JP2001311830A - Optical fiber unit terminal processor, terminal processing method and terminal processed optical fiber unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate terminal processing of an optical fiber unit by heating and softening a hard plastic layer of an optical fiber unit incorporated in the center of a submarine optical cable to intermittently form thin round slice shaped gaps in the longitudinal direction and by drawing out the hard plastic layer in the terminal direction to expose the optical fiber. SOLUTION: In a terminal processor 1 of the optical fiber unit 10 wherein the optical fiber 12 is arranged around a central supporting body and a soft plastic layer 13 and the hard plastic layer 14 are successively coated thereon, heaters 2 which heat and soften the hard plastic layer 14, plural pairs of cutters 6 wherein semicircular recessed blade parts 6A which intermittently form the thin round slice shaped gaps in the longitudinal direction to the hard plastic layer 14 are arranged so as to face each other, and a lubricant adding means 3 which adds lubricant on the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to terminal processing of an optical fiber unit included in an optical cable such as an optical submarine cable, and more particularly to a terminal processing apparatus, a terminal processing method, and a terminal-processed optical fiber unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows an optical fiber unit (FIG. 6).
(A)) and a cross-sectional structure of an optical submarine cable (FIG. 6 (b)) including the optical fiber unit on the central axis.
Reference numeral 10 denotes an optical fiber unit, in which an optical fiber 12 is arranged on an outer periphery of a central support 11 in which plastic is coated on a tensile strength steel wire, and a soft plastic layer 13 that absorbs external force and a soft plastic layer 13 that sequentially absorbs A hard plastic layer 14 for protecting the optical fiber 12 is coated (FIG. 6).
(A)).

[0003] Reference numeral 20 denotes an optical submarine cable, on which a waterproof compound 2 is sequentially placed.
0a, the inner layer pressure-resistant pipe 21, the strength member 22, the exterior pressure-resistant pipe 23, the insulator 24, the outer cover 25, the seating floor 26, the armored iron wire 27, and the outer protection 28 are covered (FIG. 6B).
However, depending on the location on the seabed where the optical submarine cable is laid, the optical submarine cable may be used as a non-exterior optical submarine cable lacking the armored iron wire 27 and the external protection 28.

The terminal processing of the optical fiber unit first takes out the optical fiber unit 10 from the end of the optical submarine cable 20 by about 5 m. A portion of the hard plastic layer 14 at the end of the removed optical fiber unit 10 is cut in the longitudinal direction with a nipper, and then the center support 11 and the hard plastic layer 14 are gripped with both hands and pulled in opposite directions. Then, the optical fiber 12 is taken out together with the soft plastic layer 13 from the gap of one tear groove formed in the longitudinal direction of the hard plastic layer 14.

In this case, since the soft plastic layer 13 falls off the optical fiber 12 at the stage of being taken out from the gap generated by the tearing of the hard plastic layer 14, the operation of peeling the soft plastic layer 13 from the optical fiber 12 is almost required. And not. The extracted optical fiber 12 is connected to an optical device for inspection of transmission characteristics and the like.

[0006] Even if the optical fiber unit 10 is present alone, this terminal processing is performed, for example, after the optical fiber unit 10 is manufactured, which is the first manufacturing process of the optical submarine cable 20, before transmission to the next process. This is performed to connect the optical fiber 12 to an optical measurement device or the like for the purpose of inspecting characteristics. The terminal processing of the optical fiber unit 10 in the state of the optical submarine cable 20 is performed after the optical submarine cable 20 is manufactured.
Before and after the optical submarine cable 20 is laid, the optical fiber 12 is connected to an optical measuring device or the like for the purpose of inspecting the transmission characteristics.

[0007]

However, the optical fiber unit 1 is required for terminal processing of the optical fiber unit.
When the hard plastic layer 14 is torn, a single tear groove is formed in the longitudinal direction of the hard plastic layer 14, and when the optical fiber 12 inside is taken out of this opening, a fine projection formed on the wall surface of this opening is formed. The optical fiber 12 may be hooked and disconnected.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay close attention to the work of taking out the optical fiber 12, which causes a long time for the terminal processing of the optical fiber unit 10 and the optical submarine cable 20 including the same.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal processing apparatus for an optical fiber unit having an optical fiber disposed around a center support and having a soft plastic layer and a hard plastic layer. An optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus comprising a heater for heating and softening the hard plastic layer, and a plurality of pairs of cutters for making intermittent cuts in the longitudinal direction with respect to the hard plastic layer.

