JP4370728B2 - Optical cable manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical cable in which a tape stack in which a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores are stacked is accommodated in an SZ slot in which SZ spiral grooves whose spiral directions are alternately reversed are provided on the surface of a cylindrical body. The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An optical cable in which a spiral groove is provided on the surface of a cylindrical member and an optical fiber is accommodated therein can protect the delicate optical fiber from various external stresses and can accommodate the optical fiber at a high density. Well known as a thing. A cylindrical member formed as a so-called SZ spiral groove in which the spiral direction of the spiral groove is alternately reversed in the longitudinal direction is also called an SZ slot, and an optical cable in which an optical fiber is accommodated in the SZ spiral groove using this member. This is useful because only a desired optical fiber can be easily taken out by simply removing the coating or the like provided on the SZ slot without cutting the optical cable at the intermediate portion of the optical cable.
[0003]
5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining an example of an optical cable using an SZ slot. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the SZ slot, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the optical cable, and FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of a tape stack. In FIG. 5, 21 is a tensile body, 22 is a plastic molded body, 22a is an SZ spiral groove, 23 is an SZ slot, 24 is an optical fiber, 25 is a batch coating, 26 is a tape-shaped optical fiber core, 27 is a tape stack, 28 is the upper winding, 29 is the coating, and P is the reversal period.
[0004]
The SZ slot 23 used for this optical cable is provided with a plastic molded body 22 made of polyethylene or the like around a tensile body 21 made of steel wire, steel stranded wire, FRP or the like. Are provided with SZ spiral grooves 22a whose spiral directions are alternately reversed in the longitudinal direction. Further, the SZ spiral groove 22a is often provided with a plurality of four to twelve grooves in parallel.
[0005]
Further, in FIG. 5, the cross section of the SZ spiral groove 22a is drawn as a rectangle, but the cross sectional shape is U-shaped, the cross sectional shape is trapezoidal, and the cross sectional shape of the groove is the reverse portion in the spiral direction and the other portion. There are various things such as different ones. In the SZ slot, the angle formed between the direction of the spiral groove and the axial direction, that is, the spiral angle, varies between + θ and −θ in the longitudinal direction, but here the spiral angle reaches 0 through + θ and reaches − An interval from θ to 0 is referred to as an inversion period P. Therefore, the interval between the positions where the spiral groove directions adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction are inverted is ½ of the inversion period P. In addition, the inversion period of the SZ spiral groove in the frequently used SZ slot is about 250 mm to 800 mm. Further, the angle in the circumferential direction in which the SZ spiral groove rotates around the axis until the spiral direction is reversed is referred to as an inversion angle. The spiral angle and the rate of change in the longitudinal direction at an arbitrary point of the spiral groove determine the spiral state, and are simply referred to as a spiral state in the present invention.
[0006]
The optical cable shown in FIG. 5B has a tape stack 27 accommodated in an SZ spiral groove 22a of an SZ slot 23, and an upper winding 28 and a coating 29 are provided thereon. The upper winding 28 is made of, for example, a nonwoven fabric, and the coating is made of, for example, a plastic such as polyethylene or a composite of plastic and metal. An example of the tape stack 27 is shown in FIG. A plurality of glass fibers or the like coated with a resin to form an optical fiber 24 are arranged side by side, and a collective coating 25 made of resin is applied so as to cover them to form a tape-shaped optical fiber core 26. A tape stack 27 is formed by stacking a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores 26 in parallel.
[0007]
The optical cable shown in FIG. 5B is usually manufactured through a gathering process. 6A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the assembly process according to the prior art, FIG. 6B is a transverse sectional view showing the groove fixed passage guide portion, and FIG. 6C is the stack forming member portion. FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional view showing a guide pipe portion. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 31 is a slot supply reel, 32 is a brake device, 33 is a groove fixed passage guide, 33a is a projection, 33b is a passage hole, 34 is a core wire supply reel, 35 is a stack forming member, 35a is a rectangular hole in cross section, and 6 is A molded member holding plate, 37 is a guide pipe, 37a is a circular hole in cross section, 8 is a guide pipe holding plate, 39 is a tape stack insertion position, 40 is a take-up device, and 41 is a take-up reel.
