JP2000241692A - Traction protecting device for optical cable terminal with optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the size and weight of a device to facilitate assembling and disassembling. SOLUTION: A bag-shaped water-proof packaging member 20 is engagement- fixed water-tightly in a terminal part of an optical cable 1, and an optical fiber tape coated fiber 4 with an optical connector is stored on its inside. The packaging member 20 is covered with a protective sheath member 21, and one end side of the member 21 is attached to the terminal part 6. Both end openings of the member 21 are closed with caps 24, 25. An external traction tool 22 having a wire as a skeleton is arranged on the outside of the member 21, one end of the traction tool 22 is fixed directly to the terminal part 6, and a traction end 17 is provided in the other end. A rope is connected to the traction end 17, and the rope is pulled to lay tractingly the optical fiber 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical connector and a method for pulling and laying an optical cable with an optical connector to prevent the optical connector or the optical fiber from being attached with mud or water or being damaged by the side pressure. The present invention relates to a traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical fiber is drawn from a terminal (terminated end) of an optical cable, and the optical cable is shipped from a factory with an optical connector attached to the end of the drawn optical fiber. Generally, an optical cable is laid in a manhole or a station by pulling and dragging the optical cable.Therefore, when laying an optical cable with an optical connector as described above, in the step of laying the cable, the optical connector is laid. If the optical fiber is covered with mud, immersed in water and damaged, or the optical fiber or the like is damaged due to lateral pressure during installation, it will be a fatal defect.
Therefore, in a factory, a traction protection device for protecting an optical fiber with an optical connector is attached to an end of an optical cable, and the optical cable is shipped from the factory to a destination.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional example of a traction protection device attached to a terminal of an optical cable with an optical connector. The optical cable 1 accommodates a plurality of optical fiber ribbons (tape-shaped optical fiber ribbons) 4 in an optical fiber receiving groove 3 of a slot 2 as shown in FIG. It is rolled and the outer surface is covered with a skin. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 5 denotes a tension member such as a steel wire embedded in the center of the slot 2.

An optical fiber ribbon 4 of each optical fiber accommodating groove 3 of the slot 2 is drawn out from a terminal portion (terminated portion) 6 of the optical cable 1. Has an optical connector 7 attached (connected). An external tension member 8 is connected to the tension member 5 of the optical cable 1 and extends from the terminal portion 6 in a drawer shape.

[0005] One end of a protective sheath 10 made of a tubular hose or the like is fitted and fixed to the terminal part 6 of the optical cable 1. A plurality of metal protective plates 11 are provided inside the protective sheath 10. Are arranged and accommodated via a space. This protection plate 11 has a center hole 12 at the center as shown in FIG.
On the outer periphery, a concave groove 13 is formed corresponding to the optical fiber housing groove 3 of the slot 2 of the optical cable 1. A tension member 8 is passed through a center hole 12 of each protection plate 11, and the protection plate 11 and the tension member 8 are fixed by caulking. In addition, the corresponding optical fiber ribbon 4 with an optical connector is passed through the concave groove 13 of each protection plate 11, and the optical fiber ribbon 4 extends straight from the terminal portion 6 and is accommodated in the protective sheathing 10. Have been.

[0006] Waterproof members 14 are provided at both ends of the protective exterior body 10.
The caps 15 and 16 are fixed in a water-tight manner via the cable, and the optical fiber ribbon 4 and the optical connector 7 are waterproofed. The extension end of the tension member 8 is fixed to the cap 16. A ring-shaped traction end 17 is provided in the center of the outside of the cap 16.
When a rope or the like is hung on the rope 7 and the rope is pulled, the traction force is transmitted from the tension member 8 to the optical cable 1, and the optical cable 1 is dragged so that the optical cable 1 is pulled and laid.

When the installation of the optical cable 1 is completed and the optical connector 7 is connected and used, the traction protection device is disassembled to remove the traction protection device from the terminal of the optical cable 1 and the optical fiber with an optical connector is provided. The connection use of the tape core wire 4 is performed.

[0008]

However, the conventional traction protection device has a configuration in which the traction force applied from the cap 16 side is transmitted to the optical cable 1 side via the protective armor 10 in addition to the tension member 8. In addition, there is a restriction that the fixing of the protective exterior body 10 and the caps 15 and 16 must be firmly performed, which hinders efficient assembly work.

The side wall pressure of the optical cable 1 at the time of laying the optical cable 1 deforms the cylindrical wall of the protective sheath 10 and damages the optical fiber ribbon 4 with an optical connector, or the gap between the protective sheath 10 and the caps 15 and 16. In order to prevent the waterproof function from being impaired, a plurality of protective plates 11
The number of parts was very large, the assembly and disassembly took a long time, the workability was poor, the weight was heavy, and the handling during towing laying was difficult.

