JP2009103994A - Method and apparatus of manufacturing optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus of manufacturing an optical cable in which it is not required to make a cut line to be the ripping start end for cutting an upper wind tape in a state of a tape pad, in advance, and the cut line can be made in the stage of winding the upper wind tape. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacture of the optical cable in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are covered with the upper wind tape wound at a prescribed wind angle and its outside is covered with a sheath, cut lines of a specific length to be the ripping start ends of the tape are made at a side edge of the upper wind tape with a specific interval by a cutting means, provided at the midway of a path line (between guide rollers 30a and 30b) of a tape material 22 for the upper wind tape, and winding is performed. As the cutting means, a rotating disk cutter blade 32a, a rotating disk partially provided with a protruding blade, or a laser beam can be used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical cable in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are covered with an upper winding tape and the outside thereof is covered with a sheath, and a manufacturing apparatus therefor.

  With the recent expansion of broadband services such as video distribution, IP telephony, and data communications, the number of subscribers to home-use data communications services (FTTH: Fiber To The Home) using optical fibers is increasing. In this FTTH, a drop optical cable is used to drop from an imaginary trunk optical cable to a subscriber's house. For example, the optical fiber is dropped to the subscriber's home by branching the optical fiber core from a trunk optical cable laid on a utility pole in a city by a connection box usually called a closure. A drop optical cable is connected to the fiber core using a fusion connection or an optical connector.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the trunk optical cable is made of, for example, a resin having a plurality of grooves 2a in which a tension member 3 (also referred to as a tensile body) is embedded in the center and formed in an SZ shape on the outer surface side. A spacer 2 (also referred to as a slot rod) is used. A plurality of single-core optical fiber cores or multi-fiber optical fiber ribbons 4 are accommodated in the groove 2a, and an upper tape 6 (also referred to as a presser winding) is wound around the outer periphery of the spacer 2 so that the optical fiber tape cores are wound. 4 is covered. And the thing of the shape which coat | covered the outer side of the upper winding tape 6 with the sheath 7 (it is also called a jacket) formed by extrusion molding is common.

In order to draw an optical fiber from a middle part of the trunk optical cable 1 as described above to a subscriber's house or the like, one to several optical fibers are selected from a plurality of optical fiber cores housed in the cable. A branching operation for drawing out the core is performed. In this branching (also referred to as intermediate rear branching) operation, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sheath 7 at the branching portion of the optical cable is removed by a certain length (about 50 cm). In the portion where the sheath 7 is removed, the upper winding tape 6 is exposed. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, after the upper winding tape 6 is formed with a cutter, a nipper 10 or the like to form a tear start end. Disconnect. Next, the upper tape 6 is unwound and peeled off, and the inner optical fiber 4 is taken out.
JP-A-8-220393

  The upper tape 6 wound on the spacer 2 holds the optical fiber ribbon 4 so that the optical fiber ribbon 4 does not jump out of the groove 2 a, and heat when the sheath 7 is formed affects the optical fiber ribbon 4. It can be made to function as thermal insulation for suppressing the above, and further, as water absorption for water stoppage in the optical cable. Since there is no particular protective layer between the upper tape 6 and the optical fiber ribbon 4, a cutting tool 10 such as a nipper is inserted into the upper tape 6 to cut the tape. If an attempt is made to obtain the starting end, the optical fiber ribbon 4 may be damaged. Further, the branching operation of the optical fiber core wire is often performed in a poor working environment such as on a power pole or a bucket car, and it is desired to be as simple and as short as possible.

  As a method for improving the above points, as shown in FIG. 1 (A), cuts 8 are made at intervals on the side edges of the upper tape 6, and the cuts 8 are scratched with a fingernail or the like to form a triangular shape. The protruding piece 10 is raised. And the method of cutting | disconnecting by making the cut | interruption 8 into the tape width direction with the gripping tools, such as a hand or pliers, is proposed by making the cut | interruption 8 into the start end of a tape tear. 1A shows an example in which the upper tape 6 is formed by open winding having a gap 6a, and a part 5a of the coarsely wound string 5 is exposed from the gap 6a.

  As a method of forming the cut 8 in the above-mentioned upper winding tape, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), in the state of the tape pad 12 in which the tape material for the upper winding tape 6 is wound around the winding core 11, one pad is used. A method of making a plurality of incisions 14 radially on the surface 13 has been proposed. When the tape material fed out from the tape pad 12 is wound around the sheath 2 of the optical cable, the cuts 14 that are radially formed are the cuts 8 formed at intervals.

  However, the work of making the cut 14 in the tape pad 12 requires a relatively large amount of work and takes a long time. In addition, the depth of cut of the cut 14 is not constant, and if the cut is too deep, cutting is likely to occur during winding around the spacer, making it difficult to ensure a certain quality. Further, there is a problem that the interval between the cuts 14 is different between the outer diameter side and the inner diameter side of the tape pad 12, and the interval at which the cut 8 is made is not constant.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is not necessary to preliminarily make a cut as a tear pad for cutting the upper winding tape in the state of the tape pad, and is inserted at the stage of winding the upper winding tape. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical cable manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus.

