JP2000224619A - Optical fiber connection changing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] An optical fiber connection changing apparatus and method include:
A jumper cord connection switching operation can be easily performed manually, and the bottom of the jumper cord can be prevented from being rubbed, so that a local bending of the jumper cord can be prevented. A plate-shaped alignment board (6) is arranged in front of an external optical cable housing (12) disposed between a splitter unit group (14) and a coupler unit group (15) in a rack (10). The board 6 is formed with a plurality of code alignment through holes 6a through which the plurality of jumper cords 3 pass in an aligned state. The alignment board 6 is configured such that the jumper cord 3 connecting the splitter unit 4 and the coupler unit 5 passes through the code alignment through hole 6a in the left-right direction of the rack 10. Jumper code 3
In the middle part, the code aligning through hole 6
A fixing member 60 made of an elastic body to be fixed to a is attached.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber connection switching apparatus and method capable of switching connections between optical fibers in an optical communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional optical fiber connection changing device, for example, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-51815 is known. The optical fiber connection changing device described in this publication includes a holding board to which a plurality of first optical fiber cores are connected and fixed, a connection board to which a plurality of second optical fiber cores are connected and fixed, An array board having a plurality of holding holes for holding fiber cores, an optical branching module accommodating the first optical fiber cores and having an optical coupler and an optical filter therein, and a test branch core branched from the optical couplers A core selection device that selectively optically couples a wire to an optical fiber connected to an external tester, and a movable optical connector that is installed on the front of the holding board, connection board, and array board and inserted into the front of the connection board And a holding board,
A core selection robot is provided on the back of the connection panel and the array panel and selectively grips the optical fiber core.

[0003] In such an optical fiber connection changing device, the insertion / removal optical fiber cable coming out from the back of the holding board passes through the holding hole of the array board from the back to the front, and the movable optical connector at the tip thereof. Is connected to the connection board, whereby the first
The optical fiber core and the second optical fiber core are connected.

[0004] When the connection of the fiber core is changed, first, the movable optical connector inserted into the front surface of the connection board is extracted by the core insertion / removal robot. Subsequently, the core selection robot grasps and pulls up the insertion / removal optical fiber core attached with the movable side optical connector, and then inserts the movable side optical connector into the selected position on the front surface of the connection panel by the core insertion / removal robot. .

[0005]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the optical fiber connection is automatically switched by the core insertion / removal robot and the core selection robot. However, from the viewpoint of cost reduction, the jumper cord is used. It is strongly desired that the connection of the optical fiber can be easily switched manually.

Further, when the optical fiber core is connected to the holding board and the connection board, the optical fiber core is hung on the front surface of the connection board and the arrangement board. However, since the holding board, the connection board, and the arrangement board all extend to the lower part in the frame, when the insertion / removal optical fiber core is connected to the lower part of the connection board through the holding hole at the lower part of the arrangement board, Bottom rubbing of the optical fiber is caused. When a plurality of insertion / removal optical fibers in such a rubbed state accumulate, local bending of the insertion / removal optical fibers may occur, which is not preferable.

[0007] A first object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connection changing apparatus and method which can easily and manually perform a jumper cord connection switching operation.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connection changing apparatus and method capable of avoiding bottom rubbing of a jumper cord and preventing local bending of the jumper cord.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides a plurality of first optical fibers extending from a plurality of first optical cables and a plurality of first optical fibers extending from a plurality of second optical cables. And a plurality of second optical fibers, the plurality of second optical fibers being switchably connected to each other via a jumper cord, a plurality of first optical cables and a plurality of second optical cables are introduced into the rack, A first connection panel group portion on which a plurality of first connection panels are disposed, which are arranged on one side on both left and right sides of the cable and to which the first optical fiber extending from the first optical cable is connected, and the other on the left and right sides in the rack , A second connection panel group provided with a plurality of second connection panels to which a second optical fiber extending from the second optical cable is connected, a first connection panel group, and a second connection panel group Is located in front of the space between An alignment board formed with a plurality of code alignment through holes extending laterally in the direction, wherein a jumper cord connected to the first connection board passes through the code alignment through hole of the alignment board, and the jumper code The optical connector plug attached to the tip of the second connector panel is switchably connected to the optical connector adapter provided on the front surface of the second connection board.

In the present invention configured as described above,
A jumper cord for connecting the first connection panel and the second connection panel has a through hole for aligning the code of the alignment panel on the front side of the first connection panel group and the second connection panel group in the front-rear direction of the frame. Will pass to the side. For this reason, the connection switching operation of the jumper cord such as inserting and removing a jumper cord into the through-hole for cord alignment or pulling the jumper cord to shift a portion passing through the through-hole for cord alignment is performed in the first step.
It can be easily performed on the front side of the connection panel group and the second connection panel group.

