JPH0547808B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a tape-type optical fiber formed by arranging a plurality of single optical fibers in parallel.

[Prior art] The general method for manufacturing tape-type optical fibers is as follows:
After aligning multiple single optical fibers that are fed out from a bobbin in parallel and aligning them, the whole is bonded and solidified by applying an ultraviolet curable resin or the like and curing it. By doing so, it is formed into a tape shape.

In manufacturing the above-mentioned tape-type optical fiber, it is particularly important to improve the alignment of the single optical fibers, and various measures have been taken to achieve this.

For example, with the aim of preventing damage to the resin coating of single optical fibers due to friction and speeding up production, the winding angle of each single fiber on a rotating roll is varied sequentially, and the winding angle is These optical fibers are made by slanting them toward the single fiber side with a large amount of light and wrapping them so that they are aligned, and then twisting the entire optical fiber core at a required angle and wrapping it around a second rotating roll. It has been proposed to form a tape-like structure by arranging fiber cores in parallel and connecting the entire fibers using a connecting means (Japanese Patent Publication No. 40290/1983).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the above-mentioned proposed manufacturing method is implemented, the parallel alignment of each single optical fiber may not be properly aligned. In particular, since it would require a large-scale mechanism and equipment to sequentially vary the winding angle and tilt the winding angle toward the larger winding angle as described above, it is preferable to vary the winding angles of each single optical fiber. Even when the whole is twisted by the required angle by passing it around a rotating roll in the preceding stage of the twisting process part, alignment defects such as partial overlapping of the single fibers occur.

After observing the above point in detail and considering various aspects, we found that normally, the tension of single optical fiber wires pulled out from the bobbin of a supply stand is adjusted by applying a brake to each bobbin, but each single fiber wire is If you apply tension to each part individually, even if you set the tension to be uniform for each part, the tension may not be uniform as a whole. Therefore, when each optical fiber single strand is drawn in parallel and twisted at a required angle (for example, 90°), the outer single strand is pulled toward the twist center by this twisting action, resulting in In this case, a single fiber wire with low tension would ride on a single fiber wire with high tension, resulting in poor alignment. In particular, this phenomenon is more likely to occur when the tension of the single fiber inside the parallel optical fiber cores in the twisting step becomes weaker.

In view of the above, the present invention prevents each optical fiber single fiber wire that has been brought together and aligned in width from partially climbing onto other single fiber wires and causing unevenness due to torsional action. This was done with the aim of efficiently manufacturing tape-type optical fibers that can be reliably aligned without causing distortion and are of extremely high quality.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a method for winding a plurality of single optical fibers unwound from a winding bobbin in parallel and winding them around a rotating roll while closing the width of the optical fibers. Twist the entire core wire at the required angle and
A method of manufacturing a tape-type optical fiber by wrapping each single fiber through a rotating roll and aligning the fibers, and then bonding each single fiber with an appropriate bonding means. In particular, in order to solve the above problems, the twisting step is The rotating roll in the first stage is equipped with a rotating member, a member provided with a magnetic pole that is a source of magnetic lines of force that impede the rotation, and a magnetic flux gate arranged with a gap between the two members. Equipped with a slip-cup spring that adjusts the position of the magnetic flux path by adjusting the relative position of the gate and controls the output torque of the rotating member, each optical fiber unit wrapped around this rotating roll is The method is characterized in that the core fibers are braked all at once by the slip coupling spring to equalize the tension of each single optical fiber, and then twist is applied to the entire aligned optical fiber. .

[Operation] According to the method of the present invention configured as described above, the output torque of the rotating member, that is, the rotation of the rotating roll is controlled by the slip cup spring installed on the rotating roll at the front stage of the twisting process, and the rotation of the rotating roll is controlled. Since we decided to apply a brake all at once to equalize the tension on each single optical fiber wire that is wound around the rotating roll, there will be some variation in the tension of each single optical fiber wire that reaches this rotating roll. However, due to the braking action on the rotating roll,
Variations in individual tensions can be absorbed, and the tensions between the single fibers passing through this rotating roll portion are approximately equalized, so that no local slack occurs. Moreover, according to the above-mentioned slip-cup spring, the rotation of the rotating roll can be controlled by controlling the output torque of the rotating side member by adjusting the position of the magnetic flux path, so that the tension of the fiber core wire wound around the rotating roll can be controlled. Adjustments can also be made easily. Therefore, even in the subsequent twisting step, the single fiber wires do not run over each other and are properly and reliably aligned.

[Example] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be sequentially described with reference to the drawings and an apparatus for use thereof.

A plurality of optical fiber single fibers f drawn out from a winding bobbin 2 of a supply stand 1 are sent to a subsequent twisting step 10 while being width-aligned by a width-aligning guide roller 3 so as to narrow the distance between the single fibers.

The width adjustment guide roller 3 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 1, but may also include, for example, as shown in FIG.
Roller 3 installed rotatably with its axis vertical
As shown in a or b of the same figure, a roller 3 is provided with an inclined axis with a dimension corresponding to the core wire thickness.
b, or as shown in Figure C, a plurality of single fibers f are brought into contact with each other using rollers 3c which are set upright with a difference in outer diameter at the core wire passing portion with dimensions corresponding to the thickness of the core wires. It may also be provided so that they are spaced vertically so that they can come in contact with each other and pass through. Of course, it is also possible to omit the width adjustment guide roller.

