JPH1031118A - Powder lubricant applying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To well apply powdery lubricant to coated optical fibers and to minimize the splashing of the lubricant at the time of producing an optical fiber cable by enveloping the powdery lubricant with plural sheets of gauge and rotating the gauze enveloping the lubricant. SOLUTION: A powdery lubricant applying device 30 is formed by superposing plural sheets of the gauze on each other and forming the gauze to a cylindrical shape. Plural sheets of the gauze 31A superposed on each other are wound around a spacer and are supported on a stay 43a with a shaft 32 as a axis in the upper coating applying section 30A of the powdery lubricant applying device 30. Plural sheets of the gauze superposed on each other are similarly wound on the shaft and are supported on the stay 43 in the lower coating applying section 30B. The powdery lubricant is put into the gauze 31A, 31B formed to the cylindrical shape and is rotated. The powdery lubricant is passed through the spacings between the gauze 31A and 31B by its own weight and is adhered to the surfaces of the gauze 31A, 31B. The powdery lubricant adhered thereto is transferred to the objects to be coated, such as, for example, one to plural pieces of the optical fiber ribbons 6, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying a powdery lubricant to an optical fiber tape or an optical fiber core when manufacturing an optical fiber cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some optical cables which collectively transmit a plurality of optical fibers by transmitting a plurality of optical fibers at the same time have a grooved spacer as an optical fiber cable core in order to protect a weak optical fiber core. . FIG. 10 shows an example of such an optical fiber cable core. Reference numeral 1 denotes a spacer made of polyethylene or the like in which a plurality of spiral grooves 1A are formed on the surface at a predetermined pitch p. 1A, an optical fiber tape is inserted and held as described later to form an optical fiber cable.

Conventionally, when such an optical fiber cable core is manufactured, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a spacer 1 is supplied from a spacer supply drum device 2 around which a grooved spacer 1 is wound around a drum to a tension caterpillar 2A. And supplied to the twisting machine 3.

A plurality of drums 4a, 4a,...
And a collecting portion 3A for collecting a plurality of optical fiber tapes 4b, 4b,... Drawn from the drum by embedding them in the groove 1A of the spacer 1.
A is formed in a state where the optical fiber cores 4b, 4b,. Then, the optical fiber cable pulled out from the collecting section 3 is wound up by a winding drum device 5 via a taping head 4 which winds a protective tape around its outer peripheral surface. In addition, 5A shows a caterpillar for cable pickup.

In such an apparatus, the optical fiber tape 4b is twisted by the twisting machine 3 along the groove 1A of the spacer 1 shown in FIG. If there is friction when the 4b abuts, a kink or the like is generated in the optical fiber core wire 4b, and the optical fiber tape 4b is not stored neatly in the groove 1A. At the time of assembly, for example, five four-core optical fiber tapes are dropped into one groove of the slot. Since the optical fiber tapes are aligned in the groove and vertically stacked, the layer core diameter after dropping into the groove differs depending on the optical fiber tape, and the drop speed also differs. If there is friction between the optical fiber tapes having different dropping speeds, smooth dropping cannot be performed, and in some cases, a defect such as the order of the optical fiber tapes being turned over (poor alignment) may occur. Also, if there is friction between the optical fiber tape in the slot and the groove of the slot, and between the optical fiber tapes, the cable may return to its original state when the cable is bent or when the temperature around the cable changes. In some cases, the strain applied to the optical fiber tape is not reduced, and the optical loss may increase. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent poor twisting due to excessive friction and to perform smooth insertion into the groove 1A. For this reason, the tank 90 filled with the powdery sliding material is provided, and the optical fiber core wire 4b passes through the tank 90 filled with the powdery sliding material, so that the powdery sliding material is applied to the twisting machine. 3 is supplied.

[0006]

However, when a long cable is manufactured, the time required for the optical fiber tape 4b to pass through the powdery lubricating material tank 90 becomes longer, and the optical fiber 4b always remains in the same place as the powdery lubricating material. Because of the stepping, the surface is solidified and the powdery lubricant is not applied well. As one of the methods for solving this problem, there is a method of vibrating the powdery lubricant tank 90 to prevent the surface of the powdery lubricant from solidifying. However, when the powdery sliding material tank 90 is vibrated, a problem occurs that the powdery sliding material scatters around and pollutes the indoor environment. Pollution of the indoor environment can degrade human health. For this reason, in order to protect the working environment, it is necessary to install a forced ventilation device, and there is a drawback that the equipment becomes large-scale. The present invention has been made based on such a viewpoint, and is intended to apply a powdery lubricant satisfactorily and to prevent scattering.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a plurality of gauze sheets are stacked to form a tube to form a powdery lubricant application device.
Put the powdery lubricant inside the gauze that has been made into a tube and rotate it. The powdery lubricant adheres to the surface of the gauze through the gap of the gauze by its own weight. The attached powdery sliding material is transferred to an object to be coated such as one or a plurality of optical fiber tapes. At this time, the powdery sliding material is applied well, and solidification and scattering are minimized.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an example of a powdery lubricant application device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Prior to description of the coating apparatus of the present embodiment, an apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber unit using the coating apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is an overall view for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical fiber unit according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a state in which the spacer 1 described in FIG. The bread for supplying the spacer is shown.
Numeral 0 is mounted on a turntable 10c rotatably arranged on the floor of a factory. Then, the spacer 1 is pulled up by the pull-up roller 11A while being rotated in the direction of the arrow by the control motor 10A and the transmission gear 10B as shown, for example, and further supplied to the collecting head unit 12 via the guide rollers 11B and 11C. You.

FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the optical fiber tape 6, in which a plurality of optical fiber tapes 6 are provided in a tape-shaped elastic body 6 made of UV resin having a width of 1.1 mm and a height of 0.3 mm or 0.4 mm. For example, four optical fiber cores 7 are embedded. Then, such an optical fiber tape is overlapped in a plurality of layers according to the information amount of the cable and fitted into one spiral groove. Therefore, when such an optical fiber core is twisted with a spacer having four grooves formed in a spiral shape, a transmission line of several hundred fibers can be constructed by one optical fiber unit.

The collective head 12 shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a spacer guide 14 and a collective head 15 for guiding the optical fiber ribbon to the grooves of the spacer 1, and the optical fiber tape 6 is wound around the collective head 12. The optical fiber tape is supplied from the plurality of drums 13A, 13B,. Then, in this portion, the optical fiber tape is embedded in the spacer 1 with the spiral groove while being inserted. At this time, in order to attach a powdery lubricant for smoothly inserting the optical fiber tape into the spacer 1 having the spiral groove, the powdery lubricant applying device 30 is applied to the plurality of optical fiber tapes from the drum 13A. Provided between the collecting heads 15, and similarly, the powdery lubricant applying device 30 is provided between the collecting heads 15 from 13B.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a tape supply for winding a tape 16a so as to cover the outer surface of the spacer 1 in which the optical fiber tape 6 is held in the groove. Reference numeral 17 denotes an optical fiber cable having an optical fiber tape integrated with the spacer. The cable puller 17 pulls out the cable by a caterpillar structure that sandwiches the cable, and applies rotation to the optical fiber cable in a direction perpendicular to the cable pulling direction in synchronization with the traveling speed of the spiral groove pitch. It is configured as follows. The optical fiber cable pulled out by the cable pulling machine 17 in the direction of the arrow is wound on a winding pan 20 via guide rollers 18A and 18B and a pulling-down roller 19.

The winding pan 20 is also mounted on a turntable 20C, like the supply pan 10, and is configured to rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the delivery pan by a control motor 20A and a driving gear 20B. You. In some cases, a cable drum may be used instead of the supply pan 10 and the take-up pan 20 in the above-described embodiment. When the spacer 1 is pulled out from the supply pan 10 by such a manufacturing method, the pan 10 rotates so that the spacer 1 pulled out from the pan 10 is pulled out without twist.

The spacer 1 serves as the collecting head 1
2 and the optical fiber tape is accommodated in the groove of the spacer 1. At this time, the spacer 1 is
7 controls the rotation of the spacer 1 in synchronization with the traveling speed of the pitch P of the grooved spacer.
When the rotation is controlled, the position of the groove is controlled to be always in a fixed direction at the position of the collecting head 15. Therefore, the drums 13A, 1A,
Even if the position of 3B ... is fixed, if the spacer 1 is pulled out while rotating the spacer 1 in the opposite direction to the spiral groove,
The optical fiber core is securely accommodated in the groove of the spacer 1 at the position of the collecting head 15. When the spacer rotated by the cable take-up machine 17 is dropped into the take-up pan 20, the pan 20 is also driven to rotate synchronously with the take-up machine 17, so that the spacer 20 does not drop into the pan 20 without twisting. Can be.

The number of rotations n of the cable take-up machine 17 in the cable axis direction is set to n = v / p, where p is the pitch of the groove 1A of the spacer and v is the take-up speed of the spacer 1. Further, if the spacer 1 rotates while moving at this rotation speed n, the torsional force is accumulated in the spacer 1 at the portion of the supply pan 10 and the take-up pan 20, which is not preferable.

In the case of the optical fiber cable manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the spacer 10 is fed and wound while the pan 10 and the pan 20 are rotated in the horizontal direction. By the way, if the pan 10 is stopped, a single twist is inserted when the length of one round of the spacer 1 wound around the pan 10 is pulled out. The direction is reversed depending on the winding direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) of the spacer 1 wound around 10.