[0008]
In the assembly process shown in FIG. 6A, the operation of housing the tape stack 27 in the SZ spiral groove 22a of the SZ slot 23 is performed. The SZ slot 23 is fed out from the slot supply reel 31 and is linearly advanced while applying a back tension by the brake device 32. The tape stack 27 is inserted into the SZ spiral groove 22a, taken up by the take-up device 40, and wound. Take up the take-up reel 41. On the other hand, the tape-shaped optical fiber core 26 is fed out from a plurality of core wire supply reels 34, and a plurality of these are laminated to form a stack forming member 35 having a rectangular hole 35a shown in FIG. By passing it, the tape stack 27 is obtained. Then, the tape stack 27 is guided to the SZ spiral groove 22a through a guide pipe 37 having a circular hole 37a shown in FIG.
[0009]
In addition, a tape stack insertion position 39 is provided between the brake device 32 in which the SZ slot 23 advances linearly and the take-up device 40, and in the vicinity of the opposite side (upstream side) of the traveling direction of the SZ slot, The groove fixed passage guide 33 is arranged, the SZ slot 23 is passed through the passage hole 33b, and the circumferential position of the SZ spiral groove 22a is fixed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, a protrusion 33a is provided on the inner surface of the passage hole 33b through which the SZ slot of the groove fixed passage guide 33 fixed in position with respect to the ground, and the protrusion 33a is formed in the SZ spiral groove 22a. When the SZ slot 23 passes through the fixed groove passage guide 33, the groove position of the SZ slot 23 is regulated so that the position of the SZ spiral groove 22a is always a constant position in the circumferential direction. .
[0010]
Further, at the location of the brake device 32 and the take-up device 40, the SZ slot is passed through the SZ slot while preventing the SZ slot 23 from rotating around the traveling direction by, for example, winding the SZ slot around the wheel. Between the fixed passage guide 33 and between the groove fixed passage guide 33 and the take-off device 40, the SZ slot 23 is opposite in the opposite direction by an angle corresponding to the reversal angle of the SZ spiral groove 22a at the maximum around the axis. Repeatedly twisted. Further, the twist of the SZ slot at that time does not remain as a permanent distortion in the SZ slot, and between the brake device 32 and the groove fixed passage guide 33 and between the groove fixed passage guide 33 and the take-up device 40. The devices are arranged so that the interval is as large as possible, for example, several meters or more.
[0011]
Further, when passing through the fixed groove passage guide 33, the position of the SZ spiral groove 22a is forced to be a spatially constant position, so a tape stack insertion position 39 is determined in the vicinity thereof, and the guide is provided there. If the tape stack 27 is guided by the pipe 37, the tape stack 27 can always be guided and inserted into the SZ spiral groove 22a at a fixed position. Although not shown in the collective device shown in FIG. 6, an upper winding device is provided between the tape stack insertion position 39 and the take-up device 40, and the tape is placed on the SZ slot 23 in which the tape stack 27 is accommodated. Or the upper winding which consists of a thread | yarn etc. may be given.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, since the torsional stress remains as an internal stress in the tensile body located at the center of the SZ slot and it may vary in the longitudinal direction, when the SZ slot is extended, the SZ spiral groove is inverted in the longitudinal direction. The period may deviate from a constant value, and the rate of change of the spiral angle may deviate from the normal value. Further, the SZ spiral groove 22a of the SZ slot 23 is simultaneously formed by using a rotating die when the plastic molded body 22 is extruded around the tensile strength body 21, but due to manufacturing variations due to extrusion molding, The inversion period and spiral state of the SZ spiral groove 22a may vary in the longitudinal direction.
[0013]
Further, since the protrusion 33a is inserted and engaged with the SZ spiral groove 22a in the groove fixed passage guide 33, setting the same position as the tape stack insertion position 39 means that the depth of the SZ spiral groove is deep and the protrusion 33a is inserted. This is limited to the case where the tape stack 27 does not get in the way. In many cases, since the depth of the SZ spiral groove is not so deep, the fixed groove passage guide 33 is disposed at a position several mm to several cm away from the tape stack insertion position 39 on the upstream side.
