JP2007322281A - Method and apparatus for testing optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for testing an optical fiber ribbon capable of forming a reference by which it is assumed that no crack is generated in a jacket against a specific external force when the external force is applied to the optical fiber ribbon. <P>SOLUTION: In such a state that a specific pressure is applied to the optical fiber ribbon 12 by a lateral pressure providing means 20, an outer diameter measuring device 30 measures at least one of a dimension W in a width direction or a dimension T in a thickness direction of the optical fiber ribbon 12. It is determined whether there is a crack of a resin coating 13 or not from the variation of the dimension. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a test method and apparatus for an optical fiber ribbon, for example, testing the mechanical strength of an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of parallel optical fibers are coated with a resin in a tape shape and integrated. The present invention relates to a test method and apparatus for an optical fiber ribbon.

Expanding FTTH (Fiber To The Home) service, which provides ultra-high-speed communication services by connecting telecommunications carriers and homes directly with optical fiber in order to respond to the rapid increase in data communication demand due to the rapid spread of Internet services in recent years. is doing.
At present, most of the optical wiring network near the general subscriber in FTTH is aerial wiring using utility poles. When an optical fiber is pulled down to a subscriber's home, the overhead cable is split in the middle and the tape core is connected. The mainstream method is to take out and separate the tape core wire into a single core wire, then connect it to an optical drop cable and pull it down to the subscriber's home.

Thus, a tape core wire has been developed that can be easily separated in the field (for example, see Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 6, the tape core 100 described in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of optical fibers 101 (in this case, four as an example) arranged in parallel, and the entire outer circumference of the optical fibers 101 arranged in parallel. In addition, the optical fiber 101 is integrated by the jacket 102 over the entire length. The optical fiber 101 has a configuration in which a glass fiber 103 including a core 103a and a clad 103b, an outer periphery of the glass fiber 103 is covered with a protective coating 104, and an outer periphery 105 of the protective coating 104 is further covered with a colored layer.

A concave portion 106 is provided in the axial direction on the outer surface of the jacket 102 corresponding to between the adjacent optical fibers 101. In FIG. 6, d is the outer diameter of the optical fiber 101, T is the thickness of the tape, Y is the depth of the recess, S1 is the common tangent of the jacket 102, and S2 is the common tangent of the optical fiber 101. Therefore, the thickness t of the jacket 102 is the length between the two common tangents S1 and S2, and can be obtained by t = (T−d) / 2.
When the optical fiber 101 is separated from the tape core 100 like this, the jacket 102 is rubbed with the tape core 100 sandwiched between them using a branch tool. Since the rubbing force by the branching tool is concentrated at a high point of the outer cover 102, that is, an intermediate point between the concave portion 106 and the concave portion 106, the outer cover 102 is easily damaged by being broken or damaged. The optical fiber 101 can be branched. For this reason, the optical fiber 101 can be easily separated from the optical fiber 101 on site or in a live line state.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-206048 (FIG. 1)

  However, as described above, in the tape core 100 with improved single-core separation, on the other hand, the amount of the coating material adhering to the outer surface is reduced. Thus, the structure is weak against an external force acting in the width direction of the tape core wire 100, and there is a problem that cracks are likely to occur from the matching portion between the optical fibers 101. That is, there is a possibility that the tape core wire 100 may be unnecessarily broken when the tape core wire 100 is manufactured. Further, if cracking occurs due to stress during wiring, the optical fibers 101 to be performed at the time of subsequent wiring work cannot be fusion-bonded together, and work efficiency is significantly reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its object is to consider that when an external force is applied to the tape core wire, the outer cover is not cracked for a certain external force. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber ribbon testing method and apparatus for forming a reference that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a test method for an optical fiber ribbon that is a first feature according to the present invention is an optical device in which a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel are resin-coated in a tape shape and integrated. An optical fiber ribbon testing method for testing the mechanical strength of a fiber ribbon, wherein a predetermined lateral pressure is applied to the optical fiber ribbon to detect a crack in a resin coating on the optical fiber ribbon. Is.

  In the test method of the optical fiber ribbon constructed as described above, it is detected whether a crack is generated in the resin coating by applying a constant side pressure to the optical fiber ribbon, and it is detected that the crack has occurred. Since it can be determined that it does not satisfy the strength criteria, the optical fiber ribbon can be easily selected to have a certain strength or higher.

