JP5579801B2 - Optical cable connection closure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical cable connection closure used when a drop optical cable is pulled down from an optical cable to a house.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the configuration of the overhead light facility is from a feeder line 15 (closure 31), which is a lifting point from the basement (manhole), to a withdrawal point 16 (withdrawal closure 32) for withdrawal to the user's house. It consists of a wiring section 17 and a withdrawal section 18 from the withdrawal point 16 to the user's house.

  Since the optical cable in the wiring section 17 is dropped or branched, it is necessary to attach a closure, and a relatively thick and heavy support line is used to withstand the weight of the closure. The conventional closure is disclosed by patent document 1, for example.

  On the other hand, the drop optical cable used for the drop section 18 is for drawing the optical cable into the user's house, and since there is no need to attach a closure because a connection such as a branch is not necessary, the drop optical cable supports a conventional closure. Thin, light support lines that cannot be used are used.

  Incidentally, one type of drop optical cable is one having a plurality of optical fiber core wires in the optical cable. This drop optical cable is generally called a multi-fiber drop optical cable, and is used when a single optical fiber is insufficient for drawing into an apartment or commercial building. Since this multi-core drop optical cable has a plurality of optical fiber core wires, in recent years, it has been studied to use it as an optical cable in a wiring section.

  However, it is inevitable that a closure is attached to the optical cable in the wiring section in order to pull down the optical fiber core wire to the house as an interface with the withdrawal section. Since the multi-fiber drop optical cable is originally supposed to be applied in the withdrawal section, the support wire does not have the strength to support the weight of the closure. Therefore, in order to make it possible to use a multi-fiber drop optical cable as an optical cable in a wiring section, it is necessary to reduce the size of the closure and reduce the weight so that the support line does not break.

JP 2008-065037 A

However, when the size of the closure is reduced, the internal empty space that can be secured in the conventional closure is lost, so that the workability of taking out the optical fiber core becomes worse.
Also, it is necessary to secure an extra length so that the optical fiber core wire can be connected multiple times. When the optical fiber core wire is stored, the optical fiber core wire is bent or the bending radius is reduced. In order to prevent damage, a space with a sufficient margin is required, such as storing with a certain radius of curvature of the extra length of the optical fiber core, but if the closure is downsized, the extra length will be secured. It is difficult to secure a space with a margin to do so.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the weight and size so that the multi-fiber drop optical cable can be installed even when used in a wiring section. Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure for connecting an optical cable that can ensure the workability of taking out an optical fiber core wire.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical cable connection closure according to the present invention has a longitudinal shape, a frame having side walls along the longitudinal direction at ends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and both ends in the longitudinal direction of the frame. An end face plate disposed on the end face plate, and an optical cable is divided and inserted into a support line and an element on the end face plate, and the element is divided into a tension member and an optical fiber core wire on the frame. A stored optical cable connection closure,
The side wall has a first cut portion for guiding the tension member from the inside to the outside of the side wall by passing the divided tension member, and the tension member led to the outside to pass the tension member to the side wall. A second notch for guiding from the outside to the inside ,
The element is inserted from a position different from the side wall of said frame, said optical fiber is straight accommodated, characterized in Rukoto.

Further, the optical cable connection closure of the present invention comprises a connection member for drawing or branching the optical cable on the surface of the frame opposite to the side accommodating the optical fiber core wire, and the position of the connection member Is preferably adjustable at least in the longitudinal direction .

  Moreover, it is preferable that the support line of the said optical cable is fixed to the said end surface board so that it may pass on the side wall of the said frame.

  The closure for connecting an optical cable of the present invention can be reduced in weight and size so that it can be installed even when a multi-fiber drop optical cable is used in a wiring section, and the workability of taking out an optical fiber core can be improved. Can be secured.

It is a conceptual diagram of the cross section of a multi-core drop optical cable. It is a figure which shows the state which isolate | separated the support line, the tension member, and the some optical fiber core wire. It is a side view showing an example of the structure of the closure for optical cable connection concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic seen from the upper surface of the flame | frame. It is a perspective view of a frame. It is the schematic of a connection member. It is a figure which shows the connection state of a connection member and a flame | frame. It is a perspective view of the closure for the conventional optical cable connection. It is a figure which shows the management part of the optical fiber core wire in the tray upper surface of the closure for the conventional optical cable connection. It is a perspective view of the closure for optical cable connection of this invention. It is a figure which shows the accommodation form of the optical fiber core wire in the flame | frame upper surface of the closure for optical cable connection of this invention. It is a figure which shows the correlation of the fixed width | variety of an optical fiber core wire, and the deflection amount. It is the schematic seen from the upper surface of the flame | frame when it arrange | positions a support line on the centerline of the longitudinal direction of a flame | frame. It is the schematic seen from the upper surface of the flame | frame when distribute | arranging a support line on the side wall of a flame | frame. It is a conceptual diagram of the structure of the aerial optical equipment including the branch point and connection point where the closure for optical cable connection of this invention is used. It is a conceptual diagram at the time of implementing lower extension by the closure for optical cable connection of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of a structure of an aerial light installation.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, before describing an optical cable connection closure (hereinafter referred to as a closure) of the present invention, a multi-fiber drop optical cable to which a closure is attached will be described.

  FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram of a cross section of a multi-core drop optical cable. The multi-fiber drop optical cable includes a support wire 1 and an element 2, and the element 2 includes a tension member 2a and a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2b in an outer jacket. FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a state where the support wire 1, the tension member 2a, and the plurality of optical fiber core wires 2b are separated. When housing a multi-fiber drop optical cable in a closure, as shown in FIG. 1B, the support wire 1 and the element 2 are separated so that the support wire 1 does not get in the way when handling a plurality of optical fiber wires 2b. Thus, the element 2 is separated into the tension member 2a and the optical fiber core wire 2b and accommodated in the closure.

  FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of the structure of the closure according to the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the closure is installed on a multi-core drop optical cable and the sleeve 6 of the closure is opened 180 degrees. FIG. 3 is a schematic view seen from the upper surface of a frame provided in the closure body.

  A closure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sleeve 6 configured to be freely opened and closed by a hinge portion (not shown), and an end face seal 11 (end face plate) for inserting a multi-core drop optical cable at both ends. And a longitudinal frame 3 for separating and housing the tension member 2a and the optical fiber core wire 2b.

The multi-fiber drop optical cable is separated into a support line 1 and an element 2, the support line 1 is fixed to the support line holding part 4, and the element 2 is fixed to the element holding part 5. When the element 2 is fixed to the element gripping portion 5, the element 2 is divided into two tension members 2a in advance by the length of the stripping length 10 shown in FIG. 3 to expose a plurality of optical fiber core wires 2b. . The plurality of optical fiber core wires 2 b are wired on the upper surface side of the frame 3. The support wire gripping portion 4 and the element gripping portion 5 may be structured so as to be integrated with the end face seal 11 and the support wire 1 and the element 2 may be gripped by the end face seal 11. When the drop optical cable 12 is pulled down to the user's home, one of the exposed (exposed) optical fiber core wires 2b passes through the opening 13 and is connected to the drop optical cable 12 at the connection member 7 on the lower surface of the frame 3. Connect to.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the frame 3. The frame 3 is provided with side walls 27 along the longitudinal direction at both ends along the longitudinal direction of the frame 3, and the tension member 2 a is passed through the side wall 27 by passing the tension member 2 a divided into two. A notch 9 (first notch) for guiding the side wall 27 from the inside to the outside and a notch part for guiding the tension member 2a from the outside to the inside of the side wall 27 through the tension member 2a led to the outside. 9 (second notch) is provided.

  In order to improve the workability of the operation of taking out the optical fiber core 2b, it is necessary to ensure a certain degree of deflection of the optical fiber core 2b in the closure. As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 3 allows the tension member 2 a to pass through a plurality of notches 9 provided on the side wall 27 of the frame 3 constituting the closure, that is, by reciprocating the inside and outside of the side wall 27. It is structured to pass through. As a result, it becomes possible to fix the multi-core drop optical cable to the frame 3 using the rigidity of the tension member 2a, and to provide a deflection in the optical fiber core wire 2b having the same length as the tension member 2a. The optical fiber core wire 2b can be stored away from the frame 3. By fixing the tension member 2a in this way, the optical fiber core wire 2b can be stored away from the frame 3, so that an optical fiber such as an operation of picking out an arbitrary optical fiber core wire 2b on the frame 3 is used. Handling of the core 2b is facilitated.

  In addition, by providing a plurality of notches 9 on the side wall 27 of the frame 3, the tension member 2a can be selected and fixed by passing through any notch 9, and By increasing the number of times of reciprocating the outside, it is possible to quantitatively and flexibly increase the amount of deflection when fixing the optical fiber core wire 2b.

  FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the connection member 7 attached to the lower surface of the frame 3. As shown in FIG. 5A, the connection member 7 includes a hook 14. The connecting member 7 is fixed by engaging the hook 14 with a recess provided on the lower surface of the frame 3. Furthermore, as an application example, as shown in FIG. 5B, a fixing member 23 may be added between the connection member 7 and the frame 3 so that the fixing position of the connection member 7 can be finely adjusted. In this case, a recess 24 for locking the hook 14 is provided on one surface of the fixing member 23, a protrusion 25 is provided on the other surface of the fixing member 23, and a protrusion is provided on the frame 3. A recess 8 that fits with the portion 24 is provided. The connecting member 7 can finely adjust the fixing position by adjusting the fitting position of the protrusion 25.