[0014]
In this case, since there is a slight distance between the groove fixed passage guide 33 and the tape stack insertion position 39, the position of the SZ spiral groove is spatially constant when passing through the groove fixed passage guide 33. However, the position of the SZ spiral groove in the circumferential direction at the tape stack insertion position 39 is not spatially constant due to a slight change in the spiral angle, and the circumference is always changed according to the change in the spiral angle of the SZ spiral groove. There is a slight forward / reverse vibration in the direction. Therefore, the insertion direction of the tape stack 27 coming out from the guide pipe 37 always changes according to the change in the spiral angle. A part of the tip of the guide pipe may be inserted into the SZ spiral groove for use. In that case, the tip of the guide pipe is bent in the forward or reverse direction along the groove direction by changing the spiral angle. There is.
[0015]
In particular, if the production line speed at the time of assembly becomes faster, the change in the tape stack insertion direction also becomes faster, so that the tape stack insertion cannot follow it, and the tape stack is kept in the SZ spiral groove while keeping the stacked state of the tape stack stable. The stack cannot be accommodated, and there is a problem that the tape stack does not enter the groove and rides on the outer peripheral surface of the SZ slot, or the tape stack is twisted and inserted into the groove.
[0016]
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical cable that can eliminate the above-described problems caused by the prior art and can stably insert a tape stack into an SZ spiral groove.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The optical cable manufacturing method according to the present invention is a tape in which a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores are stacked in an SZ slot in which SZ spiral grooves whose spiral directions are alternately reversed are provided on the surface of a cylindrical body. In the method of manufacturing an optical cable containing a stack, the SZ spiral groove inversion period from the tape stack insertion position into which the tape stack is inserted into the groove of the traveling SZ slot toward the opposite side (upstream side) of the SZ slot traveling direction A control eye plate having a passage hole that matches the cross-sectional shape of the SZ slot is disposed at a position that is a distance that is an integral multiple of the distance, and the circumferential direction of the SZ slot that passes therethrough by the control eye plate is arranged. It controls the groove position.
[0018]
As a result, in the case of an SZ slot in which the inversion period of the SZ spiral groove is constant and stable in the longitudinal direction, the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is the same at the tape stack insertion position and the control eyeplate position. Therefore, if the groove position is fixed at the position of the control eyeplate, the same effect can be obtained as the groove position is fixed at the tape stack insertion position, and the circumferential groove position is not fixed at the tape stack insertion position. However, since the groove position automatically becomes a fixed position, the tape stack can be stably inserted into the groove only by guiding the tape stack to the groove position.
[0019]
At the same time, it rotates around the axis in accordance with the circumferential position of the SZ spiral groove of the passing SZ slot at an upstream position within a quarter of the SZ spiral groove reversal period from the tape stack insertion position. A free free eye plate is arranged, and an encoder or the like is coupled to the free eye plate to obtain rotation information of the free eye plate, and the control eye plate is rotated around the axis based on the rotation information. The position of the free eye plate can also be controlled to return to a predetermined position. In this way, even if the reversal period of the SZ spiral groove is an SZ slot having a variation in the longitudinal direction, information from the free eye plate is fed back to rotate the control eye plate around the axis. Since the operation can be performed so that the position of the free eye plate is stable and constant, the groove position at the insertion position of the tape stack can be brought close to the constant position, and the tape stack can be stably inserted into the groove. The reason why the interval between the free eye plate and the tape stack insertion position is within ¼ of the SZ spiral groove inversion period is to estimate the helical state at the tape stack insertion position from the helical state at the position of the free eye plate. Therefore, it is preferable that the free eye plate is closer to the insertion position.
[0020]
In addition, in accordance with the circumferential position of the SZ spiral groove of the passing SZ slot, the upstream side or the downstream side of the SZ spiral groove reversal period within a quarter of the SZ spiral groove reversal period is separated from the position of the control eyeplate. A rotatable free eye plate rotating around an axis is arranged, and an encoder or the like is coupled to the free eye plate to obtain information on the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove, and the tape-shaped optical fiber core is obtained based on the information. By reciprocating the stack forming member that turns the wire into the tape stack around its passing direction, the tape stack can be twisted around the direction of travel and inserted into the SZ spiral groove while applying the proper twist to the tape stack. In this case, the insertion of the tape stack can be further stabilized.
[0021]
In addition, a spiral angle detector is attached to the control eyeplate and inserted into the SZ spiral groove, and information on the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is obtained by the rotation angle, and based on the information, the tape stack is attached to the SZ slot. By controlling the direction of the guide pipe through which the tape stack is inserted in order to guide it to the tape stack insertion position, the direction of the guide pipe and the direction of the SZ spiral groove passing through the tape stack insertion position can be made closer. Effective in stabilizing the insertion.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical cable according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the assembly apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the rear stage free eyeplate portion. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 5 and 6 denote the same components.