The optical cable according to the present invention is manufactured by manufacturing an optical cable in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are covered with an upper winding tape wound at a predetermined winding angle, and the outside is covered with a sheath. A notch means provided in the middle of the pass line is characterized in that a certain length of notch serving as a start edge of the tape tear is formed at the side edge of the upper winding tape at regular intervals.
As the cutting means, a rotating disk cutter blade, a rotating disk having a protruding blade in part, or laser light can be used.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to make a cut in the state of the tape pad in advance when making a cut to be a tear start for cutting the tape on the upper tape, and the step of winding the upper tape around the spacer of the optical cable The cut can be automatically made immediately before, and the workability can be greatly improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The optical cable that is the subject of the present invention is, for example, an optical cable 1 similar to that described with reference to FIG. 1A, in which a tension member 3 is embedded and integrated at the center, and a plurality of SZ or spiral grooves 2a on the outer surface side. The spacer 2 (also referred to as a slot) made of a plastic material provided with the above is used. In the groove 2a of the spacer 2, a plurality of single-core optical fiber cores or multi-core optical fiber tape cores 4 are accommodated, and the optical fiber tape core wires 4 fall out of the grooves 2a by the winding of the coarse winding string 5. An upper winding tape 6 having cuts 8 formed at intervals is wound around it with an open winding having a gap 6a.

  In addition, the upper winding tape 6 of the optical cable is formed by open winding, and a part 5a of the coarsely wound string 5 is exposed in the gap 6a, so that it is cut or fused with the sheath 7 by heat at the time of forming the sheath 7. However, when the sheath 7 is peeled off, the coarsely wound string 8 is cut short and easily removed. However, in the present invention, it is not particularly necessary to perform open winding, and it may be formed by lap winding in which the gap 6a is not formed. Moreover, the optical cable of the form which does not use a spacer other than the optical cable using a spacer may be sufficient.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a winding device for winding the above-described upper winding tape 6. In the figure, 21a and 21b are optical cables, 22 is a tape material, 22a and 22b are tape pads, 23 is a winding device, 24 is a base base, 25 is a tape drive unit, 26 is a tape supply unit, 27a is an optical cable inlet, and 27b. Is an optical cable exit, 27c is a guide passage, 28 is a rotating frame, 29 is a safety cover, and 30a and 30b are tape guide rollers.

  The winding device 23 shown in FIG. 2 includes a tape drive unit 25 and a tape supply unit 26 on a base 24, and stores the optical fiber core wire 4 in the spacer 2 as described with reference to FIG. Then, the upper winding tape 6 is wound around the outer periphery of the optical cable in a state in which the loose winding string 5 is prevented from falling off. The optical cable 21a before the upper winding tape 6 is applied is introduced from the optical cable inlet 27a on the left side of the winding device 23, and the tape material 22 is wound in the device. The optical cable 21b after the upper winding tape 6 is applied is sent out from the right optical cable outlet 27b through a guide passage 27c provided so as to penetrate the center of the tape supply device 26, and a winding device (not shown). It is wound up by.

  The tape material 22 of the upper tape is set in the apparatus in the form of a tape pad as described with reference to FIG. A plurality of tape pads are held as spare tape pads 22a in the tape supply device 26 on the right side of the device, and are sequentially sent to a predetermined position in the rotary frame 28 of the tape drive device 25. The tape pad 22b fed to a predetermined position of the rotary frame 28 is rotated together with the rotary frame 28, and the tape material 22 fed out from the tape pad 22b is supplied to the outer periphery of the optical cable 21a and wound spirally.

  The rotating frame 28 is surrounded by a safety cover 29 for safety, and the rotating frame 28 is provided with guide rollers 30a and 30b for guiding the tape material 22 from the tape pad 22b to a predetermined winding position W. ing. The guide rollers 30 a and 30 b form a pass line for the tape material 22 and are rotated integrally with the rotary frame 28. The guide roller 30a pulls out the tape material 22 fed out from the tape pad 22b in a predetermined direction, and the guide roller 30b sets the tape material 22 fed from the guide roller 30a to a predetermined winding angle at the winding position W. I will guide you.

3 to 5 are views for explaining the characteristic part relating to the production of the optical cable according to the present invention, and showing the tape winding part by the rotating frame of FIG.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which a rotary disk cutter device 32 is used as a cutting means for making the cut 8 in the upper tape described with reference to FIG. A pass line cover 31 is provided between the pass lines formed by the guide rollers 30 a and 30 b described in FIG. 2, and the tape material 22 for the upper winding tape is movably inserted into the pass line cover 31. The pass line cover 31 is formed with a groove 31a for setting a cutting position and a cutting amount.