  Note that a protrusion may be provided on the frame 3, and a recess that fits with the protrusion of the frame 3 may be provided on the fixing member 23. Moreover, you may make it provide a projection part or a recessed part in connection member 7 itself.

  When the drop optical cable 12 is pulled down to the user's home, one of the optical fiber cores 2b is cut after the closure is installed on the multi-core drop optical cable, and the drop optical cable 12 is connected to the connection member 7 on the lower surface of the frame 3. Connected to.

  In this way, the optical fiber core wire 2b for dropping is wired on the lower surface side of the frame 3, and the other optical fiber core wire 2b is wired on the upper surface side of the frame 3, so that the optical fiber core in the closure is provided. The workability of the line 2b is improved.

  FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a conventional closure, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a portion of the optical fiber core wire routed on the upper surface of the tray of the conventional closure. FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the closure of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a view showing a housing state of the optical fiber core wire on the upper surface of the frame of the closure of the present invention. In the conventional closure of the cited document 1, a frame for gripping the support wire and a tray for storing the optical fiber core wire exist independently. However, in the closure of the present invention, the optical fiber core wire is not used. By integrating the functions of the tray to be stored in the frame, the integrated structure is a lightweight structure with a small number of components.

  About the closure of this invention, the prototype was manufactured as a structure which can mount two connection members 7, and the realization of size reduction was verified.

(About the length in the longitudinal direction of the closure)
The length of the optical fiber in the longitudinal direction of the closure is the optical fiber length as a restriction from the work environment during the fusion splicing work of the optical fiber cores in the actual work, such as the optical fiber core connection work in the closure installation work and maintenance work. The length for stripping the optical fiber core wire for connecting the core wires, that is, the length for removing the outer sheath of the optical fiber cable needs to be longer than the length (size) that can be covered.

  When using a conventional optical fiber cable connection work tool or the like, the removal length of the optical fiber cable jacket needs to be about 40 to 50 cm, so the closure is about 50 cm or more to cover the length. It was the length of. In this regard, the closure of the present invention has a longitudinal length of about 25 cm because the connection work is possible if the removal length of the optical fiber cable jacket is about 15 cm due to the recent progress of the connection work tool. The structure is shortened.

(About the width of the closure)
Further, in the closure of the present invention, when the multi-fiber drop optical cable is connected to the drop optical cable, the optical fiber core portion (FIG. 6B) provided in the conventional closure is eliminated, and the optical fiber core wire is stored straight. As a result, the horizontal dimension of the closure was about 30 mm, and the size was reduced to about half the width of the conventional dimension of 60 mm.

(About the weight of the closure)
Although the weight of the conventional closure is about 500 g, the closure of the present invention can be installed in a multi-core drop optical cable by making the weight about 100 g or less by reducing the size of the closure with a simple and lightweight structure.

  Since the attachment of the closure is performed on the utility pole, it is difficult to accurately cut the length of the optical fiber core in millimeters due to the shaking of the optical cable by the wind and the skill of the operator.

  As shown in FIG. 8, for example, when a work environment in which an optical fiber core having a length of 100 mm is fixed to a frame in a closure is simulated, an optical fiber core is used when the fixing width is 95 mm and 90 mm. The deflections secured to the wires are 12 mm and 20 mm, respectively, and the handling workability of the optical fiber core wire after fixing is greatly different. Therefore, the closure has a function to adjust the extra length of the optical fiber as a mechanism that allows the difference in the amount of deflection so that the handling workability of the optical fiber is not affected even if there is a slight difference in the amount of deflection. Necessary.

  In addition, when it becomes necessary to reconnect the optical fiber core due to a connection error of the optical fiber core, etc., the optical fiber core wire is shrunk. A function for adjusting the extra length of the fiber core is required.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the conventional closure has a sufficient space that allows a difference in the amount of deflection due to a difference in cutting position of several millimeters. No special considerations were required for adjusting the extra length when connecting the.

  On the other hand, since the closure of the present invention is small as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the core wire cannot be stored in the space in the closure when the amount of deflection is large, so the amount of deflection needs to be kept small. . However, when reconnecting due to cable connection failure, etc., it is necessary to cut the optical fiber about 1 cm and connect it with a new cross section. It becomes. Therefore, if the extra length of the optical fiber core wire is shortened in order to keep the deflection amount small, the extra length of the optical fiber core wire may be insufficient and reconnection may be impossible.

