CN204125369U - Optical fiber refrigerating unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a cooling device for optical fiber which can suppress the leakage of cooling gas and improve the cooling efficiency. The optical fiber cooling device (7) has a pair of cooling device main bodies (21A, 21B), and the pair of cooling device main bodies (21A, 21B) form a through hole (29) through which the optical fiber (G1) can be inserted by butting each other. The optical fiber cooling device cools the optical fiber (G1) passing through the through hole (29). In this cooling device (7) for an optical fiber, a pair of cooling device main bodies (21A, 21B) are formed so as to be located outside the mating surfaces (20A, 20B) on both sides of the through hole (29) when the through hole (29) is formed. , the elastic component (22) and the protrusion (23) are butted along the traveling direction of the optical fiber (G1), and the elastic component (22) is deformed.

Description

Cooling device for optical fiber

technical field

The utility model relates to a cooling device for optical fibers.

Background technique

Generally, an optical fiber is produced by heating and softening the lower end side of an optical fiber preform made of a material such as quartz, and stretching the softened part by applying tension. The glass fibers are thinned, and resin is further coated around the glass fibers. The process of reducing the diameter of the optical fiber base material to produce an optical fiber is called drawing. The drawn optical fiber is picked up by a pick-up unit such as a capstan roller to the downstream side of the production line, and wound up on a bobbin or the like.

When manufacturing an optical fiber as described above, the glass fiber drawn from the optical fiber preform is passed through a cooling device. Then, in this cooling device, for example, cooling gas having high thermal conductivity such as helium gas is blown onto the glass fibers to forcibly cool the glass fibers. As a cooling device for cooling glass fibers, a split structure device having a pair of openable and closable cooling device main bodies is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). In this cooling device, a pair of cooling device main bodies are butted and closed to form a through hole into which glass fibers can be inserted, and the glass fibers are cooled in the through holes.

Patent Document 1: (Japanese) Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-220988

The main body of the cooling device in the above-mentioned cooling device is mostly formed of a material with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and the cooling gas for cooling the optical fiber formed in a high-temperature state passes through the cooling device, for example, from normal temperature (25° C. ) cooled to very low temperature. As described above, since the cooling device main body reciprocates between normal temperature (when the device is stopped) and extremely low temperature (when the device is operating), the cooling device main body repeats thermal expansion and thermal contraction. As a result, the mating surfaces themselves may be skewed, and a gap may be formed between the mating surfaces, and expensive cooling gas may leak from the gap to the outside of the device.

In addition, in the case where a supporting member such as SUS is used to fix and connect a cooling device main body formed of aluminum or the like in order to strengthen the structure of the cooling device, similarly, the cooling device main body (cooling pipe) may be damaged due to normal temperature and temperature. Warping occurs due to linear expansion between extremely low temperatures, and the above-mentioned warping may accumulate on the cooling device main body due to reciprocation between normal temperature and extremely low temperature. If the above-mentioned warpage occurs in the longitudinal direction of the cooling device main body, gaps will be formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cooling device main body, and in this case, cooling gas may leak. If the leakage of the cooling gas occurs as described above, the cooling efficiency of the cooling device decreases.

Utility model content

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device for an optical fiber capable of suppressing leakage of cooling gas and improving cooling efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber cooling device according to an aspect of the present invention has a pair of cooling device main bodies, and the pair of cooling device main bodies form a through hole through which an optical fiber can be inserted by butting each other. The optical fiber passing through the through hole is cooled, and in the optical fiber cooling device, the pair of cooling device main bodies are formed so that, when the through hole is formed, they are located in butt surfaces on both sides of the through hole. On the outer side of at least one butt joint surface, the elastic component and the protrusion are butted together along the traveling direction of the optical fiber, and the elastic component is deformed.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooling device for an optical fiber capable of suppressing leakage of cooling gas and improving cooling efficiency.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus including an optical fiber cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing the optical fiber cooling device in a separated state when the device is stopped.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the optical fiber cooling device of Fig. 2 .

Fig. 4 is a front view showing the optical fiber cooling device in a closed state when the device is in operation.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the optical fiber cooling device of Fig. 4 .

