JP2007226073A - Optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical cable which can be easily removed together with a holding tape, while massing and tangling on a slot are reduced, when a rough binding cord is cut off that prevents a coated optical fiber from falling off from the groove of the slot. <P>SOLUTION: In the optical cable, coated optical fibers 4 are housed in the grooves 2a of a grooved slot 2, wherein the outer circumference of the slot 2 successively is applied with rough binding cords 8a-8e, a holding tape 6, and a cable jacket 7. The rough binding cords 8a-8e are composed of the threads of a single material of an expandable rubber-like elastic body and formed into a twisted fiber bundle or a belt-like flat shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical cable in which a large number of optical fiber cores are housed in a groove of a slot with a groove, and a rough winding string, a presser winding tape, and a cable jacket are sequentially provided on the outer periphery of the slot.

  As networking using optical cables progresses with the progress of information and communication, the amount of used optical cables is increasing. However, from the viewpoint of global environmental protection and effective use of resources, measures to recycle optical cables are required. Yes. In carrying out recycling of optical cables, various proposals have been made so far regarding optical cables considering recycling costs, quality of recycled products, and recycling.

  Optical cables range from single cores to over 1000 cores. As a typical optical cable, several hundreds of single-core or tape-shaped optical fiber cores are accommodated in the groove of a slot with a groove, and the outer periphery of the optical cable is pressed and wound for water insulation or thermal insulation when forming a jacket. There is a structure in which the tape is spirally wound or vertically attached and the outside is covered with a cable jacket. In this optical cable recycling, the cable jacket or the plastic material of the slot (usually polyethylene) is targeted, but only the cable jacket is reused or only the slot (also called spacer) is reused. Depending on whether or not both the cable jacket and the slot are reused, the form of recycling is somewhat different.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when reusing a cable jacket, foreign matters such as a water-absorbing tape material can be removed at the stage of stripping the cable jacket, and the equipment and manner required for removing foreign matters at the regeneration stage are reduced. A dismantling method for achieving the above is disclosed. In this disassembling method, when the cable jacket is cut for peeling, it is cut with a thin skin so as not to reach the tape material in contact with the inner surface.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a method of smoothly peeling a tension member from a spacer body with a small peel-off force when reusing a spacer (slot). In this method, after a slit for separation is cut into the spacer body, pressure is applied from the outer periphery to separate the tension member in an adhesive state from the spacer body. Next, only the tension member is inserted and pulled out from a guide hole provided in the inclined separation plate, and the spacer body is separated and disassembled so as to ride on the outer surface of the separation plate.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, when both the spacer (slot) and the cable sheath (cable jacket) are reused, the resin material of the spacer and the cable sheath is efficiently recovered to reduce the cost of the recycling process. An optical cable is disclosed. In this optical cable, the density of the thermoplastic resin of the spacer (for example, high-density polyethylene) and the cable sheath (for example, low-density polyethylene) is made the same, and the spacer is attached to the tension member (tension member) in the spacer. A tensile strength member for tearing is embedded.

  Further, Patent Document 4 discloses an optical cable that prevents the nonwoven fabric fibers of the press-wound tape disposed on the inner surface of the sheath from being mixed as impurities when the sheath (cable jacket) is reused. . In this optical cable, the sheath has a two-layer structure of an outer layer sheath and an inner layer sheath, and a material that is not thermally fused to the outer layer sheath at the time of extrusion molding to the inner layer sheath is used. The nonwoven fabric is directly contacted with the inner layer sheath itself and the nonwoven fabric fibers are mixed therein. However, since the nonwoven fabric fibers are not mixed into the outer layer sheath, the outer layer sheath can be reused as a high-quality recycled product.

  Further, in Patent Document 5, as in Patent Document 4, when the sheath layer (cable jacket) is reused, the fusion is prevented between the sheath layer and the waterproof tape (press-wrap tape). An optical cable that facilitates the separation of the sheath layer and the water-stopping tape through the prevention layer is disclosed. In this optical cable, a material that is not fused to the water-stopping tape but is fused to the sheath layer is used as a fusion-preventing layer. The anti-fusing layer has a thickness of 1/20 to 1/5 of the sheath layer, and is formed by winding a tape or extrusion.