[0010] The present invention adopts the configuration described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the heater heats the hard plastic layer.
In the softened state, the hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit is cut using the cutter, so that the cut can be formed with a small force, and therefore, stress is applied to the internal optical fiber and the long-term reliability of the glass is adversely affected. Has no effect.

Further, in a state where the plurality of pairs of cutters are inserted into a plurality of cuts formed intermittently in the longitudinal direction of the hard plastic layer, the cutters are pulled together with the handling container in the terminal direction of the optical fiber unit. Since the hard plastic layer is pulled out, the pulling force is distributed in the longitudinal direction with respect to the hard plastic layer, and is not concentrated locally. Can be separated and pulled out. Therefore, this facilitates the terminal processing operation and does not adversely affect the long-term reliability of the glass of the internal optical fiber.

The invention according to a second aspect of the present invention is the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the cutter is made of a metal plate and the blades are arranged in directions facing each other. The present invention is preferable because the blade portions of the cutter are arranged in directions facing each other, so that the hard plastic layer can be easily separated and pulled out after making a cut.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutter has a semicircular concave blade portion. The present invention is preferable because the cutting portion of the cutter is a semi-circular semi-circular concave blade, so that a cut can be made in a ring shape, and the production and maintenance become easy.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a lubricant adding means for adding a lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit. It is.

According to the present invention, in addition to the structure of any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, a lubricant adding means for adding a lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit is provided.
When the lubricant added to the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 is removed from the soft plastic layer 13 through the cut by capillary action.
The outer hard plastic layer 14 can be easily separated from the inner soft plastic layer 13 with a smaller force and can be pulled out by moving between the inner hard plastic layer 14 and the outer hard plastic layer 14 to reduce the frictional resistance between these layers. This is preferable.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit is heated and softened by a heater, and the hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit is cut by a plurality of pairs of cutters having blades arranged in mutually facing directions. This is an optical fiber unit terminal treatment method in which a cut is made intermittently in the longitudinal direction with respect to the plastic layer, and the cutter is pulled in the terminal direction of the optical fiber unit to pull out the hard plastic layer.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is the optical fiber unit terminal processing method according to claim 5, wherein a lubricant is added to the surface of the optical fiber unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber unit having been subjected to terminal processing using the optical fiber unit terminal processing method according to the fifth or sixth aspect.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Note that the same parts are assigned the same numbers, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. Here, FIG.
Shows the internal structure and use state of the optical fiber unit terminal processing device. FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the optical fiber unit terminal processing device in detail. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the optical fiber unit is gripped and heated by the optical fiber unit terminal processing device, and a state in which a cut is made in a ring-shape. FIG. 4 shows a terminal processing step.

(Optical Fiber Unit Terminal Processing Apparatus) (Outline of Apparatus) The optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1
As illustrated in FIG. 1 (a), a pair of containers having the same shape are connected by hinges 4 so that they can be opened and closed, and a member stored in each container of the container 5 includes Become.

In the handling container 5, a pair of containers having the same shape and open at the top are connected by a plurality of hinges 4 so as to be openable and closable, and a closed container is formed in a closed state.
In each container of the handling container 5, a plurality of pairs of cutters 6 each having a semicircular concave blade portion 6a are attached in a direction in which the blade portions face each other.
Has a function of making a plurality of cuts in the longitudinal direction in the hard plastic layer 14.

Further, a heater 2 for heating and softening the hard plastic layer 14 of the optical fiber unit 10 so that the cutter 6 can cut the hard plastic layer 14 with a small force is disposed inside the handling container 5. ing. Also,
Inside the handling container 5, a lubricant adding means 2 for reducing frictional resistance between the hard plastic layer 14 and the soft plastic layer 13 and facilitating the pulling out of the hard plastic layer 14 is provided.

