JPS617806A - Remover for coating of optical fiber core - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve connection operability and the reliability of a connection part by supplying continuously a tape type coating wiping material while applying specific wiping-off force every time a rubber coating remaining on an optical fiber surface is wiped off. CONSTITUTION:An optical fiber 6 is clamped between wiping-off materials 10 and 10' through a couple of rubber elements 20 and 20' which have V-shaped grooves equal to the mutal intervals of the optical fiber couple 6. Drums 12 and 12' are rotated while the optical fiber 6 is applied with tensile force by clamping parts 7 and 9. Then, coating wiping-off materials 10 and 10' while slid on the optical fiber 6 moved by constant distance B from a coating removal end of a tape core 2 as shown by an arrow, and then returned to its original position. In this case, new parts of the wiping-off materials 10 and 10' are supplied onto the take-up rubber elements 20 and 20'. This operation is repeated several times. Thus, the rubber coating 4' is removed with invariably new coating wiping-off materials, so the optical fiber surface is not damaged and mutual intervals, so the optical fiber surface is not damaged and mutual intervals are held constant. Therefore, the connection operability and the reliability of a connection part are improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for removing the coating of optical fibers during work such as connecting optical fibers.

(Prior technology) The outer sheaths of the opposing optical cables to be connected are peeled off, separated into optical fiber cores, and cut into lengths of approximately 1 to 2 m from the peeled ends, and the optical fiber cores are connected. In this process, a single optical fiber 11 coated with nylon was used as shown in FIG. 8(a), but in recent years,
For the purpose of increasing the rC, % of optical cables and improving connection efficiency, a tape core wire 2 is also used in which a plurality of optical fins are arranged in a horizontal row and coated all at once, as shown in Fig. 8 (b). These optical fiber cores 1 and 2
Full connection +1: It is necessary to remove the nylon coating 3 and silicone rubber coating 4 of the optical fiber cores 1 and 2. As shown in Fig. 4, insert the blade 5 up to the silicone rubber coating 4, move the blade 5 in the direction of the arrow, and remove part of the nylon coating 3 and silicone rubber coating 4 as shown in Fig. 5. At this time, if the silicone rubber coating 41 remaining on the surface of the optical fiber is not completely removed, an alignment error will occur when alignment is performed based on the outer diameter of the optical fiber μ from which the coating has been removed, and the connection characteristics may deteriorate. There are problems such as deterioration of the optical fiber strength and a decrease in the strength of the optical fiber by about an order of magnitude due to discharge heating during fusion splicing.

Conventionally, the silicone rubber covering ff14/ was manually wiped off using gauze impregnated with alcohol, etc., but the wiping pressure applied by the operator was too high and the surface of the optical fiber was wiped off. Damage to the optical fiber reduces the strength of the optical fiber, and in the worst case, the operator may break the optical fiber, or work efficiency is poor. To solve this problem, there is a device that continuously slides a compressed fiber pad or the like over the surface of the optical fiber where the silicone rubber coating 4' remains with a small wiping pressure. When the position of contact with the optical fiber remains constant, the pad at that part deteriorates and the wiping pressure changes, and eventually the wiping ability disappears and the silicone rubber coating q4t cannot be removed. If you do this, you will have to replace the pad frequently, reducing work efficiency, or you may re-adhere the crushed silicone rubber Sf4' to the surface of the optical fiber, causing deterioration of the connection characteristics and strength of the optical fiber. In the worst case, the broken optical fiber attached to the pad may slide on the surface of the optical fiber to which the silicone rubber coating 4' is attached, causing fatal damage or breakage to the optical fiber. Ta.

On the other hand, in the case of the tape core wire 2, in addition to the above-mentioned problems, if the layer of coating 8.4 is extracted and removed from the tape core wire 2 as shown in FIG. Covering 3,
4, the optical fiber pairs 6 cannot maintain the mutual spacing at the time of manufacture, and there is usually a problem that the optical fiber pairs 6 come into contact with each other and cross each other.

