Patent Publication Number: US-2013247728-A1

Title: Optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus and method of cutting optical fiber and removing coating material

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus and a method of cutting an optical fiber and removing a coating material. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A communication network in which plural terminal devices or electronic devices such as a display device or the like are connected by a multi-core optical fiber has been structured. The multi-core optical fiber is a flat cable (which is also referred to as a “fiber ribbon”) in which plural (from 4 to 24, for example) core-wire fibers (cores) are aligned in a parallel relationship with each other on a plane so that the plural core-wire fibers can be connected at the same time. For connecting the multi-core optical fiber with an electronic device, each of the core-wire fibers is previously exposed for a predetermined length to be connected with connection terminals of the electronic device. 
     An apparatus is known in which a coating material of an optical fiber is supported by a holder member including a pair of V-shaped holders from a radius direction, subsequently, the coating material is cut by a pair of cutters, and then, the coating material is removed from the optical fiber by an aspiration force of an aspiration pipe (Patent Document 1, for example). 
     Further, when there is a defect or dirt at an end surface of a core-wire fiber of an optical fiber, diffusion of light occurs. Thus, before removing (cutting) the coating material of the optical fiber, it is necessary to cut the end surface of the core-wire fiber such that the surface roughness of the end surface is small enough for an allowable scattering loss. The cutting position of the coating material is determined to be at a predetermined length from the end surface of the core-wire fiber in relation to the connecter. Thus, the position of the cutter for the coating material is adjusted to be a predetermined distance from the end surface of the core-wire fiber in accordance with the cutting position of the coating material. 
     Conventionally, the end portion of the optical fiber (the end surfaces of the core-wire fibers) is previously cut by an optical fiber cutter apparatus, and then the end portion of the optical fiber is inserted into a coating material remover apparatus so that the coating material is to be cut. Thus, it is necessary to prepare both the optical fiber cutter apparatus and the coating material remover apparatus. Therefore, there is a problem that a working efficiency is lowered as it is necessary to insert the optical fiber and remove the cut portions in both the optical fiber cutter apparatus and the coating material remover apparatus. 
     Further, according to the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, as the optical fiber is cut one by one, it is impossible to cut plural core-wire fibers aligned in a parallel relationship with each other of a multi-core optical fiber at once and further it takes a large amount of time to remove a coating material of the optical fiber. 
     [Patent Document] 
     
         
         [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-149082 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is made in light of the above problems, and provides an optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus and a method of cutting an optical fiber and removing a coating material capable of solving the above problems. 
     According to an embodiment, there is provided an optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus including an optical fiber cutter unit which cuts an end portion of a multi-core optical fiber held by an optical fiber holder to be a first predetermined length; a coating material remover unit which cuts a surface of a coating material of the multi-core optical fiber at a second predetermined length from the end portion to expose a core-wire fiber inserted in the coating material for the second predetermined length; a connecting portion which slidably connects the optical fiber cutter unit to the coating material remover unit with respect to the coating material remover unit, the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus being configured such that the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber is cut while the optical fiber cutter unit is apart from the coating material remover unit, the cut end portion of the multi-core optical fiber is inserted into the coating material remover unit by sliding the optical fiber cutter unit or the coating material remover unit so that the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover unit are in contact with each other, and then the coating material is removed by sliding the optical fiber cutter unit or the coating material remover unit so that the optical fiber cutter unit is apart from the coating material remover unit. 
     According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of cutting an optical fiber and removing a coating material, including a first step in which an optical fiber holder holding an optical fiber is held by an optical fiber cutter unit; a second step in which the multi-core optical fiber exposed from an end surface of the optical fiber cutter unit is cut to be a first predetermined length by moving a cutter for optical fiber by pushing a pushing operation unit of the optical fiber cutter unit; a third step in which the cut end portion of the multi-core optical fiber is inserted into a coating material remover unit by sliding the optical fiber cutter unit or the coating material remover unit so that the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover unit are in contact with each other; a fourth step in which a surface of the coating material is cut at a second predetermined length from the cut end portion by a cutter for coating material by closing a cover member of the coating material remover unit; and a fifth step in which the optical fiber cutter unit or the coating material remover unit is moved to be apart from each other while holding the optical fiber holder to remove the coating material. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an example of a structure of an optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus seen from a front and right side; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view showing an example of a structure of the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus into which a multi-core optical fiber is inserted seen from the front and right side; 
         FIG. 2B  is a side view showing an example of a structure of an optical fiber holder when a cover is open; 
         FIG. 2C  is a side view showing an example of a structure of the optical fiber holder when the cover is closed; 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view showing an example of a structure of a coating material cutter mechanism of a coating material remover unit seen from a left side in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged side view showing the attachment structure of an upper cutter for coating material and a lower cutter for coating material of the coating material remover unit; 
         FIG. 3C  is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a multi-core optical fiber; 
         FIG. 4A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing inside of the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus before cutting an end portion of an optical fiber; 
         FIG. 4B  is a block diagram showing an example of a heater temperature control unit; 
         FIG. 5  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing inside of the optical fiber cutter unit; 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view showing a cutter attachment portion of the optical fiber cutter unit; 
         FIG. 6B  is a front view showing the cutter attachment portion of the optical fiber cutter unit; 
         FIG. 7  is a front cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter mechanism; 
         FIG. 8A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter mechanism before an optical fiber cutting operation; 
         FIG. 8B  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the optical fiber cutter mechanism before the cutting operation taken along an A-A line in  FIG. 8A ; 
         FIG. 9A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit when a pushing operation unit is pushed downward; 
         FIG. 9B  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit when the pushing operation unit is pushed downward taken along a B-B line in  FIG. 9A ; 
         FIG. 9C  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit when the pushing operation unit is further pushed to cut the optical fiber; 
         FIG. 9D  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit when the pushing operation unit is further pushed to cut the optical fiber taken along a C-C line in  FIG. 9C ; 
         FIG. 10  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state of the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover after cutting the optical fiber; 
         FIG. 11  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state of the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover when cutting the coating material; 
         FIG. 12A  is a perspective view showing a process of step  1  in which the optical fiber is cut; 
         FIG. 12B  is a perspective view showing a process of step  2  in which the optical fiber is cut; 
         FIG. 12C  is a perspective view showing a process of step  3  in which the optical fiber is cut; 
         FIG. 12D  is a perspective view showing a process of step  4  in which the optical fiber is cut; 
         FIG. 12E  is a perspective view showing a process of step  5  in which the coating material is cut; 
         FIG. 12F  is a perspective view showing a process of step  6  in which the coating material is cut; 
         FIG. 12G  is a perspective view showing a process of step  7  in which the coating material is cut; 
         FIG. 12H  is a perspective view showing a process of step  8  in which the coating material is cut; 
         FIG. 12I  is a perspective view showing a process of step  9  in which the coating material is cut; and 
         FIG. 12J  is a perspective view showing a process of step  10  in which the coating material is cut. 