Fig. 6(a) is a plan view showing one outer side of the cooling device in an open state, and (b) is a plan view showing one outer side of the cooling device in a closed state.

Fig. 7 is a front view schematically showing warpage occurring in the main body of the cooling device.

8( a ) is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of an elastic member, and ( b ) is a plan view showing a state where the elastic member shown in ( a ) is in contact with a boss.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the elastic member.

Explanation of labels

7...cooling device, 21A, 21B...cooling device main body, 22, 42, 51-54...elastic member, 23...protrusion, 29...through hole, 28A, 28B...groove, G1...glass fiber.

Detailed ways

[Description of embodiment of this application utility model]

First, the content of embodiment of this invention is enumerated and demonstrated.

The optical fiber cooling device related to the utility model of the present application is formed as follows:

(1) There is a pair of cooling device main bodies, and this pair of cooling device main bodies forms a through hole through which an optical fiber can be inserted by butting each other, and the optical fiber cooling device cools the above-mentioned optical fiber that passes through the through hole, In the cooling device, the pair of cooling device main bodies are formed so that when the through hole is formed, they are located outside at least one of the butt faces on both sides of the through hole, and the elastic member and the protrusion are along the traveling direction of the optical fiber. Butt joint, above-mentioned elastic member is deformed.

In the optical fiber cooling device described above, the elastic member and the protrusion are abutted against along the traveling direction of the optical fiber outside at least one of the abutting surfaces on both sides of the through hole, and the elastic member is deformed. As a result, the airtightness of the peripheral portion surrounding the through hole is improved. Therefore, according to the cooling device for an optical fiber, the cooling efficiency of the cooling device for an optical fiber can be improved by suppressing leakage of the cooling gas.

(2) It is preferable that the main body of the cooling device is formed such that, when the through hole is formed, the elastic member and the protrusion are butted on both outer sides of the mating surface along the traveling direction of the optical fiber, and the elastic member is deformed. The airtightness of the peripheral portion of the through hole can be further improved by abutting the elastic member and the protruding portion on both outer sides of the above-mentioned through hole to deform the elastic member.

(3) The distance between the opposing surfaces of the elastic member and the protrusion when the cooling device main body is separated may be shorter than the distance between the abutting surfaces when the cooling device main body is separated. With the above configuration, the airtightness of the peripheral portion of the through hole can be more reliably ensured.

(4) The elastic member may be made of silicone rubber or urethane rubber.

(5) The cross-sectional shape of the above-mentioned elastic member in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the optical fiber may be hollow, U-shaped or L-shaped. With the above-mentioned shape, the thickness of the elastic member can be ensured and the elastic member can be easily crushed and deformed, so the region (width) in which airtightness can be maintained can be increased. As a result, even when the main body of the cooling device is warped in the longitudinal direction, the airtightness of the elastic member and the protrusion can be sufficiently ensured along the traveling direction (longitudinal direction) of the optical fiber.

(6) The protrusions may be provided continuously or intermittently along the traveling direction of the optical fiber.

[Detailed description of the embodiment of the utility model of the present application]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present utility model will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

First, an optical fiber manufacturing process using an optical fiber cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus including an optical fiber cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , an optical fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 has a heating furnace 2 for heating an optical fiber preform G on its most upstream side. The heating furnace 2 has a cylindrical furnace core tube 3 to which the optical fiber preform G is supplied inside, and a heating element 4 surrounding the furnace core tube 3 . In the heating furnace 2, a purge gas such as helium or nitrogen is supplied to the heating region.

The optical fiber preform G supplied to the heating furnace 2 is heated and softened at the lower end side in the heating zone, and then stretched downward to reduce the diameter to form an optical fiber before resin coating (hereinafter also referred to as "glass fiber"). )G1.

A cooling device 7 using a cooling gas such as helium gas is provided on the downstream side of the heating furnace 2 . The glass fibers G1 immediately after leaving the heating furnace 2 are forcibly cooled by the cooling device 7 . Thereby, the glass fiber G1 is rapidly cooled from several hundred degrees C. to near room temperature.

