JP2023115831A - Manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of slot rod for optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing apparatus of a slot rod for optical cable which can easily keep a rib shape even though a slot rod for optical cable has an increased height of a rib and a manufacturing method of the same.SOLUTION: A manufacturing apparatus 100 of a slot rod for optical cable comprises: a slot rod introduction hole part 141a1 which is formed on a left side surface 141a of a first air-cooling unit 140 and to which a slot rod SL for optical cable is introduced; a slot rod lead-out hole part 141b1 which is formed on a right side surface 141b of the first air-cooling unit 140 and from which the slot rod SL for optical cable is led out; an air supply hole part 141c1 which is provided on a bottom surface of the first air-cooling unit 140 and supplies a gas into the first air-cooling unit 140; and an exhaust hole part 143b which is formed on an upper surface of the first air-cooling unit 140 and exhausts the gas in the first air-cooling unit 140. The gas supplied from the air supply hole part 141c1 is not directly sprayed to a rib R of the slot rod SL for optical cable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method thereof.

In an optical cable comprising a slot rod in which a plurality of ribs are formed and an optical fiber tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are arranged in parallel, the slot rod is made of resin, and after being injection-molded by an extruder, Forced cooling is performed by a cooling device at a cooling rate faster than natural cooling (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-060610

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, along with the increase in the number of cores in optical cables, the outer diameter of the optical cables is increasing, and the density of the optical fibers is increasing.
Therefore, in order to increase the size of the slot rod used in the optical cable, it is conceivable to increase the height of the rib.

However, the ribs of the slot rod immediately after being injection-molded are soft, and if the slot rod with the raised rib height is forcibly cooled, for example, by injecting air, the ribs of the slot rod are broken by the supplied air pressure. There is a risk of deformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to easily maintain a rib shape even in an optical cable slot rod having ribs with a high height. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a slot rod for an optical cable and a method for manufacturing the same.

The present disclosure is an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus including a box-shaped air cooling unit for cooling an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs extruded from an injection molding machine, wherein the air cooling unit is the air cooling unit A slot rod introduction hole formed on the first side of the air cooling unit for introducing the optical cable slot rod, and a slot rod lead-out hole formed on the second side of the air cooling unit for guiding the optical cable slot rod an air supply hole provided on the bottom surface of the air cooling unit for supplying gas into the air cooling unit; and an exhaust hole formed on the top surface of the air cooling unit for discharging the gas in the air cooling unit. , the gas supplied from the air supply hole is not directly jetted to the rib of the optical cable slot rod.

Further, a method for manufacturing an optical cable slot rod of the present disclosure includes an injection molding machine for injection molding an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs, and an air cooling unit for cooling the optical cable slot rod extruded from the injection molding machine. a step of injection-molding the optical cable slot rod by the injection molding machine; and supplying a gas by the air cooling unit so as not to be directly ejected onto the ribs of the optical cable slot rod pushed out from the injection molding machine. and air-cooling the optical cable slot rod.

According to the above, the rib shape can be easily maintained even in an optical cable slot rod having a high rib height.

1 is a perspective view of an optical cable slot rod manufactured by an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing a slotted rod for an optical cable according to one aspect of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first air cooling unit shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the first air cooling unit when the imaginary plane P in FIG. 3 is viewed from the IV direction; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first air cooling unit viewed along line VV in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first air cooling unit viewed along line VI-VI of FIG. 4;

[Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]
First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and explained.
The present disclosure provides (1) an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus including a box-shaped air cooling unit for cooling an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs extruded from an injection molding machine, the air cooling unit comprising: A slot rod introduction hole formed on a first side surface of the air cooling unit for introducing the optical cable slot rod, and a slot rod lead-out hole formed on a second side surface of the air cooling unit for guiding the optical cable slot rod. a hole, an air supply hole provided in the bottom surface of the air cooling unit for supplying gas into the air cooling unit, and an exhaust hole formed in the top surface of the air cooling unit for discharging gas in the air cooling unit; so that the gas supplied from the air supply hole is not directly injected to the rib of the optical cable slot rod.
According to the optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus configured as described above, the gas supplied from the air supply hole is not directly injected to the rib of the optical cable slot rod, so that the gas is pushed out from the injection molding machine and softened by heat. In order to prevent the ribs of the optical cable slot rod from being directly cooled and deformed by the gas supplied from the air supply hole, the rib shape can be easily adjusted even for optical cable slot rods with high rib heights. can be kept in

