A method for inspection of an optical connector

Abstract: A method for measuring the dimension of an optical connector(2), consisting of a step wherein an inspection ferrule(5) provided with a single optical fiber(6) is inserted in each pin hole(2c) in the sample ferrule(2a) and an optical fiber or fibers(3a) are inserted in the fiber inserting hole or holes(2d), a step wherein the sample ferrule(2a) is located on a position measuring apparatus(10) on the X or Y axis, a step wherein a light transmitting & receiving ferrule(7) provided with a light transmitting & receiving fiber(8), which is installed on a Z-axis stage(12), is butted against the sample ferrule(2a) with a specific distance, a step wherein the sample ferrule(2a) is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by the position measuring apparatus(10), thereby optically connecting the single optical fiber(6) or one of the optical fibers(3a) to the light transmitting & receiving fiber(8), a step wherein the sample ferrule(2a) is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by the position measuring apparatus(10) and the light transmitting & receiving fiber(8) is switched to the single optical fiber(6) or other optical fiber(3a), thereby measuring the position of each optical fiber(3a,6) of the sample ferrule(2a) and the inspection ferrules(5), and a step wherein the position of the center of each fiber inserting hole(2d) based on the pin holes(2c) of the sample ferrule(2a) is determined from the measurement results.

Description: The present invention relates to a method for inspection an optical connector comprising a body provided with one or a plurality of fiber inserting holes, and a plurality of guide pin holes, wherein the position or positions of said fiber inserting hole or holes are measured using said pin holes as the reference. An optical connector consists of a single or multi optical fibers installed on a body or ferrule which has positioning guide pin holes for butt-connection with another optical connector. An optical connector which uses a single optical fiber is referred to as a single connector, and one that uses multiple optical fibers is referred to as a multi connector. Among such optical connectors, a multi connector, for instance, has a plurality of fiber inserting holes formed in a plastic ferrule at a regular pitch . In use, individual optical fibers of the multi fiber are inserted in those respective fiber inserting holes and are then fixed with an adhesive agent. To butt such multi connector against a mating multi connector, the guide pins are fitted to the pin holes of both to position them for butt-connection. Thus, matching optical fibers are optically connected each other. The same applies to a single connector. In said optical connector, a connection loss inherent to the butt-connection with another optical connector is minimized by aligning the optical axes of the individual optical fibers. For this reason, the fiber inserting holes require precision machining of a submicron order. Because of such requirement, in optical connectors or ferrules, the dimension measurement is conducted to inspect the positions of the fiber inserting holes in order to ensure quality control for screening for nondefectives by judging whether a manufactured optical connector is defective or nondefective. In the dimension measurement of a ferrule, for example, an inspection light is irradiated to a butting or connection surface of a ferrule whose fiber inserting holes are all exposed, and the inspection light reflecting from the butting surface, that is, a reflecting light, is used to perform optical measurement of the position of each fiber inserting hole by a position measuring means. However, when the fiber inserting holes are measured using the reflecting light as described above, there is a problem that a measurement error which is not permissible at the submicron level results if a circumferential edge of a fiber inserting hole is chipped or if the hole shape is distorted. FR-A- 2 506 930 discloses a further method for inspecting the eccentricity of a single fibre within its connecting ferrule. Using an arrangement of lenses light issuing from the fibre within the ferrule positioned in a V-shaped clamp is projected onto an image plane where it is scanned by a reciprocating fibre detector. As explained already, optical connectors are positioned by fitting the guide pins into the pin holes of both optical connectors, thus properly connecting them. Therefore, the measurement of the fiber inserting holes requires position measurement relative to the pin holes. However, it is necessary to measure the pin holes and the fiber inserting holes separately because the diameter of the pin holes is a few times larger than that of the fiber inserting holes. This makes the measurement extremely complicated with an insufficient measurement accuracy. