JP2002311281A - Optical coated fiber protector and terminal processing method for optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical coated fiber protector and engineering therefor, with which an optical coated fiber is easily branched even on a laying site, a protecting tube is applied and optical connector attaching working is enabled. SOLUTION: The optical coated fiber protector composed of a ring 21 to be packaged in the terminal part of an optical fiber cable 20 housing a plurality of optical coated fibers 1, a protecting tube 23 for passing and protecting the optical coated fibers 1 and a case 22 almost in the shape of cylindrical lid integrated to that protecting tube is attached to the terminal of the optical fiber cable 20 and an outer cover 3 is caulked and fixed to the optical fiber cable 20 by a caulking mechanism, that the case 22 has. Thus, the coated fiber can be easily branched even on the laying site and optical connector attaching work can be performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable protector for processing an optical fiber cable at a site where the optical fiber cable is to be installed, and a method of processing an optical fiber cable terminal using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an optical connector is mounted on a laying site, it is necessary to branch and take out optical fiber cores one by one from an optical cable containing a plurality of optical fibers. As the optical fiber core wire, one having an outer diameter of 0.25 mm coated with an ultraviolet-curable resin or 0.9 mm coated with a thermoplastic resin such as nylon is generally used. If the core wire after branching has such a small diameter, there is a problem that handleability is poor and the core wire is easily damaged.

[0003] Conventionally, an optical fiber cable to which an optical connector is attached at the installation site has conventionally been used, as shown in FIG.
A structure in which two single-core cords 41 accommodating one optical fiber core wire 1 and tensile strength fibers 2 and two tensile strength members 42 are incorporated, and a jacket 3 is provided on the outer periphery, or as shown in FIG. As described above, a single-core cord 41 having a structure in which two single-core cords 41 are connected in series is used, and the single-core cord 41 having an outer diameter of 1.5 to 3.0 mm is branched and taken out.

[0004] Alternatively, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 186462, after extracting a plurality of optical fiber cores from an optical fiber cable at a factory, each optical fiber core is covered with a protective tube made of plastic such as nylon one by one. There is also a method in which a branch portion for branching a plurality of optical fiber cores one by one is formed by resin molding.

[0005]

When an optical fiber cable having a structure incorporating a single-core cord is used, since the outer diameter of the optical fiber cable per optical fiber core is large, the installation space is occupied. There are problems that it is difficult to increase the storage efficiency and that the material cost and the processing cost are increased in manufacturing the cable, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, the method of covering the optical fiber core wire taken out from the end of the optical fiber cable with a protective tube and molding the branch portion with resin is advantageous in that the cable can be made thinner and lighter, but the assembly process can be performed. However, it is difficult to install optical connectors on site because of the complexity.
Since both ends of the cable are required at the factory, there is a problem that it is necessary to know the exact wiring length at the time of laying or to devise a way to store the surplus cable length.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an optical fiber cable protector for easily branching an optical fiber cable even on a laying site, applying a protective tube, and performing an optical connector attaching process, and a method for the same. Is what you do.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a ring attached to an end of an optical fiber cable at an end of an optical fiber cable containing a plurality of optical fiber cores, An optical core comprising a substantially cylindrical lid-shaped case attached to this ring, and a plurality of protective tubes for passing through and protecting the optical fiber core wire taken out from the end of the optical fiber cable, and integrated with a cover part of the case. The wire protector is attached, and the case is attached to the ring by the caulking mechanism provided over the case and the ring, and the outer end of the optical fiber cable is caulked and fixed to the optical fiber cable. The operation of branching the core wire and attaching the optical connector can be performed.

The caulking mechanism can be easily caulked by a method of tightening with screws provided on the inner wall surface of the case and the outer peripheral surface of the ring. A rubber ring is attached to the end of the ring or the inside of the case, and the optical fiber cable terminal can be crimped by utilizing the deformation of the rubber when the case screw is tightened. The swaging mechanism may be by means of a suitable mating gap between the ring or the casing and the case. Alternatively, a rubber ring may be attached to the end of the ring or the inside of the case, and the deformation of the rubber when tightening the screws provided on the inner wall surface of the case and the outer peripheral surface of the ring may be used.

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an optical fiber cable used in the present invention. A plurality of optical fiber cores 1 are mounted in a cable jacket 3 together with tensile strength fibers 2 arranged therearound. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of optical fiber cores 1 may be arranged in parallel and integrated to form a tape core 11 together with the tensile strength fiber 2. Compared with the conventional optical fiber cable incorporating the single core cord 41 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the diameter and the weight can be reduced, and the storage density of the optical fiber can be increased.

