JP2014238480A - Optical fiber ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber ribbon which can enhance mounting density, and can be held by a current fusion holder.SOLUTION: An optical fiber ribbon 1 which is mounted on a mounting portion 22 of a fusion holder used in a fusion splicing machine and is held by pressing a pressing portion 26 includes: a plurality of optical fibers that have bare optical fibers and internal coatings covering the bare optical fibers, and extend in parallel with each other; and an external coating that covers the internal coating, and fixes a pair of the optical fibers adjacent to each other by a fixing portion in an extending direction of the plurality of optical fibers. The plurality of optical fibers include: first optical fiber portions 3 so that the outer diameter of the external coating is smaller than a gap g between the opposing faces of the mounting portion 22 and the pressing portion 26; and second optical fiber portions 5 so that the outer diameter of the external coating is larger than the gap g.

Description

  The present invention relates to a tape core wire in which optical fiber strands are collectively covered.

  A tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fiber strands arranged in parallel is covered at once can be fusion spliced together to improve the workability. However, it is not easy to separate a plurality of optical fiber strands from each other with an ordinary batch-coated tape core wire, and branching operations are difficult. In order to facilitate single-core separation, an intermittently fixed tape core wire in which adjacent optical fiber strands are intermittently connected by a fixing portion has been developed (see Patent Document 1). Moreover, since the intermittently fixed tape cores are easily twisted together, the mounting density of the optical fiber cable in which a plurality of intermittently fixed tape cores are mounted can be improved.

  Conventionally, an optical fiber having a coating outer diameter of about 250 μm has been used for the tape core. Furthermore, in order to improve the mounting density of the optical fiber cable, the diameter of the optical fiber has been reduced recently, and an optical fiber having a coating outer diameter of about 200 μm has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

  The batch fusion connection of the tape core wires is performed by holding the tape core wires with a fusion holder (see Patent Document 3). The coating of each optical fiber of the tape core held by the fusion holder is collectively removed, and the exposed bare optical fiber is cut to a predetermined length. Thereafter, the fusion holder is installed in the fusion splicer, and the optical fiber bare wires are fused together and connected.

JP 2007-279226 A JP-A-6-11634 JP 2007-298705 A

  As the diameter of the optical fiber becomes smaller, the tape core becomes thinner. The force for gripping the tape core with the fusion holder depends on the thickness of the tape core. The current fusion holder is designed on the basis of a tape core using a conventional optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 250 μm. For this reason, a thin tape core using an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 200 μm cannot be sufficiently gripped, and a positional shift occurs when the coating is removed. As a result, work for fusion splicing cannot be performed.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a tape core wire that can improve the mounting density and can be gripped by the current fusion holder.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a tape core wire placed on a placement portion of a fusion holder used in a fusion splicer and held by pressing a pressing portion, which is a bare optical fiber and an optical fiber A plurality of optical fiber strands having an inner coating covering the bare wire and extending parallel to each other, and a pair of optical fiber strands adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the plurality of optical fiber strands covering the inner coating A plurality of optical fiber strands, the outer diameter of the outer sheath is smaller than the gap between the opposing surfaces of the mounting portion and the pressing portion; There is provided a tape core wire including a second optical fiber strand portion in which the outer diameter of the outer coating is larger than the gap.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a tape core wire that can improve the mounting density and can be gripped by the current fusion holder.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the tape core wire which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the AA cross section of the tape core wire shown in FIG. It is the cross-sectional schematic explaining the state of the fusion | melting holder at the time of mounting the tape core wire shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional schematic explaining the state of a fusion holder when the tape core shown in FIG. 1 is gripped. It is the schematic which shows the other example of the tape core wire which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the other example of the tape core wire which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimensions, the ratio of the thickness of each layer, and the like are different from the actual ones. Therefore, specific thicknesses and dimensions should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

  The following embodiments of the present invention exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention. The technical idea of the present invention is based on the material and shape of component parts. The structure, arrangement, etc. are not specified below. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

  At least the following matters will be apparent from the description and drawings described below.

  A tape core wire placed on a placement portion of a fusion holder used in a fusion splicer and gripped by pressing the pressing portion, and has an inner coating that covers the bare optical fiber and the bare optical fiber A plurality of optical fiber strands extending in parallel with each other, and an outer coating covering the inner coating and fixing a pair of adjacent optical fiber strands by a fixing portion in the extending direction of the plurality of optical fiber strands A plurality of optical fiber strands, the outer diameter of the outer sheath is smaller than the gap between the opposing surfaces of the mounting portion and the pressing portion, and the outer diameter of the outer sheath is a gap The tape core wire which makes it a summary to provide a 2nd optical fiber strand part larger than this becomes clear. With such a tape core wire, the mounting density can be improved and it can be gripped with the current fusion holder.