[0023]
1 is a control eye plate, 1a is a protrusion, 1b is a passage hole, 3 is a drive motor, 6 is a molding member holding eye plate, 8 is a guide pipe holding eye plate, 10 is a rear free eye plate, and 10a is a passage hole. , 11 is an encoder, 12 is a control device, 16 is a slot supply unit, 17 is a take-up unit, and 18 is a core wire supply unit.
[0024]
In the collective device shown in FIG. 1A, the SZ slot 23 fed out from the slot supply reel 31 is linearly advanced while applying a back tension by the brake device 32, and taken up by the take-up device 40 and taken up by the take-up reel 41. Take up around. The slot supply reel 31 and the brake device 32 are combined to form the slot supply unit 16, and the take-up device 40 and the take-up reel 41 are combined to form the take-up unit 17. Further, at the place of the brake device 32 and the take-up device 40, the SZ slot is passed through while preventing the slot from rotating around the traveling direction by, for example, winding the SZ slot around the wheel. On the other hand, the tape-shaped optical fiber cores 26 are respectively fed out from a plurality of core wire supply reels 34 serving as the core wire supply unit 18, and a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber core wires are formed on a stack forming member 35 having a rectangular hole in cross section. 26 are laminated to form a tape stack 27, and the tape stack 27 is further passed through a guide pipe 37 having a circular hole in cross section, and is guided to a tape stack insertion position 39 of the SZ slot 23 which is proceeding in a straight line state.
[0025]
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B), a distance L that is an integral multiple of the SZ spiral groove inversion period P from the tape stack insertion position 39 to the side opposite to the traveling direction of the SZ slot 23 (upstream side). The control eye plate 1 is disposed at a distant position, and the SZ slot 23 is passed through the passage hole 1b. Further, one or more protrusions 1a are provided on the inner surface of the passage hole 1b of the control eye plate 1, and are inserted into and engaged with the SZ spiral groove 22a of the SZ slot 23 that passes therethrough. In addition, a drive motor 3 is connected to the control eye plate 1 so that the control eye plate 1 can be rotated around the axis by the drive motor 3 based on a command from the control device 12. Therefore, the control eye plate 1 functions as a fixed eye plate when the drive motor 3 is brought into the drive stop state. The control device 12 emits an output signal for controlling the motor 3.
[0026]
Further, since the distance L between the control eyeplate 1 and the tape stack insertion position 39 is an integral multiple of the SZ spiral groove inversion period, the SZ slot in which the inversion period of the SZ spiral groove 22a is uniform in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove 22a passing through the control eye plate 1 and the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove 22a passing through the tape stack insertion position 39 are the same. Therefore, if the control eye plate 1 is fixed and passed through the SZ slot 23, the same state as when the space position of the SZ spiral groove is not fixed at the tape stack insertion position 39 can be obtained. For this reason, the tape stack 27 guided to the tape stack insertion position 39 can be inserted into the SZ spiral groove 22a without specially fixing the position of the SZ spiral groove at the tape stack insertion position 39. In the prior art, the groove fixed passage guide is provided in the vicinity of the tape stack insertion position 39, but in the present invention, the installation is not necessary.
[0027]
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (C), the rear-stage free eye plate 10 is disposed at an upstream position at a distance within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period from the tape stack insertion position 39. Then, the tip portion of the guide pipe 37 is passed through the passage hole 10a and the SZ slot 23 is passed, and the rear free eye plate 10 is freely rotated around the axis in accordance with the circumferential position of the SZ spiral groove of the passing SZ slot. Let Since the guide pipe 37 is engaged with both the SZ spiral groove 22a of the SZ slot 23 and the unevenness of the inner wall surface of the passage hole 10a of the rear-stage free eye plate 10, the circumferential rotation of the SZ spiral groove 22a causes the rear-stage free eye plate 10 to rotate. Then, the rear-stage free eye plate 10 rotates in accordance with the rotation around the axis of the SZ spiral groove 22a. Further, the rotation information is detected by an encoder 11 coupled to the rear stage free eye plate 10, and the signal is sent to the control device 12.
