JPH11295575A - Optical closure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical closure capable of easily performing the post- branching work of an optical cable. SOLUTION: This optical closure 1 is provided with a connection rod 2 in a thin and long shape extended and arranged along the optical cable 5a and clamping components 3 oppositely arranged at both end parts of the longitudinal direction of the connection rod 2 for clamping and fixing the optical cable 5a. One or both of the clamping components 3 in the longitudinal direction of the connection rod 2 are turnably attached to the connection rod 2 through a hinge mechanism 4 and the optical cable 5a is curved between the opposing clamping components 3 by turning the clamping component 3 attached to the connection rod 2 through the hinge mechanism 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an optical closure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a so-called post-branching operation in which an optical line is branched from the middle of a completed optical cable, the optical cable is drawn to a target branch position and bent, and an optical fiber (optical fiber core) is connected to the optical cable. ) Is required. At this time, there are cases where the tension member of the optical cable is cut and cases where it is not cut, but considering the effect on the actual line, the case where the tension member is not cut is superior in not touching the optical fiber more than necessary. is there. In addition, an optical cable generally has a structure in which a multi-core tape is housed as an optical fiber in view of the demand for multi-core. In this type of optical cable, a so-called SZ cable is used in response to a post-branching operation after installation. However, in view of the cost and the like, most of the optical cables are one-way twisted ones in which a multi-core tape is spirally wound in one direction and stored.

[0003] In recent years, the number of cases in which a post-branched optical cable is re-branched later has increased. Considering the re-branching method in which the one-way twisted optical cable is branched without cutting the tension member, (1) an optical fiber that may branch when assembling an optical closure that stores the branch position And (2) a method of once removing the optical cable from the optical closure, bending the optical fiber to take out the optical fiber, cutting the optical fiber, and then returning the optical cable to the optical closure.

[0004]

The above-mentioned (1)
In the method of (1), there is a possibility that a useless optical fiber not used for branching may be generated, and it is difficult to flexibly cope with a newly generated optical fiber to be branched. Further, in the method (2), there is a problem that the work of taking out and re-storing the optical cable from the optical closure and the work of bending the optical cable to take out the optical fiber easily affect the communication of the actual line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. (A) A structure in which a gripping component is rotated with respect to a connecting rod about a hinge mechanism, thereby bending an optical cable while gripping and fixing the optical cable to the gripping component. The optical cable can be post-branched without substantially affecting the actual line. (B) By rotating the grip component while holding the optical cable to the grip component, it is possible to move to the branch position. (C) By adjusting the relative rotation of the gripping component with respect to the connecting rod by the rotation amount adjusting mechanism, the gripping component can be held in place by applying a pulling force or the like acting from the optical cable. (D) The holding part unit can be attached to the existing connecting rod by the attachment. It can be conveniently attached, also, it is an object to provide an optical closure is readily obtained desired separation distance between the gripping part by adjusting the attachment size, and the like.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an elongated connecting rod extending along the optical cable in a closure sleeve detachably mounted in the middle of the optical cable, and a longitudinal direction of the connecting rod. Gripping parts disposed opposite to both ends to grip and fix the optical cable respectively, and one or both gripping parts in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod are rotatably attached to the connecting rod via a hinge mechanism, An optical closure is characterized in that an optical cable can be bent between opposed gripping parts by rotating a gripping part attached to a connecting rod via a hinge mechanism.

[0007] As the optical cable, the type of optical fiber (optical fiber core) housed inside, the number of optical fibers,
Various configurations can be adopted for the twist form of the optical fiber and the like. Further, it is possible to separately house an optical cable in which a tension member is cut in the optical closure. It is important that the gripping component has a configuration in which the separation distance between the gripping components at both ends of the connecting rod changes due to the rotation, whereby work such as drawing and bending of the optical cable can be performed efficiently. The hinge mechanism may have any configuration as long as the gripping component rotatably supports the gripping component with respect to another gripping component on the opposite side of the connecting rod so as to change the separation distance, and various configurations can be employed.

In the optical closure according to the present invention, the grip component is rotatably driven about a hinge mechanism and the grip component can be fixed at a target position on a rotation locus by the hinge mechanism. Is arranged in the vicinity of the hinge mechanism, the hinge mechanism can be rotated by the target amount only by driving the rotation amount adjusting mechanism. As the hinge mechanism, various configurations such as electric and manual can be adopted.

