JP2015215447A - Optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multicore optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units, each comprising optical fiber core wires which are bundled together using bundling materials and are made individually identifiable at low cost.SOLUTION: An optical fiber cable comprises a plurality of optical fiber units, each comprising a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111 and one or more bundling materials 12A, 12B wound around the outer periphery of a bundle of the plurality of optical fiber core wires 111, where one or more of the bundling materials wound around the optical fiber units bear a plurality of types of identification marks.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable.

  2. Description of the Related Art A technique for configuring an optical fiber cable using an optical fiber assembly in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are bundled as an optical fiber unit is known. At that time, by winding the coarsely wound yarn (bundle material) around the bundle of optical fiber cores, the optical fiber unit is identified by the color of the bundle material while preventing the bundle of optical fiber cores from being separated. The method is common.

  In relation to such a bundle material, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for imparting waterproof properties to an optical fiber unit by using a water absorbing yarn as a binding member. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for facilitating identification of an optical fiber unit by coloring a bundle material with a single color.

JP 2011-232347 A JP 2013-097350 A

  In recent years, the number of optical fiber cores included in an optical fiber unit has increased due to the demand for multi-fiber transmission accompanying an increase in transmission data capacity. In particular, in the case of a super multi-core cable having more than 1000 cores, in order to identify individual optical fiber core wires by the bundle material, more types of bundle materials are required. For example, in the case of the method of monochromatic coloring of the bundle material of Patent Document 2, a bundle material having a larger number of colors is required. However, if the number of colors of the bundle material is increased, the cost increases accordingly.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to identify individual optical fiber cores at low cost in a multi-fiber optical fiber cable having a plurality of optical fiber units in which bundles of optical fiber cores are bundled with a bundle material.

A main invention for achieving the above object is an optical fiber unit comprising a plurality of optical fiber cores and one or more bundle members wound around an outer periphery of a bundle of the plurality of optical fiber core wires. A plurality of optical fiber cables, wherein at least one of the bundle members wound around the optical fiber unit is provided with a plurality of types of identification marks. Fiber cable.
Other characteristics of the present invention will be made clear by the description and drawings described later.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the multi-core optical fiber cable which has multiple optical fiber units which bundled the bundle | flux of the optical fiber core wire with the bundle material, it becomes possible to identify each optical fiber core wire at low cost.

It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber cable 1 in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic of the optical fiber unit 10 of 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic of the intermittent fixed tape core wire 11. FIG. It is a figure explaining the cross-sectional structure of the bundle material. It is a figure explaining the identification mark attached | subjected to the bundle material. It is a figure explaining the method of identifying a desired optical fiber core wire from many optical fiber core wires contained in an optical fiber cable by the conventional method. In 1st Embodiment, it is a figure explaining the method of identifying a desired optical fiber core wire from many optical fiber core wires contained in an optical fiber cable. It is a figure which shows the result of having evaluated about the discriminability of the optical fiber core wire on various conditions. It is the schematic explaining the example which changed how to wind the bundle material. It is a figure explaining the color attached | subjected to a bundle material in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the color and identification mark which are attached | subjected to bundle material in 3rd Embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a slot type optical fiber cable 2. FIG.

At least the following matters will be apparent from the description and drawings described below.
An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units each having a plurality of optical fiber cores and one or more bundle members wound around an outer periphery of a bundle of the plurality of optical fiber core wires, The optical fiber cable is characterized in that a plurality of types of identification marks are attached to at least one of the bundle members wound around the optical fiber unit.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, even when a plurality of optical fiber units in which a bundle of optical fiber cores is bundled with a bundle material are provided, individual optical fiber cores can be identified at low cost.

  In such an optical fiber cable, it is preferable that the bundle material is colored with a predetermined color, and a plurality of types of identification marks are attached to each color.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, more types of optical fiber cores can be identified by the combination of the color of the bundle material and the identification mark.

