JP3852374B2 - Method for detecting slot shape of optical fiber spacer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical fiber spacer slot shape detection method for detecting the shape of an optical fiber storage slot formed on an outer peripheral surface of an optical fiber spacer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 4, the optical fiber spacer 101 has a tensile body 102 such as a steel stranded wire inside, and a plurality of slots (grooves) 103 for storing the optical fiber in a space-efficient manner on the outer surface. What you have above is used. The strength member 102 is for preventing an abnormal tension from being applied to the optical fiber accommodated in the slot 103. Such a spacer 101 is housed and used inside an optical cable. In the spacer 101 shown in FIG. 4, the slot 103 is formed as a so-called SZ groove, and the workability at the time of intermediate post-branching (optical fiber take-out property) is improved.
[0003]
The slot 103 has a spiral shape in addition to the SZ shape described above, but when manufacturing the spacer 101, the slot 103 is detected by detecting the shape of the slot 103 (inversion pitch and inversion angle in FIG. 5). At the same time, it is inspected for normal formation. A conventional apparatus configuration for detecting the shape of the slot 103 is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows the crosshead 104 and the subsequent sections that form a resin layer around the tensile strength member 102. The cross head 104 has a rotating die inside, and a spacer 101 is manufactured by forming a resin layer around the strength member 102 and forming a slot 103 by the rotating die.
[0004]
In FIG. 6, a cooling mechanism for the molded resin layer is not shown. Further, the resin layer may be a plurality of layers for the purpose of improving the bond with the strength member 102 (see FIG. 4), but the crosshead 104 shown in FIG. The outermost resin layer is formed. The shape of the slot 103 periodically changes along the central axis direction of the spacer 101 as shown in FIG. This change in shape is detected to check whether the slot 103 is normally formed. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, the drawing linear speed (length of the spacer 101) is measured by the measuring wheel 105. And the slot shape detection unit 106 detects the rotational position of the slot 103 around the central axis of the spacer 101 (that is, the rotation angle of the slot 103), thereby determining the shape of the slot 103. I was measuring.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, with this method, the spacer 101 must detect the shape of the slot 103 while it is being fed at a high production line speed. If the production line speed is too high, the resistance at the slot shape detection unit 106 increases and the spacer 101 is twisted, making it difficult to accurately measure the shape of the slot 103. On the other hand, if the linear velocity of the spacer 101 is reduced to a speed at which the shape of the slot 103 can be accurately measured, the manufacturing efficiency is lowered. Furthermore, since the winding diameter of the spacer 101 changes depending on the winding amount of the winder 107, the linear velocity always changes, and it is difficult to accurately detect the shape change of the slot 103 with respect to the length direction of the spacer. there were.
[0006]
Therefore, the accurate groove shape is measured by cutting off the start or end portion of the spacer 101 at the time of manufacture, and the relative change (compared to the accurately measured value) is performed in the measurement method described above while the spacer 101 is fed out at the time of manufacture. What happened). However, there has been a demand for a method capable of improving the conventional measurement method and measuring the slot shape of the spacer more accurately. In addition, it has been demanded that accurate measurement can be performed during manufacturing even in the middle of the spacer 101 to be manufactured, not at both ends.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting the slot shape of an optical fiber spacer, which can more accurately detect the formation status of the slot of the optical fiber spacer.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The method for detecting a slot shape of an optical fiber spacer according to claim 1, wherein the slot shape of the optical fiber spacer is detected when manufacturing an optical fiber spacer having a plurality of slots for storing optical fibers on the outer peripheral surface. A slot shape detection unit that detects the shape of a slot, a pinch capstan located near the slot shape detection unit, an accumulator that stores spacers, and a winder that winds the spacers. The slot shape is arranged on the spacer feeding path, and the slot shape detector detects the slot shape by controlling the spacer feeding speed with a pinch capstan while accumulating the spacer in the accumulator. It is characterized in that the slot shape is detected by setting the measurement mode.
