JP2012208433A - Optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber ribbon excellent in branching workability.SOLUTION: An optical fiber ribbon 11 comprises multiple optical fibers 12 that are connected in parallel and each of which is formed by covering a glass fiber 13 with a resin layer 14, and it is formed with a bundle of the optical fibers 12 which is made by covering their circumferences with a tape material 15. The thickness of the tape material 15 in a direction perpendicular to each parallel direction of the optical fibers 12 at an adjacent part of the optical fibers 12 is smaller than each outer diameter of the optical fibers 12, and the peeling strength between each outer periphery of the optical fibers 12 and the tape material 15 is 0.5 N/mm or more.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fibers are integrated into a tape shape.

  In order to respond to the rapid increase in data communication demand due to the rapid spread of Internet services, FTTH (Fiber To The Home) service, which provides a high-speed communication service by directly connecting telecommunications carriers and homes with optical fiber, is expanding. . In this FTTH, when an optical fiber is pulled down to a subscriber's home, the optical fiber tape core wire constituting the aerial optical fiber cable is taken out and separated into a single fiber core fiber or a multi-fiber optical fiber core, followed by an intermediate post branch. The optical fiber core wire and the optical drop cable are connected and pulled down to the subscriber's home.

  As an optical fiber ribbon for easily performing the intermediate post-branching operation, a resin for joining a plurality of optical fibers is divided at a dividing portion provided intermittently along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber ribbon. It is known that the resin is left in the divided part in a state of being continuously connected to the non-divided part in the longitudinal direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this optical fiber tape core wire, when the separation tool portion is moved relatively in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber tape core wire while the tip of the separation tool portion of the cutting device is in contact with the resin, the tip of the wire rod However, it sunk into the resin of the optical fiber ribbon and part of the resin is scraped off to form a dividing groove. Thereby, the resin for connecting and fixing the adjacent optical fibers is divided, and the adjacent optical fibers are separated from each other by the dividing groove. Thereby, the optical fiber is separated into a single core or a plurality of cores.

  Also, the adhesion between the protective coating layer on the outer periphery of the glass fiber constituting the optical fiber core and the collective coating layer integrating the plurality of optical fiber cores is 0.4 g / cm or more and 10 g / cm or less, which is excellent Also known is an optical fiber ribbon capable of obtaining a batch removal property and a single fiber separation property (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent No. 4055000 JP 2000-155248 A

When the optical fiber of the optical fiber tape core is separated into a single core or a plurality of cores for intermediate post-branching, a resin (optical fiber core wire) that integrates a plurality of optical fiber cores at the time of the separation. May be peeled off from the optical fiber core, and the peeled resin may interfere with the branching operation.
Moreover, since the peeled resin is separated from the optical fiber ribbon and disposed of, the complicated separation work and disposal work must be performed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber tape core wire excellent in branching workability without causing a resin to be discarded.

The optical fiber ribbon of the present invention capable of solving the above-mentioned problems is an optical fiber in which a plurality of optical fibers coated with glass is coated with a resin, and the periphery thereof is coated with a tape material and integrated. A tape core,
The peeling strength between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core wire and the tape material is 0.1 N / mm or more and 10 N / mm or less.

  In the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention, the thickness of the tape material in the direction orthogonal to the parallel direction of the optical fibers in the portion where the optical fibers are adjacent to each other is the outer diameter of the optical fiber. Is preferably smaller.

  In the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention, it is preferable that the tape material is intermittently cut along the longitudinal direction between the optical fibers.

  According to the present invention, even if the optical fiber cores are separated, the tape material is kept in close contact without being peeled off from the outer peripheral surface of the separated optical fiber cores. As a result, the subsequent branching work such as the connecting work with the drop cable can be performed very smoothly and satisfactorily, and the work time required for the intermediate post-branching can be shortened. Further, since the tape material is not peeled off and becomes unnecessary, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of separating the peeled tape material from the optical fiber ribbon and disposing it. Further, by forming the thickness of the tape material perpendicular to the parallel direction of the optical fiber cores in the adjacent part of the optical fiber core wires to be smaller than the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wires, between the optical fiber core wires The tape material can be cut very easily, the optical fiber core wire can be separated, and the intermediate post-branching operation for separating into the optical fiber core wire can be easily performed.

