JPH06160682A - Manufacturing device for optical fiber cable core - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To fall coated optical fibers in spiral grooves of a grooved spacer without any trouble even unless the gripping force of a torsion catcher is sufficient. CONSTITUTION:A coated optical fiber falling control mechanism 7 which performs control for falling the coated optical fiber 4 in the spiral grooves of the grooved spacer 3 traveling while rotating on its axis is equipped with a grooved spacer groove position detecting mechanism part 31 which detects a position of a spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 and outputs a position shift signal, a batten 32 which regulates the fall position of the coated optical fiber 4, and a front torsion catcher 33 and a rear torsion catcher 8 which rotate on the axis of the grooved spacer 33 while gripping the grooved spacer 3 before and behind the grooved spacer groove position detecting mechanism 31. The rear torsion catcher 8 rotates in synchronism with the rotation of the grooved spacer 3 on its axis and also the rotation is corrected with the position shift signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber cable core by dropping an optical fiber core wire into a spiral groove of a running grooved spacer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When manufacturing an optical fiber cable core by dropping an optical fiber core wire into a spiral groove of a grooved spacer while the grooved spacer is running, the position of the optical fiber core wire The position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer is detected in front, and the position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer is controlled to be constant at the position where the optical fiber core is dropped.

4 and 5 show examples of the structure of the optical fiber cable core 1. That is, the optical fiber cable core 1 has a structure in which a tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is dropped and accommodated in the spiral groove 2 of a plastic grooved spacer 3 in which a plurality of spiral grooves 2 are provided on the outer circumference. It has become.

Such a grooved spacer 3 can be easily twisted during long span support. Therefore, if twist is applied to the grooved spacer 3 for some reason,
The pitch of the spiral groove 2 becomes smaller or longer depending on the direction of the twist.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show a schematic structure of a conventional optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus. That is,
Conventionally, the grooved spacer 3 supplied from the spacer supply 5 is passed through a core tension control mechanism 7 through a front tension applying mechanism 6, and the spiral of the grooved spacer 3 is located at the core depression control mechanism 7. An optical fiber cable core 1 is manufactured by dropping and accommodating a tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 into a groove 2 and passing the obtained optical fiber cable core 1 through a rear torsion catcher 8 to a tape winding mechanism 9 to form an optical fiber cable. After winding the tape around the grooved spacer 3 of the core 1, the optical fiber cable core 1 is taken up by the take-up machine 10 and taken up by the take-up machine 11. Further, the spacer supply 5, the rear torsion catcher 8, the take-up machine 10 and the take-up machine 11 are forcibly driven to rotate around the axis of the grooved spacer 3 at a rotational speed of n.

The core wire drop-in control mechanism 7 detects the position of the spiral groove 2 in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 and, when the position of the spiral groove 2 is displaced in the circumferential direction, the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is formed. A grooved spacer groove position detecting and meshing plate rotating mechanism portion 13 for rotating the rotating eye plate 12 as an optical fiber position restricting tool which is positioned in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 in the displacement direction of the spiral groove 2. Movable table 14 connecting and supporting the groove position detecting and eye plate rotating mechanism 13 for the grooved spacer
And the groove position detection / eye plate rotation mechanism portion 13 for the grooved spacer
Is moved in the longitudinal direction of the grooved spacer 3 via the movable table 14 so that the position where the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is dropped into the spiral groove 2 is performed at a constant circumferential position of the grooved spacer 3. And a moving mechanism portion 15 for correcting the depression position.

The groove position detecting / separating plate rotating mechanism portion 15 for the grooved spacer is provided with a rotating eye plate 12 which is rotatably supported by a bearing 16, and a grooved spacer is provided in a center hole 17 of the rotating eye plate 12. 3 penetrates, and the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 penetrates into peripheral holes 18 provided at predetermined positions in the circumferential direction at positions near the outer circumference of the rotary eye plate 12, and the tape in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 The optical fiber core wire 4 is positioned. In addition, a groove detector 20 formed of a pin inserted into the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 is supported by a cylindrical portion 19 provided around the center hole 17 of the rotary eye plate 12. . Since the groove detector 20 is inserted into the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 in this manner, the pitch of the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 is apparently changed, and the groove detector at the position of the groove detector 20 is changed. When the position of the spiral groove 2 of the spacer 3 in the circumferential direction changes, the rotary eye plate 12 rotates by the changed angle. The rotation of the rotary eye plate 12 is controlled by a potentiometer 23 via a gear 21 attached to the rotary eye plate 12 and a gear 22 meshing with the gear 21.
Is supplied to the potentiometer 23 and is output from the potentiometer 23 as an electrical position shift signal (potentiometer signal). The gear 22 is supported by the rotary shaft of the potentiometer 23. The rotary eye plate 12 is supported by the movable table 14 via a bearing 16 and a bracket 24, and the potentiometer 23 is supported by the bracket 24.