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for measuring the dimensions of an optical connector which allows the positions of fiber inserting holes of an optical connector to be measured with high accuracy by using pin holes as reference. Viewed from one aspect the invention provides a method of testing an optical connector having a connection surface for abutment with another optical connector, so as to establish the position on the connection surface of an optical fiber insertion hole relative to a connecting pin hole, the method comprising inserting optical fibers into the pin hole and the insertion hole so as to terminate substantially at said connection surface, passing light through the fibers and detecting the distribution of light passed through said fibers to determine therefrom the positions of the fibers relative to each other, and therefrom the positions of the holes relative to each other. The light may be passed from a light source through the optical connector to a detector facing the connecting surface, or alternatively from a light source facing the connecting surface through the optical connector to a detector. The detector may be a camera which is used to photograph the end of each optical fiber, or alternatively the detector may be a light intensity detector. Preferably, an inspection plug or a ferrule supports the optical fiber which is inserted in the connecting pin hole, and measurements can be made of the position of the optical fiber in the plug or ferrule so as to allow for and correct any eccentricity thereof when establishing the position of the optical fiber insertion hole relative to the connecting pin hole . Viewed from another aspect the invention prvoides a method for inspecting an optical connector comprising a body provided with one or a plurality of optical fiber inserting holes and a plurality of guide pin holes, the method comprising the following steps: a step wherein inspection ferrules with single optical fibers are removably inserted in the pin holes of said body and an optical fiber or fibers are inserted in said fiber inserting hole or holes; a step wherein said optical connector is located in a specific position on a position measuring means which moves the optical connector in the direction of the axis X or Y and measures the corresponding position of the optical connector on the X or Y axis; a step wherein a light transmitting & recieving ferrule provided with a light transmitting & receiving fiber, which is installed on a Z-axis stage positioned in the vicinity of said position measuring means and is free to move in the direction of the Z axis intersecting orthogonally with the plane defined by the two axes X and Y, is arranged to face said optical connector in the direction of the Z axis using said Z axis stage at a specific distance provided between them; a step wherein said optical connector is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by said position measuring means while letting in an inspection light emitted by a light source either through the optical fiber or fibers inserted in said fiber inserting hole or holes or through said light transmitting & receiving fiber and letting it out towards a light receiving means from the other side, thereby optically connecting said single optical fiber or one of said optical fibers to the light transmitting & receiving fiber; a step wherein said optical connector is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by said position measuring means and said light transmitting & receiving fiber is switched to each of said optical fibers inserted in said fibre inserting hole or holes and said pin hole in succession to measure the inspection light irradiated to said light receiving means as a function of position measured by said position measuring means under specific measuring conditions, thereby measuring the position of each optical fiber of the optical connector and the inspection ferrules; and a step wherein the position of the center of each fiber inserting hole relative to the pin holes of said optical connector is determined from the measurement results. Preferably, the optical connector is located in a specific position on the axis X or Y by an opening or V grooves provided in the position measuring means. In this way, an optical connector subjected to measurement can be always set in a specific position with respect to the position measuring means, making it possible to minimize a measurement error. Further, the position measuring means is preferably provided with a Z-axis scale with a Z-axis controller, a specific distance between said light transmitting & receiving ferrule and said optical connector is measured by said Z-axis scale, and the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and the inspection ferrules is measured while maintaining the specific distance at a constant value in accordance with a pre-measured transmission loss of the inspection light based on the distance between said light transmitting & receiving ferrule and said optical connector. This permits prevention of measurement errors in inspection lights caused by different distances between an sample ferrule and light transmitting & receiving ferrule when measuring the optical connector. Preferably, as a specific measurement condition for measuring the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and the inspection ferrules, measurement is performed so that the intensity of an inspection light in measurement performed with said single optical fiber or one of said optical fibers optically connected to the light transmitting & receiving