In the optical fiber connection changing device, in order to achieve the second object, preferably, a fixing member for fixing an arbitrary portion of the jumper cord to the through hole for cord alignment is provided.

In such a configuration, when the jumper cord is connected to the second connection board, the jumper cord is prevented from shifting. Therefore, when the connection of the jumper cord is switched, if the bottom of the jumper cord is likely to be rubbed when the jumper cord is connected to a new connection destination, first, the fixing member is used to insert the jumper cord into the through-hole for aligning the code. Release the fixation once. Then, a portion of the jumper cord that passes through the through hole for fixing the cord is shifted so that the bottom of the jumper cord does not rub, and the portion is fixed to the through hole for fixing the cord with a fixing member. Therefore, the bottom rubbing of the jumper cord is avoided, and as a result, the local bending of the jumper cord caused by the accumulation of a plurality of jumper cords in the bottom rubbing state is prevented.

[0013] In this case, preferably, the fixing member is movably attached to the jumper cord in the longitudinal direction of the cord, and is detachably attached to the cord alignment through hole.
This eliminates the need to prepare a fixing member and attach the fixing member to the jumper cord when fixing the jumper cord to the cord alignment through hole.

In this case, preferably, the fixing member is made of an elastic body having a through-hole through which the jumper cord passes, and has a portion whose outer diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole for cord alignment. In such a configuration, when the fixing member is inserted into the through hole for code alignment, the fixing member shrinks, and the jumper cord that has passed through the through hole of the fixing member is pressed against the fixing member and fixed. Therefore, an arbitrary portion of the jumper cord can be easily fixed to the through-hole for code alignment only by inserting the fixing member into the through-hole for code alignment.

Preferably, the cord alignment through-hole has a tapered cross-sectional shape whose inner diameter decreases toward the second connection board, and the fixing member has a tapered cross-section corresponding to the code alignment through-hole. It has a part that forms. This makes it easier to insert the elastic member into the cord alignment through hole from the first connection board side toward the second connection board side.

Further, in the above optical fiber connection changing device, in order to achieve the second object, preferably, the minimum inner diameter of the through hole for cord alignment is made larger than the maximum outer diameter of the optical connector plug.

In such a configuration, the optical connector plug can pass through the cord alignment through hole. Therefore, when switching the jumper cord connection, if the bottom of the jumper cord is likely to be rubbed when the jumper cord is connected to the new connection destination, first insert the optical connector plug at the end of the jumper cord into the through hole for cord alignment. From the connection board side. The jumper cord is passed through another through-hole for aligning the cord so that the bottom of the jumper cord does not rub, and the optical connector plug at the tip is connected to the optical connector adapter as a new connection destination. Therefore, the bottom rubbing of the jumper cord is avoided,
Local bending of the jumper cord is prevented.

For example, one of the first connection board and the second connection board is a splitter unit having an optical distribution element, and the other is a coupler unit having an optical coupler.

Further, in order to achieve the above first and second objects, the present invention provides an optical fiber connection changing device having the above-mentioned fixing means, wherein one of a plurality of second connection boards is provided. From the optical connector adapter of the second connection board to the other
An optical fiber connection switching method for switching the connection of an optical connector plug at the end of a jumper cord to an optical connector adapter of a connection board, wherein the optical connector plug is removed from the optical connector adapter of any of the second connection boards and is fixed by a fixing means. A first step of releasing the fixing of the jumper code to the code alignment through-hole, and after performing the first step, shifting a portion of the jumper code that passes through the code fixing through-hole, and fixing the portion by the fixing means. And a second step of connecting the optical connector plug to an optical connector adapter of another second connection board while fixing the optical fiber in the fixing through hole.

In the present invention configured as described above,
By performing the connection change of the jumper cord using the optical fiber connection change device having the fixing means described above,
As described above, the connection switching operation of the jumper cord can be easily performed manually, and the bottom of the jumper cord can be avoided by shifting the portion of the jumper cord that passes through the cord fixing through hole.

Further, in order to achieve the above first and second objects, the present invention provides an optical fiber connection in which the minimum inner diameter of the code aligning through hole of the aligner is larger than the maximum outer diameter of the optical connector plug. Using a replacement device, a plurality of second
An optical fiber connection switching method for switching connection of an optical connector plug at a tip end of a jumper cord from an optical connector adapter of one of the second connection boards to an optical connector adapter of another second connection board. A first step of extracting the optical connector plug from the optical connector adapter of the second connection panel, and further pulling out the optical connector plug from the code alignment through hole of the alignment panel toward the first connection panel, and a first step. A second step of penetrating the optical connector plug through another through-hole for aligning the cords and connecting the optical connector plug to an optical connector adapter of another second connection board. I will provide a.

