JP4630210B2 - Optical fiber ribbon and its adhesion measurement method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to workability of an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fibers are integrated into a tape shape, and in particular, an optical fiber tape capable of easily taking out a colored optical fiber from an optical fiber tape. It is about the core.

  The general structure of the optical fiber ribbon is a structure in which the optical fibers are arranged in a horizontal row and integrated with a collective coating layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin on the outer periphery thereof. For example, an optical fiber core wire is made of a glass optical fiber having a diameter of 125 μm, and an optical fiber strand having an outer diameter of 250 μm is produced by applying a coating layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin, and the outer periphery of the optical fiber strand is identified. Is provided with a colored layer. Examples of the glass optical fiber constituting the optical fiber core include a single mode fiber, a multimode optical fiber, a dispersion shifted optical fiber, and the like, which are basically configured based on silica glass. An optical fiber cable is formed by collecting a number of optical fiber ribbons into a cable.

  In recent years, the demand for communication has increased rapidly due to the rapid spread of the Internet and the expansion of corporate networks. In particular, FTTH (Fiber To The Home) has been rapidly spread in order to develop a high-speed information communication environment for each home. I'm starting. In order to lay an optical fiber cable compatible with FTTH, work such as intermediate branching from a trunk line and wiring to a subscriber's house is required. In other words, it is necessary to take out the optical fiber ribbon in the optical fiber cable and to take out the optical fiber from the optical fiber ribbon, that is, to separate the single fiber in order to branch the optical fiber cable in the underground or aerial. It becomes.

In order to improve the workability of such an optical fiber ribbon, for example, in Patent Document 1, a pull-out force between the glass fiber and the protective coating layer is used in order to obtain excellent batch removal and single-core separation. 300 g or more and 1700 g or less, the adhesion between the protective coating layer and the collective coating layer is 0.4 g / cm or more and 10 g / cm or less, and the loss tangent of the collective coating layer at 70 to 110 ° C. is 0.05 or more. It has been proposed to do.
JP 2000-155248 A

  However, the adhesion force between the protective coating layer and the collective coating layer measured in Patent Document 1 is not measured with the optical fiber ribbon itself, but a sample sheet is prepared with a resin used for coating, and the sample sheet Therefore, the influence of irradiation conditions and the like when manufacturing the optical fiber ribbon is not reflected. Therefore, the condition of the adhesion force between the protective coating layer and the collective coating layer described in Patent Document 1 may be different from the desired adhesion force in the state of the optical fiber ribbon.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides an optical fiber ribbon that is excellent in single-core separation and excellent in workability that does not cause separation even when processing an optical fiber ribbon. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an optical fiber ribbon of the present invention includes a plurality of optical fibers having a coating layer made of resin arranged in parallel, and the plurality of optical fibers. Is formed by forming a UV curable resin as a batch coating layer, and the adhesive force between the batch coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber cord is 10 N / cm or more and 20 N / cm or less It is characterized by being.

  The method of manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon of the present invention includes arranging a plurality of optical fibers having a coating layer made of a resin in parallel, and collectively covering the plurality of optical fibers with an ultraviolet curable resin. An optical fiber ribbon is manufactured as a layer, and the adhesion force between the batch coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber is 10 N / cm or more and 20 N / cm or less. The degree of cure of at least one of the collective coating layer and the outermost layer is adjusted.

  Further, the method for measuring the adhesive force between the collective coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber cord of the present invention comprises arranging a plurality of optical fiber cords having a resin coating layer in parallel. An optical fiber ribbon in which an ultraviolet curable resin is formed as a batch coating layer around a plurality of optical fibers, and one of the optical fibers is in the state of the optical fiber ribbon. The adhesion force is calculated by dividing the force required for pulling out from the optical fiber ribbon by the length of the pulled-out portion.

  According to the optical fiber ribbon of the present invention, stable single-fiber separation of the optical fiber ribbon can be obtained, and the optical fiber ribbon and the collective coating layer can be used even when handling the optical fiber ribbon in work or the like. An optical fiber ribbon that does not peel off the interface can be obtained. This makes it possible to improve workability and work efficiency in branching or drawing in the optical fiber core wire.

  Further, according to the method for manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon of the present invention, a stable single-fiber separation property of the optical fiber ribbon can be obtained, and the optical fiber core can be used even when handling the optical fiber ribbon in work or the like. An optical fiber ribbon in which the interface between the wire and the cover layer is not peeled can be manufactured.

