JP2010243714A - Closure for optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a closure for an optical cable, maintaining waterproofness by simple work even for the optical cables of different outer diameters. <P>SOLUTION: The closure 1 for the optical cable is provided with: an internal unit 40 provided with a fixed end face part 41; a sleeve 50 covering the internal unit 40; and an introducing hole 42 for introducing the optical cable 10 from the outside. The fixed end face part 41 is provided with: an inner wall 414; and an outer wall 415 facing the inner wall part 414 at a prescribed interval, and a sealing member 60 to be fitted between the inner wall part 414 and the outer wall part 415 is attached to the optical cable 10. The sealing member 60 has an outer diameter larger than the introducing hole 42, and when fitting the sealing member 60 to the fixed end face part 42, one side face of the sealing member 60 is attached to the outer side face of the inner wall part 414, and the other side face of the sealing member 60 is attached to the inner side face of the outer wall part 415. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical cable closure.

Conventionally, optical cable closures have been used to store optical cable connections.
The optical cable closure mainly includes an internal unit having an end face plate and a sleeve that covers the internal unit, and the end face plate has an introduction hole for introducing the optical cable from the outside. By disposing the optical cable in the introduction hole, the optical cable is drawn into the closure.
By the way, it is necessary to ensure waterproofness in the closure. As a method for ensuring the waterproofness in the closure, for example, a sealing member is attached to the optical cable, and the outer peripheral surface of the sealing member is matched with the inner peripheral surface of the notch groove that is the optical cable introduction hole formed in the end face plate. A method of filling the gap between the notch groove and the optical cable by installing the optical cable so as to contact is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-240760 A

By the way, various optical cables having different outer diameters are introduced into the optical cable closure. For this reason, a complicated operation is required to attach the sealing member to the optical cable so that the notch groove and the sealing member are in close contact with each other as in Patent Document 1.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical cable closure that can ensure waterproofness with a simple operation even for optical cables having different outer diameters.

In order to solve the above problems, an optical cable closure according to the invention described in claim 1 is:
An internal unit with a fixed end face;
A sleeve covering the internal unit;
An optical cable closure comprising an introduction hole for introducing an optical cable from the outside into the internal unit,
The fixed end surface portion includes an inner wall and an outer wall portion facing the inner wall portion with a predetermined interval,
A seal member fitted between the inner wall portion and the outer wall is attached to the optical cable,
The seal member has an outer diameter larger than the introduction hole,
When the sealing member is fitted into the fixed end surface portion, one side surface of the sealing member is in close contact with the outer side surface of the inner wall portion, and the other side surface of the sealing member is in close contact with the inner side surface of the outer wall portion. Optical cable closure.

The invention according to claim 2 is the optical cable closure according to claim 1,
The introduction hole is formed by combining notch grooves formed in the fixed end surface portion.

The invention according to claim 3 is the optical cable closure according to claim 1,
The introduction hole is formed by combining a notch groove formed in the fixed end surface portion and a rib provided at a position facing the notch groove of the sleeve.

The invention according to claim 4 is the optical cable closure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The internal unit includes a grip portion for gripping the optical cable,
The gripping part is composed of a pair of gripping members, one of which is fixed in position and the other is movable.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the optical cable closure which can maintain waterproofness with an easy operation | work also with respect to the optical cable from which an outer diameter differs is provided.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows typically schematic structure of the closure for optical cables which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the optical cable is arrange | positioned at the closure for optical cables which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the fixed end surface part of the closure for optical cables which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the sealing member attached to an optical cable. It is a perspective view which shows another example of the sealing member attached to an optical cable. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of a holding part, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the optical cable is arrange | positioned at the closure for optical cables which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the optical cable closure according to the first embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 2 is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the optical cable is arrange | positioned at the closure for optical cables which concerns on this embodiment, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical cable closure 1 includes an internal unit 40 and a sleeve 50 covering the internal unit 40, and has an optical cable introduction hole 42 for introducing the optical cable 10 (see FIG. 2) from the outside.

  Here, the internal unit 40 refers to a portion obtained by removing only the sleeve 50 from the optical cable closure as illustrated in FIG. 1, and includes at least a fixed end surface portion 41. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, in addition to the fixed end surface portion 41, the internal unit 40 includes a connection portion of the optical fiber 11 drawn from the optical cable 10 and an extra length of the optical fiber 11. The optical fiber tray 20 which accommodates a part, and the flame | frame 30 which supports the optical fiber tray 20 are provided.