[0028]
When the regularity of the reversal of the SZ spiral groove of the SZ slot varies in the longitudinal direction due to the twist around the axis inherent in the SZ slot, the SZ spiral groove 22a at the position of the control eyeplate 1 is changed. The spiral state and the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove 22a at the tape stack insertion position 39 may not be the same. In that case, since the rear-stage free eye plate 10 rotates in any direction around the axis from the normal position, rotation information of the rear-stage free eye plate 10 is obtained from the encoder 11 and is controlled via the control device 12. If the driving motor 3 of the plate 1 is driven to rotate the control eye plate 1 so that the position of the rear free eye plate 10 returns to the normal position, the reversal regularity of the SZ spiral groove 22a becomes the longitudinal direction. The tape stack 27 can be stably inserted even when the distance fluctuates. As described above, the control eyeplate may be used in a fixed state as one form of control. However, it is more common to give rotation based on the spiral state detection data of the rear free eyeglass. The explanation is based on the assumption that this is always done.
[0029]
2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the optical cable manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the assembly device, and FIG. A cross-sectional view of the plate portion, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the stack forming member holding plate portion.
As shown in these drawings, the front-stage free eye plate 4 is disposed at the upstream or downstream position at a distance within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period from the position of the control eye plate 1, The encoder 5 coupled to the free mesh plate 4 obtains rotation information of the pre-stage free mesh plate 4 and sends it to the control device 12, and the drive motor 7 coupled to the stack molding member 35 is driven on the basis of the information to form the stack. The member 35 is rotated forward and backward around the axis, and the tape stack 27 passing therethrough is twisted around its traveling direction. It should be noted that a protrusion 4a is provided on the inner surface of the passage hole 4b of the front-stage free eye plate 4, and the protrusion 4a is engaged with the SZ spiral groove 22a, so that the front-stage free eye is aligned with the circumferential groove position of the SZ spiral groove. The eye plate 4 is rotated around the axis. The reason why the distance between the front free eyeplate and the control eyeglass is within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period is that the spiral state at the position of the control free eyeplate is estimated from the spiral state at the position of the front free eyeplate Therefore, the pre-stage free eye plate is preferably closer to the control eye plate.
[0030]
Based on the information about the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove obtained by the front stage free eye plate 4, the stack forming member 35 is rotated forward and backward around the axis to give the tape stack 27 a twist corresponding to the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove. Therefore, it is possible to achieve proper and stable insertion of the tape stack at all positions in the longitudinal direction of the SZ spiral groove, and the transmission characteristics of the optical fiber are hardly deteriorated.
[0031]
3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining a rotation mechanism around the axis of the stack forming member 35, in which FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view. 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 denote the same components. 7a is a transmission gear, 13a is a holding ring, 13b is a transmission gear, and 13c is a planetary gear. The stack forming member 35 has a cross-sectional rectangular hole 35a through which a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores 26 are stacked and formed and passed through the tape stack 27. It is held rotatably.
[0032]
A planetary gear 13 c is fixed to the outside of the stack forming member 35, and the planetary gear 13 c is engaged with a transmission gear 13 b that rotates around the SZ slot 23. Further, the transmission gear 13b is rotatably held by a holding ring 13a and is engaged with a transmission gear 7a disposed outside the transmission gear 13b. Since the transmission gear 7a is rotationally driven by the drive motor 7, the driving force is transmitted in the order of the transmission gear 7a, the transmission gear 13b, and the planetary gear 13c, and the stack forming member 35 can be reciprocally rotated around the axis.
[0033]
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical cable according to the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the collective device, and FIG. A cross-sectional view of the eyeplate part, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the guide pipe holding eyeglass part.
In these drawings, 2 is a spiral angle detector and 14 is an encoder coupled thereto. As shown in FIG. 4, the spiral angle detector 2 is fixed to the passage hole portion of the control eyeplate 1, and is composed of a rod-shaped member that is inserted into the SZ spiral groove 22a and rotates in accordance with the change in the spiral direction. If the change state of the spiral angle is obtained by the encoder 14 coupled to the spiral angle detector 2, information regarding the spiral state of the passing SZ slot can be obtained. Then, the information of the encoder 14 is sent to the control device 12, the guide pipe holding eye plate 8 is rotated based on the signal from the control device 12, and the inclination direction of the guide pipe 37 is controlled. If the inclination direction of the guide pipe 37 is matched with the direction of the SZ spiral groove passing through the tape stack insertion position 39, the insertion of the tape stack 27 can be further stabilized.