Further, in Patent Document 6, as in Patent Document 4, when the cable jacket is reused, it is easily peeled off from the cable jacket so that the fluff of the tape fiber does not remain on the inner surface of the cable jacket. A water-stop tape (press-wound tape) is disclosed. This water-stopping tape increases the tensile strength in the longitudinal direction of the base material so that it can be continuously peeled off from the cable jacket, and a synthetic resin composition coating layer on the surface in contact with the cable jacket So that no foreign matter such as fluff remains on the cable jacket side.
JP 2005-326656 A JP 2001-30193 A JP 2004-240061 A JP 2004-20619 A JP 2002-243999 A JP 2003-295017 A

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an optical cable recycling method using the slotted slot according to the above-described prior art. As shown in the figure, the optical cable 1 includes a slot 2 made of a plastic material in which a tension member 3 is embedded and integrated at the center and a plurality of grooves 2a are provided. The groove 2a of the slot 2 is formed in a spiral shape or SZ shape, and a plurality of optical fiber core wires or tape-like optical fiber core wires 4 are collected and accommodated in the groove 2a. In order to prevent the optical fiber core 4 from dropping out of the groove 2a (particularly in the case of an SZ-shaped slot) immediately after the optical fiber core 4 is housed in the groove 2a during the optical cable manufacturing process, 5 is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the slot 2.

  On the outer periphery of the slot 2 to which the coarsely wound string 5 is applied, a presser winding tape 6 for water insulation in the cable or heat insulation at the time of forming the outer cover is applied by spiral winding or vertical attachment, and the outer side thereof is outside the cable. The optical cable 1 is formed by covering with a cover 7. In the case of a slot having a spiral groove, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber core from falling off with the press-wound tape 6 without using the coarse winding string 5, but in the case of a slot having an SZ groove, In order to prevent the fiber from dropping off, a plurality of optical fiber cores are collected and stored in the groove 2a of the slot 2, and at the same time, it is difficult to apply the press-wound tape 6 and it is necessary to slow down the production line speed, which is not efficient. . For this reason, normally, when using the SZ slot, the optical fiber core 4 is prevented from falling off by the coarse winding string 5 made of a fiber bundle that can be easily wound near the point where the plurality of optical fiber cores 4 are accommodated. After that, the presser winding tape 6 is applied.

  In the case of recycling the optical cable 1 described above, for example, the jacket cutting processing means 10 for cutting the cable jacket 7 as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the jacket for dividing the cable jacket 7 with the cut into two. The cable jacket 7 is removed using the separation processing means 11. The jacket cutting processing means 10 adjusts the holding position of the optical cable 1 with the first cable holding roller 10 a and the second holding roller 10 b that can be adjusted, and the jacket cutter 10 c is moved from both sides of the optical cable jacket 7. Make a notch. The outer jacket separating processing means 11 takes up the outer shell breaking material 7a divided by, for example, the outer jacket take-up roller 11b including a pinch roller through the outer jacket guide roller 11a, and sends it to a discharge shooter (not shown). Used for reuse.

  Next, the presser winding removal means 12 cuts and removes the presser winding tape 6 and the coarse winding string 5 inside thereof. The presser winding removing means 12 is formed by, for example, cutting the presser winding tape 6 with a presser winding cutter 12a on the outer surface of the optical cable core in a state where the cable jacket 7 is removed and the presser winding tape 6 is applied to the surface. The coarsely wound string 5 is turned into chips 5a on the chips 6a. Then, the chips 5a and 6a are recovered by dropping them forcibly by dropping them naturally into the disposal container 12c or by rubbing the surface of the slot with a die 12b used for positioning the slots. Further, the die 12b and the presser winding cutter 12a may be integrated.

