JP5158893B2 - Optical fiber unit and optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber unit including a plurality of optical fiber ribbons and an optical fiber cable that accommodates the optical fiber unit.

In recent years, with the widespread use of the Internet, FTTH (Fiber To The Home) that realizes a high-speed communication service by drawing an optical fiber directly into a general home is rapidly expanding. In general, a plurality of optical fiber ribbons (hereinafter referred to as tape ribbons) are bundled and accommodated in an optical fiber cable used for FTTH. When an optical fiber is pulled down from this optical fiber cable to the FTTH user's home, it is necessary to branch the optical fiber cable in the middle to take out a desired tape core wire and to separate the single core wire from the tape core wire. .
In view of this, various types of tape core wires have been proposed in order to easily separate single cores and to reduce the diameter and density of optical fiber cables (for example, Patent Document 1).
In Patent Literature 1, adjacent optical fibers are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction, and are alternately arranged so that the connecting portions adjacent in the tape width direction do not overlap.
In this way, adjacent optical fibers are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction to form a tape core wire (hereinafter referred to as an intermittent tape core wire), so that the shape easily changes when a plurality of tape core wires are bundled. As a result, the diameter and density of the optical fiber cable can be reduced. Further, since there is a non-connected portion in the intermittent tape core wire, the single core can be separated relatively easily without a dedicated tool.

Japanese Patent No. 4143651

When storing such an intermittent tape core in a cable, conventionally, the tape core is stored in the cable as it is, or bundled using a thread-like bundle material or the like. Can be considered.
However, since the intermittent tape core can be flexibly changed in shape and the tape shape is not maintained, in the optical fiber unit in which the intermittent tape cores are bundled as they are, a unitized individual intermittent tape core is obtained. Is difficult to identify.
Further, in an optical fiber cable containing a plurality of such optical fiber units, it is not easy to identify the optical fiber unit.

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which can improve the workability | operativity of an intermediate | middle post branch of an optical fiber cable, without preventing the diameter reduction and density increase of the optical fiber cable which accommodated the optical fiber unit.

The invention described in claim 1 is made in order to achieve the above object, wherein a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in parallel, and adjacent optical fibers are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by an inter-fiber connecting portion. A plurality of subunits are arranged in parallel, and adjacent subunits are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by inter-subunit connecting portions, and adjacent to one subunit. In the optical fiber unit, the inter-subunit connecting portions that connect the two subunits are alternately provided so as not to overlap in the tape width direction .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical fiber unit according to the first aspect, the inter-subunit connecting portion in the adjacent subunit is one part of the inter-fiber connecting portion of one subunit or this subunit. One part of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber to be configured and one part of the inter-fiber connecting portion of the other subunit or one part of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber constituting the subunit are connected.

The invention according to claim 3 is the optical fiber unit according to claim 1 , wherein the subunit is configured such that the intermittent optical fiber ribbon is rounded and bundled by an annular bundle material,
The inter-subunit connection portion connects the annular bundle members provided in the adjacent subunits.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber cable in which the outer periphery of a cable core accommodating the optical fiber unit according to any one of the first to third aspects is covered with a jacket. .

  According to the optical fiber unit of the present invention, the individual intermittent tape cores constituting the subunit can be easily identified, so that the workability of the intermediate post branching of the optical fiber cable is remarkably improved. Further, since the shape of the optical fiber unit itself is likely to change, there is no possibility that the reduction in the diameter and density of the optical fiber cable will be hindered by accommodating the optical fiber unit.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the optical fiber unit which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the optical fiber unit which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the connection aspect of an intermittent type | mold tape core wire. It is a figure which shows an example of the optical fiber cable which accommodated the optical fiber unit. It is a figure which shows another example of an optical fiber unit. It is a figure which shows another example of an optical fiber unit.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an optical fiber unit according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical fiber unit 1 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of (for example, five) subunits 10, 20, 30,... In the longitudinal direction by inter-subunit connecting portions 61, 62,. It is configured to be intermittently connected. The individual subunits 10, 20, 30,... Are constituted by rolling the intermittent tape cores 11, 21, 31,... And bundling them with wide annular bundle members 12, 22, 32,.

