KR20020045520A - Spacer for optical fiber cable and optical fiber cable using the spacer, manufacturing method of the same spacer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method for manufacturing a spacer for an optical fiber cable by which a groove inclination of a spiral groove housing an optical fiber is controlled. CONSTITUTION: A coated high-tensile wire 4 in which a preliminary coating layer is provided in the outer periphery of a high-tensile body is pre-heated by passing through a heating tank 5, thereafter the wire is introduced into an extruder 7 having a rotating die 6 corresponding to the cross section shape of the spacer, the wire is guided to a cooling zone 9 to cool it after rotating, extruding and coating a spacer main body resin layer at prescribed speed, and whereby a PE spacer 10 is obtained. Three stages of ring shaped air nozzles are set up in the cooling zone 9 along the running direction of the spacer 10. Air is almost orthogonally brown out of the nozzles toward the spacer 10 and is brown against the groove bottom of the spacer 10, and the root part of a rib is cooled preferentially more than the middle part. The spacer 10 is specified by nearly 1.5 mm in the minimum rib thickness at the root of the rib demarcating the spiral groove, 11.9 degrees in the advancing angle and nearly 15 degrees in the groove inclination angle α.

Description

Fiber Optic Cable Spacer and Manufacturing Method of Optical Fiber Cable and Copper Spacer Using Copper Spacer {SPACER FOR OPTICAL FIBER CABLE AND OPTICAL FIBER CABLE USING THE SPACER, MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE SAME SPACER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable spacer, an optical fiber cable using the copper spacer, and a manufacturing method of the copper spacer, and more particularly, to a technique of suppressing groove inclination of a spiral groove inverting portion accommodating an optical fiber.

In order to reduce the cost and the installation cost of the optical fiber cable, thinning, weight reduction and optical density of the cable are considered, and the optical fiber cable spacer made of polyethylene (PE) for storing and carrying the optical fiber is also reduced in size. The demand for deep and deep grooves is intensifying.

On the other hand, recently processed optical fiber cables use PE spacers (SZ spacers) in which the helical direction of the optical fiber receiving grooves is periodically reversed in order to meet such demands as the optical density is increased and the performance of the intermediate fibers after the intermediate fibers is required. SZ type optical fiber cables in which a plurality of tape-shaped optical fibers or single-core optical fibers are accommodated in grooves are frequently used.

In this case, when storing the rigid optical tape in the SZ spacer, it is necessary to secure enough spacers to accommodate the optical tape as the dimensions of the storage groove.

In addition, the polyethylene resin of the rib separating the side of the spiral groove generates three-dimensional molding shrinkage during extrusion molding (sum of shrinkage due to recrystallization during solidification and volume shrinkage due to lowering resin temperature).

Unlike the one-way twist spacers, which cannot afford to shrink the ribs in the longitudinal direction when such molding shrinkage occurs, in the case of the SZ spacers, the ribs having the shape of shortening the inversion curves in the inverted portion can be shortened. As a result, the hardness of ribs is generated.

Such a phenomenon is encouraged when the height of the ribs is high (deep groove depth), and therefore, the problem of securing the home space described above has been a detrimental factor when deepening the SZ spacer.

With respect to the hardness of the ribs, in addition to the molding shrinkage of the resin, the coating resins may be pulled from each other due to a difference in conditions under which the resin falls when extruded from a mold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and aims to realize the core groove of the SZ spacer without deteriorating the transmission loss by suppressing the groove inclination of the inverting portion of the spacer with the SZ spiral groove for the optical fiber cable. have.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing of the principal part of the manufacturing process of the manufacturing method of the spacer for an optical fiber cable which concerns on this invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory view of an air nozzle used in the manufacturing method of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a spacer for an optical fiber cable obtained by the manufacturing method of FIG. 1.

4 is an explanatory diagram of a groove inclination angle α of the spacer for an optical fiber cable.

5 is an explanatory view of a traveling angle of a spacer spiral groove.

-Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing-

1: Tensile body

2: preliminary coating inner layer

3: preliminary covering outer layer

4: cladding tension line

5: heating bath

6: rotating die

7: extruder

9: cooling zone

10: spacer for optical fiber cable

11: air nozzle

12: spiral groove

13: rib

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a spacer body covering layer having an intermediate coating layer made of thermoplastic resin around a central tensioning body, and having a spiral groove for receiving optical fibers that is periodically inverted in the longitudinal direction and continues in the longitudinal direction. In the spacer for an optical fiber cable formed on the outer circumference of the intermediate coating layer, the spiral groove has a minimum rib thickness of 1.0 mm or more, a groove depth of 2.0 mm or more, and a maximum spiral traveling angle of 8 degrees or more. It was.

Referring to the spiral propagation angle of the present invention, a plurality of sets of spiral grooves are formed in the spacer as shown in FIG. With respect to such a spiral groove, the entry angle [theta] with respect to the length axis of the spacer or an axis parallel to the spiral groove is defined as the spiral advancing angle in the present invention, and the largest is the maximum spiral advancing angle.

The helical groove may have a groove inclination angle of the spacer end surface of the inverted portion of 18 degrees or less.