     
    
    
     Note that also arbitrary combinations of the above-described constituents, and any exchanges of expressions in the present invention, made among methods, devices and so forth, are valid as embodiments of the present invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention will be described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many alternative embodiments can be accomplished using the teachings of the present invention and that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated for explanatory purposes. 
     It is to be noted that, in the explanation of the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals, and explanations are not repeated. 
     First Embodiment 
     (Structure of Optical Fiber Cutter/Coating Material Remover Apparatus  10 ) 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an example of a structure of an optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  seen from a front and right side. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  includes an optical fiber cutter unit  20  and a coating material remover unit  30 . The optical fiber cutter unit  20  is provided at a left side of the apparatus  10  in  FIG. 1  while the coating material remover unit  30  is provided at a right side of the apparatus  10 . The optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are slidably connected with each other in a horizontal direction (in an X-direction). As the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  of the embodiment includes the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  in a single apparatus, it is portable as well as the working efficiency becomes high. For example, when the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover unit are separately provided in different apparatuses, if one of the apparatuses is lost, either of the optical fiber or the coating material cannot be cut and the optical fiber cannot be connected to a connector or the like. Therefore, it is always necessary to confirm that both of the apparatuses are prepared. However, according to the embodiment, as the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are integrally formed, there is no fear to forget to bring or prepare either of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30 . Further, cutting of an end surface of an optical fiber and removing of a coating material can be continuously performed so that the working efficiency is improved. 
     The optical fiber cutter unit  20  includes a holder supporting unit  40 , an optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  and a pushing operation unit  52 . The pushing operation unit  52  is provided at an upper surface of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  for cutting an end portion of a multi-core optical fiber. 
     The coating material remover unit  30  includes a housing  32 , a cover member  34  and a coating material cutter mechanism  60  (expressed by a dotted line in  FIG. 1 ). The coating material cutter mechanism  60  is provided at left-end surfaces of the housing  32  and the cover member  34 . The coating material remover unit  30  further includes a heater unit  70  (expressed by a dotted line in  FIG. 1 ), a time setting trimmer  72 , a temperature setting trimmer  74 , an operation switch  80  of the heater unit  70  and an indicating lamp (light emitting diode)  90 . 
     The heater unit  70  is attached inside the housing  32 . The time setting trimmer  72  and the temperature setting trimmer  74  are provided at a front surface of the housing  32  for setting the temperature and the period of the heater unit  70 . 
     The time setting trimmer  72  is configured to be capable of setting arbitrary periods by rotating a handle of a dial. In this embodiment, graduation from 0 to 5 each of 5 seconds intervals is provided and it is possible to set 5 different periods indicated by the position of the handle of the dial from 5 seconds to 30 seconds (graduation of 6 to 9 are not used in this case). The temperature setting trimmer  74  is configured to be capable of setting arbitrary temperatures by rotating a handle of a dial. In this embodiment, graduation from 0 to 5 each of 10° C. intervals is provided and it is possible to set 5 different temperatures indicated by the position of the handle of the dial from 60° C. to 100° C. (graduation of 6 to 9 are not used in this case). 
     The operation switch  80  and the indicating lamp  90  are provided at an upper surface of the housing  32 . The indicating lamp  90  is configured to emit a red light when the power is supplied to the heater unit  70  and keep emitting red light at an off-state before the operation switch  80  is pushed. Then, the indicating lamp  90  is configured to flash a red light when the operation switch  80  is pushed and emit a green light when the temperature of the heater unit  70  becomes a predetermined temperature. The temperature at which the indicating lamp  90  changes to emit a green light may be arbitrary set. For example, when the temperature is set to be 80° C., the indicating lamp  90  is set to emit a red light when the operation switch  80  is not pushed, flash the red light until the temperature of the heater unit  70  becomes 80° C. after the operation switch  80  is pushed, emit a green light when the temperature of the heater unit  70  becomes 80° C., flash the green light after a predetermined period set by the time setting trimmer  72  has passed until the temperature of the heater unit  70  becomes 80% of the set temperature, keep this status for about 1 minute, and then emit the red light and the heater unit  70  is automatically cooled. 
       FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  in which a multi-core optical fiber  100  is inserted seen from the front and right side. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the holder supporting unit  40  of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  includes a lower holder  42  on which an optical fiber holder  110  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  is mounted and an upper holder  44  which holds an upper side surface of the optical fiber holder  110 . The lower holder  42  is provided with a concave portion  48  with which the optical fiber holder  110  fits and is held at its upper surface. 
     The upper holder  44  is rotatably attached to the lower holder  42  by a hinge  46  at a backside surface of the lower holder  42  to be rotated backward with respect to the lower holder  42 . The optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is slidably attached to the upper holder  44  by a guide mechanism  120  including plural guide members  122  to be slid in the X-direction (a left-right direction in  FIG. 2A ) with respect to the upper holder  44 . Thus, the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is rotated with the upper holder  44  when the upper holder  44  is rotated backward by the hinge  46 . 
     The cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  is also rotatably attached to the housing  32  by a hinge  37  at a backside surface of the housing  32  to be rotated backward with respect to the housing  32 . The coating material cutter mechanism  60  includes an upper cutter for coating material  62  fixed at a left-end surface of the cover member  34  in order to cut the upper side of the coating material and a lower cutter for coating material  64  fixed at a left-end surface of the housing  32  in order to cut the lower side of the coating material. The coating material remover unit  30  includes a coating material remover  38  provided at the upper surface of the housing  32  to be covered or opened by the cover member  34 . 
     The coating material remover unit  30  further includes a connection mechanism  130  (connecting portion) including a pair of guide members  132  provided at the side surface of the housing  32  and held between the lower holder  42  of the holder supporting unit  40 . The guide member  132  has a structure including a combination of a major diameter pipe and a minor diameter pipe retractably provided. When the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are in contact as shown in  FIG. 1 , the guide members  132  are housed in either of the lower holder  42  of the holder supporting unit  40  and the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30 . Then, when the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  slid in a direction apart from each other, as shown in  FIG. 2A , the retractably provided guide members  132  are pulled out and connect the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30 . 
     (Structure of Optical Fiber Holder  110 ) 
       FIG. 2B  is a side view of the optical fiber holder  110  where a holder cover  114  is opened. As shown in  FIG. 2B , the optical fiber holder  110  includes a holder base  112  provided with a groove in which the multi-core optical fiber  100  is to be mounted and the holder cover  114  which is opened and closed by a hinge  113  attached to a side surface of the holder base  112 . 
     After mounting the multi-core optical fiber  100  on a center line of the holder base  112 , as shown in  FIG. 2C , the holder cover  114  is closed by being rotated so that the multi-core optical fiber  100  is held in the optical fiber holder  110 . Here, the holder cover  114  is configured to engage with or is locked to the holder base  112  at a predetermined closing position in order not to open during the operation. The multi-core optical fiber  100  is held in the optical fiber holder  110  such that a predetermined length of the end portion is protruded from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110 . 
       FIG. 3C  is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . As shown in  FIG. 3C , when the multi-core optical fiber  100  is a four channel type, for example, the multi-core optical fiber  100  includes four core-wire fibers  101  to  104  aligned in a parallel relationship with each other. Each of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  is surrounded by a clad  105  whose refraction index is different from the respective core-wire fiber  101  to  104  and further surrounded by coating materials  106  and  107  in this order toward outside. Then, the four core-wire fibers  101  to  104  each surrounded by the core  105 , the coating materials  106  and  107  are further surrounded by a coating material  108 . The coating materials  106  to  108  are made of UV curable resin, fire retarding material (inorganic filler) or the like. Thus, in this embodiment, each of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  is coated by the three layers of coating materials  106  and  108 . The coating materials  106  and  107  are formed to be concentric with the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  and the clads  105  which surround the core-wire fibers  101  to  104 , respectively, and the coating material  108  is formed outside the coating materials  107  to surround the four fibers all together. 
     The diameter of each of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  is 80±5 μm, and the diameters of the coating materials  106  and  107  are 200±5 μm and 250±5 μm, respectively, for example. The thickness of the multi-core optical fiber  100  is 0.30±0.005 mm, and the width of the multi-core optical fiber  100  is 1.1±0.2 mm, for example. Although the multi-core optical fiber  100  in which the four core-wire fibers are aligned in a parallel relationship with each other is exemplified in this embodiment, a multi-core optical fiber with plural core-wire fibers not limited to four may be used. For example, a multi-core optical fiber with plural core-wire fibers more than four ( 6 ,  8 ,  12 ,  24  or the like) may be used. 
     (Coating Material Cutter Mechanism  60  of Coating Material Remover Unit  30 ) 
       FIG. 3A  is a side view showing an example of the structure of the coating material cutter mechanism  60  of the coating material remover unit  30  seen from a left side in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , the coating material cutter mechanism  60  of the coating material remover unit  30  includes the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64 . The upper cutter for coating material  62  is held by an upper attachment base  66  which is fixed to an end surface of the cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  by screws  63  such that a blade directs downward. The lower cutter for coating material  64  is held by a lower attachment base  68  which is fixed to the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30  by screws  65  such that a blade directs upward. 
     The upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  are attached such that the blades cut into the upper and lower surfaces of the multi-core optical fiber  100  when the cover member  34  is rotated to a cutting position where the cover member  34  faces the upper surface of the housing  32  (where the cover member  34  is closed). 