Therefore, assuming that the winding radius of the spacer pulled out from the pan 10 is r ₁ , if the rotation speed N of the pan 10 is controlled to be N = v / p ± v / 2πr ₁ , the cable The twist caused by the rotation of the spacer applied by the take-off machine 17 can be eliminated in the pan 10. Note that ± is determined by the winding direction of the spacer initially wound on the pan 10,
If the twist when the spacer is pulled out from the pan 10 is set to be opposite to the rotation direction of the spacer, it is possible to set N = v / p−v / 2πr ₁ .

In this case, generally, n = v / p> v / 2πr
_Since N is ₁ , N <n, and the rotation speed of the pan 10 is r ₁
The larger the value, the smaller it can be. Since the winding radius r ₁ is a function that fluctuates periodically, the pan 10 is controlled to rotate using the winding radius r ₁ as a function. Although the above description has been made on the supply-side pan 10, the winding-side pan 20
Is naturally twisted when the spacer is wound up.

Therefore, as in the case of the pan 10, the rotation of the pan 20 is controlled as described above as a function of the current winding radius r ₂ of the pan 20. Also in this case, it is preferable that the twist caused by rotating the spacer 1 is set to be canceled depending on the winding direction of the pan 20. By providing a spacer guide 14 on the collective head portion 12 and regulating the groove of the spacer 1 just before the protrusion 14A of the spacer guide 14 enters the collective head 15, the optical fiber core wire can be more reliably provided. Can be matched with the position of the groove.

In this manner, the spacer is pulled out and wound up by using the pan rotatably arranged with respect to the vertical axis, and the optical fiber core is inserted into the spacer having the spiral groove. When twisting, only the take-out machine that pulls out the spacer is rotated about the cable traveling direction as an axis, so that the manufacturing equipment can be simplified as compared with the conventional device, and at the same time, it is heavy and long. Cable can be manufactured. Further, since the control for matching the position of the groove of the spacer with the position where the optical fiber cores are gathered is simplified, a highly reliable optical fiber unit can be manufactured.

Next, the powdery lubricant application device of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 shows a powdery lubricant application device 30 of the present embodiment, in which a powdery lubricant is uniformly attached to an optical fiber tape 6 so as to be smoothly fitted into the spiral groove 1A. . The upper coating unit winds a plurality of laminated gauze 31 on spacers 34 and 38, with the shaft 32 as an axis,
It is supported by the stay 43. Similarly, the lower application part is wound with gauze superposed on a plurality of sheets on the shaft,
It is supported by the stay 43. The stay 43 is configured to be disassembled from the stay body 43a, the stay side 43b, and the stay side 43c, and is axially mounted on the extreme ends 32g and 32h of the shaft 32 in a U-shaped cross section.

The optical fiber core wire drawn from the drum 13A first passes through the upper surface of the gauze 31 in the lower application section, and then passes through the lower surface of the upper application section. At that time, the gear 45 connected to the motor 44 with the reduction gear rotates in the direction of arrow A, and the coating unit 31A rotates in the direction of arrow B and the coating unit 31B rotates in the direction of arrow C in accordance with the rotation. The powdery sliding material is uniformly attached to the optical fiber core, and the optical fiber core is pulled up in the direction of arrow D.
At this time, the powdery lubricant adheres to the surface of the gauze through the gap of the gauze by its own weight by the rotation of the gauze, and is applied to the sent optical fiber tape. In FIG. 8, the powdery sliding material may be installed in parallel with the cable, so that the optical fibers drawn from the drums 13A and 13B may be transported horizontally to the position of the spacer guide.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the coating apparatus 30 shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. A part for forming the powdery lubricant application device is mounted on a shaft 32 serving as a shaft when the application unit 30A1 rotates. After the spacer 34 and the spacer 38 inserted into the shaft 32 are fitted to the step 32a, they are fixed and crimped at 32a and 38a, respectively. A plurality of superposed gauze 31 is wound so as to cover the spacer, and the extreme ends of the gauze 31 respectively press the ends of the gauze 31 bent in the spacer. Then, a cap 36 is fitted, and a nut 37 is fitted into the screw portion 32C on the left side.

