JP2024010846A - Optical fiber winder and torque control roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit the occurrence of slipping of an optical fiber on a surface of a roller rotatably driven at predetermined torque and suppress the disconnection of the optical fiber.

SOLUTION: An optical fiber winder comprises a take-up bobbin that winds an optical fiber and a roller that is rotatably driven at predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber being carried to the take-up bobbin. The roller has a body part and a contact part with which the optical fiber comes in contact. The contact part is formed of rubber and detachably attached to the body part.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present disclosure relates to an optical fiber winding device and a torque control roller.

Patent Document 1 discloses a screening device for checking the tensile strength of an optical fiber conveyed between a capstan wheel and a winder. By adjusting the tension applied to the optical fiber conveyed between the screening wheel and the tension help wheel, slippage of the optical fiber on the surfaces of the screening wheel and the tension help wheel is suppressed.

Patent Document 2 discloses rewinding of an optical fiber in which an optical fiber unwound from a supply bobbin is wound on a winding bobbin. After high tension is applied by the high tension applying means to the optical fiber conveyed between the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin, the high tension applied by the tension helper roller is relaxed.

Patent Document 3 discloses a screening device for checking the tensile strength of an optical fiber conveyed between a capstan wheel and a winder. The surface of the screening wheel that contacts the optical fibers is coated with rubber.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-318485 International Publication No. 2010/047294 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-142735

When the optical fiber slips on the surface of the screening roller or tension helper roller, the optical fiber runs unstable and may break.

An object of the present disclosure is to suppress the occurrence of slippage of an optical fiber on the surface of a roller rotationally driven with a predetermined torque, and to suppress the breakage of the optical fiber.

The optical fiber winding device of the present disclosure includes:
a winding bobbin for winding the optical fiber;
a roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber to be conveyed to the winding bobbin;
It is equipped with
The roller has a main body portion and a contact portion with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
The contact portion is made of rubber and is detachably attached to the main body portion.

The torque control roller of the present disclosure includes:
A torque control roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber conveyed from the supply section to the winding section,
It has a main body part and a contact part with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
The contact portion is made of rubber and is detachably attached to the main body portion.

According to the present disclosure, the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber on the surface of the roller rotationally driven with a predetermined torque is suppressed, and breakage of the optical fiber is suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an optical fiber winding device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the tension helper roller. FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing an example of the configuration of the tension helper roller.

[Description of embodiments of the present disclosure]
First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and explained.
The optical fiber winding device of the present disclosure includes:
(1) A winding bobbin for winding the optical fiber;
a roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber to be conveyed to the winding bobbin;
It is equipped with
The roller has a main body portion and a contact portion with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
The contact portion is made of rubber and is detachably attached to the main body portion.

According to the above configuration, since the contact portion of the roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque is formed of rubber, the frictional force between the roller surface and the optical fiber is improved, and the optical fiber is prevented from slipping on the roller surface. This can be prevented from occurring. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber from running unstable and being broken due to slipping of the optical fiber between the roller and the winding bobbin. Further, since the contact portion is removable from the main body, it can be easily replaced when the contact portion becomes worn.

(2) The rubber may be hydrogenated nitrile rubber. According to such a configuration, the frictional force between the surface of the roller and the optical fiber is further improved, and the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber on the surface of the roller can be further suppressed.

(3) The rubber may be ethylene propylene diene rubber. According to such a configuration, the frictional force between the surface of the roller and the optical fiber is further improved, and the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber on the surface of the roller can be further suppressed.

(4) comprising a screening roller for applying tension to the optical fiber;
The roller may be a tension helper roller disposed between the screening roller and the take-up bobbin to relieve tension applied by the screening roller.

According to the above configuration, since the contact portion of the tension helper roller is made of rubber, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber on the surface of the tension helper roller. Thereby, hunting can be suppressed from occurring, for example, in the dancer roller disposed between the tension helper roller and the take-up bobbin.

The torque control roller of the present disclosure includes:
(5) A torque control roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber conveyed from the supply section to the winding section,
It has a main body part and a contact part with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
The contact portion is made of rubber and is detachably attached to the main body portion.

