JPH08114730A - Pitch abnormality detector for spiral spacer for carrying optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a device capable of exactly detecting the abnormality of the local twisting pitch of spiral grooves. CONSTITUTION: This device serves to detect the abnormality in the pitch of the spiral grooves 2 of a spiral spacer and is approximately composed of a rotating body 5, a supporting member 6 of this rotating body 5, a load gage 7, a safety device 8 for coupling the supporting member 6 and the load gage 7 to each other, pins 9 and a plate. The rotating body 5 formed to a hollow cylindrical form provided with a through-hole into which the spiral spacer is insertable as its center is composed of a pin holder part 5a having the same outside diameter and a plate holder part 5b. The pins 9 and the projections formed at the plate engage with the same spiral grooves 2. The pins 9 and the plate are rotated in such a manner that either of the plate or the pins 9 attain the twisting angle of the spiral grooves 2 in correspondence to this angle corresponding to a spacing X when the spacing along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacers is defined as X.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pitch abnormality detecting device for an optical fiber carrying spiral spacer, and more particularly to a spacer groove in which a plurality of optical fiber carrying grooves are continuously formed by twisting in one direction. The present invention relates to a device for detecting an abnormal twist pitch, specifically, a twist angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A spacer is known in which a main body coating portion of a thermoplastic resin is provided on the outer periphery of a tensile strength wire, and a spiral groove for accommodating and carrying an optical fiber is provided in the main body coating portion. In the optical fiber carrying spiral spacer, the spiral pitch (the length of one rotation of the spiral twist) is usually
It is set to about 150 to 700 mm.

By the way, in the spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber having such a structure, there is a case where the spiral pitch varies due to shrinkage of the thermoplastic resin forming the main body covering portion. If the spiral pitch fluctuates, it may be difficult to insert the optical fiber or the optical fiber tape core wire into the spiral groove, or the once inserted optical fiber or the optical fiber tape core wire may jump out of the groove. .

Further, when the cable is bent after being assembled into a cable and then laid, etc., stress is applied to the inserted optical fiber or the optical fiber tape core wire beyond a permissible value, and transmission loss increases or disconnection occurs. Cause the danger of.
Therefore, conventionally, a rotary encoder attached to a rotary shaft of a spacer take-up machine and a rotary holder provided with a pin that fits into a spiral groove are used to make one rotation of the rotary holder when manufacturing the spacer. The pitch of the spiral groove was calculated by counting the pulse signals sent from the rotary encoder during the period.

However, the pitch measured by such a method measures how much (for example, 500 mm) the twist of the spiral advances for one rotation (360 ° angular displacement). Therefore, it is not a numerical value that guarantees that the twist angle and the length displacement are always constant during one rotation. That is, the above-described measurement method could not catch the local fluctuation of the pitch during one rotation.

Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-307613
In the gazette, another rotary encoder that is coupled to the rotary holder via a gear is provided, and a pulse signal is also sent from this rotary encoder along with the rotation of the rotary holder, and this pulse signal and the pulse signal from the take-up machine are provided. Therefore, a device for calculating the pitch of the spiral groove has been proposed. However, the pitch measuring device disclosed in this publication has the technical problems described below.

[0007]

That is, in the pitch measuring device disclosed in the above publication, the pin supported by the rotary holder fits in the spiral groove and the friction force between the pin and the spiral groove causes the rotary holder to rotate. Rotates. However, in the configuration in which the rotary holder rotates by such a mechanism, the rotation amount of the rotary holder fluctuates due to the frictional force acting between the pin and the spiral groove, and the spiral groove pitch abnormality (abnormal angular displacement with respect to length is abnormal). ) Could not be detected accurately.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to accurately detect an abnormal local twist pitch (twist angle) of a spiral groove of a spacer. An object is to provide a pitch abnormality detecting device capable of detecting.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with a plurality of spiral grooves continuously extending along the longitudinal direction on the outer circumference, and at a predetermined take-up speed along the longitudinal direction. In a pitch abnormality detection device for a spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber, a support member slidably provided along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacer and a screw inserted through the spiral spacer as a center and rotated by the support member. A rotatable body that is freely supported and a load meter that detects the movement of the support member in the longitudinal direction, and a plate and a pin having a protrusion that engages with the spiral groove in the rotatable body are provided in the longitudinal direction. One of the plate and the pin is rotated according to the twist angle of the spiral groove corresponding to the predetermined interval. The support member may be coupled via a security device that separates from the load meter when a force equal to or greater than a predetermined slide movement force acts on the support member.