  Thereafter, the optical fiber core wire 4 is pulled out from the groove 2 a released from the slot 2 by the optical fiber core recovery means 13 and removed. For example, the optical fiber core wire collecting means 13 passes through the core wire guide roller 13a, and is directly collected by a take-up roller 13b composed of a pinch roller or a drum and recovered. The slot 2 from which the optical fiber core wire 4 has been removed separates the tension member from the slot using, for example, tension member peeling means 14 as disclosed in Patent Document 2. The tension member peeling means 14 separates the tight contact with the tension member 3 by cutting the side surfaces of the slot 2 with slot cutters 14a and compressing the side surfaces. Next, using the separating device 14b, the broken piece 2a and the tension member 3 are separated into two parts, the broken piece 2a is used for reuse, and the tension member 3 is wound around a drum or the like and disposed. .

  In the above-described presser winding removing means 12 of the recycling process, the presser winding tape 6 and the rough wound cord 5 are cut by the presser winding cutter 12a for removal. Since the tension is released and it is slackened, it may escape in the longitudinal direction of the slot without being cut even if the presser winding cutter 12a hits it. Further, the untwisted fiber bundle is used for the coarse winding string, and fluffing is likely to occur at the cut end. There was a problem that workability was bad, such as closing the through hole.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when the rough winding string that prevents the optical fiber core wire from dropping from the groove of the slot is cut, there is little entanglement on the slot, and the presser foot An object of the present invention is to provide an optical cable that can be easily removed together with a wound tape.

  An optical cable according to the present invention is an optical cable in which an optical fiber core is housed in a groove of a slot with a groove, and a rough winding string, a press winding tape, and a cable jacket are sequentially provided on the outer periphery of the slot, Is formed of a single elastic yarn of elastic elastic material, a twisted fiber bundle, or a belt-like flat shape.

  According to the optical cable of the present invention, since the coarsely wound string is formed of a rubber-like elastic body, loosening occurs due to contraction due to cutting, and it is easy to be separated from the slot and easily removed. In addition, when the coarsely wound string is formed of a single material yarn or a twisted fiber bundle, the fibers must be integrated and have no fluff as compared to the conventional untwisted fiber bundle. Therefore, there is little entanglement and the removal from the slot is easy. Further, when the coarsely wound string is formed in a flat belt shape, it is easy to cut and no entanglement occurs, so that it can be easily removed from the slot. As a result, the slot moves smoothly and the cable can be efficiently disassembled.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, 1 is an optical cable, 2 is a slot, 2a is a groove, 3 is a tension member, 4 is an optical fiber core wire, 6 is a presser winding tape, 7 is a cable jacket, and 8a to 8e are coarsely wound strings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the optical cable 1 includes a slot (also referred to as a spacer) 2 made of a plastic material in which a tension member (also referred to as a strength member) 3 is embedded and integrated at the center and a plurality of grooves 2a are provided. The groove 2a of the slot 2 is formed in a spiral shape or SZ shape, and a plurality of optical fiber core wires or tape-like optical fiber core wires 4 are accommodated in the groove 2a. In order to prevent the optical fiber core wire 4 from falling out of the groove 2a (especially in the case of the SZ slot) after the optical fiber core wire 4 is housed in the groove 2a during the manufacturing process of the optical cable, the rough winding cords 8a to 8e are immediately 2 is wound around the outer periphery.

  The conventional coarsely wound string 5 (see FIG. 3) is, for example, a bundle of fibers such as nylon that are not twisted, but having a thickness of 1260 denier. When the optical fiber has about 100 cores and the slot outer diameter is about 9 mm, the coarsely wound string 5 is formed by winding two strings at a pitch of 20 mm (with a pitch of 10 mm). Note that the conventional coarsely wound string 5 only needs to be held to such an extent that the optical fiber core wire 4 does not fall out of the groove 2a before the press winding tape 6 is applied. It is used.

However, the coarsely wound string 5 bundled without twisting the fibers is likely to fluff, and the cut ends are entangled with each other to form a hairball shape. As described above, when the optical cable is disassembled, cutting of the presser winding tape is hindered. Or entangled on the slot or clogged in the die, causing a decrease in workability.
In the present invention, in particular, using the coarsely wound cords 8a to 8e made of a rubber-like elastic body that does not generate pills, the optical fiber core wire 4 housed in the groove 2a of the slot is prevented from falling off and easy to disassemble. It is an optical cable.