  It is desirable that the number of second optical fiber strands included in the plurality of optical fiber strands is one. Since the number of second optical fiber strands included in the tape core is minimized, an increase in the width of the tape core can be suppressed, which is effective in improving the mounting density.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the plurality of optical fiber strands be intermittently fixed by the fixing portion in the extending direction. Further, the number of the plurality of optical fiber strands is three or more, and another pair of adjacent optical fiber strands is intermittently disposed at a position separated from the fixed position of the pair of optical fiber strands in the extending direction. It is desirable to be fixed. By using the tape core wire fixed intermittently, the mounting density can be improved.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the diameters of the bare optical fibers of the first and second optical fiber strand portions are the same, and the outer diameters of the optical fiber strands of the first and second optical fiber strand portions are different from each other. Since the diameters of the bare optical fibers are the same, batch fusion can be easily performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tape core wire 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a four-core intermittently fixed tape wire that extends in parallel with each other. For example, the tape core wire 1 includes three first optical fiber strand portions 3 and second optical fiber strand portions 5. The 1st optical fiber strand part 3 has the outer coating | cover 14a which covers the optical fiber strand 9a and the optical fiber strand 9a. The optical fiber 9a has an optical fiber bare wire 10a and an inner coating 12a that covers the optical fiber bare wire 10a. The 2nd optical fiber strand part 5 has the outer coating | cover 14b which covers the optical fiber strand 9b and the optical fiber strand 9b. The optical fiber 9b has an optical fiber bare wire 10b and an inner coating 12b that covers the optical fiber bare wire 10b.

  The first optical fiber strand portions 3 and 3 adjacent to each other, or the first and second optical fiber strand portions 3 and 5 are intermittently fixed by the fixing portion 7 in each extending direction. Also, a pair of adjacent optical fiber strands 3, 3, or 3, 5 is separated from the fixed position of the other pair of optical fiber strands 3, 3, 3 or 5 in the extending direction. It is fixed intermittently at the position. Moreover, the fixed part 7 which fixes between a pair of optical fiber strand part 3, 3, or 3, 5 may be the same fixed position in an extending | stretching direction. Or the structure which fixes the whole tape core wire 1 by the fixing | fixed part 7 may be sufficient.

  The bare optical fibers 10a and 10b of the first and second optical fiber strand portions 3 and 5 include a core such as quartz and a clad. The inner coatings 12a and 12b include a primary coating such as an ultraviolet curable resin, a secondary coating, and a colored layer. The outer coatings 14a and 14b are coatings such as an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin. The diameters d1 and D1 of the bare optical fibers 10a and 10b are the same, for example, about 125 μm. The optical fibers 9a and 9b have different outer diameters d2 and D2, for example, about 200 μm and about 250 μm, respectively. The outer diameters d3 and D3 of the first and second optical fiber strand portions 3 and 5 are about 220 μm and about 270 μm, respectively.

  In the fusion splicing of the tape core wire, for example, a multi-core fusion splicer capable of connecting a single core to 12 cores is used. In general fusion splicing, a tape core is held by a fusion holder. First, the coating of each optical fiber of the tape core held by the fusion holder is removed and cut into a predetermined length. Thereafter, the fusion holder is set in the fusion splicer to perform fusion connection.

  The current fusion holder is designed based on a tape core using an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 250 μm. For example, the thickness of a tape core using an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 250 μm is about 270 μm. If the outer diameter of the optical fiber is reduced in order to increase the mounting density of the optical fiber cable, the tape core becomes thin. A tape core using a thin optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 200 μm is as thin as about 220 μm. Therefore, the tape core wire cannot be gripped sufficiently, and the fusion splicing work cannot be performed.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the tape core wire 1 which concerns on embodiment is the 1st optical fiber strand part 3 using the optical fiber strand 9a whose outer diameter is about 200 micrometers, and an outer diameter is about 250 micrometers. The 2nd optical fiber strand part 5 using the optical fiber strand 9b of this is provided. The outer diameters d3 and D3 of the first and second optical fiber strand portions 3 and 5 are about 220 μm and about 270 μm, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the clamp 24 of the fusion holder is opened, and the tape core wire 1 is placed on a placement portion 22 such as a groove provided in the base 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the clamp 24 provided with a pressing portion 26 made of rubber or the like is closed around the rotation shaft 28, and the pressing portion 26 is fitted to the mounting portion 22. The gap g between the opposing surfaces of the mounting portion 22 and the pressing portion 26 is about 240 μm. Accordingly, the outer diameter d1 of the outer coating 14a of the first optical fiber portion 3 is smaller than the gap g and cannot be pressed by the pressing portion 26. On the other hand, the outer coating 14 b of the second optical fiber strand 5 is larger than the gap g and is pressed by the pressing portion 26. Thus, since the tape core wire 1 according to the embodiment includes the first optical fiber strand portion 3, the mounting density of the optical fiber cable can be improved. Further, since the second optical fiber strand portion 5 is provided, the tape core wire 1 can be gripped by the current fusion holder. As a result, it is not necessary to prepare a new small-diameter fusion holder, and the existing fusion holder for an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 250 μm can be used as it is. Increase in man-hours such as replacement can be prevented.

