JP3001096B2 - Method for manufacturing self-supporting optical cable - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a support type optical cable in which a tension member and an optical fiber unit for transmitting information are integrated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5A to 5C show the structure of a self-supporting optical cable, FIG. 5A is a side view of a part of the self-supporting optical cable, and FIG. It is C sectional drawing. Reference numeral 50 denotes the entire self-supporting optical cable, 51 denotes a tension member (hereinafter, referred to as a support line or a suspension line),
Reference numeral 2 denotes an optical fiber unit line in which a plurality of optical cable cores are arranged. As shown in FIG. 5B, the suspension wire 51 is made of a resin wire coated with, for example, a steel wire 51a having tensile strength.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a plurality of optical fibers or tape-shaped optical fibers, which are protected by a filler or a pressure-resistant shell, and the surface of which is covered with a sheath made of a resin such as polyethylene.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a connecting portion. The connecting portion 53 is provided at required intervals, and the optical fiber unit line 52 is fixed to and suspended from the support line 51, and is provided with some slack. Supported. As a method of manufacturing the self-supporting optical cable 50, for example, Japanese Patent Application No.
No. 29811, a molding method has been carried out.

In this molding method, a support wire 51 and an optical fiber unit wire 52 are positioned and arranged in a mold at a position to be a connecting portion 53, and the mold is formed into the same shape as the outside of the connecting portion 53. A resin such as, for example, polyethylene is injected into the mold. The support wire 51 and the optical fiber unit wire 5 are fixed by the resin.
2 is fixed, and the connecting portion 53 is formed as shown in FIG.

However, such a manufacturing method has a problem that the manufacturing time for forming the connecting portions 53, 53,... Is long, and efficient manufacturing cannot be performed. That is, as a manufacturing process of one connecting portion 53,
1. Positioning and mounting the tension member 51 and the optical cable 52 in the mold, 2. Injecting resin, 3. Molding with the mold, 4. Cooling, 5. Removing from the mold In particular, the steps of resin injection, molding, and cooling require several tens of seconds or more even for a small connecting portion. Further, since the connecting portion 53 is molded while supplying the supporting wire 51 and the optical fiber unit wire 52 to the mold for molding and while giving a slack to the optical fiber unit wire 52, there is a problem of space in the factory. Productivity was not good.

Therefore, the supporting wire and the optical fiber unit wire are simultaneously supplied to the extruder at a predetermined interval to cover the surfaces thereof with the resin, and a part of the resin coated with each other is continuously connected to the connecting portion. As shown in FIG. 5C, a supported optical fiber cable having a connection type support structure for integrating the support wire 61 and the optical fiber unit wire 62 is manufactured by extrusion molding as described above. There are known ways to do this.

[0007]

The optical cable having such a continuous support structure can be manufactured by extrusion while continuously drawing out the support wire 61 and the optical fiber unit wire 62, so that the efficiency is very high. In order to protect the optical fiber unit wire 62 which is vulnerable to the extension of the support wire 61 serving as the tensile strength line and the distortion, FIG.
As shown in (c), it is necessary to form a connecting portion 63 in which the optical fiber unit line 62 is connected to the supporting line 61 in a meandering manner, and there is a problem in how to configure this slack. .

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an optical fiber unit line and a tension member for supporting the optical fiber unit line are individually sent out and then integrated. The optical fiber unit wire is drawn out by a caterpillar at a speed higher than the pulling-out speed of the tension member, and the drawn-out optical fiber unit wire and the tension member are extruded. The shape of the self-supporting optical cable is formed by integrating with synthetic resin by molding, and the winding diameter of the optical fiber unit wire portion of the integrated supporting optical cable is larger than the diameter of winding the tension member. Single or multiple capstans It is obtained by the draw.

[0009]

The feed amount of the optical fiber unit wire is configured to be larger than the support wire supplied to the extrusion molding machine, and then the optical fiber unit wire is taken in after being integrated with a resin such as polyethylene. Winding is performed so as to be larger with respect to the support line, so that the speed is controlled before and after the extruder, so that the optical fiber unit wire is loosely connected to the support line.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The outline of the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In this figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a unit drum around which an optical fiber unit wire is wound, and reference numeral 20 denotes a support line drum around which a linear support wire made of steel or high-tension resin is wound. 11 is a first wheel in which belts 16a and 16b are suspended between large wheels 11a and 11b facing each other and 12a and 12b, respectively.
The belts 16a, 16b have small wheels 13a, 14a, 15a and 13b, 14b, respectively.
15b urges each other in a direction in which they come into pressure contact with each other.