Conventionally, while removing the silicone rubber coated aM4,
Care was taken to prevent the optical fiber pairs 6 from crossing each other, and breakage of the optical fibers was generally avoided; however, the optical fiber pairs 6
There was a drawback that damage due to mutual contact could not be avoided. In addition, when mechanizing or automating the work of removing the coating from the tape core wire 2, there is a drawback that breakage of the optical fiber cannot be avoided unless delicate self-control by the operator is introduced.

Furthermore, in the case of the ribbon cable 2, the alignment of the optical fiber pair 6 is as follows:
This is extremely important in the next optical fiber processing process, which is the batch cutting of optical fiber pairs, the alignment process on the V-groove, and the fusion splicing process. (Problems to be solved by the invention) To avoid the coating layer wiped off with a coating wiping material from adhering to the optical fiber, and to provide a stable wiping force, and in the case of tape core wire. To easily hold and fix an optical fiber pair in a state where the optical fiber pair is aligned, and to omit the alignment work of the optical fiber pair in a subsequent connection process.

(Means for solving the problem) The present invention continuously supplies a new tape-shaped coating wiping material for each wiping to remove the coating such as silicone rubber remaining on the surface of the optical fiber, and By applying a predetermined wiping force to the coating wiping material through the pair of rubber, and especially in the case of tape core wire, the silicone rubber coating on the surface of the optical fiber μ is applied with a certain amount of nylon coating waste being pulled out. After wiping off the debris, the pair of bare optical fibers at the peeled ends of the coated optical fibers is gripped and fixed, and the process proceeds to the subsequent connection process.

(Example) 11iU(a) is an explanatory diagram of the coating wiping operation in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-xl in FIG. Fig. 2(a) is a plan view of the gripping portion of the tape-coated optical fiber pair, and Fig. 2(b) is Fig. 2(a).
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a blade is inserted into the coating of the optical fiber core wire, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the coating is pulled out by a certain length.

As shown in FIG. 4, the tape core wire 2 is gripped by the gripper 7,
After fixing, a pair of blades 5 are bitten into the coatings 3 and 4, and the pair of blades 5 are inserted a certain distance along the axial direction of the optical fiber pair 6 toward the end of the optical fiber pair 6. When it is moved by A, part of the nylon coating 3 and silicone rubber coating 4 are pulled out.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the tensile force applying mechanism 8 and the supported gripping section 9 grip the ends of the optical fiber pair 6 through the coating 3.4, and at the same time apply a tension of about 1002 mm.

Next, in order to wipe off the silicone rubber coating *4/ remaining on the surface of the optical fiber pair 6 shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG.
0', a drum that is wrapped in advance 11.11/
, drums 12, 12/ for winding up the wrapped coated wiping materials 10, 10', external rotation and power transmission holes 13, 13' provided in the center of the drums 12, 12', both rotating drums 11, 11' t12, 12' are pivotally supported,
and has a hole corresponding to the rotational power transmission hole 18°13',
and a hole 15 for exposing the covering wiping material 10, 10' to the outside.
A wiping material supply device consisting of a cassette body 16 and 16' having a diameter of 15'. 17° 17' are installed to face each other with the optical fiber pair 6 at the center, and the coated wiping material 10° 10/ protruding from the outside is connected to a wiping force applying mechanism as shown in FIG. 1(a). 18.18' and the metal fitting 19.19 shown in FIG. 1(b) supported by the wiping force application mechanism 18.18'.
.

A pair of rubbers 20, 2.0 is attached to the wiping force adjusting mechanism 21, 21' consisting of rubber 20, 20' having multiple V grooves equal to the mutual spacing of the optical fiber pair 6.
Optical fiber pair 6 with coated wipe 10 through 10'
and apply wiping force.