[0034]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a drive motor 9 is coupled to a guide pipe holding plate 8 that holds the rear portion of the guide pipe 37, and the drive motor 9 is driven by a signal from the control device 12 to guide the guide. The guide pipe holding eye plate 8 holding the rear portion of the pipe 37 is rotated, and the rear portion of the guide pipe 37 is moved in the forward and reverse directions in the circumferential direction. At this time, since the front end portion of the guide pipe 37 is tiltably held by the rear-stage free eye plate 10, the guide pipe 37 can be simply rotated by rotating the guide pipe holding eye plate 8 that holds the rear portion of the guide pipe 37. You can change the tilt direction.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical cable in which a tape stack formed by stacking a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores in an SZ spiral groove of an SZ slot is accommodated. A control eyeplate having a through hole that matches the cross-sectional shape of the SZ slot at a position that is an integer multiple of the SZ spiral groove reversal period toward the side). Since the circumferential position of the SZ slot passing through the SZ slot is controlled, in the case of the SZ slot in which the inversion period of the SZ spiral groove is constant and stable in the longitudinal direction, the tape stack insertion position and the position of the control eyeplate are: The spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is the same. As a result, if the groove position is fixed at the control eyeplate, the groove position automatically becomes a fixed position without fixing the circumferential groove position at the tape stack insertion position, and the tape stack is positioned at the groove position. By simply guiding the tape stack, the tape stack can be stably inserted into the groove.
[0036]
In addition, a free eye plate rotatable around the axis is arranged at an upstream position at a distance within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period of the tape stack insertion position, and rotation information about the free eye plate is included. If the control eyeplate is rotated around the axis based on the control so that the position of the free eyeglass returns to a predetermined position, the periodic regularity of the SZ spiral groove is slightly increased in the longitudinal direction. Even in the case of SZ slots with variations, it is possible to feed back information from the free eye plate and rotate the control eye plate around the axis so that the position of the free eye plate is stable and constant. Therefore, since the groove position at the insertion position of the tape stack is kept at a fixed position, the tape stack can be stably inserted into the groove.
[0037]
In addition, a rotatable free eye plate that rotates about the axis is disposed at an upstream side or downstream side position at a distance within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period from the position of the control eye plate, Information on the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is obtained from the rotation of the free eyeplate, and the stack forming member that turns the tape-shaped optical fiber core into a tape stack is reciprocally rotated around its passing direction based on the information. If the tape stack is twisted around the direction of travel, it can be inserted into the groove while giving the tape stack an optimum twist according to the change in the spiral angle of the groove. It can be stabilized.
[0038]
Further, if a spiral angle detector is attached to the control eyeplate and the direction of the guide pipe guiding the tape stack is controlled based on the information on the spiral state obtained thereby, the direction of the guide pipe and the tape stack insertion position are controlled. Since the direction of the SZ spiral groove passing through can be matched, a further effect can be brought about in stabilizing the insertion of the tape stack.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining an optical cable manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing a main part of a collective device, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a control eye plate portion; (C) is a cross-sectional view of the rear stage free eye plate portion.
2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the optical cable manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the assembly device, and FIG. A cross-sectional view of the plate portion, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the stack forming member holding plate portion.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a rotation mechanism around an axis of a stack forming member, where FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view.
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the optical cable manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing the main part of the assembly device, and FIG. A cross-sectional view of the eyeplate part, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the guide pipe holding eyeglass part.
5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining an example of an optical cable using an SZ slot, where FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the SZ slot, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the optical cable, and FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of the tape stack. It is.