According to the above configuration, since the contact portion of the torque control roller is formed of rubber, the frictional force between the surface of the roller and the optical fiber is improved, and the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber on the surface of the roller can be suppressed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber from running unstable and being broken while being conveyed from the torque control roller to the winding section. Furthermore, since the contact portion is removable from the main body, it can be easily replaced when the contact portion becomes worn.

[Details of embodiments of the present disclosure]
Specific examples of an optical fiber winding device and a torque control roller according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which an optical fiber winding device according to the present disclosure is applied to an optical fiber rewinding process. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the optical fiber rewinding device 10 includes a supply bobbin 11 and a winding device 20 having a winding bobbin 21. The rewinding device 10 is a device that winds the optical fiber 30 wound around the supply bobbin 11 onto the winding bobbin 21 . An example of the optical fiber 30 is an optical fiber in which a resin is coated around a glass fiber drawn by a drawing device, and a secondary coating or a colored layer is further applied as necessary. The supply bobbin 11 is an example of a supply section. The winding bobbin 21 is an example of a winding section.

The rewinding device 10 includes a supply bobbin 11, a plurality of guide rollers 12a and 12b, and a dancer roller 13. The optical fiber 30 let out from the supply bobbin 11 is sent to the dancer roller 13 by the guide roller 12a. The dancer roller 13 absorbs fluctuations in the transport speed and tension of the optical fiber 30. The optical fiber 30 is then conveyed to the winding device 20 by the guide roller 12b.

In addition to the winding bobbin 21, the winding device 20 includes a capstan roller 22, a capstan belt 23, a screening roller 24, a tension helper roller 25, a dancer roller 26, and a plurality of guide rollers 27a to 27j.

The capstan roller 22 is rotatably driven by a known drive mechanism (not shown) including a motor or the like. The capstan roller 22 rotates while holding the optical fiber 30 conveyed by the guide roller 12b between it and the capstan belt 23, and conveys the optical fiber 30 to the downstream side of the conveyance path. The torque applied to the capstan roller 22 is controlled by a drive mechanism so that the capstan roller 22 rotates with a predetermined torque.

Note that in the following description, the term "conveyance path" refers to all or part of the path along which the optical fiber 30 is conveyed from the supply bobbin 11 to the take-up bobbin 21 in FIG. Furthermore, the "downstream side of the transport route" refers to the "winding bobbin 21 side of the transport route".

The optical fiber 30 is conveyed from the capstan roller 22 to the screening roller 24 by guide rollers 27a and 27b. The screening roller 24 is used for screening to test that the optical fiber 30 does not break by applying a certain tension to the optical fiber 30 in order to ensure the tensile strength of the optical fiber 30. Specifically, the screening roller 24 applies tension necessary for screening to the optical fiber 30 conveyed from the capstan roller 22.
The screening roller 24 is rotatably driven with a predetermined torque by a known drive mechanism (not shown) including a motor or the like. Note that the predetermined torque is not limited to a constant torque, but may also include variable torque. That is, the torque applied to the screening roller 24 can be controlled to be constant or variable by the drive mechanism. Depending on the torque applied to the screening roller 24, a predetermined tension is applied to the optical fiber 30 conveyed between the capstan roller 22 and the screening roller 24. Note that a tension detector for detecting the tension of the optical fiber 30 may be installed between the capstan roller 22 and the screening roller 24.

Subsequently, the optical fiber 30 is conveyed from the screening roller 24 to the tension helper roller 25 by guide rollers 27c and 27d. The tension helper roller 25 relieves the tension of the optical fiber 30 conveyed from the screening roller 24.

The tension helper roller 25 is rotatably driven with a predetermined torque by a known drive mechanism (not shown) including a motor or the like. Note that the predetermined torque is not limited to a constant torque, but may also include variable torque. That is, the torque applied to the tension helper roller 25 can be controlled to be constant or variable by the drive mechanism. Depending on the torque applied to the tension helper roller 25, a predetermined tension is applied to the optical fiber 30 conveyed between the screening roller 24 and the tension helper roller 25.

In this example, two tension helper rollers 25a and 25b are arranged. Guide rollers 27e and 27f are arranged between the tension helper roller 25a and the tension helper roller 25b. The optical fiber 30 whose tension has been relaxed by the tension helper roller 25a is conveyed to the tension helper roller 25b by guide rollers 27e and 27f. Then, the optical fiber 30 whose tension has been further relaxed by the tension helper roller 25b is conveyed to the dancer roller 26 by the guide rollers 27g and 27h.