  Further, according to the method of measuring the adhesion force between the collective coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber cord of the present invention, the collective coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber cord It is possible to directly measure the single-fiber separation property and peelability of the optical fiber ribbon.

  The adhesion between the colored layer and the coating layer interface of the optical fiber ribbon is the material of the UV curable resin used for the colored layer, the degree of surface hardening of the colored layer, the material used for the coating layer, and the production of the optical fiber ribbon. It is affected by the irradiation conditions at the time. Therefore, even if the colored layers are made of the same material, the adhesion is affected by the difference in the degree of surface hardening. Moreover, even if the collective coating layer is made of the same material, the adhesion force with the colored layer as the base is affected by the irradiation conditions.

  The present invention relates to a value obtained by obtaining a force for pulling out the optical fiber core wire from the optical fiber tape core wire in a state of an optical fiber tape core wire containing the optical fiber core wire, and dividing the optical fiber core wire by an extraction length; The present inventors have found out that there is a correlation between the single fiber separation property of the tape core wire and the peelability of the interface between the optical fiber core wire and the batch coating layer when it is processed. Therefore, the value obtained by obtaining the pulling force of the optical fiber core wire from the optical fiber tape core wire and dividing by the drawing length is handled as the adhesion force between the optical fiber core wire and the optical fiber tape core wire interface. did.

  In addition, as a result of intensive studies on the single fiber separability of the optical fiber ribbon, the adhesion between the colored layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the tape layer is 10 N / cm or more and 20 N / cm or less. By doing so, it has been found that the single-fiber separation of the optical fiber ribbon is good and the peeling of the colored layer and the batch coating layer is also good.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. A coating layer composed of a primary layer 12 and a secondary layer 13 made of urethane acrylate UV curable resin was formed on a glass optical fiber 11 having a diameter of 125 μm to obtain an optical fiber. Furthermore, the material of the colored layer 14 was applied to the obtained optical fiber, and then the colored layer 14 was cured by irradiating with ultraviolet rays, so that an optical fiber core wire 15 having an outer diameter of 250 μm shown in FIG. 1 was produced. . At this time, when the colored layer 14 is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the optical fiber core wire in which the surface state of the colored layer 14 is changed by adjusting the power of the ultraviolet lamp, the linear velocity, and the oxygen concentration in the lamp. Eight types of 15 were produced.

  The eight optical fiber cores obtained were evaluated for adhesion, single-core separation characteristics, and peelability. The adhesion between the optical fiber core wire and the optical fiber tape core wire interface was measured by the following method.

(Measurement method of adhesion)
Using the optical fiber ribbon shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, peel off all the covering layers except the 10 mm portion in the 300 mm long optical fiber tape, Pull out and make a sample with the 3rd core wire protruding from one end. At this time, the length of the third core wire to be pulled out only needs to be long enough to chuck only the third core wire. The length of the collective coating layer to be left is appropriately selected depending on the level of adhesion. Specifically, it may be selected within a range in which the glass optical fiber is not broken when the third core wire is drawn, and in this embodiment, 5 mm to 15 mm was suitable.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the optical fiber tape core wire shown in FIG. 3 is chucked by bundling 1, 2, 4, and core wires to the upper chuck of the tensile tester, and the third core wire is attached to the lower chuck. Chuck. Then, the lower chuck is moved downward at a pulling speed of 10 mm / min, and the third core wire is pulled out. At this time, a value obtained by dividing the maximum value of the generated force by the drawing length was obtained as the adhesion force between the colored optical fiber core and the batch coating layer. In addition, this measurement was performed in normal temperature (23 degreeC) atmosphere.

  In the present embodiment, the third core wire is selected as the optical fiber to be pulled out, but any other core wire may be used, and the second core wire may be pulled out in a four-core tape. In the case of 8-core tape, it is sufficient to use the 2nd to 7th cores. However, it is easier to pull out the glass optical fiber if the pulling force is evenly applied to both ends (in the fiber alignment direction). Is preferably selected. Furthermore, although an optical fiber tape core having a length of 300 mm was used as a sample, the length of the sample can be appropriately adjusted by a chucking method or the like.

  The hard ultraviolet curable ink used as the colored layer 14 was an epoxy acrylate resin, and C-1, C-2, and C-3 were produced by adjusting the type and amount of the release agent. Furthermore, four colored optical fiber cores 15 of each type are prepared, arranged in parallel and covered with urethane acrylate UV curable resin at the same time, and the power and line speed of the UV lamp are changed in various ways. Eight types of optical fiber ribbons having a thickness of 0.32 mm and a width of 1.1 mm were obtained by changing the cured state of the coating layer 21.

