JPH04153604A - Method and device for removing tension member coating of optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the danger of melting and damaging a coated optical fiber and the peripheral part thereof by instantaneously generating heat in a high tensile metallic body to melt the adhesive between the high tensile metallic body and an insulation coating material to decrease its adhesive power and applying an external pulling force to the insulation coating material to move the coating material, thereby removing the insulation coating material of a tension member. CONSTITUTION:Electrode blades 6 as electrodes for direct electrical heating in common use as edge parts for cutting-in to cut the circumferential direction of the coating material 4 are brought into the high tensile metallic body 3 and a metallic electrode 7 is also brought into contact with the high tensile metallic body 3 at the front end of the tension member 2 to form the loop of the electric circuit via the high tensile metallic body 3. This high tensile metallic body 3 is directly energized to instantaneously generate heat in the high tensile metallic body 3 to melt the adhesive in contact with the high tensile metallic body 3 and in some cases, even the insulation coating material 4 to lower the adhesive power. The insulation coating material is thus moved and removed by the extremely slight pulling tension. The application of vibration and impact to the coated optical fiber is obviated in this way and adverse influence is no longer exerted to light transmission signals. The generation of the heat by the direct energization is only on the surface of the high tensile metallic body 3 and the danger of melting and damaging the coated optical fiber 5 and the periphery of the connection box thereof by heat is eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention Second Industrial Field of Application [The present invention is directed to fixing a high tensile strength metal body of a tension member to an optical fiber cable connection surface when connecting an optical fiber cable for communication. The present invention provides a method for removing a tension member coating of an optical fiber cable for easily removing an insulating coating material from a high-strength metal body, and an apparatus directly used for carrying out the method.

;Prior art: An example of an optical fiber cable currently in use for communication is one in which the outer periphery of a high-strength metal body with at least one metal aggregated at its center is covered with an insulating plastic made of polyethylene or the like. A multi-strand optical fiber core wire is provided around the outer periphery of this insulating coating material, and a polyethylene cable sheath is applied to the outer periphery of the cable.

Connection of these optical fiber cables is performed using a connection surface, and it is necessary to firmly fix the optical fiber cable to the connection surface. To fix it, remove the cable sheath at the end of the optical fiber cable, cut the tension member, and then remove about 3 to 4 inches of the polyethylene insulation covering from the tip of the high-tensile strength metal body. Must be done with a metal body. In this case, the insulating coating material removal tool includes a nipper knife, which mechanically peels and removes the coating, and a removal tool, such as an electric soldering iron, which melts and removes the coating using heat.

πProblems to be Solved by the Invention] When removing the insulating coating material, the gap between the high-strength metal body and the plastic insulating coating material made of polyethylene or the like is firmly bonded with an adhesive; Mechanical stripping and removal using nippers, knives, etc. is a difficult task that requires a lot of force and time due to the hardness of the polyethylene insulation coating, and it also causes vibrations and shocks to the optical fiber core, which can interfere with optical transmission signals. There is a risk of adverse effects. Also,
Removal tools such as electric hanging irons that perform melting and removal using heat have exposed heat-generating parts, so there is a risk of melting and damaging the optical fiber core and surrounding parts due to contact with the heat-generating part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for removing the coating from a tension member of an optical fiber cable, which overcomes these conventional drawbacks.

7 Means for Solving the Problems] The above problems are achieved by the present invention adopting the following novel characteristic configuration techniques and configuration means.

That is, the feature of the method of the present invention is that, in an optical fiber cable, a tension member is formed by covering the outer periphery of a high-strength metal body made of one or more metals with an insulating coating material, and the part is damaged for a required length from the tip. Cut only the insulating coating material, and then apply electricity between the high-strength metal body at the cutting site and the tip of the high-strength metal body to instantaneously generate heat in the high-strength metal body with high electrical resistance. By doing so, at least the adhesive between the high tensile strength metal body and the insulating coating material is melted and the adhesive strength is reduced, and then an external pulling force is applied to the insulating coating material on the tip side from the cutting part to move it. This is a method for removing a tension member coating of an optical fiber cable by removing the insulating coating material of the tension member.

The device of the present invention is characterized by cutting only a tension member in an optical fiber cable in which the outer periphery of a high-strength metal body made up of one or more metals is coated with an insulating coating, and the tension member at a required portion. The electrode blade, the feeding means for moving the electrode blade in the axial direction of the tension member, and the tip of the high tensile strength metal body come into contact! This is an optical fiber cable tension member sheathing removal device comprising a pole, the electrode blade, and a direct energizing device for applying a voltage to the electrode blade.