(2) In the apparatus for manufacturing a slot rod for an optical cable, the air cooling unit has an air supply pipe that is inserted into the air supply hole and introduces air into the air cooling unit, and It opens toward the side surface of the air cooling unit or the bottom surface of the air cooling unit.
As a result, the gas supplied from the outlet of the air supply pipe flows sideways or downward, and is not directly injected into the rib of the optical cable slot rod, so it is pushed out from the injection molding machine and softened by heat. It is possible to prevent the ribs of the optical cable slot rod from being deformed by the gas supplied from the air supply hole.

(3) In the apparatus for manufacturing slot rods for optical cables, the air cooling unit has a windshield plate disposed above the air supply hole, and the windshield plate is located at a position through which the slot rod passes. is provided below.
As a result, the gas supplied from the air supply hole is obstructed by the windshield and is not directly jetted to the rib of the optical cable slot rod, which is pushed out from the injection molding machine and softened by heat. It is possible to prevent the ribs from being deformed by the gas supplied from the air supply hole.

(4) Further, the method for manufacturing an optical cable slot rod of the present disclosure includes an injection molding machine for injection molding an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs, and cooling the optical cable slot rod extruded from the injection molding machine. a step of injection molding the optical cable slot rod by the injection molding machine; and cooling the optical cable slot rod with air.
According to this manufacturing method, the air-cooling unit supplies the gas so as not to blow directly onto the rib of the optical cable slot rod extruded from the injection molding machine to air-cool the optical cable slot rod. In order to prevent the ribs of the optical cable slot rod, which are extruded from the molding machine and softened by heat, from being directly cooled by the gas supplied from the air supply hole and deformed, the rib height of the optical cable slot rod is high. However, the rib shape can be easily maintained.

(5) In the above method for manufacturing a slotted rod for an optical cable, the air cooling unit includes a slot rod introduction hole formed on the first side surface of the air cooling unit for introducing the slot rod for the optical cable; a slot rod lead-out hole formed on a second side surface for leading out the optical cable slot rod; an air supply hole provided on the bottom surface of the air cooling unit for supplying gas into the air cooling unit; and an exhaust hole formed on the upper surface for discharging the gas in the air cooling unit, wherein the instantaneous flow rate of the gas supplied from the air supply hole of the air cooling unit is discharged from the exhaust hole of the air cooling unit. is equal to the instantaneous flow rate of the gas
As a result, gas from the outside of the air cooling unit is less likely to be taken in through at least one of the slot rod introduction hole and the slot rod exit hole, so the ribs of the slot rod for the optical cable, which has been pushed out from the injection molding machine and softened by heat, , it is possible to prevent deformation caused by gas flowing from the outside of the air-cooling unit.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
A specific example of the apparatus for manufacturing a slotted rod for an optical cable and the method for manufacturing the same according to the present disclosure will be described below.
In the following description, configurations denoted by the same reference numerals in different drawings may be the same, and descriptions thereof may be omitted.
In addition, the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

[Outline of slot rod for optical cable]
First, an optical cable slot rod manufactured by an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical cable slot rod manufactured by an optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

The optical cable slot rod SL (hereinafter referred to as "slot rod SL") is a member in which a tension member TM such as a steel wire is coated with a resin.
The slot rod SL is formed with a plurality of ribs R protruding radially away from the tension member TM.
Further, in the slot grooves G formed between the ribs R made of resin, optical fiber core wires are arranged.
The slot groove G is formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction of the slot rod SL, or in an SZ shape in which the twist direction is periodically reversed.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, six ribs R are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
Therefore, in this embodiment, six slot grooves G are formed in the slot rod SL.

