JPS63200109A - Tape-shaped optical fiber core - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily separate optical fiber strands by weakening the adhesive strength on the close contacting boundary surface between common coating layer constituting parts in comparison with the breaking strength of the resin with which common coating layer constituting parts are formed. CONSTITUTION:A common coating layer consists of two common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3 which are closely brought into contact with each other with plural optical fiber strands 1, which are arranged in parallel, between them without being adhered to optical fiber strands 1 and consist of a resin. The adhesive strength on a close contacting surface 4 between common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3 is sufficiently weaker than the breaking strength of the resin of common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3, and plural optical fiber strands 1 are placed on the boundary surface between common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3. Consequently, common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3 are peeled from each other on the boundary surface 4 with a weak strength. Thus, common coating layer constituting parts 2 and 3 are torn off along the boundary surface 4 between common coating layer constituting parts without cutting both end parts of the common coating layer at all if the common coating layer is pulled from above and below, and optical fiber strands 1 are taken out without damaging.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tape-shaped optical fiber core that can be effectively used in high-density optical communications, etc., and in particular to a tape-shaped optical fiber core that can be separated into optical fiber strands. It concerns the structure of lines.

[Conventional technology]

With recent advances in information and communication technology, the demand for faster signal transmission is increasing. Practical use of optical communication technology is an example of the realization of such high-speed signal transmission technology. In other words, optical signal transmission not only achieves high-speed transmission due to the characteristics of light itself, but also has advantages in communication technology such as the optical fiber used as the transmission path is lightweight and is less affected by magnetic fields, electric fields, etc. . However, even with such optical fiber transmission lines, there still remains a demand for transmission of a larger amount of signals, and in response to this, various improvements have been proposed for optical fibers for signal transmission.

One of the things that was realized based on this background is tape-shaped optical fiber. In other words, tape-shaped optical fiber cores consist of optical fibers that serve as optical waveguides integrated with a common coating layer, and are attracting attention as a means of achieving high-density signal transmission with easy handling. .

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In conventional tape-shaped optical fibers of this type, it is generally difficult to separate the optical fiber elements by removing one common coating layer, as shown in the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 4, for example.

The reason for this is that both ends 21 and 22 of the common coating layer must be made relatively thick in order to maintain the strength of the tape core, while at the same time not applying excessive force to the optical fiber strand 1. In order to effectively remove the common coating layer, apply the common coating layer to the two parts including the flat part, for example, the fourth layer.
It is believed that the best method is to tear the optical fiber into two from the position indicated by the dotted line in the cross-sectional view of the figure. It was necessary to tear the material 20 without damaging it, that is, to tear it at the tear portion n shown in FIG. Conventional techniques for this purpose generally involve using, for example, a knife or a jig, but each method requires considerable skill and has the disadvantage of requiring a long removal time.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the conventional problems and provides a tape-shaped optical fiber that can separate optical fiber strands without causing any damage to the coating of the optical fiber strands. , the common coating layer is composed of two common coating layer components made of resin that sandwich a plurality of optical fibers arranged in parallel and are in close contact with each other without adhering to the optical fibers, and the common coating layer of each of the common coatings is The adhesion strength of the mutual interfaces of the layer components that are in close contact with each other is sufficiently lower than the breaking strength of the resin forming each of the common coating layer components, and the plurality of optical fiber strands are all bonded to the interfaces of the common coating layer components. It is characterized by having a structure that is positioned upward.

[For production]

In the tape-shaped optical fiber core of the present invention, the common coating layer is composed of two common coating layer components that are in close contact with each other without adhering to each other, and the adhesion force at the interface between the common coating layers is as follows:
Since the breaking strength is sufficiently lower than the breaking strength of the resin itself forming each of the common covering layer constituent parts, the common covering layer constituent parts peel from each other at the interface with low strength.

Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the common coating layers 2 and 3 can be formed along the common coating layer component boundary surface 4 by simply pulling from both the upper and lower directions without making any incisions at both ends of the common coating layer. Department! and the common covering layer component (2) can be torn. Moreover, since the internal optical fiber strand 1 is located on the boundary surface 4 between the common coating layer components I and 2 of 2 and 3, the common coating layer components I and 2 of 2 and 3 and After tearing, the optical fiber 1 can be easily taken out without damaging it. Examples will be described below based on the drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional structure of an embodiment of the tape-shaped optical fiber core of the present invention. 1 is an optical fiber strand, 2 is a common coating layer component 1, and 3 is a common coating layer component ■ which is in close contact with the common coating layer component I of 2 to the extent that it can be peeled off artificially without being firmly adhered. .

2 and 3 common coating layer components! The interface of and ■ is
This is an example of a tape-shaped optical fiber core passing through the center.

In FIG. 2, the interface between the common covering layer constituent parts 2 and 3, l and 2, is on one side, and in this example, the common covering layer constituent part 2! FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional structure of another embodiment of the structure that is biased to the side; FIG.