The fixed end face portions 41 are installed at both ends of the frame 30 and fix the optical cable 10 drawn into the internal unit 40. Further, on both sides of the frame 30, a grip portion 32 that fixes the outer cover of the optical cable 10 and a tension member fixing portion 33 that fixes the tension member 12 are provided. In place of the tension member fixing portion 33, a slot gripper can be used.
That is, on the frame 30, these are arranged and fixed in the order of the fixed end surface portion 41, the grip portion 32, the tension member fixing portion 33, and the optical fiber tray 20 from the outside to the inside.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the fixed end surface portion 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed end surface portion 41 is provided with a hinge 43, and a split surface 416 is formed so that the fixed end surface portion 41 is opened in two around the hinge 43. The dividing surface 416 is formed so as to pass through substantially the center of the optical cable introduction hole 42, and has a structure in which the optical cable 10 can be arranged in the optical cable introduction hole 42 by dividing the dividing surface 416 around the hinge 43. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the fixed end surface portion 41 is opened.

Hereinafter, the method for fixing the optical cable 10 to the fixed end surface portion 41 will be described in more detail.
The fixed end surface portion 41 is connected to the inner wall portion 411, the outer wall portion 412 facing the inner wall portion 411 with a predetermined gap, and the inner wall portion 411 and the outer wall portion 412 are connected to surround the outer periphery of the fixed end surface portion 41. A connecting wall portion 413 is provided. Although not shown in the drawings, the connecting portion 413 is formed with a drain hole communicating with the outside. First notch grooves 414 and 414 are respectively formed in the opposed dividing surfaces 416 of the inner wall portion 411. When the dividing surfaces 416 are brought into contact with each other and the fixed end surface portion 41 is closed, the first notched grooves 414 and 414 are formed. The optical cable introduction hole 42 is formed by 414. Similarly, second notch grooves 415 and 415 are formed on the dividing surface 416 at substantially the same position as the first notch grooves 414 and 414 of the outer wall portion 412, and the dividing surface 416 is brought into contact with and fixed to the dividing surface 416. When the end face portion 41 is closed, the optical cable introduction hole 42 is formed by the second notch grooves 415 and 415. In this manner, the optical cable introduction holes 42 are formed at substantially the same positions of the inner wall portion 411 and the outer wall portion 412, respectively. The first notch groove 414 and the second notch groove 415 are substantially the same size.
The optical cable introduction hole 42 has an inner diameter equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the optical cable accommodated in the optical cable closure 1.

On the other hand, a seal member 60 fitted between the inner wall portion 411 and the outer wall portion 412 is attached to the optical cable 10 attached to the optical cable closure 1. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing an example of the seal member 60. FIG. The seal member 60 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the optical cable introduction hole 42.
Further, the width H of the seal member 60 is set to be larger than the interval H1 between the inner wall portion 411 and the outer wall portion 412. Thereby, one side surface 63 of the seal member 60 is brought into close contact with the outer side surface 411c of the inner wall portion 411, and the other side surface 64 of the seal member 60 is brought into close contact with the inner side surface 412c of the outer wall portion 412, thereby ensuring the waterproofness in the closure.

  The seal member 60A shown in FIG. 4 is formed by forming an elastic body such as rubber or sponge in a cylindrical shape, and penetrating the optical cable 10 through the inner diameter portion 61 thereof. When the seal member 60A is attached to the optical cable 10, not only the optical cable 10 is inserted into the inner diameter portion 61 but also a slit 62 that continues to the inner diameter portion 61 such as the dotted line portion in FIG. 4 is formed in the seal member 60A. In addition, the optical cable 10 may be attached to the inner diameter portion 61 through the slit 62. The inner diameter portion 61 is formed to have an inner diameter equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the optical cable housed in the optical cable closure 1. Thereby, the seal member 60A is fixed to the optical cable by its own elastic restoring force. It is more preferable to seal the slit 62 by applying a sealant to the slit 62 after fixing the seal member 60A to the optical cable 10 in order to ensure the waterproofness in the optical cable closure 1 more reliably.

  On the other hand, the seal member 60B shown in FIG. 5 is formed by winding the tape-like elastic body around the optical cable 10 until it has a predetermined outer diameter. What is necessary is just to wind the sealing member 60B so that a clearance gap may not open. Further, the winding end may be fixed with a tape or the like, or an adhesive tape or a sealing agent may be applied to fill the gap.