The drop position correcting moving mechanism portion 15 is a guide rail fixed to a fixed system along the longitudinal direction of the grooved spacer 3 so that the movable table 14 can move in the longitudinal direction of the grooved spacer 3. 25 and a guide piece 2 attached to the lower surface of the movable table 14 and fitted in the guide rail 25 to regulate the moving direction of the movable table 14.
6 and a screw screw 27 arranged below the movable table 14 in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the grooved spacer 3.
A nut block 28 attached to the lower surface of the movable table 14 and screwed into a screw screw 27, a motor 29 connected to the screw screw 27 to drive the screw block 27, and an end of the movable table 14 in the moving direction. And a limit switch 30 for detecting the movement limit. An electric position shift signal is supplied from the potentiometer 23 to the motor 29. The detection signal of the limit switch 30 is supplied to the take-off machine 10 as a signal for changing the take-up speed.

In such an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus, when the circumferential position of the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 changes at the position of the groove detector 20, the rotary eye plate 12 rotates by the changed angle. However, the rotation of the rotating eye plate 12 causes the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 to rotate in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 so that the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 can be continuously dropped into the spiral groove 2. Done.

When the rotary eye plate 12 rotates, its rotational force is given to the potentiometer 23 via the gears 21 and 22, and is taken out from the potentiometer 23 as an electric position deviation signal and given to the motor 29. As a result, the moving mechanism portion 15 for correcting the recessed position works, the groove position detecting / eye plate rotating mechanism portion 13 for the grooved spacer is moved together with the movable table 14 in the longitudinal direction of the grooved spacer 3, and the grooved spacer 3 The control is performed so that the depression point in the circumferential direction of the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 with respect to the spiral groove 2 becomes the original depression point (the point at which the electrical displacement signal becomes 0).

When the amount of displacement of the drop point at this time is large, the movable table 14 moves out of the guide range between the guide rail 25 and the guide piece 26, so that state is detected by the limit switch 30 and the limit is detected. Switch 3
A zero detection signal is applied to the take-off machine 10 to change the take-up speed to prevent it from leaving the guide range.

The optical fiber cable core 1 obtained from the core drop-in control mechanism 7 is sent to the tape winding mechanism 9 via the rear torsion catcher 8 and the tape is wound around the grooved spacer 3 and the take-up machine is operated. While being taken up at 10, it is taken up by a winder 11.

In this case, the pitch of the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 is substantially constant, and even if the pitch changes, it is 5
It doesn't change as much as 10% or 10%. Therefore, assuming that the traveling speed of the grooved spacer 3 is V and the number of rotations about the axis of the grooved spacer 3 is n, the pitch P of the spiral groove 2 is originally P =
From V / n, if the take-off speed and the number of rotations of the grooved spacer 3 are constant, the position where the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is dropped in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 should not be displaced. Then, the following factors are considered as to why the position where the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is dropped is displaced.

(B) When the grooved spacer 3 is wound, the grooved spacer 3 is twisted and supplied.

The groove detector 20 composed of (b) pins is moved in the traveling direction of the grooved spacer 3 by the frictional resistance with the spiral groove 2.

(C) During the manufacturing process of the optical fiber cable core 1, the grooved spacer 3 is twisted and changed.

Here, in (a), if the spacer 3 with grooves is twisted as a whole, the pitch of the spiral grooves 2 does not change significantly. Moreover, (b) is also a secondary matter. The twisting of the grooved spacer 3 added during the manufacturing process of the optical fiber cable core 1 of (C) is a problem.

In the optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 6, without the rear torsion catcher 8, the gripping interval L for gripping the grooved spacer 3 is long. Obviously, the spacer 3 can be easily twisted with a small force.

In this state, when the tape winding mechanism 9 winds the outer circumference of the grooved spacer 3 in the optical fiber cable core 1, the tension at the time of winding the tape acts on the grooved spacer 3 as a twisting force. When the tension changes due to a change in the winding diameter of the grooved spacer 3, the twisting force also changes.

