JP2007010917A - Optical fiber unit, its manufacturing method and optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber unit that maintains oneness without coming loose in the terminal part and that excels in discriminability, and also to provide its manufacturing method and an optical fiber cable. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of coated optical fibers 11 are bound by using a spirally formed plastic ribbon 20; therefore, while the optical fiber unit maintains oneness of the unit without coming loose in the terminal part, no coated optical fibers 11 are strongly tightened, preventing transmission characteristics from being deteriorated. In addition, the wide plastic ribbon 20 can be easily discriminated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber unit, a method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit, and an optical fiber cable. For example, an optical fiber unit manufactured by spirally winding a plastic tape around a plurality of optical fiber cores. The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and an optical fiber cable.

Conventionally, an optical fiber unit formed by winding a thread around a plurality of optical fiber cores has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 18, in the optical fiber cable 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cable core composed of a plurality of optical fiber cores 101 is accommodated in a pipe-shaped sheath 102, and the cable core and the pipe-shaped sheath 102 are accommodated. The buffer layer 103 is provided between the two. The cable core is composed of a plurality of units 104, and the unit 104 is configured by bundling a plurality of optical fiber core wires 101 with thread fibers 105.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 19, the method of winding a spiral tube around wiring and piping is disclosed (for example, refer patent document 2).
In the winding method of the spiral tube 110 disclosed in Patent Document 2, piping and wiring 111 are inserted into the guide ring 112, the guide rod 113 is inserted into the opening of the spiral tube 110, and the guide rod 113 and the guide ring are inserted. The spiral tube 110 is sandwiched in 112, and the guide rod 113 is revolved and wound along the inner diameter of the guide ring 112.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-302560 (FIG. 1) JP-A-5-155535 (FIG. 1)

However, in the optical fiber cable 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1, the thread-like fiber 105 that is not fixed in shape and has no rigidity is wound around the optical fiber core wire 101. There is a problem that the unity feeling of the unit 104 is impaired. Further, since the filamentous fiber 105 is thin, it is difficult to distinguish from the optical fiber core wire 101, and there is a problem that the identification of the unit 104 is poor.
On the other hand, according to the winding method of the spiral tube 110 disclosed in Patent Document 2, it cannot be unraveled by the terminal due to the shape holding force of the spiral tube 110, but the jigs such as the guide ring 112 and the guide rod 113 are attached to the optical fiber. There is a disadvantage that it cannot be applied to the manufacture of the unit.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber unit, a manufacturing method of an optical fiber unit, and an optical fiber cable that maintain a sense of unity without being unraveled even at a terminal and have high discrimination.

  In order to achieve the above object, an optical fiber unit according to the present invention is an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the optical fiber cores. The plastic tape is formed in a spiral shape.

  In the optical fiber unit configured in this way, a plurality of optical fiber core wires are bound using a plastic tape formed in a spiral shape, so that the unit feels unity without being unraveled at the terminal part. However, it is possible to prevent deterioration of transmission characteristics without strongly tightening the optical fiber core wire. Also, the plastic tape is wide and can be easily identified.

  Further, in the optical fiber unit according to the present invention, the plastic tape molded in a spiral shape has elasticity as a spiral spring, and the magnitude of the elasticity is 0.1 g / mm or more as a spring constant, 1 g / Mm or less is desirable.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, since the spring constant of the plastic tape that binds the optical fiber core wire is 0.1 g / mm or more, it is possible to maintain unity feeling without being unraveled at the terminal portion. it can. In addition, since the spring constant is 1 g / mm or less, the optical fiber core wire can be taken out by easily increasing the pitch at the intermediate portion. Moreover, after taking out the required optical fiber core wire, it is possible to bind to another optical fiber core wire by naturally returning to the original pitch by the elasticity of the plastic tape.

  In the optical fiber unit according to the present invention, the plastic tape is preferably made of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or polyamide.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, by using a general-purpose material such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyamide, a commercially available plastic tape can be obtained at a low cost, and it becomes easy to obtain a predetermined spring constant.

  Moreover, as for the optical fiber unit concerning this invention, it is desirable for the said plastic tape to perform the extending | stretching process.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, since the drawing process is performed by stretching at a predetermined temperature equal to or lower than the melting point, the tensile strength of the plastic tape is increased and it is difficult to cut, and the productivity is improved.