Reference numeral 21 denotes large wheels 21a and 21b, large wheels 22a and 22b, and belts 26a and 26b, like the first caterpillar 11.
a, 26b in the direction in which the small wheels 23a, 24b are pressed against each other.
a, 25a and a second track driven by 23b, 24b, 25b. Reference numeral 30 denotes a driving means (belt) for connecting and driving the first caterpillar 11 and the second caterpillar 21 to each other, and all the wheels are driven by rotating one of the large wheels of the caterpillar. Are rotated at a predetermined speed.

Reference numeral 31 denotes the first and second caterpillars 11, 2
Optical fiber unit line 10A sent out by 1
And the support wire 20A is maintained at a predetermined interval, and the extruder 32
It is a relay drum to be supplied to. The extruder 32 includes a crosshead 32A for coating the resin melted and softened by heating around the support line 20A and the optical fiber unit line 10A. After passing through the crosshead 32A, the support line 20A and the optical fiber are connected. The unit wire 10A is formed integrally.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a capstan for pulling out the supporting optical cable integrally molded by the extruder 32 while cooling it to a certain extent. Reference numeral 34 denotes a cooling tank for cooling and hardening the supporting optical cable drawn by the capstan. After the temperature of the resin extruded by the tank 34 is lowered, the resin is wound up by the winding drum 35.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the capstan 33. As shown in FIG. The capstan 3 shown in FIG.
3 is provided with, for example, a take-up groove 33a in which the portion of the optical fiber unit wire 10A abuts and a take-up groove 33b in which the support wire portion abuts, for winding up the integrally molded support type optical cable. And this winding groove 3
When the feed speed of the first caterpillar 11 is set to v1, the winding diameter of the winding groove 33b is set to k · V1. When the feed speed V2 of the second caterpillar 12 is set, the same coefficient k is used so as to be k · V2 in proportion to the feed speed V2.

The capstan 33 shown in FIG. 2 (b) is formed such that the grooves 33a and 33b are omitted from the above-mentioned FIG. 2 (a) and the winding surface is a tapered surface 33c. Also in this case, the winding diameter at which the optical fiber unit wire portion abuts and the winding diameter at which the support wire portion abuts are designed to be kV1 to kV2 similarly to the case of (b). ing.

Further, the capstan 33 shown in FIG. 2C has an integrated support type optical cable having one groove 33d.
It is configured to sink into. Also in this case, the depth of the groove 33d is appropriately set, and the optical fiber unit line 1 is set.
The winding diameter of the bottom surface against which the 0A support wire 20A contacts is k ·
V2, and the winding diameter of the upper surface of the groove with which the optical fiber unit wire contacts is designed to be k · V1. It should be noted that the number of such capstans is not limited to one as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a partial cross-sectional view and front view of a crosshead 32A in which the optical fiber unit wire 10A and the support wire 20A are integrated by the extruder 32, and the optical fiber unit wire 10A passes through. The opening 32a and the opening 32b through which the support wire 20A passes are provided at a predetermined interval (this interval becomes a connecting portion). These opening holes 3
Outlets for extruding resin such as plastic are provided on the outer peripheral portions of 2a and 32b, and the extruded resin 32c is formed so as to become the sheath of the optical fiber unit wire 10A and the sheath of the support wire 20A as indicated by the dotted area. An opening is provided so that a part of the resin 32d to which a part of the sheath portion communicates forms a connecting portion.

FIG. 4 shows a self-supporting optical cable (10) in which three capstans 40A, 40B, and 40C are arranged stepwise in place of the capstan 32.
A, 20A) is drawn in via each capstan. Also in this case, the optical fiber unit wire 10A is approximately 0.3 to 0.5 with respect to the support wire 20A.
The diameter of the drum and the groove are designed so that it can be wound up more by a percentage. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the capstan has a plurality of grooves 41a, 41b having different winding diameters arranged as shown in FIG.
(Grooves 42a, 42b), (43a, 43b), (44
a, 44b), and multiple winding diameters may be provided on one capstan.

The method for manufacturing a self-supporting optical cable according to the present invention is manufactured as follows using the above-described apparatus. The optical fiber unit wire 10A and the support wire 2 conveyed by the unit drum 10 and the support wire drum 20
OA is pressure-bonded by a belt to the first caterpillar 11 and the second caterpillar 21, respectively, and is drawn out at a predetermined speed, for example, V1 and V2. When directed against this speed V1 and V2, for example the support line is 100, for example, those for fiber optic units lines are adjusted so that the 0.2 to 0.5% more speed.