Similarly, at the right end of the application section, a holder 39 in which the gauze 31 bent into the spacer inner space 38b is fitted presses a part thereof. On the right side of the holder 39, a gear 33 is fitted, and a motor 44 with a reduction gear,
In response to the rotation of the gears 45 and 46, the coating unit 3
1A1 is rotated. On the further right side of the gear 33, a nut 40 is fitted into the screw portion 32f. In the application portion of the powdery sliding material thus formed, the replenished powdery sliding material is filled from inside the holder into the gauze through the hole 34b of the spacer.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of gauze 31 woven at 500 to 2,000 meshes per square inch are overlapped on the spacer 34 and the spacer 38 inserted in the shaft as shown in FIGS. It has been wound. At this time, the notches 34 are provided in the spacers 34 and 38 so that the gauze is easily wound.
b, 38c. The notch 34
b and 38c are for determining the winding direction of the gauze. As shown in FIG. 5, the gauze 31 is wound so as to cover the spacers 34 and 38 inserted into the shaft.

In FIG. 10, a holder 3 is provided at the left end of the shaft.
5 is fitted, and a holder 39 is fitted into the right end,
Press down each folded gauze. In FIG. 11, a cap 36 is fitted into the holder 35,
It is fixed with a nut 37. In such a state, the right end of the shaft 32 is rotatably supported on the stay 48.

When supplying the powdery lubricant, the stay 43 serving as a support portion is disassembled to supply the powdery lubricant to the powdery lubricant supply hole. Stay side 43b connected to the left end of shaft 32
Is detached from the stay body 43a. And nut 37
Is loosened, the cap 36 is removed, and the powdery sliding material replenishes the holder with a spoon or the like. At the time of driving, the application section rotates and agitates the powdery lubricant inside.

By rotating the coating section in this way, the inside of the powdery lubricating material is constantly stirred, so that it does not harden and is not coated on the optical fiber tape. Further, the powdery lubricating material applying device can uniformly apply the optical fiber tape through the gauze. Since the powdery sliding material passes through the gauze, it is difficult to be scattered, and a good working environment can be provided. By using the upper coating device and the lower coating device, the powdery lubricant can be uniformly applied to both sides of the optical fiber tape.
Such a powdery lubricant application device has a simple device configuration,
There is no cost. Further, as described above, a simple replenishment method of removing the nut 37 and the cap 36 and replenishing the powdery lubricant is realized.

[0029]

As described above, the powdery lubricant applying apparatus of the present invention minimizes scattering to the surroundings even when a long cable is manufactured by wrapping the powdery lubricant with a plurality of gauze. Can be minimized. In addition, by rotating the wrapped gauze, there is an effect that the powdery lubricant can be satisfactorily applied to an object to be coated such as an optical fiber core without being stirred and hardened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a powdery lubricant application device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an application section of the powdery lubricant application apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an assembling process of the powdery lubricant application device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembling process of the powdery lubricant application device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembling process of the powdery lubricant applying device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembling process of the powdery lubricant application device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an assembling process of the powdery lubricant applying device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an optical fiber unit device having the powdery lubricant application device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical fiber tape.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a spacer serving as a cable core.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a conventional optical fiber unit manufacturing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spiral grooved spacer 6 Optical fiber core wire 10 Supply pan 12 Collecting head part 15 Collecting head 17 Cable take-up machine 20 Winding pan 30 Powdery lubricant coating device 30A Upper coating unit 30B Lower coating unit 30C Coating part 31 Gauze 32 Shaft 33 Gear 34 Spacer 34a Spacer pressure contact part 34b Spacer inner space 34c Notch 35 Holder 36 Cap 37 Nut 38 Spacer 39 Holder 40 Nut 41 Bearing 42 Bearing 43 Stay 44 Motor with reduction gear 45 Gear 46 Gear 49 Optical fiber ribbon S Powdery lubricating material

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takuya Osako 1-2-1, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside the Nippon Ocean Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasushi Sudo 1-2-1, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Nippon Ocean Submarine Electric Cable Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A coating means in which a plurality of gauze sheets are stacked and formed into a cylindrical shape, and a powdery lubricant is filled in the cylinder; holding means for rotatably supporting the coating means; And a driving means for rotationally driving the application means pivotally supported by the holding means. A first coating means rotatably supported by the first holding means; and a second coating means rotatably supported by the second holding means. A powdery lubricant is applied to the linear object from one direction, and the powdery lubricant is applied to the linear object from the other direction by the second applying means. 2. The powdery slip according to claim 1, wherein the powdery slip is disposed so as to be able to be applied over substantially the entire circumference of the object to be coated, and each of the application means is rotated in the opposite direction by the driving means. Material coating device. 3. The powdery lubricant coating device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be coated is an optical fiber tape or an optical fiber core. 4. A cylindrical coating device containing the powdery lubricant,
4. The powdery lubricant application device according to claim 1, wherein the device is rotated at 0.1 to 20 rotations per minute. 5. A tubular coating device containing said powdery lubricant, wherein the gauze is 500 to 200 per square inch.
The powdery lubricant coating device according to claim 1 or 2, which is woven into 0 mesh.