CN116891336A - Method for manufacturing optical fiber - Google Patents

Method for manufacturing optical fiber Download PDF

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Publication number
CN116891336A
CN116891336A CN202310135309.0A CN202310135309A CN116891336A CN 116891336 A CN116891336 A CN 116891336A CN 202310135309 A CN202310135309 A CN 202310135309A CN 116891336 A CN116891336 A CN 116891336A
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
optical fiber
temperature
heating furnace
feeder
furnace
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
CN202310135309.0A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
冈崎岩
岩原圣
和泉有治
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Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
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Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd filed Critical Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
Publication of CN116891336A publication Critical patent/CN116891336A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C03GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
    • C03BMANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
    • C03B37/00Manufacture or treatment of flakes, fibres, or filaments from softened glass, minerals, or slags
    • C03B37/01Manufacture of glass fibres or filaments
    • C03B37/02Manufacture of glass fibres or filaments by drawing or extruding, e.g. direct drawing of molten glass from nozzles; Cooling fins therefor
    • C03B37/025Manufacture of glass fibres or filaments by drawing or extruding, e.g. direct drawing of molten glass from nozzles; Cooling fins therefor from reheated softened tubes, rods, fibres or filaments, e.g. drawing fibres from preforms

Abstract

The utilization rate of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus is improved by shortening the time taken for the drawing speed to rise. The method for manufacturing an optical fiber is to manufacture an optical fiber by drawing an optical fiber base material heated in a heating furnace. The manufacturing method of the optical fiber comprises the following steps: a linear speed increasing step of increasing the drawing speed of the drawn optical fiber base material after the optical fiber is wound on a winding device of an optical fiber manufacturing device and winding is started; and a furnace temperature increasing step of increasing the temperature of the heating furnace from the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber is wound on the winding device of the optical fiber manufacturing device for drawing to the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber serving as a product is manufactured. The start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is before or simultaneously with the start time of the line speed increasing step.

