JPH03236928A - Apparatus for coating running strand with resin - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To apply uniform coating even when the running speed of an optical fiber strand is increased by providing resin distributing annular passages in two or more stages and specifying the arrangement of the communicating connection holes between them. CONSTITUTION:Two or more, for example, three resin distributing annular passages 10 - 12 are formed up and down in three stages in a die 2 and a nipple 4 in concentric relation to a die hole 1 and a nipple hole 3. The resin distributing annular passage 10 communicates and connects with a resin supply hole 8 and also communicates and connects with the resin distributing annular passage 11 by the communication holes 13A, 13B separated by 90 deg. from the resin supply hole 8 in the peripheral direction and the air hole 14A separated by 180 deg. therefrom. The resin distributing annular passage 11 of the middle stage communicates and connects with the resin distributing annular passage 12 by communication holes 15A - 15D and air holes 16A, 16B separated by 45 deg. left and right from the resin supply holes 13A, 13B. All of the resin distributing annular passages are formed by providing a common annular groove 17 to the die 2 by cutting and fitting distributing rings 18 subjected to required processing therein. By this constitution, the flow of a resin in a conical flow path 5 becomes almost equal in the peripheral direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a resin coating device for a traveling strand, which coats a traveling optical fiber or metal strand with a resin.

[Prior Art] Since the surface of an optical fiber is extremely easily damaged by friction, it is necessary to coat the optical fiber with a resin after drawing the optical fiber from the optical fiber base material and before the optical fiber comes into contact with any member. need to be protected.

The performance characteristics of optical fibers that are most affected by resin coatings are the strength and transmission loss of the optical fiber.

Today, the drawing speed of optical fiber is 300 m/min ~
1000m/min and the conventional 100m/min to 200m/min
The speed has been increasing rapidly since then.

Accordingly, the resin pressure supplied into the resin coating apparatus must be increased.

A conventional resin coating device for vertically running strands used for such applications includes a coating die 2 having a vertically oriented die hole 1 in the center, and a coating die 2 on the coating die 2, as shown in FIG. A nipple 4 is mounted on the nipple 4 and has a vertically oriented nipple hole 3 aligned with the die hole 1 at its center. Nipple head part 4A is located in the center of the upper surface of
A recess 2A is formed into which the nipple hole 3 is fitted, and a nipple hole 3 is formed between the inner surface of the recess 2A and the outer surface of the nipple head 4A.
A substantially conical channel 5 is provided concentrically with the die hole 1 and gradually approaches the population of the die hole 1, and an annular resin reservoir 6 is provided on the outer periphery of the nipple 4 in the upper part of the conical channel 5. were formed in communication with each other, and a resin supply hole 8 was provided in the upper part of the die 2 to supply resin 7 from the outside to the annular resin reservoir 6.

In such a resin coating device, the resin 7 supplied from the resin supply hole 8 is supplied from the annular resin reservoir 6 to the conical channel 5, and the vertically running optical fiber passes from the nipple hole 3 through the die hole 1. The wire 9 was coated to a predetermined thickness at the die hole 1.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a resin coating device, it is difficult to make the resin pressure uniform in the circumferential direction of the nipple head portion 4A.
For this reason, uneven thickness coating in which the resin 7 is coated eccentrically on the optical fiber 9 tends to occur, and therefore there is a limit to increasing the resin pressure, and therefore there is a limit to increasing the drawing speed. Ta.

In particular, the resin for coating optical fibers has a viscosity of 100 to 50
When the linear speed is as low as 00 cps, the centering force of the coating die 2 overcomes the non-uniform force of resin pressure caused by non-uniform resin flow to some extent, but when the linear speed is 300 m/min to 500 m/min.
m/min, the force due to non-uniformity of the resin pressure becomes overwhelming, and uneven thickness coating occurs.

On the other hand, in the case of metal wire, the viscosity of the resin is 104 to 1
Since the speed is as high as 0.06 ps, the influence of non-uniformity of resin flow is significant, and uneven thickness coating is likely to occur.

In order to prevent coating with uneven thickness, conventionally the coating die 2 and the nipple 4 were aligned by moving them relatively, but this method of adjustment had the problem of requiring a lot of time for adjustment. Furthermore, such alignment work at high linear speeds is extremely difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a resin coating device for running strands that can prevent uneven thickness coating even when the wire speed is increased.

