JP2015052704A - Optical fiber tape core wire, optical cable, optical fiber cord, and tape core wire connection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-core optical fiber tape core wire capable of easily fusing and adhering to other optical components.SOLUTION: An optical fiber tape core wire 1 is formed by arranging a plurality optical fiber core wires 11 in parallel. The optical fiber core wire 11 is a multi-core optical fiber core wire including a plurality of cores. The optical fiber tape core wire 1 includes connection parts 12 and non-connection parts 13 intermittently formed in a longitudinal direction between the adjacent multi-core optical fiber core wires 11.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are arranged in parallel, an optical cable storing the optical fiber tape core wire, an optical fiber cord in which a multi-fiber connector is connected to the end of the optical cable, and The present invention relates to a method of connecting the optical fiber ribbon to another optical component.

There is known an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of single core optical fibers arranged in parallel are collectively covered with a common resin. Such an optical fiber ribbon can transmit a large amount of information and is easy to handle.
There is also known a multi-core optical fiber in which a plurality of cores extending in the fiber axis direction are covered with a common clad (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, in Patent Documents 2 and 3, tape optical fibers (hereinafter referred to as intermittent tape optical fibers) in which optical fiber optical fibers are easily separated from each other by intermittently connecting adjacent optical fiber optical fibers in the longitudinal direction. An optical cable in which the intermittent tape core wire is housed in a slot rod and a method for manufacturing the intermittent tape core wire are disclosed.

International Publication No. 2010/082656 Pamphlet JP 2010-8923 A JP 2011-232733 A

A multi-core optical fiber ribbon can be manufactured by arranging a plurality of multi-core optical fibers as described in Patent Document 1 in parallel and covering them with a common resin.
However, when a multi-core optical fiber ribbon is manufactured, it is difficult to determine the arrangement direction (core arrangement direction) of a plurality of cores of each of a plurality of multi-core optical fibers in the tape cross section.

Therefore, even if the multi-core optical fiber ribbons taped in a state in which the orientations of the multi-core optical fibers are shifted are fusion-bonded to other optical components, the arrangement of the cores for a plurality of optical fiber cores is set. It is very difficult to match the two by rotational alignment. Examples of the other optical components include other multi-core optical fiber ribbons, laser diode arrays, photodiode arrays, and optical waveguide arrays.
Thus, it is difficult to optically connect the multi-core optical fiber ribbon with other optical components.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described actual situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-core optical fiber ribbon that can be easily fusion-bonded to other optical components, an optical cable storing the same, and An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber cord and a method of connecting the optical fiber ribbon to the other optical component by fusion bonding.

  An optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention is an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in parallel, and the optical fiber is a multi-core optical fiber having a plurality of cores. In the optical fiber ribbon, a connecting portion and a non-connecting portion are intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction between the adjacent multi-core optical fibers.

  In the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention, the connecting part and the non-connecting part are intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction between adjacent multi-core optical fibers, so that it can be easily fusion-bonded with other optical components. Can do.

It is a figure showing an example of 1 composition of an optical fiber tape cable core concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the state closed in the width direction in the tape core of FIG. 1A. It is a figure which shows a cross section perpendicular | vertical to the length direction of the tape core wire of FIG. 1B. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the multi-core optical fiber core wire used for the optical fiber tape core wire which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the multi-core optical fiber core wire used for the optical fiber tape core wire which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the multi-core optical fiber core wire used for the optical fiber tape core wire which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one structural example of the optical cable which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of carrying out the terminal process of the tape core wire of FIG. 1B. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of carrying out the terminal process of the tape core wire of FIG. 1B. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of carrying out the terminal process of the conventional tape core wire. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the optical fiber tape cable core which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state closed in the width direction in the tape core of FIG. 5A. It is a figure which shows a cross section perpendicular | vertical to the length direction of the tape core wire of FIG. 5B. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structural example of the optical cable which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing an example of 1 composition of an optical fiber cord concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures the tape core wire before an intermittent process. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the detail (tape resin coating method) of the manufacturing method in the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the die | dye used with the tape resin coating method of FIG. 9A. It is a schematic diagram explaining one structural example of the cutting roller for intermittent processing. It is sectional drawing perpendicular | vertical to the axial direction of the cutting roller of FIG. 10A. It is a top view which shows the example of 1 structure of an intermittent processing apparatus. It is a side view which shows the intermittent processing apparatus of FIG. 11A.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described.
(1) An optical fiber ribbon according to the present invention is an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in parallel, and the optical fiber has a multi-core light having a plurality of cores. It is a fiber core, and the connecting portion and the non-connecting portion are intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction between the adjacent multi-core optical fiber cores. Thereby, each multi-core optical fiber core wire can be easily rotationally aligned, so that the optical fiber tape core wire can be easily fused and connected to other optical components.

  (2) The optical cable which concerns on this invention is equipped with the aggregate core which accommodated the optical fiber tape core wire of said (1), and the jacket which coat | covers the said aggregate core. As a result, it is possible to provide a high-density optical cable containing an optical fiber ribbon that can be easily fusion-bonded to other optical components.

  (3) An optical fiber cord according to the present invention includes the optical cable of the above (2) and a multi-fiber connector connected to a terminal portion of the optical cable. As a result, the optical fiber ribbon and the multi-fiber connector can be easily rotationally aligned and attached in a state in which the arrangement direction is aligned, so that a high-fiber connector equipped with a multi-fiber connector that can be connected to other similar multi-fiber connectors is provided. A density optical fiber cord can be produced.

  (4) A tape core connection method according to the present invention is a tape core connection method for fusion-connecting the optical fiber tape of the above (1) and another optical component, the optical fiber tape A removing step for removing the connecting portion located at the end of the core wire, and at the end where the connecting portion is removed by the removing step, each of the multi-core optical fiber cores is connected to the other optical component And a connecting step for fusion-sealing by rotational alignment. Thereby, the said optical fiber tape core wire can be easily fusion-spliced with another optical component.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Hereinafter, specific examples of an optical fiber ribbon, an optical cable, an optical fiber cord, and a tape strand connection method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1C, a configuration example of an optical fiber ribbon (also simply referred to as “tape ribbon”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The tape core wire 1 illustrated in FIG. 1A is, for example, an intermittent tape core wire (hereinafter also referred to as a 4-core intermittent tape core wire) composed of four optical fiber core wires 11 having an intermittent structure. That is, the four-fiber intermittent tape core wire 1 includes four optical fiber core wires 11 arranged in parallel (that is, arranged in a parallel line), and a connecting portion 12 in the longitudinal direction between the adjacent optical fiber core wires 11. The non-connecting portion 13 is formed intermittently.

  1A shows a state in which the four-core intermittent tape core wire 1 is opened in the width direction, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the four-core intermittent tape core wire 1 is closed in the width direction. FIG. 1C schematically shows a CC cross section of the 4-core intermittent tape core wire 1 in the state of FIG. 1B.

  In the 4-fiber intermittent tape core wire 1, the length (that is, intermittent pitch) constituted by one connecting portion 12 and one non-connecting portion 13 is set to 100 mm, for example, and the tape width is set to 3 mm, for example. Further, when viewed in the tape width direction, the portions where the connecting portions 12 and the non-connecting portions 13 are alternately arranged and the portions where only the non-connecting portions 13 are arranged appear alternately at the pitch in the longitudinal direction. An example is given.

  However, the arrangement pattern of the connecting portion 12 and the non-connecting portion 13 is not limited to this example. For example, the connecting part and the non-connecting part may be provided in common in the length direction as described in Patent Document 3. In this case, the connecting portion may be a cover that is collectively applied to the entire core in the tape width direction. Further, as described in Patent Document 2, the length of the connecting portion (adhesive portion) is shorter than the length of the non-connecting portion (separating portion), and the adjoining portions adjacent in the width direction of the intermittent tape core wire are long. They may be separated from each other in the direction.

  Further, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as a more preferable example, an intermittent pattern that is line symmetric with respect to the boundary between the second line and the third line located in the center in the width direction will be described. Not a thing. Of course, the cross-sectional shape of the connection part 12 and its connection method are not ask | required. Here, an example is given in which there are a portion G where even a portion of the connecting portion 12 exists and a portion (single core portion) S where the connecting portion 12 does not exist at all when the tape core wire 1 is viewed in the longitudinal direction. However, a tape core wire that does not include the single core portion S can also be applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, a tape coating 14 made of ultraviolet curable resin or the like is formed around the optical fiber core wire 11, and the tape coating 14 of the adjacent optical fiber core wires 11 is continuous at the connecting portion 12. ing. Moreover, in the non-connection part 13, the tape coating | cover 14 of the adjacent optical fiber core wire 11 is not connected, but it will be in the state where single core separation was carried out. In FIG. 1C, an example in which the tape coating 14 is applied around the optical fiber core wire 11 also in the unconnected portion 13 is given, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the tape coating 14 is not applied in the unconnected portion 13. The optical fiber cores 11 may be connected with resin as the tape coating 14 only at the connecting portion 12.

  Here, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the optical fiber core 11 is a multi-core optical fiber in which a plurality of cores 10 extending in the fiber axis direction are covered with a common cladding 11a. In this example, six cores 10 are arranged in a regular hexagonal shape centered on the center of the optical fiber core wire 11. In addition to the core 10, the clad 11a is also extended with a marker (or tracer) 11b for identifying each core 10 in the fiber axis direction.

  Moreover, the optical fiber core wire 11 is a multi-core optical fiber including what is said to be an optical fiber strand in which a fiber coating is applied to a glass fiber, or one in which a colored layer is applied to the outer surface of the fiber coating. is there.

  The optical fiber core 11 has a core diameter of each core 10 of about 9 μm, a glass diameter of about 140 μm, and a coating of the optical fiber core wire excluding the tape coating layer on the tape core wire 1 (a fiber coating of about 30 μm). The outer diameter is preferably 190 μm or more and 220 μm or less. As a result, the tape core wire 1 and the optical cable or optical fiber cord in which it is housed can be reduced in diameter and density. However, the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 11 is not limited to about 200 μm, and other outer diameter sizes may be adopted. For example, the coating diameter of the optical fiber core wire 11 may be around 250 μm. The intermittent tape core wire 1 has a tape thickness of, for example, about 280 μm and a tape width of about 1 mm.

  Further, the number and arrangement of the cores 10 are not limited to this. For example, 10 cores 10 may be arranged in two rows symmetrically about the center of the optical fiber core 21 like the optical fiber core 21 in FIG. 2A. Good. Alternatively, five cores 10 may be arranged in a row symmetrically with the center of the optical fiber core 22 as in the optical fiber core 22 of FIG. 2B. Alternatively, the single core 10 may be arranged at the center of the optical fiber core 21 as in the optical fiber core 23 of FIG. 2C, and the six cores may be arranged in a regular hexagonal shape as in FIG. 1C. .

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an optical cable that houses the tape core wire 1 of FIGS. 1A to 1C will be described.
The optical cable 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 is a 2000-core round slotless cable using 500 four-fiber intermittent tape cores 1. Here, each optical fiber core wire 11 of the 4-fiber intermittent tape core wire 1 has a core of 6 cores.

  The optical cable 30 is bundled into a round shape by bundling 100 pieces of 4-fiber intermittent tape cores 1 with a rough winding string or the like, making 5 bundles, and attaching them vertically or horizontally with a presser winding tape 31. An outer core 32 is formed around the core. The outer jacket 32 only needs to cover the outer side of such a collective core so that the cross-sectional shape of the cable becomes a round shape, and may be made of, for example, PVC (polyvinyl chloride).

  The outer jacket 32 also stores two tensile wires 33 and two tear strings 34. The tear string 34 is a string for tearing the outer jacket 32, and is provided immediately above the press-winding tape 31. The outer jacket 32 is provided with a projection 35 so that the position thereof can be visually recognized from the outside. Each of the four-fiber intermittent tape cores 1 is provided with a mark (or tracer) by coloring or the like on the optical fiber core wire 11c at one end as a standard for connection.

In the optical cable 30 as described above, the inner four-fiber intermittent tape core wire 1 has a feature that it can be freely deformed in the optical cable 30 and is therefore effective in increasing the density. Furthermore, by increasing the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire to 200 μm instead of 250 μm, it is possible to further increase the density.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the optical cable preferably has a round cross-sectional shape. As a result, the optical cable itself can ensure the same handleability as a single-core cable, and since the intermittent tape core wire has excellent deformability, the bending distortion is reduced when bending the small diameter after cable formation. There is no bending direction like a tape type optical cable.

  In addition, an optical fiber cord with a connector can be configured by attaching all the tape core wires 1 to one multi-fiber connector at the end of such an optical cable 30. Further, the optical fiber cord may be configured such that all of the tape core wires 1 included in the optical cable 30 are divided and connected to a plurality of multi-fiber connectors instead of one multi-fiber connector. In that case, one or a plurality of tape cores 1 are attached to each of the multi-fiber connectors in a state where the arrangement directions of the multi-core optical fibers are aligned. Thereby, a high-density optical fiber cord that can be easily connected to a connector can be manufactured.

  Next, the tape core connection method of the present embodiment, particularly the fusion splicing method, will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining a method for terminal processing of the tape core of FIG. 1B, and FIG. 4C is a diagram for explaining a conventional method of terminal processing of the tape core.

The tape core wire connecting method according to the present embodiment is a method for fusion-connecting the above-described intermittent tape core wire 1 and another optical component, and includes the following removal step and connection step.
Here, examples of the other optical components include other multi-core optical fiber ribbons (tape strands having the same configuration as the tape strands 1 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C), laser diode arrays, and photodiode arrays. And an optical waveguide array.

  The other optical components described above have the same number of optical fiber cores 11 as the multicore tape core 1 of the present embodiment, and the cores 10 in the optical fiber core 11 and their diameters, numbers, and arrangements ( Array) have the same core. However, when some of the cores 10 are not used in the optical fiber core 11 or when all of the optical fiber cores 11 are not used in the tape core wire 1, the other optical components are the core 10 or What is necessary is just to have the part corresponding to the optical fiber core wire 11. FIG.

  In the removing step, the connecting portion 12 c located at the end E of the intermittent tape core wire 1 is removed from the connecting portion 12. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, the fusion holder 4 is disposed in front of the end E, and the remover is moved in the direction of the arrow using a remover (not shown) to remove the connecting portion 12c. What is necessary is just to make it a state like FIG. 4B. Further, in the removing step, the connecting portion 12c may be simply cut so that the end portion E becomes a single core portion without removing the connecting portion 12c so as to be completely eliminated.

  In the connection step, as shown in FIG. 4B, at the end E where the connecting portion 12c has been removed by the removal step, each of the optical fiber cores 11 is rotationally aligned with the other optical components and fusion-bonded. Since the end portion E is a single-core portion, it becomes easy to rotate the optical fiber core wire 11 about the axis center to change the arrangement direction of the cores according to the arrangement direction on the other optical component side. Yes. Therefore, for example, the optical fiber core wire 11 at the top of FIG. 4B can be aligned as shown by a rotating arrow, and can be fused and connected to each core of other optical components. Similarly, the remaining three optical fiber core wires 11 are aligned and fusion-connected. In this way, the fusion splicing operation for each optical fiber core wire 11 is performed. At this time, the connection loss between the cores of each of the six cores (single mode cores) is preferably suppressed to 0.2 dB or less.

  Thus, if it is the multi-core intermittent tape core wire 1 of this embodiment, the end part will be made into a single core part, and the intermittent tape core wire 1 can be easily fused and connected to other optical components. Can do. It is possible to provide a connection method using a tape core wire that is easy to rotate. In addition, the intermittent tape core wire 1 has a single core portion S in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 1B because it is easier to remove the coating with the remover and the removal length is small. It is preferable to have.

  On the other hand, in the case of the conventional multi-core tape core 200, since it is non-intermittent, the fusion holder 4 is disposed in front of the end E, and the end E of the tape core 200 (the end E in FIG. 4B). Even if the common covering portion 202 having the same length) is removed by the remover, each of the optical fiber core wires 201 formed as a single core portion is more common than the intermittent tape core wire 1 having the unconnected portion 13. It is difficult to rotate from the existence of. In other words, in order to be able to rotate the core arrangement direction similarly to the intermittent tape core wire 1 of the present embodiment, the length of the end portion E to be removed in the conventional non-intermittent tape core wire 200 is made longer. There must be.

  Next, another configuration example of the tape core wire according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. The tape core wire 5 illustrated in FIG. 5A is an intermittent tape core wire (hereinafter, also referred to as a 12-core intermittent tape core wire) composed of 12 optical fiber core wires 11 having an intermittent structure. 5A shows a state where the 12-fiber intermittent tape core 5 is opened in the width direction, and FIG. 5B shows a state where the 12-core intermittent tape core 5 is closed in the width direction. 5C schematically shows a CC cross section of the 12-core intermittent tape core wire 5 in the state of FIG. 5B.

  The tape core wire 5 of the configuration example described here is merely a change in the number of the optical fiber core wires 11 from 4 to 12 in the tape core wire 1 described with reference to FIG. Is omitted. The intermittent tape core wire 5 has, for example, a tape thickness of about 280 μm and a tape width of about 3 mm.

  Next, another configuration example of the optical cable according to the present embodiment and a configuration example of the optical fiber cord according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is also referred to for the configuration example of the optical fiber cord. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the optical fiber cord according to the present embodiment, and is a perspective view of a terminal portion of the optical fiber cord of FIG.

  The optical cable 60 according to the present embodiment has a round shape (cross-sectional shape) in which a collective core that is housed while rounding the tape core wire 5 illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C is covered with an outer cover 62 as illustrated in FIG. Is a round cable.

  The aggregate core is only required to include a tensile body and the tape core wire 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the 12-core intermittent tape core wire 5 is rounded around the tensile body 61 made of aramid fiber or the like. Similarly, a tensile strength member 61 made of aramid fiber or the like may be enclosed around it. Of course, the tape core wire 5 does not need to be provided so that the cross-sectional shape draws a circle as illustrated in FIG. 6, and can be folded so that the cross-sectional shape becomes an arbitrary shape. The outer cover 62 may be anything that covers the outside of such a core so that the cross-sectional shape of the cord is round, and may be made of, for example, PVC (polyvinyl chloride).

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the optical fiber cord according to the present embodiment is a round cord in which a multi-fiber connector 70 is connected to the end of the optical cable 60 in FIG. Here, although illustrated with a 12-core intermittent tape core (12-core intermittent adhesive tape), the number of optical fiber cores 11 is not limited to this.

  A multi-core connector 70 illustrated in FIG. 7 is a 12-core MPO connector having an MT connector as a base structure. A connector main body 71 and a main body (optical cable) 60 of a multi-core optical fiber cord at the rear of the main body 71. And a boot portion 75 made of an elastic material.

  The front surface 72 of the connector main body 71 is formed with fiber holes 73 in which the multicore optical fiber cores 11 are arranged at a predetermined pitch and the end of the multicore optical fiber is exposed. A multi-core optical fiber is connected to each fiber hole 73. For example, in the case of a 24-core tape core, a 24-core MPO connector formed in a two-stage arrangement can be used.

  Further, guide holes 74 for positioning with the mating connector are formed on both sides of the connector main body 71, and by inserting a guide pin (not shown) into the guide hole 74 and connecting to the mating connector, The joining positions between the connectors are matched with high accuracy. In addition, the front surface 72 of the connector main body 71 is subjected to oblique polishing in a state where the optical fiber core wire is inserted into and fixed to the fiber hole 73, thereby making the end of the optical fiber a predetermined inclined surface and suppressing reflection of signal light. be able to.

  As for the manufacturing method of the optical fiber cord, it is only necessary to attach the multi-fiber connector (multi-fiber optical connector) 70 to at least one terminal portion of the optical fiber cord main body (cord portion) 60 provided with the jacket 62. Here, for the attachment of the optical cable 60 to the multi-core connector 70 with each intermittent tape core wire 5, for example, the above-described tape core wire connection method is adopted, and the end portions of the intermittent tape core wire 5 are aligned in a tape shape, The multi-core connector 70 can be fusion-spliced together with the ferrule built-in fiber that is built in with the arrangement direction of the multi-core fibers aligned in advance. Since each optical fiber core wire 11 can be easily rotated in the axial direction, connector processing for attaching a multi-fiber connector is facilitated.

  According to this embodiment, since it can be attached to a multi-core connector in a state where the arrangement direction of the multi-core optical fibers of the intermittent tape core is aligned, a high-density optical fiber cord that can be easily connected to the connector is manufactured. Can do. In addition, by making the cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber cord round, the cord itself can ensure the same handleability as a single-core cord, and the intermittent tape core wire has excellent deformability, so that after coding Since the bending strain is reduced during the small-diameter bending, the direction of bending as in a conventional tape-type optical fiber cord is lost. Therefore, it does not take much time to store the optical fiber cord in the termination box.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the intermittent tape cores 1 and 5 described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 5A will be described. Various shapes and manufacturing methods have been proposed for intermittent tape cores. For example, in the first method, the connecting portion to which the adhesive resin or the coating resin is applied for a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction between the adjacent optical fiber cores and the adhesive resin or the coating resin for the predetermined length are not applied. This is a method of alternately forming unconnected portions. In the second method, an ultraviolet curable resin is applied to the entire length of a plurality of optical fiber cores, and thereafter, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is intermittently performed in the longitudinal direction to cure a cured portion (connecting portion) of the ultraviolet curable resin. And uncured portions (non-connecting portions) are alternately formed. The third method is a method in which a tape core wire is first formed, a cut is formed with a cutter blade in the longitudinal direction of the common coating of the tape core wire, and a connection portion and a non-connection portion are alternately formed. .

  Any one of the first to third methods described above may be used as a method of manufacturing the intermittent tape core wire of the present embodiment. Below, the case where the 3rd method is used as an example of the manufacturing method of the tape core wire 1 of FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C is demonstrated concretely, referring FIGS. 8-11B.

First, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a tape core wire with a common coating before intermittent processing.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a tape core before intermittent processing. 9A is a schematic diagram for explaining the details of the manufacturing method (tape resin coating method) in the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 8, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing an example of a die used in the method.

  As shown in FIG. 8, N reels 42, N dancer rollers 43, and guide rollers 44 are provided in the supply device 40. N is the number of cores of the tape core 1. Each reel 42 is wound with an optical fiber core (multi-core optical fiber) 11.

  The optical fiber cores 11 are respectively fed out from the reels 42, given a tension of several tens of gf by the dancer rollers 43, and arranged on one array surface when passing through the guide rollers 44. Further, the light is further concentrated by the upper guide roller 45 and sent to the coating device 46.

  A nipple 46a and a die 46b as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B are mounted on the coating device 46. FIG. The nipple 46a has an oval outgoing wire hole, and the die 46b has N pieces (here, four pieces in accordance with FIG. 1) so that the ultraviolet curable resin is applied in units of the optical fiber core wire 11. The holes through which the optical fiber core wires of (examples are given) pass are provided apart from each other. The diameter of the hole of the die 46b may be determined according to the tape thickness.

  The optical fiber core wire 11 is fed to such a coating device 46 and pulled with a predetermined tension at the subsequent stage. As a result, the optical fiber core wire 11 that has been passed through is guided by the nipple 46a to have a desired arrangement, and is sent to the die 46b with the fiber coating exposed, and the ultraviolet curable resin as the tape coating 14 is transferred to the optical fiber core. It is applied around the line 11. This ultraviolet curable resin is supplied from a pressure type resin tank 47. In a state where the ultraviolet curable resin is applied to the periphery, the tape coatings 14 applied to the optical fiber core wires 11 are separated from each other as shown in FIG. 9A.

  In the conventional one-hole die, the optical fiber core wires are coated in contact with each other by the tension applied to the core wire. However, by using the dice 46b as shown in FIG. In a state where the pitch between the core wires 11 is expanded (for example, in a state where the pitch is expanded to about 250 μm), that is, in units of core wires, the ultraviolet curable resin can be applied, and cutting for forming the unconnected portion 13 in the subsequent stage Can be prepared.

  The N (four in this example) optical fiber cores with the tape coating 14 coated with the ultraviolet curable resin are brought into contact with each other immediately after coming out of the dice 46b. Collected and irradiated with ultraviolet rays from a UV lamp 48a in an ultraviolet irradiation device 48, and cured. The cured ultraviolet curable resin becomes the tape coating 14 to form the N-core tape core 1a.

  The tape core wire 1a cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays by the ultraviolet irradiation device 48 is further sent to a winding device 53 having a reel via a guide roller 50, a feeding capstan 51, and a winding tension control dancer roller 52. In the winding device 53, the tape core wire 1a is wound around a reel through a guide. At this time, the winding tension of the entire tape core wire is set to several tens gf to several hundreds gf, for example. Note that the optical fiber core wire with the tape coating 14 exiting from the die 46 b can be successfully collected by the winder 53 by blowing air from the arrangement direction of the optical fiber core wire before being irradiated by the ultraviolet irradiation device 48. By pulling with a predetermined tension adjusted as described above, the optical fiber core wires with the tape coating 14 can be brought into contact with each other.

