JP2010204359A - Optical fiber cable with connectors - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber cable with connectors for identifying a core fibers in a hot-line state without influencing optical transmission signals and easily identifying the core fibers by visual observation without removing the optical connector even when a number of the optical fiber cables or the like on an optical wiring board are overcrowding. <P>SOLUTION: In the optical fiber cable mounting the optical connector 10 for communication on both ends, the coated optical fibers 7 for identifying the optical core fibers in addition to the optical core fibers for communication are stored in an external coat 9, and both end parts 7a of the coated optical fibers 7 for identifying the optical core fibers are drawn out of the external coat 9 and held at around the ends of the cable. The rigidity of the coated optical fibers 7 for identifying the optical core fibers is not larger than 3/10 and not smaller than 1/50 of the rigidity of the optical core fibers for communication, and the outer diameter of the coated optical fibers 7 for identifying the optical core fibers is not larger than 2/3 and not smaller than 1/5 of the outer diameter of the optical core fibers for communication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable with a connector having a function of contrasting optical fibers with optical connectors attached to both ends.

  In recent years, the number of optical communication subscribers has increased due to the spread of FTTH (Fiber To The Home), which provides a high-speed communication service by directly connecting a communication carrier and each home with an optical fiber. As the number of subscribers increases, a large number of optical fiber cords are mounted on an optical wiring board of a transmission system in optical communication at high density. In such an optical distribution board, when an optical fiber cord connector is inserted into or removed from the optical distribution board when an optical fiber cord is added, changed in wiring, maintained, or inspected, the connector must be of the target optical fiber cord. It is necessary to confirm. However, when a large number of optical fiber cords or optical jumper wires are congested with each other on the front side and the rear side of the optical distribution board, it is easy to identify the optical connector of the target optical fiber cord and perform the attaching / detaching operation. Not.

  For this reason, for example, in Patent Document 1, when the optical connector is removed from the optical wiring board, the optical fiber cord is incident on the optical fiber cord, and the optical connector on the opposite side is attached. A technique has been disclosed in which a control light, such as an IR filter incorporated in an optical connector portion, is applied to an optical element that converts visible light into visible light so that the optical fiber can be visually checked. When the optical connector is connected to the optical wiring board, the optical fiber cord is bent in the vicinity of the optical connector, and the reference light (visible laser light) is leaked at this bending point. It is also disclosed that the cores are contrasted by visually confirming the leaked light.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a notch is provided in a connection adapter that connects an optical connector for an optical communication cable, and visible light irradiated from one end of the optical communication cable is notched in the notch of the connection adapter. It is disclosed that the optical communication cable is recognized as a target by being leaked to the outside and visually recognized.

Japanese Patent No. 3363383 JP 2007-226112 A

  In the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, the optical fiber cord (optical fiber cable) is subjected to the optical fiber cord comparison in a state where the optical connector is connected to the optical wiring board using the visible light and the signal is propagated (live line state). That is disclosed. However, as in Patent Document 1, when the optical fiber cord is bent to such an extent that leakage light from the cord bending portion can be visually observed in a state in which the optical connector is connected to the optical wiring board, in the congested wiring state, other The optical fiber cord during communication that is not related to the above may be bent. In this case, loss fluctuation occurs even temporarily, thereby increasing the error rate of the transmission signal. In addition, even if the optical fiber is contrasted using visible light, the optical fiber for visible light entering the optical fiber has a wavelength different from that of the signal system, but it can be completely cut by a filter or the like. Otherwise, the optical transmission signal may be adversely affected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can perform a core contrast in a live line state without affecting an optical transmission signal, and a state in which many optical fiber cables and the like of an optical distribution board are congested The purpose of the present invention is also to provide an optical fiber cable with a connector that allows easy optical fiber line comparison without removing the optical connector.

  An optical fiber cable with a connector according to the present invention is an optical fiber cable in which an optical connector for communication is mounted on both ends, and an optical fiber core for contrasting a core is housed in an outer jacket in addition to the optical fiber for communication. The both end portions of the optical fiber core wire for controlling the core wire are held in a state of being drawn out of the jacket near the end portion of the cable. The rigidity of the optical fiber core wire for contrasting the core is not more than 3/10 of the rigidity of the optical fiber core for communication, and the outer diameter of the optical fiber core for contrasting the optical fiber core for communication. It is preferable that it is 2/3 or less and 1/5 or more of the outer diameter of the wire.

