JPH11211948A - Spacer for carrying optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mold a spacer for carrying an optical fiber to a stable state of a shape at a higher extrusion working line speed. SOLUTION: The spacer for carrying the optical fiber is formed of a resin compsn. contg. a polyolefin thermoplastic resin (a), such as HDPE, and an inorg. filler (b), such as talc. The incorporation of a regulated amt. of a polymer (c) formed by copolymerizing a polar monomer into the molecule into the resin compsn. and the use of the inorg. filler subjected to a surface treatment by using at least one kind among surface treating agents of a fatty acid system, phosphate ester system, titanate system and silanol system as (b) are also effective.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spacer for holding an optical fiber used as a member for accommodating a tape-type optical fiber core in an optical fiber cable, and more particularly to obtaining a good spacer shape in an extrusion process for manufacturing the spacer. The present invention relates to a resin composition that facilitates this.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to cope with high-capacity communication using an optical cable, an optical fiber cable having a structure in which a large number of tape-type optical fibers are housed in a spacer having a groove extending spirally along a longitudinal direction is used. In these optical fiber cables, it is very important to efficiently store the tape type optical fiber in the spacer without adversely affecting the optical transmission characteristics.

In order to efficiently store the tape-type optical fiber in the spacer, not only is the structure of the spacer properly designed, but also the grooves of the spacer are formed on the manufacturing surface while maintaining the smoothness or linearity as designed. It is necessary to. Usually, a thermoplastic resin is used for the spacer due to ease and cost of molding, and molding stability of various resin materials is being studied.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-72311 discloses that the MFR, density, molecular weight distribution and the like of a polyolefin resin are regulated and various stabilizers are blended to suppress the generation of molten deposits at the exit of a die during extrusion molding. Are disclosed. JP-A-8-62460 discloses a technique for improving the side surface smoothness and surface roughness of a molded spacer groove by modifying the shape and dimensions of a mold when extruding a crystalline thermoplastic resin. I have.

[0005]

However, as in the former case, if the MFR, density, molecular weight distribution and the like of the resin material to be used are specified and only the stabilizer is added, 180-250 ° C.
In order to stabilize the groove shape at the molding temperature, a high degree of extrusion technology is required. In particular, when the linear velocity is improved, for example, as shown in FIG. Due to problems such as unevenness, distortion, swelling, etc., and the cross-sectional shape of the storage portion is not constant, the tape core is subjected to side pressure, transmission loss increases, and the time required for the tape core storage process is prolonged. And the like may occur. Further, in order to devise and optimize the extrusion die as in the latter case, a great deal of labor and cost may be required by repeating trial and error.

Furthermore, in order to stabilize the shape and dimensions of the groove after molding, a method of performing extrusion at a low temperature is generally performed. In this case, the shape of the molded product can be kept stable. There is a problem that the processing linear velocity has to be reduced because the torque increases. In addition, problems such as a decrease in mechanical properties of a molded product due to a reduction in the degree of entanglement between the resin molecules and a stretching orientation may occur.

As described above, when forming a spacer having a groove extending spirally along a longitudinal direction using a thermoplastic resin, it is necessary to sufficiently melt and extrude the resin material. It is considered that the shape of the groove is not stable. The ratio of the loss elastic modulus to the storage elastic modulus of the resin material during solidification (when the resin material is cooled below the melting point)
(Loss tangent) is high, so it is easily affected by external force such as gravity. Since the heat conductivity of the resin material is low, the heat dissipation efficiency is low, and it takes time for the material to cool to a temperature at which the shape is stabilized. In this case, it is easily affected by an external force such as gravity. As a result, it is considered that the molten resin subjected to the external force is deformed, and problems such as unevenness, distortion, and swelling are caused. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a technique for obtaining a spacer for holding an optical fiber having a stable shape at a higher extrusion linear velocity.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have focused on the characteristics of the above-exemplified resins at the time of melt extrusion and have conducted intensive studies. It has been found that a spacer having a stable shape can be obtained at a higher extrusion linear velocity, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention provides: (1) a spacer for supporting an optical fiber, which is formed by extruding a resin molded body having an outer peripheral spiral groove around a tensile strength member, comprising a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and an inorganic fiber. Provided is an optical fiber supporting spacer formed of a resin composition containing a filler (b). Also, (2) a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), an inorganic filler (b) and a polymer (c) copolymerized with a polar monomer in the molecule, (a) and
Provided is an optical fiber supporting spacer formed of a resin composition containing 1 to 10% by weight of (c) in a polymer component of (c). further,