Figure 3 shows the common coating layer components of 2 and 3! This is still another example of a structure in which the boundary surfaces of and (3) are not straight, and in this example, three common covering layer constituent parts (3) are embedded in two common covering layer constituent parts I.

In addition, in FIGS. 1 to 3, numeral 1 indicates a bare optical fiber.

Next, a tape-shaped optical fiber specifically produced according to the present invention will be explained.

Ultraviolet curable resin (manufactured by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd., Desolite 9
50YO75) to a diameter of 200 μm, and further coated with ultraviolet curable resin (manufactured by Japan Synthetic Rubber (E), Denrai).
Five optical fibers coated with 950Y100) with a diameter of 250 μmφ were arranged in parallel, and a common coating layer having a boundary surface in close contact with an adhesive strength that could be peeled off with a finger was applied by the processing described below.

Applying ultraviolet curable resin (Desolai 950Y10G, manufactured by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.) only to the top surface of the optical fiber assembly in which the five optical fibers described above are arranged in parallel,
It was irradiated with ultraviolet light (hereinafter referred to as UV light) in a nitrogen atmosphere to cure it.

Next, the assembly of tape-shaped original fibers, in which the common coating layer component was formed by curing the ultraviolet curable resin on one side, was turned over, and the ultraviolet curable resin (Japan Synthetic Rubber ((
A common coating layer component is formed on the other side by coating and curing Desolite 950YO44) manufactured by T.T.
A tape-shaped optical fiber core wire having the cross-sectional structure illustrated in FIG. 2, in which the boundary surfaces of the common coating layer constituent parts on both sides were adhered to each other with such adhesion force that it could be peeled off with fingers, was produced.

The produced tape-shaped optical fiber core was scratched at the interface with a knife to open the end portion, and when the common coating layer component was peeled off from the scratched area by pulling it with fingers on both sides, it was found that the length was over 1 m. The common coating layer could be easily peeled off and removed, and the optical fiber could be drawn out without any external influence.

For comparison, before curing Desolite 950Y100, which was first applied only to the top surface of an optical fiber assembly in which five optical fibers were arranged in 1,000 rows in the same manner as the tape-shaped optical fiber core fabricated above, was used. 950YO4 on the back
4 and irradiated with UV light from both sides, the resin coated on both sides is cured at the same time, and the interface between the resins on both sides is firmly adhered to the common coating layer component. was created. When the common coating layer, in which the boundary surfaces of the common coating layer constituent parts were strongly adhered to each other, was removed by scratching the edge with a knife and peeling it off with fingers along the boundary surface, it was difficult to peel off and about 10 cm was removed. However, it was not possible to cut and remove the common coating layer from the peeled root.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the tape-shaped optical fiber core of the present invention has a common coating layer that does not adhere to the protective coating layer of the optical fiber strands, sandwiching a plurality of parallel optical fiber strands on both sides. By adopting a structure in which the common coating layer is integrally coated and protected by two common coating layer components that can be peeled off with a fingertip and form an interface with an adhesion force that is sufficiently lower than the breaking strength of the resin forming the common coating layer, the common coating layer can be peeled off with a fingertip. can be easily removed, and the optical fiber strands in the common coating layer can be separated as necessary for connection or branching without any risk of causing any damage. As a result, it has become possible to expand the use of multicore optical fibers, which have many advantages but have had problems such as requiring a high degree of skill to handle them, and the application of optical communication technology. The effect of expanding the range and, by extension, the realization of large amounts of information transmission is significant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are cross-sectional structural diagrams of Examples 1 to 3 of the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an example of a conventional tape-shaped optical fiber core wire structure, and FIG. 5 is a conventional tape-shaped optical fiber core wire structure diagram. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for removing a common coating layer from a tape-shaped optical fiber core according to the present invention. 1... Optical fiber strand 2... Common coating layer component I 3... Common coating layer component ■ 4... Common coating layer component boundary surface addition... Common coating layer 21, 22. ...End part n...Tearing part Patent applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Hisashi Tamamushi 5 Sectional structural diagram of Example 1 of tape dog death fading core 1s of the present invention Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Figure 3 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A structure in which a plurality of optical fiber strands each having a protective coating layer are arranged in parallel on the same plane, and the plurality of optical fiber strands are coated and held together by a common coating layer that commonly coats the plurality of optical fiber strands. In the tape-shaped optical fiber core wire, the common coating layer is composed of two common coating layer constituent parts made of resin that are tightly attached to each other while sandwiching the plurality of optical fibers arranged in parallel, and The adhesion force between the mutually adhering interfaces of the common coating layer constituent parts is sufficiently lower than the breaking strength of the resin forming each of the common coating constituent parts, and the plurality of optical fiber strands all have the common coating layer composition. 1. A tape-shaped optical fiber core wire comprising a structure located on the boundary surface of the tape-shaped optical fiber.