  The optical fiber core wire for controlling the core wire drawn out of the outer jacket is vertically attached or wound around the outer jacket, and is protected by a protective member. As the protective member, for example, a film-like, tape-like, tube-like member or spiral tube-like member is used. Then, at least one of the optical fiber core wires for contrasting the core wire drawn out of the jacket is attached with an optical connection element for contrasting the core wire for connecting a visible light source or diffusing (displaying) visible light.

  According to the present invention described above, even when a large number of optical fiber cables are congested on the front surface or the back surface of the optical distribution board, the optical fiber cable can be easily visually checked with the optical connector connected. In addition, since the optical fiber core wire for contrasting the core wire is arranged separately from the optical fiber core wire for communication in the cable, it affects the signal during communication even in the live line state during signal transmission. It is possible to safely perform the contrast control without any problems.

It is a figure explaining the structural example of the optical fiber cable used for this invention. It is a figure explaining the structural example of the optical fiber cable with a connector by this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the method of taking out the core line control optical fiber core wire in this invention out of a jacket. It is a figure explaining the structural example which protects the taking-out part of the core-line contrast optical fiber core wire in this invention. It is a figure explaining the usage pattern of the optical fiber cable with a connector of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A to 1C are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an optical fiber cable used in the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C are examples of an optical fiber cable with a connector. FIG. In the figure, 1, 1 'is a multi-core optical cable, 2, 2', 2 "are optical fiber cables, 3, 3 'is a tension member, 4 is a presser winding, 5, 5' is a sheath, 6, 6 ', 6 '' is an optical fiber for communication, 7 is an optical fiber for controlling the optical fiber, 7a is an end portion, 8 is a high-tensile fiber, 9 is a jacket, 10 is an optical connector, 11 is an outlet, 12 is The core wire gripping member is shown.

  As the optical cable used in the present invention, for example, a multi-core optical cable 1 in which a large number of optical fiber cables (or optical fiber cords) 2 as shown in FIG. The multi-core optical cable 1 has, for example, a tension member 3 made of steel wire or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) inside, and a plurality of optical fiber cables 2 arranged around the tension member 3, and is the outermost layer. Is covered with a sheath 5.

  A plurality of optical fiber cables 2 are concentrically arranged as necessary, and are held by presser windings 4 for each layer. Further, it can be used in the same manner in a multi-core optical cable 1 ′ having a small number of optical fiber cables 2. In FIG. 1A, this multi-core optical cable 1 ′ is shown as an example of two cores in which optical fiber cables 2 are arranged on both sides of a tension member 3 ′ and covered with a sheath 5 ′.

  In the optical fiber cable 2, an optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling a core wire is disposed along with a high-strength fiber 8 such as an aramid fiber on the outer periphery of at least one optical fiber core fiber 6 for communication, and the outer side thereof is covered with a jacket 9. Constructed by covering. As the optical fiber 6 for communication, for example, a single fiber having a standard outer diameter of 125 μm coated with a coated outer diameter of 0.25 mm, 0.5 mm, or 0.9 mm may be used. it can.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the optical fiber ribbon 6 '(about 4 cores) is surrounded by the high-tensile fiber 8, and the optical fiber core 7 for controlling the optical fiber is arranged in the jacket 9 The covered optical fiber cable 2 ′ may be used. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 (C), a plurality of (for example, 2 to 4) optical fiber cores 6 '' are surrounded by high-tensile fibers 8, and the optical fiber core wires 7 for controlling the core wires are Alternatively, an optical fiber cable 2 ″ having a structure covered with a jacket 9 may be used.

  The optical fiber core wire 7 for contrasting the core wire is arranged separately from the optical fiber core wire 6 for communication, but uses the same glass fiber having a standard outer diameter of 125 μm as that of the optical fiber core wire 6 for communication. It is desirable to use one having a diameter of approximately 0.25 mm or less. The optical fiber core wire 7 for contrasting the optical fibers passes visible light (400 nm to 750 nm), and may not be as low as the optical fiber core wire 6 for communication, and is the cheapest. A single mode optical fiber core can be used.

  The high-tensile fiber 8 is arranged to have a thickness of about 0.25 mm, functions as a tensile body for the optical fiber cable 2, and serves as a buffer body that reduces the lateral pressure on the communication optical fiber core 6. It has a function. Particularly, when the optical fiber core wires 7 for contrasting the core wires are adjacent to each other, a side pressure is easily applied to the communication optical fiber core wire 6 when the cable is bent. For this reason, the rigidity of the optical fiber core wire 7 for contrasting the core wire is set to 3/10 or less and 1/50 or more of the rigidity of the optical fiber core wire 6 for communication. Is preferably 2/3 or less and 1/5 or more of the outer diameter of the communication optical fiber core 6 so that it can be bent more easily than the communication optical fiber core 6. Thereby, even when the optical fiber 6 for communication is bent, the influence due to the presence of the optical fiber 7 for contrasting the core is reduced, and an increase in transmission loss is suppressed.