FIG. 3 shows an optical fiber cable protector of the present invention and a method of using the same. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the jacket 3 and the tensile strength fiber 2 are removed from the end of the optical fiber cable 20 by a required length.

Next, as shown in (B), the ring 21 is attached to the terminal of the cable jacket 3. After processing the end of the tensile strength fiber 2 by folding it on the cable jacket 3, the terminal treatment of the tensile strength fiber 2 is performed by a method such as mounting a ring 21 from above. The ring 21 is preferably made of a metal such as aluminum or steel, a plastic such as nylon or polyester, or a rubber such as silicon rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, or chloroprene rubber. Further, a composite obtained by laminating them may be used.

Next, as shown in (C), a case 22 is mounted from above the ring 21 and the optical fibers 1 are passed one by one through a protective tube 23 attached to the case 22. The substantially cylindrical lid-shaped case 22 has a lid portion 24 in which one end of the number of protective tubes 23 corresponding to the number of optical fiber cores or the number of protective tubes 23 corresponding to the number of optical connectors to be mounted is covered. Are connected integrally. The protection tube 23 is preferably made of plastic such as nylon, PVC, or polyester. To suppress shrinkage and deformation over time, it is effective to perform annealing at a temperature of about 80 ° C. in advance. The case is
Metals such as aluminum and steel, and plastics such as nylon and polyester are preferred.

Finally, as shown in (D), the outer jacket of the terminal of the optical fiber cable 20 is swaged by the swaging mechanism of the case 22 and the ring 21. If the case 22 and the ring 21 are provided with a caulking mechanism using screws, they can be easily caulked. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a rubber ring 32 is attached to the tip of an aluminum ring 31, and when the screw is tightened, the rubber can be deformed and swaged. Even when the rubber ring 32 is mounted inside the case 22, the same effect can be obtained. The rotation of the case when the screw is tightened causes twisting of the optical fiber core wire. However, in the case of the optical fiber cable shown in FIG. 1, there is no hard slot member or tension member in the optical fiber cable, and a soft tensile strength fiber is used. Because it is covered with
There is enough room for the optical fiber core to move, and there is no fear that the characteristics will be degraded. Alternatively, the case 22 and the ring 21 can be caulked by a method of crimping the ring 21 without using a screw.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. (A)
As shown in the above, from the end of the optical fiber cable 20,
The jacket 3 and the tensile strength fiber 2 are removed by the required length. Next, as shown in (B), the ring 21 is attached inside the terminal portion of the cable jacket 3. Furthermore, as shown in (C),
The case 22 is mounted from above the cable jacket 3 and the protective tube 23 attached to the case 22 is attached.
Through each of the optical fibers 1. Finally, as shown in (D), by the caulking mechanism of the case 22,
The outer sheath of the terminal of the optical fiber cable 20 is swaged. When the tensile strength fiber 2 is relatively small, it is preferable to attach the ring 21 to the inside of the terminal of the cable jacket 3 in such a way that the tensile strength fiber 2 is easily bundled. In addition, in order to make it easier to insert the ring 21, a plurality of cuts may be made in the terminal of the cable jacket 3 in the longitudinal direction.

An optical connector is attached to the end of each optical fiber cable as required. As an optical connector,
Various connectors such as an SC connector, an FC connector, an MU connector, and an LC connector can be attached. Further, when the optical fiber cable having the structure shown in FIG.
Multi-core connectors such as T-connectors can also be attached.

[0017] For the connector attachment, one terminal is preliminarily subjected to connector attachment processing at a factory, and the terminal is laid on the other side using the optical fiber cable protector of the present invention, and the connector attachment processing is performed. This is efficient because the terminal processing at the time of laying can be performed in a short time. Thereby, the length of the optical fiber cable can be adjusted to an optimum length at the time of laying, so that it is not necessary to take measures to accommodate the extra length. In addition, both terminals may be branched and connector-attached at the installation site using the optical fiber cable protector of the present invention.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described based on embodiments. A coating layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin is applied to the outer periphery of the optical fiber to have an outer diameter of 0.25 mm, and then a coating layer made of flame-retardant polyethylene is applied thereon.
I got Eight optical fiber cores 1 and 1500dtex around them
And a sheath 3 made of flame-retardant polyethylene was applied to obtain an optical fiber cable 20 having an outer diameter of 7 mm having the structure shown in FIG.

