can be attained.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not to be considered as limiting the present invention.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5533160 (1996-07-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 42 03 995 (1993-08-01), None
patent: 0 710 858 (1996-05-01), None
patent: 09113733 (1997-05-01), None
Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 013, No. 406 (P-930), Sep. 8, 1989 & JP 01 147503 A (Sumitomo Electric Ind LTD; Others: 01), (Jun. 9, 1989).
Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 097, No. 009, Sep. 30, 1997 & JP 09 113733 A (Fujikura LTD) May 2, 1997.
Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 097, No. 011, Nov. 28, 1997 & JP 09 197156 A (Sumitomo Electric Ind LTD), Jul. 31, 1997.
Joly B: “Optical Interfaces in Cable Networks” Electrical Communication, Jan. 1, 1994 pp. 52-59, XP000445986 ISSN: 0013-4252.
Hongu Hidetoshi
Osaka Keiji
Boutsikaris Leo
Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP
Spyrou Cassandra
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.
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