: Effect 2 The present invention employs the above-mentioned techniques and means, so
The metal electrode is also brought into contact with the electrode blade that serves as the cutting blade for cutting the coating material in the circumferential direction and also as the electric power for direct current heating, and the high-tensile strength metal body at the tip of the tension member. Form a loose electrical circuit through the wire. By directly applying electricity to this high-strength metal body, the high-strength metal body instantly generates heat, and at least the adhesive in contact with the high-strength metal body is heated.
In some cases, the insulating sheathing material is also melted to reduce its adhesive strength, allowing the insulating sheathing material to be moved and removed with extremely slight pulling tension. Therefore, no vibration or shock is applied to the optical fiber core wire, and the optical transmission signal is not adversely affected. It goes without saying that the heat generated by direct energization is only on the surface of the high tensile strength 4JL metal element, and that there is no risk of melting or damaging the optical fiber core or the area around the connection surface due to heat, which is excellent in safety.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1(a)(b) and FIG. 2(a)(b)(c) are diagrams explaining an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a cable jacket, 2 is a tension member, and 3 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a high tensile strength metal body, and 4 is an insulating coating material made of plastic such as polyethylene.
It is made of V-shaped material, hard rubber, etc., and formed into a twisted spline shape. 5 is an optical fiber core, 6 is a pair of upper and lower electrode blades,
7 is a metal electrode, and 8 is a direct current supply device.

Therefore, in one embodiment of the device of the present invention, a tension member of an optical fiber cable α made of a composite material, in which the outer periphery of a high tensile strength metal body 3 made up of at least one metal is coated with a plastic insulation covering material 4 made of polyethylene or the like, is provided. 2 and
A means (not shown) for moving the upper and lower electrode blades 6 in the longitudinal direction of the tension member 2 to cut only the circumferential direction of the insulating coating 4 of the tension member 2 as much as possible.
In a tension member coating removal device A comprising:
The metal electrode 7 is brought into contact with the upper and lower parts 6 as much as possible, and also with the high tensile strength metal body 3 at the tip of the tension member 2 to form a loop through the high tensile strength metal body 3, and directly to this high tensile strength metal body 3. By operating the direct energizing device 8 for energizing, the high tensile strength metal body 3 is instantly heated to 120° C. or higher,
After melting the contacting adhesive (not shown) and, in some cases, the insulating coating material 4 to reduce the adhesive strength, 5k in the longitudinal direction.
A means is provided for removing the insulating covering material 4 by moving the insulating covering material 6 up and down as much as possible with a traction force of about lf.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the upper and lower electrode blades 6 have a wedge-shaped side surface, and the upper and lower electrode blades 6 approach each other and close to form an insulating coating material 4.
When cutting, a semicircular concave arc 6b is formed on the relative cutting edge 6a to improve contact with the outer circumferential surface by fitting the high tensile strength metal body 3.
As shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), the metal pole 7 has an insertion opening 10a for inserting the tip of the high tensile strength metal body 3 into the tip tapered surface 9a. The base end of the cylindrical body 9 is closed with a closing disc 11 having a conical contact portion 11a protruding from the center thereof. A blind insertion hole 10 has a conical shape inside the blind end to reduce the contact resistance with the tip of the high tensile strength metal body 3. The contact portion 11a is exposed.

Therefore, the embodiment of the method of the present invention applied to the embodiment of the device of the present invention is a composite material made of a composite material in which the outer periphery of a high tensile strength metal body 3 made up of at least one metal is coated with a plastic insulation coating material 4. At a position separated from the tip of the tension member 2 of the fiber cable α in the longitudinal direction,
180 degrees opposite position in the circumferential direction of the insulation sheathing material 4! The two opposing upper and lower electrode blades 6 are pushed into each other from above and below to cut only the circumferential direction of the insulation coating 4 made of plastic material, and then the upper and lower electrode blades 6 are inserted into the high tensile strength metal body 3. Next, a metal pole 7 is brought into contact with the high tensile strength metal body 3 at the tip of the tension member 2 to form an electric circuit via the high tensile strength metal body 3. At this time, since the high-strength metal body 3 is made of high-strength steel wire, it is possible to easily set the electrical resistance of other electrical circuit components to be less than the high-strength metal body 3. When electricity is applied to the electric circuit through the high-strength metal body 3, the high-strength metal body 3, which has a high electrical resistance, can instantly generate heat.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the pull-out tension and the temperature of the high tensile strength metal body 3 of the insulating coating material 4 having a length of 4 cm.

From this result, it can be seen that as the temperature of the high tensile strength metal body 3 increases, the drawing tension decreases, and if the temperature of the high tensile strength metal body 3 is 120° C. or higher, the pulling tension decreases to 5 kz f or less.

In this way, the high tensile strength metal body 3 is heated by TIL contact, and the adhesive (not shown) in contact with the high tensile strength metal body 3 and, if necessary, the insulating coating material 4 are also melted to reduce the adhesive strength. , upper and lower 1f#i! The insulating coating material 4 is removed by moving the blade 6 in the longitudinal direction.

Below, Figure 1 (a) (b) and Figure 2 (a) (b) (
Referring to c), we will explain the work progress in more detail and in concrete steps.