(Members of the Device) The handling container 5 houses the cutter 6, the heater 2, and the lubricant adding means 3, fixes the positional relationship among these members, and is used for the terminal processing of the optical fiber unit. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation of manually applying a force from the outside of each container with the optical fiber unit 10 interposed therebetween, transmitting the force to each pair of cutters 6 inside, and making a cut in the hard plastic layer 14 in a ring-shaped manner. Has a function to facilitate.

The handling containers 5 are closed in a state where the respective containers are closed and the cutter 6 is inserted into the cut.
As illustrated in (b) and (c), by pulling in the terminal direction of the optical fiber unit, a force is transmitted to each pair of the cutters 6 inside, and the hard plastic layer 14 is moved to the optical fiber 1.
It has a function of facilitating the work of separating and pulling out from the soft plastic layer 13 containing 2.

At the entrance and the exit in the longitudinal direction of the handling container 5, as means for gripping the optical fiber unit 10, an optical fiber unit which forms an opening having the same diameter as the optical fiber unit 10 when the handling container 5 is closed. A grip groove 5a is provided.

The material of the handling container 5 is plastic, wood,
A material excellent in mechanical strength and heat insulation, such as metal or a composite material thereof, is suitable. The outer shape of this handling container 5 in a closed state is limited to a prismatic body as illustrated in FIG. However, it may be a cylindrical body, a polygonal pillar having five or more corners.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a cutter having a semicircular concave blade 6a having the same diameter as the inner diameter of the hard plastic layer. The cutter 6 is a pair of two metal plates having a semicircular concave blade portion 6a, and a longitudinal direction is formed in each container of the handling container 5 such that the semicircular concave blade portions 6a face each other. Plural pairs are arranged at regular intervals in the direction.

The shape of the concave portion of the semicircular concave blade portion 6a is as follows.
A semi-circular shape is suitable, but a semi-circular shape made of a polygon may be used. Further, even if the cutter 6 is a pair of parallel blades having no concave portion, if the tip of the parallel blade reaches the deep part or the inner wall of the hard plastic layer in a state where the handling container 5 is closed, the handling container 5 is rotated. By doing so, a desired cut can be made.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a heater formed of a heating resistor, which is mounted inside the handling container 5 shown in FIG. 2 and receives power from an external power source (not shown) through a lead wire 2a to form a hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit 10. Heating 14,
Has the function of softening. The form of the heating resistor 2 is a plate shape,
Various forms such as a thin film, a coil, and a mesh can be selected.

Specifically, in the case of the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, the electric resistor of the heater 2 is a plate-like body, and the electric resistance between the cutters 6 inside the handling container 5. Attached to each wall. These are further electrically connected by a lead wire 2a connected to an external power supply.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a lubricant adding means, which is a continuous porous body impregnated with a liquid lubricant. The lubricant adding means 3 is provided with the optical fiber unit 1 by the cutter 6.
When the above-mentioned cut is made at 0, the handling container 5 is brought into contact with the surface thereof so as to satisfy a positional relationship such that the lubricant is transferred.
It is configured inside.

Specifically, in the case of the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, a continuous porous block is inserted between the cutters 6 inside the handling container 5 and used. When the handling container 5 is closed by impregnation with a lubricant, the surface of the handling container 5 is formed so as to contact the surface of the optical fiber unit.

As the lubricant, animal and vegetable oils, animal and vegetable oils and fats,
Mineral oil, silicon oil and the like can be used. As the lubricant adding means 3, a method of storing a lubricant in a small storage tank inside the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 and supplying the lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 by utilizing a capillary phenomenon through a thin tube. It may be something.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a hinge, which connects the pair of containers of the handling container 5 to be openable and closable. It is not always necessary to connect the pair of containers of the handling container 5 with the hinge 4. For example, each pair of containers is attached to the tip of a large pliers, and opens and closes using its fulcrum as a rotation axis. May be adopted such that they can approach and separate from each other.

(Terminal processing method) FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f)
3 shows a terminal processing step of the optical fiber unit 10. In these drawings, the handling container 5 is omitted for the purpose of clearly showing the contents of the terminal processing. In the terminal processing of the optical fiber unit, first, the terminal of the optical fiber unit to be processed is taken out from the optical submarine cable 20 (not shown) by a length of about 5 m (FIG. 4A). Note that this step is unnecessary if the terminal processing is performed in a state where the optical fiber unit 10 is present alone after the optical fiber unit 10 is manufactured and before the next step.

The hard plastic layer 14 at the end of the optical fiber unit 10 taken out is heated by the heater 2 to about 10 c.
Heat and soften by the length of m (FIG. 4B). Specifically, the optical fiber unit terminal processing device 1 illustrated in FIG.
When the terminal processing is performed by the
Of the optical fiber unit in the handling container 5
3 (a) (see FIG. 3 (a)), and in this state, a power supply (not shown) of 800 W to 150 W through the lead wire 2a.
A power of about 0 W is supplied for a certain time, for example, 30 seconds to 2
Hold for about a minute.

Next, the pair of cutters 6 are arranged on the optical fiber unit 10 at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction such that the semicircular concave blade portions 6a face each other (FIG. 4C), and approach each other. The hard plastic layer 14 is intermittently cut in the longitudinal direction by a semicircular concave blade portion 6a of the cutter 6 (FIG. 4D).

Specifically, when the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used, a force is externally applied to the handling container 5 following the heating and softening step (see FIG. 3A). In addition, this operation can be performed only by closing and transmitting a force to the pair of cutters 6 (see FIG. 3B). In this case, when the handling container 5 is closed while being rotated, a cut can be made more easily.

It is preferable to add a lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 before, after, or at the same time as this step, since the pulling out of the hard plastic layer 14 in the next step is further facilitated. Specifically, when the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used, as shown in FIG. The lubricant is added in contact with the outer periphery of the fiber unit 10.

Incidentally, in the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1, a lubricant is previously applied to the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 without providing the lubricant adding means 3, and then the handling container 5 is used. A cut may be made in the optical fiber unit in a ring-shaped manner, and the lubricant applied by utilizing the capillary phenomenon may be transferred from the cut to the boundary between the hard plastic layer 14 and the inner soft plastic layer 13.

Alternatively, a cut may be made on the surface of the optical fiber unit 10 in a ring shape using the handling container 5 and then removed, and a lubricant may be added to the cut. Incidentally, the depth of the cut in the hard plastic layer 14 must naturally reach the soft plastic layer 13 when a lubricant is added.

While maintaining the state where the semicircular concave blade portions 6a of each pair of cutters 6 are cut into the above-mentioned cuts, each pair of cutters 6 is pulled in the direction of the end of the optical fiber unit 10 so as to be hard plastic. The layer 14 is pulled out and separated from the soft plastic layer 13 including the inner optical fiber 12 (FIG. 4E). Specifically, in the case of the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber unit 10 is pulled toward the terminal of the optical fiber unit 10 with the handling container 5 closed (FIG. 1).
(B), see FIG. 1 (c)).

After the hard plastic layer 14 has been pulled out, the remaining soft plastic layer 13 can be separated and dropped from the optical fiber 12 only by pressing it with a fingertip (FIG. 4 (f)). Thereafter, this terminal processing operation is repeated, and the optical fiber 1 of the terminal of the optical cable is extended by a necessary length.
2 is exposed to complete the terminal processing.

[0044]

Embodiment (Optical fiber unit for terminal processing) Terminal processing of the optical fiber unit shown in FIG. 6 was performed. In the optical fiber unit 10, the outer hard plastic layer 14 has a hard ultraviolet curable resin (hereinafter, referred to as a hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14), and the inner soft plastic layer 13 has a soft ultraviolet curable resin (hereinafter, a soft ultraviolet curable resin layer 13). .)
And the outer diameter A of the hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14 is 2.5
5 mm, inner diameter B is 1.70 mm.

The optical fiber 12 is an optical fiber core having an outer diameter of 400 μm coated with an ultraviolet curing resin.
The book is disposed in the soft ultraviolet curable resin layer 13 on the outer periphery of the center support 11 of the optical fiber unit 10. The center support 11 is a linear body having an outer diameter of 0.65 mm by coating a copper-plated steel wire having an outer diameter of 0.60 mm with an ultraviolet curable resin.

(Terminal Processing Apparatus) The optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus 1 has the structure shown in FIGS. The handling container 5 has a length of 100 mm, a width of 20 mm,
The height is 10 mm when the handling container 5 is open and 20 mm when the handling container 5 is closed. The material of the handling container 5 is wooden, and the thickness of the plate is 5 mm.