In the present invention configured as described above,
As described above, by changing the jumper cords using an optical fiber connection changing device in which the minimum inner diameter of the code aligning through-hole of the aligning board is larger than the maximum outer diameter of the optical connector plug, as described above, The connection switching operation of the cords can be easily performed manually, and the bottom rubbing of the jumper cords can be avoided by changing the cord alignment through holes through which the jumper cords pass.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an optical fiber connection changing apparatus and method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the front side of the optical fiber connection changing device according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a rear side of the optical fiber connection changing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement position of each part of the optical fiber connection changing device when viewed from above.
In FIG. 1, the optical fiber connection changing device 100 includes a frame body 10a, a box-shaped rack 10 including a rear plate (not shown) and a front door (not shown).

A plurality of external optical cables (second optical cables) 2A are provided at the center rear of the upper frame of the frame body 10a.
A cable lead-in port 10p for pulling in on the rack for introducing the cable into the rack 10 is formed. Also, the frame body 10a
At the center rear of the lower frame, a cable inlet 10r for undercarriage pull-in for introducing a plurality of external optical cables 2A into the frame 10 is formed.
On the right side (right side when viewed from the front side of the rack 10), a cable for pulling in underground for introducing a plurality of in-house optical cables (first optical cables) 1A larger than the cable inlet 10r into the rack 10. An inlet 10s is formed.

Two connecting frames 10c extending in the left-right direction are provided at the lower right side of the frame 10, and a plurality of U-shaped connecting frames 10e are connected to the front and rear surfaces of the connecting frames 10c. ing.

In the center rear portion of the rack 10, an external optical cable housing portion 12 for accommodating a plurality of external optical cables 2A introduced from the underground cable inlet 10p and the overhead cable inlet 10r. Is arranged. The plurality of external optical cables 2A are fixed to the connection frames 10c and 10e by fixing members (not shown) in the external optical cable housing portion 12.

In the lower right part of the rack 10, the in-house optical cable housing 1 for accommodating a plurality of in-house optical cables 1A introduced from the underground cable inlet 10s.
1 is arranged. A plurality of in-house optical cables 1A are also
In this in-house optical cable accommodation section 11, it is fixed to the connection frames 10c and 10e.

In-plant optical cable housing 1 in rack 10
A plurality of splitter units (first connection boards) 4 to which an in-house optical fiber (first optical fiber) 1 extending from the in-house optical cable 1A is connected are provided above the in-house optical cable 1A. Panel group) 14 is arranged. At this position, a four-stage splitter unit storage shelf 40 for storing the plurality of splitter units 4 is provided, and the plurality of splitter units 4 are vertically arranged in each stage of the storage shelf 40 in the left-right direction. It is stored freely.

Guide parts 41 for guiding the optical fiber 1 extending from the optical fiber cable 1A to the splitter unit 4 are provided on the lower front surface of each stage of the splitter unit storage shelf 40, respectively. The guide portion 41 extends in the left-right direction, the right end thereof is bent downward, and flanges 41a are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of extra length absorption guides 10f for absorbing extra lengths of the in-site optical fiber 1 and the out-of-site optical fiber 2 (described later) are attached to the right frame of the frame body 10a and the rear surface of the splitter unit storage shelf 40. Have been. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a certain work space for performing a wiring work or the like is secured on the front side of the splitter unit storage shelf 40.

A coupler unit group (second connection panel group) 15 on which a plurality of coupler units (second connection panel) 5 are installed is disposed on the left side of the rack 10. At this position, a four-stage coupler unit storage shelf 50 for storing a plurality of coupler units 5 is provided, and a plurality of coupler units 5 are vertically arranged in each stage of the storage shelf 50 in the left-right direction. It is stored freely.

The outside optical cable 2A extends in the left-right direction on the lower rear surface of each stage of the coupler unit storage shelf 50.
Guide portions 51 for guiding the out-of-site optical fiber (second optical fiber) 2 extending from the optical fiber 2 to the coupler unit 5 are attached. As shown in FIG. 3, a certain work space for wiring work and the like is secured on the front side of the coupler unit storage shelf 50 as well.

A fiber selector unit 17 including a fiber selector 7 (described later) is installed below the coupler unit storage shelf 50.
A control unit 18 including a controller, a power supply, and the like is installed below 7.