(3) A polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and an inorganic filler surface-treated with at least one of fatty acid-based, phosphate-based, titanate-based, and silanol-based surface treatment agents (b) The present invention provides an optical fiber supporting spacer formed of a resin composition containing:
Further, (4) a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), a fatty acid-based, a phosphate ester-based, a titanate-based and a silanol-based inorganic filler subjected to a surface treatment using at least one of surface treatment agents (b), And a polymer containing a polymer (c) copolymerized with a polar monomer in the molecule, wherein the polymer component consisting of (a) and (c) contains 1 to 10% by weight of (c) a resin composition formed from a resin composition for supporting an optical fiber. Provide a spacer.

Further, the present invention provides the spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to the above (1), (2), (3) and (4), wherein (5) an inorganic filler (b)
Is 10 to 60 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin component in the resin composition. Also,
(6) the particle size of the inorganic filler (b) is 1.0 to
It is characterized by a range of 10 μm. (7) The inorganic filler (b) is a flat or flaky particle. (8) The inorganic filler (b) is talc.

The reason that the configuration of the present invention has made it possible to obtain an optical fiber supporting spacer having a stable shape at a higher extrusion linear velocity is that a resin composition containing a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin and an inorganic filler is conventionally used. Compared to the thermoplastic resin found in technology, the loss tangent in the temperature range of cooling and solidification from the molten state is small, and the thermal conductivity is large,
It is considered that the shape is easily stabilized because it is hard to deform in a molten state and cools quickly. In the case of adding an inorganic filler to a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin in extrusion molding, usually, in order to prevent surface roughness and the like, the processing linear speed has to be reduced, but the present inventors have shown before. By focusing on the characteristics of the resin during melt extrusion and utilizing the advantages of the inorganic filler, the linear velocity could be increased.

When a resin composition containing a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in a molecule in addition to a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin and an inorganic filler is used, the elongation at break of a molded article can be improved. . Furthermore, as the inorganic filler, a fatty acid-based, phosphate-based, titanate-based, and silanol-based surface treatment agent that has been subjected to a surface treatment using at least one type thereof can increase the breaking strength of a molded product. it can. In addition, the polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin of the present invention, a resin composition containing an inorganic filler, contains a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in the molecule, and as the inorganic filler, fatty acid-based, phosphate-based, titanate-based In the case of using a surface-treated material using at least one of silanol-based surface treatment agents, the elongation at break and the strength at break of the molded product can be increased. When a resin composition containing a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in a molecule in addition to a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin and an inorganic filler is used, or as an inorganic filler, a fatty acid-based, a phosphate-based, or a titanate is used. When using a surface-treated with at least one of the surface treatment agent of the system and silanol system,
There is also a tendency for the surface smoothness of the molded article to be improved. This tendency is higher for the former.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
The present invention is basically characterized in that an optical fiber supporting spacer (hereinafter abbreviated as a spacer) is formed of a resin composition containing a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and an inorganic filler (b). As the polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), for example, polyolefin-based materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene can be used.
As the polyethylene-based material, any of so-called high-pressure low-density polyethylene using an autoclave-type or tubular-type polymerization vessel, a multi-site catalyst such as a Ziegler catalyst, and a low-pressure polyethylene using a single-site catalyst represented by a metallocene catalyst can be used. is there. In particular, in the case of low-pressure polyethylene, the polymerization method is any of a gas phase polymerization method, a solvent suspension polymerization method, a solution polymerization method and the like, and as a comonomer component for ethylene, butene-1, hexene-1, 4-methylpentene- 1, those using octene-1 etc. can be used.