  In such an optical fiber cable, it is desirable that at least one of the plurality of types of identification marks provided on the bundle material is different in shape and number.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, various types of identification marks attached to the bundle material can be set. Therefore, even in an optical fiber cable having a multi-core optical fiber, individual optical fiber cores can be connected. Can be identified.

  An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units each having a plurality of optical fiber cores and one or more bundle members wound around an outer periphery of the bundle of the plurality of optical fiber cores. The optical fiber cable is characterized in that at least one of the bundle members wound around the optical fiber unit is colored with two or more different colors.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, it is possible to identify individual optical fiber core wires at a low cost even when they have a multi-core optical fiber core wire.

  In such an optical fiber cable, the bundle material colored with two or more different colors is preferably provided with a plurality of types of identification marks for each color combination.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, it is possible to identify more types of optical fiber core wires by the combination of the color of the bundle material and the identification mark.

  In such an optical fiber cable, the optical fiber unit includes an optical fiber tape core composed of a plurality of the optical fiber cores arranged in parallel, and a connecting portion that connects two adjacent optical fiber core wires. It is desirable that the optical fiber ribbon is disposed intermittently in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the optical fiber ribbon.

  According to such an optical fiber cable, it becomes easy to handle and manage the optical fiber core wire by forming a plurality of optical fiber core wires into a tape shape. And since the optical fiber core wire is in a tape shape, the number of colors of the optical fiber can be reduced as compared with the case of a single core. For example, in the case of a 4-fiber ribbon, the colors of the second and third fibers are the same, and only the colors of the first and fourth fibers are changed. A plurality of types of tape cores can be identified by the combination, and even if so, no problem occurs.

=== First Embodiment ===
<Configuration of optical fiber unit>
In the first embodiment, an optical fiber unit constituted by a plurality of optical fiber cores and an optical fiber cable having the optical fiber unit will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber cable 1 in the first embodiment.

  The optical fiber cable 1 includes an optical fiber unit 10 (10A to 10C), a sheath 30, and a tension member 40. The optical fiber unit 10 has a structure in which a plurality of optical fiber cores 111 are not separated by bundling a plurality of optical fiber cores 111 with a bundle material 12. In FIG. 1, the optical fiber cable 1 is configured by three optical fiber units 10, that is, the optical fiber units 10 </ b> A, 10 </ b> B, and 10 </ b> C, but the number of the optical fiber units 10 included in the optical fiber cable 1 is the usage of the cable, etc. It is changed appropriately according to. The periphery of the optical fiber units 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> C is covered with a presser winding 15 formed of a nonwoven fabric or the like, and the outer periphery thereof is covered with a sheath 30 that is an outer cover of the optical fiber cable 1. A tension member 40 is provided in the sheath 30.

(Optical fiber unit 10)
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the optical fiber unit 10. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11.

  The optical fiber unit 10 of the present embodiment is a bundle of intermittently fixed tape core wires 11 composed of a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111 and bundled together by winding a bundle material 12 around the bundle. is there.

  The intermittently fixed tape core wire 11 includes a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111 arranged in parallel, and the two adjacent optical fiber core wires 111 are connected together by a connecting portion 115 so that the optical fiber core wire 111 is formed into a tape shape. It is a so-called optical fiber ribbon. In FIG. 3, the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11 is formed by four optical fiber core wires 111, but the number of optical fiber core wires 111 forming the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11 is not limited to this. The optical fiber core 111 is obtained by coating two outer coating layers (soft / hard) on the outer periphery of a bare fiber that is a transmission path for transmitting light. The bare fiber is formed of, for example, a glass material having a diameter of 125 μm. The coating layer is formed of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin. A colored layer is formed on the covering layer, and the plurality of optical fiber cores 111 can be identified for each color by the color of the colored layer. In this embodiment, the diameter of the optical fiber 111 including the colored layer is approximately 250 μm. In addition, you may color the hard layer itself of a coating layer, without forming a colored layer.