  Therefore, the amount of deflection is kept small so that the optical fiber core can be accommodated in a narrow closure, and the variation in the cut length of the optical fiber core or the shortening of the optical fiber core due to reconnection is reduced. In order to cope with the difference in the length of the extra length, the extra length is adjusted by providing a mechanism capable of finely adjusting the fixing position of the connecting member 7 so that the difference in the cutting position can be allowed without changing the deflection amount. Is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 8, since the amount of deflection of the optical fiber core wire changes considerably when the length is several millimeters, a portion where the hook 14 of the connecting member 7 is fixed is adjusted in order to adjust the fixing position of the connecting member 7. In addition to the method of preparing a plurality of locations, as an application form, the hook 14 is not used to fix the connection member 7, but a fixing member 23 is added between the protrusion 8 and the hook 14 as shown in FIG. Adjustment may be possible.

  As a result, even with a miniaturized closure, it is possible to cope with variations in the cut length of optical fiber cores and shrinkage due to reconnection as in the past.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic view seen from the top surface of the frame when the support line is arranged on the center line in the longitudinal direction of the frame, and FIG. 10 is from the top surface of the frame when the support line is arranged on the side wall of the frame. FIG.

  When the size of the closure is reduced, the vertical separation distance from the frame surface between the optical fiber core wire 2b passing through the closure frame and the support wire 1 also becomes minute. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the support line 1 is present on the longitudinal center line of the frame 3, in the operation of taking out the optical fiber core 2b, the support line 1 is directly above the optical fiber core 2b (disturbance). It becomes difficult to take out the optical fiber core wire 2b. Therefore, in the closure of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the end face seal 11 is provided so that the support line 1 can be fixed not at the longitudinal center line of the frame 3 but at a position passing through the side wall of the frame 3. The support wire 1 is fixed to the optical fiber core 2b, and the position of the support wire 1 is separated from the optical fiber core wire 2b, thereby ensuring workability when the optical fiber core wire 2b is handled.

  The support line 1 may be fixed to either side of the side wall provided on both sides along the longitudinal direction of the frame 3, but at a position passing through the side wall on the side where the tension member 2a is disposed. More preferably, it is fixed. If the support wire 1 is fixed at a position passing through the side wall on the side where the tension member 2a is disposed, a wider space can be secured around the optical fiber core wire 2b. Workability at the time of handling can be improved.

  As described above, the closure according to the embodiment of the present invention can be reduced in weight and size so that it can be installed even when a multi-fiber drop optical cable is used in the wiring section, and the optical fiber core. The line can be easily taken out and the extra length can be adjusted.

  FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a configuration of an aerial light facility including a branch point and a connection point where the closure of the present invention is used. The branch point 19 is a point where the multi-core drop optical cable 33 in the branch section 26 branches from the multi-core drop optical cable 33 in the wiring section 17, and the connection point 20 is a connection between the multi-core drop optical cables 33 by cutting or the like. Is a necessary point.

  FIG. 12 shows a conceptual diagram when the lower extension is performed by the closure of the present invention. When the lower part is extended, two closures of the present invention are used. A drop closure 29 is newly provided on the lower side, and the drop closure 28 and the drop closure 29 are connected by a drop optical cable 30 or the like. As a result, the optical fiber core wire that has been previously drawn to the user's home can be used on the lower side of the drop closure 28. Similar to the branch point and connection point in FIG. 11, the connection function for pulling down can be used to cope with lower extension of about 2 cores or less.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Support line 2 Element 2a Tension member 2b Optical fiber core wire 3 Frame 4 Support line holding part 5 Element holding part 6 Sleeve 7 Connecting member 8, 24 Recessed part 9 Cut part 10 Stripping length 11 End face seal 12, 30 Drop optical cable 13 Opening Portion 14 Hook 15 Feeding point 16 Dropping point 17 Wiring section 18 Pulling section 19 Branch point 20 Connection point 21, 22 Closure 23 Fixing member 25 Protrusion 26 Branching section 27 Side wall 28, 29, 32 Drop closure 31 Closure 33 Multi-core drop Optical cable

Claims (3)

A frame having a longitudinal shape, having a side wall along the longitudinal direction at an end portion in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and end face plates disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the frame, the end face plate, An optical cable is inserted into a support line and an element, and the frame is a closure for connecting an optical cable in which the element is divided into a tension member and an optical fiber core.
The side wall has a first cut portion for guiding the tension member from the inside to the outside of the side wall by passing the divided tension member, and the tension member led to the outside to pass the tension member to the side wall. A second notch for guiding from the outside to the inside ,
It said side wall is inserted from a position different from the said optical fiber is straight housed optical cable connecting closure, wherein Rukoto of the element is the frame. A connection member for drawing or branching an optical cable is provided on the surface of the frame opposite to the side accommodating the optical fiber core wire, and the position of the connection member can be adjusted at least in the longitudinal direction. The optical cable connection closure according to claim 1.   The optical cable connection closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a support line of the optical cable is fixed to the end face plate so as to pass on a side wall of the frame.

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