[Means for Solving the Problems] - To explain in detail the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention comprises a coated die having a die hole in the center;
a nipple located behind the coating die and having a nipple hole centered in alignment with the die hole;
A nipple head protrudes from the front center of the nipple, and a recess into which the nipple head fits is formed at the center of the rear surface of the die, so that the inner surface of the recess and the outer surface of the nipple head are in contact with each other. A substantially conical conical flow path is provided between the nipple hole and the conical flow path that is concentric with the nipple hole and gradually approaches the population of the die hole, and for the traveling strand passing from the nipple hole through the die hole. In the resin coating device for running strands, which has a structure in which the resin supplied from the conical flow path is coated to a required thickness in the die hole, there is a A resin rectifying annular path concentric with the die hole and the nipple hole is formed in multiple stages of at least three or more stages in front and behind, and resin is supplied from the outside to the resin rectifying annular path in the uppermost stage. resin supply holes are connected in communication with each other, and the upper stage resin rectification annular passage and the second stage resin rectification annular passage are both provided at positions approximately 90° apart in the circumferential direction with respect to the resin supply hole. The resin rectifying annular path at the n-th stage in the middle of each of the resin rectifying annular paths includes 2" backward-facing communicating holes, and ) stage and the nth stage by means of communicating holes located approximately 180°/2" apart in the circumferential direction from the communicating holes provided between the (nth,
+1) The resin rectifying annular path in the last stage is connected in communication with the resin rectifying annular path in the +1) stage, and the resin rectifying annular path in the last stage is connected in communication with the rear part of the conical flow path beyond the annular weir.

[Function] In such a resin coating device, from the resin supply hole to the first stage,
In other words, the resin that has flowed into the resin rectifying annular path of the upper stage flows in the circumferential direction and accumulates in the resin rectifying annular path, and is connected to two communicating holes that are both located approximately 900 degrees apart in the circumferential direction from the resin supply hole. When the resin flows into the resin rectifying annular path of the second stage through the hole and similarly accumulates in the resin rectifying annular path of the n-th stage on the way, a The resin flows into the resin rectifying annular path of the (n+1)th stage through 2" communicating holes located approximately 180°/2n apart in the circumferential direction of each of the communicating holes, and then flows into the resin rectifying annular path of the last stage. The resin that has flowed into the resin rectification annular passage then overcomes the annular weir and flows uniformly from the circumferential direction into the conical flow passage.In other words, the resin flows from the resin rectification annular passage in the previous stage to that in the latter stage. The flow is rectified as it flows in. Therefore, the flow of resin in the conical channel becomes almost uniform in the circumferential direction, and even if the linear speed is increased, the resin can be coated on the outer periphery of the wire while preventing uneven thickness. Become.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Note that portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 described above are indicated with the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a vertical coating device. In this embodiment, a resin rectifying annular path 10 is provided in the die 2 and the nipple 4 concentrically with respect to the die hole 1 and the nipple hole 3. 11. 12 are formed in three tiers up and down. A resin supply hole 8 for supplying resin from the outside is connected to the resin rectifying annular path 10 at the lowermost stage (upper stage). The lowermost resin rectifying annular path 0 is connected to the middle (second stage) resin rectifying annular path 11 through two upward (rearward facing) communicating holes 13A and 1.3B. These communication holes 13A and 13B are provided at positions separated from the resin supply hole 8 by 90° in the circumferential direction of the die 2.

Also, 180 mm in the circumferential direction of the die 2 with respect to the resin supply hole 8.
'In a remote position, the upper and lower (front and rear) resin rectifying annular paths 10
, are connected to each other through air vent holes 1-4. The middle resin rectifying annular path 4 is connected to the uppermost (third stage) resin rectifying annular path 12 through four upward (rearward facing) communicating holes 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D.

These communication holes 15A to 15D are resin supply holes 13A, ↑
They are provided at positions 45° to the left and right from the position 3B. Furthermore, if we generalize the number of communicating holes and their positions, the communicating hole that connects the nth stage on the way and the next (n+1)th stage will become the communicating hole that connects the (n-1)th stage and the nth stage. On the other hand, 2
'' such resin rectifying annular passages 10~
12, its upper and lower partitions, and the communication hole 13A, 1.
3B, 15A to 15D and air vent hole 14.16A,
■6B is a common annular groove provided on die 2↓
7 is formed by fitting a rectifying ring 1.8 which has undergone necessary processing. The uppermost resin rectifying annular passage 12 passes over the annular weir part 19 provided at the upper end of the rectifying ring 18, that is, the upper end of a part of the die 2, and connects to the conical flow passage 5.
It is connected to the upper end of the .

In such a resin coating device, the resin flowing from the resin supply hole 8 into the resin rectifying annular path 10 at the lowermost stage (first stage) is
The liquid flows in the circumferential direction and accumulates in the resin rectifying annular path 10, and the liquid level gradually rises while maintaining a uniform liquid level in the circumferential direction, and when the liquid level reaches the upper end of the resin rectifying annular path 10. , the flow is almost uniformly rectified through each communication hole 13A, 13B, and the flow reaches the middle stage (second stage).
Similarly, the communication hole 13A flows into the resin rectifying annular path 11 of the uppermost stage (third stage).
The fluid is rectified into a uniform flow through each of the communication holes 15A to 15D, each of which is provided at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the fluid 13B. When the liquid level reaches the upper end of the uppermost resin rectifying annular passage 12, it passes over the annular ring part 19 and uniformly flows down into the conical passage 5 from the circumferential direction.

