JP2011232733A - Coated optical fiber ribbon, optical fiber cable and manufacturing method for coated optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coated optical fiber ribbon facilitating separation of single core wires at an intermediate part thereof and allowing optical fiber cables to be housed in a mussy manner.SOLUTION: A coated optical fiber ribbon 1 is formed by alternately disposing, in its longitudinal direction, a coated ribbon portion 1a formed by integrally coating plural optical fiber core wires 2 separately arranged in parallel with resin material, and a single core portion 1b formed of plural optical fiber core wires 2 which are not integrated. The coated ribbon portion 1a comprises core portions 4a each of which includes the optical fiber core wire 2 and its coating layer 3, and coupling portions 4b each of which couples two adjacent core portions 4a. Thickness of the coupling portion 4b is set to be smaller than that of the core portion 4a, and a Young's modulus of the resin material that forms the coating layer 3 is set to be 0.5 to 50 MPa and an elongation percentage thereof is set to be 50 to 250%.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber ribbon, an optical fiber cable, and an optical fiber ribbon manufacturing method in which a plurality of optical fibers arranged parallel to each other at an interval are coated with a resin.

  Conventionally, an optical fiber core, for example, a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 0.125 mm is coated with a coating resin in a state where a plurality of optical fiber cores having an outer diameter of 0.25 mm are arranged in parallel. An optical fiber ribbon that is formed into a tape shape by applying the above is known. As the coating resin, an ultraviolet curable resin is usually used, and the optical fiber core wires are collectively coated in a state of being closely arranged.

  At the end of such an optical fiber ribbon, a single fiber is separated for each optical fiber, and an optical connector is connected to the tip of each optical fiber, and the optical fiber is connected to each optical fiber via this optical connector. Signal light is input or output. In addition, it may be necessary to perform single-core separation at the middle part instead of the end of the optical fiber ribbon, but a special jig was used to perform single-core separation at the middle part. .

  In some cases, any one of a plurality of optical fiber cores included in the optical fiber ribbon is already used for communication. If single-core separation is performed in the middle part in such a live wire state, the optical fiber core wire in use is touched with a finger, or the optical fiber core wire in use is bent to a small diameter with a jig. In some cases, the loss of the optical fiber in use may temporarily increase. Such an increase in loss may adversely affect communication using optical fiber core wires.

  In contrast, an optical fiber ribbon that can suppress an increase in loss when performing single-core separation in the intermediate portion by alternately forming the tape core and the single core in the longitudinal direction. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 7 is a view showing the optical fiber ribbon described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. In the figure, 100 indicates an optical fiber ribbon. The optical fiber ribbon 100 is intermittently covered with a resin (such as an ultraviolet curable resin) in the longitudinal direction of the four optical fibers 101. That is, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber ribbon 100, a tape core 102 in which the entire circumference of the four optical fibers 101 is integrated with a coating resin, and the four optical fibers 101 are provided. A single core portion 103 that is not integrated with the coating resin is formed. According to this, single-core separation can be easily performed by the single-core portion 103 that is not integrated with the coating resin.

Japanese Patent No. 4049154

  The optical fiber ribbon 100 shown in FIG. 7 has a tape shape and does not bend. Therefore, when the optical fiber ribbon 100 is accommodated in a slot type optical fiber cable, it is necessary to align the tape strands in the slot groove. is there. For this reason, it took time and effort for the housing operation. On the other hand, it is considered that if the tape cores can be accommodated to some extent without being aligned, the accommodating operation can be simplified.

  However, when a plurality of optical fiber ribbons 100 that cannot be bent are randomly accommodated in the groove of the slot, bending stress is applied to each tape strand to increase excessive distortion and optical loss. is there. For this reason, it is necessary to make the tape cores bend so that each tape core can be freely bent to some extent within the groove of the slot.

  For example, it is considered that a certain degree of curvature can be given by increasing the distance between the optical fiber core wires and reducing the thickness of the connecting portion, but the coating resin itself does not have a high elongation at a low Young's modulus. Thus, it is not possible to obtain sufficient curvature to withstand messy accommodation. Conventional coating resins generally have a Young's modulus of 200 to 1000 MPa and an elongation of about 20 to 50%, but it is difficult to obtain sufficient curvature.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and facilitates the separation of a single core at an intermediate portion, and an optical fiber tape and an optical fiber tape that can be accommodated randomly in an optical fiber cable. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber cable containing a plurality of core wires and a method of manufacturing an optical fiber tape core wire.

An optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention includes a tape core portion in which a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel at a distance from each other are integrally covered with a resin, and the plurality of optical fiber cores. Optical fiber tape core wires in which single core portions not integrated with wires are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction, wherein the tape core wire portion is a core wire portion composed of the optical fiber core wire and its coating layer And a connecting portion for connecting the core portions, the thickness of the connecting portion is smaller than the thickness of the core portion, the Young's modulus of the resin is 0.5 to 50 MPa, and the elongation is 50 to 50 250%.
Moreover, it is preferable that the length of the connecting portion is 20 to 150 μm, the thickness of the coating layer of the core portion is 2 to 25 μm, and the thickness of the connecting portion is 40 to 200 μm.

  An optical fiber cable according to the present invention includes a plurality of the above optical fiber ribbons. In addition, it is preferable that the plurality of optical fiber ribbons housed in the optical fiber cable have different tape core pitches. Moreover, it is preferable to provide a slot containing a plurality of optical fiber ribbons, and to wind the upper winding tape around the slot and coat the outside with a jacket.

  The method of manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention includes applying a resin intermittently along the longitudinal direction of a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel at a distance from each other. Tape core portions in which the optical fiber core wires are integrally covered with resin and single core portions in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are not integrated are alternately formed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily separate a single core at an intermediate portion by alternately forming a plurality of optical fiber core wires integrated with a coating resin and a non-integrated portion in the longitudinal direction. Further, the optical fiber tape cores are randomly accommodated in the optical fiber cable by separating the distance between the optical fiber cores, reducing the thickness of the connecting portion, and coating with a resin that is easy to bend. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the labor of the housing operation.

It is a figure which shows an example of the optical fiber tape core wire by this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the optical fiber tape core wire by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of the optical fiber tape core wire by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a single core separation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the other example of the optical fiber tape core wire by this invention. It is a figure which shows the cable mounting example of the optical fiber tape cable core by this invention. It is a figure which shows the optical fiber tape core wire described in patent document 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the optical fiber ribbon, the optical fiber cable, and the optical fiber ribbon manufacturing method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of an optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention. 1A is a view of the optical fiber ribbon as viewed from above, FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a cross section XX ′ of the optical fiber ribbon, and FIG. 1C is YY of the optical fiber ribbon. It is a figure which shows a cross section. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an optical fiber ribbon (hereinafter referred to as a tape ribbon). As the optical fiber 2, for example, a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 0.125 mm and a protective coating applied to an outer diameter of 0.25 mm is used.

  The present invention facilitates single-core separation at the intermediate part by alternately forming a plurality of optical fiber core wires integrated with a coating resin and a non-integrated portion in the longitudinal direction. The optical fiber ribbons can be accommodated randomly in the optical fiber cable by separating the distance between the optical fiber cords, reducing the thickness of the connecting portion, and coating with a resin that is easy to bend. This is to reduce labor.

  As a configuration for this, as shown in FIG. 1, the tape core wire 1 is a tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 arranged in parallel at a distance from each other are integrally covered with a resin. The part 1a and the single core part 1b in which the optical fiber core wires 2 of a plurality of cores are not integrated are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction. That is, the tape core portion 1a is composed of a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 and a coating layer 3 integrally covering the plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 with a common resin. The optical fiber core wire 2 is composed only of a plurality of cores without the covering layer 3. Each optical fiber core wire 2 of the single core portion 1b is not integrated with the coating resin and is in an independent state, so that single core separation can be easily performed.

  Moreover, the tape core part 1a has the core part 4a which consists of the optical fiber core wire 2 and its coating layer 3, and the connection part 4b which connects between the core parts 4a, and the thickness of the connection part 4b is core. It is formed to be smaller than the thickness of the line portion 4a. And the resin which forms the coating layer 3 is, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin, whose Young's modulus is 0.5 to 50 MPa and elongation is 50 to 250%. Since the conventional coating resin for the optical fiber ribbon has a Young's modulus of about 200 to 1000 MPa and an elongation of about 20 to 50%, it can be said that it is flexible and easy to bend. Thereby, the tape core wire 1 can be bent freely to some extent in the thickness direction, and the tape core wire 1 can be accommodated in the groove of the slot of the optical fiber cable in a curved state.