  Moreover, as for the optical fiber unit concerning this invention, it is desirable for the thickness of the said plastic tape to be 0.03 mm or more and 0.10 mm or less.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, since the thickness of the plastic tape is 0.10 mm or less, the outer diameter of the optical fiber unit can be kept small, and the necessary spring constant is obtained because the thickness is 0.03 mm or more. Can do.

  In the optical fiber unit according to the present invention, the width of the plastic tape is 1.0 mm or more and 10 mm or less, and the spiral pitch of the spiral shape in which the plastic tape is molded is 5 mm or more and 100 mm or less. desirable.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, the optical fiber core wire can be bound with an appropriate strength.

  In the optical fiber unit according to the present invention, it is desirable that the plastic tape is marked on the outer surface of the spiral shape.

  In the optical fiber unit configured as described above, since the marking is provided on the outer surface of the plastic tape having a wide surface, it can be easily identified.

  The method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores. In the method, the plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber core wires, and then heat treatment is performed to give a spiral curl to the plastic tape.

  In the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit configured as described above, a plurality of optical fiber core wires are bound in a spiral shape using a general plastic tape, and then a spiral winding rod is formed on the plastic tape by heat treatment. Therefore, it can be easily wound when bound, and can be prevented from being unwound after being wound to hold the optical fiber core wire.

  A ninth feature of the method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit according to the present invention is that a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled, and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores. In the method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit, when the plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber core wires, the plastic tape is bent while being bent to give a spiral bending rod. It is to wind around a plurality of optical fiber cores.

  In the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit configured as described above, when a plurality of optical fiber core wires are bound in a spiral shape using a general plastic tape, the plastic tape is bent and bent in a spiral shape. Since the bend ridge is attached, it can be easily wound when binding, and can be prevented from being unwound after being wound, and the optical fiber core wire can be held. Moreover, since the general plastic tape is used, it can manufacture continuously.

  The method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores. In the method, the helical plastic tape is formed around the plurality of optical fiber core wires by extrusion molding using a rotary die.

  In the optical fiber unit manufacturing method configured as described above, the optical fiber unit can be manufactured easily and continuously because the spiral plastic tape is simultaneously extruded in the optical fiber unit manufacturing process. Can do.

  The optical fiber cable according to the present invention is that a plurality of the above-described optical fiber units are accommodated.

  In the optical fiber cable configured as described above, each unit can be easily identified while maintaining the integrity of each unit accommodated.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of optical fiber core wires are bound using a plastic tape that is formed in a spiral shape, a problem that the terminal portion as in the prior art is released and the unity feeling of the unit is impaired. It is possible to eliminate the problem, and it is possible to maintain the unity feeling without being unraveled by the terminal unit, and it is possible to obtain the effect of maintaining the distinguishability.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the optical fiber unit and the method for manufacturing the optical fiber unit of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a plastic tape, and FIGS. ) Is a cross-sectional view of the plastic tape, FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views showing a state in which the optical fiber core is taken out from the optical fiber unit, and FIG. 4 is a first manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a second method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a spiral ridge is attached to a plastic tape, and FIG. FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a rotary die, FIG. 8B is a front view of the rotary die, and FIG. 9A is a round shape. Sectional view showing optical fiber cable Figure 9 (B) is a sectional view showing a self-supporting optical fiber cable.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the optical fiber unit 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention collects a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 and puts a plastic tape 20 around the optical fiber core wires 11. It is the optical fiber unit 10 wound spirally, Comprising: The plastic tape 20 is shape | molded by the spiral shape as shown in FIG.1 (B).
Therefore, since a plurality of optical fiber cores are bound using a plastic tape formed in a spiral shape, the optical fiber cores are strongly tightened while maintaining the unity feeling without being unraveled at the terminal part. It is possible to prevent the transmission characteristics from deteriorating. Also, the plastic tape is wide and can be easily identified.