  In the above description, only one second optical fiber strand portion 5 is disposed at one end of the tape core wire 1. However, the position and the number of the second optical fiber strands 5 are not limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the second optical fiber portion 5 may be disposed at the second position from one end of the tape core wire 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of, for example, two second optical fiber strands 5 may be used. In addition, the arrangement positions of the plurality of second optical fiber strand portions 5 are not limited.

Table 1 shows the results of batch covering removal by holding a four-core tape core wire manufactured using optical fiber strands having outer diameters of about 200 μm and about 250 μm with a fusion holder. Sample 1 uses four optical fiber strands with a diameter of 250 μm, and Sample 7 uses four optical fiber strands with a diameter of 200 μm. For Sample 2 to Sample 6, one to three optical fiber strands each having a diameter of 250 μm are used. As described above, since the outer diameters d3 and D3 of the first and second optical fiber strand portions 3 and 5 are about 220 μm and about 270 μm, respectively, the width of each tape core wire is 4 × 270 for the sample 1. = 1080 μm, Sample 7 is 4 × 220 = 880 μm, and Samples 2 to 6 using one to three optical fiber strands each having a diameter of 250 μm are 930 μm, 980 μm, or 1030 μm.

As shown in Table 1, in Sample 1 to Sample 6 using one or more optical fibers having a diameter of 250 μm, the tape core wire is sufficiently gripped, and the tape core wire is shifted when performing batch removal. It was confirmed that there was nothing. On the other hand, in the sample 7 using the optical fiber strands having a diameter of 200 μm for all the four wires, the tape core wire was shifted during the batch coating removal, and the coating could not be removed. As described above, if the tape core wire has one or more optical fibers with a diameter of 250 μm, it can be sufficiently grasped by the fusion holder, and the operations from the batch coating removal to the fusion connection can be performed without any problems. can do.

  In the above description, a 4-core intermittently fixed tape core wire is used as the tape core wire 1, but an intermittently fixed tape core wire such as 3 cores or more, for example, 8 cores or 12 cores may be used. Even when the number of the cores of the tape core is increased, it is sufficient to hold the tape core 1 by using at least one optical fiber having a diameter of 250 μm. Therefore, increasing the number of cores is effective for improving the mounting density.

  Moreover, the increase in the width | variety of the tape core wire 1 can be suppressed when the number of the 250-micrometer-diameter optical fiber strands contained in the tape core wire 1 is small. Therefore, from the viewpoint of mounting density, it is desirable to use only one optical fiber having a diameter of 250 μm included in the tape core wire 1.

  As described above, the fusion holder used in the current fusion splicer is intended for an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 250 μm. For example, when the diameter of an optical fiber becomes smaller and, for example, an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 200 μm becomes mainstream, a fusion holder for an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 200 μm is newly prepared. Will be. In such a situation, the embodiment of the present invention is applied even when the diameter of the optical fiber is further reduced and, for example, an optical fiber having an outer diameter of about 150 μm or less is developed. Is possible. That is, an optical fiber strand having an outer diameter of about 150 μm may be used as the optical fiber strand 9a, and an optical fiber strand having an outer diameter of about 200 μm may be used as the optical fiber strand 9b.

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described as described above, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tape core wire 3 ... 1st optical fiber strand part 5 ... 2nd optical fiber strand part 7 ... Fixed part 9a, 9b ... Optical fiber strand 10a, 10b ... Optical fiber bare wire 12a, 12b ... Inner coating | cover 14a , 14b ... outer coating 22 ... mounting part 26 ... pressing part

Claims (5)

It is a tape core wire that is mounted on the mounting portion of the fusion holder used in the fusion splicer and is gripped by pressing the pressing portion,
An optical fiber bare wire and an inner coating covering the optical fiber bare wire, and a plurality of optical fiber strands extending in parallel with each other;
Covering the inner coating, and in the extending direction of the plurality of optical fiber strands, an outer coating for fixing a pair of adjacent optical fiber strands by a fixing portion;
The plurality of optical fiber strands are:
A first optical fiber strand portion in which the outer diameter of the outer coating is smaller than the gap between the facing portions of the placement portion and the pressing portion;
A tape core wire comprising: a second optical fiber strand portion having an outer diameter of the outer coating larger than the gap.   2. The tape core wire according to claim 1, wherein the second optical fiber strand portion included in the plurality of optical fiber strands is one.   The tape core wire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of optical fiber strands are intermittently fixed by the fixing portion in the extending direction.   The plurality of optical fiber strands are three or more, and another pair of optical fiber strands adjacent to each other is intermittent at a position separated from the fixed position of the pair of optical fiber strands in the extending direction. The tape core wire according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tape core wire is fixed to the tape core.   The diameters of the bare optical fibers of the first and second optical fiber strand portions are the same, and the outer diameters of the optical fiber strands of the first and second optical fiber strand portions are different from each other. The tape core wire according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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