[0009]
Regarding the arrangement position of the pinch capstan, the vicinity of the slot shape detecting unit means that the spacer fed out by the pinch capstan passes through the slot detecting unit at the feeding speed. The pinch capstan only needs to be positioned in the vicinity of the slot shape detection unit in the above-described sense, and may be arranged on the upstream side or the downstream side with respect to the slot shape detection unit. In addition, the pinch capstan need only be positioned in the vicinity of the slot shape detection unit in the above-described meaning, and other mechanisms (such as a measuring wheel) that do not affect the feeding speed of the spacer may be disposed between them. good.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber spacer slot shape detecting method according to the first aspect, the winding torque of the winder is controlled to be constant in the slot shape measurement mode.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method of detecting a slot shape of an optical fiber spacer according to the first or second aspect, the length measurement is performed by measuring a feeding speed or a feeding length of the spacer by rotating in contact with the spacer. A wheel is further arranged on the feeding path, and in a mode other than the slot shape measurement mode, the slot shape is detected by using the slot shape detection unit and the length measurement wheel without using the pinch capstan.
[0012]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for detecting a slot shape of an optical fiber spacer according to any one of the first to third aspects, the slot shape detection unit holds a plurality of pins inserted into each slot and each pin. Structure having an annular rotating part and a detecting part for detecting the rotation of the annular rotating part. The annular rotating part has a mechanism that can be divided into two parts, and a spacer is arranged inside by dividing into two parts. It is characterized by being said.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of an optical fiber spacer slot shape inspection method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a part of a manufacturing apparatus for performing the method of the present invention (part related to slot shape detection after manufacturing a spacer).
[0014]
The spacer 101 in which the shape of the slot is detected in this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. This apparatus pushes the resin around the strength member 102 in the crosshead 1 on the right side in FIG. 1 and simultaneously forms an SZ-shaped slot 103 on the outer surface of the resin portion. Since this manufacturing method itself is the same as the conventional spacer manufacturing method, a detailed description of this part is omitted. Hereinafter, the slot shape detection after the manufacturing will be described in detail. In addition, in FIG. 1, illustration of the cooling mechanism etc. of the spacer 101 after shaping | molding is also abbreviate | omitted.
[0015]
The spacer 101 in which the slot 103 is formed is wound around the outer periphery of the pair of capstan rollers 2a and 2b, and then sent to the pair of accumulating rollers 3a and 3b. The capstan rollers 2a and 2b are driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and are drawn out to the downstream side while pulling the spacer 101 from the upstream side. The distance between the pair of accumulating rollers 3a and 3b can be changed by a driving device (not shown), and the spacer 101 being fed can be accumulated (stored). The spacer 101 is accumulated (stored) by increasing the distance between the pair of accumulating rollers 3a and 3b. The accumulator 3 is configured by the accumulating rollers 3a and 3b and a driving device (not shown).
[0016]
During the accumulation, it is possible to temporarily stop the feeding of the spacer 101 from the accumulating rollers 3a and 3b to the downstream side or to reduce the feeding speed. For this reason, the linear velocity reduction in the slot shape measurement mode to be described later, drum replacement in the winder 11 to be described later can be performed. A pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b are disposed further downstream of the pair of accumulating rollers 3a and 3b. The spacers 101 are wound around the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b approximately one turn at a time. Each turn wheel 4a, 4b does not rotate by itself, but rotates as the spacer 101 is extended.
[0017]
A pair of pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b is first arranged on the upstream side between the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b. The pair of pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b are disposed to face each other and sandwich the spacer 101 therebetween. The pair of pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b can sandwich the spacer 101 by the air cylinder 5c or can release the spacer 101. Further, the pair of pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b is driven by a drive motor 5d, and when the spacer 101 is sandwiched, the spacer 101 can be fed out at a desired speed. A pinch capstan 5 is constituted by a pair of pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b, an air cylinder 5c, a drive motor 5d, and the like.