[0010]

According to the pitch abnormality detecting device for a spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber having the above-described structure, when a local pitch abnormality occurs in the spiral spacer, the plate and the pin having the protrusions engaging with the spiral groove are longitudinally formed on the rotating body. Since the plate or the pin is rotated according to the twist angle of the spiral groove corresponding to the predetermined interval, the plate is provided with a predetermined interval. Alternatively, since both of them come into contact with the side wall of the spiral groove, the passage resistance of the spiral spacer is significantly increased, and as a result, the support member supporting the rotating body slides in the traveling direction of the spiral spacer. When the support member slides in this way, this is detected by the load cell that detects the movement of the support member.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a pitch abnormality detecting device for an optical fiber carrying spiral spacer according to the present invention. The pitch abnormality detecting device shown in the figure detects a pitch abnormality of the spiral groove 2 of the spiral spacer 1.

The spiral spacer 1 has a tensile strength wire 3 arranged at the center and a main body 4 formed by extruding a thermoplastic resin on the outer circumference of the tensile strength wire 3, and the main body 4 is continuously provided in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of spiral grooves 2 are formed in each of the spiral grooves 2, and each spiral groove 2 is formed so that its cross-sectional shape is substantially concave. At a predetermined take-up speed along the longitudinal direction, a direction indicated by an arrow in FIGS. Is collected at a predetermined collection speed.

The pitch abnormality detecting device includes a rotating body 5, a supporting member 6 of the rotating body 5, a load meter 7, a security device 8 connecting the supporting member 6 and the load meter 7, and a pin 9. , And the plate 10. The rotating body 5 has a hollow cylindrical shape with a through hole into which the spiral spacer 1 can be inserted, and has a pin holder portion 5 having the same outer diameter.
It is composed of a and a plate holder portion 5b.

In this embodiment, the pin holder portion 5a is arranged on the front side in the traveling direction of the spiral spacer 1, and the plate holder portion 5b is attached to the bolt 5 on the rear end side of the pin holder portion 5a.
They are connected together by c. The support member 6 is fitted with a hollow cylindrical housing 6a, a plate-like stay 6b fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the housing 6a, a slide base 6c provided at the lower end of the stay 6b, and a slide base 6c, It has a slide rail 6d extending along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacer 1.

A bearing 6e is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 6a. By fitting the bearing 6e on the outer periphery of the plate holder 5b, the rotating body 5 is rotated.
Are rotatably supported by the support member 6. The support member 6 is provided so as to be slidable along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacer 1 by fitting the slide base 6c to the slide rail 6d.

The load meter 7 has a swinging piece 7a protruding from the center thereof, and a sensing lever 7b is fixedly mounted on the swinging piece 7a, and an external force applied to the sensing lever 7b is measured by a built-in strain gauge. It is a thing. The safety device 8 has a connecting rod 8a whose one end is fixed to the slide base 6c of the supporting member 6.
And a permanent magnet block 8b attracted and held to the other end of the connecting rod 8a, and a limit switch 8c provided at a predetermined interval along the moving direction of the slide base 6c.

Sensing lever 7 of connecting rod 8a and load cell 7
Each of b is made of a magnetic material, and the permanent magnet block 8b is attracted and held so as to straddle the sensing lever 7b and the connecting rod 8a. The pin 9 is inserted and held in a hole bored in the pin holder portion 5a in the radial direction, and the tip side thereof is formed to have a diameter capable of entering the spiral groove 2.

Further, the pin 9 has a pin holder portion 5a.
The projecting length of the spiral spacer 1 side can be adjusted by the screw 11 screwed to the end surface of the. The plate 10 is fixed to the front side of the plate holder portion 5b. The details of this plate 10 are shown in FIG. The plate 10 shown in the figure has a disc shape, and has a through hole 10a formed at the center thereof and a pair of mounting holes 10b provided around the through hole 10a.

A plurality of protrusions 10 are provided on the inner circumference of the through hole 10a.
The protrusion 10c is formed so as to project toward the center of the through hole 10a, and the protrusion 10c is adapted to engage with each spiral groove 2 of the spiral spacer 1, respectively. That is, the through hole 10 a and the protrusion 10 c provided in the center of the plate 10 are formed in a shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the spiral spacer 1, and the dimensions thereof are, for example, the width of the protrusion 10 c is the width of the spiral spacer 1. The groove width standard lower limit value of the spiral groove 2 is −0.1 mm, and the inner diameter of the through hole 10a is the outer diameter standard upper limit value of the spiral spacer 1+
0.2 mm, the diameter of the circle connecting the tips of the projections 10c is the upper limit of the product valley diameter standard of the spiral groove 2 of the spiral spacer 1 +0.3 mm
Is set to a size such as.

When the distance between the pin 9 and the plate 10 along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacer 1 is X, the plate 10 or the pin 9 is made to correspond to the twist angle of the spiral groove 2 corresponding to this distance X. Either one of them is rotated so as to have this angle. In this embodiment, since the projection 10c of the plate 10 fits into all of the spiral groove 2, the pin holder 5a is angled α = with respect to the plate holder 5b.
It is rotated by X / P x 360 °.