Therefore, the flow of the resin in the conical channel 5 becomes substantially uniform in the circumferential direction, and even when the linear speed is increased, the outer periphery of the optical fiber strand 9 can be coated with resin while preventing uneven thickness.

Incidentally, even when the optical fiber wire 9 is coated with multiple layers of resin, this can be handled by arranging the apparatus of the present invention in multiple stages up and down.

According to experiments, it has been found that at least three stages of resin rectification annular passages are required.

Furthermore, the apparatus of the present invention can be similarly applied to resin coatings of metal wires and the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the uppermost resin rectifying annular path (2) is located inside the nipple 4, but it may be located inside the coating die 2.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention,
Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 1, which is the first embodiment, are designated by the same reference numerals. The feature of this embodiment is mainly that three stages of resin rectifying annular passages 10 to 12 are provided within the nipple 4.

Although FIGS. 1 and 3 only show a coating device for a wire running in the vertical direction, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a coating device for running a wire in the horizontal direction.

1st. In the second embodiment, a rectifying ring 18 that can optionally be processed externally to form a plurality of stages of resin rectifying annular paths on a common annular groove 17 provided inside the coating die, the nipple, or the coating die and the nipple. Since this is done by fitting and mounting, it is possible to easily form even a plurality of stages of resin rectifying annular passages lined up in the front-rear direction.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the resin coating device for running strands according to the present invention, a plurality of resin rectifying annular paths are provided in the coating die, the nipple, or the coating die and the nipple in front and behind, and these annular The passage is connected to the communication hole in the previous stage through a communication hole provided at a predetermined angle, and the annular passage in the last stage is connected to the inlet of the conical flow passage beyond the annular ring. The resin reaches the annular path of the next stage from the annular path of the previous stage in a uniform state in the circumferential direction, and in the annular path of the last stage, it climbs over the annular part and flows uniformly from the circumferential direction into the conical flow path. Therefore, the flow of the resin in the conical flow path becomes almost uniform in the circumferential direction, and there is an advantage that the outer periphery of the wire can be coated with resin while preventing uneven thickness even when the wire speed is increased.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the resin is supplied from the resin supply hole to the resin rectifying annular path at the foremost stage, the direction of the flow is changed at right angles to the axial direction of the running wire, so that Coupled with the effect of uniformizing the flow in the circumferential direction within the resin rectifying annular path of several stages, the effect of preventing uneven thickness during resin coating can be further enhanced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to the above-mentioned FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional device. . 1...Dice hole, 2...Coated die, 2A...Recess, 3...Nipple hole, 4...Nipple, 4A...
- Nipple head part, 5... Conical flow path, 7... Resin, 8... Resin supply hole, 9... Optical fiber wire, 1
0 to 12... Resin rectifying annular path, 13A, 13B...
Resin supply hole, 15A to 15D...Communication hole, 19...
Annular annulus. Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] A coating die having a die hole in the center, and a nipple disposed behind the coating die and having a nipple hole in the center aligned with the die hole, and a nipple head protruding from the front center of the nipple. A recess into which the nipple head fits is formed in the center of the rear surface of the die, and a recess that is concentric with the nipple hole and is between an inner surface of the recess and an outer surface of the nipple head. A conical flow path having a substantially conical shape that gradually approaches the entrance of the die hole is provided, and the resin supplied from the conical flow path to the traveling strand passing from the nipple hole through the die hole is In a resin coating device for a running wire having a structure in which the coating is carried out to a required thickness in a die hole, a resin is provided inside the die or the nipple or between the die and the nipple and is concentric with the die hole and the nipple hole. A rectifying annular path is formed in a plurality of stages of at least three or more stages in the front and rear, and a resin supply hole for supplying resin from the outside is connected to the resin rectifying annular path in the first stage, which is the foremost stage, and The first stage resin rectifying annular path and the second stage
The resin rectifying annular passages of the stages are connected to each other through two communication holes provided at positions approximately 90° apart in the circumferential direction from the resin supply hole, and the intermediate resin rectifying annular passages The resin rectifying annular path of the nth stage has 2^n communication holes facing backward, each approximately extending in the circumferential direction with respect to the communication hole provided between the (n-1)th stage and the nth stage. 180°/2^n
The resin rectifying annular path of the (n+1)th stage is connected to the resin rectifying annular path through a communication hole located at a remote position, and the resin rectifying annular path of the last stage is connected to the rear part of the conical flow path beyond the annular weir. A resin coating device for running strands.