  The connecting portion 115 is a member that connects two optical fiber core wires 111 adjacent in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, in the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11, a plurality of connecting portions 115 are intermittently arranged in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the optical fiber core wire 111. In addition, a predetermined separation distance is provided in the width direction between two adjacent optical fiber cores 111. The intermittently fixed tape core wire 11 can be bent in the width direction at the connecting portion 115 and can be formed into a bundle shape as shown in FIG.

  In addition, the optical fiber core wire 111 is not formed in a tape shape, but a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111 are bundled in a single core and bundled by a bundle material 12 to the optical fiber unit 10 of the present embodiment. Shall be included.

  The bundle material 12 is a member for bundling the intermittently fixed tape core wires 11 (a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111), and a plurality of bundle materials 12 are provided for one optical fiber unit 10. In the optical fiber unit 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, two bundle materials of a bundle material 12 </ b> A and a bundle material 12 </ b> B are provided. The bundle material 12A and the bundle material 12B are spirally wound around the bundle of intermittently fixed tape cores 11 (a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111) so that the winding directions are opposite to each other. Then, it is desirable that the bundle material 12A and the bundle material 12B are bonded to each other by heat-sealing at a location (contact point) where the bundle material 12B intersects. However, the bundle material 12 </ b> A and the bundle material 12 </ b> B may not be joined to each other at the intersection, and each may only be wound around the bundle of the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11.

  The optical fiber unit 10 of the present embodiment is easy to manufacture because the bundle material 12A and the bundle material 12B are only wound spirally. Further, if the two bundle members are joined at the intersection, the bundle member can be made difficult to unwind. Even if the joint portion of the two bundle materials is peeled off, the bundle material 12A and the bundle material 12B are wound in a spiral shape, so that the bundle material is separated from the outer peripheral portion of the bundle of the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11. Is unlikely to be released immediately, and the bundle of intermittently fixed tape cores 11 is not easily separated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the bundle material 12. The bundle material 12 includes one or more core portions 121 extending in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber unit 10, and a covering portion 122 that covers the outer periphery of the core portion 121 and has a melting point lower than the melting point of the core portion 121. . An identification mark 123 is attached to the surface of the covering portion 122. The bundle material 12 is a flat belt-like member (the cross section is elliptical in FIG. 4), and the width of each bundle material (the major axis length of the ellipse in FIG. 4) is about 3 mm.

And the bundle materials 12A and 12B can be heat-sealed at the contact point between the two due to the adhesiveness that is developed when the covering portion 122 is heated to the melting point or higher. The difference between the melting point of the core part 121 and the melting point of the covering part 122 is preferably 20 ° C. or more. The melting point of the core part 121 is preferably about 160 ° C., and the melting point of the covering part 122 is preferably about 90 ° C. to 130 ° C. In addition, the coating portion 122 is required not to adhere to the optical fiber core wire 111 even when heated and melted, or to have a low adhesive force even when bonded, and not to deteriorate the coating layer of the optical fiber core wire 111. The

  For each of the core part 121 and the covering part 122, for example, a high melting point resin such as polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like, or polypropylene fiber, polyamide fiber (registered trademark nylon, etc.), polyester High melting point fibers such as fibers (PET fibers, etc.), or high melting point tapes or films such as PET, PP, etc., thermoplastic resins that can be repeatedly softened and solidified by heating and cooling, such as polyethylene (PE ), Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA), or other low-melting-point materials, or thermoplastic resin or rubber, and softening and solidification can be repeated reversibly by heating and cooling. It is a so-called hot melt adhesive. Or the like can be used those Tsu.

  The bundle materials 12A and 12B are not a composite material of a high melting point material (core portion 121) and a low melting point material (covering portion 122) as shown in FIG. Also good. For example, the high melting point material or the low melting point material may be used, or the bundle materials 12A and 12B may be made of different materials.

  Further, the joining of the bundle material 12A and the bundle material 12B may be performed using an adhesive, not by heat fusion. As the adhesive used when the bundle materials are bonded to each other, for example, a reactive olefin adhesive such as an ultraviolet curable resin or a modified olefin adhesive using a solvent or an epoxy adhesive can be used. .