  2A to 2E show various shape examples of the coarsely wound string used in the present invention. Natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or the like can be used as a stretchable rubber-like elastic body used for the coarsely wound string. As the synthetic rubber-based material, materials used for knitting yarns of stockings and stretch materials such as silicon and polyurethane-based fibers can be used. The rubber-like elastic body means a material that can be stretched twice or more in the range of normal temperature and quickly returns to 1.5 times or less of the original length after releasing the tensile force.

  FIG. 2A shows an example in which the coarsely wound string 8a is formed of a single elastic thread of rubber-like elastic material. For example, the rough wound string 8a is formed of a thread having an outer diameter of about 0.4 mm. Since the coarsely wound string 8a made of a rubber-like elastic body is formed of a single material, there is no fluffing and no fluff is produced during disassembly. Moreover, at the time of manufacture of an optical cable, it can wind in the state (for example, 20% or more) extended to some extent using the elasticity of a rough winding string. For example, the coarsely wound string is wound on the slot in a state where it is stretched by 20% or more, and the shrinkage of 10% or more is set in the coarsely wound string when the cable is disassembled. In this case, when the coarse winding string 8a is cut at the time of disassembling the optical cable, it is contracted by its elasticity and loosely wound around the slot. When the loose winding of the coarse winding occurs, the coupling between the slot 2 and the coarse winding string 8a is easily separated, and the removal becomes easy.

  FIG. 2 (B) shows a yarn obtained by winding other fiber yarns in a single or double winding around a yarn formed of a single material of a rubber-like elastic body as a coarsely wound string 8b. It is also said. The fiber yarn need not be a rubber-like elastic body. In this example, the elongation of the elastic yarn of the bare single material in FIG. 2A can be controlled, and the knitting can be facilitated.

  FIG. 2C shows an example in which the coarsely wound string 8c is formed by a fiber bundle in which fibers of a rubber-like elastic body are twisted. Twisting the fibers increases the integrity of the fibers and reduces fuzz. In addition, the handleability can be improved even when manufacturing the optical cable. When the optical cable is disassembled, fluffing is reduced, so that it is possible to reduce accumulation and entanglement into a ball shape, and removal from the slot 2 is facilitated, and workability can be improved.

  FIG. 2 (D) shows an example in which the coarsely wound string 8d is formed into a narrow flat band with a single rubber-like elastic material. For example, a flat flat band with a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 1.4 mm is shown. Formed in shape. Since it has a flat shape, the degree of protrusion from the surface of the slot when it is wound on the slot is small, and the winding of the presser winding tape is not affected. Further, since the contact area with the slot surface is increased and the slip resistance is increased, the cutting of the optical cable at the time of disassembly is suppressed by the cutter from being moved on the slot, and the cutting becomes easy. As a result, entanglement is reduced, and the coupling between the slot 2 and the coarsely wound string 8d is easily separated and can be easily removed.

  FIG. 2 (E) shows a woven and knitted yarn made of a single material of a rubber-like elastic body as shown in FIG. It is an example formed as a string which consists of a shape. The weft may not be a rubber-like elastic body. Since this coarsely wound string 8e is also flat, the extent of protruding from the surface of the slot when it is wound on the slot is small as in the example of FIG. 2 (D), without affecting the winding of the presser winding tape, Further, the contact area with the slot surface is increased, and the slip resistance is increased.

  On the outer periphery of the slot 2 to which the coarsely wound cords 8a to 8e are applied, there is a presser for heat insulation so as to stop the water in the cable or prevent the molding material from coming into direct contact with the optical fiber core wire when forming the jacket. A winding tape 6 is applied. The presser winding tape 6 is spirally wound or vertically attached, and the outer side thereof is covered with a cable jacket 7 to form the optical cable 1. In the case of a spiral slot, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber core wire 4 from falling off with the press-wound tape 6 without using the coarse winding cords 8a to 8e, but in the case of the SZ slot, the wires are concentrated and stored in the groove 2a. After that, it is necessary to apply a rough winding string immediately.