At the entrance and exit in the longitudinal direction of the handling container 5,
When the handling container 5 is closed, it has an optical fiber unit holding groove 5a which forms a circular opening having the same diameter of 2.55 mm as the outer periphery of the optical fiber unit 10. The center of curvature of the optical fiber unit holding groove 5a is located on the same straight line as the straight line passing through the center of curvature of the semicircular concave blade portion 6a of each pair of cutters 6.

The cutter 6 is made of steel and has a semicircular concave blade 6a having a thickness of 0.5 mm, a length of 15 mm, a width of 8 mm and an inner diameter of 1.70 mm. The cutter 6 forms a pair with two sheets, and the five pairs are arranged at intervals of 20 mm in the longitudinal direction in a direction in which the semicircular concave blade portions 6a of the pair of cutters 6 face each of the pair of containers of the handling container 5. Attach.

The heater 2 is a plate-like electric resistor having a thickness of 0.2 mm made of a nichrome alloy, and is attached to the inner wall surface between the pair of cutters 6 inside the handling container 5. The heater 2 is electrically connected to an external power source (not shown) via a lead wire 2a.

The lubricant adding means 3 is formed by impregnating silicone oil into a polyurethane sponge which is a porous body having continuous pores. First, a polyurethane sponge of an appropriate size is press-fitted into the space between the cutters 6 of the handling container 5 and used in a state of being impregnated by adding silicone oil as a lubricant from above.

(Terminal processing) First, the optical fiber unit 10 is taken out over a length of 5 m from the end of the optical submarine cable 20. The cable terminal processing device 1 grips the portion of the optical fiber unit 10 taken out from the tip of the taken out optical fiber unit 10 and heats it at 1200 W for only 60 seconds to soften the hard ultraviolet curing resin layer 14 (FIG. 3
(A)). The handling container 5 was closed, and five circular cuts were made at intervals of 2 cm on the surface of the hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14 of the optical fiber unit 10 over a range of 10 cm (see FIG. 3B).

Next, the cable terminal processing device 1 is pulled in the direction of the terminal of the optical fiber unit 10, and
The hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14 having a length of m
2 and separated from the soft ultraviolet-curable resin layer 13 containing the resin 2 (see FIGS. 4 (e), 1 (b) and 1 (c)). The remaining soft ultraviolet curable resin layer 13 was separated from the optical fiber 12 by crushing with a fingertip (FIG. 4).
(F)).

Thereafter, in the range of 10 cm to 500 cm from the terminal of the optical fiber unit 10, the hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 1 under the same processing conditions is sequentially set every 10 cm from the terminal side.
4 and pull out the optical fiber 1 over a length of 5 m.
2 was exposed, and the terminal processing was completed. It takes 1 minute to process a 10cm length at a time and 5m
The total time was 50 minutes. Conventionally, this took 250 minutes, which was reduced to about one-fifth.

(Suitable terminal processing conditions) The heat output of the heater 2 of the cable terminal processing apparatus 1 was set to 800 W, 1000 W,
200 W, 1500 W, heating time 140 seconds, the surface temperature of the hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14 is 80 ° C., 100 ° C.,
Heating and softening under the condition of 120 ° C. or 140 ° C., heating time (sec) for each heat output of these heaters 2
When the relationship between the pull-out force and the pull-out force (N) was determined, the relationship shown in FIG. 5 was obtained.

The range in which the drawing force on the vertical axis on the broken line shown in FIG. 5 is 20 N or less is a range of the terminal processing conditions of the optical fiber unit which is preferable from the viewpoint that the long-term reliability of the glass of the optical fiber 12 is not adversely affected. . In particular, when the heat output of the heater 2 of the hard ultraviolet curable resin layer 14 is a curve of 1200 W, heating is performed for 60 seconds, and a cut is made with a drawing force of 18 N to pull out, that is, the condition of point H in FIG. there were.

However, the result of FIG. 5 is limited to the present embodiment, and if the size of the optical fiber unit 10 or the material composition is different, the value of the relationship curve is different, so that the result is different. An optimum processing condition can be determined by obtaining a relationship curve similar to FIG. 5 for each type of optical fiber unit.