[Outline of manufacturing equipment for slot rod for optical cable]
Next, while explaining the optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus 100 using FIG. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a payout machine 110 that pays out the tension member TM, a preheating unit 120 that preheats the tension member TM paid out from the payout machine 110 to a predetermined temperature, and An injection molding machine 130 is provided for coating resin around the tension member TM preheated by the preheating unit 120 and for extruding the slot rod SL.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a box-shaped first air cooling unit (air cooling unit) 140 for cooling the slot rod SL extruded from the injection molding machine 130, and the first A second air-cooling unit 150 for further cooling the slot rod SL air-cooled by the air-cooling unit 140, a water-cooling unit 160 for further cooling the slot rod SL air-cooled by the second air-cooling unit 150, A take-up capstan 170 takes up the slot rod SL that has been picked up, and a winder 180 takes up the slot rod SL taken up by the take-up capstan 170. - 特許庁

In the optical cable slot rod manufacturing method, the slot rod SL is injection-molded by the injection molding machine 130 in the optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus 100 described above, and the slot rod SL is extruded from the injection molding machine 130 by the first air cooling unit 140. Then, the slot rod SL for optical cable is manufactured by the step of air-cooling the slot rod SL by supplying gas so as not to be directly jetted to the rib R of the slot rod SL.

[Structure of the first air cooling unit]
Next, an example of the structure of the first air-cooling unit 140 that cools the slot rod SL by supplying gas so as not to be directly injected to the rib R of the slot rod SL will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the first air-cooling unit shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the first air-cooling unit when the virtual plane P in FIG. 3 is viewed from direction IV, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first air cooling unit seen along line VV of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first air cooling unit seen along line VI-VI of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first air cooling unit 140 has a box-shaped unit body 141 and legs 142 attached to the four corners of the bottom surface of the unit body 141 to support the unit body 141 .
Although the unit main body 141 has a box shape, it does not have to be exactly a rectangular parallelepiped, and may have unevenness due to accessories or may have slightly curved sides.

A slot rod introduction hole portion 141a1 for introducing the slot rod SL extruded from the injection molding machine 130 is formed in the left side surface (first side surface) 141a of the unit main body 141 as viewed from the front side of FIG. .
3, a right side (second side) 141b of the unit main body 141 is formed with a slot rod lead-out hole portion 141b1 for leading out the slot rod SL from the unit main body 141. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface 141c of the unit main body 141 is formed with, for example, six air supply holes 141c1 for supplying gas (air in this embodiment) into the unit main body 141. As shown in FIG.
An air supply pipe 143 connected to an external air supply source (not shown) is inserted into the air supply hole 141c1.
As shown in FIG. 5, three air supply pipes 143 are inserted into the slot rod introduction hole portion 141a1 side, and three are inserted into the slot rod extraction hole portion 141b1 side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air supply pipe 143 has an inverted L shape when viewed from the front.
Therefore, the air supply pipe 143 arranged on the side of the slot rod introduction hole 141a1 is formed with an ejection port 143a that opens toward the side of the slot rod introduction hole 141b1.
Similarly, the air supply pipe 143 arranged on the side of the slot rod introduction hole portion 141b1 is formed with an ejection port 143a that opens toward the slot rod introduction hole portion 141a1 side.
The ejection port 143a formed in this manner introduces gas (in this embodiment, air) into the first air cooling unit 140. As shown in FIG.

For example, two exhaust pipes 144 connected to an external exhaust pump (not shown) are connected to the upper surface of the unit main body 141 .
This exhaust pipe 144 communicates with the unit main body 141 .
Therefore, the gas inside the first air cooling unit 140 is discharged to the outside of the first air cooling unit 140 through the exhaust hole portion 144 a that is the opening on the inlet side of the exhaust pipe 144 .

Further, inside the unit body 141, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a wind shield plate 145 having a rectangular shape in a plan view is provided.
The windshield plate 145 is held by a support 146 and separated from the bottom surface of the unit main body 141, and is provided above the ejection port 143a of the air supply pipe 143 and below the position through which the slot rod SL passes.
As shown in FIG. 5 , the end surface of the windshield plate 145 in the left-right direction (the running direction of the slot rod SL) is closer to the left side 141 a (or the right side 141 b ) of the unit body 141 than the ejection port 143 a of the air supply pipe 143 . close by.
5 and 6, the end surface of the windshield plate 145 is closer to the front surface 141d (or rear surface 141e) of the unit main body 141 than the ejection port 143a of the air supply pipe 143. As shown in FIGS.