2 and 3 illustrate one configuration of the tension helper roller 25. FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tension helper roller 25 has a main body portion 251 and a contact portion 252. The main body portion 251 is configured to be rotatable by a drive mechanism. The main body portion 251 is made of metal, for example.

The main body portion 251 includes, for example, a rotating shaft 2511 and an annular member 2512. The rotating shaft 2511 is directly or indirectly connected to a drive mechanism, and is rotated by the drive mechanism. The annular member 2512 is connected to the rotating shaft 2511 and rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 2511.

In this example, the annular member 2512 has a first large diameter portion 2512A, a small diameter portion 2512B, and a second large diameter portion 2512C. The small diameter portion 2512B is located between the first large diameter portion 2512A and the second large diameter portion 2512C. The first large diameter portion 2512A and the second large diameter portion 2512C have approximately the same diameter, and the small diameter portion 2512B has a smaller diameter than the first large diameter portion 2512A and the second large diameter portion 2512C. have.

The contact portion 252 is a portion of the tension helper roller 25 around which the optical fiber 30 is wound, and is a portion that comes into contact with the optical fiber 30 . The contact portion 252 is, for example, an annular member having an annular groove 2521 on its outer peripheral surface. The optical fiber 30 is placed within the annular groove 2521 and is pulled due to friction with the contact portion 252 . The contact part 252 is attached to the main body part 251 and rotates integrally with the main body part 251. In this example, the contact portion 252 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 2512B of the main body portion 251.

The contact portion 252 is made of rubber. For example, the contact portion 252 is formed of hydrogenated nitrile rubber (H-NBR) or ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM).

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the contact portion 252 is detachably provided on the main body portion 251. In this example, the second large diameter portion 2512C is configured separately from the first large diameter portion 2512A and the small diameter portion 2512B. The contact portion 252 can be removed from the main body portion 251 by removing the second large diameter portion 2512C from the first large diameter portion 2512A and the small diameter portion 2512B.

That is, the first large diameter part 2512A, the small diameter part 2512B, the contact part 252, and the second large diameter part 2512C are connected to the rotating shaft 2511. They are attached in order of diameter portion 2512C. Further, the first large diameter portion 2512A, the small diameter portion 2512B, the contact portion 252, and the second large diameter portion 2512C are connected from the rotating shaft 2511 to the second large diameter portion 2512C, the contact portion 252, and the first large diameter portion 2512A. The small diameter portion 2512B can be removed in this order.

Note that the configuration of the tension helper roller 25 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Other shapes and configurations may be adopted as long as the contact portion 252 is placed in a position to contact the optical fiber 30 and is configured to be detachable from the main body portion 251.

Returning to FIG. 1, the optical fiber 30 conveyed from the tension helper roller 25b is sent to the dancer roller 26 by guide rollers 27g and 27h. The dancer roller 26 absorbs fluctuations in the transport speed and tension of the optical fiber 30. The optical fiber 30 is then conveyed to the winding bobbin 21 by a plurality of guide rollers 27i, 27j, and wound onto the winding bobbin 21.

In such a winding device 20 for the optical fiber 30, the optical fiber 30 tends to slip particularly on the surface of the tension helper roller 25. When the optical fiber 30 slips on the surface of the tension helper roller 25, the running of the optical fiber 30 becomes unstable, and, for example, hunting occurs on the dancer roller 26 disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance path. This may cause the optical fiber 30 to break. However, in the tension helper roller 25 according to the present embodiment, since the contact portion 252 is made of rubber, the occurrence of slippage of the optical fiber 30 on the surface of the tension helper roller 25 can be suppressed. Thereby, disconnection of the optical fiber 30 due to hunting of the dancer roller can be suppressed.

Further, since the contact portion 252 is removable from the main body portion 251, if the contact portion 252 is worn out due to friction with the optical fiber 30, the contact portion 252 can be removed from the main body portion 251 and replaced with a new contact portion 252. .