It is a perspective view showing one embodiment concerning an optical fiber tape cable core of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber tape core wire of FIG. It is a top view of the optical fiber ribbon which shows the branching operation | work of the optical fiber ribbon of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the isolation | separation location of the optical fiber core wire which shows the branching operation | work of the optical fiber tape core wire of FIG. It is a top view of the optical fiber ribbon which shows the branch operation | work of the optical fiber ribbon concerning a reference example. It is sectional drawing in the isolation | separation location of the optical fiber core wire which shows the branch operation | work of the optical fiber tape core wire which concerns on a reference example. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber tape cable core which concerns on a modification. It is sectional drawing in the isolation | separation location of the optical fiber core wire which shows the branch operation | work of the optical fiber tape core wire which concerns on a reference example. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber ribbon based on the other embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing in the isolation | separation location of the optical fiber core wire which concerns on another embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber ribbon 11 includes a plurality (four in this example) of optical fibers 12 and these optical fibers 12 are integrated in parallel. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each optical fiber core wire 12 constituting the optical fiber tape core wire 11 is obtained by coating a glass fiber 13 with a coating layer 14 made of a resin. The glass fiber 13 has a core 13a and a clad 13b around it, and has an outer diameter of 125 μm. The coating layer 14 is made of an ultraviolet curable resin or the like, and is colored so that the optical fiber core wires 12 can be distinguished from each other. The covering layer 14 may have a structure in which a plurality of layers are laminated in the radial direction. As this multi-layer structure, there are a two-layer structure having an inner layer and an outer layer covering the periphery thereof, or a three-layer structure having a colored layer covering the inner layer, the outer layer and the periphery thereof.

  The plurality of optical fiber core wires 12 are arranged in parallel at equal intervals, the periphery thereof is covered with the tape material 15, and the optical fiber core wires 12 are connected by the tape material 15 at mutually adjacent locations. In other words, the optical fiber ribbon 11 has a configuration in which each optical fiber 12 is connected to and integrated with each other at the connecting portion 16 by covering the tape material 15. The optical fiber tape core 11 has the optical fiber core wire 12 integrated with the tape material 15 and the outer diameter including the tape material 15 at each optical fiber core wire 12 is, for example, 260 μm.

  In this optical fiber ribbon 11, the tape material 15 covering the outer periphery of the optical fiber core 12 is formed with a recess 15 a in the connecting portion 16 according to the depression formed between the adjacent optical fiber cores 12. Has been. The concave portion 15a has a so-called notch shape in which the deepest bottom portion forms an acute angle, but the bottom portion may have a gentle concave curve shape.

  And in this optical fiber tape core wire 11, the thickness a of the tape material 15 in the connection part 16 of the direction orthogonal to the parallel direction of the optical fiber core wire 12 which is the space | interval of the bottom parts of the recessed part 15a of front and back is light It is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter d of the fiber core wire 12. The optical fiber core 12 has an outer diameter d of about 250 ± 15 μm, for example, 255 μm. In this case, the thickness a at the connecting portion 16 is preferably 50 μm or more and 100 μm or less.

  Another embodiment of the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the optical fiber ribbon 11A, in the cross section perpendicular to the axis shown in FIG. 9, the ends in the width direction are semicircular along the optical fiber, and the top and bottom are straight. The thickness T of the optical fiber ribbon 11A is d + 50 μm to d + 150 μm, where d is the outer diameter of the optical fiber core 12. If there are intermittent cut portions in the length direction between the optical fiber cores 12 of the tape material 15, the optical fiber tape core 11 </ b> A can be easily separated into the optical fiber cores 12.