The cross-sectional shape of the plastic tape 20 is not limited. For example, a plastic tape 21 having an oval cross section as shown in FIG. 2A or a plastic tape 22 having a rectangular cross section as shown in FIG. 2B is used. be able to.
The material of the plastic tape 20 is not limited, but, for example, polyethylene which is a general-purpose plastic is suitable for film use (= thin extrusion molding with a thickness of 0.2 mm or less), and is inexpensive and economical. In addition, polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide, which are general-purpose engineering plastics, are also suitable for film applications, and since the elastic modulus is high, a thin tape can be realized. Furthermore, in order to increase the tensile strength of the tape made of these materials, it is possible to perform stretching (= stretching at an appropriate temperature below the melting point).

Since the plastic tape 20 has a spiral shape, the spring constant can be defined in the same manner as a general spring. In order to maintain the integrity of the optical fiber unit 10 without releasing the tape binding at the terminal, the spring constant is desirably 0.1 g / mm or more. Further, when manufacturing the optical fiber cable 30 (see FIG. 9) using a plurality of optical fiber units 10, in order to improve the core wire take-out property at the middle branch as shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B). The spring constant is preferably 1.0 g / mm or less.
When the desired optical fiber core 11 is taken out from the optical fiber unit 10, the plastic tape 20 is moved back and forth at the position where the optical fiber core 11 is taken out as shown in FIG. The twist pitch of the tape 20 is increased, and the optical fiber core wire 11 is taken out. Therefore, it is desirable that the helical pitch of the molded spiral shape is 5 mm or more and 100 mm or less.

  The width and thickness dimensions of the plastic tape 10 are appropriately set so as to have the aforementioned spring constant according to the elastic modulus of the plastic material. However, the tape width is preferably wide in order to ensure the later-described distinguishability, and is preferably 1.0 mm or more. On the other hand, the thickness of the plastic tape 20 is preferably 0.1 mm or less because the thinner one can keep the outer diameter of the unit small. Furthermore, in order to obtain the above-described spring constant, it is preferable that the tape width is 10 mm or less and the tape thickness is 0.03 mm or more. That is, it is desirable that the thickness of the plastic tape 20 is 0.03 mm or more and 0.10 mm or less, and the width is 1.0 mm or more and 10 mm or less.

  Further, when a plurality of units are accommodated in the optical fiber cable 30, it is desirable that the outer surface of the plastic tape 20 is colored in order to identify the optical fiber units 10. Moreover, it is also possible to carry out marking instead of coloring, and it is preferable that coloring and marking are used together because identification becomes easier.

Next, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit concerning this invention is demonstrated.
First, the first manufacturing method will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, in the process of manufacturing the optical fiber unit 10 by collecting a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 and spirally winding a plastic tape 20 around the plurality of optical fiber cores 11, The plastic tape 20 is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores 11 and then subjected to heat treatment to give the plastic tape 20 a spiral curl.
That is, in this manufacturing method, an existing plastic tape 20 is used, and a heating device 13 such as a heater or a dryer is provided behind the taping head 12 for winding the plastic tape 20 around the optical fiber core wire 11, and the plastic tape 20 is appropriately attached. A spiral shape is imparted by heating to a certain temperature and then cooling.

  Thereby, after binding a plurality of optical fiber core wires 11 in a spiral shape using a general ready-made plastic tape 20, the spiral tape is attached to the plastic tape 20 by heat treatment. Can be easily wound, and the optical fiber unit 10 can be held integrally by preventing it from being unwound after being wound.

Next, the second manufacturing method will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, in the process of assembling a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 and spirally winding a plastic tape 20 around the plurality of optical fiber cores 11 to manufacture the optical fiber unit 10, When the plastic tape 20 is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores 11, the plastic tape 20 is bent while the plastic tape 20 is bent to provide a spiral bending fold. Wrapping around.
That is, in this manufacturing method, as shown in FIG. 6, a die 14 for squeezing a plastic tape 20 is provided in a tape pass line, and a small-diameter bend is given to the tape by a squeezing edge 14a in the die 14 to be wrinkled. It is. Depending on the material of the die 14 (= the frictional force with the tape), the R of the ironing edge 14a, the angle between the ironing edge 14a and the plastic tape 20, the curvature of the bending rod, the helical pitch, etc. can be adjusted.