The jacket 9 can be formed of a resin material such as polyethylene, flame retardant polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride, and has a coating thickness of about 0.3 mm and is formed by extrusion molding.
One optical fiber core wire for communication 6 having a coating outer diameter of 0.9 mm is used, and one optical fiber core wire 7 for core wire comparison having a coating outer diameter of 0.25 mm is used. The outer diameter of the optical fiber cable 2 is about 2.0 mm when the thickness is 0.25 mm and the outer cover 9 is covered with a thickness of 0.3 mm.

  The optical fiber cable 2 as described above is laid in a single-core wire state with a predetermined length or in a bundled state as the multi-fiber optical cable 1. As shown in FIG. 2, an optical connector 10 for data communication is attached to both ends of each optical fiber cable 2 to form an optical fiber cable with a connector. Further, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2A, a portion in the vicinity of the optical connector 10 (a length enough to perform terminal processing and connection work necessary for performing the contrast control). For example, a lead-out portion (hereinafter referred to as an end portion) 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire is provided outside the jacket 9 from the outlet 11 of the jacket 9 at 20cm to 40cm from the hood end of the connector. Has been pulled out.

  The end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for contrasting the core wire drawn out of the outer sheath 9 is vertically attached on the outer sheath 9 toward the optical connector 10 as shown in FIG. 2B. The end is held by the gripping member 12 or the like. As shown in FIG. 2C, the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire is spirally wound on the outer cover 9 toward the optical connector 10, and the end portion is gripped. It may be held by the member 12. The gripping member 12 can be formed of an elastic annular body, a heat-shrinkable annular body, or the like, or may be configured to be wound and fixed with an adhesive tape.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of pulling out the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the optical core wires. First, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), at a suitable position from the end of the optical fiber cable 2, the outer cover 9 is cut with a cutter K so as not to damage the inner optical fiber core wire 11 '. Put in. Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the cut outer cover 9a is shifted in the end direction to open the cut 11 'to form a gap G having an appropriate width so that the inner cover 9 is exposed. Let

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the end portion 7 a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire is drawn out of the jacket 9 from the gap G portion. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3 (D), the outer cover 9a shifted in the end direction is moved to the original position, and the end portion 7a of the drawn optical fiber core wire 7 is not crushed. It is assumed that the gap G has a narrow width. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3E, the gap G portion is held and fixed by using the holding member 13 and the like so that the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire is pulled out. As the holding member 13, an adhesive tape, an adhesive, a heat-shrinkable annular body, or the like can be used.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing a configuration example for protecting the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for contrasting a core wire, and FIG. 4 (A) shows an example using a tube-shaped protection member 14a, and FIG. Shows an example using a spiral tube-shaped protective member 14b. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire drawn out of the jacket 9 is gripped and fixed by using a gripping member. There is a risk that the space between the two will float and get caught during cable laying work and break.

  For this reason, the tube-shaped protective members 14a and 14b as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B are used, or else a polyethylene film or a polypropylene film is wound, or an adhesive tape is wound, It is preferable to protect the drawn end portion 7a. For example, a film having a thickness of 20 μm to 200 μm can be used. Further, the protective members 14a and 14b have a function of integrating with the cable in addition to protecting the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire, and are formed with a length covering the entire length of the end portion 7a. It is desirable that In addition, when using protection member 14a, 14b, use of the holding member 12 demonstrated in FIG. 2 is also omissible.

  The tube-shaped protection member 14a shown in FIG. 4A can be formed of a tube-shaped member such as a soft thin plastic tube having elasticity or a heat-shrinkable tube. In addition, before attaching the connector 10 to the cable end, it may be inserted in advance on the jacket 9, and the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for core wire comparison may be pulled out and moved to cover it. .

The spiral tube-shaped protective member 14b shown in FIG. 4B is formed into a coil shape from plastic having elasticity such as polyethylene, for example. Since this protective member 14b is coil-like and flexible, it can be provided without impairing the flexibility of the cable. Further, even after the connector 10 is mounted, it can be attached by winding the outer periphery of the outer cover 9 in a spiral shape. If the inner diameter of the spiral tube is made slightly smaller than the “outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire + the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire for optical fiber comparison”, the spiral tube can hold and hold the optical fiber core wire for optical fiber comparison. preferable.
Further, the protective member 14a. The outer diameter of 14b is preferably within twice the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 2. When connecting to an optical wiring board or the like, space efficiency and workability can be improved by setting the volume of the protection portion within an appropriate range.