       FIG. 3B  is an enlarged side view showing the attachment structure of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  of the coating material remover unit  30 . As shown in  FIG. 3B , the upper attachment base  66  includes an attachment surface  66   a  at its center to which the upper cutter for coating material  62  is fixed. Similarly, the lower attachment base  68  includes an attachment surface  68   a  at its center to which the lower cutter for coating material  64  is fixed. Although not shown in the drawings, reference marks for adjusting attachment positions of parts are provided to the upper attachment base  66  and the lower attachment base  68 . Then, by adjusting the positions based on the reference marks, there is provided a space H between the edge of the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the edge of the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64 . The space H is set in accordance with the diameters of the core-wire fiber  102 , the clad  105  and the coating material  106  of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . For example, two kinds of sets of the upper attachment base  66  and the lower attachment base  68  may be provided such that the space H become different values such as H=0.21 mm and H=0.22 mm, for example. As the space H is arbitrary set, the plural kinds of sets may be provided. 
     When cutting the coating materials  107  and  108 , the coating material cutter mechanism  60  of the coating material remover unit  30  is used. At this time, in the coating material cutter mechanism  60 , the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  cuts into the upper coating materials  107  and  108  of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  cuts into the lower coating materials  107  and  108  of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104 . 
     It means that the attachment positions of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  are adjusted such that the space H between the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  becomes slightly larger than the diameters of the coating materials  106  of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104 . Further, when cutting the coating materials  107  and  108 , as will be described later, a second predetermined length of the coating materials  107  and  108  is removed by sliding the multi-core optical fiber  100  apart from the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  while having the coating materials  107  and  108  become softened by the heat of the heater unit  70 . 
     (State of Apparatus before Cutting Optical Fiber) 
       FIG. 4A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing inside of the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  before cutting an end portion of an optical fiber. 
     When cutting the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100 , it is important to cut the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  such that the cut surfaces become flat without defect in order to appropriately transmit the light within each of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  (at a state that the surface roughness of the end surface is small enough for an allowable scattering loss). Thus, in the holder supporting unit  40 , the optical fiber holder  110  is held between the lower holder  42  and the upper holder  44  and further, an optical fiber support mechanism  220  which supports a lower surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100  protruded from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110  is provided below the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50 . 
     The optical fiber support mechanism  220  includes a movable support member  222  which is rotated to a position to contact the lower surface of the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  when cutting the optical fiber. The movable support member  222  is supported by a support arm  36  which is formed to extend from the coating material remover unit  30  toward the optical fiber cutter unit  20  side. When the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is moved to an optical fiber cutting position (See  FIG. 4A ) at which the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is apart from the coating material remover unit  30 , the movable support member  222  is maintained at a vertical state. On the other hand, when the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is moved to a coating material cutting position (see  FIG. 10 ) at which the optical fiber cutter unit  20  contacts the coating material remover unit  30 , the movable support member  222  is rotated in a clockwise direction to take a withdrawal position. 
     Further, a heater temperature control unit  240  which controls the temperature of the heater unit  70  to a desired temperature is provided in the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30 . The heater temperature control unit  240  arbitrary sets the heating temperature (60° C. to 100° C., for example) and the heating period (5 second to 30 seconds, for example) of the heater unit  70  in accordance with the sets of the time setting trimmer  72  and the temperature setting trimmer  74  provided at the front surface of the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30 . 
       FIG. 4B  is a block diagram showing an example of the heater temperature control unit  240 . As shown in  FIG. 4B , the heater temperature control unit  240  includes a micon control unit  242 , a power source unit  244 , a heater drive unit  246 , ceramics heaters  247 , a thermo-couple AMP  248 , and thermo-couples (temperature sensor)  249 . The heater unit  70  is composed of the heater drive unit  246  and the ceramics heater  247 . 
     When the operation switch  80  is switched on, the micon control unit  242  flows drive currents of predetermined voltages (DC 24V, DC 5V), respectively, from the power source unit  244  to the heater drive unit  246  and the thermo-couple AMP  248 . With this, the heater drive unit  246  applies the drive current to the ceramics heater  247  to retain the ceramics heater  247  at a heating state. 
     The thermo-couple AMP  248  applies the drive current to the thermo-couple  249  to measure the temperature of the coating material remover  38  heated by the ceramics heater  247 . The heating operation is continued until the temperature measured by the thermo-couple  249  reaches the temperature set by the temperature setting trimmer  74 . Then, the micon control unit  242  controls to terminate the applying of the drive current to the heater drive unit  246  when the AMP output signal (measured temperature) output from the thermo-couple AMP  248  reaches the set temperature. 
     The micon control unit  242  outputs a signal to change the color of light to the indicating lamp  90  to have the indicating lamp  90  emit green light when the measured temperature by the thermo-couple AMP  248  reaches the set temperature. 
     (Structure of Optical Fiber Cutter Mechanism  50  of Optical Fiber Cutter Unit  20 ) 
       FIG. 5  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an inside structure of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is positioned above the optical fiber holder  110  which is mounted in the upper concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42 . The movable support member  222  which supports the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  protruded from the optical fiber holder  110  from the lower side is vertically positioned at the end surface of the lower holder  42  facing the coating material remover unit  30 . 