  As a result, when binding a plurality of optical fiber core wires 11 in a spiral shape using a general plastic tape 20, the plastic tape 20 is bent while being bent to provide a spiral bending rod. The optical fiber core wire 11 can be held by preventing the wire from being unwound after being wound. Moreover, since the general plastic tape 20 is used, it can manufacture continuously.

Next, the third manufacturing method will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, in the process of manufacturing an optical fiber unit 10 in which a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 are assembled and a plastic tape 20 is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores 11, An optical fiber unit 10 is manufactured by winding a spiral plastic tape 20 around a plurality of optical fiber core wires 11 by extrusion molding using a rotary die 15.
That is, in this manufacturing method, the optical fiber unit 10 is manufactured while extruding the spiral plastic tape 20 on the optical fiber core wire 11 without using the existing plastic tape 20.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, a conical extrusion point 15a is provided at the center of the rotary die 15, and a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 penetrate through the center of the extrusion point 15a. A hole 15b is provided. Further, two flow paths 15c of material are provided between the die 15 and the extrusion point 15a. As shown in FIG. 8B, outlets 15d are provided at the ends of the flow paths 15c. ing. In order to bind at a shorter pitch, the number of material outlets 15d can be further increased.

  Thereby, since the spiral plastic tape 20 is extruded at the same time in the manufacturing process of the optical fiber unit 10, the optical fiber unit 10 can be manufactured easily and continuously.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an optical fiber cable 30 according to the present invention.
In the optical fiber cable 30, a plurality of the optical fiber units 10 described above are accommodated. For example, an optical fiber cable 30A shown in FIG. 9A has a plurality (three in this case) of optical fiber units 10 in the center, is provided with a tensile body 34 as appropriate, and is entirely covered with a jacket 31. Further, in the optical fiber cable 30B shown in FIG. 9B, a support wire portion 32 in which a main body portion 30A accommodating a plurality of (here, three) optical fiber units 10 and a plurality of steel wires 32a, for example, are combined. Are integrally extruded through the connecting portion 33. The outer jacket 31 is appropriately provided with a strength member 34.

In the optical fiber cable 30 configured as described above, each optical fiber unit 10 can be easily identified while maintaining the integrity of each optical fiber unit 10 accommodated therein.
It should be noted that the advantage of excellent unit unity and distinguishability at the terminal is that a structure in which a plurality of units are assembled and accommodated in a cable without a slot, but the optical fiber cable 30 according to the present invention is The present invention is not limited to this cable structure, and can be applied to all unit type cables including a slot type.

  As described above, according to the optical fiber unit 10, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit 10, and the optical fiber cable 30, the plurality of optical fiber cores 11 are bound using the plastic tape 20 formed in a spiral shape. Therefore, the optical fiber core wire 11 is not strongly tightened while maintaining the unity feeling without being unraveled at the terminal portion, and deterioration of transmission characteristics can be prevented. The plastic tape 20 is wide and can be easily identified.

The optical fiber unit, the method for manufacturing the optical fiber unit, and the optical fiber cable of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the manufacturing method of winding one plastic tape 20, the optical fiber unit 10, and the optical fiber cable 30 are described, but the present invention is not limited to these, and the binding is performed at a shorter pitch. In order to achieve this, it is possible to wind a plurality of plastic tapes 20 at the same time.

Specific examples will be described below.
(Unit prototype 1)
Specific Examples 1 to 5 are manufactured and compared with Comparative Example 1. The structures of Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1 are shown in FIG.

As Examples 1 to 5, an optical fiber unit 10 in which an optical fiber core wire 11 was bound with a plastic tape 20 according to the present invention was manufactured. As Comparative Example 1, a unit bound with polyester yarn according to the prior art was manufactured.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the manufacturing method of Examples 1 to 3 is a method in which the iron die 14 is installed in the tape pass line in the taping head 12 and the bending tape is applied while the plastic tape 20 is ironed. It was. The ironing die 14 was made of Teflon (registered trademark), and the R of the ironing edge 14a was set to R = 0.1 mm as shown in FIG.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the manufacturing method of Examples 4 and 5 is a method in which the plastic tape 20 is wound around the optical fiber core wire 11 and then heated in the pass line to give the curl. . A dryer was used as the heating device 13, and the taped optical fiber unit 10 was adjusted to pass through a 100 ° C. atmosphere for 30 seconds.
Furthermore, in order to evaluate unit identification, each prototype produced 5 units. In Examples 1-2 and 4-5, the color of the plastic tape 20 was set to blue, yellow, green, red, and purple in Comparative Example 1. In Example 3, as shown in FIG. 12A, the optical fiber unit 10 is manufactured as shown in FIG. 12B by using the white tape 23 with the number markings “1” to “5”. did.