The rear torsion catcher 8 is provided so that the twisting force is not transmitted to the core wire falling control mechanism 7.

Thus, the rear torsion catcher 8
, The gripping interval of the grooved spacer 3 becomes L ₁ ,
It becomes shorter than the gripping interval L described above.

[0022]

However, since the rear torsion catcher 8 holds the grooved spacer 3 in which the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is housed in the spiral groove 2, only the outer periphery of the grooved spacer 3 can be held. Therefore, the gripping force is not sufficient, and therefore the twisting force is transmitted to the core wire drop-in control mechanism 7, and the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 cannot be reliably dropped into the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3. There was a problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus capable of dropping an optical fiber core wire into a spiral groove of a grooved spacer without trouble even if the gripping force by a torsion catcher is not sufficient. It is in.

[0024]

To explain the structure of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention is to drop an optical fiber core wire in a spiral groove of a grooved spacer that runs while being forcedly rotated about an axis. A core wire drop-in control mechanism for performing a plugging-in control is provided, and the core wire drop-in control mechanism detects the position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer, and when the position of the spiral groove is displaced, the groove In an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus that corrects a relative positional relationship between the optical fiber core wire and the spiral groove in a circumferential direction of a spacer to manufacture an optical fiber cable core, the core wire drop-in control mechanism includes: Groove position detecting mechanism portion for grooved spacer for detecting the position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer while the grooved spacer is running, and a spiral groove of the grooved spacer An optical fiber position restricting device for restricting the position where the optical fiber core is dropped, and a grooved spacer provided in front of and behind the groove position detecting mechanism for the grooved spacer, respectively, while gripping the grooved spacer. A front torsion catcher and a rear torsion catcher that rotate around the axis of, one of the two torsion catchers is rotationally driven in synchronization with forced rotation about the axis of the grooved spacer, The other of the two torsion catchers is rotationally driven in synchronism with the forced rotation around the shaft center of the grooved spacer, and a correction rotation is applied from the groove position detecting mechanism for the grooved spacer by the position shift signal. It is characterized by being.

[0025]

As described above, the front torsion catcher and the rear torsion catcher are provided before and after the groove position detecting mechanism for the grooved spacer, and one of these torsion catchers is forcibly rotated around the axis of the grooved spacer. Rotation is driven in synchronization, and the other of these torsion catchers is driven to rotate in synchronization with the forced rotation around the shaft center of the grooved spacer, and is corrected by the position shift signal from the groove position detection mechanism for grooved spacer. When rotation is applied, even if the twisting force of the torsion catcher is weak and the twisting against the grooved spacer passes through the torsion catcher and is transmitted to the drop position side of the optical fiber, the original rotation is corrected by the torsion catcher and the original drop is performed. Can be returned to the retracted position.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 4 to 7 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
The core wire drop-in control mechanism 7 in the optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment detects the position of the spiral groove 2 in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 while the grooved spacer 3 is running, and outputs a position shift signal. Groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 for grooved spacers, fixed eye plate 32 as an optical fiber position regulating tool for regulating the position of the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacers 3, and the grooved spacers The front torsion catcher 33 and the rear torsion catcher 8 are provided respectively before and after the groove position detection mechanism section 31 and rotate around the axis of the grooved spacer 3 in a state of gripping the grooved spacer 3. , Front torsion catcher 3 of both torsion catchers 33, 8
3 is rotationally driven in synchronization with the forced rotation around the axis of the grooved spacer 3, and the rear torsion catcher 8 of both torsion catchers 33 and 8 is synchronized with the forced rotation around the axis of the grooved spacer 3. While being rotationally driven, the grooved spacer groove position detection mechanism section 31 has a structure in which correction rotation is applied by a position shift signal.

The groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 for the grooved spacer is
Since the eye plate is separated, the ring-shaped gear 21 is attached to the tubular portion 19.
Is directly attached. Other points are
It is similar to that shown in FIG. From the potentiometer 23 of the groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 for the grooved spacer,
An electrical displacement signal is output in the same manner as described above.

In the fixed eye plate 32, the grooved spacer 3 penetrates a central hole 34 provided at the center thereof, and peripheral edge holes are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction at positions near the outer circumference of the fixed eye plate 32. The tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 penetrates 35, and the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is positioned in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3.