While applying a tensile force to the optical fiber pair 6 using the gripping parts 7 and 9, the drums 12 and 12' are integrally supported for rotation from the outside on the same stand, and a fixed distance shown in FIG. A wiping force is applied in the direction of arrow Q from the peeled end of the tape core WA2 by a distance B corresponding to A, and the coated wiping materials 10, 10' are removed.
is moved while sliding it on the optical fiber pair 6. At this time, the wiping force may be increased in proportion to the amount of movement. Further, a mechanism 28 may be provided for impregnating the coated wipes 10, 10' of 20°/20 parts of rubber with alcohol. After moving the distance B and wiping off the remaining silicone rubber coating 41 by one movement, the wiping force adjusting mechanism 21.21' reduces the wiping force applied by the pair of rubbers 20, 20/ to zero. , power section 22, 22', wiping material supply force cera)
17, 17' and the wiping force adjustment mechanisms 21, 21' are returned by a distance @B to the initial wiping starting position, and the power unit 22
, 227 rotates the drum 12° 127 by a certain angle, removes In from the coated wiping material 10.10' wrapped around the drum 11.11'', and replaces the coated wiping material 10° 101 on the rubber, 20, 201 with a new one. If the above-mentioned wiping operation of the remaining silicone rubber coating g41 is repeated several times while applying tensile force to the light 7 eyeper pair 6 using the tension applying device, mechanism 8, the remaining silicone rubber will be removed. N4'c
It is removed from the optical fiber pair 6.

With this arrangement, a new coated wiping material 10. Since 'io'i< is supplied, the silicone rubber coating 4' adhering to the coating wiping materials 10, 10' and the broken optical fiber are transferred to the silicone rubber coating M4, which is subjected to the wiping operation. 'Do not stick or rub.

After the silicone rubber coating 41 is removed from the optical fiber pair 6 as described above, as shown in FIG. 2(a),
The tape core, the optical fiber pair 6 at the peeled end of the wire 2 is gripped by a gripper 24 having multiple V-grooves corresponding to the number and mutual spacing of the optical fiber pairs 6.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 5, since the coating 8゜4 that should be removed is not removed all at once, the distance between the optical fibers of the optical fiber pair 6 from which the coating has been removed is as shown in Fig. 2<a). They are constant and parallel to each other, and the gripping portion 24 can easily grip and fix one pair of optical fibers 6.

・As shown in FIG. 2(b), the grip part 24
Cutting scratches 25 shown in FIG. 2(a) are given to the optical fiber pair 6 while holding and fixing the eyeglass pair 6, and a bending tensile force is applied to the part where the cutting scratch has been given to cut the optical fiber pair 6 all at once. can. At this time, since the optical fiber pair is gripped and fixed by the gripping part 24, the optical fiber pair 6 is not pulled out from the peeled end of the tape core wire 2, and therefore the cutting scratches 25' are created in a straight line. The position of is the cut end surface position of the optical fiber pair 6, and on the other hand, the cutting scratch 25 can be given perpendicularly to the axial direction of each optical fiber of the optical fiber pair 6, and each cut end surface of the optical fiber pair 6 is , are perpendicular to each axial direction, and the occurrence of cut end face angles can be greatly suppressed. Further, the cut optical fiber waste is treated at the same time as the coating waste.

Furthermore, after cutting the optical fiber pair 6 all at once, the gripping portion 24
If you move to the next batch fusion splicing process while holding and fixing the optical fiber pair 6, the optical fibers of the optical fiber pair 6 will be parallel to each other and their cut end faces will be aligned, so the optical fiber pair will be No. 6 - The alignment process is not required, and not only can batch fusion splicing be easily performed, but also no new damage is caused to the optical fibers during the alignment process.

In this manner, the optical fiber sheath removal device of the present invention is compatible with the subsequent optical fiber cutting process and fusion splicing process in the case of tape cores.

In the above explanation, we used tape core wires, but
The same applies to single-core wires. At this time, rubber 2
0, 20/multiple V grooves may be made into single grooves or semicircular grooves, and the coating waste is not only separated from the distance A as shown in Figure 4, but also between the edge of the grip part and the blade 5. The nylon coating between the points where the blade 5 was inserted may be wiped off, and the coating may be removed from the point where the blade 5 was inserted in the same manner as described above.