  In this way, a plurality of optical fiber cores 11 having an outer diameter of about 200 μm are juxtaposed side by side and adjusted so that the pitch between the centers of adjacent optical fiber cores is about 250 μm, for example, and collectively covered with resin. To manufacture a tape core wire 1a having a tape thickness of about 250 μm and a common coating that has a depression between the core wires. In this way, when the tape thickness is about 250 μm, the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 11 should be about 200 μm in view of the tape coating 14. In addition, when using a colored optical fiber in order to give the identification of the core, the drawing is performed so that the coating diameter of the optical fiber is about 200 μm, coloring is performed, and about 205 μm is applied. A colored core wire having an outer diameter may be manufactured and wound on the reel 42.

  Next, a method for performing intermittent machining on such a tape core wire 1a will be described. Examples of the intermittent processing include a method of intermittently curing the tape resin in an uncured state and a method of inserting a cutting blade such as a cutter or a rotary blade. Hereinafter, only the method of inserting the rotary blade will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 11B, but other methods can also be applied.

FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration example of a cutting roller for intermittent machining, and FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axial direction of the cutting roller. FIG. 11A is a top view showing a configuration example of the intermittent machining apparatus, and FIG. 11B is a side view thereof.
As shown in FIG. 10A, the cutting roller 100 has flanges 102 on both sides of the body part 101, and the outer peripheral surface is located in a predetermined circumferential region at a predetermined axial position on the outer peripheral surface of the body part 101. The disc-shaped cutting blade 105 is disposed so as to protrude from the roller, and is supported rotatably about the roller shaft portion 104 as a support shaft.

  The tape core wire 1a before being intermittently cut is guided while being pressed so that the tape surface is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the body 101 of the cutting roller 100. The tape core wire 1 a is positioned in the width direction with a groove width corresponding to the tape width by the guide groove 103 formed by the flange portion 102 of the cutting roller 100, and travels on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 101. This groove width is preferably made wider than the tape width by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the cutting blade 105. Alternatively, it is preferable that the wall surface of the guide groove 103 is formed by an inclined surface 103a so that the overhang of the tape core wire 1a can be allowed.

  The predetermined axial position may be determined according to which of the boundaries between the adjacent optical fiber cores 11 is cut. In the example of FIG. 10A, the cutting blade 105 is disposed so as to make a cut at the boundary of the intermediate position in the width direction of the tape core wire 1a.

  Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the cutting blade 105 uses a plurality of disk-shaped ones and is arranged so as to protrude at a predetermined cutting region Lb on the outer peripheral surface of the body 101 of the cutting roller 100. Established. For example, if the diameter of the trunk portion 101 is 63.7 mm, the circumferential length of the trunk portion 101 is 200 mm. Here, if the ratio of the length of the non-connecting portion (cut portion) 13 in FIG. 1A is 6 (for example, 60 mm) and the length ratio of the connecting portion (non-cut portion) 12 is 4 (for example, 40 mm), The cutting blade 105 is disposed so that the cutting area Lb of the cutting roller 100 is 60 mm and the non-cutting area La is 40 mm. In addition, the ratio of the length of the non-connection part 13 and the connection part 12 can be changed suitably by changing the ratio of the length of the non-cutting area | region La and the cutting area Lb.

  As the cutting blade 105, for example, three discs having a diameter of 18 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm may be used in the cutting region Lb. The disc-shaped blade has an advantage that it is easy to smoothly enter the tape surface, hardly generates scraps, and is commercially available. In addition, it is preferable that the disk-shaped cutting blade 105 is detachable so as to extend the service life by changing the rotational position of replacement or arrangement. For this reason, the body 101 of the cutting roller 100 is formed of a disk-shaped laminate, and the cutting blade 105 is sandwiched and held and fixed.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the intermittent machining apparatus for performing intermittent machining forms the unconnected portion 13 by cutting the tape core wire 1a to form the intermittent tape core wire 1b. It has an insertion mechanism.

  For example, the tape core wire 1a is assumed to travel from the right direction to the left direction on the paper surface of FIGS. 11A and 11B. A plurality of cutting mechanisms 111a to 111c (three cutting mechanisms when the number of cores of the optical fiber core is 4) corresponding to the number of cores of the optical fiber core for the tape core 1a is a production line. The position is shifted in the direction (longitudinal direction of the tape core wire).