On the downstream side of the cooling device 7, for example, a laser type outer diameter measuring device 8 is provided, and the glass fiber G1 after leaving the cooling device 7 passes through the outer diameter measuring device 8 to measure its outer diameter, and the outer diameter of the glass fiber G1 during drawing is to manage.

On the downstream side of the outer diameter measuring device 8, a die (Die) 9 for applying an ultraviolet curable resin to the glass fiber G1 and an ultraviolet irradiation device 10 for curing the applied ultraviolet curable resin are provided in this order. A coating layer of ultraviolet curable resin is formed on the outer periphery of the glass fiber G1 passed through the mold 9 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 10 to obtain an optical fiber G2.

Then, the optical fiber G2 is introduced into a capstan 13 through guide rollers 11 and 12 , conveyed through a screening device 14 and dancer rollers 15 and 16 , and wound up on a bobbin 17 .

Next, the structure of the cooling device 7 provided in the optical fiber manufacturing device 1 described above will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the cooling device in a separated state when the device is stopped, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the cooling device shown in FIG. 2 . Fig. 4 is a front view showing the cooling device in a closed state when the device is in operation, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the cooling device shown in Fig. 4 . Fig. 6(a) is a plan view showing one outer side of the cooling device in an open state, and (b) is a plan view showing one outer side of the cooling device in a closed state. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 , the cooling device 7 has a pair of cooling device main bodies 21A and 21B, and has an openable and closable split structure.

Cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are respectively formed of, for example, substantially rectangular parallelepiped aluminum blocks, and are fixed to supporting members 25A, 25B by a plurality of bolts 26A, 26B on the rear surfaces thereof. Cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are fixed to supporting members 25A, 25B by a plurality of bolts 26A, 26B at both ends and in the center in the longitudinal direction (traveling direction of the optical fiber). The support members 25A, 25B are made of highly rigid members such as SUS, and the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are fixed to the highly rigid support members 25A, 25B. In addition, the support members 25A, 25B are connected to the drive units 27A, 27B at their back surfaces. The drive units 27A, 27B are, for example, opening and closing cylinders. The respective cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B move toward each other in a direction approaching each other and are brought into contact with each other by the drive operation of the drive units 27A, 27B, or conversely move toward a direction away from each other.

Cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B, as shown in FIG. 3 etc., have butting surfaces 20A, 20B facing each other near the center, and triangular grooves 28A, 28B in plan view are formed on the butting surfaces 20A, 20B. When the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are butted against each other, as shown in FIG. 5 and the like, a quadrangular through-hole 29 is formed by the groove portions 28A, 28B. Then, the glass fiber G1 drawn from the optical fiber preform G is inserted into the through hole 29 and cooled. In addition, the shape of the grooves 28A, 28B is not limited to a triangular shape in plan view, and may be a quadrangular shape, a semicircular shape, or the like.

The cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are provided with outlets 31A, 31B for ejecting cooling gas at multiple locations along the longitudinal direction of the glass fiber G1, and are connected to the outlets 31A, 31B for supplying helium. Cooling gas supply pipes 32A, 32B for cooling gas such as gas. In each of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B, cooling gas is supplied from the cooling gas supply pipes 32A, 32B, and the cooling gas is ejected from the respective ejection ports 31A, 31B toward the center of the through hole 29 . Thereby, glass fiber G1 is cooled.

The cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B have recessed portions 24A and 24B formed on both sides of the respective groove portions 28A, 28B on the facing surfaces 20A, 20B. Furthermore, an elastic member 22 is attached to one of the recesses 24A, 24B, and a protrusion 23 is provided on the surface of the recess facing the elastic member 22 .

The elastic member 22 is a rectangular parallelepiped elastic member deformed by contacting the boss 23 , for example, a member used as a gasket or a rubber member, for example, silicon rubber, urethane rubber, etc. are preferable. In particular, since silicone rubber has a wide heat-resistant temperature range, it can withstand contact with high-temperature glass and be used at low temperatures, which is preferable. By adjusting the thickness of the elastic member 22 , it is possible to increase the area (width) in which airtightness with the boss 23 can be ensured. That is, if the thickness of the elastic member 22 is increased, the degree (width) of absorbing the positional displacement of the protrusion 23 can be increased. On the other hand, for the elastic member 22, from the airtight point of view, the protrusion 23 must be embedded in the elastic member 22 reliably and without damage. The material constitution, for example, preferably has a modulus of elasticity less than or equal to 0.8 MPa.