Further, in this embodiment, the ζ-coated wiping material 1. (Although the 1 and 1'O' systems are moved, the coating wiping operation may also be performed by moving the optical fiber cores, that is, the gripping parts 7 and 9 sides.

Further, in this embodiment, the optical fiber pair 6 at the peeled end of the tape cable 2 is held by the gripping portion 24, and the nylon coating 8 at the peeled end and the optical fiber are held by the gripping portion 24.

Each time you wipe off the coating gripped by the gripping part that can grip both the bar pairs 6 at the same time, a new coating wiping material is supplied.
Furthermore, since a stable wiping force can be achieved through the pair of rubbers, the coating remaining on the surface of the optical fiber can be completely removed. Therefore, the axis of the optical fiber can be accurately aligned on the groove with reference to the outer diameter, and there is an advantage that the strength of the optical fiber is not reduced due to discharge heating during fusion splicing.

In addition, in the case of tape cables, the nylon coating is pulled out by a certain distance, that is, the optical fiber pairs are aligned at a constant distance and parallel to each other, so the optical fibers are not exposed to peeling.・An advantage is that the pair of bare optical fibers at the end of the ship can be easily grasped and fixed. If you proceed to the subsequent optical fiber cutting process and fusion splicing process sequentially while holding and fixing the bare optical fiber pair, you can omit the alignment work of the optical fiber pair in each process, so that the optical fiber surface...
2, damage to the optical fibers can be prevented, and the splicing work time can be shortened. On the other hand, it is possible to obtain a good optical fiber cut end surface that is aligned on a straight line, and therefore, there is an advantage that good batch fusion splicing can be performed.

Therefore, the workability of optical fiber connection and the reliability of the connection part can be improved, which greatly contributes to the practical application of optical cable communication systems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1(a) is an explanatory diagram of the coating wiping operation in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1(b) is a sectional view taken along line X-X'G of FIG. 1(a), and FIG. (a) is a plan view of the gripping portion of the tape optical fiber pair, FIG. 2(b) is a sectional view taken along YY' in FIG. 2(a), and FIGS. 3(a) and (b) are Figure 4 is a diagram showing the structure of a single fiber and a tape core, Figure 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a blade is inserted into the coating of an optical fiber core, and Figure 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a certain length of the coating is pulled out. . 1... Optical fiber core wire 11... Optical fiber 3.
4...Coating 5...Blade 6...Optical fiber pair 7...Gripping part 8...Tension applying mechanism
9...Gripping portions 10, 10'...Coated wiping material 11.
11'... Drum 12, 1.2'... Winding drum 16, 16'... Cassette body 17, 17'... Wiping material supply cassette 18, 1.8'
... Tension application mechanism 21, 21/... Wiping force adjustment mechanism 22, 221... Power unit 24... Grip part. Figure 1 (a) LX' Figure 1 (b) Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of opposing blades is provided, and the coating is removed by biting the pair of blades into the coating of the optical fiber and then moving in the axial direction of the optical fiber. The optical fiber sheath remover includes a pair of blades, a moving mechanism that moves the pair of blades in the axial direction of the optical fiber, and a mechanism that grips the end of the optical fiber and removes the sheath of the optical fiber. A tension application mechanism that applies tension, a tape-shaped coated wiping material, a drum on which the coated wiping material is wound in advance, a drum that winds up the coated wiping material wound around the drum, and a tape-shaped wiping material between the two drums. An optical fiber core coating comprising a cassette comprising a feeding mechanism and a pressing mechanism pressing the wiping material against the side surface of the optical fiber, the pressing mechanism being able to slide together with the cassette in the axial direction of the optical fiber. remover. 2. The optical fiber sheath removal device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping portion grips the optical fiber after sheathing removal and has at least as many V-grooves as the number of optical fibers that the cored wire from which the sheathing is to be removed has. An optical fiber sheath remover characterized by the following additional features: