| 摘要 |
<p>Apparatus (1) for splicing optical ribbon fibers or ribbonized fibers (3) has a splicing part (7) for splicing the optical fibers to each other and a heating part (44) or oven for heating a protective shrinkable sleeve (11) for applying it around spliced portions of the fibers. A transport device is provided for transferring the spliced fibers (3) from the splicing part to the heating part. The transport device includes clamps (9) at the sides of the frame of the apparatus, which are elastically biassed to give the spliced fibers a straight condition between the clamps. The transport device is manually operated by moving a handle (23) lifting the clamps (9) and the fibers along a slightly curved path to allow them to move unobstructed by the components of the splicing part. Thereafter a second handle (41) is actuated to make the clamps slide along side rails (25) having elongated holes (27) in a straight path to a position in which the spliced portions of the fibers are located at the heating part. Using the transport device it is not necessary to manually handle the spliced fibers when moving them between the splicing location and the place for applying the protective sleeve to the splice and furthermore the fibers can be held with a rectilinear shape and a little stretched over the spliced portions what minimizes the risk of breaks of the individual optical fibers at the splice. Furthermore, the total time required to splice optical fibers to each other and to apply the protective sleeve can be reduced.</p> |