     The optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is housed in a cutter unit housing  230  and includes a column shaped pushing operation unit  52 , a cutter support member  150  formed in a plate shape which supports a cutter for optical fiber  140 , an optical fiber pressing member  170  provided outside of the cutter support member  150  and an elevating member  180  formed in a plate shape which connects the pushing operation unit  52  and the cutter support member  150 . The optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  further includes a first spring member (a first elastic member)  190  which pushes the pushing operation unit  52  upward to recover to an initial position before the pushing operation and second a spring member (a second elastic member)  200  (see  FIGS. 8B and 9B ) which absorbs a relative displacement between the optical fiber pressing member  170  and the cutter for optical fiber  140  in accordance with a sliding operation of the elevating member  180 . In this embodiment, a pair of the first spring members  190  and a pair of the second spring members  200  are respectively provided in directions perpendicular to each other in a plan view. Although the second spring members  200  are not shown in  FIG. 4A , the second spring members  200  are shown in  FIG. 8B  and  FIG. 9B . 
     In this embodiment, the diameters and the numbers of turns of the spring materials of the first spring member  190  and the second spring member  200  are configured such that the spring constant B 1  of the first spring member  190  becomes smaller than the spring constant B 2  of the second spring member  200  (B 1 &lt;B 2 ). Thus, the operation force F which is generated when the pushing operation unit  52  is pushed downward becomes larger than the spring force of the first spring member  190 , the first spring members  190  are compressed, and when the operation force F is increased to be larger than the spring force of the second spring member  200 , the second spring members  200  are compressed. By the difference of the spring forces between the first spring member  190  and the second spring member  200 , the cutter support member  150  is further pushed to cut the end portion of the optical fiber  100  while the optical fiber  100  is being pressed by the optical fiber pressing member  170   
     A spring receiver  232  is provided at an inner wall  231  of the cutter unit housing  230  to which the lower ends of the first spring members  190  contact. The elevating member  180  is elevatably inserted inside the spring receiver  232 . An engagement portion  182  of the elevating member  180  formed at the lower end and having a C-shape engages a collar portion  151  of the cutter support member  150 . 
     When not being pushed, the pushing operation unit  52 , the cutter support member  150  and the elevating member  180  are positioned at an upper side by the spring force of the first spring members  190  where the upper end of the pushing operation unit  52  protrudes from the upper opening of the cutter unit housing  230 . The optical fiber pressing member  170  is positioned at the upper side with the elevating member  180 . The cutter unit housing  230  is provided with an elongated opening  234  at its lower surface. The lower end  152  of the cutter support member  150  (the cutter for optical fiber  140 ) and the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  are inserted in the opening  234 . 
     The cutter support member  150  is slidably inserted in the optical fiber pressing member  170  to be slidable in the upper and lower direction. The lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  is provided with a guide hole  174  into which the lower end  152  of the cutter support member  150  is inserted. The lower end  152  of the cutter support member  150  which supports the cutter for optical fiber  140  is slidably guided in the vertical direction by the vertical inner wall of the guide hole  174 . 
     (Attachment Structure of Cutter for Optical Fiber  140 ) 
       FIG. 6A  is a side view showing a cutter attachment portion of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 .  FIG. 6B  is a front view showing the cutter attachment portion of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 . As shown in  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , the cutter support member  150  includes a pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B. The cutter for optical fiber  140  is inserted between lower ends  152   a  and  152  of the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B. The cutter for optical fiber  140  may be fixed by fixing the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B by a pair of fixed screws  143  or by a protruded portion provided at either of the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B. 
     In other words, the cutter for optical fiber  140  is inserted between and supported by the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B such that the blade  145  is exposed from the lower ends  152   a  and  152 . With this structure, as the cutter for optical fiber  140  is stably fixed to the cutter support member  150  by the fastening force of the fixed screws  143 , or fixed by the protruded portion provided at either of the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B, the cutter for optical fiber  140  is not inclined in the vertical direction or shifted in the front-back direction by the cutting operation. Further, by releasing the fixed screws  143  or by releasing from the pair of support bodies  150 A and  150 B, the cutter for optical fiber  140  can be easily exchanged. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 6A , the cutter for optical fiber  140  is fixed in a shifted manner shifted from a center line O of the cutter support member  150  in the vertical direction toward the right side. Thus, only the left half of the blade  145 , which is positioned at a cutting area, is used for cutting the optical fiber and the right half of the blade  145  is positioned at a non-cutting area. With this structure, even when the left half of the blade  145  is wasted, by detaching the cutter for optical fiber  140  by releasing the screws  143  and attaching the cutter for optical fiber  140  again after reversing, the left half of the blade  145 , which is originally the right half the blade  145 , can be used for cutting the optical fiber. Alternatively, by reversing the inserting direction of the cutter support member  150  to which the cutter for optical fiber  140  is fixed the originally right half of the blade  145  is positioned to be at the left side. With the above operation, the life time of the cutter for optical fiber  140  can be increased. 
     (Cutting Operation of Cutting End Portion of Multi-Core Optical Fiber  100 ) 
       FIG. 7  is a front cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  for explaining the cutting operation of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the pushing operation unit  52  of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is pushed downward, the cutter support member  150  moves downward with the optical fiber pressing member  170  so that the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  presses the multi-core optical fiber  100  toward a contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222 . With this, the multi-core optical fiber  100  protruded from the end portion of the optical fiber holder  110  is inserted between the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  and the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222 . 
     Here, when the pushing operation unit  52  is pushed downward, the elevating member  180  moves downward by the pushing force by the pushing operation unit  52  as well as the second spring members  200  (see  FIG. 8B ) push the optical fiber pressing member  170  downward. Thus, the optical fiber pressing member  170  moves downward with the cutter support member  150 . 