  The optical fiber tape core testing method according to the second aspect of the present invention is the same as the first aspect of the present invention, except that the cross-sectional width dimension and thickness dimension of the optical fiber ribbon core are as follows. At least one of the dimensions is monitored, and if any of the dimensions changes, it is determined that a crack has occurred in the resin coating.

  In the test method of the optical fiber ribbon thus configured, at least one of the width dimension or the thickness dimension of the optical fiber ribbon is measured in a state where a side pressure is applied to the optical fiber tape. And since the presence or absence of the crack of resin coating is judged from the change of a dimension, a crack can be detected easily.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a test method for an optical fiber ribbon according to the first or second feature of the present invention, wherein the optical fiber ribbon is adjacent to the optical fiber ribbon. A recess is formed in the resin coating in the axial direction.

  In the optical fiber tape core testing method configured as described above, in particular, an optical fiber tape core provided with a recess in the resin coating along the axial direction is easy to separate, that is, the resin coating is easily broken. It is effective to apply to such an optical fiber ribbon.

  The optical fiber ribbon testing apparatus according to the fourth feature of the present invention is a mechanical apparatus for an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of parallel optical fibers are coated with a resin in a tape shape and integrated. An optical fiber ribbon testing apparatus for testing strength, a lateral pressure applying means for applying a lateral pressure to the optical fiber ribbon, and a width dimension and a thickness dimension of a cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber ribbon. And an outer diameter measuring device for detecting cracks in the resin coating.

  In the optical fiber ribbon testing apparatus configured as described above, after applying a constant lateral pressure to the optical fiber ribbon by the lateral pressure applying means, the outer diameter measuring device measures the widthwise dimension of the optical fiber ribbon or Measure at least one of the dimensions in the thickness direction. And since the presence or absence of the crack of the resin coating is determined from the change in dimensions, it is possible to easily detect the crack, and it is determined that the detected crack does not satisfy the strength standard. Therefore, the optical fiber ribbon can be easily selected to have a certain strength or more.

  According to the present invention, it is detected whether a crack is generated in the resin coating by applying a constant side pressure to the optical fiber ribbon, and it is determined that the detected crack does not satisfy the strength standard. As a result, it is possible to easily select an optical fiber ribbon that has a certain strength or higher.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are perspective views showing a test method and apparatus for an optical fiber ribbon according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2A is a side pressure of a flat thin tape ribbon. 2B is a cross-sectional view after applying a lateral pressure to a flat-type thin tape core wire, and FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view before applying a side pressure to a thin tape core wire having a recess. (B) is sectional drawing after the side pressure provision of the thin tape core wire which has a recessed part.

1A and 1B show a test method for an optical fiber ribbon according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a test apparatus 10 for performing the test method.
In this test method and test apparatus 10, the mechanical strength of the optical fiber ribbon 12 (hereinafter referred to as “tape ribbon 12”) is tested.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 3 (A), a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 (here, four as an example) are arranged in parallel with the tape core wire 12, and the whole is made of resin. The cover 13 is integrated into a tape shape.
The tape core wire 12 shown in FIG. 2 is a thin tape core wire in which the resin coating 13 is thinned to facilitate single-core separation. Further, the tape core 12 shown in FIG. 3 is a thin tape core in which a single core is easily separated by providing a recess 14 in the axial direction on the outer surface of the resin coating 13 corresponding to between adjacent optical fibers 11. It is. The normal width direction dimension of the tape core wire 12 is W, the thickness direction dimension is T, the width direction dimension after deformation is W ′, and the thickness direction dimension is T ′.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this test apparatus 10 has a table 16 in the center of a base 15, and the front and rear of the table 16 have the optical fiber cores 11 arranged vertically with the tape core wire 12 being vertical. Holding blocks 17a and 17b are held in a state. The holding blocks 17a and 17b have slightly larger holes than the vertical state of the tape core wire 12, and the tape core wire 12 is made vertical by passing the tape core wire 12 vertically. It can be held in a state.

  The height of the upper surface of the table 16 coincides with the lower surface of the tape core 12 passing through the holding blocks 17a and 17b, and the tape core 12 is placed on the table 16 as shown in FIG. A side pressure is applied to the tape core wire 12 by placing a weight 25 serving as a side pressure applying means. It should be noted that the distance between the holding blocks 17a and 17b is preferably short (for example, about 5 cm) so that the tape core 12 does not fall when the weight 25 is loaded. Moreover, you may provide the holding means which can hold | grip the tape core wire 12 in both holding blocks 17a and 17b.