Further, inside the unit main body 141, a circular baffle plate 147 is provided in plan view.
The baffle plate 147 is attached to the upper surface of the unit main body 141 by a spacer 148 so as to be separated from the upper surface of the unit main body 141 , and is provided directly below the exhaust hole portion 144 a of the exhaust pipe 144 .
The diameter of this baffle plate 147 is larger than the diameter of the exhaust hole portion 144a of the exhaust pipe 144, as shown in FIGS.

[Cooling of Optical Cable Slot Rod in First Air Cooling Unit]
Next, cooling of the slot rod SL in the first air cooling unit 140 configured in this manner will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.

Since the ejection port 143a of the air supply pipe 143 is open in the left-right direction, the air A ejected from the ejection port 143a advances in the left-right direction, as shown in FIGS.
A discharge pump (not shown) sucks the air A inside the unit main body 141 through the exhaust hole portion 144a.
Therefore, the air A jetted from the ejection port 143a tries to flow upward, but the windshield plate 145 is provided inside the unit main body 141, so that the end portion of the windshield plate 145 flowing towards

When the air A jetted from the jet port 143a reaches the end face of the windshield plate 145, as shown in FIGS. flow towards.
Then, the air A flows into the exhaust hole portion 144 a of the exhaust pipe 144 through the gap between the baffle plate 147 and the upper surface of the unit main body 141 .

In the above-described first air cooling unit 140, the supply pressure from the air supply source (not shown) and the exhaust speed by the discharge pump (not shown) are adjusted to adjust the moment of air supplied from the jet port 143a into the unit main body 141. The flow rate is equal to the instantaneous flow rate of the air in the unit main body 141 discharged from the exhaust hole portion 144a.

In the slot rod manufacturing apparatus 100 thus obtained, the ribs R of the slot rod SL extruded from the injection molding machine 130 and softened by heat are directly cooled by the air supplied from the ejection port 143a. In order to prevent deformation, even if the slot rod SL has a high rib R, the rib shape can be easily maintained.

In addition, since the jet port 143a of the air supply pipe 143 opens toward the side surface of the first air cooling unit 140, the air supplied from the jet port 143a flows sideways, and the rib R of the slot rod SL Therefore, the rib R of the slot rod SL, which is extruded from the injection molding machine 130 and softened by heat, can be prevented from being deformed by the air supplied from the ejection port 143a.

In addition, the first air cooling unit 140 has a windshield plate 145 arranged above the ejection port 143a, and the slot rod SL passes above the windshield plate 145 to supply air from the ejection port 143a. The air flowing through the slot rod SL is obstructed by the windshield plate 145 and is not directly jetted to the ribs R of the slot rod SL. It can be prevented from being deformed by the air supplied from.

In addition, since the instantaneous flow rate of air supplied from the ejection port 143a of the first air cooling unit 140 is equal to the instantaneous flow rate of air discharged from the exhaust hole portion 144a of the first air cooling unit 140, the slot rod introduction hole portion 141a1 Alternatively, since it becomes difficult for air outside the first air cooling unit 140 to be taken in from at least one of the slot rod lead-out hole portions 141b1, the rib R of the slot rod SL, which is extruded from the injection molding machine 130 and softened by heat, It is possible to prevent deformation due to air flowing from the outside of the air cooling unit 140 .

[Modification]
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above.
In addition, each element included in the above-described embodiments can be combined as long as it is technically possible, and combinations of these are also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as they include the features of the present invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the gas supplied into the first air cooling unit 140 was air, but the gas supplied into the first air cooling unit may be gas other than air.

For example, in the present embodiment, the air supply pipe 143 is inserted into the air supply hole 141c1 formed in the bottom surface 141c of the unit main body 141 of the first air cooling unit 140, but the outlet of the air supply pipe is directed toward the optical cable slot rod. If the air supply pipe 143 is not open, the air supply pipe 143 may be inserted into the bottom surfaces of the left side 141a and the right side 141b.