As the polypropylene-based material, those produced by a polypropylene production process such as a solvent suspension polymerization method, a bulk polymerization method, and a gas phase polymerization method can be used. There is no influence of the tacticity of polypropylene, and any structure of isotactic, syndiotactic and atactic can be used. In addition to a propylene homopolymer, a random copolymer with ethylene or butene-1 or a block copolymer containing an ethylene-propylene copolymer can be used. Among the above-mentioned polyolefin-based resins, the melt index MFR specified by ASTM D1238 is 0.03 to 0.5 g /, particularly when workability, mechanical properties, impact strength, and heat resistance are considered.
10 min. Polyethylene having a density specified by ASTM D1505 of 0.920 to 0.970 g / cm ³ and a molecular weight distribution of 4 to 20 calculated from weight average molecular weight / number average molecular weight based on the GPC method is preferable. In the above, the MFR is a value measured under the conditions of a temperature of 190 ° C. and a load of 2.16 kg.

As the inorganic filler (b), amorphous filler such as heavy calcium carbonate, silica, kaolin, clay, titanium oxide, barium sulfate, zinc oxide, aluminum hydroxide, talc, mica, glass flake, synthetic Flat or scaly fillers such as hydrotalcite, spherical fillers such as magnesium oxide and glass beads, fibrous fillers such as glass fiber and carbon fiber, potassium titanate, wollastonite, zonotolite, and needle-like oxidation Inorganic fillers generally used for resin materials, such as acicular fillers such as magnesium and acicular magnesium hydroxide, can be used.

The content of the inorganic filler (b) of the present invention is 10 to 60 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin component in the resin composition. If the amount is less than 10 parts by weight, the shape stability during melt extrusion will be reduced. The loss tangent decreases as the filling amount increases, the thermal conductivity increases, and the cooling rate during melt extrusion increases, which is advantageous for stabilizing the shape of the spacer. The elongation rate of is reduced. Considering the reliability at the stage of finally forming the cable, the tensile properties are desirably 10 MPa or more in breaking strength and 300% or more in breaking elongation. Therefore, the content of the inorganic filler is preferably in the above range.

The average particle diameter of the inorganic filler (b) is preferably in the range of 1.0 to 10 μm. If it exceeds 10 μm, the material properties of the spacer are impaired. It is considered that this is because stress concentrates on the interface between the filler and the resin matrix, and microcracks tend to occur. On the other hand, if it is less than 1.0 μm, the particles are too fine to easily cause dispersion failure due to secondary agglomeration of particles, and it is difficult to obtain stable mechanical properties and the like. Here, the average particle diameter is a particle diameter (D50) at which a relative particle amount becomes 50% by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement (for example, SALD-2000 manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).

The shape of the inorganic filler (b) is preferably a plate-like or scale-like one. Shape is diameter / thickness =
The aspect ratio can be expressed as an index, and an inorganic filler having an aspect ratio of> 1 is preferable in that the shape stability of the melt-extruded spacer is increased. It is considered that the reason for this is that the free movement of the resin molecules serving as the matrix is suppressed by the filling of the plate-like or scale-like particles. Further, the shape stabilizing effect of the inorganic filler (b) is higher as the thermal conductivity is higher and the cooling rate after the melt extrusion of the resin composition is higher, and from this point, the use of magnesium oxide, talc or the like is preferable. Most preferred as the inorganic filler (b) is talc. This is because talc is a tabular particle and has high thermal conductivity and enhances the heat dissipation effect of the resin composition.
This is considered to contribute to the shape stability of the molded product after the melt extrusion.

The present invention provides, as another embodiment,
The spacer contains a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), an inorganic filler (b) and a polymer (c) obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in the molecule, and (c) in the polymer component consisting of (a) and (c).
Is formed from a resin composition containing 1 to 10% by weight.