Further, when the contact portion 252 is formed of hydrogenated nitrile rubber or ethylene propylene diene rubber, the frictional force between the surface of the tension helper roller 25 and the optical fiber 30 is further improved, and the optical fiber on the surface of the tension helper roller 25 is The occurrence of slippage of 30 can be further suppressed.

(Example)
EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present disclosure is not limited in any way by the following Examples.

The slip resistance of the optical fiber against a roller driven and rotated with a predetermined torque was evaluated. Specifically, the roller has a diameter of 240 mm and a contact portion made of urethane, hydrogenated nitrile rubber (H-NBR), ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), or fluororubber (for example, Viton (registered trademark)). An optical fiber was wound around the V-groove of the roller, and the frictional force generated between each roller and the optical fiber was measured. The frictional force can be measured by attaching a 50g weight to one end of the optical fiber hung on the V-groove of the roller, attaching a spring gauge to the other end of the optical fiber, pulling the spring gauge, and displaying it on the spring gauge when the optical fiber moves. It was calculated by subtracting the weight of the weight from the calculated value. In terms of slip resistance, cases where the friction force was 40 g or more were judged as excellent (A), and cases where the friction force was less than 40 g were judged as good (B). The results are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, it was found that the contact parts made of H-NBR or EPDM had a greater frictional force and were more difficult to slip than the contact parts made of urethane or fluororubber.

Although the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the number, position, shape, etc. of the constituent members explained above are not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed to a suitable number, position, shape, etc. for implementing the present invention.

The rewinding device 10 and the winding device 20 for the optical fiber 30 are not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 . For example, the number and arrangement of guide rollers arranged in the rewinding device 10 and the winding device 20 or the number and arrangement of dancer rollers can be changed as appropriate. Further, the number of tension helper rollers 25 arranged in the winding device 20 is not limited to two either.

In the above embodiment, the tension helper roller 25, which is a torque control roller, is detachable from the main body 251 and has a contact portion 252 made of rubber. However, in addition to or in place of the tension helper roller 25, a screening roller 24 and a capstan roller 22, which are torque control rollers, are removable from the main body and made of rubber, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. may be configured to have a contact portion that is

In the embodiment described above, the winding device 20 for the optical fiber 30 is applied to the process of rewinding the optical fiber 30. However, the winding device 20 can be applied to the coloring process of the optical fiber 30 and the drawing process of the optical fiber 30. For example, when the winding device 20 is incorporated into a coloring device for the optical fiber 30, a colored layer is formed on the outer periphery of the optical fiber 30 fed out from a supply bobbin, and the optical fiber 30 on which the colored layer is formed is attached to the winding device. 20. Alternatively, when the winding device 20 is incorporated into an optical fiber drawing device, an optical fiber 30 with a coating resin formed on the outer periphery of the glass fiber is formed by a device from a drawing furnace to a resin curing device, and the optical fiber 30 is is wound up by the winding device 20.

10: Rewinding device 11: Supply bobbin 12a, 12b: Guide roller 13: Dancer roller 20: Winding device 21: Bobbin 22: Capstan roller 23: Capstan belt 24: Screening roller 25, 25a, 25b: Tension helper roller 26 : Dancer rollers 27a to 27j: Guide roller 30: Optical fiber 251: Main body part 2511: Rotating shaft 2512: Annular member 2512A: First large diameter part 2512B: Small diameter part 2512C: Second large diameter part 252: Contact part 2521: Annular groove

Claims (5)

a winding bobbin for winding the optical fiber;
a roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber to be conveyed to the winding bobbin;
It is equipped with
The roller has a main body portion and a contact portion with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
In the optical fiber winding device, the contact portion is formed of rubber and is detachably attached to the main body portion. The optical fiber winding device according to claim 1, wherein the rubber is hydrogenated nitrile rubber. The optical fiber winding device according to claim 1, wherein the rubber is ethylene propylene diene rubber. A screening roller is provided for applying tension to the optical fiber,
4. The roller is a tension helper roller disposed between the screening roller and the winding bobbin to relieve tension applied by the screening roller, any one of claims 1 to 3. The optical fiber winding device described in . A torque control roller that is rotationally driven with a predetermined torque and guides the optical fiber conveyed from the supply section to the winding section,
It has a main body part and a contact part with which the optical fiber comes into contact,
The contact portion is formed of rubber, and is a torque control roller that is detachably attached to the main body portion.

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