In order to Wff the optical fiber cable α, the procedure shown in Fig. 1 (
As shown in FIG. 1(b), the optical fiber cable jacket 1 is removed, and the tension member 2 is cut at approximately 10 mm from the time of removing the cable jacket 1. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the high tensile strength Approximately 4 inches of the insulating coating 4 must be removed so that the metal body 3 can be fixed to a connection surface (not shown).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2(a), two upper and lower 1f pole blades are placed at positions spaced apart from the tip of the tension member 2 in the longitudinal direction and are opposed to the upper and lower positions of the plastic insulation coating 4 in the circumferential direction of 180 degrees. 6 from both the upper and lower sides to cut only the circumferential direction of the insulating sheathing material 4 made of plastic material.Then, the upper and lower parts of the scraper blade 6 are brought into contact with the high tensile strength metal body 3, and the upper and lower part of the scraper blade 6 are pressed in from both sides. (the upper side in the figure) is used as an electrode, and a metal is also inserted into the blind hole 10 through the insertion opening 10a of the pole 7 to make conical contact with the high tensile strength metal body 3 at the tip of the tension member 2. The portion 11a is brought into contact with the high tensile strength metal body 3.
Configure an electrical circuit through a loop. By operating the direct energizing device 8 and directly applying electricity to the high tensile strength metal body 3, the surface of the high tensile strength metal body 3 between the electrode blade 6 and the metal electrode 7 is instantaneously heated to 120°C or higher, and the adhesive that comes in contact (not shown)
In addition, in some cases, the insulating coating material 4 may also be melted to reduce adhesive strength. The direct energization device 8 is composed of a t-current control section 8a, an energization time adjustment section 8b, etc., and controls the temperature of the high tensile strength metal body 3 to 13.
It is sufficient to have the function of generating heat to about 0° C. and the function of appropriately selecting the temperature.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(b), when the direct energizing device 8 is removed and the upper and lower electrode blades 6 are moved toward the longitudinal ends of the tension members 2, they can be moved with an extremely slight traction force of about 5 mf.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(c), the insulating coating material 4 can be removed without applying vibration or shock to the optical fiber core wire 5 and without having any adverse effect on the optical transmission signal.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention enables the difficult work of removing the insulation coating material, which requires a lot of force and effort, to be performed easily and safely, and also does not apply vibration or shock to the optical fiber core wire. Therefore, it does not adversely affect optical transmission signals, and since the heating part is made of high-strength metal and is not exposed, there is no risk of melting or damaging the optical fiber core and surrounding parts, and the insulation coating can be removed. Can be removed.

On the other hand, the electrical circuit of the direct energizing device is formed by the conductive components of the existing tension member, and the F#I configuration is simpler and has an equivalent effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1(a) and 1(b) are diagrams showing how the insulation coating is removed for connecting optical fiber cables using connection surfaces, and Figure 2(a)
), (b), and (c) are diagrams of the insulating coating material removal process of the actual planer method using the embodiment device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 (a), (b), and (c) are the upper and lower electrode blades in the embodiment device of the present invention. A perspective view and a central vertical cross-sectional view of a metal electrode brought into contact with the tip of a high-tensile strength metal body, and Figure 4 shows the temperature of a high-strength metal body of a length of 41 insulating coating material in a typical optical fiber cable. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of correlation characteristics of drawing tension. A...Optical fiber cable tension member sheath removal device α°...Optical fiber cable...Cable jacket 2...Tension member 3
...High tensile strength metal body 4...Insulating coating material...
Optical fiber core wire 6a...cutting edge 7...metal electrode 8a...flow control part 9...cylindrical body 10...insertion blind hole 11...closure disk 6...electrode Blade 6b...Semi-circular concave arc 8...Direct energizing device 8b...rWJ adjustment part when energized 9a...Tip tapered surface 10a...Insertion port 11a...Conical contact part Fig. 1 Figure 2 Figure 8 (C) Figure 4 Choice Jr7 Tension metal wisteria mixed farming (0C)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an optical fiber cable, the above-mentioned portion of the tension member, which is formed by covering the outer periphery of a high tensile strength metal body made of one or more metals with an insulating coating material, is spaced a predetermined distance from the tip of the tension member. Cutting only the insulating coating material, and then applying current between the high-strength metal body at the cutting site and the tip of the high-strength metal body to instantaneously generate heat in the high-strength metal body having high electrical resistance. By melting at least the adhesive between the high tensile strength metal body and the insulating coating material to reduce the adhesive force, and then moving the insulating coating material on the tip side by applying a pulling external force from the cutting part. 2. A method for removing a tension member coating of an optical fiber cable, which comprises removing the insulation coating of the tension member. a tension member formed by coating the tension member; an electrode blade for cutting only a required portion of the tension member; a feeding means for moving the electrode blade in the axial direction of the tension member; An optical fiber cable tension member sheath removal device comprising: a metal electrode for applying voltage to the electrode blade; and a direct current supply device for applying voltage to the electrode blade and the metal electrode.