The measurement results of Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1 are shown in FIG.
The spring constant of the plastic tape 20 having a spiral shape was obtained by measuring the tension when stretched by 10 mm with a Push-Pull gauge. Assuming that the tension is F, the spring constant is k, and the elongation is δ, k = F / δ. In Comparative Example 1, there is no spring constant because the optical fiber core wire 11 is bound using yarn.

In the unit integrity evaluation at the terminal, the unit was grasped at a position of about 30 cm from the terminal and shaken to confirm that the binding plastic tape 20 and the thread were unwound. Good ones that were not solved were marked with ○, and those that were completely solved were marked with ×. For example, in Example 1, although the total length was not solved, the optical fiber core wire 11 was scattered in the vicinity of the terminal, and thus it was determined to be rejected (Δ).
In the middle core wire take-out evaluation, the work of taking out the optical fiber core wire 11 by 15 mm was performed as shown in FIG. In Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Example 1, it was possible to easily pick up the optical fiber core wire 11 by expanding the bind pitch, but in Example 5, it was difficult to work because the force to return the portion where the bind pitch was widened was strong. , Rejected (△ because it is not impossible).
In the evaluation of distinguishability, an operation of taking out a specific optical fiber unit 10 was performed in a state where five optical fiber units 10 were bundled, and it was confirmed whether or not the units could be distinguished. In Comparative Example 1, it was difficult to distinguish between the yarn and the optical fiber core wire 11, and although it was possible to make a judgment if viewed closely in a bright place, the workability was not good, so it was rejected (Δ). In Examples 1-2 and 4-5, the plastic tape 20 and the optical fiber core wire 11 could be easily distinguished, and the color of the plastic tape 20 could also be easily distinguished. Also, with the number-marked tape 23 of Example 3, it was easy to find the marking from the unit bundle, and the discrimination was good.

(Unit prototype 2)
The optical fiber unit 10 shown in FIG. 15 is extruded while a helical plastic tape 20 (for example, polyethylene is used) is extruded by a 30 mm extruder having the rotary die 15 shown in FIGS. Was produced as Example 6, and the measurement results and evaluation are shown in FIG.
FIG. 17 shows a unit production line 40. In this production line 40, on the upstream side (right side in FIG. 17), optical fiber core supply 41 for supplying the optical fiber core 11 is provided for the number of cores (e.g., eight here), and downstream thereof. A collecting machine 42 is provided on the side (left side in FIG. 17). A rotary die 15 is provided on the downstream side of the collecting machine 42 (left side in FIG. 17), and a cooling unit 43 is provided on the downstream side of the rotary die 15. Further, a take-up capstan 44 and a winder 45 are provided on the downstream side.

Therefore, the plurality of optical fiber cores 11 supplied from the optical fiber core supply 41 are bundled in the collecting machine 42 and inserted through the through hole 15 b of the rotary die 15. At this time, the plastic tape 20 extruded from the extrusion point 15 a while rotating is extruded on the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 11 in a spiral manner. The rotary die 15 was provided with two outlets 15d as shown in FIG. Further, the rotary die 15 is rotated at a pitch equivalent to 100 mm, and the two spiral plastic tapes 20 are simultaneously formed at diagonal positions, so the effective bind pitch is 50 mm. The extruded plastic tape 20 is cooled in the cooling unit 43. Here, in order to minimize processing distortion of the plastic tape 20, slow cooling by air cooling was performed. Thereafter, the film is taken up by the capstan 44 and taken up by the winder 45.
In order to evaluate unit identification, a color batch was blended with polyethylene and colored to produce five units of blue, yellow, green, red, and purple.

  The same unit evaluation as in Examples 1 to 5 was performed, and as a result of the measurement, it was confirmed that all items were satisfactory as shown in FIG.