A plate-shaped aligning plate 6 is disposed in front of the outside optical cable accommodating portion 12 disposed between the splitter unit group 14 and the coupler unit group 15 in the rack 10. 6, a plurality of cord alignment through holes 6a for passing a plurality of jumper cords 3 described below in an aligned state are formed in a matrix.
The alignment board 6 is fixed to the upper frame and the lower frame of the frame body 10a so as to be parallel to the frames on both sides of the frame body 10a, and the axis of the code alignment through hole 6a extends in the left-right direction of the rack 10. It has such a structure. As a result, the jumper cord 3 passes through the cord alignment through hole 6a in the left-right direction of the rack 10. The structure of the code alignment through-hole 6a will be described later in detail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an optical wiring system of the optical fiber connection switching device 100. In the figure, an optical fiber connection changing device 100 connects an in-house optical fiber 1 extending from an in-house optical cable 1A and an out-of-site optical fiber 2 extending from an out-of-site optical cable 2A via a jumper cord 3 which is a jumper optical fiber. The connection is made switchable.

The local optical fiber 1 is connected to a splitter unit 4 having an optical splitter 4a as an optical distribution element by an optical connector 21. The external optical fiber 2 is connected to a coupler unit 5 having an optical coupler 5a by an optical connector 22. The plurality of jumper cords 3 extending from the optical splitter 4a are connected to the coupler unit 5 via the alignment board 6 by the optical connector 23, thereby connecting the in-site optical fiber 1 and the out-of-site optical fiber 2 to each other. Become.

The test optical fiber 30 branched by the optical coupler 5a is connected to the branch optical fiber 31 from the fiber selector (optical switch) 7 by the optical connector 24. The master-side optical fiber 32 from the fiber selector 7 is connected to the optical fiber 34 from the optical pulse tester (OTDR) 33 by the optical connector 25, thereby selecting the test optical fiber 30 as the optical pulse tester 33. Optical connection can be achieved.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the splitter unit 4. In the figure, the splitter unit 4
An adapter (hereinafter, referred to as an optical connector adapter) 21a of two optical connectors 21 is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the optical connector 21. Each optical connector adapter 21a has a plug ( Less than,
An optical connector plug 21b is detachably connected. The optical connector adapter 21a is connected to the optical fiber 35.
Through the optical splitter 4a. This optical splitter 4a has a configuration in which two 16-branch optical waveguides are arranged, and takes a form of two inputs and 32 outputs. The 32 jumper cords 3 extending from the optical splitter 4a are bent to the front side inside the splitter unit 4, taken out from the upper part of the front side to the outside of the unit, and an intermediate portion thereof is aligned with the code alignment through-hole 6a of the alignment board 6. It is fixed in the state where it was set. The jumper cord 3 is bound by a spiral tube 36 between the splitter unit 4 and the alignment board 6.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the code alignment through-hole 6a and the structure of the fixing member for fixing the jumper cord 3 to the code alignment through-hole 6a. In the figure, the code alignment through-hole 6a has a tapered cross-sectional shape in which the inner diameter decreases (taps) toward the left side of the rack 10, that is, toward the coupler unit group portion 15 side. Further, the through hole 6a for code alignment has a minimum inner diameter, that is, an inner diameter of the left opening, larger than a maximum outer diameter of a plug (hereinafter referred to as an optical connector plug) 23b of the optical connector 23 fixed to the end of the jumper cord 3. The optical connector plug 23b is configured to pass through the code alignment through hole 6a.

The jumper cord 3 is provided with a fixing member 60 for fixing an arbitrary intermediate portion of the jumper cord 3 to the code aligning through hole 6a of the alignment board 6. The fixing member 60 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and has a through hole 60a through which the jumper cord 3 penetrates. The inner diameter of the through hole 60a is larger than the diameter of the jumper cord 3 so that the fixing member 60 can move freely in the cord longitudinal direction with respect to the jumper cord 3.

The fixing member 60 has a tapered cross section corresponding to the through-hole 6a for aligning the cords, and the insertion portion 6 is detachably inserted into the through-hole 6a for aligning the cords of the aligning board 6.
1 and the insertion portion 6
1 and a handle part 62 integrally formed. Affixing the fixing member 60 to the code alignment through hole 6a,
When detaching the fixing member 60 from the cord alignment through-hole 6a, the user holds the handle 62. A notch 63 is formed at the boundary between the insertion portion 61 and the handle 62 along the radial edge of the handle 62. The notch 63 is provided so that the fixing member 60 can be easily pulled obliquely with respect to its axis.

The tapered end of the insertion portion 61 is stepped, and the diameter of the stepped portion 61a is equal to the through hole 6a for cord alignment.
Is larger than the inner diameter of the right end of the splitter unit group 14 side end. At a position substantially corresponding to the step portion 61a of the insertion portion 61, an annular protrusion 61b protruding toward the central axis of the through hole 60a so that the inner diameter of the through hole 60a is smaller than the inner diameter at other positions. Is provided.