[0018]
The air cylinder 5 c and the drive motor 5 d are connected to a controller (programmable logic controller: PLC) 6, and the operation is controlled by the controller 6. On the downstream side of the pinch capstan 5, a length measuring wheel 7 that rotates in contact with the spacer 101 being fed is disposed. With the measuring wheel 7, the feeding length (linear speed) of the spacer 101 can be detected. The rotation of the measuring wheel 7 is detected by a rotary encoder 8. A pulse output from the rotary encoder 8 is input to the controller 6. The pulse output from the rotary encoder 8 may be applied to a frequency-voltage converter (hereinafter referred to as an F / V converter), and the feeding linear velocity may be input to the controller 6 as a voltage value.
[0019]
A slot shape detector 9 is disposed on the downstream side of the length measuring wheel 7 between the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b. The configuration of the slot shape detection unit 9 has substantially the same configuration as that of the conventional detection mechanism, and includes a plurality of pins inserted into each slot 103 of the spacer 101, an annular rotating unit that holds each pin, and this annular configuration. And a detection unit (rotary encoder 10) for detecting the rotation of the rotation unit. As such a detection mechanism, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-65558 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-72970 are generally known.
[0020]
A plurality of pins fixed to the annular rotating part is inserted into each slot of the spacer toward the center of the annular rotating part. When the spacer is extended, the annular rotating portion rotates by guiding the pin into the slot (if the slot is an SZ groove, the ring is alternately reversed). The shape of the slot can be detected by detecting the rotation of the annular rotating portion with the rotary encoder 10 which is a detecting portion. However, in the slot shape detection unit 9 of the present embodiment, the form of the annular rotation unit is different from the conventional one. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the annular rotating portion 9 a of the present embodiment has a mechanism that can be divided into two to facilitate setting of the spacer 101 to the slot shape detecting portion 9. Since the configuration other than the annular rotating portion 9a is the same as that of a conventional one, further detailed description is omitted.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2 (b) of Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-72970 described above, the pins (pins inserted into each slot of the spacer) in the conventional slot shape detection unit are set when the spacer is set. It was necessary to insert it into each slot one by one, and setting took time. The spacer 101 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 has only five slots 103. However, as the number of slots increases, the setting takes time. In this embodiment, in order to shorten the setting time, as shown in FIG. 2, the annular rotating portion 9a is a mechanism that can be divided into two. In this way, the annular rotating part 9a that can be divided into two parts is opened and the spacer 101 is arranged inside the annular rotating part 9a, so that the plurality of pins 9b fixed to the annular rotating part 9a can be accommodated in the slot 103 almost simultaneously. Can do.
[0022]
A pulse output from the rotary encoder 10 that detects the rotation of the annular rotating portion is input to the controller 6 (again, converted to a voltage value using an amplifier or an F / V converter and then input to the controller 6. May be). The linear velocity (length) of the spacer 101 may be obtained from the feeding linear velocity of the pinch capstan 5 or may be obtained from the length measuring wheel 7 (use of these will be described later). The controller 6 can calculate the reversal angle and formation pitch of the slot 103 by calculation from the linear velocity (length) and the rotation angle of the slot 103. A winder 11 that winds up the manufactured and inspected spacer 101 is disposed further downstream of the downstream turn wheel 4b. The winder 11 is connected to the controller 6. The winder 11 can set a mode for simply winding and a mode for winding with a constant winding torque.
[0023]
Next, a method for detecting the shape of the slot 103 using the apparatus configured as described above will be described.