fiber is equal to the intensity of each inspection light at the time when said optical connector is moved to a plurality of points in the direction of said axis X or Y by said position measuring means, and the position of a pin hole is determined from that measuring position, then the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector is measured based on the position of the pin hole. In this case, the inspection ferrule and the optical fibers to be inserted in the fiber inserting holes must be free from eccentricity both in the inspection ferrule itself and cores. In addition, as a specific measurement condition for measuring the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and the inspection ferrules, each of said inspection ferrules is preferably turned in said pin hole for a plurality of times for a specific angle to determine the position of the pin hole from the position of said single optical fiber measured at each turn angle, and the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector is measured based on the position of the pin hole. Thus, the accuracy of the measurement of the position of each optical fiber can be improved by measuring the inspection light at a plurality of points for each optical fiber, even if the inspection ferrule has an eccentric center in relation to a center of the pin hole. As a light source for the inspection light, an LED, semiconductor laser or the like which has a minimum of fluctuation in light intensity is preferably used. In addition, as the position measuring means for measuring the position of each optical fiber of the optical connector adjusted in the direction of one of the two axes, an optical stage that permits fine adjustment of the position on one of the two axes, for example, an X-Y stage provided with a laser scale for measuring the position on the axis X or Y is used. At this time, the position of said laser scale on one of the two axes is adjusted by an X-Y corrector to position it in the initial position (origin). The fine adjustment of the position of the X-Y stage itself on one of the two axes can be made by hand. The fine adjustment can also made mechanically using, for example, an X-Y controller. Further, the Z-axis scale which is provided with the Z-axis controller and which is installed on the position measuring means uses, for instance, a glass scale. When an inspection ferrule is inserted in a pin hole of the optical connector, the optical fiber of the optical connector and that of the inspection ferrule are exposed at the connection or butting end surface of the optical connector. The position of a fiber inserting hole can be determined based on the pin holes of the optical connector by measuring the central position for each optical fiber. According to the method for measuring the dimensions of an optical connector of one aspect of the present invention, an inspection ferrule with a single optical fiber is inserted in a pin hole of an optical connector, making it possible to measure the positions of the individual optical fibers and of the pin holes at a time without using any other method. Therefore, it is not required to measure the positions of the pin holes and the positions of the individual optical fibers separately, permitting easy determination of the position of each optical fiber by using the pin holes as the reference. Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram depicting the mechanical configuration of a dimension measuring system for implementing the method according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic connection diagram depicting the electrical connection of the dimension measuring system shown in FIG.1; FIG. 3 is a correlation chart depicting the relationship between the distance between the end surface of an optical connector and the end surfaces of inspection ferrules, and the transmission loss of an inspection light; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram depicting the measurement of central position of pin holes in a multi connector and each optical fiber according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the dimension measuring system wherein V grooves are used to position the optical connector on an X-Y stage; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a major section related to the V grooves of the X-Y stage shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a variation example of the method according to the present invention and depicting a major assembly of the dimension measuring system; and FIG. 8 is a positional relationship diagram illustrating the measurement of the central position of an optical fiber and pin holes. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a dimension measuring system 1 for implementing a preferred method according to the present invention. The dimension measuring system 1 is provided with an X-Y stage 10, a laser scale 11, a Z-axis stage 12, a Z-axis scale 13, and a computer (ECU) 14. These components constitute a position measuring means. The X-Y stage 10, as illustrated, has a rectangular opening 10a which is vertically formed at the center and through which an optical connector, a multi connector 2, for example, to be measured is installed. The X-Y stage 10 as well as the multi connector 2 positioned and installed in the opening 10a can be moved by slow degrees in the direction of X & Y shown by arrows in the drawing. Their movement in the direction of the axis X or Y is controlled by an X-Y controller 20 shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the position of the multi connector 2 on the X or Y axis is micro-adjusted. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi connector 2 has a multi fiber 3 inserted in a fiber inserting hole 2d of a sample ferrule 2a. On a butting end surface 2b, one end of each optical fiber 3a is exposed. The cores of the individual optical fibers 3a must be free of eccentricity; they may be temporarily installed in or glued to be fixed in said fiber inserting holes 2d. The multi fiber 3 is connected to a light source 4 (see FIG. 2) which has an LED on the other end. Further, pin holes 2c and 2c are formed on either side of where the ends of the optical fibers 3a of the sample ferrule 2a are exposed, and an inspection ferrule 5 is inserted in each pin hole 2c so that it can be installed or removed as necessary. The inspection ferrule 5 is used to measure the central position of each pin hole 2c, and is mounted on one end of a single optical fiber 6 whose other end is connected to the light source 4 (see FIG. 2). The inspection ferrules 5 must be free from eccentricity to ensure highly accurate measurement of the pin holes. The laser scale 11 is used to measure the position of the X-Y stage 10 on which the multi connector 2 has been installed and which has been moved in the X-Y axis directions, and its position on the axes X and Y is adjusted by an X-Y corrector 21 shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the laser scale 11 is positioned in the initial location, i.e., the origin, of measurement by the X-Y corrector 21. The Z-axis stage 12 holds a light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 and moves in the direction of the Z axis which intersects orthogonally with a plane defined by the X-Y stage 10 as shown by an arrow Z in FIG. 1, thereby butting the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 against the multi connector 2 with a specific distance provided between them. The movement of the Z-axis stage 12 in the direction of the Z axis is controlled by a Z-axis controller 22 shown in FIG. 2. The Z-axis controller 22 controls the position of the Z-axis stage 12 so that the gap between the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 and the sample ferrule 2a is maintained at a desired distance at all times according to pre-measured transmission losses of the inspection light based on the distance between the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 and the sample ferrule 2a. Therefore, in the measurement of the dimensions of an optical connector subjected to inspection, the distance between the two ferrules 2a and 7 is kept constant even if the sample ferrule 2a to be butt-connected to the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 differs. As a result, the connection loss is maintained at a constant level, assuring a highly accurate measurement of the inspection light. For instance, in the inspection ferrule 5 and the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7, a transmission loss L D at each moving point is measured while moving the Z-axis stage 12 in the Z-axis direction with the centers of the cores of the optical fibers 6 and 8 aligned. At this time, the intensity of the inspection light emitted from the light source 4 is monitored to eliminate measurement errors caused by different distances between the end surfaces of the inspection ferrule 5 and the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7. Based on the measurement results, the correlation chart for the transmission loss L D and a distance Z D between the end surfaces shown in FIG. 3 is prepared. The correlation chart is used for the measurement after that to always maintain the distance between the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 and the inspection ferrule 5 at a desired value. The Z-axis scale 13 measures a position of the Z-axis stage 12 on the Z axis, i.e., a vertical position, and its Z-axis position is adjusted by a Z-axis corrector 23 shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the Z-axis scale 13 is located in the measurement initial position, i.e., the origin, by the Z-axis corrector 23. The light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 is mounted on one end of a light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 whose other end is connected to an optical power meter 24 (see FIG. 2). It is butted against the multi connector 2 to optically connect the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 to one of the optical fibers 3a and 6. An optical power meter 24 measures the intensity of the inspection light transmitted through the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 from the light source 4. The light intensity measured by the optical power meter 24 is converted into a specific signal and supplied to the computer 14 which calculates the position of the core center of each of the optical fibers 3a and 6. The light source 4, X-Y controller 20, X-Y corrector 