In the optical closure according to the third aspect, the grip component unit including the hinge mechanism and the grip component is attached to the connection rod via an attachment. Also, the grip component unit can be easily applied. Also, in an optical closure that draws and bends an optical cable, the distance between the gripping parts at both ends of the connecting rod greatly affects the bending radius of the optical cable at the time of bending. The separation distance can be easily secured.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The first embodiment of the optical closure of the present invention will be described below.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b), and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical closure 1 according to a first embodiment, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the optical closure 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the optical closure 1 is provided with gripping parts 3 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of an elongated plate-like connecting rod 2 via hinge mechanisms 4, 4. It is rotatably mounted. The connecting rod 2 is disposed substantially in parallel with the optical cables 5a, 5b gripped and fixed to the gripping parts 3, 3. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the gripping component 3 is a plate-shaped end plate 6 continuously arranged from the connecting rod 2, and is fixed on the end plate 6 in an upright state. An optical cable 5 having an I-shaped base portion 7, and grip component bodies 8, 8 screwed to the base portion 7, and inserted inside the base portion 7.
a and 5b are gripped and fixed from both sides by a pair of gripping component bodies 8,8. In addition, each gripping component 3, 3
A support wire fixing device 9 is attached to the upper part of the optical cable 5a, and a support wire 10 (wire) provided above the optical cables 5a and 5b.
By fixing the support wire fixing tools 9, 9, the optical closure 1 is attached so as to be suspended from the support wire 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, a turning amount adjusting mechanism 4a for adjusting the turning amount of the grip part 3 with respect to the connecting rod 2 is attached to the side of the hinge mechanism 4. The turning amount adjusting mechanism 4a has a structure in which the adjusting bolt 4d is engaged with screwing brackets 4b and 4c provided on the connecting rod 2 side and the gripping component 3 side, respectively. When the rotary operation is performed by the tool, the screwing bracket 4c on the gripping component 3 side screwed to the adjustment bolt 4d approaches and separates from the screwing bracket 4b on the connecting rod 2 side. As a result, the gripping component 3 rotates. You do it.

A slot fixture 4e is mounted near the turning amount adjusting mechanism 4a. This slot fixture 4e
One of the optical cables 5a and 5b inserted into the grip part 3 is drawn through the optical closure 1 without cutting the tension member, and the other optical cable 5a
b cuts the tension member and fixes the slot 5c exposed at the terminal to the slot fixing tool 4e.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, a tray stand 11 is provided at the center of the connecting rod 2, and a plurality of trays 12 are supported on the tray stand 11 in a stacked state. I have. The adjacent stacked trays 12 are connected via a hinge 12a (see FIG. 2) so as to be relatively rotatable, and can be freely opened and closed. As shown in FIG. 1A, a cable insertion hole 13 penetrating along the connecting rod 2 is opened inside the tray stand 11, and the gripping parts 3 at both ends of the connecting rod 2 are provided in the cable inserting hole 13. The optical fiber cable 5a has a slot 14 that is exposed by removing the outer sheath of the optical cable 5a extending between the three slots. An optical fiber 15 (core fiber) taken out of the slot 14 is drawn into the tray 12, and is connected to another optical fiber via an optical connector such as an optical connector or a fusion reinforcing part. In addition, the connecting rod 2, the grip components 3, 3, the support wire fixing tool 9 and the like of the optical closure 1 are the closure sleeve 1a.
(See FIG. 1A).

In order to perform the branching operation of the optical cable 5a with the optical closure 1, first, the closure sleeve 1a is removed, and then, as shown in FIG.
By operating the adjusting bolt 4d of a, the pair of gripping parts 3, 3 are turned around the hinge mechanisms 4, 4 in a direction approaching each other. Since the grip components 3, 3 are always located immediately below the support wire 10 regardless of the operation of the rotation amount adjustment mechanism 4a, when the adjustment bolt 4d is operated, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3, the connecting rod 2, the tray stand 11, the tray 12, and the like move integrally to the non-working side (the hinge 12a side). When the tray stand 11 or the tray 12 moves to the non-working side, the distance between the grip parts 3, 3 is slightly shortened, and the optical cable 5a is easily bent to the working side (the position facing the non-working side) of the tray 12. Can be. At this time, the working side of the tray 12 is
Since the optical fiber 15 moves to a position immediately below 0, an operation of storing an optical connection portion between the optical fiber 15 taken out of the slot 14 of the optical cable 5a and another optical fiber in the tray 12 can be performed efficiently. At this time, since the slot 14 of the optical cable 5a is bent and the optical fiber 15 rises from the slot 14, the target optical fiber 15
Can be easily taken out. Further, if the operation of the adjustment bolt 4d rotated by the target amount is stopped, the separation distance between the screwing brackets 4b and 4c is kept constant, so that the work of taking out the optical fiber 15 can be performed efficiently.
Conventionally, a plurality of workers for maintaining the bent state of the optical cable and a worker for taking out the optical fiber 15 are required. Will be possible.

