JP2003270476A - Heating device for heat-shrinkable sleeve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent air bubbles from leaving in a heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 after a processed part 5a of an optical fiber 5 is reinforced. <P>SOLUTION: A heat conduction plate 15 which conducts heat to the heat- shrinkable sleeve 9 is equipped with a coupled of wall plates 17 and 19 and a bottom plate 21 and provided with a 1st heater 33 which heats the heat conduction plate 15 outside one wall plate 17 and a 2nd heater 35 which heats the heat conduction plate 5 from outside the other wall plate 17, the position of the 1st heater 33 along the length of the heat conduction plate 15 being nearly the same as the position of the 2nd heater 35 along the length of the heat conduction plate 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing portion in an optical fiber (a portion subjected to a fusion treatment associated with joining of two optical fibers or a portion subjected to a fusion treatment involved in manufacturing a coupler). The present invention relates to the field of a heat-shrink sleeve heating device that heats a treated portion of the optical fiber and a heat-shrink sleeve surrounding the stiffener under the condition that a stiffener is added in parallel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional heat-shrink sleeve heating device will be briefly described below.

That is, the heating device for the heat shrink sleeve is
A device for heating a heat-shrinkable sleeve that surrounds the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material under a state where a reinforcing material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber, wherein the heating device main body is used as a base. There is. A mounting groove is provided on the upper surface of the heating device body, and a heat transfer plate for transmitting heat to the heat shrink sleeve is provided in the mounting groove of the heating device body. Here, the heat transfer plate includes a pair of wall plates facing each other and a lower part of one wall plate and a lower part of the other wall plate so that the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate. And a bottom plate provided on the. Further, a heater for heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate is provided at the center of the bottom plate in the left-right direction.

Therefore, under the condition that the reinforcing material is added in parallel to the processed portion of the optical fiber, the processed portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material are surrounded by the heat shrink sleeve. Next, the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate so that the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve in the longitudinal direction is close to the heater. And
By operating the heater to heat the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate, the heater heats the heat shrink sleeve via the heat transfer plate. As a result, the heat-shrinkable sleeve is shrunk to fix the treated portion of the optical fiber to the reinforcing material for reinforcement. Here, by devising the shape of the heat transfer plate, the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve in the longitudinal direction is first heated to shrink, and after the entire heat shrink sleeve shrinks, the heat shrink sleeve. No bubbles (air) are left inside.

[0005]

However, as the number of optical fibers increases, the heat shrink sleeve also tends to increase in size. Therefore, the lengthwise central portion of the heat shrink sleeve is shortened. If not contracted in time, air bubbles remain in the heat-shrink sleeve after the heat-shrink sleeve is entirely shrunk, which adversely affects the reinforcing state of the treated portion of the optical fiber, the optical characteristics of the treated portion of the optical fiber, and the like. There is a problem. Further, there is a problem that it takes a long time to heat-shrink the entire heat-shrinkable sleeve, which is large in size, and work efficiency deteriorates.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcement are provided under the condition that a reinforcing material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber. In a heating device for a heat-shrink sleeve that heats a heat-shrink sleeve surrounding a material, a heat transfer plate that transfers heat to the heat shrink sleeve is provided, and the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate, The heat transfer plate is
A pair of wall plates facing each other and a bottom plate integrally provided between the lower part of one wall plate and the lower part of the other wall plate are provided, and the heat transfer plate is heated from the outside of the one wall plate. A first heater is provided, and a second heater for heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the other wall plate is provided, and the position of the first heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate and the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate. It is characterized in that the position of the second heater is substantially the same.

According to the invention specifying matter of claim 1,
The heat-shrinkable sleeve surrounds the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material under the condition that the reinforcing material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber. Next, the longitudinal center of the heat shrink sleeve is positioned between the first heater and the second heater,
In other words, the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate such that the first heater and the second heater sandwich the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat shrink sleeve. By operating the first heater to heat the heat transfer plate from the outside of the one wall plate, and operating the second heater to heat the heat transfer plate from the outside of the other wall plate. The heat shrink sleeve is heated by the first heater and the second heater via the heat transfer plate. This causes the heat shrink sleeve to shrink,
The treated portion of the optical fiber is fixed to the reinforcing material for reinforcement.

Here, under the condition that the first heater and the second heater sandwich the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat shrink sleeve, the heat shrink sleeve is heated by the first heater and the second heater. Therefore, even when the heat-shrink sleeve becomes large in size as the number of cores of the optical fiber increases, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrink sleeve is intensively heated and the heat-shrink sleeve is moved in a short time. In addition, the heating time until the entire heat shrink sleeve is shrunk is shortened.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heat transfer plate is integrated between the upper part of one wall plate and the upper part of the other wall plate in addition to the pair of wall plates and the bottom plate. A third heater for heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate, and a fourth heater for heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate. The position of the third heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate and the position of the fourth heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate are substantially the same as the positions of the first and second heaters in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate. It is characterized in that it is configured to be.

According to the invention specifying matter of claim 2,
In addition to the operation according to the features of the invention described in claim 1, four heaters (first heater, second heater, third heater, fourth heater
The treated portion of the optical fiber is inserted inside the heat transfer plate so that the heater) surrounds the longitudinal center of the heat shrink sleeve. Then, by operating the four heaters to heat the heat transfer plate from outside, the four heaters heat the heat shrink sleeve through the heat transfer plate.

Since the four heaters heat the heat-shrinkable sleeve by the four heaters under the condition that the four heaters surround the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable sleeve, the heat-shrinkable sleeve is heated by the heat-shrinkable sleeve. Even when the size is increased due to the increase in the number of cores, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable sleeve is first shrunk in a shorter time, and the heating time until the heat-shrinkable sleeve as a whole is shrunk It gets shorter.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the heat shrinkage enclosing the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material under the condition that the reinforcing material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber. In a heat-shrink sleeve heating device that heats a sleeve, a heat transfer plate that transfers heat to the heat shrink sleeve is provided, and the heat transfer plate is inserted inside the heat transfer plate so that the heat transfer plate is A pair of opposing wall plates, a bottom plate integrally provided between the lower part of one wall plate and the lower part of the other wall plate, and an integral part between the upper part of one wall plate and the upper part of the other wall plate And a second heater for heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate, the first heater heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate, and the second heater heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate. Is provided on the heat transfer plate in the longitudinal direction. Wherein the position of the second heater in the longitudinal direction of the position and the heat transfer plate of the first heater is configured to be substantially the same.

According to the invention specifying matter of claim 3,
The heat-shrinkable sleeve surrounds the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material under the condition that the reinforcing material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber. Next, the longitudinal center of the heat shrink sleeve is positioned between the first heater and the second heater,
In other words, the treated portion of the heat-shrinkable sleeve optical fiber is inserted inside the heat transfer plate so that the first heater and the second heater sandwich the longitudinal central portion of the heat-shrinkable sleeve. Then, by heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate by operating the first heater,
By heating the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate by operating the second heater, the heat shrink sleeve is heated by the first heater and the second heater via the heat transfer plate. As a result, the heat-shrinkable sleeve is shrunk to fix the treated portion of the optical fiber to the reinforcing material for reinforcement.

The first and second heaters heat the heat-shrinkable sleeve with the first heater and the second heater under the condition that the longitudinal center of the heat-shrinkable sleeve is sandwiched between the first heater and the second heater. Therefore, even when the heat-shrink sleeve becomes large in size as the number of cores of the optical fiber increases, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrink sleeve is intensively heated and the heat-shrink sleeve is moved in a short time. In addition, the heating time until the entire heat shrink sleeve is shrunk is shortened.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a heat-shrink sleeve heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II, FIG. 3 is a view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another aspect of the heating device for the heat shrink sleeve, and FIG. 5 is heat shrink. It is sectional drawing explaining the other aspect of the heating device for sleeves.

Here, “left” means the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back side in FIGS. 3 to 5 toward the paper surface, and “right” means the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, it refers to the front side toward the paper surface, and “front” means the front side toward the paper surface in FIG. 1 and the lower side in FIG.
3 to FIG. 5 means the left side, and “rear” means the back side in FIG. 1 toward the paper surface, the upper side in FIG. 2 and the right side in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the “upper side” means 1 and FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 means the front side in FIG. 2 and the surface toward the paper surface, and “bottom” means the lower side in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5 and the paper surface in FIG. It refers to the back.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a heat shrink sleeve heating device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention uses a hot-melt resin tube 3 to treat a treated portion 5a (two multi-core optical fibers 5). In a state in which the reinforcing material 7 is enclosed in parallel with the processing portion 5a of the multi-core optical fiber 5, the hot portion This is a device for heating a heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 surrounding the melt resin 3 and the reinforcing material 7 (in other words, a heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 surrounding the treated portion 5a of the multi-core optical fiber 5 and the reinforcing material 7).

The heat-shrinkable sleeve heating device 1 is based on the heating device main body 11, and an attachment groove 13 extending in the left-right direction is provided on the upper surface of the heating device main body 11.

A heat transfer plate 15 for transferring heat to the heat shrink sleeve 9 is provided in the mounting groove 13 of the heating device main body 11, and the heat transfer sleeve 9 is inserted inside the heat transfer plate 15 so that the heat transfer sleeve 9 is inserted therein. The heat plate 15 includes a pair of wall plates 17 and 19 facing each other in the front-rear direction, a lower part of one wall plate 17 and the other wall plate 19.
And a bottom plate 21 provided between the lower parts of the. Further, notches 15n are formed in the lower central portion, lower left portion, and lower right portion of the heat transfer plate 15, respectively.

Further, a plurality of mounting pieces 17m sandwiched by the front fixing member 23 of the heating device main body 11 are provided on the upper portion of one wall plate 17, and similarly, an upper portion of the other wall plate 19 is heated. A plurality of mounting pieces 19m sandwiched by the rear fixing member 25 in the apparatus body 11 are provided. Furthermore, since the heat transfer plate 15 is positioned at a predetermined position of the mounting groove 13 in the heating device main body 11, the heating device main body 1
A plurality of engaging grooves 11c are formed on the upper part of the unit 1 so that the plurality of mounting pieces 17m and 19m can be engaged with each other.

When the heat shrink sleeve 9 is inserted inside the heat transfer plate 15, the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the left-right direction (longitudinal direction of the heat shrink sleeve 9) is formed by an appropriate means (not shown) such as a positioning member. The position of the central portion of the heat transfer plate 15 is substantially the same as the position of the central portion of the heat transfer plate 15 in the left-right direction. In addition to the pair of wall plates 17 and 19 and the bottom plate 21, the heat transfer plate 15 is provided between the upper part of one wall plate 17 and the upper part of the other wall plate 19, as shown in FIG. 4 or 5. You may make it provide the ceiling board 27 provided in the bottom plate 21 and facing up and down.

A lid member 29 for opening and closing the opening side of the mounting groove 13 is provided on the upper part of the heating device main body 11 so as to be vertically swingable via a swing shaft 31, and a tip portion of the lid member 29 is provided. It can be magnetically attached to the front fixing member 23 in the heating device body 11. Further, elongated holes 11h are formed on both left and right sides of the mounting groove 13 in the heating device main body 11, and the elongated hole 11h communicates with the mounting groove 13 and allows the multi-core optical fiber 5 to be inserted from above. is there.

Although not shown, the heating device body 1
Clamps for gripping the left and right sides of the processing portion 5a of the multi-fiber optical fiber 5 are provided on the left and right sides of the optical fiber 1.

The structure for heating the heat transfer plate 15 will be described below.

That is, in the heat transfer plate 15 as shown in FIG. 3, the one wall plate 17 is located at the center of the outer surface of the one wall plate 17 in the left-right direction (longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate 15). A first heater 33 for heating the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside is provided,
A second heater 35 that heats the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside of the other wall plate 19 is provided at the center of the outer surface of the other wall plate 19 in the left-right direction. Here, the position of the first heater 33 in the left-right direction and the position of the second heater 35 in the left-right direction are substantially the same.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the heat transfer plate 15 provided with the ceiling plate 27, the first heater 33 and the second heater 35 are provided on the pair of wall plates 17 and 19, and the bottom plate is also provided. 25
A third heater 37 that heats the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside of the bottom plate 25 is provided at the center of the outer surface of the ceiling plate 27 in the left-right direction, and the ceiling plate 27 is provided at the center of the outer surface of the ceiling plate 29 in the left-right direction. A fourth heater 39 for heating the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside is provided. Here, the position of the third heater 37 in the left-right direction and the position of the fourth heater 39 in the left-right direction are configured to be substantially the same as the positions of the first and second heaters 33, 35 in the left-right direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the heat transfer plate 15 provided with the ceiling plate 27, the heat transfer plate 15 is provided from the outside of the bottom plate 25 at the lateral center portion of the outer surface of the bottom plate 25. A first heater 41 for heating is provided, and a second heater 43 for heating the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside of the ceiling plate 27 is provided at the center of the outer surface of the ceiling plate 27 in the left-right direction.
Here, the position of the first heater 41 in the left-right direction and the position of the second heater 43 in the left-right direction are configured to be substantially the same.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Under the condition that the treated portion 5a of the multi-core optical fiber 5 is surrounded by the hot melt resin tube 3 and the reinforcing member 7 is added in parallel to the treated portion 5a of the multi-core optical fiber 5, The heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 surrounds the treated portion 5a and the reinforcing material 7 in the multi-core optical fiber 5. Next, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat shrink sleeve 9 is the first heater 33 (or the first heater 41 when the heat transfer plate 15 and the like as shown in FIG. 5 are provided) and the second heater 35 ( Alternatively, in the case where the heat transfer plate 15 or the like as shown in FIG. 5 is provided, it is positioned between the second heaters 43), in other words, the first heater 33 (or 41) and the second heater 35.
The heat shrink sleeve 9 is inserted inside the heat transfer plate 15 so that (or 43) sandwiches the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction.

The heat transfer plate 15 is heated from the outside of one wall plate 17 by the operation of the first heater 33 (or 41), and the other wall plate 19 is operated by the operation of the second heater 35 (or 43). By heating the heat transfer plate 15 from the outside, the first heater 33 (or 41) and the second heater 35
(Or 43) heats the heat shrink sleeve 9 via the heat transfer plate 15. As a result, the hot melt resin tube 3 is melted and the treated portion 5a of the optical fiber 5 is processed.
And the heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 is contracted to fix the treated portion 5a of the optical fiber 5 to the reinforcing member 7 through the hot-melt resin tube 3 for reinforcement.

Here, under the condition that the first heater 33 (or 41) and the second heater 35 (or 43) sandwich the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction, the first heater 33.
(Or 41) and the second heater 35 (or 43) heat the heat-shrinkable sleeve 9, so that even if the heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 increases in size as the number of optical fibers 5 increases, The central portion of the shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction is intensively heated to shrink first in a short time, and the heating time until the entire heat shrink sleeve 9 shrinks is shortened. In particular, in the case where the heat transfer plate 15 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided, the four heaters 33, 35, 37, 39 surround the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction. Since the heat shrink sleeve 9 is heated by the four heaters 33, 35, 37, 39, the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction is intensively heated to shrink earlier in a shorter time, and The heating time for shrinking the entire heat shrink sleeve 9 becomes shorter.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, even if the heat shrink sleeve 9 becomes large in size as the number of optical fibers 5 increases, the center of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction. After the portion is intensively heated to shrink first in a short time, the heating time until shrinking the entire heat shrink sleeve 9 is shortened, and the reinforcement of the treated portion 5a of the multi-core optical fiber 5 is completed. At heat shrink sleeve 9
No air bubbles are left inside, and the multi-core optical fiber 5
It is possible to stably maintain the reinforced state, the optical characteristics, etc., of the treated portion 5a. For the same reason, the entire heat-shrinkable sleeve 9 can be heat-shrinked in a short time, and the efficiency of the reinforcing work of the treated portion 5a in the multi-core optical fiber 5 is improved.