Description

Method for manufacturing optical fiber
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing an optical fiber.
Background
Patent document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing an optical fiber, comprising: a linear velocity increasing step of increasing the drawing velocity from the initial drawing velocity to the target drawing velocity and simultaneously drawing the optical fiber base material; and a constant drawing step of drawing the optical fiber base material under the conditions of the target drawing speed and the target drawing tension. In this optical fiber manufacturing method, in the linear velocity increasing step, the drawing tension is maintained at the target drawing tension while the drawing velocity is being increased from the initial drawing velocity to the target drawing velocity, thereby manufacturing an optical fiber having desired characteristics while the drawing velocity is being increased.
Prior art literature
Patent literature
[ patent document 1] Japanese patent laid-open No. 2005-263545
Disclosure of Invention
Problems to be solved by the invention
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for manufacturing an optical fiber, which can improve the utilization rate of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus by shortening the time taken for the drawing speed to rise.
Means for solving the problems
The method for manufacturing an optical fiber of the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an optical fiber by drawing an optical fiber base material heated in a heating furnace, comprising:
a linear speed increasing step of increasing a drawing speed of drawing the optical fiber base material after the optical fiber is wound on a winding device of an optical fiber manufacturing device and winding is started; and
a furnace temperature increasing step of increasing the temperature of the heating furnace from the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber is wound on the winding device of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus for the drawing to the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber serving as a product is manufactured,
the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is before or simultaneously with the start time of the line speed increasing step.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a method of manufacturing an optical fiber that improves the utilization rate of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus by shortening the time taken in the drawing speed rising process.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical fiber according to an embodiment.
Fig. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a temperature of a heating furnace and a hot zone.
Description of symbols
1: optical fiber manufacturing apparatus
2: feeder device
3: heating furnace
4: resin coating device
5: resin curing device
6: pickup device
6a: belt with a belt body
6b: roller
7: coiling device
8: control device
9: guide roller
21: gripping part
31: heater
G: optical fiber base material
G1: glass fiber
And G2: optical fiber
P1: position of
P2: position of
t0: time of day
t1: time of day
t2: time of day
T1: temperature (temperature)
T2: temperature (temperature)
V1: drawing speed
Detailed Description
[ description of embodiments of the present disclosure ]
First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure are described.
The manufacturing method of the optical fiber of the present disclosure is
(1) A method for manufacturing an optical fiber by drawing an optical fiber base material heated in a heating furnace, comprising:
a linear speed increasing step of increasing a drawing speed of drawing the optical fiber base material after the optical fiber is wound on a winding device of an optical fiber manufacturing device and winding is started; and
a furnace temperature increasing step of increasing the temperature of the heating furnace from the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber is wound on the winding device of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus for the drawing to the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber serving as a product is manufactured,
the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is before or simultaneously with the start time of the line speed increasing step.
According to the above configuration, the timing of raising the temperature of the heating furnace is performed before or simultaneously with the timing of raising the drawing speed. Thus, in the initial stage of the wire speed increasing step, the amount of glass of the optical fiber base material melted in the heating furnace increases, and thus the drawing speed rapidly increases. As a result, the time taken for the drawing speed to rise can be shortened, and the utilization rate of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus can be improved.
(2) Comprises a feeder lowering step of moving a feeder for feeding the optical fiber preform into the heating furnace downward,
the start time of the feeder-descent step may be concurrent with the start time of the furnace-temperature-ascent step.
According to the above configuration, the temperature of the heating furnace is increased to expand the hot zone in the heating furnace, and the feeder is lowered to feed the optical fiber preform into the hot zone in the heating furnace. This increases the amount of glass melted in the heating furnace, and thus the drawing speed can be increased rapidly.
(3) Comprises a feeder lowering step of moving a feeder for feeding the optical fiber preform into the heating furnace downward,
the start time of the feeder-descent step may be after the start time of the furnace-temperature-ascent step.
According to the above configuration, by increasing the temperature of the heating furnace, the hot zone of the heating furnace expands, so that the temperature of the glass of the optical fiber base material that has been heated increases, and the region of the glass of the optical fiber base material that has been heated also expands. Accordingly, the amount of glass melted increases rapidly, and thus the drawing speed can be increased rapidly even in a state where the feeder is not lowered.
(4) The moving speed of the feeder in the feeder lowering step may be 15 mm/min or more and 90 mm/min or less.
According to the above configuration, since the moving speed of the feeder is 15 mm/min or more, the optical fiber preform is rapidly fed into the hot zone (high temperature zone) of the heating furnace in a state where the glass melting amount is increased due to the temperature rise of the heating furnace. As a result, the amount of glass melted can be increased more rapidly, and the drawing speed can be increased more rapidly. On the other hand, since the moving speed of the feeder is 90 mm/min or less, a rapid decrease in the amount of glass melt caused by the relatively low-temperature optical fiber preform that has not yet been heated being sequentially fed into the hot zone of the heating furnace can be suppressed, and a rapid change in the drawing speed can be prevented from occurring.
(5) The moving amount of the feeder in the feeder lowering step may be 50mm or more and 200mm or less.