[0057]

According to the present invention, there are provided a heater for heating and softening a hard plastic layer of an optical fiber unit, a plurality of pairs of cutters for making intermittent cuts in a longitudinal direction of the hard plastic layer, and An optical fiber unit terminal processing device comprising a handling container that is housed and fixed at a predetermined position to facilitate handling work is a main component thereof.

With this arrangement, since the hard plastic layer is heated and softened by the heater and the hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit is cut by the plurality of pairs of cutters, the cut can be formed with a small force. . For this reason, when making this cut, it is possible to prevent the stress on the internal optical fiber from affecting the long-term reliability of the glass.

Further, in a state where the cutter is inserted into a plurality of cuts formed intermittently in the longitudinal direction of the hard plastic layer, the cutter is moved in the terminal direction of the hard plastic layer together with the handling container accommodating the cutter. When the hard plastic layer is pulled out by pulling, the pulling force is distributed and applied in the longitudinal direction, so that the stress is not locally concentrated and the inner soft UV curable resin layer can be easily removed with a relatively small force. The outer hard plastic layer can be separated and pulled out. This makes it easier to terminate the terminal and also avoids exerting stress on the internal optical fiber and affecting the long-term reliability of the glass.

Further, by adding a lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit to lower the frictional resistance between the soft UV-curable resin layer and the outer hard plastic layer, the inner soft UV-curable resin layer is moved from the inner soft UV-curable resin layer to the outer hard plastic layer. This is preferable because the hard plastic layer can be easily separated and pulled out with a smaller force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a state in which a handling container is opened, FIG. 1B is a state in which an optical fiber unit of an optical submarine cable is being terminated, and FIG. 1C is FIG. The enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a detailed structure of an optical fiber unit terminal processing device of the present invention. 2A is a plan view, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of gripping, heating and softening the optical fiber unit by the optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus of the present invention, and making a cut in a ring shape. FIG.
(A) shows a state where the optical fiber unit is gripped and heated and softened, and (b) shows a state where a circular cut is made by a cutter.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an optical fiber unit terminal processing method of the present invention. 4 (a) to 4 (e) are views showing steps from taking out an optical fiber unit from an optical cable, performing terminal processing, and exposing the optical fiber.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a drawing force for each heat output of a heater and a heating time in the optical fiber unit terminal processing method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the optical fiber unit. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber unit, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of an optical submarine cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: terminal processing unit for optical fiber unit 2: heater 2a: lead wire 3: lubricant adding means 4: hinge 5: handling container 5a: optical fiber unit holding groove 6: cutter 6a: blade 10: optical fiber unit 11: center Support 12: Optical fiber 13: Soft plastic layer 14: Hard plastic layer 20: Optical submarine cable, optical cable

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Miaki Nagao 1 Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Terasawa 1st Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries F-term in Yokohama Works (reference) 2H001 BB06 DD04 FF06 KK17 MM09 2H036 KA02 RA02 2H038 CA02

Claims (7)

[Claims] An optical fiber is disposed around a central support,
What is claimed is: 1. A terminal processing device for an optical fiber unit having a soft plastic layer and a hard plastic layer, comprising: a heater for heating and softening the hard plastic layer; And a plurality of pairs of cutters. 2. The optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter is made of a metal plate and the blades are arranged in directions facing each other. 3. The terminal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter has a semicircular concave blade portion. 4. The optical fiber unit terminal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lubricant adding means for adding a lubricant to the surface of the optical fiber unit. 5. The hard plastic layer of the optical fiber unit is heated and softened by a heater, and the hard plastic layer is intermittently longitudinally interposed in the longitudinal direction by a plurality of pairs of cutters having blades arranged in directions facing each other. An optical fiber unit terminal processing method, wherein a cut is made in a ring-like shape, and a cutter is pulled in a terminal direction of the optical fiber unit to pull out the hard plastic layer at the cut portion. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the hard plastic layer is withdrawn,
The method according to claim 5, wherein a lubricant is added to the surface of the optical fiber unit. 7. An optical fiber unit which has been subjected to terminal processing using the optical fiber unit terminal processing method according to claim 5.