     Further, when the downward movement of the optical fiber pressing member  170  is terminated as the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  contacts the upper surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100 , and the pushing operation unit  52  is further pushed downward, the second spring members  200  (see  FIG. 8B ) are compressed so that the cutter support member  150  moves downward with respect to the optical fiber pressing member  170  to have the cutter for optical fiber  140  cut into the multi-core optical fiber  100 . 
     When the lower ends  152   a  and  152  of the cutter support member  150  moves further downward while the multi-core optical fiber  100  is held by the optical fiber pressing member  170 , the blade  145  of the cutter for optical fiber  140  reaches the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222  which is in contact with the lower surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . With this, the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  is cut at a first predetermined length from the end portion of the optical fiber holder  110 . 
     Here, the optical fiber pressing member  170  does not move further downward when a step portion  178  provided above the lower end  172  contacts an inner wall  236  of the cutter unit housing  230 . Thus, the inner wall  236  of the cutter unit housing  230  functions as a stopper which prevents application of an extremely large pushing force to the cutter for optical fiber  140  when cutting. 
     The movable support member  222  is supported by the end portion of the support arm  36  extended from the end surface of the coating material remover unit  30  toward the optical fiber cutter unit  20  side (see  FIG. 4A ). The movable support member  222  is rotatably supported by a shaft  226  provided near the end portion of the support arm  36 . The movable support member  222  is pushed in an anti-clockwise direction by a spring force of a torsion spring  228  wound around the shaft  226 . At this time, the movable support member  222  contacts the end surface of the lower holder  42  at the left-side surface (in  FIG. 4A ) and is vertically positioned so that the contacting surface  224  directs upward facing the cutter for optical fiber  140 . 
     (Operation of Optical Fiber Cutter Mechanism  50 ) 
       FIG. 8A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  before the optical fiber cutting operation.  FIG. 8B  is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along an A-A line in  FIG. 8A  showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  before the optical fiber cutting operation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8A , before the optical fiber cutting operation, the pushing operation unit  52  is positioned above by the spring force of the first spring members  190 . The cutter support member  150  and the optical fiber pressing member  170  are housed inside the cutter unit housing  230 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8B , the elevating member  180  includes a plate sliding portion  183  provided between the pushing operation unit  52  and the cutter support member  150  and a collar portion  184  provided to be protruded from the front and back directions of the sliding portion  183  in addition to the engagement portion  182 . The second spring members  200  are provided between the collar portion  184  of the elevating member  180  and the upper end of the optical fiber pressing member  170 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8B , the optical fiber pressing member  170  includes an engagement portion  176  extending from the back side toward the upper direction and having a C-shape. The engagement portion  176  is formed to face the upper surface, the side surface and the lower surface of the collar portion  184  of the elevating member  180  with a predetermined space, respectively. The engagement portion  176  is pushed upward in accordance with the upward movement of the elevating member  180  when the pushing operation unit  52  is not pushed. 
       FIG. 9A  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit  52  when the pushing operation unit  52  is pushed downward.  FIG. 9B  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the cutting operation of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  taken along a B-B line in  FIG. 9A . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9A  and  FIG. 9B , when the pushing operation unit  52  is pushed downward by the operation force F, the optical fiber pressing member  170  and the cutter support member  150  are slid downward via the spring force of the pair of second spring members  200  in accordance with the downward movement of the elevating member  180 . 
     With this, the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  protrudes from the lower side of the opening  234  at the lower surface of the cutter unit housing  230  to contact the upper surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . At this time, the lower surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100  contacts the contacting surface  224  at the upper end of the movable support member  222 . Thus, the multi-core optical fiber  100  is stably inserted between the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  and the contacting surface  224  at the upper end of the movable support member  222  without being shifted during the cutting operation. 
     Further, at this operation of holding the multi-core optical fiber  100 , the cutter for optical fiber  140  fixed to the lower ends  152   a  and  152  of the cutter support member  150  is housed inside the guide hole  174  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  and is retracted for a distance S from the end surface of the lower end  172 . 
       FIG. 9C  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit  52  when the pushing operation unit  52  is further pushed to cut the optical fiber.  FIG. 9D  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pushing operation unit  52  when the pushing operation unit  52  is further pushed to cut the optical fiber taken along a C-C line in  FIG. 9C . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9C  and  FIG. 9D , when the pushing operation unit  52  is further strongly pushed downward, the step portion  178  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  contacts the inner wall  236  of the cutter unit housing  230  to terminate the movement of the optical fiber pressing member  170  while only the cutter support member  150  provided inside the optical fiber pressing member  170  moves downward. At this time, the lower ends  152   a  and  152  of the cutter support member  150  slid downward within the guide hole  174  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  for the distance S as the second spring members  200  are compressed. With this, the blade  145  of the cutter for optical fiber  140  (see  FIG. 6B ) fixed to the lower ends  152   a  and  152  of the cutter support member  150  protrudes from the lower side of the guide hole  174  to cut the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  supported by the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  between the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222  at a first predetermined length from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110 . 
     Thereafter, by releasing the pushing force to the pushing operation unit  52  to have the operation force F become zero, the pushing operation unit  52  and the optical fiber pressing member  170  move upward with the cutter support member  150  by the spring force of the first spring members  190  to be the initial position before the so that the position (see  FIG. 8A ) before the pushing operation. 