Then, at this pull-out speed, the relay drum 3
Extruder 3 to which molten resin is supplied via 1
2 and are interconnected by being integrally molded. The cross-section of the crosshead 32A provided on the outlet side as described above has an opening 32 through which the support 20A line passes, as shown in FIG.
b and the opening 32 through which the optical fiber unit wire 10A passes
a is provided, and the opening holes 32a. A passage through which the resin flows is formed such that the molten resin is extruded by a predetermined amount from the peripheral portion of 32b. The extruded resin is the supporting wire 20A and the optical fiber unit wire 10A.
The sheath of the support wire and the sheath of the optical fiber unit wire are formed by covering the surface of the optical fiber unit.

The self-supporting optical cable integrated as described above is wound by the capstan 33 before the coated resin material is cured. At this time are integrated into the support line of the support type optical cable fits into a groove winding diameter as shown in FIG. 2 described above is a K · V2, fiber optic unit line its winding diameter K · It is fitted and wound into the groove designated as V1 . Therefore, the extra length of the optical fiber unit wire 10A sent out more than the sending amount of the support wire 20A by the first caterpillar 11 is absorbed by the winding of the capstan 33, and the winding shortage does not occur. .

By the way, looking at the entire manufacturing apparatus, the line length during the supply from the relay cable 31 to the extruder 32 and the winding by the capstan 33 is clearly longer for the optical fiber unit line 10A. Therefore,
When these are integrated, the optical fiber unit wire 10A
Is connected to the supporting line 20A in a longer state, and the optical fiber unit line 10A is integrated with the supporting line 20A in a loosened form via the connecting portion as shown in FIG. 5C. Will be

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing a supported optical cable of the present invention, since the optical fiber unit wire 10A is integrated with the support wire 20A in a longer state, the tension is applied when the support wire 20A is laid. When I received and extended,
Even when stress is applied by wind or the like after laying, since the optical fiber unit wires 10A are joined via the connecting portions in a loose state, these tensions and stresses are easily absorbed by deformation of the connecting portions. In addition, the problem that the transmission loss of the optical fiber is deteriorated can be solved.

It should be noted that the length of the integrated support type optical cable is 400 mm to 500 mm at a predetermined interval.
mm slits are provided at intervals of 40 to 60 mm to improve the flexibility of the connection part, reduce the wind pressure, and furthermore, unbalance the length of the support wire and the optical fiber unit wire per unit length. Is preferably absorbed. Such a slit or an opening can be achieved by providing a cutting tool or a pin that periodically blocks a portion where the resin 32d constituting the connecting portion is extruded in the crosshead 32A of the extruder. .

[0025]

As described above, in the method of manufacturing a self-supporting optical fiber cable according to the present invention, in the step of integrating the tension members supporting the optical fiber unit wires, the supply amount is larger than the supply amount of the tension members. And the optical fiber unit wire is applied, and after the integral molding, the extra length of the optical fiber unit wire is wound by using a capstan having a larger winding amount than the support wire. Before and after the extruder, strictly control the length of the integrated support line and the optical fiber unit, and after integration, the optical fiber unit line is connected to the support line in a uniformly loosened form It is possible to continuously manufacture self-supporting optical cables that can cope with the extension and stress applied on There is an effect that it is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a manufacturing process of an optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a capstan in a manufacturing process of an optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a portion where an optical fiber unit wire and a tension member are integrated with a resin.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a capstan arrangement and a winding groove.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a connecting portion of a conventional self-supporting optical cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10A Optical fiber unit line 20A Support line 11 First caterpillar 12 Second caterpillar 31 Relay drum 32 Extruder 33 Capstan

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takahiro Kuwashima 1-2-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside the Nippon Ocean Undersea Cable Corporation (72) Inventor Kazumasa Nemoto 1-2-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Ocean Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koichi Takahashi 1-2-1, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Oceanic Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-9-197223 (JP, A JP-A-11-23927 (JP, A) JP-A-11-119069 (JP, A) JP-A-11-101930 (JP, A) JP-A-7-301737 (JP, A) 340632 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/44 H01B 13/22

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing an optical cable in which an optical fiber unit line and a tension member supporting the optical fiber unit line are individually sent out and then integrated to form a support type optical cable. The tension member is pulled out at a speed V1 by the caterpillar, and the tension member is pulled out by the second caterpillar at a speed V smaller than the speed V1.
2, the optical fiber unit wire and the tension member drawn out are integrated with a synthetic resin by extrusion molding to form a shape of a support type optical cable, and winding of the tension member portion of the integrated support type optical cable is performed. A method for manufacturing a self-supporting optical cable, wherein the optical fiber cable is drawn out by a capstan having a winding diameter of k · V2 and a winding diameter of an optical fiber unit wire of k · V1 (k is a constant). 2. The speed V2: V1 is 1: 1.002.
The method for manufacturing a self-supporting optical cable according to claim 1, wherein the value is set to 1.005.