  1A, the length L1 of the connecting portion 4b is 20 to 150 μm, the outer diameter W1 of the optical fiber core wire 2 is 0.25 mm, and the thickness W2 of the coating layer 3 of the core wire portion 4a is as follows. The tape core wire 1 was composed of four optical fiber core wires 2 with 2 to 25 μm and a thickness W3 of the connecting portion 4b of 40 to 200 μm.

  Further, as the optical fiber core 2, a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 0.125 mm and a protective coating applied to an outer diameter of 0.20 mm may be used, and four cores may be arranged to form a structure as shown in FIG. For example, when the thickness W2 of the coating layer 3 of the core wire portion 4a is 5 μm (= 0.005 mm) and the length L1 of the connecting portion 4b is 40 μm (0.04 mm), the pitch between the optical fiber core wires (between the centers) ) Is 0.20 mm + 0.005 mm × 2 + 0.04 mm = 0.25 mm, which is the same pitch as a conventionally used 0.25 mm pitch tape core.

  For this reason, it is possible to position the tape core portion 1a to a holder used in a general-purpose fusion splicer and perform fusion splicing together. Here, when the pitch does not match, the connecting portion 4b is elastically deformed and fitted into the holder. However, the pitch can be inserted into the holder without difficulty. Further, by reducing the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 2, it becomes possible to fill it with high density.

  In this way, by alternately forming a tape core portion 1a in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 are integrated with a coating resin and a single core portion 1b not integrated with the coating resin in the longitudinal direction, an intermediate Single-core separation at the part can be facilitated. Further, in the tape core portion 1a, the distance between the optical fiber core wires 2 is separated, the thickness of the connecting portion is reduced, and the tape core wire 1 is coated on the optical fiber cable by covering with a resin that is easily bent. Since it can be housed randomly, it is possible to reduce the labor of the housing work.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing another example of the optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention. 2A is a view of the optical fiber ribbon as viewed from above, FIG. 2B is a view showing the XX ′ section of the optical fiber ribbon, and FIG. 2C is a ZZ of the optical fiber ribbon. It is a figure which shows a cross section. The tape core wire 1 ′ of this example is different from the tape core wire 1 shown in FIG. That is, both the core fiber portion 1a and the single core portion 1b 'constituting the tape core wire 1' are integrally coated with a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 and a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 with a common resin. The single-core portion 1b 'is cut at the connecting portion 4b, and the optical fiber core wires 2 are independent of each other. For this reason, single-core separation can be easily performed similarly to the tape core wire 1 of FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention. First, the 1st manufacturing method in the case of manufacturing the 4-core tape core wire 1 shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 3, the optical fiber core wire 2 is supplied to the concentrator 6 from each of the four bobbins 5 around which the single optical fiber core wire 2 is wound. 2 are assembled while maintaining a predetermined interval. Then, the gathered four optical fiber core wires 2 are supplied to the coating device 7, and uncured ultraviolet curable resin is intermittently applied by the coating device 7.

  That is, in the coating device 7, the ultraviolet curable resin is intermittently applied along the longitudinal direction of the four optical fiber core wires 2 that are arranged in parallel at a distance from each other. Thereby, the 1st part integrally covered with ultraviolet curable resin and the 2nd part not integrally covered are formed alternately. Then, the four-core optical fiber 2 in which the first portion and the second portion are alternately formed is sent to the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8 where ultraviolet rays are irradiated and applied to the first portion. The UV curable resin is cured.

  Thereby, the coating layer 3 is formed on the optical fiber core wire 2, and the first portion is the tape core wire portion 1a. Further, the second portion to which the ultraviolet curable resin is not applied is not formed with the coating layer 3 on the optical fiber core wire 2, but remains as the single core portion 1b. Thus, the tape core wire 1 in which the tape core wire portions 1 a and the single core portions 1 b are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction is wound around the tape core wire winding device 10. In the first manufacturing method, the single-core separation device 9 is not necessary.