  The cutting mechanisms 111a to 111c are configured such that the cutting rollers 100a to 100c described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B are rotated by driving bodies 112a to 112c such as a driving motor, and the cutting mechanisms 111a to 111c are interlocked with the traveling speed of the tape core wire 1a. To a predetermined rotational speed. The cutting blades 105a to 105c of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c are arranged with different cutting positions in the tape width direction, and the cutting rollers 100a to 100c are intermittently provided only between predetermined optical fiber cores. A cut portion is inserted to form the non-connecting portion 13.

  Each of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c is in contact with one surface of the tape core wire 1a and presses this surface to guide the travel of the tape core wire 1a, and on the surface opposite to the tape core wire 1a is a travel roller 113a. To 113d so that the tape core wire 1a is not separated from the outer peripheral surfaces of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c. The running rollers 113a to 113d may be provided with a flange portion that suppresses the movement of the tape core wire 1a in the width direction. However, the running rollers 113a to 113d do not have a positioning guide groove on the cutting rollers 100a to 100c side. May be.

  The cutting rollers 100a to 100c are rotated in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the tape core wire 1a, for example. In this case, the cutting blades 105a to 105c move so as to slide on the tape core wire 1a and are cut with an arcuate blade so that a reliable cut can be formed. Can also be suppressed. Further, the rotational speed (moving speed) of the cutting blades 105a to 105c of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c and the running speed of the tape core wire 1a are made different so that the unconnected portion 13 and the connected portion (non-cut portion) 12 The length ratio can be made the same and the length can be changed.

  Further, the cutting can be made even if the rotation direction of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c is the same as the traveling direction of the tape core wire 1a. Also in this case, the lengths of the unconnected portion 13 and the connected portion 12 can be increased by making the rotational speed (moving speed) of the cutting blades 105a to 105c of the cutting rollers 100a to 100c different from the traveling speed of the tape core wire 1a. The length can be changed by making the ratio the same. Further, by making the rotational speed of the cutting blades 105a to 105c slower than the running speed of the tape core wire 1a, the cutting blades 105a to 105c move and cut so as to slide on the tape core wire 1a in the same manner as described above. It can be in the form. When the moving speed of the cutting blades 105a to 105c and the moving speed of the tape core wire 1a are the same and the moving direction is the same, the cutting blade is pushed into the tape core wire 1a from the surface direction and cut, and the cutting is insufficient. It may become.

  As described above, the intermittent tape core wire 1b (that is, the intermittent tape core wire 1 as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C) is manufactured from the tape core wire 1a. The intermittent machining of the tape core wire 1a may be performed between the winding tension control dancer roller 52 and the winding device 53 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples described above, but is defined by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1b, 5 ... Intermittent tape core wire, 1a ... Tape core wire before intermittent processing, 4 ... Fusion holder, 10 ... Core, 11, 21, 22, 23 ... Optical fiber core wire (multi-core optical fiber core wire) , 11a ... clad, 11c ... optical fiber core wire at one end, 12 ... connecting portion, 12c ... connecting portion at the end, 13 ... non-connecting portion, 14 ... tape coating, 30, 60 ... optical cable, 31 ... press winding tape, 32, 62 ... outer sheath of optical cable, 33 ... tensile strength wire, 34 ... tearing string, 35 ... projection, 61 ... tensile strength body.

Claims (4)

An optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in parallel;
The optical fiber core is a multi-core optical fiber having a plurality of cores,
The optical fiber ribbon is an optical fiber ribbon in which a connecting portion and a non-connecting portion are intermittently formed in a longitudinal direction between the adjacent multi-core optical fibers.   An optical cable comprising: a collective core containing the optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1; and an outer jacket covering the collective core.   An optical fiber cord comprising the optical cable according to claim 2 and a multi-fiber connector connected to a terminal portion of the optical cable. A fiber core connecting method for fusion-bonding the optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1 and other optical components,
A removing step of removing the connecting portion located at an end of the optical fiber ribbon;
A connecting step of rotating and aligning each of the multi-core optical fiber cores with respect to the other optical components at the end where the connecting portion is removed by the removing step;
A method for connecting a tape core wire.

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