  Moreover, it is preferable that the intensity | strength of the joining location of bundle material 12A and 12B is a grade which can be easily removed by a human hand, when the said joining location cannot be solved unexpectedly and wants to remove. In this way, in the intermediate branching operation, it is possible to remove the adhesive portion by hand without expanding the bundle members 12A and 12B and to widen the extraction site. Furthermore, if the bonding strength is not more than the breaking strength of each bundle material, and desirably not more than the yield point strength, the bundle material 12 can be peeled off without being fully extended.

  The two bundle members 12A and 12B can be joined again by applying heat with a heater or applying an adhesive after the optical fiber core wire 111 is taken out in an intermediate branching operation. .

  An identification mark 123 is attached to the two bundle members 12A and 12B so that the plurality of optical fiber units 10 can be identified. For example, in FIG. 1, three optical fiber units 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> C are accommodated in the optical fiber cable 1. In this case, the optical fiber units 10A to 10C can be easily identified by the predetermined identification marks 123 wound around the optical fiber units 10A to 10C and applied to the bundle material 12. The identification mark 123 is attached to the surface of the covering portion 122 by gravure printing (see FIGS. 4 and 5). At that time, an identification mark 123 is attached to at least one side of the flat bundle material 12. In FIG. 4, an identification mark 123 (black portion) is attached to the upper surface side of the bundle material 12. Specific details of the optical fiber unit identification method using the identification mark 123 will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, the identification mark 123 is a single color (for example, black). Moreover, the identification mark 123 should just be attached | subjected to at least 1 bundle material among the several bundle materials wound around the optical fiber unit 10, for example, in the case of FIG. 2, both bundle material 12A and 12B are attached. Instead of the identification mark 123 being attached, the identification mark 123 may be attached to only one of the bundle members 12A and 12B.

(Sheath 30)
The sheath 30 covers the outer peripheral portion of the optical fiber unit 10 that is wrapped by the presser winding 15 to protect the internal optical fiber unit 10 (see FIG. 1). The sheath 30 is formed of a resin such as a polyethylene resin.

(Tension member 40)
The tension member 40 is a strength member for preventing the tension applied to the optical fiber cable 1 from being directly transmitted to the optical fiber core 111 (see FIG. 1). The tension member 40 is made of, for example, a steel wire.

<Identification by bundle material>
As described above, in the present embodiment, the optical fiber core wire 111 can be identified by attaching a predetermined identification mark to the bundle material 12.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the identification mark attached to the bundle material 12. As shown in the figure, a band-shaped identification mark 123 is attached to the bundle material 12. The identification mark 123 attached to each bundle material 12 is different in at least one of shape and number. FIG. 5 shows marking examples # 101 to # 112 having different combinations. In # 101, identification marks 123 having a width a1 are attached one by one at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P. In # 102, two identification marks 123 each having a width a1 are attached at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P. At this time, a distance between two identification marks 123 adjacent in the longitudinal direction is represented by b. Similarly, in # 103, three identification marks 123 having a width a1 are provided at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P, and in # 104, four identification marks 123 having a width a1 are provided at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P. Similarly, in # 105, identification marks 123 having a width a2 are attached one by one at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P. In addition, the identification mark 123 having the width a1 and the identification mark 123 having the width a2 may be combined. For example, in # 112, two identification marks 123 having a width a2 and two identification marks 123 having a width a1 are provided at intervals of the longitudinal pitch P. Thus, in the present embodiment, the bundle material 12 can be identified in 12 ways by combinations of the shape (length) and number of the identification marks 123.