Examples of the polymer (c) in which a polar monomer is copolymerized in the molecule include acrylic or methacrylic acid alkyl esters such as ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate, and epoxy-containing monomers such as glycidyl methacrylate. Polyolefins containing copolymers of acrylic acids such as vinyl acetate, methacrylic acid and acrylic acid, and acid anhydrides such as maleic anhydride and succinic anhydride can be used. Regarding the mode of copolymerization, any of random, block and graft can be used without any problem. In addition, a silicon polymer having both a polar group and an alkyl group such as an alkoxypolysiloxane can be used. In particular, in consideration of compatibility with the polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), it is preferable to use a graft copolymer having characteristics close to the MFR, density, and molecular weight distribution of (a) as (c). That is, the melt index MFR specified by ASTM D1238 is 0.03 to 0.
5 g / 10 min. And a resin having a density defined by ASTM D1505 of 0.920 to 0.970 g / cm ³ and a molecular weight distribution of 4 to 20 calculated from weight average molecular weight / number average molecular weight based on the GPC method. In the polymer (c) in which a polar monomer is copolymerized in the molecule, the content of the polar monomer is 0.005 to 1 in consideration of reactivity, economy and the like.
0 weight percent is preferred.

As the polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and the inorganic filler (b) contained in the resin composition containing the above (a), (b) and (c), (a) and ( The same materials as those contained in the resin composition containing b) can be used, and the same preferable range can be applied.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the spacer is made of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and at least one of fatty acid-based, phosphate-based, titanate-based, and silanol-based surface treatment agents. And a resin composition containing an inorganic filler (b) subjected to a surface treatment.

In the surface treatment, the inorganic filler is directly treated by a wet or dry method before kneading the resin composition, or the surface is treated by kneading the resin composition into pellets. It is carried out by adding a treating agent.
Further, as the polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and the inorganic filler (b) contained in the resin composition, as described above, the same as the material contained in the resin composition containing (a) and (b) And the same preferred range can be applied.

According to another embodiment of the present invention,
Polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin spacer (a), fatty acid-based, phosphate-based, titanate-based and silanol-based inorganic filler (b) surface-treated with at least one of surface treatment agents, and in the molecule And a polymer (c) obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer, wherein the polymer component comprising (a) and (c) contains 1 to 10% by weight of (c). As (a), (b) and (c), the same materials as those contained in the resin composition described above as other embodiments of the present invention can be used, and those having the same preferable ranges can be applied.

The resin composition of the present invention may contain, if necessary, a metal salt of a fatty acid, an external lubricating agent such as a fluororesin, an antioxidant of a hindered phenol type, an amine type or a thioether type, an amide type or a hydrazide. An additive generally used in plastic materials such as a metal deactivator, a UV inhibitor such as a benzophenone, or a colorant may be contained. Considering the economy of the spacer material, it is preferable to add a metal stearate such as calcium stearate or zinc stearate as the external lubricity imparting agent, and to add a hindered phenol-based antioxidant as the antioxidant.

The resin composition of the present invention is melt-mixed in a commonly used compounding equipment such as a twin-screw kneading extruder, a kneading kneader, a kneading roll, and the like, and if necessary, granulated into an appropriate shape. Can be manufactured. Further, the spacer of the present invention can be manufactured by a commonly used extruder. In order to form a helical shape, it is preferable to extrude directly onto the tensile strength member using an extruder having a rotary crosshead. The size, cross-sectional shape, or spiral shape of the slot can be arbitrarily selected according to the optical cable design, such as a one-way spiral or a spiral that alternates with each other. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the cross-sectional shape of the spacer, but the spacer of the present invention is not limited to this shape.

Further, a thin layer of a resin having a surface lubricating property, a resin containing a coloring agent, or the like is provided on a part or the entire outer surface of the surface of the spacer of the present invention so long as the shape stability of the spacer is not impaired. It is also possible to improve the surface smoothness and identify the spacer. It is economically preferable that these thin layers, so-called skin coat layers, are formed simultaneously with the extrusion of the spacer or in tandem.

