| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To prevent cracking due to thermal strain and reduction in the strength of a connected part by putting parts of optical fibers to be connected by melt bonding in a heat resistant pipe and by heating the pipe from the outside to melt-bond the surface glass layers of the optical fibers together. CONSTITUTION:The heat resistant pipe 3 having a slit 31 is attached to two cooling stands 4. Optical fiber strands 2 are inserted into the pipe 3 from both ends of the pipe 3 after stripping the coatings 1, and the tips are brought into contact with each other. The pipe 3 is heated with a burner 5 from the outside of the contact part 21, and at the same time, an inert gas is fed into the pipe 3 from a cylinder 8 through a pipe 6 while controlling 7 the flow rate. The cooling stands 4 prevent the melting of the coatings of the optical fibers. After finishing melt bonding, the burner 5 is put out, and the resulting optical fiber is slowly cooled and taken out. Thus, cracking and reduction in the strength of the connected part can be prevented. |