  Here, various optical cables having different outer diameters are introduced into the optical cable closure 1. However, as in this embodiment, the seal member 60 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the optical cable introduction hole 42, and one side surface 63 of the seal member 60 is sealed to the outer surface 411c of the inner wall portion 411. By arranging the optical cable 10 so that the other side surface 64 of the member 60 is in close contact with the inner side surface 412c of the outer wall portion 412, it is necessary to adjust the size of the seal member 60 even if the optical cables 10 having different outer diameters are accommodated. The sealing state between the sealing member 60 and the fixed end surface portion 41 is easily ensured.

6A and 6B are explanatory views showing a schematic configuration of the grip portion 32, wherein FIG. 6A is a top view, FIG. 6B is a front view, and FIG. 6C is a side view. As shown in FIG. 2, the grip portion 32 is provided with an optical cable support portion 321 for supporting the optical cable 10 and a screw 322 for fixing the optical cable 10 to the optical cable support portion 321. The optical cable support 321 includes a bottom plate 323, a top plate 324, and a connecting piece 325 that connects the two at the center. The bottom plate 323 is formed with a pair of recesses 327 for positioning the optical cable 10. That is, the upper surface of the bottom plate 323 becomes a mounting surface that supports the optical cable 10. In addition, a pair of screw holes 326 are formed in the top plate 324 at positions facing the recesses 327. By screwing the screw 322 into the screw hole 326 and adjusting the screwing position, the screw 322 can be brought into and out of contact with the mounting surface of the optical cable support portion 321. And if the screw 322 is tightened until the optical cable 10 supported by the placing surface is gripped, the optical cable 10 is fixed. A claw portion 328 that bites into the outer sheath of the optical cable 10 is attached to the lower end portion of the screw 322, and the optical cable 10 can be firmly held by the claw portion 328.
At this time, the mounting surface of the optical cable support portion 321 is positioned so as to be substantially the same height as the lower end of the optical cable introduction hole 42.

  Usually, in order to prevent unnecessary distortion from being applied to the optical cable 10 introduced into the optical cable closure 1, the optical cable 10 is gripped by adjusting so that the cross-sectional center of the optical cable 10 and the gripping center of the optical cable 10 approximately coincide with each other. . In order to realize this, the grip portion 32 is composed of a pair of grip members, both of which can be moved, and the grip center can be aligned with the cross-sectional center of the optical cable. However, it is difficult to adjust both of the gripping members so that the cross-sectional center of the optical cable and the gripping center of the optical cable are aligned, and complicated work is required.

  As in this embodiment, the seal member 60 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the optical cable introduction hole 42, and one side surface 63 of the seal member 60 is formed on the outer surface 411 c of the inner wall portion 411. When the optical cable 10 is arranged so that the other side surface 64 is in close contact with the inner side surface 412c of the outer wall portion 412, the center of the optical cable 10 can be moved in accordance with the gripping center. Therefore, as described above, one (optical cable support 321) of the pair of gripping members (optical cable support 321 and screw 322) is fixed and only the other (screw 322) is movable, and only one gripping member is moved. Thus, even when the optical cable 10 is gripped, the center of the optical cable 10 can be moved in accordance with the center of gripping, and the optical cable 10 can be gripped without distortion. Thereby, the operation | work which hold | grips the optical cable 10 becomes easy, and complicated components as a holding member become unnecessary.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sleeve 50 has an upper plate 51, a pair of side plates 52 that are foldable with respect to the upper plate 51, and a lower end of each of the pair of side plates 52 facing inward. And a pair of lower plates 53 that are bent at a right angle and are continuous. When the sleeve 50 covers the internal unit 40, the upper plate 51 covers the upper side, the side plate 52 covers the side, and the lower plate 53 covers the lower side. Here, the pair of lower plates 53 is provided with a locking tool (not shown), and the sleeve 50 is fixed by covering with the locking tool after covering the internal unit 40.
The sleeve 50 is provided with a pair of upright walls 55a and 55b formed along the circumferential direction. Out of the pair of standing walls 55 a and 55 b, the outer standing wall 55 a is disposed at the periphery of the outer surface of the outer wall portion 412 in the fixed end surface portion 41. On the other hand, the inner standing wall 55 b is disposed on the periphery of the inner wall portion 411 inner surface of the fixed end surface portion 41.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of an optical cable closure according to the second embodiment, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. In the following description, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the fixed end surface portion 41a is connected to the inner wall portion 411a, the outer wall portion 412a facing the inner wall portion 411a at a predetermined interval, and the inner wall portion 411a and the outer wall portion 412a. A wall portion 413a is provided. The inner wall portion 411a is formed with a first notch groove 414a that is recessed inward from the outer peripheral portion, and the outer wall portion 412a is formed with a second notch groove 415a of the same size at substantially the same position as the first notch groove 414a. ing. Further, a connecting wall portion 413a is formed on the outer peripheral portion (upper and lower portions in FIG. 7) where the first notch groove 414a and the second notch groove 415a are not formed.