As the strength member, steel wire, steel stranded wire, FRP
Alternatively, those coated with a resin material such as polyethylene can be used. When coating the steel wire or the like with a resin material, the coating can be performed offline before extruding and coating the spacer on the tensile strength member, but it is economically preferable to perform the coating using a tandem line immediately before extruding the spacer.

[0030]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. In addition, the evaluation method of the characteristic in the following Examples is as follows. (1) Shape: Shape evaluation is based on the groove shape of the manufactured spacer,
The surface smoothness and the linearity of the side surface were compared by visual comparison. That is, at a high linear velocity (20 m) of a conventional product using a thermoplastic resin composition containing no inorganic filler.
/ Min) is defined as x, and the shape and
Those having higher smoothness and linearity were sequentially indicated as Δ and ○. In this evaluation, extrusion was performed at an interval of 5 m / min to 25 m / min, and the surface and cross section of the molded product were visually compared. For reference, comparisons using cross-sectional shape photographs were also performed as shown in FIGS.

(2) Thermal conductivity: Rapid thermal conductivity meter (Kemtherm
Using a thermal conductivity meter QTM-D3 (manufactured by Kyoto Electronics Industry Co., Ltd.), measurement was performed on a 3 mm thick sheet (170 × 130 × 3 mm). The method for measuring the thermal conductivity of this measuring instrument is classified into the hot wire method and JIS.
This is specified in R2618. Foamed polyethylene (0.0358 W / mK), silicone rubber (0.239 W / mK), and quartz glass (1.419 W / mK) were used as standard sample plates (reference plates). It is recommended that a sample having a size of 50 × 110 × 25 mm or more is used as a measurement sample when using the thermal conductivity meter, but a smaller sample can be measured. However, since it is said that there is some error, the measurement results of this time were used for relative comparison.
The measurement of the thermal conductivity was performed at room temperature.

(3) Viscoelastic properties (loss tangent): Loss tangent (tan δ) was measured by preparing a 1 mm thick sheet and measuring it in parallel with a dynamic viscoelasticity measuring device (MR-300 Solid Liquid Meter, manufactured by Rheology Co., Ltd.). Plate (plate diameter 1.798c
m), at a test frequency of 1 Hz and a temperature of 0 to 300 ° C
(Temperature step 5 ° C.). The loss tangent is the ratio of the loss modulus to the storage modulus, and is an index of the viscoelastic properties of the material. In particular, the loss tangent in the melting point region of the resin used this time indicates the viscoelastic state at the time of solidification, and the smaller the loss tangent value, the stronger the property as an elastic body, and it can be determined that the ability to recover against stress is large. .

(4) Mechanical properties: The mechanical properties were measured using a 1 mm thick sheet using an Instron type tensile tester at a tensile speed of 50 mm / min in accordance with the “Plastic tensile test method (JIS K7113)”. did. Evaluation of the mechanical properties was made based on whether or not a property value range (breaking strength: 10 MPa, breaking elongation: 300%) was satisfied in consideration of the reliability at the stage of finally forming the cable.

(Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Example 1) According to the composition shown in Table 1, each material was melt-mixed with a twin-screw kneading extruder to prepare a resin composition. Using this, a press sheet having the thickness described in the above evaluation method was prepared, and the thermal conductivity, loss tangent, and tensile properties (rupture strength and elongation at break) were measured and evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. The loss tangent describes a value at 125 ° C. around the melting point of the resin composition.

As a tensile member, a steel wire having a diameter of 2.6 mm, which is formed by extrusion-coating a blend of a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer having a thickness of 0.2 mm and LDPE, is used. Melt extruding the resin composition,
The spacer was molded. The shape of the spacer was an array type having five grooves for 100 cores, and was formed under the conditions of an outer diameter of 8.5 mm, a groove depth of 2.3 mm, a groove width of 1.5 mm, a unidirectional spiral, and a spiral pitch of 500 mm. The extruder has a cylinder diameter of 65 mmφ, L / D
= 24, and extruded at a set temperature of 200 ° C.
The linear velocity of the extruder was changed at intervals of 5 m / min to 25 m / min, and the produced spacer was evaluated according to the above-described method of shape evaluation. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0036]

[Table 1]

Comparative Example 1 is a case where a resin composition containing no inorganic filler was used. At a linear extrusion speed of 5 m / min, the difference between the die hole shape and the cross-sectional shape of the product was small and the spacer shape was stable. However, as the linear velocity increases, the shape becomes unstable, and at 20 m / min or more, the side wall of the optical fiber housing portion becomes wavy as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of Examples 1 to 11 using the resin composition containing the inorganic filler, the groove shape is more stable than that of Comparative Example 1 even under the condition that the extrusion linear speed is 20 m / min or more.