  As the presser winding tape 6, one having a tape width of about 20 mm to 30 mm is used, and in the case of spiral winding, for example, it is formed by lap winding of about 1/5 lap. In addition, when forming with vertical attachment, the thing of the tape width of the width including an overlap is used. When the presser winding tape 6 is applied with vertical attachment, an adhesive is applied to the vertical attachment portion of the presser winding tape, or a coarse winding string is further applied on the tape. The presser wound tape 6 is made of various kinds of fibers such as polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Further, from the viewpoint of reuse of the cable jacket, as disclosed in Patent Document 6, the longitudinal tensile strength of the base material is increased so that the cable jacket 7 can be continuously peeled off. In addition, a press-wound tape in which a coating layer of a synthetic resin composition is provided on the surface in contact with the cable jacket 7 so that foreign matter such as fluff does not remain on the cable jacket side can be used.

  The cable jacket (also referred to as a sheath) 7 is generally made of polyethylene and is a reusable material. However, the fibers of the press-wound tape 6 are easily mixed into the cable jacket 7 and the quality when regenerated is lowered. For this reason, when obtaining a high-purity recycled product in which no impurities are mixed, as disclosed in Patent Document 4, an outer-layer jacket used for a recycled product and an inner-layer jacket that allows mixing of the press-wound tape 6 are allowed. You may make it form in two layers. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 5, the cable jacket 7 may be formed between the press-wound tape 6 and a fusion prevention layer.

  The slot 2 has a tension member 3 in the center, and the slot 2 and the tension member 3 need to be bonded and integrated in order to give the optical cable 1 a high tensile strength. On the other hand, in order to reuse the slot 2, it is necessary to remove the optical fiber core wire 1 housed in the groove 2 a and peel the slot 2 and the tension member 3. For this purpose, for example, the peeling method disclosed in Patent Document 2 may be used, or as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a tearing tension member for tearing the slot may be embedded.

  The optical cable 1 as described above is recycled by a disassembly method similar to that described with reference to FIG. That is, after the cable jacket 7 is removed, the presser winding tape 6 and the coarse winding cords 8a to 8e are removed in order to take out the optical fiber core wire 4 from the groove 2a of the slot 2. As described above, the coarsely wound cords 8a to 8e are cut with a lint-free string, and are cut into short pieces without being trapped and tangled on the slot. In the case of spiral winding, the presser winding tape 6 is cut into short pieces for each winding by a cutter together with the cutting of the coarse winding strings 8a to 8e. In the case of vertical attachment, for example, it is cut into two strings. The cut short piece of tape waste is squeezed by a die or the like and naturally falls together with the strand waste of the coarsely wound strings 8a to 8e, and is collected in a waste container.

  When the presser winding tape 6 and the coarse winding cords 8a to 8e are removed, the optical fiber core 4 is removed from the groove 2a released from the slot 2 by the optical fiber core recovery means as described in FIG. Pulled out and removed. Next, the tension member 3 is separated from the slot 2 by the tension member peeling means, the slot 2 is reused, and the tension member 3 is wound around a drum or the like for processing.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the optical cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the example of the rough winding string used by this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the recycling of the optical cable using the slot with a groove | channel by a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical cable, 2 ... Slot, 2a ... Groove, 3 ... Tension member, 4 ... Optical fiber core wire, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e ... Coarse winding string, 6 ... Pressing winding tape, 7 ... Cable jacket.

Claims (4)

  An optical cable in which an optical fiber core is housed in a groove of a slot with a groove, and a rough winding string, a presser winding tape, and a cable jacket are sequentially provided on the outer periphery of the slot, and the rubber with which the rough winding string can be expanded and contracted An optical cable comprising an elastic body.   The optical cable according to claim 1, wherein the coarsely wound string is formed of a single thread.   The optical cable according to claim 1, wherein the rough winding string is formed of a twisted fiber bundle.   The optical cable according to claim 1, wherein the rough winding string has a belt-like flat shape.

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