  In said 1st manufacturing method, after irradiating an ultraviolet curable resin intermittently with respect to the longitudinal direction of the 4-core optical fiber core wire 2, an ultraviolet-ray is irradiated over the full length. Thereby, the coating layer 3 can be formed only in the part to which the ultraviolet curable resin was applied.

  Moreover, you may make it form the tape core part 1a and the single core part 1b alternately in a longitudinal direction with another manufacturing method (2nd manufacturing method). In the second manufacturing method, after the entire length of the ultraviolet curable resin is applied in the longitudinal direction of the four optical fiber core wires 2, only the first portion integrally covered with the ultraviolet curable resin is intermittently irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Irradiate to cure. Thereby, the coating layer 3 can be formed only in the first portion. That is, since the second portion that is not integrally covered is not irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the ultraviolet curable resin applied to the second portion remains uncured. And the single core part 1b without the coating layer 3 can be formed by removing this uncured resin. Thus, you may form the tape core part 1a and the single core part 1b alternately in a longitudinal direction.

  Further, as a third manufacturing method, a case where the four-core tape core 1 'shown in FIG. 2 is manufactured will be described. Similarly to the above example, the optical fiber core wire 2 is supplied to the concentrator 6 from each of the four bobbins 5 around which the single optical fiber core wire 2 is wound. Are gathered while maintaining a predetermined interval. Then, the gathered four optical fiber core wires 2 are supplied to the coating device 7, and an uncured ultraviolet curable resin is applied by the coating device 7. Then, the four-core optical fiber 2 coated with the ultraviolet curable resin is sent to the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8, where it is irradiated with ultraviolet rays and cured. As a result, the coating layer 3 is formed over the entire length of the four-core optical fiber core 2. This cross section is as shown in FIG.

  In the case of the third manufacturing method, since the tape core wire on which the coating layer 3 is formed in the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8 is not separated from the single core, the single-core separation device 9 provided in the subsequent stage is used. As shown in FIG. 4, the single-core separating device 9 includes a presser lid 9a with a comb blade and a tape holder 6b. First, the tape core wire exiting the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8 is supplied to the tape holder 9b (S1), and the presser lid 9a with a comb blade is placed on the portion to be separated (corresponding to the single core portion 1b ') ( Pressing from the direction of the arrow in the figure (S2). By the blade of the presser lid 9a with the comb blade, the connecting portion 4b of the portion to be separated from the single core is divided to form the single core portion 1b '.

  Then, after forming the single-core portion 1b ', the presser lid 9b with the comb blade is retracted upward, and the tape core wire is fed only by a portion (corresponding to the tape core-wire portion 1a) that is not separated as it is (S3). When the part to be separated into single cores comes, the presser lid 9a with a comb blade is pressed down to form a single core part 1b '. Thereafter, the presser lid 9b with comb blades is repeatedly moved up and down at predetermined intervals to alternately form the tape core portions 1a and the single core portions 1b 'in the longitudinal direction. The tape core wire 1 ′ thus manufactured is wound around the tape core wire winding device 10. A coating layer 3 is formed on each optical fiber core 2 separated by the single core portion 1b '. However, when using each optical fiber core 2, the coating layer 3 can be removed as necessary. That's fine.

  In the tape core wire 1 ′ shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 are arranged in parallel at a distance from each other, so that single fiber separation by the single fiber separation device 9 is possible. As a result, the optical fiber core wire 2 is not damaged, and single-core separation can be performed safely and easily.

  In this way, the ultraviolet curable resin applied by the coating device 7 is applied intermittently, not intermittently, and the blade is intermittently inserted later by the single-fiber separating device 9 to form the single-core portion 1b '. It may be. In addition, when inserting a blade in the tape core wire in which the coating layer 3 is formed in the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8, the blade may be intermittently inserted on the line as shown in FIG. You may go while. In the off-line rewinding method, the tape core wire on which the coating layer 3 is formed in the ultraviolet irradiation furnace 8 is once wound, separated into single cores, and then wound around the tape core winding device 10.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention. 1 to 4 exemplify the case of four cores (four optical fiber cores 2), the number of cores of the tape core is not limited to four. In the case of the tape core of this example, the number of hearts is eight. The configuration other than the number of cores is the same as that of the tape core wire described in FIG. 1 or FIG. As described above, even when the number of cores of the tape core wire is increased, the single core can be easily separated and can be bent freely at the connecting portion, so that the capacity to be accommodated in the optical fiber cable can be further improved. .