In Examples 1-3 and Examples 5 and 6, HDP
This is an example in which a spacer is formed by using a resin composition containing talc having an average particle size of 2 μm as a flat plate as an inorganic filler in E. As the amount of talc increases, the thermal conductivity increases and the loss tangent decreases. Tend. In particular, when the talc content is 10 parts or more, the loss tangent is greatly reduced, and together with the improvement of the cooling rate accompanying the increase in the thermal conductivity, the extrusion linear speed is 20 m / m.
The condition of in or more contributes to stabilization of the shape of the spacer. FIG. 6 shows the spacers formed in Example 1 and FIG. 4 shows the spacers formed in Example 5, each having an extrusion linear velocity of 20 m / min. And 25m
/ Min. Are shown as (A) and (B), and the extrusion linear velocity is 25 m / min. The reason why the shape of Example 1 tends to be unstable is considered to be because the shape stabilizing effect is small. However, when the talc content is 70 parts (Example 6), the elongation at break decreases to 250%, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of cable characteristics.

Next, the shape stabilizing effects of the same inorganic filler compound (60 parts by weight with respect to HDPE) will be compared. First,
A plate-like talc with an average particle size of 2 μm (Example 5) and 13
When a resin composition containing a resin composition having a thickness of μm (Example 9) is used, the shape stabilizing effect does not change, but in Example 9, the breaking strength and the elongation at break decrease.

Further, when comparing Example 5 with a resin composition containing amorphous calcium carbonate (Example 10) or spherical magnesium oxide (Example 11),
In the case of Example 10 or Example 11, the loss tangent is large and not only is the shape stabilizing effect inferior to Example 5, but also the breaking strength is low. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the extrusion linear speeds of 20 m using the resin compositions of Examples 5 and 11, respectively.
/ Min. (A) and 25 m / min. The cross-sectional shape of the spacer formed in (B) is shown. In Example 5 including talc, a stable shape can be obtained even at a higher extrusion linear speed than Example 11 including magnesium oxide. This is thought to be due to differences in fillers but differences due to shapes.

Next, when comparing Example 5 with Example 7 containing talc subjected to a surface treatment, the shape stabilizing effect is not changed, but Example 7 has a higher breaking strength while maintaining the breaking elongation. improves.

In Examples 4 and 8, the case where the spacer was formed with a resin composition containing a polymer containing a polar monomer was described. However, as compared with Example 3 containing the same amount of talc, the shape was stabilized. Although the effect is not changed, the elongation at break of Example 4 is improved, and the elongation at break and elongation at break of Example 8 are improved. Further, Example 4 and Example 8 had better surface smoothness than Example 3.

[0043]

As is evident from the above results, by using a resin composition containing a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and an inorganic filler (b), the shape can be reduced at a linear velocity four times or more that of conventional ones. The stable optical fiber supporting spacer can be extruded. The difference in shape stability due to the resin composition correlates well with the loss tangent value near the melting point of the resin composition, and reducing the loss tangent value by adding an inorganic filler contributes to shape stabilization in extrusion molding. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a cross-sectional shape of an optical fiber supporting spacer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross-sectional shape of an optical fiber supporting spacer formed using a thermoplastic resin composition containing no inorganic filler according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of a cross-sectional shape instead of a drawing of an optical fiber supporting spacer formed using a thermoplastic resin composition mainly composed of HDPE shown in Comparative Example 1.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a cross-sectional shape instead of a drawing of an optical fiber supporting spacer molded using the resin composition shown in Example 5, wherein the extrusion processing linear velocity is (A) 20 m / min and (B) 25 m / min. It is.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of a cross-sectional shape instead of a drawing of an optical fiber supporting spacer formed using the resin composition shown in Example 11, wherein the extrusion processing linear velocity is (A) 20 m / min and (B) 25 m / min. It is.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of a cross-sectional shape instead of a drawing of an optical fiber supporting spacer formed by using the resin composition shown in Example 1, wherein the extrusion processing linear velocity is (A) 20 m / min and (B) 25 m / min. It is.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Spacer 2: Optical fiber storage part 3: Tensile strength member installation part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobumasa Nirazawa 1-3-1, Shimaya, Konohana-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Osaka Works