[0024]
In the detection method of the present embodiment, a slot shape measurement mode for accurately detecting the shape of the slot 103 of the spacer 101 during the manufacturing of the spacer 101 is executed. While this mode is executed, each component of the above-described apparatus is in a state suitable for detecting the shape of the slot 103, and the shape of the slot 103 is directly set instead of relative detection as in the prior art. Can be detected accurately. That is, by executing the slot shape measurement mode, the shape of the slot 103 of the spacer 101 can be accurately extracted and inspected. On the other hand, when the slot shape measurement mode is not executed, it is possible to execute a detection method similar to the conventional one (see FIG. 6), and this embodiment also does so.
[0025]
The slot shape measurement mode will be described. In order to accurately form the shape of the slot 103, the feeding speed of the spacer 101 is temporarily made slower than the normal manufacturing linear speed (for example, 5 m / min or less) while this mode is executed. That is, the production linear velocity is set upstream of the capstan rollers 2a and 2b, and the detection linear velocity (<production linear velocity) is set downstream of the accumulator 3. The difference in linear velocity is absorbed by the accumulator function of the accumulator 3.
[0026]
Further, the winding torque of the winder 11 is controlled to be constant with the start of the slot shape measurement mode. Accordingly, the tension acting on the spacer 101 in the slot shape detection unit 9 becomes substantially constant, and more accurate detection can be performed. Next, the pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b are brought into contact with the spacer 101 by the air cylinder 5c, and the pinch capstan rollers 5a and 5b are driven by the drive motor 5d.
[0027]
During the slot shape measurement mode, the pinch capstan 5 is used to control the linear velocity of the spacer 101 in the slot shape detector 9 to be the above-described constant linear velocity for detection. The pinch capstan 5 is disposed in the vicinity of the slot shape detection unit 9, and the linear velocity at the slot shape detection unit 9 is accurately and constantly controlled by the pinch capstan 5. That is, during this mode, it is not necessary to detect the feeding linear speed of the spacer 101 by the length measuring wheel 7, and the linear speed of the spacer 101 is grasped by the controller 6 as the feeding linear speed by the pinch capstan 5. However, the length measuring wheel 7 may be used in combination.
[0028]
Then, under the state where the feeding linear velocity is made constant by the pinch capstan 5, the slot shape detection unit 9 detects the rotation angle of the slot. Schematic process of detecting the shape of the slot 103 from the feeding length of the spacer 101 obtained from the pinch capstan 5 (time integration of the feeding speed) and the rotation angle of the slot 103 detected by the slot shape detecting unit 9 FIG. 3 shows a graph. In the lower part of FIG. 3, the feeding length of the spacer 101 is shown. This is obtained by integrating the control linear velocity of the spacer 101 by the pinch capstan 5. In addition, the rotation angle of the slot 103 detected by the slot shape detection unit 9 is shown in the upper part of FIG. Although the inversion angle and pitch are shown in FIG. 3, the shape of the slot 103 can be detected directly and accurately by doing in this way.
[0029]
As described above, when the shape detection of the slot 103 is completed in the slot shape detection mode, the normal manufacturing state is restored. That is, the pinch capstan 5 is separated from the spacer 101, the torque control of the winder 11 is also released, and the winding speed is increased to wind the spacer 101 stored in the accumulator 3 during the slot shape detection mode. . After the end of the slot shape detection mode, the relative shape detection of the slot 103 is continuously performed using the length measuring wheel 7 as usual. That is, the shape of the slot 103 is detected by a relative evaluation such as “the reversal angle is small” or “the pitch is long” with respect to the absolute slot shape measured in the slot shape detection mode. .
[0030]
In the above-described embodiment, measurement is performed between the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b. Between the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b, the spacer 101 is not twisted (or hardly added), which is convenient for measuring the accurate formation pitch of the slot 103. For example, in the crosshead 1 in which the slot 103 is formed, there is a possibility that a twist is applied to the spacer 101 that is being fed as the slot 103 is formed. For this reason, if the shape of the slot 103 is detected in the vicinity thereof, the effect of the twist is exerted on the detection result even if it is slight. This is preferable because a measurement without the influence of twisting (less) can be performed between the pair of turn wheels 4a and 4b.