  In addition, as an identification mark actually applied, for example, a1 = 5 mm, a2 = 25 mm, b = 5 mm, and P = 300 mm can be set. The length of the longitudinal pitch P of the identification mark 123 is determined in consideration of workability such as the above-described intermediate branching work. When such an intermediate branching operation is performed, the sheath 30 of the section of 1 m in the longitudinal direction at the longest is peeled off. Therefore, it is desirable to set the longitudinal pitch P so that at least one or more identification marks 123 can be seen in a 1 m section. Conversely, even when the section where the sheath 30 is peeled off is narrow, it is desirable to set the longitudinal pitch P so that at least one or more identification marks 123 can be seen in the section.

  In this way, by attaching a plurality of types of identification marks 123 to the bundle material 12, it becomes easier to identify the optical fiber units 10 bound by the bundle material 12. This method is particularly effective when more optical fiber units are accommodated in one optical fiber cable. The optical fiber discrimination when using the bundle material 12 with the identification mark will be described in comparison with a conventional identification method.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of identifying a desired optical fiber core from among a large number of optical fibers included in an optical fiber cable by a conventional method.

  In the conventional optical fiber unit, individual optical fiber cores are identified by the type of combination of the colored arrays of the plurality of optical fiber cores constituting the intermittently fixed tape core and the number of colors of the bundle material. For example, in the case of a 4-fiber intermittently fixed tape core wire, 10 types of tapes are formed by a combination of colored arrays of optical fiber core wires (4 colors) in the intermittently fixed tape core wire, and no identification mark is attached. Bundled with colored bundle material. In addition, as an example of the combination of the colored arrangements in the four-core intermittently fixed tape cores, five colors (blue, yellow, green, red, purple) of the first optical fiber core wires in the width direction of the tape core wires are used. 10 colors can be obtained by changing the color of the 4th optical fiber core to 2 types (gray, peach), the color of the 2nd optical fiber core to white, and the color of the 3rd optical fiber core to brown. Can be configured. These 10 types of combinations are the maximum number for preventing misidentification. If the number of combinations of colored arrays is increased further, the identification accuracy may be deteriorated due to an increase in near colors. In addition, regarding the number of colors of the bundle material, the maximum number of colors for preventing erroneous recognition is about 10 colors.

  According to this method, a single core of a predetermined optical fiber core is selected from a plurality of optical fiber cores depending on the combination of the color of the optical fiber core, the color arrangement of the intermittent fixing tape, and the color of the bundle material. Can be identified (see FIG. 6). For example, the optical fiber core number 1 (tape number 1) is the color of the optical fiber core wire among the intermittently fixed tape core wires of the colored arrangement (blue, white, brown, ash), The color can be specified by a combination of blue. Further, the optical fiber core wire of the core wire number 400 (tape number 100) is the color of the optical fiber core wire among the intermittently fixed tape core wires of the colored arrangement of (purple, white, brown, peach), peach, The color can be identified by the combination of peach. Thus, in the conventional method, the combination (10 types) of the color (4 colors) and the color arrangement of each optical fiber core wire in the intermittently fixed tape core wire, and the combination (10 colors) of the bundle material 12 are combined. Thus, 400 types of optical fiber cores can be identified. However, with 400 types, individual optical fiber cores cannot be identified in an optical fiber cable having 1000 or more optical fiber cores.

  Even if the number of the cores of the intermittently fixed tape core is increased to eight, the maximum number that can be identified is 800, and it cannot be applied to an optical fiber cable having 1000 or more cores. . In addition, the possibility of misidentification increases as the number of colors used in the intermittently fixed tape core increases.