According to the above configuration, since the movement amount of the feeder is 50mm or more, the shortage of the glass melting amount in the rise of the drawing speed can be suppressed in the state where the glass melting amount is increased by the rise of the temperature of the heating furnace. On the other hand, since the movement amount of the feeder is 200mm or less, the rapid change in the drawing speed due to the rapid increase in the glass melting amount can be prevented. In addition, when drawing is performed at a drawing speed at the time of manufacturing an optical fiber used as a product, the optical fiber base material may be arranged at a position where it is possible to control the amount of glass melting necessary for maintaining the glass diameter of the optical fiber in the heating furnace at a desired value.
Detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure
Specific examples of the method for manufacturing an optical fiber according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. It is intended that the invention not be limited to these examples, but be represented by the claims and that it is intended to include all variations within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In the drawings used in the following description, the scale is appropriately changed so that each member has a recognizable size.
(apparatus for manufacturing optical fiber)
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 is configured to: the optical fiber G2 is manufactured by drawing the optical fiber base material G to form a glass fiber G1 and coating the outer periphery of the glass fiber G1 with a resin. The optical fiber base material G is an optical fiber base material containing quartz glass as a main component, for example.
The optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 includes: feeder 2, heating furnace 3, resin coating device 4, resin curing device 5, pickup device 6, take-up device 7, and control device 8.
The feeder 2 is configured to feed the optical fiber preform G into the heating furnace 3. For example, the feeder 2 includes a grip 21 for gripping the upper end of the optical fiber base material G. The feeder 2 lowers the grip portion 21 to feed the optical fiber preform G into the heating furnace 3.
The heating furnace 3 is configured to heat and soften the lower end portion of the optical fiber preform G. For example, the heating furnace 3 is provided with a heater 31. The optical fiber preform G is fed into the heating furnace 3, and the lower end side thereof is heated by the heater 31. The glass fiber G1 is formed by elongating the lower end portion of the optical fiber base material G softened by heating to a small size.
The resin coating device 4 and the resin curing device 5 are disposed downstream of the heating furnace 3 in the traveling direction (lower side in fig. 1) of the glass fiber G1. The resin is applied around the glass fiber G1 by the resin application device 4, and is cured by the resin curing device 5. Thereby, an optical fiber G2 in which a resin is formed around the glass fiber G1 is formed.
The pickup device 6 is configured to pick up the optical fiber G2 and convey it to the winding device 7. For example, the pickup device 6 has a belt 6a and a roller 6b. The optical fiber G2 is picked up by the rotation of the ribbon 6a and the rotation of the roller 6b. The winding device 7 is configured to wind the optical fiber G2 fed from the pickup device 6. For example, the winding device 7 winds the optical fiber G2 while rotating.
The control device 8 is electrically connected to the feeder 2, the heating furnace 3, and the pickup device 6. The control device 8 is configured to control the operations of the feeder 2, the heating furnace 3, and the pickup device 6 based on the measured value of the outer diameter or the measured value of the tension of the glass fiber G1 or the optical fiber G2 obtained from the outer diameter measuring device or the tension measuring device (not shown). Specifically, the control device 8 controls the moving speed or amount of the feeder 2 (the grip portion 21), the temperature of the heating furnace 3, and the drawing speed of the optical fiber preform G (i.e., the pickup speed of the optical fiber G2 by the pickup device 6).
(method for producing optical fiber)
Next, a method of manufacturing an optical fiber manufactured by the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to fig. 2.
First, in order to draw a wire, the glass fiber G1 is hung on the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1. Specifically, the optical fiber base material G is inserted into the heating furnace 3 by the feeder 2, and the lower end portion of the optical fiber base material G is heated in the heating furnace 3. The glass gob melted by heating falls (seeds fall) from the heating furnace 3 by its own weight. The glass gob falling from the heating furnace 3 is drawn into glass fibers G1 having a predetermined glass diameter and reduced in diameter. The glass fiber G1 having a reduced diameter is passed through the resin coating device 4 and the resin curing device 5, is suspended in the pickup device 6, is picked up at a low drawing speed (for example, 100 m/min or less), and is wound around the winding device 7 (yarn suspension).
As illustrated in the middle and lower graphs of fig. 2, the temperature of the heating furnace 3 is increased to generate a glass block. Next, after the glass gob is dropped, the temperature of the heating furnace 3 is controlled so as to reduce the diameter of the glass fiber G1. The position of the feeder 2 is lowered to generate a glass gob. Next, after the glass gob is dropped, the position of the feeder 2 is controlled so as to be raised, and the diameter of the glass fiber G1 is reduced.
Next, the optical fiber preform is drawn. Specifically, as illustrated in the upper graph of fig. 2, winding of the optical fiber G2 by the winding device 7 is started at time t0, and after the winding is started, the drawing speed of the optical fiber base material G is increased to a predetermined drawing speed V1, and drawing of the optical fiber base material G is performed (a linear velocity increasing step). In the upper graph of fig. 2, the wire drawing speed in the wire hanging before time t0 is low, and thus, is set to zero for convenience. When the drawing speed reaches a predetermined drawing speed V1 (time t 2), the optical fiber base material G is drawn while maintaining the predetermined drawing speed V1 (constant linear velocity) (constant drawing step). An optical fiber having desired characteristics manufactured in the constant drawing step is used as a product. For example, the drawing speed V1 is 2000 m/min.
The temperature of the heating furnace 3 is increased from the temperature T1 at the time of threading the optical fiber G2 to the temperature T2 at the time of manufacturing the optical fiber G2 serving as a product (furnace temperature increasing step). Here, the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is a time when the temperature of the heating furnace 3 starts to increase after the wire-drawing is started. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the heating furnace 3 starts to rise at time t 0. That is, the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is controlled to be simultaneously with the start time of the line speed increasing step. For example, the temperature T1 is 2000 ℃, and the temperature T2 is 2250 ℃.