[0031]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the slot 103 detected in the above-described embodiment is a simple SZ groove, but other types of slots can be detected directly and accurately. For example, the shape of a slot that draws a locus in which an SZ-like locus is further superimposed on an SZ-like locus, or a slot that draws a locus in which an SZ-like locus is superimposed on a spiral locus is detected accurately. be able to.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the spacer is disposed on the feeding path of the fed-out spacer, and the feeding speed of the spacer is controlled to be constant by the pinch capstan while storing the spacer in the accumulator. By providing a slot shape measurement mode in which the shape of the slot is detected by the shape detector, the slot shape can be detected directly and accurately during this mode.
[0033]
According to the second aspect of the invention, in the slot shape measurement mode, the winding torque of the winder is controlled to be constant so that the tension applied to the spacer is stabilized and the slot shape is detected more accurately. can do.
[0034]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the length measuring wheel is further arranged on the feeding path, and the slot shape detecting unit and the length measuring wheel are used to detect the shape of the slot in a mode other than the slot shape measuring mode. The shape change in the slot shape measurement mode can be detected. By using it together with the detection in the slot shape measurement mode described above, the shape of the slot can be grasped more accurately over the entire length of the spacer.
[0035]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the annular rotating part has a mechanism that can be divided into two parts, and the spacer is arranged in the inside by being divided into two parts. The spacer can be easily set.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus that performs an embodiment of a detection method of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view (a spacer is a cross section) showing an annular rotating part in a slot shape detecting part of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the extended length of the spacer and the rotation angle of the slot.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a spacer.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view (outer surface development view) for explaining the inversion angle and pitch of the slot.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a conventional slot shape detection device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cross head, 2a, 2b ... Capstan roller, 3 ... Accumulator, 3a, 3b ... Accumulating roller, 4a, 4b ... Turn wheel, 5 ... Pinch capstan, 5a, 5b ... Pinch capstan roller, 5c ... Air cylinder, 5d ... drive motor, 6 ... controller, 7 ... measurement wheel, 8 ... rotary encoder, 9 ... slot shape detector, 9a ... annular rotating part, 9b ... pin, 10 ... rotary encoder, 11 ... winder , 101 ... spacers, 102 ... strength members, 103 ... slots.

Claims (4)

A slot shape detection method of an optical fiber spacer for detecting the shape of the slot when manufacturing an optical fiber spacer having a plurality of slots for storing optical fibers on an outer peripheral surface,
A slot shape detection unit for detecting the shape of the slot, a pinch capstan located in the vicinity of the slot shape detection unit, an accumulator for storing the spacer, and a winder for winding the spacer are fed out. Arranged on the feeding path of the spacer,
While accumulating the spacer in the accumulator, the pinch capstan controls the feeding speed of the spacer to be constant, and sets the slot shape measurement mode for detecting the shape of the slot by the slot shape detector. A slot shape detection method for an optical fiber spacer, characterized by detecting a slot shape. 2. The method of detecting a slot shape of an optical fiber spacer according to claim 1, wherein the winding torque of the winder is controlled to be constant during the slot shape measurement mode. A length measuring wheel for measuring a feeding speed or a feeding length of the spacer by rotating in contact with the spacer is further disposed on the feeding path, and the pinch capstan is set in a mode other than the slot shape measurement mode. 3. The slot shape detecting method for an optical fiber spacer according to claim 1, wherein the slot shape is detected by using the slot shape detecting unit and the length measuring wheel without using the slot shape detecting device. The slot shape detection unit includes a plurality of pins inserted into each slot, an annular rotation unit that holds each pin, and a detection unit that detects the rotation of the annular rotation unit. The optical fiber spacer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the optical fiber spacer has a mechanism that can be divided into two parts, and the spacer is arranged in the inside by being divided into two parts. Slot shape detection method.

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