The front torsion catcher 33 is provided with a plurality of gripping rollers 36 for gripping the grooved spacers 3, and these gripping rollers 36 are supported by a roller supporting frame 37, and the roller supporting frame 37 rotates via a bearing 38. The roller support frame 37 is freely supported by a fixed bracket 39, and a rotational force is applied to the roller support frame 37 from a line shaft 42 via a transmission mechanism 40 such as a sprocket and a chain and a transmission 41. As a result, the front torsion catcher 33 is rotationally driven in synchronization with the forced rotation around the axial center of the grooved spacer 3.

The rear torsion catcher 8 is provided with a plurality of gripping rollers 43 for gripping the grooved spacers 3, and these gripping rollers 43 are supported by a roller supporting frame 44, and the roller supporting frame 44 is rotatable via a bearing 45. Is supported by a fixed bracket 46, and a rotational force is applied to the roller support frame 44 from a line shaft 42 via a transmission mechanism 47 such as a sprocket and a chain and a transmission 48. As a result, the rear torsion catcher 8 is rotationally driven in synchronization with the forced rotation of the grooved spacer 3 around the axis. Further, in the middle of the transmission mechanism 47, a correction rotation motor 49 which receives a positional deviation signal from the grooved spacer groove position detection mechanism section 31 and applies correction rotation to the rear torsion catcher 8 is incorporated.

The rotational force of the line shaft 42 is generated by the spacer supply 5, the front tension applying mechanism 6, the take-up machine 10,
It is also given to the winder 11 so that the grooved spacer 3 is forcibly rotated in the direction around the axis.

Next, such a core drop control mechanism 7
The operation of will be described. That is, this core drop control mechanism 7
Then, the front torsion catcher 33 provided before and after the groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 for the grooved spacer, respectively.
The rear torsion catcher 8 and the rear torsion catcher 8 are rotationally driven in synchronization with the rotation of the grooved spacer 3 about the axis thereof by utilizing the rotational force from the line shaft 42.

In this state, while the grooved spacer 3 is running, the position of the spiral groove 2 in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3 is detected by the grooved spacer groove position detection mechanism section 31, and the spiral groove 2 is detected.
When the positional deviation occurs, the potentiometer 23 outputs an electrical positional deviation signal. This electric position deviation signal is given to the correction rotary motor 49 interposed in the middle of the transmission mechanism 47, and the correction rotation motor 49 applies the correction rotation. Such correction rotation is performed by the grooved spacer 3
This is performed until the depression point in the circumferential direction of the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 with respect to the spiral groove 2 becomes the original depression point (the point where the electrical displacement signal becomes 0).

Thus, the rear torsion catcher 8
Is driven to rotate in synchronism with the forced rotation of the grooved spacer 3 around the axis, and when the correction rotation is applied by the position shift signal from the grooved spacer groove position detection mechanism section 31, the grip of the torsion catcher is grasped. Even if the twisting force against the grooved spacer 3 is so weak that it passes through the rear torsion catcher 8 and reaches the drop position of the tape-shaped optical fiber 4, the twisting of the rear torsion catcher 8 causes the twisting to the original position. Can be returned to the retracted position.

As a result, the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 is dropped into the spiral groove 2 such that the circumferential depression point of the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4 with respect to the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 is fixed. Then, the optical fiber cable core 1 is manufactured.

In this case, in particular, the gripping interval of the grooved spacer 3 is L ₂ , which is shorter than the gripping interval L ₁ described above, and the grooved spacer 3 is less likely to be twisted.

The rear torsion catcher 8 is
It is also possible to use a single motor to perform rotational drive in synchronism with forced rotation around the axial center of the grooved spacer 3 and corrective rotation based on a position shift signal.

In order to stabilize the detecting operation of the groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 for the grooved spacer, as shown in FIG. 3, a spring 50 is interposed between both sides of the cylindrical portion 19 and the fixed system to detect the groove. It is only necessary to fix the position of the child 20 and press it down lightly.

In the case of the present embodiment, the phase (pitch) of the spiral groove 2 of the grooved spacer 3 between the torsion catchers 33 and 8 can always be made constant, so that a plurality of tape-shaped optical fiber core wires 4 are dropped. Is not limited to a drop in which the grooved spacer 3 is circumferentially offset at one position in the longitudinal direction as shown in the drawing,
It is also possible to make a drop in the grooved spacer 3 shifted in the longitudinal direction at one position in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer 3.
In this case, it is necessary to provide an individual optical fiber position control tool for guiding each tape-shaped optical fiber core wire 4.