Here, P is the spiral groove 2 of the spiral spacer 1.
Pitch. In the pitch abnormality detecting device configured as described above, when the local pitch abnormality occurs in the spiral spacer 1, the plate 10 having the protrusion 10c that engages with the spiral groove 2 and the pin 9 are longitudinally arranged in the rotating body 5. Since the plate 10 or the pin 9 is rotated according to the twist angle of the spiral groove 2 corresponding to the predetermined interval, the protrusion 10c or the pin of the plate 10 or the pin 10 is rotated. Since either one or both of these contacts the side wall of the spiral groove 2, the spiral spacer 1
Resistance of the rotating member 5 is remarkably increased, and as a result, the supporting member 6 supporting the rotating body 5 slides in the traveling direction of the spiral spacer 1.

When the support member 6 slides in this way, the load meter 7 for detecting the movement of the support member 6 detects this. In this case, when the abnormal degree of pitch is extremely large, the magnet block 8b of the safety device 8 is disengaged from the sensing lever 7b, the support member 6 is disengaged from the load meter 7, and the slide base 6c comes into contact with the limit switch 8c. The take-up of the spiral spacer 1 is stopped.

In short, in the device of the present invention, the pin 9 engaging with the same spiral groove 2 or the plate 10 having the protrusion 10c is provided with a space X along the traveling direction of the spacer 1.
Are arranged at a certain distance, and these are relatively rotated by an amount corresponding to the twist angle α of the spiral groove 2 corresponding to the distance X,
When a local pitch abnormality occurs, one or both of the two groove engaging portions of the pin 9 or the protrusion 10c contacts the side wall of the groove, so that the passage resistance of the spacer 1 increases. By detecting the load due to the increased resistance with the load meter 7, a local pitch abnormality is detected.

The inventors of the present invention actually made a prototype of the device and applied it to the manufacturing process of the spiral spacer in order to confirm the function and effect of the pitch anomaly detection device having the above structure. The conditions at this time are such that the dimensional shape of the spiral spacer 1 is as shown in FIG. 4, the outer diameter of the pin 9 is 1.25 mm, and the size of each part of the plate 10 is as shown in FIG. Set to.

At this time, the projection 10c engaging with the groove 2 of the plate 10 was obliquely cut by an angle (0.72 °) corresponding to the thickness (1.0 mm) of the plate 10. The distance X between the plate 10 and the pin 9 is 15 mm,
The rotation angle between the pin 9 and the plate 10 is 15 ÷ 500 × 360 = 1 when the pitch of the spiral groove 2 is 500 mm.
It was set to 4.4 °.

The passing resistance when the pitch fluctuates was measured by increasing or decreasing the number of rotations of the rotary die for forming the spiral groove in the main body covering portion. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the pitch and the passage resistance at this time. As is clear from the figure, the passage resistance sensitively increases due to local pitch fluctuations, and when the pitch fluctuates by ± 50 mm or more, the passage resistance exceeds 100 g. Therefore, if the peak level of the load meter 7 is set to 100 g, it is possible to easily detect a pitch exceeding the standard.

[0027]

As described above in detail in the embodiments,
According to the optical fiber carrying spiral spacer pitch abnormality detecting device of the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect a local twist pitch (twist angle) abnormality of the spiral groove of the spacer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a pitch abnormality detecting device for a spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a plate used in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional shape showing an example of a spiral spacer targeted by the pitch abnormality detecting device of the present invention and a dimensional explanatory view of each part.

FIG. 5 is a graph when the detection capability of the pitch abnormality detecting device of the present invention is measured.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 spiral spacer 2 spiral groove 5 rotating body 5a pin holder part 5b plate holder part 6 supporting member 6a housing 6b stay 6c slide base 6d slide rail 6e bearing 7 load meter 7b sensing lever 8 safety device 8a connecting rod 8b magnet block 8c limit switch 9 pin 10 plate 10c protrusion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pitch abnormality detecting device for a spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber, wherein a plurality of spiral grooves continuously extending along the longitudinal direction are provided on the outer circumference, and the spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber is drawn along the longitudinal direction at a predetermined take-up speed. A support member slidably provided along the longitudinal direction of the spiral spacer, a rotating body that is inserted around the spiral spacer and rotatably supported by the support member, and the longitudinal direction of the support member. A load cell for detecting movement in the direction, and a plate and a pin having a protrusion that engages with the spiral groove are provided on the rotating body at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction, and correspond to the predetermined interval. A pitch abnormality measuring device for an optical fiber carrying spiral spacer, wherein either the plate or the pin is rotated in accordance with the twist angle of the spiral groove. 2. The support member is coupled via a safety device that separates from the load cell when a force equal to or greater than a predetermined slide movement force is applied to the support member. A device for detecting the pitch of a spiral spacer for carrying an optical fiber as described above.