Then, a rotating roll 4 disposed at the front stage of the twisting process 10 while aligning each optical fiber single fiber f to its width.
Hang it around and align it in parallel. In particular, this rotary roll 4 is equipped with a slip coupling spring 5 connected to its central axis to control the output torque by adjusting the position of the magnetic flux path, thereby controlling the rotation of the rotary roll 4. , each optical fiber single wire f wound around this rotating roll 4
The brakes are applied all at once to equalize the tension, and variations in tension up to the rotating roll 4 are absorbed.

In this way, the entire optical fiber core wires f, f..., which are wound around the rotating roll 4 and aligned, are held at an angle of, for example, 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the optical fiber single core wire f1 on one end side (the front side in the drawing). A second roller disposed in a direction crossing the rotating roll 4 is twisted at a required angle such as
It is fed by passing it around the rotating roll 6. By this twisting step 10, the optical fiber single strands f on the outside of the twist are drawn toward the center of the twist, so that each single strand f is further brought closer to each other and aligned in parallel laterally.

In particular, at this time, the tension due to the torque control of the slip coupling spring 5 in the part of the rotating roll 4 in the previous stage is balanced, and each optical fiber single strand f
Since the variation in tension is absorbed,
In the twisting action, misalignment such as one optical fiber single strand f partially riding on another single strand f does not occur.

Next, the optical fibers f, f, . As this coupling means 11, in the case shown in the figure, first the coating and forming means 7 of ultraviolet curable resin (UV resin) are passed through, and then the ultraviolet ray irradiation device 8 whose radiation source is a mercury lamp (not shown) is passed through. ing. In the coating and forming means 7, an ultraviolet curable resin is circulated by a circulation pump (micro pump, not shown), and as the aligned optical fibers f, f... pass through this part, urethane is applied to the surface. A UV resin such as a UV resin is applied to a required thickness and molded into a predetermined size and shape, and this UV resin layer is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet light. This allows each single fiber wire to be combined into one,
It is wound around a winding roller 9, whereby a predetermined tape-shaped optical fiber F is obtained.

As a bonding means, in addition to applying the ultraviolet curable resin and curing it by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays, bonding and hardening may be performed by applying and curing a thermosetting resin, or by using other adhesion or fusing means. It is also possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, each of the plurality of single optical fibers f is twisted around the rotary roll 4 without changing the hanging angle, but the present invention is not limited to this. As in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-40290, it is also possible to wrap the single fibers at different angles.

The structure, operating principle, and characteristics of the slip coupling 5 used in the present invention are as follows, for example.

As shown in FIG. 4, a rotating plate A is a rotating member, a backup disk B is a member provided with magnetic poles that are a source of magnetic lines of force that prevent the rotation of the rotating plate A, and
It consists of a magnetic flux gate C arranged with a gap between the two, and by adjusting the relative position between the magnetic pole and the magnetic flux gate, the magnetic flux path W is adjusted, and the output torque of the rotating plate A is adjusted. For example, when the magnetic flux gate is closed to both the NS and NS poles, the torque is minimized because the magnetic flux does not pass through the magnetic flux gate. When it is open,
The magnetic flux passes through the flux gate and gives maximum output torque to the rotating plate. Further, its torque characteristic exhibits a constant torque as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the rotation of the rotating roll is controlled by the slip coupling provided in series with the rotating roll in the first stage of the twisting process, and the rotation of the rotating roll is controlled. By applying a brake on each optical fiber single fiber wire passing through the fibers and equalizing the tension of each single fiber wire, it was decided to absorb variations in the individual tensions. Phenomena such as the single optical fiber running over parts does not occur, the tension can be easily adjusted, and the parallel alignment is ensured uniformly and well, making it possible to efficiently produce high-quality tape-type optical fibers without unevenness. can be manufactured.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of main parts, and FIG.
B and C are perspective views showing other examples of the width-adjusting guide roller, FIG. 4 is a diagram of the operating principle of the slip cup spring, and FIG. 5 is a diagram of its torque characteristics. 1...Supply stand, 2...Bobbin, 4...
...Rotating roll, 5...Slip cup spring, 6
...Second rotating roll, 10...Twisting step, 11
...Coupling means, f...Single optical fiber, F...
...Tape type optical fiber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of single optical fibers unwound from a take-up bobbin are aligned in parallel while width-aligning, and wound around a rotating roll, and the entire aligned optical fibers are twisted at a required angle. In the method of manufacturing a tape-type optical fiber by wrapping the single fibers around a second rotating roll and aligning them, and then bonding each single fiber with an appropriate coupling means, the rotating roll in the previous stage of the twisting step includes:
It is equipped with a member on the rotating side, a member provided with a magnetic pole that is a source of lines of magnetic force that prevents the rotation, and a magnetic flux gate arranged with a gap between the two members, and is used to adjust the relative position of the magnetic pole and the magnetic flux gate. Therefore, a slip coupling is provided to adjust the position of the magnetic flux path and control the output torque of the rotating member. A method for producing a tape-type optical fiber, which comprises applying a brake all at once using a coupling to equalize the tension of each single optical fiber, and then twisting the entire optical fiber that has been aligned.