(Prototype optical fiber cable)
Using the optical fiber unit 10 of Example 2 described above, a self-supporting type optical fiber cable 30 shown in FIG. 9B was prototyped, initial transmission loss (measured with an OTDR of 1.55 μm wavelength), and temperature characteristics. (Transmission loss fluctuation at -30 to 70 ° C) and intermediate branch workability were evaluated.
The manufactured optical fiber cable 30 has the following configuration.
Number of cable cores: 24 cores (= 8 core units x 3)
Cable jacket material: Polyethylene cable body outer diameter: φ10.5mm
Cable support wire: 7 / 1.4 steel stranded wire

As a result of measuring the above optical fiber cable 30,
Initial transmission loss: 0.2 dB / km
Temperature characteristics: Loss fluctuation <0.05 dB / km
Intermediate branching workability: Good unit identification and core take-out performance From the above results, it was confirmed that the optical fiber unit of the present application has no problems in characteristics and workability even when it is cabled.

  As described above, the optical fiber unit, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit, and the optical fiber cable according to the present invention bind a plurality of optical fiber core wires using a plastic tape formed in a spiral shape. The problem that the conventional terminal unit can be solved and the unity feeling of the unit is lost can be solved, and the unity feeling of the unit can be maintained without being solved even by the terminal unit, and the distinctiveness can be maintained. It is useful as an optical fiber unit manufactured by spirally winding a plastic tape around a plurality of optical fiber cores, a method for manufacturing the optical fiber unit, an optical fiber cable, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (A) is a perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment which concerns on the manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit and optical fiber unit of this invention. (B) is a perspective view of a plastic tape. (A) And (B) is sectional drawing of a plastic tape. (A) And (B) is a perspective view which shows the state which takes out an optical fiber core wire from an optical fiber unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the optical fiber unit manufacturing method concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which attaches a spiral wrinkle to a plastic tape. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit concerning this invention. (A) is sectional drawing of a rotary die. (B) is a front view of a rotary die. (A) is sectional drawing which shows a round optical fiber cable. (B) is sectional drawing which shows a self-supporting type optical fiber cable. It is a table | surface which shows the structure of the unit trial manufacture 1. It is an expanded sectional view of a die. (A) is a top view of a white tape. (B) is a perspective view which shows the state which wound the white tape around the optical fiber core wire. It is a table | surface which shows the evaluation result of the unit prototype 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of optical fiber core wire extraction property evaluation. It is a table | surface which shows the structure of the unit trial manufacture 2. FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the evaluation result of the unit prototype 2. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an optical fiber unit manufacturing line. It is sectional drawing of the conventional optical fiber cable. It is a perspective view which shows the winding method of the conventional spiral tube for wiring.

Explanation of symbols

10 optical fiber unit 11 optical fiber core wire 15 rotary die 20 plastic tape 30 optical fiber cable

Claims (11)

An optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled, and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the optical fiber cores,
An optical fiber unit, wherein the plastic tape is molded in a spiral shape.   The plastic tape molded in a spiral shape has elasticity as a spiral spring, and the magnitude of the elasticity is 0.1 g / mm or more and 1 g / mm or less as a spring constant. Item 4. The optical fiber unit according to Item 1.   The optical fiber unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a material of the plastic tape is any one of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyamide.   The optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plastic tape is stretched.   The optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plastic tape has a thickness of 0.03 mm or more and 0.10 mm or less. The width of the plastic tape is 1.0 mm or more and 10 mm or less,
The optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a spiral pitch of a spiral shape in which the plastic tape is molded is 5 mm or more and 100 mm or less.   The optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plastic tape is marked on a spiral outer surface. In a method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores,
A method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit, wherein the plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores and then subjected to a heat treatment, and a spiral curl is applied to the plastic tape. . In a method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores,
When the plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores, the plastic tape is bent while the plastic tape is bent to give a spiral bending fold. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit, wherein the optical fiber unit is wound around. In a method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are assembled and a plastic tape is spirally wound around the plurality of optical fiber cores,
A method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit, comprising forming the spiral plastic tape around the plurality of optical fiber cores by extrusion molding using a rotary die.   An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of the optical fiber units according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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