In particular, when the heat transfer plate 15 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided, the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve 9 in the longitudinal direction is first shrunk in a shorter time, and the heat shrink sleeve 9 is also shrunk. Since the heating time until shrinking the whole becomes shorter, the above effect is further improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above description of the embodiments of the invention, but can be implemented in various other modes by making appropriate changes.

[0036]

According to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, it is possible that the heat shrinkable sleeve becomes large in size as the number of cores of the optical fiber increases. Also, the central portion of the heat shrink sleeve in the longitudinal direction is intensively heated to shrink first in a short time, and the heating time for shrinking the entire heat shrink sleeve is shortened,
Moreover, after reinforcing the treated portion of the optical fiber, bubbles are not left in the heat-shrinkable sleeve, and the reinforced state of the treated portion of the optical fiber, optical characteristics, etc. can be stably maintained. For the same reason, the entire heat shrink sleeve can be heat shrunk in a short time, and the work efficiency is improved.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the invention, the central portion of the heat-shrink sleeve in the longitudinal direction is first shrunk in a shorter time, and the heating time for shrinking the heat-shrink sleeve is reduced. Since the length is shorter, the above effect is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heat-shrink sleeve heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another aspect of the heating device for heat shrink sleeves.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another aspect of the heating device for heat shrink sleeves.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Heat shrink sleeve heating device 5 optical fiber 9 Heat shrink sleeve 15 heat transfer plate 17 wallboard 19 wallboard 21 Bottom plate 23 Ceiling board 33 First heater 35 Second heater

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshinori Iwashita             1440 Rokuzaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Fujikura Ltd.             Sakura office F-term (reference) 2H036 MA15 MA16

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heating device for a heat-shrink sleeve, which heats a heat-shrink sleeve surrounding the treated part of the optical fiber and the reinforcement under the condition that a stiffener is added in parallel to the treated part of the optical fiber. In, a heat transfer plate for transmitting heat to the heat shrink sleeve is provided, and the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate,
The heat transfer plate includes a pair of wall plates facing each other, and a bottom plate integrally provided between a lower part of one wall plate and a lower part of the other wall plate, and from the outside of the one wall plate, A first heater for heating the heat transfer plate is provided, and a second heater for heating the heat transfer plate is provided from the outside of the other wall plate, and the position of the first heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate and the position A heating device for a heat-shrink sleeve, characterized in that the second heaters are arranged so that their positions are substantially the same in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate. 2. The heat transfer plate is integrally provided between an upper portion of one wall plate and an upper portion of the other wall plate and faces the bottom plate in addition to the pair of wall plates and the bottom plate. A third heater that includes a ceiling plate, heats the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate, and a fourth heater that heats the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate is provided in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate. The position of the third heater and the position of the fourth heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate are configured to be substantially the same as the positions of the first and second heaters in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate. The heating device for the heat shrink sleeve according to claim 1. 3. A heating device for a heat shrink sleeve, which heats a heat shrink sleeve surrounding the treated portion of the optical fiber and the reinforcing material under a condition that a reinforcement material is added in parallel to the treated portion of the optical fiber. In, a heat transfer plate for transmitting heat to the heat shrink sleeve is provided, and the heat shrink sleeve is inserted inside the heat transfer plate,
The heat transfer plate includes a pair of wall plates facing each other, a bottom plate integrally provided between a lower part of one wall plate and a lower part of the other wall plate, and an upper part of the one wall plate and the other wall plate. A ceiling plate that is integrally provided between the upper portions of the bottom plate and faces the bottom plate, and that includes a first heater that heats the heat transfer plate from the outside of the bottom plate, and the heat transfer plate from the outside of the ceiling plate. A second heater for heating the heat transfer plate is provided, and the position of the first heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate and the position of the second heater in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer plate are substantially the same. A heating device for a heat-shrinkable sleeve.