  The weight 25 loaded on the tape core 12 has a predetermined weight, and the weight is cleared (the normal width direction dimension W and the thickness direction dimension T of the tape core line 12 are monitored, and any dimension) If it is confirmed that no change is observed), it has a predetermined strength, and it can be determined that the strength test has passed and can be used as a quality assurance pass standard. Alternatively, the weight 25 may be gradually increased to verify the limit load that causes the resin coating 13 to crack as shown in FIG. 2B or FIG.

  As described above, according to the test method and apparatus for the optical fiber ribbon described above, whether or not the resin coating 13 is cracked by applying a constant lateral pressure to the tape ribbon 12 is detected and the crack is detected. Since the tape is judged to be insufficient in strength, the tape core wire 12 can be easily selected to have a certain strength or higher.

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which an optical fiber ribbon testing device is provided in the production line of the tape ribbon, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views showing examples of lateral pressure applying means. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the site | part which is common in 1st Embodiment mentioned above, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, this test apparatus 10B manufactures a tape core wire 12 in which a plurality of parallel optical fiber core wires 11 (see FIGS. 2A and 3A) are resin-coated in a tape shape. In the line, the mechanical strength of the tape core wire 12 is tested.
In this test apparatus 10B, the lateral pressure applying means 20 for applying the lateral pressure F to the tape core wire 12 and the changes in the width direction dimension W and the thickness direction dimension T of the cross-sectional shape of the tape core wire 12 are detected to detect the resin coating 13. And two outer diameter measuring devices 30 for detecting cracks.
The tape core wire 12 is supplied to the lateral pressure applying means 20 from the downstream side (left side in FIG. 4), and taken up by the take-up reel 18 via the outer diameter measuring device 30. In order to perform measurement while feeding the tape core wire 12, the guide roller 19a, 19b is used to hold the tape core wire 12 in a predetermined position so as not to be damaged.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the lateral pressure applying means 20 is, for example, in a state where the tape core wire 12 is vertical (that is, a state where the optical fiber core wires 11 are lined up and down). A pair of upper and lower pulleys 21 and 22 having grooves 21a and 22a for receiving both ends are provided. The lower pulley 22 is rotatably supported at a fixed position. On the other hand, the upper pulley 21 is rotatably supported in the vicinity of the lower end portions of the arm members 23, 23, and a loading table 24 is horizontally provided at the upper ends of the arm members 23, 23. A lateral pressure F is generated by placing a weight having a predetermined weight on the loading table 24. As a result, the tape core 12 receives a pressing force (side pressure) F in the vertical direction (that is, the width direction of the tape core 12). In FIG. 5 (B), instead of the rectangular grooves 21a and 22a provided in the pulleys 21 and 22 in FIG. 5 (A), an arc shape corresponding to the end shape of the tape core wire 12 is shown. The case where the grooves 21b and 22b are provided is shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, the outer diameter measuring device 30 detects a change in the outer diameter dimension of the tape core wire 12 after the lateral pressure is applied, and a width measuring device 31 that measures the width dimension W and the thickness dimension. A thickness measuring device 32 for measuring T is provided. The outer diameter measuring device 30 can detect cracks in the tape core wire 12 if at least one of the width measuring device 31 and the thickness measuring device 32 is provided, but both measurements are performed in directions orthogonal to each other. By providing the devices 31 and 32, it is possible to detect an abnormality caused by vibration or vibration of the tape core wire 12.
In each measuring device 31, 32, measurement light is emitted from the light emitting units 31a, 32a, and the light receiving units 31b, 32b can receive the measurement light and measure dimensions. In FIGS. 2B and 3B, the width direction dimension of the tape core wire 12 after the lateral pressure is applied is indicated by W ′, and the thickness direction dimension is indicated by T ′. That is, when a lateral pressure F is applied to the tape core wire 12, an external force acts in a direction in which the optical fiber core wires 11 that are juxtaposed are pressed to each other, but the resin coating 13 is thinly formed. Before the resin between them is compressed, the optical fiber core wire 11 moves, and the resin coating 13 is deformed or broken.