The jumper cord 3 passes through the through hole 60a of the fixing member 60. Here, the jumper cord 3 is inserted into the through hole 60 a such that the optical connector plug 23 b at the tip of the jumper cord 3 is located on the tapered side of the insertion portion 61. Then, in that state, the insertion section 6
When the insert 1 is inserted into the through hole 6a for aligning the cord of the aligning board 6, the stepped portion 61a of the insertion portion 61 is contracted to press the jumper cord 3 against the annular projecting portion 61b. It is fixed to the through hole 6a.

In this case, in order to fix the jumper cord 3 to the through-hole 6a for aligning the jumper code at the end of the insertion portion 61, the stepped portion 61 is provided only at the end of the insertion portion 61.
Although the a and the annular projecting portion 61b are formed, a structure in which the jumper cord 3 is fixed substantially over the entire insertion portion 61 may be used.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of the coupler unit 5. In the figure, an adapter (hereinafter, referred to as an optical connector adapter) 23a for eight optical connectors 23 is provided on the front surface of the coupler unit 5, and each optical connector adapter 23a is attached to the end of the jumper cord 3. The optical connector plug 23b is detachably connected. An adapter (hereinafter, referred to as an optical connector adapter) 22a for the optical connector 22 is provided on the rear surface of the coupler unit 5. The adapter 22a has a plug (not shown) for the optical connector 22 attached to the distal end of the external optical fiber 2. ) Are detachably connected. Each optical connector adapter 2
The optical connector 3a and the optical connector adapter 22a are connected by an optical fiber 37 via an optical coupler 5a. The two test optical fibers 30 branched from the optical coupler 5a are taken out of the rear part of the coupler unit 5 to the outside of the unit, and an adapter of the optical connector 24 (hereinafter, referred to as an optical connector adapter) 24a is attached to the tip thereof. Have been. The plug (not shown) of the optical connector 24 attached to the tip of the branch-side optical fiber 31 from the fiber selector 7 is detachably connected to the optical connector adapter 24a.

Next, in the optical fiber connection changing device 100 configured as described above, a procedure for housing the splitter unit 4 and the coupler unit 5 in the rack 10 and performing optical connection, that is, a procedure for performing initial installation will be described. here,
As shown in FIG. 6, the jumper cord 3 is previously penetrated through the cord fixing through hole 60 a of the fixing member 60.

First, the coupler unit 5 is stored in the coupler unit storage shelf 50 from the rear side of the rack 10, and the splitter unit 4 is stored in the splitter unit storage shelf 40 from the front side.

Subsequently, the plurality of out-of-site optical fibers 2 extending from the plurality of out-of-office optical cables 2A accommodated in the out-of-office optical cable accommodating section 12 are connected to the extra length absorption guide 1 if necessary.
The excess length is absorbed by 0f and guided to the guide portion 51 at the rear of the coupler unit storage shelf 50. Then, the plug of the optical connector 22 fixed to the distal end of the out-of-site optical fiber 2 is connected to the optical connector adapter 22a on the rear surface of the coupler unit 5.

Further, a plurality of in-house optical fibers 1 extending from a plurality of in-house optical cables 1A housed in the in-house optical cable housing portion 11 can be connected to the extra length absorbing guide 10 as required.
The splitter unit storage shelf 40 absorbs the extra length by f.
To the guide portion 41 on the front surface of the device. Then, the optical connector plug 21b fixed to the end of the optical fiber 1 is connected to the optical connector adapter 21 on the front surface of the splitter unit 4.
Connect to a.

Subsequently, the jumper cord 3 extending from the front surface of the splitter unit 4 is passed through the code alignment through hole 6a of the alignment board 6. At this time, when the jumper cord 3 is connected to the coupler unit 5 to be connected, the jumper cord 3 does not rub the bottom frame of the frame body 10a out of the plurality of code alignment through holes 6a of the alignment board 6, In addition, a code aligning through hole 6a is selected so that the sag of the jumper code 3 is minimized. Then, the optical connector plug 23b fixed to the end of the jumper cord 3 is passed through the selected code alignment through hole 6a, and the optical connector plug 23b is connected to the optical connector adapter 23a on the front surface of the coupler unit 5 to be connected. Connect to Then, the insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60
Is inserted into the code alignment through hole 6a to fix the jumper code 3 to the code alignment through hole 6a.

Hereinafter, the coupler unit 5 and the splitter unit 4 are sequentially housed in the frame 10, and optical connection is performed in the same manner as described above.