  As the tape material 15 of the optical fiber ribbon 11, it is preferable to use an ultraviolet curable resin that is a base resin having the same composition as the coating layer 14 of the optical fiber ribbon 12. The coating layer 14 of the optical fiber ribbon 11 and the resin of the tape member 15 do not contain a release agent or have a slight content, whereby the tape member 15 is made of the optical fiber core. The peeling strength, which is the force per unit length required for peeling from the outer peripheral surface of 12, is 0.1 N / mm or more. In addition, when a release agent is contained in the coating layer 14 of the optical fiber core wire 11 or the resin of the tape material 15, a silicone-based or fluorine-based release agent is used, and the content is set to 10% by weight or less.

The peeling strength between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 12 and the tape material 15 is measured as follows.
The tape material 15 between the optical fiber core wire 12 other than both ends in the width direction of the optical fiber tape core wire 11 (parallel direction of the optical fiber core wires 12) and the adjacent optical fiber core wires 12 is cut with a knife or a razor. The optical fiber core wires 12 other than both ends in the width direction are separated from the adjacent optical fiber core wires 12. Then, since the tape material 15 is separated into upper and lower parts, one of them is gripped and pulled in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core wire 12 (90 ° direction) at a speed of 100 mm / min. The length of the tape material 15 peeled from the value of the tensile force is measured, and converted into a peeling strength per unit length.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the tape material 15 of the optical fiber ribbon 11 is intermittently cut along the longitudinal direction between the optical fibers 12, that is, at the connection portion 16. 11a is formed.

  To manufacture the optical fiber ribbon 11, a single optical fiber core 12 is supplied in parallel from a plurality of bobbins, and the parallel optical fiber core 12 is coated with a tape material 15 by a tape coating device. The tape 11 is integrated into a tape, and then the cut portion 11a is intermittently formed in the tape material 15 along the longitudinal direction by a cutting device.

  For example, about five optical fiber tape cores 11 are accommodated in a spiral slot formed in a spacer constituting an aerial optical fiber cable of an FTTH service that provides an ultrahigh-speed communication service. . The spiral of the slot has an SZ shape whose direction is reversed in the middle, and is formed so that the optical fiber ribbon 11 can be easily taken out from the slot.

  The optical fiber tape core wire 11 accommodated in the slot of the spacer of the optical fiber cable is easily bent in the width direction because the recess 15a is formed in the tape material 15. Accordingly, an excessive force is not applied to the optical fiber ribbon 11 when it is accommodated in the slot of the spacer, and the inside of the slot generated between the optical fiber 12 at the end and the optical fiber 12 inside. Thus, the cable PMD (polarization mode dispersion) can be improved.

  Further, since the tape material 15 of the optical fiber ribbon 11 approaches a circular shape along the outer periphery of the optical fiber 12, the anisotropic shrinkage of the curing shrinkage stress of the tape 15 when the optical fiber ribbon 11 is manufactured. Thus, PMD in the cable state of the optical fiber ribbon 11 can be improved.

  Further, if the notch 11a portion formed in the optical fiber ribbon 11 is arranged in the reversal part where the direction of the spiral in the slot is reversed, PMD due to the different direction strain of the optical fiber ribbon 11 is greatly reduced. be able to.

  When the optical fiber is pulled down from the aerial optical fiber cable containing the optical fiber tape core 11 to the subscriber's home, the optical fiber tape core wire 11 is pulled out from the slot of the aerial optical fiber cable and a single-core or multiple-core optical fiber core is drawn. An intermediate post-branch that is separated into the line 12 is performed, and an optical drop cable is connected to the separated optical fiber core 12 to be pulled down to the FTTH subscriber's home.

  In this intermediate post-branching operation, as shown in FIG. 3, the connecting portion 16 of the optical fiber core wires 12 of the optical fiber tape core wire 11 is elongated in the portion where the optical fiber core wires 12 are separated from each other. Cut along the direction.

  At this time, the thickness a of the tape material 15 orthogonal to the parallel direction of the optical fiber cores 12 in the connecting portion 16 adjacent to the optical fiber core 12 of the optical fiber tape core 11 is the outer diameter d of the optical fiber core 12. 2 (see FIG. 2), the tape material 15 can be cut very easily at the connecting portion 16 between the optical fiber cores 12, and the optical fiber core wire 12 can be separated. Particularly, in the tape material 15 of the optical fiber ribbon 11, the notches 11 a are intermittently formed along the longitudinal direction between the optical fibers 12. The cutting operation of the connecting portion 16 is further facilitated.