  On the other hand, the optical fiber unit 10 of the present embodiment binds a bundle of intermittently fixed tape cores composed of combinations of 10 kinds of colored arrays with a bundle of colors 12 with 12 kinds of identification marks. doing.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of identifying a desired optical fiber core from among a large number of optical fiber cores included in the optical fiber cable in the first embodiment. In the case of FIG. 7, for example, the optical fiber core wire of the core number 1 (tape number 1) has the color of the optical fiber core wire among the intermittently fixed tape core wires of the colored arrangement (blue, white, brown, ash). The combination of blue, the color of the bundle material is blue, and the type of the identification mark attached to the bundle material can be specified by # 101. Moreover, the optical fiber core wire of the core wire number 401 (tape number 101) is the color of the optical fiber core wire among the intermittently fixed tape core wires of the colored arrangement of (blue, white, brown, ash), The combination can be identified by the combination of the color blue and the type of identification mark attached to the bundle material # 102. In other words, in this embodiment, the color (four colors) of each optical fiber core in the intermittently fixed tape core and the combination (10 types) of the colored array, the color of the bundle 12 (10 colors), and the bundle are attached. It is possible to identify up to 4800 types of optical fiber cores by combining the identification marks (12 types). As a result, it is possible to identify even a super multi-core optical fiber cable having 1000 or more optical fiber cores that could not be identified by the conventional method.

  In addition, as described in FIG. 2, when two bundle members (12A and 12B) are wound around one optical fiber unit, the types of the identification marks and bundles attached between the bundle member 12A and the bundle member 12B By changing the color of the material, it becomes possible to identify more types of optical fiber cores.

  Thus, by using the bundle material 12 of this embodiment, it becomes possible to easily identify a large number of optical fiber core wires. In particular, in a super-multi-fiber optical fiber cable having an optical fiber core wire exceeding 1000 cores, it is difficult to identify a single core of the optical fiber core wire by the conventional method. It is effective to attach. In addition, by attaching an identification mark to the bundle material 12, it is possible to identify 2000 or more types of optical fiber core wires even when the number of colors of the bundle material is limited to about 5 (described later). (See FIG. 8). Further, by limiting the number of colors of the bundle material to five colors, it is possible to further reduce the probability of erroneous identification.

  The configuration of the present embodiment is also effective for an optical fiber cable having 1000 or less optical fiber cores. For example, when an optical fiber cable having an optical fiber core of about 800 cores is identified according to the present embodiment, it is possible to identify individual optical fiber cores even if the number of identification marks of the bundle material is reduced. . And if there are few types of identification marks etc., the possibility that erroneous identification will occur can be reduced accordingly.

  Next, the discriminability of the optical fiber core wire by using the bundle material of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows the results of evaluating the discriminability of the optical fiber under various conditions. The optical fiber cable used for the evaluation is a super multi-core optical fiber cable having 1000 or 2000 optical fibers, and bundle marks, bundle colors, and bundles attached to the optical fibers. There are five types of cables with different identification marks. The basic configuration of the five types of optical fiber cables is almost the same as that of the optical fiber cable 1 shown in FIG. About these optical fiber cables, the time until the desired optical fiber core wire can be taken out was measured from the state in which the sheath 30 was removed in a section of 1 m in the longitudinal direction. And when the said measurement time became below (the number of optical fiber core wires in a cable / 1000) or less, it evaluated as (circle), and evaluated the case other than that as x. In other words, when the number of optical fiber cores included in the cable is 1000 cores, it is good identification when a desired optical fiber core wire can be identified within 1 minute, and when it is 2000 cores within 2 minutes. It is evaluated that it has sex.

  In FIG. 8, Comparative Example 1 is a conventional optical fiber cable in which an identification mark is not attached to the bundle material. In Comparative Example 1, it is theoretically possible to identify individual optical fiber cores by using 25 kinds of combinations of the colored arrangements of the 4-core intermittently fixed tape cores. However, in practice, since the number of combinations of the colored arrangements of the 4-core intermittently fixed tape cores increases, it is difficult to identify the target optical fiber core from such many combinations. The workability was inferior, and the evaluation of discrimination was x.

  On the other hand, Examples 1-4 are the optical fiber cables of this embodiment by which the identification mark was attached | subjected to the bundle material. In any case, the number of combinations of the colored array of the intermittently fixed tape cores was ten. For these, first, the optical fiber unit including the target optical fiber core wire is identified by the identification mark attached to the bundle material and the color of the bundle material. And since the optical fiber core wire to be identified can be searched from among the identified optical fiber units, the workability is greatly improved as compared with the case of the comparative example 1, and the evaluation of the distinguishability is all “good”. It was.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the discriminability of the optical fiber core wire can be improved by marking the bundle material. In the configuration of the present embodiment, it is only necessary to print an identification mark on the bundle material, and it does not increase the type of color of the bundle material and does not require other new members. can do.