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber supporting spacer formed by extruding a resin molded body having an outer peripheral spiral groove around a tensile strength member, wherein the spacer is made of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and an inorganic filler ( An optical fiber supporting spacer formed of a resin composition containing b). 2. A polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) 10
2. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein 10 to 60 parts by weight of the inorganic filler (b) is filled with respect to 0 parts by weight. 3. The inorganic filler (b) has an average particle size of 1.0 to 1.0.
The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is 10 µm. 4. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein flat or scale-like particles are used as the inorganic filler (b). 5. The optical fiber supporting spacer according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic filler (b) is talc. 6. An optical fiber supporting spacer formed by extruding a resin molded body having an outer peripheral spiral groove around a strength member, comprising a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), an inorganic filler (b) and The spacer is formed by a resin composition containing a polymer (c) in which a polar monomer is copolymerized in a molecule, and a polymer component consisting of (a) and (c) containing 1 to 10% by weight of (c). An optical fiber supporting spacer, characterized in that: 7. Filling 10-60 parts by weight of an inorganic filler (b) with respect to 100 parts by weight of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and a polymer (c) obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in a molecule. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 6, wherein 8. The inorganic filler (b) has an average particle size of 1.0 to 1.0.
7. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 6, wherein the spacer is 10 μm. 9. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 6, wherein flat or scale-like particles are used as the inorganic filler (b). 10. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 6, wherein the inorganic filler (b) is talc. 11. An optical fiber supporting spacer formed by extruding a resin molded body having an outer peripheral spiral groove around a strength member, wherein the spacer is made of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), a fatty acid-based An optical fiber supporting spacer formed of a resin composition containing an inorganic filler (b) surface-treated using at least one of an acid ester-based, titanate-based, and silanol-based surface treatment agent. 12. Polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) 1
12. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 11, wherein 10 to 60 parts by weight of the inorganic filler (b) is filled with respect to 00 parts by weight. 13. The inorganic filler (b) having an average particle size of 1.0
The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 11, wherein the thickness is from 10 to 10 µm. 14. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 11, wherein flat or scale-like particles are used as the inorganic filler (b). 15. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 11, wherein the inorganic filler (b) is talc. 16. An optical fiber supporting spacer formed by extruding a resin molded body having an outer peripheral spiral groove around a strength member, comprising: a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a), a fatty acid-based, and a phosphate-based resin. An inorganic filler surface-treated with at least one of titanate-based and silanol-based surface treatment agents (b), and a polymer in which a polar monomer is copolymerized in the molecule (c),
A spacer for supporting an optical fiber, wherein the spacer is formed by a resin composition containing 1 to 10% by weight of (c) in a polymer component consisting of (c) and (c). 17. Filling 10-60 parts by weight of an inorganic filler (b) with respect to 100 parts by weight of a total of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin (a) and a polymer (c) obtained by copolymerizing a polar monomer in a molecule. 17. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 16, wherein: 18. The inorganic filler (b) having an average particle size of 1.0
17. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 16, wherein the thickness is 10 to 10 [mu] m. 19. The spacer for supporting an optical fiber according to claim 16, wherein flat or scale-like particles are used as the inorganic filler (b). 20. The optical fiber supporting spacer according to claim 16, wherein the inorganic filler (b) is talc.