Next, after the initial installation of the optical connection is completed,
The procedure for switching the connection of the optical fiber according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, as shown in FIG. 8A, the jumper cord 3 connected to the coupler unit 5 located at the point A above the coupler unit group 15 is located at the point B below the coupler unit group 15. The case where the connection is changed to the coupler unit 5 will be described. In addition,
The jumper cord 3 passes through the cord alignment through hole 6a located at the point α substantially in the center of the alignment board 6, and in this state, the jumper cord 3 is moved from the coupler unit 5 located at the point A to the point B. Simply changing the connection to the located coupler unit 5 will cause the bottom of the jumper cord 3 to rub as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 8B. Therefore, the connection is changed as follows.

First, from the optical connector adapter 23a located at the point A to the optical connector plug 2 at the tip of the jumper cord 3.
3b is disconnected to release the connection, and the extracted optical connector plug 23b is released from the hand. Then, a portion of the jumper cord 3 to be changed in connection at the time of emission of the alignment board 6 is picked up, and the optical connector plug 23b at the end thereof is picked up.
From the congested portion of the jumper code 3. And
The insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60 attached to the jumper cord 3 is pulled out from the through-hole 6a for code alignment located at the α point of the alignment board 6 toward the splitter unit group 14, and the optical connector plug 23b is further aligned with the code. Through hole 6
a to the splitter unit group 14 side.

Subsequently, when the jumper cord 3 is connected to the coupler unit 5 located at the point B, the jumper cord 3
No bottom rubbing occurs and jumper cord 3
A code alignment through hole 6a is selected so as to reduce slack. Here, the code alignment through-hole 6a located at the point β on the upper part of the alignment board 6 is selected. Then, the optical connector plug 23b at the end of the jumper cord 3 is connected to the connector shown in FIG.
As shown by the solid line in (b), the optical connector plug 2 is made to penetrate through the code alignment through hole 6a located at the point β.
3b is connected to the optical connector adapter 23a located at the point B. Then, the jumper cord 3 is fixed to the code alignment through hole 6a by inserting the insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60 into the code alignment through hole 6a located at the β point.
Thereby, the connection change of the jumper cord 3 is completed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the optical connector plug 23b at the end of the jumper cord 3 is
When the connection of the jumper cord 3 is changed, when the bottom of the jumper cord 3 may be rubbed when the connection of the jumper cord 3 is changed, the jumper cord 3 passes through the code alignment through hole 6a. By changing the hole 6a, it is possible to avoid the bottom rubbing of the jumper cord 3. As a result, local bending of the jumper cord 3 caused by accumulation of a plurality of jumper cords 3 in the bottom rubbing state is prevented.

In this case, the jumper cord 3 is installed on the alignment board 6 in front of the outside optical cable accommodation section 12 disposed between the splitter unit group section 14 and the coupler unit group section 15, and the jumper cord 3 is provided with a cord alignment through hole. 6a is passed in the left-right direction of the frame 10, so that the manual operation of passing the jumper cord 3 through the code alignment through-hole 6a or pulling out the jumper cord 3 from the code alignment through-hole 6a requires the splitter unit group 14 and This can be easily performed on the front side of the coupler unit group 15.

Further, by changing the code alignment through hole 6a through which the jumper code 3 passes, the slack of the jumper code 3 can be reduced. Jumper code 3
If it becomes slack more than necessary, entanglement with other cores may occur,
There is a possibility that bending may be applied to the other core wire due to the superposition of a plurality of jumper cords 3. In the present embodiment, however, the through-hole 6a for cord alignment which reduces the slack of the jumper cord 3 as described above is provided. By selection, such defects are reduced.

Further, since the fixing member 60 for fixing an arbitrary intermediate portion of the jumper cord 3 to the through-hole 6a for code alignment is provided, the displacement of the jumper cord 3 can be prevented. At this time, since the fixing member 60 was attached to the jumper cord 3 so as to be movable in the cord longitudinal direction,
When fixing the jumper cord 3 to the code alignment through hole 6a, it is not necessary to prepare a fixing member and attach the fixing member to the jumper cord 3 each time. Also, the fixing member 6
The material 0 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and when it is inserted into the through-hole 6a for code alignment, it contracts to fix the jumper cord 3, so that the fixing member 60 is inserted into the through-hole 6a for code alignment. The jumper code 3 can be fixed only by the above. Further, since the code alignment through-hole 6a has a tapered cross-section and the insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60 has a tapered cross-section to match, the insertion portion 61 can be easily inserted into the code alignment through-hole 6a. Further, since the handle portion 62 is provided on the fixing member 60, the insertion portion 61 can be easily pulled out from the cord alignment through hole 6a. Also, the fixing member 6
Since the notch 63 is formed at the boundary between the insertion part 61 and the handle part 62, even if the fixing member 60 is so tight that it is difficult to remove it from the cord alignment through hole 6a, the fixing member 60 can be moved with respect to its axis. It can be pulled out easily by pulling it diagonally.