Further, in the case where the installed optical cable 1 is stored in a station or the like without using the traction protection device without disassembling it for a predetermined period of time, a large storage space must be prepared because the traction protection device is bulky. I had to.

Further, the optical fiber ribbon 4 of the optical cable 1 is drawn out through the concave groove 13 of the protective plate 11, and the total number of the optical fiber ribbons 4 pulled out of each optical fiber accommodating groove 3 of the optical cable 1 is calculated. For example, there is no room for accommodating U-turn shape through the protection plate 11 because of the large number of 250 cores. The wire 4 must be drawn out, in which case, the length of the cylinder of the protective exterior body 10 also increases,
As a result, the number of the protection plates 11 increases and the weight also increases, which causes a problem that handling of the optical cable 1 at the time of pulling and laying becomes more difficult. Of course, if the diameter of the protective sheathing 10 is increased, the U-turn of the optical fiber ribbon 4 can be accommodated, and the length of the protective sheathing 10 can be shortened. A new problem that the bulk becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof optical fiber ribbon with an optical connector without being affected by a traction force when a cable is laid. In addition, it is to provide a traction protection device capable of reducing the number of parts by omitting a protection plate and reducing the size of the device and facilitating assembly and disassembly work. Another object of the present invention is to provide a traction protection device capable of accommodating a U-turn of an optical fiber ribbon with an optical connector without increasing the size of the device.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is a means for solving the problems by taking the following means to achieve the above object. That is, the first aspect of the present invention is an optical fiber which is attached to an end portion of an optical cable with an optical connector from which an optical fiber with an optical connector is pulled out to protect and waterproof the optical fiber with an optical connector when the optical cable is pulled and laid. A traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with a connector, comprising a tubular long bag shape, an open end of which is water-tightly fitted and fixed to an optical cable terminal portion, and the optical fiber cable with an optical connector is housed therein. A tube having a waterproof packing bag and a tubular wall that covers the waterproof packing bag and protects the optical fiber with the optical connector from external pressure, and one end of the tubular wall is attached to a terminal portion of the optical cable. A protective outer casing having a shape, and disposed along the length direction of the protective outer casing so as to surround the outer periphery of the protective outer casing. One end is fixed to a terminal portion of the optical cable, and the other end is pulled by the optical cable. And a means for solving the problems with a configuration and an external traction device which forms the end.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the external traction tool has a structure in which a wire extending in the length direction of the protective armor is formed as a framework. Means to do that.

Further, the third invention is characterized in that the first or the second
In the apparatus having the structure of the present invention, means for solving the problems is provided by a structure in which caps are placed on both ends of the cylindrical protective outer cover and the openings are closed.

Further, a fourth invention is directed to the first or second embodiment.
Alternatively, in the apparatus having the configuration of the third invention, the optical fiber with the optical connector is accommodated in a waterproof packaging bag in a U-shaped drawer as a means for solving the problem.

In the present invention, the pulling of the optical cable at the time of laying is performed by the external pulling device, and the protective sheathing protects the optical fiber with the optical connector from lateral pressure.
The waterproof protection of the optical fiber cable with the optical connector is provided by the external traction tool, the protective armor, and the waterproof package, as in the waterproof package. Therefore, the traction force at the time of laying the optical cable is transmitted directly from the external traction tool to the optical cable, and the traction force is not applied to the protective outer package or the waterproof package.
Since it is not necessary to attach the waterproof package with strength enough to withstand traction, the assembly and disassembly of the waterproof package are facilitated.

Further, since the protective armor does not need a watertight function and only needs to have a function of protecting the optical fiber core with an optical connector against lateral pressure, it is easy to attach and detach with a protection type and to provide a conventional protection. The plate can be omitted, and simplification of the device configuration, miniaturization of the device and weight reduction of the device can be achieved.

Furthermore, it is sufficient for the waterproof package to achieve only the waterproof function, and it is not necessary to house a protective plate as in the prior art, so that the internal effective space is widened, and as a result, the optical connector having a long length is provided. When accommodating an optical fiber core wire, the optical fiber core wire can be accommodated in a U-turn form without increasing the outer diameter of the waterproof package or the protective sheathing. Accordingly, there is no need to increase the length of the waterproof package or the protective sheathing, and even a small device can draw out and accommodate a long optical fiber core with an optical connector.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those in the conventional example, and the overlapping description will be omitted or simplified.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with an optical connector according to the present embodiment includes a waterproof package 20, a protective armor 21, and an external traction tool 22 as main elements. The waterproof package 20 has a cylindrical shape having a bottom 23 and has a long bottom. The waterproof package 20 is formed by, for example, forming a plastic film such as polyethylene or vinyl into a bag shape. The open end of the waterproof package 20 is fitted into the terminal 6 of the optical cable 1 and is fixed to the terminal 6 using a waterproof adhesive or the like in a watertight manner.