In this way, the temperature of the heating furnace 3 starts to rise at the same time as the drawing speed starts to rise (the time when the winding device 7 starts to wind the optical fiber G2). In this way, at the initial stage of the wire speed increasing step, the amount of glass of the optical fiber base material G melted in the heating furnace 3 increases, and thus the drawing speed increases rapidly. As a result, the time taken for the drawing speed increasing process can be shortened, and the utilization rate of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 can be improved.
The feeder 2 moves downward from the position P1 at the time of threading the optical fiber G2 (feeder lowering step). Since the feeder 2 is lowered to feed the optical fiber preform G into the heating furnace 3 in addition to the temperature rise of the heating furnace 3, the amount of glass of the optical fiber preform G melted in the heating furnace 3 can be increased at the initial stage of the linear velocity rise step.
The moving speed of the feeder 2 may be appropriately set according to the relationship with the temperature of the heating furnace 3. For example, the moving speed of the feeder 2 during the temperature rise of the heating furnace 3 (in the furnace temperature rise step) is controlled to 15 mm/min to 90 mm/min.
Generally, when the moving speed of the feeder 2 is slow (for example, 10 mm/min), the optical fiber preform G cannot be rapidly fed into the hot zone in the heating furnace 3. When the temperature of the heating furnace 3 is raised in order to increase the amount of glass to be melted, the drawing speed is rapidly increased in the initial stage of the wire speed raising step. However, when the moving speed of the feeder 2 is low, the feeding speed of the optical fiber preform G fed into the hot zone in the heating furnace 3 does not follow the increasing speed of the glass melting amount, and the glass melting amount is reduced, so that it is difficult to continue to rapidly increase the drawing speed.
In contrast, when the moving speed of the feeder 2 is 15 mm/min or more, the optical fiber preform G is rapidly fed into the hot zone of the heating furnace 3 in a state where the glass melting amount increases due to the temperature rise of the heating furnace 3. As a result, the amount of glass melted can be increased more rapidly, and the drawing speed can be increased more rapidly. On the other hand, by setting the moving speed of the feeder 2 to 90 mm/min or less, it is possible to suppress a rapid decrease in the amount of glass melting caused by the relatively low-temperature optical fiber preform G which has not yet been heated being sequentially fed into the hot zone of the heating furnace 3, thereby preventing a rapid change in the drawing speed. This can prevent abrupt changes in tension of the optical fiber G2 due to abrupt changes in drawing speed, and prevent disconnection of the optical fiber G2 due to detachment from the guide roller 9 or the like of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus.
In addition, the movement amount of the feeder 2 (the movement amount from the position P1 to the position P2 in fig. 2) during the temperature rise of the heating furnace 3 (in the furnace temperature rise step) may be controlled to be 50mm to 200 mm. By setting the movement amount of the feeder to 50mm or more, it is possible to suppress the shortage of the glass melt during the increase of the drawing speed in a state where the glass melt increases due to the increase of the temperature of the heating furnace 3. On the other hand, by setting the movement amount of the feeder 2 to 200mm or less, it is possible to prevent a rapid change in the drawing speed due to a rapid increase in the glass melting amount. In addition, when drawing is performed at a drawing speed at the time of manufacturing an optical fiber used as a product, the optical fiber base material G may be disposed in the heating furnace 3 so as to be a material for maintaining the glass diameter of the optical fiber at a desired value (for example) The position where the desired amount of glass is controlled.
In the present embodiment, the descent of the feeder 2 starts at time t 1. That is, the start timing of the feeder-descent step is controlled to be after the start timing of the furnace-temperature-ascent step. However, the start timing of the feeder-descent step may also be controlled to be concurrent with the start timing of the furnace-temperature-ascent step.
As illustrated in fig. 3, inside the heating furnace 3, a hot zone (high temperature region) is expanded centering on the heater 31. When the temperature of the heating furnace 3 (heater 31) is increased, the hot zone of the heating furnace 3 expands with the increase in temperature. As a result, the temperature of the glass of the optical fiber base material G that has been heated increases, and the region of the glass of the heated optical fiber base material G also expands, so that the amount of glass melted increases rapidly.
On the other hand, when the optical fiber base material G is fed into the hot zone of the heating furnace 3 by the descent of the feeder 2, although the final glass melting amount increases, it is necessary to heat the glass at a relatively low temperature. Therefore, in the case of lowering the feeder 2, it takes time for the amount of glass to melt to increase as compared with the case of raising the temperature of the heating furnace 3.
Therefore, in order to rapidly increase the melting amount of the glass and rapidly increase the drawing speed, the start timing of the temperature increase of the heating furnace 3 is preferably controlled to be before or simultaneously with the start timing of the descent of the feeder 2.
While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members described above are not limited to the above embodiment, and may be changed to the number, position, shape, and the like preferable for the implementation of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is controlled to be simultaneous with the start time of the line speed increasing step. However, the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step may be controlled to be before the start time of the wire speed increasing step. Thus, at the initial stage of the wire speed increasing step, the hot zone in the heating furnace has been expanded, and therefore, the glass melting amount is more rapidly increased by the lowering of the feeder 2, and the drawing speed is more rapidly increased. As a result, the time taken for the drawing speed increasing process can be further shortened, and is thus more preferable. In this case, in order to prevent clogging of the inside of the resin coating apparatus 4 or the like by the glass fiber G1 due to an increase in the outer diameter of the glass fiber G1, the timing of starting the rise in the furnace temperature, the rise speed of the furnace temperature, or the like are appropriately controlled.