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of cable mounting of the optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention. The slot-type optical fiber cable 11 includes an SZ made of a resin rod having a plurality of grooves formed in an SZ shape on the outer surface side, with a tension member 12 made of steel wire, steel stranded wire, etc. embedded in the center. It is formed using the slot 13. The slot that accommodates a plurality of tape cores 1 (or tape cores 1 ') is not limited to this SZ slot, and can be similarly applied to slots of other shapes. .

  In the groove of the SZ slot 13, for example, a plurality of tape cores 1 are accommodated, and the wound core 14 is wound around the outer periphery of the SZ slot 13 to cover the tape core 1. And the outer side of the upper winding tape 15 is coat | covered with the cable jacket 16 formed by extrusion molding.

  In the SZ slot 13, five grooves 13a to 13e are formed, and three tape cores 1 are accommodated in the grooves 13a to 13e, respectively. In the groove 13a, three tape cores 1 are accommodated in the same state as a conventional tape core. Further, the three tape cores 1 are accommodated in the grooves 13b to 13e in a folded state.

  Here, in the slot-type optical fiber cable 11 as shown in FIG. 6, there is a demand for increasing the density of the optical fiber core wire. In general, in order to accommodate optical fiber cores at a high density, it is desirable to use a single core instead of a tape core. However, in the case of a single core, it cannot be fused and connected together like a tape core. The connection work takes a lot of time. On the other hand, like the tape core wire 1 of the present invention, the tape core wire portions 1a and the single core portions 1b are alternately formed, and the interval between the optical fiber core wires 2 is separated so that the connection 4b By reducing the thickness and coating with a resin that is easy to bend, it is possible to realize high-density and random (random) accommodation without impairing the merit of batch fusion bonding of the tape core wires.

  Further, in order to realize higher density mounting, it is desirable that the pitches of the tape core portions 1a of the plurality of tape core wires 1 accommodated in the slot type optical fiber cable 11 are different from each other. This is because if the tape core wire portions 1a overlap and are accommodated, the density is hindered. If the pitch of the tape core portion 1a is different from each other, the tape core portion 1a can be accommodated in the groove of the SZ slot 13 without overlapping, so that the optical fiber core wire 2 can be mounted at a high density in the cable. can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber ribbon (tape core), 2 ... Optical fiber core, 3 ... Coating layer, 4a ... Core wire part, 4b ... Connection part, 5 ... Bobbin, 6 ... Concentrator, 7 ... Coating apparatus, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 ... Ultraviolet irradiation furnace, 9 ... Single core separation apparatus, 10 ... Tape core winding apparatus, 11 ... Optical fiber cable, 12 ... Tension member, 13 ... SZ slot, 13a-13b ... Groove, 14 ... Coarse winding string, 15 ... Upper wound tape, 16 ... Cable jacket.

Claims (6)

A tape core portion in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires arranged in parallel at a distance from each other are integrally covered with a resin, and a single core portion in which the plurality of optical fiber core wires are not integrated Are optical fiber ribbons formed alternately in the longitudinal direction,
The tape core portion includes a core portion made of the optical fiber core and its coating layer, and a connecting portion that connects the core portions, and the thickness of the connecting portion is the thickness of the core portion. An optical fiber ribbon having a Young's modulus of 0.5 to 50 MPa and an elongation of 50 to 250%.   The length of the said connection part is 20-150 micrometers, the thickness of the coating layer of the said core part is 2-25 micrometers, The thickness of the said connection part is 40-200 micrometers, The optical fiber tape of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Heartline.   An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of the optical fiber ribbons according to claim 1 or 2.   The optical fiber cable according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of optical fiber ribbons housed in the optical fiber cable are different in pitch from each other.   5. The optical fiber cable according to claim 3, further comprising a slot that accommodates a plurality of the optical fiber ribbons, the upper winding tape being wound around the slot, and the outside being covered with a jacket.   By applying resin intermittently along the longitudinal direction of a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel at a distance from each other, the plurality of optical fiber core wires are integrally covered with the resin. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon, wherein the formed tape cores and the single cores in which the optical fibers are not integrated are alternately formed.

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