2A and 2B show the case of a flat thin tape core. In this case, when the side pressure F acts, the tape core wire 12 swells to the left or right, and the resin coating 13 is broken. When the dimension at this time is measured, the dimension T in the thickness direction changes to T ′. From T ′> T, a crack of the tape core 12 is detected, and it is detected that the mechanical strength of the tape core 12 is insufficient. Alternatively, the crack can be detected because the width direction dimension W changes to W ′.
3A and 3B show the case of a thin tape core having a recess 14 along the axial direction. Also in this case, as in the case of FIG. 2 described above, the deformation of the tape core 12 can be detected from the change in the outer diameter of the tape core 12 to detect a lack of strength.

  As described above, according to the test method and the apparatus 10B for the optical fiber ribbon described above, after applying a constant side pressure to the tape core 12 by the side pressure applying means 20, the width of the tape core 12 is measured by the outer diameter measuring device 30. At least one of the direction dimension W or the dimension T in the thickness direction is measured. And since the presence or absence of the crack of the resin coating 13 is determined from the change in dimensions, it is possible to easily detect the crack, and it is possible to easily determine that the detected crack is inappropriate. The tape core wire 12 can be selected to have a certain strength or higher. Further, since the test device 10B is provided as a screening device in the production line of the tape core wire 12, the inspection can be performed simultaneously with the production of the tape core wire 12. For this reason, since the manufacture of the tape core wire 12 that has failed the inspection can be immediately stopped, waste can be reduced and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved. The production line can be stopped immediately by providing a control device that receives a measurement signal from the outer diameter measuring device 30 and determines cracks.

The optical fiber ribbon testing method and apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made.
For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the optical fiber cores 11 are coated with four optical fiber cores 11 in a tape shape as the tape core wires 12, but the number of the optical fiber core wires 11 is arbitrary (for example, eight). ).
Moreover, in each embodiment mentioned above, although the tape core wire 12 was tested one by one, it is also possible to test by applying a side pressure to a plurality of tape core wires 12 together.
Moreover, although the case where the weight was used as the side pressure applying means has been described, a fluid cylinder using air or the like, a motor, a gear mechanism, or the like can also be used.

  As described above, the optical fiber ribbon testing method and apparatus according to the present invention detects whether or not the resin coating is cracked by applying a constant lateral pressure to the optical fiber ribbon, and the crack is generated. Since it is determined that the detected optical fiber is inappropriate, the optical fiber ribbon can be easily selected to have a certain strength or more, and a plurality of parallel optical fibers are arranged. It is useful as an optical fiber ribbon testing method and apparatus for testing the mechanical strength of an optical fiber ribbon integrated with a resin coating in the form of a tape.

(A) And (B) is a perspective view which shows the test method and apparatus of the optical fiber ribbon based on 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is sectional drawing before the side pressure provision of a flat type thin tape core wire, (B) is sectional drawing after the side pressure provision of a flat type thin tape core wire. (A) is sectional drawing before the side pressure provision of the thin tape core wire which has a recessed part, (B) is sectional drawing after the side pressure provision of the thin tape core wire which has a recessed part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which provided the testing apparatus of the optical fiber tape core wire in the manufacturing line of a tape core wire. (A) And (B) is sectional drawing and a perspective view which show the example of a side pressure provision means. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional optical fiber tape core wire.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10B Test apparatus 11 Optical fiber core wire 12 Optical fiber tape core wire 13 Resin coating 14 Recess 20 Side pressure applying means 30 Outer diameter measuring device W Width direction dimension T Thickness direction dimension

Claims (4)

An optical fiber ribbon testing method for testing the mechanical strength of an optical fiber ribbon integrated with a plurality of parallel optical fibers coated with resin in a tape shape,
A test method for an optical fiber ribbon, wherein a predetermined lateral pressure is applied to the optical fiber ribbon to detect a crack in the resin coating of the optical fiber ribbon.   Monitoring at least one of the widthwise dimension and the thicknesswise dimension of the cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber ribbon, and determining that a crack has occurred in the resin coating if any of the dimensions changes. 2. The test method for an optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1, wherein   3. The optical fiber tape according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber tape has a recess formed along the axial direction in the resin coating between the adjacent optical fibers. 4. Test method for core wire. An optical fiber ribbon testing device for testing the mechanical strength of an optical fiber ribbon integrated with a plurality of parallel optical fibers coated with resin in a tape shape,
A side pressure applying means for applying a side pressure to the optical fiber ribbon, and an outer diameter measuring device for measuring a change in a width direction dimension and a thickness direction dimension of a cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber ribbon. Optical fiber ribbon test equipment.

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