The optical fiber 15 for performing the post-branching operation
The slot 14, which has been cut in advance, is inserted into the optical closure 1.
If the optical fiber 15 is taken out of the slot 14, the corresponding optical fiber 15 is taken out from the slot 14. If the target optical fiber 15 is not cut, the taken out optical fiber 15 is cut out and the optical connection part such as a fusion reinforcing part is made. And is housed in a suitable tray 12. When the work of storing the optical connection unit in the tray 12 is completed, the grip parts 3, 3
To its original state (solid line in FIG. 2). This light closure 1
Now, the bending operation of the optical cable 5a and the gripping parts 3, 3
Is returned to the original position and the operation of eliminating the bending of the optical cable 5a is performed while maintaining the gripping and fixing state of the optical cable 5a in the gripping parts 3, 3, so that the optical cable 5a
Is no longer necessary to re-grip to the grip part 3.
Workability is greatly improved, and moreover,
Due to the reduction of the fixing release work, the influence on the actual line other than the branch line can be minimized. Adjustment bolt 4
By adopting the rotation amount adjusting mechanism 4a that can easily and smoothly rotate the gripping component 3 by the rotation operation of d, there is no need to worry about excessive bending or the like of the optical cable 5a. The effect can be reduced. After the post-branching operation, it is also possible to execute the post-branching operation again by rotating the gripping parts 3 and 3 again, and to obtain the same high workability as in the first post-branching operation. Can be

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4 show a second embodiment of the optical closure of the present invention. In FIG. 1, FIG.
2A and 2B, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be simplified. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in the optical closure 16 of the present embodiment, grip component units 17, 17 are attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod 2. The grip component unit 17 includes an attachment 18 for attaching the grip component unit 17 to the longitudinal end of the connecting rod 2 and a hinge mechanism 2 that horizontally connects the grip component 19 to the attachment 18 so as to be freely rotatable.
0 and a turning amount adjusting mechanism 21 for adjusting the turning amount of the grip component 19 with respect to the attachment 18. The gripping part 19 includes an end plate 22 connected to the hinge mechanism 20 and a base 2 fixed on the end plate 22 in an upright state.
3 and gripper bodies 24, 24 screwed to the base 23, and when attached to the connecting rod 2 by the attachment 18, it is located outside the gripping component 25 already provided on the connecting rod 2. The rotation amount adjusting mechanism 21 includes the attachment 1
The adjusting bolt 28 is engaged with the screwing brackets 26 and 27 projecting from the end plate 8 and the end plate 22, respectively.
By moving the screwing bracket 27 on the side closer to and away from the screwing bracket 26 on the attachment 18 side, the gripping component 19 is rotated by the target amount with respect to the connecting rod 2.

The rear branching operation of the optical cable 5a in the optical closure 16 is substantially the same as that of the optical closure 1 shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, and the optical closure 16 is connected to the predetermined optical cable 5a. After assembling to the position, the grip component 19 is rotated about the hinge mechanism 20 by operating the rotation amount adjusting mechanism 21 in each grip component unit 17, 17, and the grip components 19 of the grip component units 17, 17 are rotated. , 19 approach each other. Thereby, the optical cable 5a is bent between the gripping parts 19, 19, and the slot 1 is bent.
At this time, the separation distance between the gripping parts 19 and 19 depends on the attachment position of the attachment 18 to the connecting rod 2 and the like, and the distance between the existing gripping parts 25 and 25 and the first embodiment. Since the length can be set longer than the distance between the gripping parts 3 of the optical closure 1 in the form, the bending radius secured when bending the optical cable 5a can be increased. For example, even if the optical cable has more than 600 cores, efficiency can be improved. It is possible to bend well and to perform the post-branching operation efficiently without affecting the actual line. Conversely, depending on the mounting position of the grip component unit 17 and the dimensions of the attachment 18, etc., the grip components 19, 1
When the distance between the wires 9 is reduced, a bending radius advantageous for taking out the optical fiber can be easily ensured even for an optical cable having a small diameter. That is, in the optical closure 16 of the present embodiment, the separation distance between the grip components 19 can be easily adjusted by adjusting the mounting position of the grip component unit 17 and the dimensions of the attachment 18.
It is easy to secure the bending workability of the optical cable.