The boss 23 is a member capable of abutting against the elastic member 22 and deforming the elastic member 22 , for example, a member made of metal or the like. The protruding part 23 may be a continuous member in the longitudinal direction, or may be a member in which a part thereof is interrupted in the longitudinal direction. In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion part 23 is integrally formed as a part of cooling-device main body 21A, 21B, However, It is good also as a member independent from a cooling-device main body.

In the cooling device 7 having the above-mentioned structure, if the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are closed for cooling, the protrusion 23 of the cooling device main body 21B is embedded in such a manner as to abut against the elastic member 22 of the cooling device main body 21A, The boss 23 of the cooling device main body 21A is embedded so as to abut against the elastic member 22 of the cooling device main body 21B. That is, the elastic member 22 is deformed by the protrusion 23 when mated, and the airtightness between the elastic member and the protrusion 23 is ensured by the elastic force of the elastic member. And, through the docking of the above-mentioned elastic member 22 and the raised portion 23, even if a certain amount of distortion occurs on the butting surfaces 20A, 20B of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B, etc., the communication between the two butting parts can be improved. The airtightness of the inside around the hole 29 can reduce the leakage of cooling gas to the outside.

Here, referring to FIG. 6 , the above-mentioned docking will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 6(a), when the cooling device 7 is separated, the opposing butt surfaces 20A and 20B of the cooling device body 21A and the cooling device body 21B are separated by Wb, and the elastic member 22 and the protrusion 23 are separated by Wa. At this time, the elastic member 22 and the like are configured such that Wa is smaller than Wb. Therefore, even if a certain amount of distortion occurs on the mating surfaces 20A, 20B, etc., when the cooling device 7 is closed, as shown in FIG. As described above, in the cooling device 7, the airtightness of the two cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B can be reliably ensured.

And, when the cooling device main body 21A, 21B is closed, the protrusion 23 of the cooling device main body 21B has been docked with the elastic member 22 of the cooling device main body 21A, and the protrusion 23 of the cooling device main body 21A and the elastic member of the cooling device main body 21B 22 has been butted, and in the area centered on the through hole 29, the airtightness with the outside is ensured. The glass fiber G1 is made to pass through the through-hole 29 filled with the cooling gas which ensured the said airtightness, and the glass fiber G1 is cooled by the blown cooling gas.

In addition, in cooling device 7 , cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B made of aluminum or the like are fixed using highly rigid support members 25A, 25B made of SUS or the like. At this time, the bolts 26A, 26B at the upper and lower ends in the longitudinal direction may hinder the expansion and contraction difference accompanying the temperature change between the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B and the support members 25A, 25B. That is, when cooling by the cooling device 7, the cooling device main bodies 21A and 21B contract, and their central portions are dented with respect to the joint. In this state, the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B are straightened by the drive units 27A, 27B pressing the central parts of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B through the support members 25A, 25B. However, when it returns to normal temperature again, cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B made of aluminum or the like expand compared to highly rigid support members 25A, 25B such as SUS. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7 , the central portion of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B becomes swollen, and warpage occurs at both ends of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B, which may cause leakage of cooling gas and reduce cooling efficiency. .

However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 , the elastic member 22 and the boss 23 are attached so as to face each other on both sides of the grooves 28A and 28B. Thus, even if a certain amount of warping occurs in the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B during cooling by the cooling device 7, the positional deviation of the protrusion 23 accompanying the warping can be sufficiently absorbed by the elastic member 22. , the airtightness of the elastic member 22 and the protrusion 23 can be ensured more reliably along the longitudinal direction. Therefore, according to the cooling device 7 , even if a certain amount of inclination of the above-mentioned abutting surfaces 20A, 20B or warping of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B occurs, the leakage of cooling gas can be suppressed, and the cooling efficiency of the cooling device 7 can be improved.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, Various changes are possible.