In this embodiment, since the switching operation of the optical fiber can be performed only on the front side of the rack 10, the splitter unit storage shelf 40 and the coupler unit storage shelf 50 can be connected to the rear plate (see FIG. (Not shown) and placed close to the splitter unit storage shelf 4.
It is possible to secure a certain work space for inserting and removing the optical connector plug 23b at the end of the jumper cord 3 and for pulling out the jumper cord 3 on the front side of the 0 and coupler unit storage shelves 50. Therefore, a sufficient wiring area for the jumper code 3 is secured, and congestion of the jumper code 3 can be reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, not only the switching connection function but also all of the optical test function using the optical coupler and the optical switch, the optical distribution function using the optical distribution element, and the termination function of the optical cables and the like. Since it can be integrated on one rack 10, space saving of station equipment can be achieved. In addition, since the switching connection of an arbitrary optical fiber is manually performed, cost reduction can be achieved.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the method of changing the connection of the jumper cord 3, and the optical fiber connection changing device itself is completely the same as the first embodiment. In the figure, FIG.
The same members as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a method of changing the connection of the optical fiber according to the present embodiment. Here, as shown in FIG. 9A, the jumper cord 3 connected to the coupler unit 5 located at the point A above the coupler unit group 15
Is connected to the coupler unit 5 located at the point B below the coupler unit group 15. However, in this case, the code alignment through hole 6a through which the jumper code 3 passes is not changed, and the code alignment through hole 6a located at the point α is maintained.

First, from the optical connector adapter 23a located at the point A to the optical connector plug 2 at the tip of the jumper cord 3.
3b is disconnected to release the connection, and the extracted optical connector plug 23b is released from the hand. Then, a portion of the jumper cord 3 to be changed in connection at the time of emission of the alignment board 6 is picked up, and the optical connector plug 23b at the end thereof is picked up.
From the congested portion of the jumper code 3. And
The insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60 attached to the jumper cord 3 is pulled out from the cord alignment through hole 6a located at the point α of the alignment board 6 toward the splitter unit group 14 side.

Subsequently, the jumper cord 3 is pulled toward the splitter unit group 14 side, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. To prevent the jumper cord 3 from rubbing against the bottom when the jumper cord 3 is connected to the coupler unit 5 located at the point B.
Then, the optical connector plug 23b at the end of the jumper cord 3 is connected to the optical connector adapter 23a located at the point B. Then, the fixing member 60 is connected to the jumper cord 3.
Then, the jumper cord 3 is fixed by moving to the passing portion of the alignment through-hole 6a located at the point α and inserting it into the code alignment through-hole 6a. Thereby, the connection change of the jumper cord 3 is completed.

In the above connection changing method, the slack of the jumper cord 3 between the splitter unit group 14 and the alignment board 6 is slightly increased, but the jumper code between the alignment board 6 and the coupler unit group 15 is slightly increased. Code 3
Can be reliably avoided. Further, according to the above connection changing method, even if, for example, the optical connector plug 23b at the tip of the jumper cord 3 has a structure that cannot pass through the code alignment through hole 6a of the alignment board 6, the bottom of the jumper cord 3 is rubbed. Can be avoided.

In the above-described embodiment, an optical communication network that requires an optical distribution function (for example, an optical transmission apparatus of an office facility is optically distributed and a plurality of subscribers hang (multiplex)) , A plurality of splitter units 4 are installed in the frame 10 in order to cope with a communication network that reduces the cost per subscription. However, the present invention provides an optical communication network (which does not require an optical distribution function). For example, the present invention can also be applied to an optical fiber connection switching device which copes with a transmission line as a dedicated line and a communication network for a user who requires a large capacity in which the subscriber has a one-to-one correspondence. In this case, instead of the splitter unit 4, a plurality of units that do not have an optical splitter and simply pass through an optical fiber are installed in the rack 10.

Further, a through hole 6a for aligning the cords of the aligning board 6 is provided.
Has a tapered cross-sectional shape, and the insertion portion 61 of the fixing member 60 has a tapered cross-section in accordance with this. However, the cross-sectional shapes of the code alignment through-hole 6a and the insertion portion 61 are not particularly limited to the tapered shape. In addition, the jumper cord 3 is fixed to the cord alignment through hole 6a by the fixing member 60 attached to the jumper cord 3.
Is not particularly limited thereto, and the jumper cord 3
And may be separated. Further, a member for fixing the jumper cord 3 may not be particularly provided, and a structure in which the jumper cord 3 is merely held in the cord alignment through hole 6a may be employed. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0068]