Here, the intermittent tape cores 11, 21, 31,... Constituting the subunits 10, 20, 30,... Have the structure shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the intermittent tape core wire 11 constituting the subunit 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the intermittent-type tape core wire 11 includes eight optical fibers 111, 111... Arranged in parallel, and adjacent two optical fibers 111 are intermittent in the longitudinal direction by the inter-fiber connection portion 112. Connected. The inter-fiber connection portion 112 is formed by applying and curing a known adhesive resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin in a predetermined pattern.
Further, the inter-fiber coupling portions 112a (or 112c) and 112b formed in adjacent optical fiber pairs (for example, the first and second optical fiber 111 pairs and the second and third optical fiber 111 pairs) It is provided so as not to overlap in the tape width direction. In addition, the connection aspect of the intermittent type | mold tape core wire 11 is not restrict | limited to what is shown in FIG. 3, The intermittent type | mold tape core wire of various connection aspects is applicable.

The subunit 10 is configured by rounding the intermittent tape core wire 11 and disposing the annular bundle material 12 at a predetermined interval. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the intermittent tape core wire 11 and the annular bundle member 12 are bonded to each other at one place between the inter-fiber connection portions 112a formed so as to coincide with the tape width direction. That is, in the subunit 10, the intermittent tape core wire 11 can be flexibly changed in shape. The same applies to the subunits 20, 30,.
In addition, the space | interval of the annular bundle material 12,22,32 arrange | positioned for every subunit 10,20,30 may be the same, and may differ. For example, in the subunits 10, 20, and 30, the annular bundle members 12, 22, and 32 may be disposed at portions where the inter-fiber connection portions 112 b, 212 b, and 312 b are formed.

In the optical fiber unit 1, adjacent subunits 10 and 20 are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by inter-subunit connecting portions 61 provided at contact portions of the annular bundle members 12 and 22. Adjacent subunits 20 and 30 are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by inter-subunit connecting portions 62 provided at contact portions of the annular bundle members 22 and 32. The same applies to the inter-subunit connecting portions in other adjacent subunit pairs.
The inter-subunit connecting portions 61 and 62 are formed by applying and curing a known adhesive resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin in a predetermined pattern. At this time, the annular bundle members 12, 22, and 32 may be overlapped in the tape width direction. However, in order to change the shape of the optical fiber unit 1 flexibly, the inter-subunit connecting portions 61 and 62 have a tape width. It is desirable to provide it so as not to overlap in the direction. Moreover, it is not always necessary to provide the inter-subunit connecting portion at a portion where the annular bundle material is in contact with the adjacent subunit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an optical fiber cable that houses the optical fiber unit 1 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the optical fiber cable 100, a cable core is configured by five optical fiber units 1, 1, 1, 1, 1. In FIG. 4, five subunits 10 to 50 connected by a connecting line constitute one optical fiber unit 1.
The optical fiber cable 100 includes a spacer 104 having five storage grooves 105 along the longitudinal direction. The spacer 104 is made of, for example, polyethylene, and the optical fiber unit 1 is housed in each housing groove 105.
A presser winding tape 106 is vertically provided on the outer periphery of the spacer 104. The outside is covered with an outer sheath (sheath) 107 made of polyethylene or the like. At the center of the spacer 104, a tension member (strength member) 103 made of, for example, a steel wire, a steel stranded wire, or a glass reinforcing fiber is disposed.
The optical fiber cable 100 shown in FIG. 4 is an example of an optical fiber cable to which the present invention is applied, and can be an optical fiber cable having a cable structure that does not use a spacer.

As described above, in the optical fiber unit 1 of the present embodiment, the eight optical fibers 111, 111,... Are arranged in parallel, and the adjacent optical fibers 111 are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by the inter-fiber connecting portion 112. Are the sub-units 10, 20, 30....
.. Are arranged in parallel, and the adjacent subunits 10 and 20 are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by the inter-subunit connecting portion 61. Moreover, the adjacent subunits 20 and 30 are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by the inter-subunit connecting portion 62.

Thereby, the optical fiber unit 1 is taken out from the optical fiber cable 100, and the subunits 10, 20, 30,... Are arranged in order by grasping and spreading one end. Can be easily identified. Similarly, it is possible to easily identify the optical fibers 111, 111,... Constituting the respective intermittent tape cores 11, 21, 31,. Therefore, the workability at the time of intermediate and post branching of the optical fiber cable 100 can be remarkably improved.
Further, since the plurality of intermittent tape cores 11, 21, 31,... Are intermittently connected to constitute the optical fiber unit 1, the shape of the optical fiber unit 1 itself can be changed flexibly. Therefore, accommodating the optical fiber unit 1 does not prevent the optical fiber cable 100 from being reduced in diameter and density.