For example, in the present embodiment, the elastic member 22 and the protruding portion 23 are configured to abut on both sides of the through hole 29, but it may also be configured such that the elastic member and the protruding portion are located outside at least one of the two sides of the through hole 29. butt. Even in this case, the leakage of the cooling gas can be locally suppressed, and the cooling efficiency of the cooling device 7 can be improved.

In addition, in this embodiment, the elastic members 22 and the protrusions 23 are respectively attached to the cooling device main bodies 21A and 21B, however, for example, two elastic members may be attached to the two recessed parts 24A of the cooling device main body 21A. , and the two protrusions 23 are provided in the two recesses 24B of the cooling device main body 21B. In addition, an elastic member may be provided on the mating surface.

In addition, as the elastic member, a solid substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped member was exemplified in the above-mentioned embodiment, but a hollow, U-shaped, or L-shaped elastic member may be used as the elastic member. For example, as an elastic member 42 according to a modified example, the cross-sectional shape may be formed in a substantially quadrangular ring shape as shown in FIG. 8( a ), for example. In this case, since it is a hollow member, as shown in FIG. 8( b ), the deformation rate can be further increased compared with a solid structure. Therefore, even if the thickness of the elastic member 42 is set thicker, Squeeze deformation can easily occur, and airtightness can be ensured in a wider range. That is, even when the warpage etc. of the cooling device main bodies 21A, 21B become larger, sufficient airtightness can be ensured. Moreover, when using a hollow member, since the usage-amount of an elastic member can be reduced, the cost of an installation can be reduced.

In addition, as the elastic member related to the modified example, as shown in Fig. 9 (a) and (b), it may be an elastic member 51 whose cross section is in the shape of a ring, or an elastic member whose cross section is in the shape of an ellipse. 52. In addition, the elastic member 53 may be a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 9( c ), or the elastic member 54 may be an L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 9( d ). Even the elastic members 51 to 54 having the above cross-sectional shape can increase the deformation rate in the same manner as described above, so airtightness can be ensured over a wider range, and the amount of elastic members used can be reduced.

Claims (12)

1. an optical fiber refrigerating unit, it has a pair refrigerating unit main body, and this pair refrigerating unit main body forms the through hole that optical fiber can be inserted by docking each other, this optical fiber refrigerating unit cools the described optical fiber through described through hole,

In this optical fiber refrigerating unit,

Described a pair refrigerating unit main body is formed as, and is arranged in the outside of at least one binding surface of the binding surface of described through hole both sides when forming described through hole, and elastomeric element and lug boss docks along the direct of travel of described optical fiber, and described elastomeric element is out of shape.

2. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 1, wherein,

Described refrigerating unit main body is formed as, and when forming described through hole, in two outsides of described binding surface, described elastomeric element and described lug boss docks along the direct of travel of described optical fiber, and described elastomeric element is out of shape.

3. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 1 and 2, wherein,

Described elastomeric element when described refrigerating unit main body is separated and the distance between the opposite face of described lug boss, the distance between described binding surface when separating than described refrigerating unit main body is short.

4. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 1 and 2, wherein,

Described elastomeric element is made up of silicon rubber or urethanes.

5. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 3, wherein,

Described elastomeric element is made up of silicon rubber or urethanes.

6. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 1 and 2, wherein,

Described elastomeric element be formed as hollow form, U-shaped or L-shaped with the section shape of the direct of travel vertical direction of described optical fiber.

7. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 3, wherein,

Described elastomeric element be formed as hollow form, U-shaped or L-shaped with the section shape of the direct of travel vertical direction of described optical fiber.

8. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 4, wherein,

Described elastomeric element be formed as hollow form, U-shaped or L-shaped with the section shape of the direct of travel vertical direction of described optical fiber.

9. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 1 and 2, wherein,

Described lug boss is arranged continuously or discontinuously along the direct of travel of described optical fiber.

10. optical fiber refrigerating unit according to claim 3, wherein,

Described lug boss is arranged continuously or discontinuously along the direct of travel of described optical fiber.

11. optical fiber refrigerating units according to claim 4, wherein,

Described lug boss is arranged continuously or discontinuously along the direct of travel of described optical fiber.

12. optical fiber refrigerating units according to claim 5, wherein,

Described lug boss is arranged continuously or discontinuously along the direct of travel of described optical fiber.