Ultrasonic cleaning system

An ultrasonic cleaning system comprises a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid, a moving and holding device configured to move a carrier into the cleaning tank and hold the carrier in the cleaning tank, and an ultrasonic wave generator mounted in the cleaning tank. A plurality of fiber optic ferrules are mounted on the carrier and are immersed in the cleaning liquid when the moving and holding device holds the carrier in the cleaning tank. The ultrasonic wave generator is adapted to emit an ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid to clean the fiber optical ferrules immersed in the cleaning liquid.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic cleaning system and, more particularly, to an ultrasonic cleaning system adapted to clean a fiber optic ferrule.

BACKGROUND

A fiber optic connector generally comprises a housing and a fiber optic ferrule mounted in the housing. The fiber optic ferrule has a ferrule and an optical fiber inserted into a bore of the ferrule. A front end of the optical fiber protrudes from a front end face of the ferrule by a predetermined distance. The optical fiber is fixed in the bore of the ferrule by an adhesive filled in the bore of the ferrule.

After the optical fiber is fixed in the bore of the ferrule, the front end face of the fiber optic ferrule is processed. The processing of the front end face of the fiber optic ferrule generally includes polishing the front end face of the fiber optic ferrule, cleaning the polished fiber optic ferrule to remove the polishing powder from the fiber optic ferrule, drying the cleaned fiber optic ferrule, and wiping the front end face of the dried fiber optic ferrule to remove dust from the front end face of the fiber optic ferrule. The cleaning of the fiber optic ferrule is generally performed manually and is therefore inefficient and of inconsistent quality. Furthermore, the fiber optic ferrule is easily damaged during manual cleaning.

SUMMARY

An ultrasonic cleaning system comprises a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid, a moving and holding device configured to move a carrier into the cleaning tank and hold the carrier in the cleaning tank, and an ultrasonic wave generator mounted in the cleaning tank. A plurality of fiber optic ferrules are mounted on the carrier and are immersed in the cleaning liquid when the moving and holding device holds the carrier in the cleaning tank. The ultrasonic wave generator is adapted to emit an ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid to clean the fiber optical ferrules immersed in the cleaning liquid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

An ultrasonic cleaning system according to an embodiment is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. The ultrasonic cleaning system comprises a cleaning tank10, a moving and holding device, and an ultrasonic wave generator. The ultrasonic cleaning system is adapted to clean a fiber optic ferrule21after the fiber optic ferrule21is polished, so as to clean off a polishing powder dust from the fiber optic ferrule21.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, a cleaning liquid is received in the cleaning tank10. The moving and holding device is configured to move a carrier20, on which a plurality of fiber optic ferrules21are mounted, into the cleaning tank10and hold the carrier20in the cleaning tank10. The ultrasonic wave generator is mounted in the cleaning tank10and adapted to emit an ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid, so as to clean the fiber optic ferrules21immersed in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank10. In an embodiment, when the ultrasonic wave generator emits the ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid vibrates and tiny bubbles are produced in the cleaning liquid, cleaning the fiber optic ferrules21immersed in the cleaning liquid.

The moving and holding device, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a carrier holder160adapted to hold the carrier20and a lift mechanism120configured to move the carrier holder160up and down along a vertical axis. The lift mechanism120moves the carrier holder160into and out of the cleaning tank10. The lift mechanism120is constructed to move up and down in the vertical direction. In an embodiment, the lift mechanism120may comprise a gas cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder or a linear actuator.

A top wall of the cleaning tank10has an opening through which the carrier holder160and the carrier20held on it are introduced into or removed from the cleaning tank10. As shown inFIGS. 1-2, a cleaning liquid inlet11is provided in the top wall of the cleaning tank10and a cleaning liquid outlet12is provided in the bottom wall of the cleaning tank10. In an embodiment, a liquid level sensor30is mounted in the cleaning tank10and adapted to detect a liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank10. An inlet valve is provided on the cleaning liquid inlet11. When the liquid level detected by the liquid level sensor30is lower than a preset liquid level, the inlet valve is opened, so as to fill the cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank10until the liquid level in the cleaning tank10reaches the preset liquid level.