     (Cutting Operation of Coating Material of Multi-Core  Optical Fiber  100 ) 
       FIG. 10  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  after cutting the optical fiber. As shown in  FIG. 10 , after the step of cutting the optical fiber is finished, the step of removing the coating material is performed in which the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  are cut. 
     In the step of removing the coating material, the multi-core optical fiber  100  and the optical fiber holder  110  are kept being held by the holder supporting unit  40  of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 , and with this state, the holder supporting unit  40  and the coating material remover unit  30  are slid to be closer to each other. At this time, at the coating material remover unit  30 , the cover member  34  is opened with respect to the housing  32  (the cover member  34  is rotated backward for a predetermined angle to be inclined state) and thus the cut end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  does not contact the coating material cutter mechanism  60  of the coating material remover unit  30 . 
     When the lower holder  42  is slid in the X-direction (right direction in  FIG. 10 ), the lower holder  42  pushes the movable support member  222  in the sliding direction to rotate the movable support member  222  in the clockwise direction. With this operation, the movable support member  222  is housed in a concave portion of the support arm  36  and the support arm  36  is relatively housed in a concave portion provided at the lower side of the lower holder  42 . Further, at this time, the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is also moved to be closer to the upper holder  44  of the holder supporting unit  40 . The optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  may be pushed by the cover member  34  when the lower holder  42  is slid in the X-direction so that is moved toward the upper holder  44  at this time. 
       FIG. 11  is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  when cutting the coating material. As shown in  FIG. 11 , when the optical fiber cutter unit  20  contacts the coating material remover unit  30 , the cut end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  is inserted into the coating material cutter mechanism  60  above the lower cutter for coating material  64 . Subsequently, the cover member  34  is rotated to be closed with respect to the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30 . With this, in the coating material cutter mechanism  60 , the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  become closer to each other to be a cutting position (see  FIG. 3A ). It means that the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  are positioned at the dotted lines  62   a  and  64   a  shown in  FIG. 3C  to be cut into predetermined depths of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  from the upper and lower directions, respectively. The predetermined depths are set not to cut the core-wire fibers  101  to  104 , the clads  105  and the coating materials  106  of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . 
     For parts of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  where the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  cannot cut, the coating materials  107  and  108  are heated by the heater unit  70  to be softened and at this state, the holder supporting unit  40  is slid to be apart from the coating material remover unit  30 . It means that the holder supporting unit  40  pulls out the multi-core optical fiber  100  from the coating material cutter mechanism  60  while the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  are cut into the upper and lower surface of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . 
     Thus, the front ends of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  are removed as being torn apart from a position where the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  are cut into. 
     Therefore, at the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  which is exposed from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110  held by the holder supporting unit  40 , a second predetermined length (which is shorter than the first predetermined length) of the coating materials  107  and  108  are removed and the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  (and the clads  105 ) coated by the coating material  106  are exposed. 
     (Steps of Cutting Optical Fiber and Removing Coating Material) 
     Steps  1  to  10  are explained with reference to  FIG. 12A  to  FIG. 12J .  FIG. 12A  to  FIG. 12D  show step  1  to step  4  which are the steps of cutting the optical fiber and  FIG. 12E  to  FIG. 12J  show step  5  to step  10  which are the steps of removing the coating material. 
     (Step  1 ) As shown in  FIG. 12A , the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  in which the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are integrally formed is prepared. 
     (Step  2 ) As shown in  FIG. 12B , the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is slid along the guide members  132  in the X-direction with respect to the coating material remover unit  30  so that the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are apart from each other. Then, the upper holder  44  of the holder supporting unit  40  is rotated backward (in a direction B) to expose the concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42 . Similarly, the cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  may also be rotated backward to open the coating material remover  38  formed at the upper surface of the housing  32 . At this state, the optical fiber holder  110  is mounted on the concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42 . The multi-core optical fiber  100  is previously housed in the optical fiber holder  110  (see  FIG. 2B  and  FIG. 2C ). 
     (Step  3 ) As shown in  FIG. 12C , the upper holder  44  of the holder supporting unit  40  is rotated forward to insert the optical fiber holder  110  mounted on the concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42 . At this time, the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is moved while being guided by the guide mechanism  120  such that the cutter for optical fiber  140  is positioned above the optical fiber support mechanism  220  (see  FIG. 5 ). At the optical fiber support mechanism  220 , the movable support member  222  is pushed by the spring force of the torsion spring  228  so that the contacting surface  224  directs upward to face the blade  145  of the cutter for optical fiber  140  (see  FIG. 4A ). 
     (Step  4 ) As shown in  FIG. 12D , the pushing operation unit  52  of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  is pushed downward. With this, the pushing operation unit  52  is pushed downward to move the elevating member  180  downward as well as the optical fiber pressing member  170  and the collar portion  151  of the cutter support member  150  are pushed downward. Thus, the cutter support member  150  provided inside the optical fiber pressing member  170  also moves downward (see  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 9A  and  FIG. 9B ). 
     When the pushing operation unit  52  is further pushed downward while the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  contacting the upper surface of the multi-core optical fiber  100 , the cutter support member  150  moves downward to have the cutter for optical fiber  140  cut into the multi-core optical fiber  100  (see  FIG. 9C  and  FIG. 9D ). 
     With this, the blade  145  of the cutter for optical fiber  140  is protruded downward from the guide hole  174  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  to cut the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  at the first predetermined length from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110  held by the lower end  172  of the optical fiber pressing member  170  between the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222  (see  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 9C  and  FIG. 9D ). 