21, Z-axis controller 22, Z-axis corrector 23, and optical power meter 24 are connected to the computer 14 as illustrated in FIG. 2 and their operation is controlled by the computer 14. A preferred method for inspecting an optical connector uses the above-mentioned dimension measuring system, and it is implemented as follows: First, the inspection ferrules 5 are inserted in the pin holes 2c of the multi connector 2 so that they are almost flush with the butting end surface 2b. Then, the Z-axis scale 13 is positioned in the origin on the Z axis by the Z-axis corrector 23. The multi connector 2 is installed in the opening 10a in the X-Y stage 10, and the Z-axis stage 12 is lowered. This causes the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 to butt against the butting end surface 2b of the multi connector 2, thereby almost butt-connecting the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 to the first optical fiber among the optical fibers 3a and 6 for which the position of the core center is to be determined. At this time, it is not necessary to completely connect the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 closely to the multi connector 2; instead, a constant distance between them should be maintained during the measurement of the inspection light from a specific optical fiber. The intensity of the inspection light measured by the optical power meter 24 under such approximate connection is taken as P A . Also, in that position, the laser scale 11 is positioned in the origin on the X and Y axes by the X-Y corrector 21. Then, the X-Y stage 10 is operated to move the multi connector 2 in an optional direction within a range of the first optical fiber, and the X-Y stage 10 is stopped in a position where, for instance, the intensity of the inspection light measured by the optical power meter 24 becomes (P A -1)dB. The then coordinate position (X₁₁, Y₁₁) is measured by the laser scale 11. After that, the X-Y stage 10 is actuated again to move the multi connector 2 to another position within the range of that intensity of light keeping within a range of the first optical fiber, and a coordinate position (X₁₂, Y₁₂) where the intensity of the inspection light becomes (P A -1)dB is measured in the same manner. A series of the steps described above is repeated on the first optical fiber for a total of n times (n ≧ 3) to measure n coordinate positions as shown in FIG. 4. The n points have the same transmission loss of the inspection light and lie on a circumference which is equidistant from a core center C in the first optical fiber. In FIG. 4, a point I P is the initial position when the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 is almost butt-connected and the intensity of the inspection light is P A . Accordingly, based on the n points, the following expressions for the core center C ( X ₁₀ , Y ₁₀) and a radius R of the first optical fiber are derived from the equation of circle: Based on the expressions above, the core center C ( X ₁₀ , Y ₁₀) of the first optical fiber is calculated by the computer 14 according to the method of least squares. Thus, the positions of the core centers of the optical fibers 3a based on the centers of the pin holes 2c and 2c of the multi connector 2 can be acquired by determining the positions of the core centers for other optical fibers 3a and 6 which correspond to the second through the nth optical fibers in the same manner. In this way, an axial deviation of the fiber inserting holes 2d in the multi connector 2 based on the pin holes 2c and 2c can be known, making it possible to judge whether a manufactured optical connector is defective or not. An accuracy of 0.1 µ m was acquired when the positions of the cores of the optical fibers 3a based on the pin holes 2c were measured using a laser scale with an accuracy of 0.1 µ m or less in accordance with the preferred method of the present invention. The method discussed above may be simplified as follows if the measurement accuracy is not required to be that high. With the multi connector 2 and the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 almost connected, the X-Y stage 10 is moved in an optional direction within the range of the first optical fiber. A position where the intensity of the inspection light measured by the optical power meter 24 is the highest, that is, where the transmission loss is the smallest, is measured by the laser scale 11 according to the judgment result given by the computer 14. In the same manner, the positions of the optical fibers 3a based on the pin holes 2c and 2c of the multi connector 2 can be easily known by determining the positions of other optical fibers 3a and 6 that correspond to the second through the nth optical fibers. The multi connector 2 was positioned in the opening 10a and installed to the X-Y stage 10, but the optical connector may be also positioned using, for example, V grooves formed in the X-Y stage 10. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, V grooves 10b and 10b are formed in the opening 10a of the X-Y stage 10. The sample ferrule 2a is positioned and mounted on the X-Y stage 10 by fixing both inspection ferrules 5 which are inserted in the pin holes 2c of the sample ferrule 2a into the V grooves 10b with mounting plates 9. For the measurements discussed above, the inspection ferrules must be free from eccentricity. If, for instance, the inspection ferrule 5 has an eccentric center in relation to the center of the pin hole 2c, then the following procedure is taken to perform measurement. In the following description and drawings, a single connector is used for the optical connector, and the aforementioned dimension measuring system 1 is used. Accordingly, the same symbols will be used for the components that are identical to the components described above, and detailed explanation will be omitted. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate the method for measuring a position of an optical fiber based on pin holes when the optical connector is a single connector 30. A sample ferrule 30a has a fiber inserting hole 30b in which one end of an optical fiber 31 is inserted and temporarily attached. The other end of the optical fiber 31 is connected to a light source 4. The upper end of the optical fiber 31 is exposed on the butting end surface 30c of the sample ferrule 30a; pin holes 30d and 30e are provided on either side of the optical fiber 31. Inspection ferrules 5 and 5 are inserted in the pin holes 30d and 30e, respectively as illustrated so that they are free to rotate. Each of the inspection ferrules 5 is provided with a single optical fiber 6. In the single connector 30, the positions of the optical fibers 6 and 31 are measured in accordance with the following procedure: First, the inspection ferrules 5 are inserted to the pin holes 30d and 30e of the sample ferrule 30a, and the single connector 30 is positioned and installed to an X-Y stage 10. Then, a Z-axis scale 13 is located in the origin on a Z axis by a Z-axis corrector 23, and a Z-axis stage 12 with the single connector 30 installed is lowered. This causes the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 to be butted against the butting end surface 30c of the single connector 30, thereby almost butt-connecting the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 to the first optical fiber among the optical fibers 6 and 31 for which the position of the core center is to be determined. Under the aforementioned condition, the first measurement is performed to determine the coordinate position of the center of the optical fibers 6 and 31. More specifically, the center of the single optical fiber 6 is located in a position where the intensity of the inspection light measured becomes the highest when the X-Y stage 10 is moved while measuring the intensity of the inspection light radiated from the single optical fiber 6 toward the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 by an optical power meter 24. As shown in FIG. 8, a central position P L1 of the single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30d is taken as an origin (0, 0) on the X-Y stage 10. Then, the X-Y stage 10 is actuated again to align the optical fiber 31 and the other single optical fiber 6 to the optical axis of the light transmitting & receiving fiber 8 in consecutive order. And a central position C of the optical fiber 31 and a central position P R1 of the other single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30e shown in FIG. 8 are measured by the X-Y stage 10 in the same manner as explained above. Based on the measured values, a distance L₁ ( = P L1 P R1 ) between the single optical fibers 6 and 6, and axial deviations X₁ and Y₁ of the optical fiber 31 shown in FIG. 8 are determined, using the axis which runs through the center P L1 of the single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30d and the center P R1 of the other single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30e as the reference. Next, the inspection ferrule 5 inserted in the pin hole 30e is turned 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7, then the second measurement is performed in the same manner as mentioned above to measure a central position P R2 of the single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30e. Taking the axis running through the centers P L1 and P R2 of the single optical fibers 6 and 6 as the reference, a distance L₂ ( = P L1 P R2 ) between the singleoptical fibers 6 and 6 and axial deviations X₂ and Y₂ of the optical fiber 31 shown in FIG. 8 are determined. Then, the inspection ferrule 5 inserted in the pin hole 30d is also turned 180 degrees, and the third measurement is carried out to measure a central position P L2 of the single optical fiber 6 in the pin hole 30d. Taking the axis running through the centers P L2 and P R2 of the single optical fibers 6 and 6 as the reference, a distance L₃ ( = P L2 P R2 ) between the single optical fibers 6 and 6 and axial deviations X₃ and Y₃ of the optical fiber 31 shown in FIG. 8 are obtained. Thus, using the axis that runs through the centers P L1 and P R2 of the two single optical fibers 6 and 6 as the reference, an eccentric center C R (X R , Y R ) of the pin hole 30e and an eccentric center C L (X L , Y L ) of the pin hole 30d can be given by the following expressions: X L = -(L₃cosa₁ - L₂)/2 Y L = L₃sina₁/2 X R = (L₁cosa₂ - L₂)/2 + L₂ Y R = L₁sin a₂/2 where a₁ and a₂ are expressed by a₁ = Tan⁻¹Y₂/(L₂ - X₂) - Tan⁻¹Y₃/(L₃ - X₃) a₂ = Tan⁻¹Y₂/X₂ - Tan⁻¹Y₁/X₁ Therefore, using the eccentric center C R of the pin hole 30e as the reference, and based on an axis running through the eccentric center C R of the pin hole 30e and the eccentric center C L of the pin hole 30d, a distance L ( = C R C L ) between the pin holes 30d and 30e and a position (X, Y) of the optical fiber 31 can be given by the following expressions: L = {(X R - X L )² + (Y R - Y L )²} 1/2 X = {(X₂ - X L )² + (Y₂ - Y L )²} 1/2 . cosϑ Y = {(X₂ - X L )² + (Y₂ - Y L )²} 1/2 . sinϑ In this case, ϑ indicates an angle formed by a line segment which connects the center (X, Y) of the optical fiber 31 and the eccentric center C L , and the axis which goes through the eccentric center C R of the pin hole 30e and the eccentric center C L of the pin hole 30d when the eccentric center C R of the pin hole 30e is used as the reference, and ϑ is given by the following expression: ϑ = Tan⁻¹(Y₂ - Y L )/(X₂ - X L ) - Tan⁻¹(Y R - Y L )/(Y R - Y L ) Thus, the position (X, Y) of the optical fiber 31 for which the eccentricities of the pin holes 30d and 30e have been corrected can be acquired. In this case, the rotating angle of the inspection ferrule 5 is not limited as long as the eccentricities of the pin holes 30d and 30e can be measured. However, it is desirable to give it a half turn, i.e., 180 degrees in order to reduce the number of measurements. In the above embodiment, the light source 4 is connected to the multi connector 2 or the single connector 30, and the optical power meter 24 to the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 so that the inspection light is transmitted from the multi connector 2 or the single connector 30 to the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7. However, the connecting relation may be reversed, and the light source 4 may be connected to the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7, and the optical power meter 24 to the multi connector 2 or the single connector 30 so that the inspection light is transmitted from the light transmitting & receiving ferrule 7 to the multi connector 2 or the single connector 30. Also, in the aforementioned embodiments , the intensity of the inspection light transmitted is determined by the optical power meter at a plurality of points to calculate the position of each optical fiber in accordance with the measurement points. However, the central position of each optical fiber may also be determined by, for example, photographing the exposed end of each optical fiber by a CCD camera and image-processing the picture.

Claims: A method for inspection of an optical connector (2) comprising a body provided with one or a plurality of optical fiber inserting holes (2d) and a plurality of guide pin holes (2c), the method comprising the following steps: a step wherein inspection ferrules (5) with single optical fibers (6) are removably inserted in the pin holes (2c) of said body, and an optical fiber (31) or fibers (3) are inserted in said fiber inserting hole (30b) or holes (2d); a step wherein said optical connector (2) is located in a specific position on a position measuring means (10) which moves the optical connector in the direction of the axis X or Y and measures the corresponding position of the optical connector on the X or Y axis; a step wherein a light transmitting & recieving ferrule (7) provided with a light transmitting & receiving fiber (8), which is installed on a Z-axis stage (12, 13) positioned in the vicinity of said position measuring means and is free to move in the direction of the Z axis intersecting orthogonally with the plane defined by the two axes X and Y, is arranged to face said optical connector (2) in the direction of the Z axis using said Z axis stage at a specific distance provided between them; a step wherein said optical connector (2) is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by said position measuring means (10) while letting in an inspection light emitted by a light source (4) either through the optical fiber (31) or fibers (3) inserted in said fiber inserting hole (30b) or holes (2d) or through said light transmitting & receiving fiber (8) and letting it out towards a light receiving means (24) from the other side, thereby optically connecting said single optical fiber (31) or one of said optical fibers (3) to the light transmitting & receiving fiber (8); a step wherein said optical connector (2) is moved in the direction of the axis X or Y by said position measuring means and said light transmitting & receiving fiber is switched to each of said optical fibers (3, 6, 31) inserted in said fibre inserting hole or holes and said pin hole in succession to measure the inspection light irradiated to said light receiving means (24) as a function of position measured by the position measuring means (10) under specific measuring conditions, thereby measuring the position of each optical fiber of the optical connection and the inspection ferrules; and a step wherein the position of the center of each fiber inserting hole (2d, 30b) relative to the pin holes (2c) of said optical connector (2) is determined from the measurement results. A method as claim in claim 1, wherein said position measuring means is provided with an opening formed in accordance with the shape of the said optical connector and said optical connector is located and installed on said position measuring means in a specific position on the axis X or Y. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said position measuring means is provided with a plurality of V grooves in specific positions, and said optical connector is located and installed in a specific position on said position measuring means on the axis X or Y. A method as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said position measuring means is provided with a Z axis scale with a Z-axis controller, a specific distance between said light transmitting & receiving ferrule and said optical connector is measured by said Z- axis scale, and the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and inspection ferrules is measured while maintaining the specific distance at a constant value in accordance with the pre-measured transmission losses of the inspection light based on the distance between said light transmitting & receiving ferrule and said optical connector. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said Z-axis scale is a glass scale. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein as a specific measurement condition for measuring the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and the inspection ferrules, measurement is performed by the position measuring means to determine a plurality of points on said optical connector in the direction of said axis X or Y at which the measured intensity of an inspection light is equal for said single optical fiber or one of said optical fibers optically connected to the light transmitting & receiving fiber, and the position of a pin hole is determined from that measuring position, then the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector is measured based on the position of the pin hole. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein as a specific measurement condition for measuring the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and the inspection ferrules, each of said inspection ferrules is turned in said pin hole for a plurality of times for a specific angle to determine the position of the pin hole from the position of said single optical fiber measured at each turn angle, and the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector is measured based on the position of the pin hole. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the optical fibers inserted in said fiber inserting holes are temporarily installed in said fiber inserting holes. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the optical fibers inserted in said fiber inserting holes are glued and fixed in said fiber inserting holes. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said position measuring means consists of an X-Y stage provided with a laser scale. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the movement in the direction of the axis X or Y is controlled by an X-Y controller. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the movement of said Z-axis stage in the direction of a Z-axis is controlled by a Z-axis controller. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the optical fibers inserted in said optical connector and the single optical fibers installed in said inspection ferrules, and the inspection ferrules are free of eccentricity in the outside diameters of the cores and ferrules. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the light source of said inspection light is an LED. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 - 13, wherein the light source of said inspection light is a semiconductor laser. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the light receiving means of said inspection light is an optical power meter. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein based on the position of each optical fiber of said optical connector and inspection ferrules measured by said inspection light, the measurement results are processed by an electronic control unit to determine the central position of each fiber inserting hole relative to the pin holes of said optical connector. A method of testing an optical connector (2) having a connection surface (2b) for abutment with another optical connector, so as to establish the position on the connection surface (2b) of an optical fiber insertion hole (2d) relative to a connecting pin hole (2c), the method comprising inserting optical fibers (3, 6) into the pin hole (2c) and the insertion hole (2d) so as to terminate substantially at said connection surface (2b), passing light through the fibers (3, 6) and detecting the distribution of light passed through said fibres to determine therefrom the positions of the fibers relative to each other, and therefrom the position of the fiber insertion hole (2d) relative to the connecting pin hole (2c).

Inventors: SHIGEMATSU TAKASHI C O THE FUR, YAMANE MOTOHIRO C O THE FURUKA, SHIGEMATSU, TAKASHI, C/O THE FURUKAWA EL. CO., LTD, YAMANE, MOTOHIRO, C/O THE FURUKAWA EL. CO., LTD.
Applicants: FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO LTD, THE FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G01M11
IPC codes: G01B11, G02B6