  In addition, the number of bundle materials wound around the bundle of the intermittently fixed tape core wire 11 (optical fiber core wire 111) and the method of winding the bundle material are not limited to the example shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the schematic explaining the example which deform | transformed how to wind the bundle material in 1st Embodiment is shown. FIG. 9 shows an example in which one bundle member 12 is spirally wound along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core 111 around the bundle of intermittently fixed tape cores 11 (optical fiber core 111). ing. Since the number of the bundle material is one and it is only wound around the bundle of optical fiber core wires, the optical fiber unit 10 can be easily manufactured. As described above, the configuration according to the present embodiment is an effective method because it is possible to identify a multi-core optical fiber even when there is only one bundle material. Moreover, you may wind a bundle material around the bundle | flux of the intermittent fixed tape core wire 11 (optical fiber core wire 111) by methods other than the example shown in FIG.

=== Second Embodiment ===
2nd Embodiment demonstrates the example which changes the color attached | subjected to a bundle material. In the example described in the first embodiment, the bundle material 12 is colored in a single color. For example, in the example described with reference to FIG. 7, ten colors are prepared as the color of the bundle material, and ten kinds of identification are possible depending on the color of the bundle material. On the other hand, in 2nd Embodiment, the kind which can be identified is increased by attaching | subjecting two or more colors with respect to one bundle material.

  In the second embodiment, the configuration other than the bundle material 12 is substantially the same as that of the optical fiber cable 1 of FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining colors attached to the bundle material in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the bundle material 12 is color-coded by two different colors along the longitudinal direction. For example, the bundle material represented by # 201 in FIG. 10 is colored with two colors of blue and yellow, and the bundle material represented with # 202 is colored with two colors of yellow and green. When ten colors are prepared as colors for coloring the bundle material, 45 types of identification are possible by combinations of colors. That is, it is possible to increase the number of types that can be identified as compared with the case of being colored with a single color like a conventional bundle material.

  According to the configuration of the second embodiment, the color (4 colors) of each optical fiber core in the intermittently fixed tape core and the combination (10 types) of the color array, and the color pattern (45) attached to the bundle 12 The combination of types) enables identification of up to 1800 types of optical fiber cores with a 4-fiber intermittently fixed tape core, and even multi-fiber optical fiber cables having 1000 or more cores. It becomes possible.

  In addition, the number of colors is not newly increased to color the bundle material, but the bundle material is colored by a combination of existing colors, so that the cost for manufacturing the bundle material is not large.

  In FIG. 10, each bundle material is colored with two different colors, but may be colored with three or more colors. In that case, it is possible to further increase the number of identifiable types.

  In this way, by winding a bundle material colored in two or more different colors around a bundle of intermittently fixed tape core wires 11 (a plurality of optical fiber core wires 111), a multi-fiber optical fiber core wire is formed. Can be identified at low cost.

=== Third Embodiment ===
In 3rd Embodiment, the number of the optical fiber core wires which can be identified is increased by attaching | subjecting an identification mark with respect to the bundle material currently colored with two or more different colors.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining colors and identification marks attached to a bundle material in the third embodiment. The bundle material 12 of the present embodiment is colored with two or more different colors as described with reference to FIG. Further, an identification mark 123 similar to that described with reference to FIG. Thereby, the number of optical fiber core wires that can be identified can be further increased. For example, the color (4 colors) of each optical fiber in the 4-fiber intermittently fixed tape core and the combination of the colored arrangement (10 types), the color combination of the bundle material 12 (45 types), and the bundle material are attached. It is possible to identify a maximum of 21,600 types of optical fiber core wires by combining the identification marks (12 types). Also in this case, it becomes possible to identify an ultra-multi-fiber cable having 1000 or more optical fibers. Also, it is possible to apply a ring mark described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-097350 to the optical fiber core wire in the intermittently fixed tape core wire, in which case the number of identifiable cores can be further increased. it can.