The present invention is not limited to the type in which the grooved spacer groove position detecting mechanism portion 31 and the fixed eye plate 32 as shown in FIG. 2 are separated, but as shown in FIG. A structure in which the rotary eye plate 12 is integrally attached to the tubular portion 19 and the gear 21 is supported on the rotary eye plate 12 may be used. However, in this case, the bracket 24 that supports the tubular portion 19 via the bearing 16 is supported by the fixed system.

In the above-described embodiment, the correction rotation is performed on the rear torsion catcher 8 side, but instead, the correction rotation may be performed on the front torsion catcher 33 side.

Although an example of using a tape-shaped optical fiber core has been described, the optical fiber core may be a round type or the like.

[0044]

As described above, in the optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the front torsion catcher and the rear torsion catcher are provided before and after the groove position detecting mechanism for the grooved spacer, and these torsion catchers are provided. One of them is driven to rotate in synchronism with the forced rotation of the grooved spacer around the axis, and the other of these torsion catchers is driven to rotate in synchronism with the forced rotation of the grooved spacer around the axis. Since the correction rotation is applied by the position deviation signal from the groove position detection mechanism for the grooved spacer, the gripping force of the torsion catcher is weak and the twist on the grooved spacer passes through the torsion catcher and the optical fiber drop position side. Even if it is transmitted to, it will be returned to its original drop position by the correction rotation by the torsion catcher. Succoth can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a core wire drop-in control mechanism used in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a modified example of the tubular portion of the grooved spacer groove position detection mechanism portion used in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a grooved spacer.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a state in which a tape-shaped optical fiber core wire is dropped into a grooved spacer.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a core wire drop-in control mechanism used in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Fiber Cable Core 2 Spiral Groove 3 Grooved Spacer 4 Tape-shaped Optical Fiber Core Wire 5 Spacer Supply 6 Front Tension Applying Mechanism 7 Core Drop-in Control Mechanism 8 Rear Torsion Catcher 9 Tape Winding Mechanism 10 Winding Machine 11 Winding Machine 12 Rotating Eye Plate 13 Groove Position Detection / Eye Plate Rotating Mechanism for Grooved Spacer 14 Movable Table 15 Moving Mechanism for Drop Position Correction 16 Bearing 17 Center Hole 18 Peripheral Hole 19 Cylindrical Section 20 Groove Detector 21, 22 Gear 23 Potentiometer 24 Bracket 25 Guide rail 26 Guide piece 27 Screw screw 28 Nut block 29 Motor 30 Limit switch 31 Groove position detecting mechanism for grooved spacer 32 Fixed eye plate 33 Front torsion catcher 34 Center hole 35 Peripheral hole 36 Gripping roller 37 Roller Support flare 38 bearing 39 fixed bracket 40 drive mechanism 41 transmission 42 line shaft 43 gripping roller 44 the roller support frame 45 bearing 46 fixed bracket 47 transmission mechanism 48 transmission 49 corrected rotation motor 50 spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A core drop-in control mechanism for controlling to drop an optical fiber core wire into a spiral groove of a grooved spacer that runs while being forcedly rotated about an axis, and the core drop-in control mechanism is provided. When the position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer is detected and the position of the spiral groove is displaced, the relative positional relationship between the optical fiber core wire and the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer. In the optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber cable core by modifying the above, the core drop control mechanism controls the position of the spiral groove in the circumferential direction of the grooved spacer while the grooved spacer is running. Groove position detecting mechanism portion for grooved spacer that detects and outputs a position shift signal, and optical fiber position regulation that regulates the position where the optical fiber core wire is dropped into the spiral groove of the grooved spacer And a front torsion catcher and a rear torsion catcher that are respectively provided before and after the groove position detecting mechanism for the grooved spacer and that rotate around the axis of the grooved spacer while holding the grooved spacer. One of the two torsion catchers is driven to rotate in synchronism with the forced rotation around the axis of the grooved spacer, and the other of the two torsion catchers rotates around the axis of the grooved spacer. An optical fiber cable core manufacturing apparatus having a structure in which correction rotation is applied from the groove position detecting mechanism portion for grooved spacers according to the position shift signal while being rotationally driven in synchronization with forced rotation.