  A pair of ribs 57a and 57b are formed at portions of the pair of side plates 52 of the sleeve 50a facing the first notch groove 414a and the second notch groove 415a. The pair of ribs 57a and 57b are disposed between the pair of standing walls 55a and 55b, and are formed with recesses 58a and 58b. When the sleeve 50a is attached to the optical cable closure, the optical cable introduction hole 42 is formed by the first notch groove 414a, the second notch groove 415a, and the recesses 58a and 58b. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, the optical cable introduction hole 42 is formed to have an outer diameter equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the optical cable accommodated in the optical cable closure 1. Further, the lower surface of the optical cable introduction hole 42 is positioned so as to be substantially the same height as the mounting surface of the optical cable support portion 321.

On the other hand, the sealing member 60 fitted between the inner wall part 411a and the outer wall part 412a is attached to the optical cable 10 attached to the optical cable closure 1 as in the first embodiment. The seal member 60 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the optical cable introduction hole 42. The width H of the seal member 60 is set to be larger than the interval H1 between the inner wall portion 411a and the outer wall portion 412a. Thereby, one side surface 63 of the seal member 60 is brought into close contact with the outer side surface 411c of the inner wall portion 411a, and the other side surface 64 of the seal member 60 is brought into close contact with the inner side surface 412c of the outer wall portion 412a, thereby ensuring waterproofness in the closure.
The pair of ribs 57a and 57b are inserted between the seal member 60 and the inner wall portion 411a and between the seal member 60 and the outer wall portion 412a, respectively, and the outer rib 57a is formed on the outer surface of the seal member 60 on the inner side. The ribs 57 b are in close contact with the inner surface of the seal member 60.

According to this embodiment, the optical cable 10 can be fixed simply by providing the cut-out groove in the fixed end surface portion 41a, installing the optical cable 10 provided with the seal member in this, and installing the sleeve 50a. That is, it is unnecessary to divide the fixed end surface portion 41a into two parts and sandwich the optical cable 10, and the optical cable 10 can be fixed more easily.
In addition, by forming the optical cable introduction hole 42 with the fixed end surface portion 41a and the sleeve 50a, the fixed end surface portion 41a can be minimized, and the entire optical cable closure can be reduced in size.
Further, as in the first embodiment, the center of the optical cable 10 can be moved in accordance with the gripping center, so that the work of gripping the optical cable 10 is facilitated, and complicated parts are not required as a gripping member.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate.
For example, in this embodiment, the case where the notch grooves 414 and 415 formed in the inner wall portion 411 and the outer wall portion 412 are the same size is illustrated, but when both sizes are different, the larger notch groove is provided. If the size of the seal member 60 is made larger than that, the seal member 60 can be reliably brought into close contact with the fixed end surface portion 41, and waterproofness can be secured.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical cable closure 10 Optical cable 11 Optical fiber 12 Tension member 20 Optical fiber tray 30 Frame 32 Grasping part 40 Internal unit 41 Fixed end surface part 42 Optical cable introduction hole (introduction hole)
50 Sleeve 57a, 57b Rib 60 Seal member 63 One side 64 Other side 321 Optical cable support (gripping member)
322 screw (gripping member)
411 Inner wall portion 411c Outer side surface 412 Outer wall portion 412c Inner side surface 413 Connection wall portion 414 First notch groove 415 Second notch groove

Claims (4)

An internal unit with a fixed end face;
A sleeve covering the internal unit;
An optical cable closure comprising an introduction hole for introducing an optical cable from the outside into the internal unit,
The fixed end surface portion includes an inner wall and an outer wall portion facing the inner wall portion with a predetermined interval,
A seal member fitted between the inner wall portion and the outer wall is attached to the optical cable,
The seal member has an outer diameter larger than the introduction hole,
When the sealing member is fitted into the fixed end surface portion, one side surface of the sealing member is in close contact with the outer side surface of the inner wall portion, and the other side surface of the sealing member is in close contact with the inner side surface of the outer wall portion. Optical cable closure.   The optical cable closure according to claim 1, wherein the introduction hole is formed by combining notch grooves formed in the fixed end surface portion.   The said introduction hole is formed by combining the notch groove formed in the said fixed end surface part, and the rib provided in the position facing the said notch groove of the said sleeve. Closure for optical cables. The internal unit includes a grip portion for gripping the optical cable,
The optical cable closure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gripping portion includes a pair of gripping members, one of which is fixed in position and the other is movable.

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