The moving and holding device further comprises a cover plate140shown inFIGS. 1 and 2adapted to close or expose the opening in the top wall of the cleaning tank10. The carrier holder160is connected to the cover plate140and located below the cover plate140. The cover plate140is connected to a top end of the lift mechanism120by a horizontal connection plate130. The carrier holder160is connected to a bottom of the cover plate140by a vertical connection rod. A carrier sensor150is provided on the cover plate140and adapted to detect whether the carrier20is held on the carrier holder160as well as a state of the carrier20held on the carrier holder160. In an embodiment, the state of the carrier20includes the position and the posture of the carrier20on the carrier holder160. In an embodiment, the ultrasonic wave generator is configured to emit the ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid only after the opening of the cleaning tank10is closed by the cover plate140, so as to prevent the cleaning liquid from sputtering out of the cleaning tank10.

In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the ultrasonic cleaning system comprises a plurality of moving and holding devices, so as to move and hold a plurality of carriers20at the same time, simultaneously cleaning the plurality of carriers20and further improving the efficiency of cleaning the fiber optic ferrules21. In other embodiments, the ultrasonic cleaning system may comprise only a single moving and holding device. In this case, the carrier holder160may be adapted to hold a plurality of carriers20at the same time, so as to simultaneously clean the plurality of carriers20.

The ultrasonic cleaning system further comprises a support frame110shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. In the shown embodiment, the lift mechanism120is mounted on the support frame110. In other embodiments, the lift mechanism120may be mounted on the cleaning tank10or any fixation base.

A cleaning process of the ultrasonic cleaning system will now be described with reference toFIGS. 1-2.

The carrier20, on which a plurality of fiber optic ferrules21to be cleaned are mounted, is held on the carrier holder160.

Then, the carrier holder160is driven to move down by the lift mechanism120, transferring the carrier holder160, the carrier20, and the fiber optic ferrules21into the cleaning tank10through the opening in the cleaning tank10. The opening of the cleaning tank10is then closed by the cover plate140and the lift mechanism120is stopped. At this time, the carrier20and the fiber optic ferrules21are immersed or submerged in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank10.

Then, the ultrasonic wave generator is turned on to emit the ultrasonic wave into the cleaning liquid, cleaning the carrier20and the fiber optic ferrules21immerged in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank10. The ultrasonic wave generator is turned off after the fiber optic ferrules21have been cleaned.

The carrier holder160is then moved up by the lift mechanism120, moving the cleaned carrier20and the cleaned fiber optic ferrules21out of the cleaning tank10. Finally, the cleaned carrier20and the cleaned fiber optic ferrules21are removed from the carrier holder160. The ultrasonic cleaning system efficiently cleans the fiber optic ferrules21, reliably ensuring the quality of the fiber optic ferrules21without damaging the fiber optic ferrules21.

In the above cleaning process, some cleaning liquid, which is attached on the carrier20and the fiber optic ferrules21, may be taken out of the cleaning tank10, which will cause the liquid level in the cleaning tank10to be lower than the preset liquid level of the cleaning tank10. Once the liquid level sensor30detects that the liquid level in the cleaning tank10is lower than the preset liquid level, the inlet valve is opened to inject the cleaning fluid into the cleaning tank10until the liquid level in the cleaning tank10reaches the preset liquid level. The ultrasonic cleaning system prevents the liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank10from becoming too low or to a level at which the cleaning liquid cannot effectively clean the fiber optic ferrules21.

If the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank10is used for a long time and becomes very dirty, it is replaced with unused cleaning liquid. An operator may discharge the used cleaning liquid out of the cleaning tank10by opening the cleaning liquid outlet12, and then fill the unused cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank10by opening the cleaning liquid inlet11.