The terminal unit 6 is provided inside the waterproof package 20.
The optical fiber ribbon 4 with the optical connector 7 pulled out of the optical fiber is accommodated. In the waterproof package 20, a tension member 5 such as a steel wire is extended from the terminal portion 6 so as to protrude. The tension member 5 has a role of maintaining the shape of the waterproof package 20, but in some cases, the tension member 5 may be omitted.

A protective outer cover 21 covering the waterproof package 20
Is formed of, for example, a plastic hose or the like, and one end of the cylindrical wall 21a is detachably attached to the terminal 6 side of the optical cable 1 by using an appropriate attaching means such as a bolt. ing. The openings at both ends of the cylindrical wall 21 a are closed by caps 24 and 25.

The external traction tool 2 is disposed along the length of the protective sheath 21 so as to surround the outer periphery of the protective sheath 21.
2 is a wire 26 extending in the length direction of the protective armor 21
As shown in FIG. 2, for example, as shown in FIG. The protective casing 21 is formed to have an equal opening and an opening degree surrounding (covering) the outer periphery of the protective casing 21 so as to extend in the length direction of the protective casing 21.

The extension side of each wire 26 is the optical cable 1
The terminal 27 is bent toward a mounting portion of the terminal portion 6 and a ring 27 is mounted on a tip end thereof. A ring 28 is also attached to the end of the optical cable 1 where the terminal portion 6 is attached, and by fixing the ring 27 and the ring 28 using a fastening means such as a bolt and a nut, the external traction tool 22 is attached to the optical cable 1. It is directly attached to the terminal unit 6. In addition,
As shown by a chain line in FIG.
By connecting between the six with an arc-shaped bone frame or a ring-shaped bone frame 30 by welding or the like, the arrangement position of each wire 26 is stably regulated, and the work of attaching and detaching the external traction tool 22 becomes easy. In addition, a reinforcing effect against lateral pressure is obtained, and it is preferable to provide a bone frame 30.

The external traction tool 22 can take various forms other than the above-mentioned FIG. 2, and an example is shown in FIG. FIG. 3A shows a structure in which a net (wire mesh) is stretched between the wires 26 shown in FIG. 2, and the rest is the same as that shown in FIG. 2. The external traction tool 22 shown in FIG. 3 (b) includes a single wire 26, which extends from the traction end 17 side along the length of the protective case 21.
Is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the optical cable 1, and the distal end of the wire 26 extends toward the terminal portion 6 of the optical cable 1,
A ring 27 (not shown in FIG. 3) provided at the extension end is fixedly attached to the ring 28 on the terminal portion 6 side of the optical cable 1 in the same manner as shown in FIG. The pulling end 17 of the wire 26 projects through the hole 32 provided in the cap 25 toward the front side of the cap 25.

FIG. 4 shows an optical fiber ribbon 4 with an optical connector 7 which is pulled out from a terminal 6 of the optical cable 1.
An embodiment example is shown in which a waterproof package 20 is housed in a turn-like form (U-turn drawer form). In the traction protection device of the present embodiment, since the protection plate 11 unlike the conventional example is not provided in the waterproof package 20, a sufficient space for making a large number of U-turns of the optical fiber ribbons 4 is ensured. And the optical fiber ribbon 4 with the optical connector 7 can be easily accommodated in a U-turn shape. As described above, by housing the optical fiber ribbon 4 in a U-turn shape, the lengths of the waterproof package 20 and the protective outer package 21 can be shortened accordingly, so that the device can be reduced in size and weight. Become. In particular, when the optical fiber ribbon 4 to be drawn is long, the advantage of adopting the U-shaped housing form is great.

The tow laying work of the optical cable 1 to which the traction protection device of this embodiment is attached is performed by hanging a rope or the like on the towing end 17 of the external traction tool 22 and pulling the rope in the same manner as in the conventional example. When the optical connector 7 is used, the traction protection device is disassembled, the optical fiber ribbon 4 with the optical connector 7 is taken out, and the optical connector 7 is connected and used.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can adopt various embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the waterproof package 20 is a film-shaped bag, but it may be a plastic or metal bottomed pipe.

Although the protective sheath 21 is a plastic hose, it may be a metal pipe structure.