Claims (5)

1. A method for manufacturing an optical fiber by drawing an optical fiber base material heated in a heating furnace, comprising:
a linear speed increasing step of increasing a drawing speed of drawing the optical fiber base material after the optical fiber is wound on a winding device of an optical fiber manufacturing device and winding is started; and
a furnace temperature increasing step of increasing the temperature of the heating furnace from the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber is wound on the winding device of the optical fiber manufacturing apparatus for the drawing to the temperature of the heating furnace when the optical fiber serving as a product is manufactured,
the start time of the furnace temperature increasing step is before or simultaneously with the start time of the line speed increasing step.
2. The method for producing an optical fiber according to claim 1, comprising a feeder lowering step of moving a feeder for feeding the optical fiber preform into the heating furnace downward,
the start time of the feeder-descent step is concurrent with the start time of the furnace-temperature-ascent step.
3. The method for producing an optical fiber according to claim 1, comprising a feeder lowering step of moving a feeder for feeding the optical fiber preform into the heating furnace downward,
the start time of the feeder-descent step is subsequent to the start time of the furnace-temperature-ascent step.
4. The method for manufacturing an optical fiber according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein,
the moving speed of the feeder in the feeder lowering step is 15 mm/min to 90 mm/min.
5. The method for manufacturing an optical fiber according to any one of claim 2 to claim 4, wherein,
the moving amount of the feeder in the feeder lowering step is 50mm to 200 mm.
CN202310135309.0A 2022-03-30 2023-02-20 Method for manufacturing optical fiber Pending CN116891336A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2022-055699 2022-03-30
JP2022055699A JP2023147919A (en) 2022-03-30 2022-03-30 Method for manufacturing optical fiber

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN116891336A true CN116891336A (en) 2023-10-17

Family

ID=88287688

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202310135309.0A Pending CN116891336A (en) 2022-03-30 2023-02-20 Method for manufacturing optical fiber

Country Status (2)

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JP (1) JP2023147919A (en)
CN (1) CN116891336A (en)

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JP2023147919A (en) 2023-10-13

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