     (Step  5 ) As shown in  FIG. 12E , the cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  is rotated toward the housing  32  side (direction E). At this time, the cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  becomes a state to be inclined with respect to the upper surface of the housing  32  about 45° from a vertical position (or closed position) and the left side surface faces the right side surface of the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50 . 
     (Step  6 ) As shown in  FIG. 12F , the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are slid to be closer with each other. At this time, the multi-core optical fiber  100  and the optical fiber holder  110  are kept held by the holder supporting unit  40  of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 . Then, with this state, the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are slid to be closer with each other. At this time, as the cover member  34  is half opened with respect to the housing  32  (rotated in the backward direction), the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  exposed from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110  is inserted between the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the lower cutter for coating material  64  of the coating material cutter mechanism  60  provided at the coating material remover unit  30 . 
     Further at this time, fragmentation (not shown in the drawings) of the end portion of the cut optical fiber  100  may be left on the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222  of the optical fiber support mechanism  220 , the fragmentation can be automatically removed through an opening (not shown in the drawings) below the optical fiber cutter unit  20  as the contacting surface  224  of the movable support member  222  becomes inclined state in accordance with the above sliding operation. 
     (Step  7 ) As shown in  FIG. 12G , the cover member  34  of the coating material remover unit  30  is rotated to be closed (direction E) so that the coating material remover  38  of the housing  32  is covered. With this, in the coating material cutter mechanism  60 , the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  is cut into the upper side of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  is cut into the lower side of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the core-wire fibers  101  to  104  (see  FIG. 3C ). 
     Then, the operation switch  80  of the heater unit  70  provided at the upper surface of the housing  32  of the coating material remover unit  30  is switched on. With this, the heater temperature control unit  240  starts supplying power to the heater unit  70  (ceramics heater  247 ) to heat the coating material remover  38  around the coating material cutter mechanism  60 . The heating temperature and the heating period of the heater unit  70  are set to be arbitrary values by the time setting trimmer  72  and the temperature setting trimmer  74 . Then, the indicating lamp  90  flashes a red light when the power is started to be supplied to the heater unit  70  and then flashes a green light in accordance with the maintenance of the temperature and the change of the temperature. With this structure, an operator or the like can know the change of the temperatures. 
     (Step  8 ) As shown in  FIG. 12H , when the temperature of the heater unit  70  reaches the predetermined set temperature, for example, the color of the indicating lamp  90  is changed to green. This means that it is possible to cut the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  by the heat of the heater unit  70 . Then, after the indicating lamp  90  is changed to emit a green light, the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are slid to be apart from each other. At this time, the multi-core optical fiber  100  and the optical fiber holder  110  are kept held by the holder supporting unit  40  of the optical fiber cutter unit  20 . 
     Thus, the multi-core optical fiber  100  is pulled out from the coating material cutter mechanism  60  while the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  are kept being cut into the upper and lower surfaces of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100 . 
     Thus, the front end side of the coating materials  107  and  108  of the multi-core optical fiber  100  are torn apart from the position into which the blade  62   a  of the upper cutter for coating material  62  and the blade  64   a  of the lower cutter for coating material  64  are cut. Therefore, the coating materials  107  and  108  of the second predetermined length of the end portion of the multi-core optical fiber  100  exposed from the end surface of the optical fiber holder  110  is removed so that the core-wire fibers  101  to  104 , the clads  105  and the coating materials  106  are exposed. 
     (Step  9 ) As shown in  FIG. 12I , the upper holder  44  of the holder supporting unit  40  is rotated backward (direction B) to open the concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42 . At this time, the optical fiber cutter mechanism  50  connected to the upper holder  44  is also rotated so that the entirety of the concave portion  48  of the lower holder  42  is opened. 
     (Step  10 ) Then, as shown in  FIG. 12J , the optical fiber holder  110  mounted on the concave portion  48  is released. Subsequently, the cover member  34  is also rotated backward (open direction) to open the coating material remover  38 . Thereafter, fragments generated by the step of cutting the optical fiber and the step of removing the coating material are removed by blowing air or the like. With this, the step of cutting the optical fiber and the step of removing the coating material are finished. 
     Although in the above embodiment, an example in which the optical fiber cutter unit  20  is configured to move with respect to the coating material remover unit  30  is explained, the coating material remover unit  30  may be configured to move with respect to the optical fiber cutter unit  20 , or both of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  may be configured to move with respect to with each other. 
     As described above, as the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus  10  has a structure in which the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30  are integrally formed, there is no fear to forget to bring or prepare either of the optical fiber cutter unit  20  and the coating material remover unit  30 . Further, cutting of an end surface of an optical fiber and removing of a coating material can be continuously performed so that the working efficiency is improved. 
     According to the embodiment, as the optical fiber cutter unit and the coating material remover unit are connected with each other, the step of cutting the end surface of the multi-core optical fiber and the step of cutting and removing the coating material can be continuously performed by first cutting the multi-core optical fiber protruded from the end surface of the optical fiber holder by the optical fiber cutter unit at a predetermined length, and subsequently and continuously cutting the surface of the plural coating materials at a state that the holder supporting unit is in contact with the coating material remover unit which presses the coating materials by the coating material remover unit. Thus, the operation for connecting the multi-core optical fiber can be efficiently performed within a short period. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the optical fiber cutter/coating material remover apparatus and the method of cutting an optical fiber and removing a coating material has been specifically illustrated and described, it is to be understood that minor modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. 
     The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The present application is based on Japanese Priority Application No. 2012-64509 filed on Mar. 21, 2012, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.