The optical closure of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the structures of the hinge mechanism, the rotation amount adjusting mechanism and the like can be appropriately changed. Further, the rotation direction of the grip component by the hinge mechanism is not limited to the horizontal rotation, and a rotation about an inclined axis, a rotation about a horizontal axis, or the like can be adopted.
Further, in each embodiment, both of the grip components at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod are rotatable, but it is also possible to make only one of the grip components rotatable.

[0020]

As described above, according to the optical closure of the present invention, the gripping parts attached to the connecting rod are rotated via the hinge mechanism, so that the grips disposed opposite to both ends of the connecting rod. Since the optical cable can be bent between the parts, pulling, bending, and releasing the optical cable can be easily performed simply by rotating the gripping part and changing the separation distance between the gripping parts at both ends of the connecting rod. So you can
(A) The workability of taking out the optical fiber from the optical cable is improved. (B) Since the optical cable can be bent and released while being held and fixed to the gripping parts,
(C) The workability of the rear branch of the optical cable is improved by (c), (b), and (b), which significantly reduces the number of work steps.
According to (b), the effect of the work on the actual line can be prevented, and an excellent effect that the post-branch operation can be efficiently performed while the actual line is in a live state can be achieved.

In the optical closure according to the present invention, the gripping component is rotatably driven around a hinge mechanism, and the rotation amount adjusting mechanism is capable of fixing the gripping component at a target position on a rotation locus by the hinge mechanism. Is disposed in the vicinity of the hinge mechanism, (e) only by driving the rotation amount adjusting mechanism,
Since the hinge mechanism can be accurately rotated by the target amount and it is possible to prevent the optical cable from being excessively bent,
The branching work can be performed without affecting the actual line. (F) The gripping component can be positioned and stopped at the target position rotated with respect to the connecting rod by the rotation amount adjusting mechanism, thereby enabling the optical cable Since the bent state can be maintained, there is an excellent effect that the workability of taking out the optical fiber from the optical cable is improved.

In the optical closure according to the third aspect, the grip component unit including the hinge mechanism and the grip component is attached to the connecting rod via an attachment. The grip part unit can be easily applied to the connecting rod,
(H) By adjusting the attachment position of the attachment to the connecting rod and the dimensions of the gripping component unit, a desired separation distance between the gripping components can be easily secured, and the bending radius when bending the optical cable can be secured. It is easy and has an excellent effect of being able to cope with the post-branching operation of a multi-core optical cable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of an optical closure of the present invention, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view showing a support wire fixing device of (a).

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the optical closure of FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the optical closure of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the optical closure of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical closure, 1a ... Closure sleeve, 2 ... Connecting rod, 3 ... Grasp parts, 4 ... Hinge mechanism, 4a ... Rotation amount adjustment mechanism, 5a ... Optical cable, 16 ... Optical closure, 17
... Grip component unit, 18 ... Attachment, 19 ... Grip component, 20 ... Hinge mechanism, 21 ... Rotation amount adjustment mechanism.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuharu Sakai 3-3-22 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Inventor Masahito Joh 3-3-1 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka 22 Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An elongated connecting rod (2) extending along the optical cable in a closure sleeve (1a) detachably mounted in the middle of the optical cable (5a).
And gripping parts (3, 19) disposed opposite to both ends of the connecting rod in the longitudinal direction for gripping and fixing the optical cable, respectively, wherein one or both gripping parts in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod are connected to a hinge mechanism (4, The optical cable can be bent between the opposite gripping parts by pivotally mounting the coupling rod via the hinge mechanism and rotating the gripping part mounted on the coupling rod via the hinge mechanism. An optical closure (1, 16). 2. A rotation amount adjusting mechanism (4) which rotates the gripping component around a hinge mechanism and can fix the gripping component at a target position on a rotation locus by the hinge mechanism.
The optical closure according to claim 1, wherein a, 21) is arranged near the hinge mechanism. 3. A grip component unit (17) comprising the hinge mechanism and the grip component is attached to the connecting rod via an attachment (18). Or the optical closure according to 2.