  As will be described below, when the core wire contrast light is put into the core wire contrast optical fiber 7 to perform the core wire contrast, the protective members 14a and 14b are removed and the end portion 7a is attached to the end portion 7a. An optical connecting element such as a ferrule is connected. At this time, the protective members 14a and 14b may be broken and removed. However, the protective members 14a and 14b may be slid on the cable and shifted backward. It may be. In this case, in FIG. 4A, it is desirable that the tube-shaped protection member 14a is made of a soft material having an inner diameter that can be elastically expanded and contracted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4B, the spiral tube protective member 14b is compressed in the axial direction so that the inner diameter can be easily expanded and shifted, and the inner diameter is reduced by returning to the original state by elasticity. Thus, the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire can be elastically held and fixed.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining how the optical fiber cable with a connector of the present invention is used. FIG. 5A shows the configuration on the side of the core wire reference light source, and FIG. The form of is shown. When it becomes necessary to carry out the core wire contrast, an optical connecting element for core wire contrast is provided on the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for core wire contrast drawn out of the jacket 9, for example, The ferrule 15 is connected. As the ferrule 15, a ferrule similar to that normally used for the optical connector 10 can be used. Note that a ferrule with a fiber (pigtail connector) may be optically connected to the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for optical fiber reference using a fusion splicer or a mechanical splicer.

  On the side of the core wire reference light source, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the ferrule 15 is inserted into the socket hole 16a of the optical connection member 16 connected to the visible light source 17, and the optical fiber core wire for core wire comparison is used. 7 is caused to emit a core-line contrast light. As the visible light source 17, for example, a light source that transmits visible light (400 nm to 750 nm) can be used. It is desirable to use red laser light of 600 nm or more from a red laser light source because red light is relatively easy to distinguish from an optical connector or the like and has high light intensity. The visible light source may be a light source other than laser light.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the ferrule 15 is inserted into the socket hole 18a of the cap member 18 made of a transparent or light-scattering translucent translucent resin, etc. It is inserted so that the core wire contrast light can be easily visually recognized from the outside. On the detection side of the core-line contrast light, for example, when it can be visually recognized without using the cap member 18 depending on the wiring form of the cable, for example, the state shown in FIG.

  The ferrule 15 may be attached in advance at the time of factory shipment. In this case, the ferrule 15 is covered and held on the cable end portion by covering the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for controlling the core wire with a protective member in the same manner as the protective member. Is desirable. In addition, after the ferrule 15 is attached and the core wire contrast is finished, the ferrule 15 is held and fixed together with the end portion 7a of the optical fiber core wire 7 for the core wire contrast using a protective member or the like in preparation for re-use. It is desirable to keep it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1 '... Multi-core optical cable, 2, 2', 2 '' ... Optical fiber cable, 3, 3 '... Tension member, 4 ... Presser winding, 5, 5' ... Sheath, 6, 6 ', 6' ' DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS: Optical fiber core wire for communication, 7 ... Optical fiber core wire for optical fiber contrast, 7a ... End part, 8 ... High tension fiber, 9 ... Outer sheath, 10 ... Optical connector, 11 ... Outlet, 11 '... Cut, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Gripping member, 13 ... Holding member, 14a ... Tube-shaped protection member, 14b ... Spiral tube-shaped protection member, 15 ... Ferrule, 16 ... Optical connection member, 17 ... Visible light source, 18 ... Cap member.

Claims (6)

  An optical fiber cable having communication optical connectors attached to both ends, wherein an optical fiber core wire for core wire comparison is housed in a jacket in addition to the optical fiber core wire for communication, and the optical fiber for core wire reference An optical fiber cable with a connector, characterized in that the end portion of the core wire is held in the state of being drawn out of the jacket near the end of the cable.   The stiffness of the optical fiber core wire for contrasting the core wire is 3/10 or less and 1/50 or more of the stiffness of the optical fiber core wire for communication, and the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire for core wire contrast is the communication The optical fiber cable with a connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber cable is 2/3 or less and 1/5 or more of the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire.   3. The optical fiber core wire for controlling a core wire drawn out of the jacket is vertically attached or wound around the jacket and protected by a protection member. Fiber optic cable with connector.   The optical fiber cable with a connector according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is a tube-shaped member.   The optical fiber cable with a connector according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is a spiral tube-shaped member.   An optical connecting element for contrasting a core for connecting a visible light source or displaying visible light is attached to at least one of the optical fibers for contrasting the core drawn withdrawn from the outer jacket. The optical fiber cable with a connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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