  The adhesion strength refers to the type and amount of the release agent added to the colorant, and the irradiation conditions of the ultraviolet rays at the time of manufacturing the colored optical fiber core and the optical fiber tape core, that is, the ultraviolet intensity, the linear velocity, and the curing. It changes by changing the oxygen concentration at the time. For example, in order to increase the adhesion, the degree of cure of the colored layer 14 may be reduced or the degree of cure of the collective coating layer 21 may be increased.

  Table 1 compares the single-fiber separation performance of the optical fiber ribbons obtained. The evaluation of single core separation is that when the collective coating layer is removed at room temperature for the tip 50 mm of the tape core wire, the colored layer does not peel off or the residue of the collective coating layer does not remain on the surface of the colored layer The quality was judged on the basis of.

The evaluation of the peelability between the optical fiber core wire and the batch coating layer interface was performed by a 180 ° twist test. A schematic diagram of the 180 ° twist test system is shown in FIG. In the 180 ° twist test, the optical fiber tape core wire is gripped at both ends by the optical fiber tape core holder 51 and fixed at a constant distance between the marked lines, and then twisted in 180 ° increments within 2 seconds. In addition, after holding for 10 seconds, the twist is released within 2 seconds. And the distance which peeling generate | occur | produces was calculated | required, changing the distance between marked lines. The distance between the marked lines where peeling was observed at the interface between the optical fiber core and the optical fiber ribbon was determined as the peeling start point, and the quality of the peelability was determined at the peeling start point. If the peeling start point is 20 mm or less, it has been confirmed that there is no problem in the peelability in construction work when transporting the tape core or branching or drawing in the optical fiber core.

  As shown in Table 1, when the adhesive force between the optical fiber core and the batch coating layer interface is 10 N / cm or more and 20 N / cm or less, the single-core separation at the interface between the optical fiber core and the optical fiber tape core It can be seen that the peelability is good.

It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber core wire of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber tape core wire of this invention. It is a figure of the sample for contact | adhesion power measurement of an optical fiber tape core wire. It is the schematic of the contact | adhesion force measuring system of the optical fiber ribbon of this invention. It is the schematic of a 180 degree twist test system of an optical fiber ribbon.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Glass optical fiber 12 Primary layer 13 Secondary layer 14 Colored layer 15 Colored optical fiber core wire 21 Collective coating layer 22 Optical fiber tape core wire 31 Adhesion force measurement site 41 Load cell 42 Chuck 51 Optical fiber tape core wire holder
52 Distance between marked lines

Claims (4)

Production of an optical fiber ribbon in which a plurality of optical fiber cores having a coating layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin are arranged in parallel, and an ultraviolet curable resin is formed as a batch coating layer around the plurality of optical fiber core wires In the method
The plurality of optical fiber cores having the batch coating layer peeled off on both sides of a predetermined length of the one-layer coating layer are exposed, and a predetermined one other than the inner ends of the plurality of optical fiber core wires exposed on one side is removed by pulling the predetermined one of the plurality of optical fiber exposed on the other side while chucking the fiber,
Including the step of measuring the adhesive force between the batch coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber,
The adhesion force is the length of the portion where the force required to pull out the predetermined one of the plurality of optical fiber cores from the optical fiber tape core in the state of the optical fiber tape core is removed. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon, characterized by being calculated by dividing by. The outermost layer is made of an ultraviolet curable resin,
2. The optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1, wherein the degree of cure of at least one of the collective coating layer and the outermost layer is adjusted so that the adhesion is 10 N / cm or more and 20 N / cm or less. Manufacturing method. Further comprising the step of measuring the peelability between the coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber;
The peelability is determined by holding both ends of the optical fiber ribbon at a constant distance between the marked lines, applying a twist in 180 ° increments within 2 seconds, holding for 10 seconds, and then releasing the twist within 2 seconds. 3. The optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the evaluation is performed by confirming peeling between the collective coating layer of the optical fiber ribbon and the outermost layer of the optical fiber. Manufacturing method. The outermost layer is made of an ultraviolet curable resin,
4. The optical fiber tape according to claim 3, wherein the degree of cure of at least one of the collective coating layer and the outermost layer is adjusted so that the distance between the marked lines at which the peeling starts is 20 mm or less. Manufacturing method of the core wire.

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