  The rotary disk cutter device 32 has a rotatable thin disk cutter blade 32a. The disk cutter blade 32a is rotated by a motor of a driving device and is reciprocated in the arrow direction at a fixed timing. The disc cutter blade 32a cuts at a predetermined interval from the groove 31a portion of the pass line cover 31 to the side edge of the tape material 22 inserted into the cover, thereby forming a cut 8 having a predetermined cut amount. be able to. The cutting depth can be changed by changing the depth of the groove 31a. The interval between the cuts 8 can be arbitrarily set by adjusting the timing of reciprocal movement of the disk cutter blade 32a.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which a rotating disk device 33 having a protruding blade in part is used as the cutting means for making the cut 8 in the upper tape described in FIG. As in the example of FIG. 3, a pass line cover 31 is provided between the pass lines formed by the guide rollers 30 a and 30 b, and the tape material 22 for the upper winding tape is movably inserted into the pass line cover 31. . The pass line cover 31 is similarly formed with a groove 31a for setting a cutting position and a cutting amount.

  The rotating disk device 33 is formed of a rotatable disk 33a having a protruding blade 33b protruding outward at a part of the outer peripheral edge, and is rotated by a motor of a driving device and intermittently at a predetermined timing. It is rotated or given a constant rotational speed. When the circular plate 33a is rotated, the protruding blade 33b makes a cut at a predetermined interval at the side edge of the tape material 22 inserted into the cover through the groove 31a of the pass line cover 31, and has a predetermined cut amount. A cut 8 can be formed. The cutting depth can be changed by changing the depth of the groove 31a. Further, the interval at which the cut is formed can be arbitrarily set by changing the rotation timing or the rotation speed of the disk 33a.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which a laser beam device is used as the cutting means for making the cut 8 in the upper winding tape described in FIG. As in the example of FIG. 3, a pass line cover 31 is provided between the pass lines formed by the guide rollers 30 a and 30 b, and the tape material 22 for the upper winding tape is movably inserted into the pass line cover 31. . The pass line cover 31 is similarly formed with a groove 31a for setting a cutting position and a cutting amount.

  The laser beam device 34 is installed in the rotating frame 28 and is irradiated intermittently at a predetermined timing. The irradiated laser light cuts in the tape width direction at a predetermined interval at the side edge of the tape material 22 inserted into the cover through the groove 31a of the pass line cover 31, and forms a cut 8 having a predetermined cut amount. Can be put. The cutting depth can be changed by changing the depth of the groove 31a. Further, the interval at which the cut is formed can be arbitrarily set by changing the timing of laser light irradiation.

  As described above, the tape material for the upper tape is fed out from the tape pad, and the tape pad is cut in the side edge of the tape material with a cutter or laser light in the middle of the pass line of the tape material while being wound around the optical cable. In this state, it is possible to form a cut in the upper tape without making a cut in advance. For this reason, it can reduce that a tape is cut | disconnected by the tension | tensile_strength at the time of winding to an optical cable. Further, the interval at which the cut is made can be arbitrarily set, and it is easy to make the interval uniform, and the quality can be improved.

It is a figure explaining an example of the optical cable made into object by this invention, and an example of the tape pad for upper volume tapes. It is a figure explaining an example of the winding apparatus which winds an upper tape around an optical cable. It is a figure explaining the example which cuts into the side edge of the tape material by this invention with a disk cutter blade. It is a figure explaining the example which cuts with the rotating disc which has a protruding blade in a part at the side edge of the tape material by this invention. It is a figure explaining the example which cuts into the side edge of the tape material by this invention with a laser beam. It is a figure explaining the prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical cable, 2 ... Spacer, 2a ... Groove, 3 ... Tension member, 4 ... Optical fiber tape core wire, 5 ... Coarse winding cord, 6 ... Top wound tape, 7 ... Sheath, 8 ... Cut, 9 ... Projection piece, 21a , 21b ... Optical cable, 22 ... Tape material, 22a, 22b ... Tape pad, 23 ... Winding device, 24 ... Base stand, 25 ... Tape drive part, 26 ... Tape supply part, 27a ... Optical cable inlet, 27b ... Optical cable outlet, 27c ... guide passage, 28 ... rotating frame, 29 ... safety cover, 30a, 30b ... tape guide roller, 31 ... pass line cover, 32 ... rotating disk cutter device, 33 ... rotating disk device, 34 ... laser device.

Claims (5)

A method of manufacturing an optical cable in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are covered with an upper tape wound at a predetermined winding angle, and the outside is covered with a sheath,
The cutting means provided in the middle of the pass line of the tape material for the upper winding tape is characterized in that a predetermined length of notch serving as a starting edge of the tape tearing is placed at a predetermined interval on the side edge of the upper winding tape and wound. An optical cable manufacturing method.   2. The method of manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein a rotating disk cutter blade is used as the cutting means.   The method of manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein a rotating disk having a protruding blade in part is used as the cutting means.   2. The method of manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein a laser beam is used for the cutting means. An optical cable manufacturing apparatus for covering a plurality of optical fiber core wires with an upper winding tape wound at a predetermined winding angle and covering the outside with a sheath,
An optical cable comprising an incision means for inserting a predetermined length of cut at a side edge of the upper winding tape at a starting edge of a tape tear at a predetermined interval in the middle of a pass line of the tape material for the upper tape. Manufacturing equipment.

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