6A and 6B are explanatory views showing a main part of a gathering process according to the prior art, wherein FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view showing a groove fixing passage guide portion, and FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view showing a stack forming member portion; D) is a cross-sectional view showing a guide pipe portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Control eyeplate
1a: protrusion
1b: Passing hole
2: Spiral angle detector
3: Drive motor
4: First free eye plate
4a: protrusion
4b: Passing hole
5: Encoder
6: Stack molding member holding eye plate
6a: passage hole
7: Drive motor
7a: Transmission gear
8: Guide pipe retaining plate
8a: Passing hole
9: Drive motor
10: Second free eye plate
10a: passage hole
11: Encoder
12: Control device
13a: Retaining ring
13b: Transmission gear
13c: Planetary gear
14: Encoder
16: Slot supply unit
17: Pick-up part
18: Core wire supply unit
21: Strength body
22: Plastic molding
22a: SZ spiral groove
23: SZ slot
24: Optical fiber
25: Batch coating
26: Tape-shaped optical fiber core wire
27: Tape stack
28: Upper winding
29: Coating
31: Slot supply reel
32: Brake device
33: Groove fixed passage guide
33a: protrusion
33b: passage hole
34: Core wire supply reel
35: Stack molding member
35a: Rectangular hole in cross section
37: Guide pipe
37a: circular hole in cross section
39: Tape stack insertion position
40: take-up device
41: Take-up reel
P: Inversion period

Claims (6)

  In the method of manufacturing an optical cable in which a tape stack formed by stacking a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores is accommodated in the groove of the SZ slot in which the spiral direction is alternately reversed on the surface of the cylindrical body, From the tape stack insertion position where the tape stack is inserted into the groove of the traveling SZ slot, a distance that is an integral multiple of the SZ spiral groove inversion period is away from the tape stack moving direction (upstream side). , A control eye plate having a passage hole matching the cross-sectional shape of the SZ slot is disposed, and the circumferential position of the SZ slot passing therethrough is controlled by the control eye plate, and the tape stack is inserted. Rotation that rotates around the axis according to the circumferential position of the SZ spiral groove of the SZ slot that passes through to the upstream position at a distance within 1/4 of the SZ spiral groove reversal period from the position A control is performed so that the position of the free eye plate is returned to a predetermined position by arranging the existing free eye plate and rotating the control eye plate around the axis based on the rotation information of the free eye plate. A method for manufacturing an optical cable.   Information about the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is obtained from the rotation of the free eye plate, and the stack forming member for forming the tape-shaped optical fiber core into a tape stack based on the information is rotated forward and backward around the passing direction. The method of manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein the tape stack is twisted around the traveling direction.   A spiral angle detector attached to the control eyeplate is inserted into the SZ spiral groove, information on the spiral state of the SZ spiral groove is obtained from the rotation angle, and the tape stack is inserted into the SZ slot based on the information. 3. The method of manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 1, wherein a direction of a guide pipe through which the tape stack is inserted is controlled in order to guide the tape stack to a tape stack insertion position. A slot supply unit that supplies an SZ slot having an SZ spiral groove in which a spiral direction is alternately reversed on the surface of the cylindrical body and applies a back tension to the SZ slot; a take-up unit that applies a take-up force to the SZ slot; A core wire supply section for supplying a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber cores, and a stack forming member for stacking a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber core wires supplied from the core wire supply section in parallel to form a tape stack; A guide pipe that guides the formed tape stack to the tape stack insertion position of the SZ slot, and a distance that is an integral multiple of the SZ spiral groove inversion period from the tape stack insertion position to the opposite side (upstream side) of the traveling direction of the SZ slot. The control eye plate is provided at a distant position and has a passage hole that matches the cross-sectional shape of the passing SZ slot. The groove position in the circumferential direction of the SZ spiral is controlled, and the SZ spiral of the SZ slot that passes through to the upstream position that is separated from the tape stack insertion position within a quarter of the SZ spiral groove reversal period. A rotatable free eye plate that rotates around the axis in accordance with the circumferential position of the groove is arranged, and rotation information of the free eye plate is obtained from an encoder coupled to the free eye plate, and the information is passed through a control device. Then, the control eye plate is rotated around an axis so that the position of the free eye plate is returned to a predetermined position .   Rotation information of the free plate is obtained from an encoder coupled to the free plate, and the stack forming member that turns the tape-shaped optical fiber core into a tape stack via the control device based on the information is rotated around its passing direction. The apparatus for manufacturing an optical cable according to claim 4, wherein the optical cable is reversely rotated.   A spiral angle detector that detects the spiral angle of the SZ slot that passes through the control eyeplate is attached, information on the spiral state is obtained from an encoder coupled thereto, and the tape stack is connected via the control device based on the information. 6. The guide pipe holding plate that holds a guide pipe through which the tape stack is inserted is rotated in order to guide the tape stack to the tape stack insertion position of the SZ slot, and the direction of the guide pipe is changed. An optical cable manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

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