  The optical fiber tape core 11 has a peeling strength between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 12 and the tape material 15 of 0.1 N / mm or more. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the optical fiber ribbon 11 is separated into single-fiber or multiple-fiber ribbons 12, the tape material 15 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the separated optical fibers 12. It is maintained in a close contact state without peeling.

  In the case where the peel strength between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 12 and the tape material 15 is less than 0.1 N / mm in the optical fiber tape core 11, as shown in FIGS. When the wire 11 is separated into the optical fiber core 12, in the separated optical fiber core 12, the tape material 15 is vertically divided so that the contact area with the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 12 is less than a half circumference in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the tape material 15 is peeled off from the outer peripheral surface. In addition, in the optical fiber core wires 12 on both sides, the tape material 15 is attached to the optical fiber core wire 12 over a half circumference, so that peeling of the tape material 15 from the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core wire 12 is suppressed. . The peeling of the tape material 15 from the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core 12 mainly occurs in the optical fiber core 12 excluding both side portions.

  The tape material 15 peeled from the optical fiber core wire 12 obstructs a branching operation such as a subsequent connection operation with the drop cable performed on the optical fiber core wire 12. Further, since the peeled tape material 15 is separated from the optical fiber ribbon 11 and discarded, the complicated separation work and disposal work must be performed.

  On the other hand, according to the optical fiber core wire 11 of the present embodiment, the tape material 15 does not peel from the outer peripheral surface of the separated optical fiber core wire 12 even if the optical fiber core wire 12 is separated. , Maintained in close contact. As a result, the subsequent branching work such as the connecting work with the drop cable can be performed very smoothly and satisfactorily, and the work time required for the intermediate post-branching can be shortened. Moreover, since the tape material 15 does not peel off at that time, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of separating the peeled tape material 15 from the optical fiber ribbon 11 and disposing it.

  On the other hand, when the peeling strength exceeds 10 N / mm (10 kg / cm), when the optical fiber ribbon 11 is separated into the optical fiber 12 as shown in FIG. The resin (coating layer 14) will be damaged.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention. This is a view showing a state in which the optical fiber ribbon 11A shown in FIG. 9 is separated. Also in this case, the tape material 15 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the separated optical fiber core 12 by setting the peeling strength between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core wire 12 and the tape material 15 to 0.1 N / mm to 10 N / mm. It is maintained in a close contact state without peeling.

  The optical fiber ribbon 11 shown in FIG. 1 has a structure in which the tape material 15 is interposed between the adjacent optical fibers 12, but as shown in FIG. You may integrate with the tape material 15 in the state which mutually contacted. If it does in this way, the width dimension of the optical fiber tape core wire 11 can be made as small as possible, and the amount of resin of the tape material 15 can be reduced, and cost can be reduced. In the case of this structure, when the optical fiber core wire 12 is separated, the tape material 15 is eliminated at the separation portion. For this reason, the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber core wire 12 is exposed, and the width dimension between the separated portions becomes smaller than other portions. Therefore, when the width dimension between the separated portions after separation is aligned with other portions, it is preferable to have a structure in which the tape material 15 is interposed between the adjacent optical fiber core wires 12.

11, 11A: optical fiber ribbon, 11a: notch, 12: optical fiber, 13: glass fiber, 15: tape material, a: thickness, d: outer diameter

Claims (3)

A plurality of optical fiber cores in which glass fibers are coated with a resin are arranged in parallel, and the periphery thereof is an optical fiber tape core wire integrated with a tape material,
An optical fiber ribbon having a peeling strength between an outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber and the tape material of 0.1 N / mm or more and 10 N / mm or less. The optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1,
An optical fiber, wherein a thickness of the tape material in a direction orthogonal to a parallel direction of the optical fiber cores in a portion where the optical fiber cores are adjacent to each other is smaller than an outer diameter of the optical fiber cores Tape core. The optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1,
The optical fiber tape core wire, wherein the tape material is intermittently cut along the longitudinal direction between the optical fiber core wires.

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