  As described above, the bundle material colored with two or more different colors and further provided with an identification mark is wound around a bundle of intermittently fixed tape cores 11 (a plurality of optical fiber cores 111), thereby increasing the number of the bundles. This makes it possible to identify the optical fiber core wire at low cost.

=== Other Embodiments ===
The above-described embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

<About intermittently fixed tape core wire>
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which four optical fiber cores 111 are connected as the intermittently fixed tape core 11 has been described. However, the number of optical fiber cores constituting the intermittently fixed tape core 11 is not limited to this, and the number of cores may be increased or decreased. Further, the connection position and the number of connections of the connecting portions 115 that connect the two adjacent optical fiber cores 111 can be changed according to the application of the intermittently fixed tape core 11.

<About the number of bundles>
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the number of bundle members wound around a bundle of optical fiber cores is 1 to 4 has been described. However, the number of bundle members provided in one optical fiber unit is not limited to this. For example, it may be 3 or 5 or more. As described above, in consideration of the workability in the intermediate branching operation of the optical fiber cable, it is desirable that a plurality of bundle members are provided for one optical fiber unit and can be easily peeled off.

<About slot type optical fiber cable>
In the above-described embodiment, the type of optical fiber cable in which a plurality of optical fiber units are accommodated in the center of the cable has been described (see FIG. 1). However, the type of optical fiber cable is not limited to this, so-called slot type. The optical fiber cable may be used. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a slot-type optical fiber cable 2 as an example. In the slot type optical fiber cable 2, a plurality of slots 21 (grooves) are provided on the outer periphery of the slot core 20, and a plurality of optical fiber units 10 are accommodated in the respective slots 21. In the example of FIG. 12, five slots 21A to 21E are provided on the outer periphery of the slot core 20, and three optical fiber units 10D to 10F are accommodated in the slot 21A. Even in such a slot-type optical fiber cable, the optical fiber core wire can be efficiently identified by winding the bundle material 12 with the identification mark attached to each optical fiber unit 10.

1 optical fiber cable, 2 optical fiber cable,
10 optical fiber unit, 10A-10F optical fiber unit,
11 intermittently fixed tape core, 111 optical fiber core,
115 connecting part,
12 Bundle materials, 12A and 12B Bundle materials,
121 core part, 122 covering part, 123 identification mark,
15
20 slot core, 21 slot, 21A-12E slot,
30 sheath,
40 Tension member

Claims (6)

An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units each having a plurality of optical fiber cores and one or more bundle members wound around an outer periphery of a bundle of the plurality of optical fiber cores,
At least one bundle material among the bundle materials wound around the optical fiber unit is provided with a plurality of types of identification marks,
An optical fiber cable characterized by that. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1,
Each of the bundle materials is colored with a predetermined color, and a plurality of types of identification marks are attached to each color,
An optical fiber cable characterized by that. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1 or 2,
The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of identification marks provided on the bundle material are different in shape and / or number. An optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units each having a plurality of optical fiber cores and one or more bundle members wound around an outer periphery of a bundle of the plurality of optical fiber cores,
An optical fiber cable, wherein at least one bundle material among the bundle materials wound around the optical fiber unit is colored with two or more different colors. An optical fiber cable according to claim 4,
An optical fiber cable, wherein the bundle material colored with two or more different colors is provided with a plurality of types of identification marks for each combination of colors. An optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
In the optical fiber unit,
An optical fiber ribbon comprising a plurality of the optical fiber cores arranged in parallel, and a connecting portion for connecting two adjacent optical fiber cores intermittently in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the optical fiber ribbon. An optical fiber cable, characterized by comprising an optical fiber ribbon that is arranged optically.

Images