Further, in the optical fiber unit 1, the inter-subunit connecting portion 61 in the adjacent subunits 10 and 20 has one inter-fiber connecting portion 112 a of one subunit 10 and the inter-fiber connecting portion of the other subunit 20. One portion of 212a is connected via the annular bundle members 12 and 22. In addition, the inter-subunit connecting portion 62 in the adjacent subunits 20 and 30 includes one location between the inter-fiber connecting portions 212c of one subunit 20 and one location between the inter-fiber connecting portions 312c of the other subunit 30. Are connected via annular bundle members 22 and 32.
Thus, in the intermittent tape cores 11, 21, 31... Constituting the subunits 10, 20, 30..., The inter-subunit connection portions 61, 62. It is possible to prevent the characteristics of the intermittent tape core wire from losing its shape, which is prevented from being fixed, and the shape that is easily changed in shape. Therefore, the diameter and density of the optical fiber cable 100 can be reduced.

In the adjacent subunits (for example, subunits 10 and 20), the annular bundle material is bonded at one place on the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber (the portion where the inter-fiber connection portion is not formed), and the annular bundle materials are bonded to each other. Even when connected by the inter-unit connecting portion, the same effect as described above is exhibited.
Further, in one subunit (for example, subunit 10), the annular bundle material is bonded at one location of the inter-fiber connection portion of the optical fiber, and at one location on the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber in the other subunit (eg, subunit 20). In the case where the annular bundle materials are bonded together and the annular bundle materials are connected to each other by the inter-subunit connecting portion, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

As mentioned above, although the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
For example, in the above embodiment, the inter-subunit connecting portions 61 and 62 made of adhesive resin are provided and connected to the contact portion of the annular bundle members 12 and 22 and the contact portion of the annular bundle members 22 and 32, but FIG. As shown, the annular bundle members 12 and 22 or the annular bundle members 22 and 32 may be connected by tape-like members 71 and 72.

Further, as in the above-described embodiment, it is desirable to round the intermittent tape core wires 11, 21, 31 with the annular bundle members 12, 22, and 32 to form subunits, but the subunits may not be formed with the annular bundle members. . For example, the inter-fiber connecting portions of adjacent intermittent tape cores, the inter-fiber connecting portion of one intermittent tape core and the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber of the other intermittent tape core, or the adjacent intermittent tape core The outer peripheral surfaces of the optical fibers of the wires may be directly connected by an inter-subunit connecting portion (for example, a tape-like member).
That is, in the optical fiber unit in which the subunits are intermittently connected, the inter-subunit connecting portion in the adjacent subunit is one portion of the inter-fiber connecting portion of one subunit or the optical fiber constituting this subunit. It is only necessary to connect one part of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber to one part of the inter-fiber connecting portion of the other subunit or one part of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber constituting the subunit. Different connection modes may be mixed in the unit.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the optical fiber unit 1 shown in the above embodiment is rolled and bundled with an annular bundle material B as a subunit, the optical fiber unit 2 shown in FIG. An optical fiber unit (not shown) having the unit 2 as a subunit is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber unit 10,20,30,40,50 Subunit 11,21,31 Intermittent tape core wire 12,22,32 Annular bundle material 61,62 Intersubunit connection part 71,72 Tape-like member 100 Optical fiber Cable 103 Tension member 104 Spacer 105 Storage groove 106 Presser winding tape 107 Outer sheath (sheath)
111 Optical fiber 112 Inter-fiber connection

Claims (4)

  An optical fiber ribbon having a plurality of optical fibers arranged in parallel and an adjacent optical fiber intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by an inter-fiber connector is used as a subunit, and the subunits are connected in parallel. The adjacent subunits are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by the inter-subunit connecting portion, and each inter-unit connecting portion connecting one subunit and two adjacent subunits is arranged in the tape width direction. An optical fiber unit that is provided alternately so as not to overlap.   The inter-subunit connecting portion in the adjacent subunit includes one portion of the inter-fiber connecting portion of one subunit or one portion of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber constituting the one subunit and the fiber of the other subunit. 2. The optical fiber unit according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber unit is connected to one portion of the inter-connection portion or one portion of the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber constituting the other subunit. The subunit is constituted by the intermittent optical fiber tape core wire being rounded and bundled with an annular bundle material,
The inter-subunit linkage unit includes an optical fiber unit according to claim 1, characterized in that coupling the annular bundle material between which are provided in the subunit to the adjacent.   An optical fiber cable, wherein an outer periphery of a cable core housing the optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is covered with a jacket.

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