According to the present invention, the operation of switching the connection of the jumper cords, such as inserting and removing the jumper cords into the code aligning through holes of the alignment board, is performed on the front side of the first connection panel group and the second connection panel group. Can be easily done manually. Therefore, the optical fiber connection changing device can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, when the connection of the jumper cords is switched, the jumper cords can be prevented from rubbing the bottom of the cradle. Is prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance on the front side of an optical fiber connection switching device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a rear side of the optical fiber connection changing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement position of each part of the optical fiber connection changing device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when viewed from above.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an optical wiring system of the optical fiber connection changing device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the splitter unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a structure of a through-hole for cord alignment and a structure of a fixing member of the alignment board shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the coupler unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an optical fiber connection switching method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an optical fiber connection switching method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... In-house optical fiber (1st optical fiber), 1A ... In-house optical cable (1st optical cable), 2 ... Outside optical fiber (2nd optical fiber), 2A ... Outside optical cable (2nd optical cable), 3 ... Jumper cord 4, a splitter unit (first connection panel), 4a, an optical splitter (optical distribution element),
5 coupler unit (second connection panel), 5a optical coupler,
6 ... alignment board, 6a ... through-hole for cord alignment, 10 ... rack, 1
4... Splitter unit group (first connection panel group), 15
... Coupler unit group (second connection panel group), 60... Fixing member, 60a... Through hole, 61... Insertion part, 61a.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazumasa Ozawa 1 Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Ichiro Matsuura 1st Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries Inside Yokohama Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Fumi Izumida 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Japan Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd. F-term in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (reference) 2H038 CA38 5K002 AA07 BA33 FA01 5K073 AA07 CC06 CC22 CC37 CC44 CC45 GG03 JJ01 JJ14 JJ17

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of first optical fibers extending from a plurality of first optical cables and a plurality of second optical fibers extending from a plurality of second optical cables can be switched via a jumper cord. An optical fiber connection changing device for connecting the plurality of first optical cables and the plurality of second optical cables to each other, and a first optical cable disposed on one of the left and right sides of the rack; A first connection panel group in which a plurality of first connection panels to which the first optical fiber extending from the first optical fiber is connected are disposed on the other side on the left and right sides in the rack, and extend from the second optical cable A second connection panel group in which a plurality of second connection panels to which the second optical fibers are connected are installed; and a front of a space between the first connection panel group and the second connection panel group. And the axis is opposite to the front and rear direction of the rack. An alignment board formed with a plurality of code alignment through holes extending laterally, wherein the jumper cord connected to the first connection board passes through the code alignment through hole of the alignment board, An optical fiber connection changing device, wherein an optical connector plug attached to an end of the jumper cord is switchably connected to an optical connector adapter provided on a front surface of the second connection board. 2. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing member for fixing an arbitrary portion of the jumper cord to the cord alignment through hole. 3. The optical fiber according to claim 2, wherein the fixing member is movably attached to the jumper cord in a longitudinal direction of the cord, and is detachable from the through-hole for arranging the cord. Connection changing device. 4. The fixing member is made of an elastic body having a through hole through which the jumper cord penetrates, and has a portion whose outer diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the through hole for cord alignment. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 3. 5. The cord alignment through-hole has a tapered cross section whose inner diameter decreases toward the second connection board, and the fixing member has a tapered cross section corresponding to the code alignment through hole. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 3, further comprising a portion having a shape. 6. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 1, wherein a minimum inner diameter of said cord alignment through hole is larger than a maximum outer diameter of said optical connector plug. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of said first connection board and said second connection board is a splitter unit having an optical distribution element, and the other is a coupler unit having an optical coupler. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 1. 8. An optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 2, wherein an optical connector adapter of one of the plurality of second connection boards is connected to an optical connector adapter of another second connection board. An optical fiber connection switching method for switching connection of an optical connector plug at the end of a jumper cord to a connector adapter, wherein the optical connector plug is removed from the optical connector adapter of any of the second connection boards, and the fixing means is used. A first step of releasing the jumper cord from being fixed to the code alignment through-hole; and, after performing the first step, displacing a portion of the jumper cord that passes through the code fixing through-hole, and And the optical connector plug is fixed to the other second through hole.
A second step of connecting to the optical connector adapter of the connection board. 9. The optical fiber connection changing device according to claim 6, wherein the optical connector adapter of one of the plurality of second connection boards is connected to the optical connector adapter of another second connection board. An optical fiber connection switching method for switching connection of an optical connector plug at a tip end of a jumper cord to a connector adapter, wherein the optical connector plug is removed from an optical connector adapter of any of the second connection boards, and the optical connector plug is further removed. A first step of pulling out the optical connector plug from the through hole for code alignment of the alignment board toward the first connection board side, and after performing the first step, removing the optical connector plug from another through hole for code alignment of the alignment board. And a second step of connecting the optical connector adapter of the other second connection board to the optical connector adapter of the other second connection board.