For example, in the present embodiment, the outlet 143a of the air supply pipe 143 faces the left side 141a or the right side 141b of the first air cooling unit 140 (that is, toward the slot rod introduction hole portion 141a1 side or the slot rod discharge hole portion 141b1 side). However, the outlet of the air supply pipe may be opened in any direction as long as it does not open toward the optical cable slot rod. It may be open.

For example, in the present embodiment, the first air cooling unit 140 has the inverted L-shaped air supply pipe 143 and the windshield plate 145. However, as long as it is not directly injected onto the ribs of the optical cable slot rod, it may be of any kind.
As a specific example, the air supply pipe may be formed in an inverted L shape or an inverted J shape without providing a windshield, or the air supply pipe may be straight and a windshield may be provided directly above the air supply hole. good too.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100... Manufacturing apparatus of the slot rod for optical cables 110... Feeding machine 120... Preheating unit 130... Injection molding machine 140... First air-cooling unit (air-cooling unit)
141 Unit main body 141a Left side (first side)
141a1... Slot rod introduction hole portion 141b... Right side (second side)
141b ... slot rod lead-out hole portion 141c ... bottom surface 141c1 ... air supply hole portion 141d ... front surface 141e ... rear surface 142 ... leg 143 ... air supply pipe 143a ... ejection port 144 Exhaust pipe 144a Exhaust hole portion 145 Wind shield plate 146 Strut 147 Baffle plate 148 Spacer 150 Second air cooling unit 160 Water cooling unit 170・・・Take-up capstan 180 ・・・Winding machine

TM ... Tension member SL ... Slot rod R ... Rib G ... Slot groove P ... Virtual plane

Claims (5)

An optical cable slot rod manufacturing apparatus comprising a box-shaped air cooling unit for cooling an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs extruded from an injection molding machine,
The air cooling unit includes a slot rod introduction hole formed on a first side surface of the air cooling unit for introducing the optical cable slot rod, and a slot rod introduction hole formed on a second side surface of the air cooling unit for receiving the optical cable slot rod. an air supply hole provided on the bottom surface of the air cooling unit to supply gas into the air cooling unit; and an air supply hole formed on the top surface of the air cooling unit to discharge the gas in the air cooling unit. and an exhaust hole,
An apparatus for manufacturing an optical cable slot rod, wherein the gas supplied from the air supply hole is not directly jetted to the rib of the optical cable slot rod. The air cooling unit has an air supply pipe that is inserted into the air supply hole and introduces gas into the air cooling unit,
2. The apparatus for manufacturing a slotted rod for an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein a jet port of said air supply pipe opens toward a side surface of said air cooling unit or a bottom surface of said air cooling unit. The air cooling unit has a windshield plate arranged above the air supply hole,
3. The apparatus for manufacturing slot rods for optical cables according to claim 1, wherein said wind shield plate is provided below a position through which said slot rod passes. An injection molding machine for injection molding an optical cable slot rod having a plurality of ribs, and an air cooling unit for cooling the optical cable slot rod extruded from the injection molding machine,
injection molding the optical cable slot rod by the injection molding machine;
and air-cooling the optical cable slot rod by supplying gas so that the gas is not blown directly onto the ribs of the optical cable slot rod extruded from the injection molding machine by the air cooling unit. Method. The air cooling unit includes a slot rod introduction hole formed on a first side surface of the air cooling unit for introducing the optical cable slot rod, and a slot rod introduction hole formed on a second side surface of the air cooling unit for receiving the optical cable slot rod. an air supply hole provided on the bottom surface of the air cooling unit to supply gas into the air cooling unit; and an air supply hole formed on the top surface of the air cooling unit to discharge the gas in the air cooling unit. and an exhaust hole,
5. The method of manufacturing a slotted rod for an optical cable according to claim 4, wherein the instantaneous flow rate of gas supplied from the air supply hole of said air cooling unit is equal to the instantaneous flow rate of gas discharged from said exhaust hole of said air cooling unit.