Further, in the above embodiment, the optical fiber core of the optical cable 1 is a tape core, but a normal optical fiber core coated with a coating layer for each single core may be used. The cord may be a cord, and the cable structure is not limited.

[0032]

According to the present invention, the waterproofing of the optical fiber with the optical connector housed in the traction protection device is performed by a waterproof package.
Applying traction force to the optical cable when laying the optical cable is performed by an external traction tool, and protection of the optical fiber core wire with the optical connector against side pressure when laying the optical cable is performed with a protective outer package. The protection and the provision of the traction force are configured to be divided by separate members, and the traction force at the time of laying the optical cable is applied directly to the optical cable from the external traction tool, so that the traction force is applied to the waterproof package and the protective exterior body. Never. Therefore, it is not necessary to firmly attach the waterproof package and the protective exterior body with the fixing force that withstands the traction force, and it is possible to easily assemble and disassemble the waterproof package and the protective exterior body. Work time can be shortened.

Further, since the waterproof protection of the optical fiber with the optical connector to be accommodated is performed by the waterproof package, it is not necessary to pay close attention to assembling the protective outer casing in a watertight manner. Becomes very easy.

Further, it is sufficient for the protective sheathing to achieve the function of protecting the optical fiber core cable with the optical connector against lateral pressure when the optical cable is laid, and the protection against this lateral pressure can be sufficiently coped with the strength of its own cylindrical wall. The effect that the protective plate 11, which is indispensable in the device of the prior art, can be omitted.
In the case of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the protective sheath 10 is required to be watertight.
Of the protective sheath 10 and the caps 15 and 16 loses the waterproof function if the flexural deformation is large. Therefore, the protective plate 11 is indispensable. In addition, since the waterproofing function is not required for the protective exterior body, the allowable amount of bending deformation of the protective exterior body with respect to the lateral pressure is increased, so that the protective plate can be omitted.

As described above, since the conventional protection plate can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, the assembly and disassembly of the apparatus can be made easier and the time can be further shortened, and the weight of the apparatus can be reduced. be able to.

Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to accommodate a protection plate as in the conventional example inside the waterproof package, so that the effective effective accommodation space inside the waterproof package can be widened. The optical fiber cable with the optical connector drawn out from the terminal part can be accommodated in a U-turn shape,
By adopting this U-turn accommodation system, the lengths of the waterproof package and the protective outer package can be reduced, and the size of the device can be further reduced.

Further, when the optical fiber with the optical connector is not used for a predetermined period after the installation of the optical cable, the external traction tool and the protective sheath are removed, and the optical fiber with the optical connector is waterproofed. It can be stored in a package covered state, and the storage space can be reduced and the storage space can be reduced compared to the case where the optical fiber with optical connector is covered with a conventional protective sheath. Is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory view of an example of a protective exterior body used in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of a protective exterior body.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which an optical fiber with an optical connector is accommodated in a U-turn shape.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a conventional traction protection device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of a housing structure of an optical fiber ribbon (optical fiber core) in an optical cable.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a protective plate used in a protective exterior body of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical cable 6 Terminal part of optical cable 17 Traction end 20 Waterproof package 21 Protective exterior body 22 External traction tool

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masato Shiino 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mamoru Kanayama 3-9-1, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation F-term (reference) 2H001 BB01 FF07 FF08 HH01 2H038 CA74

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical cable with an optical connector, which is attached to an end portion of an optical cable with an optical connector from which an optical fiber with an optical connector is pulled out to protect and waterproof the optical fiber with an optical connector when laying the optical cable. A traction protection device having a terminated end, wherein the waterproof end is formed into a tubular shape having a long bottom and an open end thereof is water-tightly fitted and fixed to an optical cable terminal portion, and the optical fiber core with an optical connector is housed therein. A cylindrical protection that has a package and a cylindrical wall that covers the waterproof package and protects the optical fiber cable with optical connector from external pressure, and one end of the cylindrical wall is attached to a terminal end of the optical cable. The sheath, and arranged along the length direction of the protective sheath in a form surrounding the outer periphery of the protective sheath, one end is fixed to a terminal portion of the optical cable, and the other end is a towing end of the optical cable. An traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with an optical connector, comprising an external traction device. 2. The traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with an optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the external traction tool is formed by using a wire extending in the length direction of the protective sheath as a framework. 3. The traction protection device for terminating an optical cable with an optical connector according to claim 1, wherein caps are placed on both ends of the cylindrical protective sheathing so that the openings are closed. 4. The optical fiber with an optical connector according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the optical fiber with an optical connector is housed in a waterproof packaging bag in a U-shaped drawer form. Traction protection device for termination of optical cable with optical connector.