This optical fiber cable 20 has a total length of 5 m.
1m from the terminal to the jacket 3 and tensile fiber 2
Was removed to obtain the state shown in FIG. In order to remove the tensile strength fiber 2, a length required for folding is necessary for covering the ring 21. Therefore, 50 mm is left from the end face from which the jacket 3 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG.
From the top. Further, an aluminum case 22 provided with eight 1-m-long nylon protective tubes 23 was attached by passing the optical fiber cores 1 one by one as shown in FIG. The case 22 and the optical fiber cable 20 were integrated by the caulking mechanism of the case 22 and the ring 21 to obtain a state (D).

The caulking of the end of the optical fiber cable 20 by the case 22 and the ring 21 was carried out by the mechanism shown in FIG. The ring 21 has a structure in which a rubber ring 32 made of silicone rubber is connected to an end surface on the cable end surface side of an aluminum ring 31 having a screw 33 on an outer peripheral surface. Case 2
The inner surface of 2 is provided with a case screw 34 that is fastened corresponding to the ring screw 33. When the screw 34 of this case is screwed into the screw 33 of the ring, the rubber ring 32 is compressed in the axial direction by the inner wall of the lid portion 24 of the case 22 and simultaneously expands and deforms in the radial direction. The outer periphery of the jacket 3 is a rubber ring 32
And are integrated.

The series of operations (A) to (D) can be performed in a work time of 4 minutes, and the workability is good. In addition, the work of attaching the SC connectors to both ends of each of the optical fiber cores 1 can be performed without damaging the optical fiber cores 1 and the workability is good. Optical fiber cable 2
In both terminals 0, the length of the cable can be appropriately adjusted, and no extra length is generated.

[0022]

The optical fiber cable protector of the present invention comprises a ring attached to the end of an optical fiber cable and a substantially cylindrical lid-like case mounted on this ring. A plurality of protective tubes that pass through and protect the optical fiber are integrally provided, and the case is attached to the ring by caulking and fixing the outer jacket of the optical fiber cable by a caulking mechanism. Therefore, if an optical fiber cable protector with such a structure is attached to the end of the optical fiber cable, the optical fiber cable can be branched and protected from the end of the optical fiber cable. When the optical connector is attached, the work can be easily performed without damaging the optical fiber. Further, since the length of the optical fiber cable can be adjusted at the time of laying, there is no need to store the extra cable length.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an optical fiber cable to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an optical fiber cable to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of a process of mounting the optical fiber cable protector of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of a process of mounting the optical fiber cable protector of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a caulking mechanism in the optical fiber cable protector of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a conventional optical fiber cable.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the conventional optical fiber cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber core wire 2 Tensile fiber 3 Jacket 11 Tape core wire 20 Optical fiber cable 21 Ring 22 Case 23 Protective tube 24 Cover part 31 Aluminum ring 32 Rubber ring 33 Ring screw 34 Case screw 41 Single core cord 42 Tensile strength body

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H001 BB16 DD05 FF07 2H036 JA02 KA00 QA31 RA31 5G355 AA10 BA08 CA06 5G375 AA18 BA02 BB03 BB23 BB29 BB43 CA02 CA19 CB07 CD17 DB16 DB32 EA17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber cable protector attached to an end of an optical fiber cable having a plurality of optical fiber cables,
It consists of a ring mounted on the cable jacket at the end of the optical fiber cable, and a substantially cylindrical lid-shaped case mounted on the ring. One end of the protective tube is integrally connected so that the inner cavity and the inside of the case communicate with each other, and the case is placed on the ring. An optical fiber protective device, wherein the mounting is caulked by a caulking mechanism. 2. The caulking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a screw provided on an inner wall surface of the case and a screw provided on an outer peripheral surface of the ring are fitted together to caulk. An optical fiber cable protector according to item 1. 3. A case having a rubber ring between an inner surface of a lid portion of the case and an end surface of the ring, wherein a screw provided on an inner wall surface of the case and a screw provided on an outer peripheral surface of the ring are provided. The optical fiber cable protector according to claim 2, wherein the rubber ring is deformed by fitting with each other to caulk an end of the optical fiber cable. 4. A terminal processing method for an optical fiber cable, wherein the optical fiber cable protector according to claim 1 is attached to a terminal of the optical fiber cable, and an optical connector is attached. .