In the spacer for the optical fiber cable of the present invention, the rib separating the side surface of the spiral groove can form an increasing density gradient toward the distal end at its approximately root portion.

The density gradient can be made to be substantially the smallest in the resin density of the base portion compared with the resin density of the tip portion or the center portion.

The spacer having the above-described configuration can be formed into an optical fiber cable by storing optical fibers such as tapes in at least one of the spiral grooves.

The present invention also provides a spacer body coating layer having an intermediate coating layer formed of a thermoplastic resin around a central tensioning body, and having a spiral groove for receiving optical fibers that are periodically inverted along the longitudinal direction and continuous in the longitudinal direction. In the manufacturing method of the spacer for an optical fiber cable formed in the outer periphery, after forming the said spacer main body coating layer, dry air is sprayed to the outer periphery of the said spacer substantially perpendicularly through the cooling air nozzle from the position spaced apart from the outer periphery of the said spacer at predetermined intervals. To cool.

The cooling air nozzle may be provided in a plurality of multi-stage shapes with a predetermined interval along a running direction of the spacer with respect to the spacer traveling at a predetermined speed.

According to the manufacturing method of the spacer for an optical fiber cable comprised in this way, after forming a spacer main body coating layer, it cools by spraying dry air almost perpendicularly to the outer periphery of a spacer from the position spaced apart from the outer periphery of a spacer through the cooling air nozzle.

In this cooling state, dry air is injected directly into the groove bottom of the spiral groove of the spacer so that the base portion of the rib separating the side of the spiral groove is preferentially cooled earlier than the middle portion.

Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the ribs separating the side surfaces of the spiral grooves from being hardened to the inside of the inversion curve. The thinner spacer which makes the groove inclination-angle of the spacer cross section of an inversion part 18 degrees or less can be obtained.

In addition, when the groove inclination angle is 18 degrees or less, the transmission loss can be reduced when the optical fiber is accommodated in the spiral groove to form an optical fiber cable.

In addition, in the present invention, the coating tensioning body in which the intermediate coating layer is formed may be introduced by heating in advance to an extruder forming the main body coating layer.

In the present invention, the intermediate coating layer may be selected from thermoplastic resins having compatibility with polyethylene.

Embodiment of the Invention

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, preferred embodiment of this invention is described with an Example.

Example 1

A strand strand twisted with seven steel wires with an outer diameter of φ 1.4 mm was introduced into the crosshead as an anti-tension body 1, and an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (GA-006: manufactured by Nippon Unica) was formed on the outer circumference of the anti-tension body 1. Was coated with a pre-coated inner layer (2) and a linear low density polyethylene resin (NUCG5350 manufactured by Nippon Unica) as a pre-coated outer layer (3) at 200 ° C. to give an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin layer outer diameter of 4.8. The tensile strength tension line 4 of φ9.7 mm obtained the mm and the outer periphery linear low density polyethylene resin outer diameter.

This covering tension line 4 is preheated so that the surface temperature becomes 60 degreeC by passing through the heating tank 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and then is equipped with the rotating die 6 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of a spacer. It was introduced into one extruder (7) and rotated and extruded with a high density polyethylene resin (Hizex6600M manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd.) of MI = 0.03 (g / 10min) as a resin for forming the spacer body resin layer 8 at a speed of 6 m / min. Thereafter, the mixture was guided to the cooling zone 9 and cooled to obtain a PE spacer 10 having an outer diameter of 15.7 mm.

In the cooling zone 10, ring-shaped air nozzles 11 shown in detail in FIG. 2 are provided in three stages along the running direction of the spacer 10 at intervals of 300 mm.

The air nozzle 11 used in the embodiment is slit-opened so as to rotate on the inner circumference of the nozzle support 11a, the annular space 11b formed in the nozzle support 11a, and the annular space 11b. The opening part is provided with the cooling nozzle part 11c which protrudes inward in a ring shape, and dry air as a cooling medium is supplied in the outer peripheral side of the annular space part 11b.

The spacer 10 is inserted into the center of the cooling nozzle 11c and travels at a predetermined pulling speed in the direction of the arrow. The dry air supplied into the annular space portion 11b is ejected from the cooling nozzle 11c at a flow rate of about 20 m 3 / sec almost vertically (orthogonally) with respect to the spacer 10 so that the spiral groove 12 of the spacer 10 is provided. The base portion of the rib 13, which is injected into the groove bottom of the groove and separates the side surface of the spiral groove 12, is preferentially cooled earlier than the middle portion.

In this case, the blowing amount of the dry air of each of the air nozzles 11 arranged in the three-stage shape is set under the same conditions in the above embodiment. It can also be reduced. Moreover, what is necessary is just to select suitably the stage of installation of the air nozzle 11 according to cooling capacity, the magnitude | size of a cooling medium, etc., for example.

In the resin discharge nozzle of the rotary die 6, the nozzle hole cross-sectional area (Sb) is obtained by subtracting the cross-sectional area St of the cover tension line 4 from the cross-sectional area Ss of the PE spacer 10 to which the hole cross-sectional area is targeted. Sn) was used so that the value (Sb / Snb) divided by the cross-sectional area (Snb) minus the cross-sectional area (St) of the coated tension line 4 was 0.95.

As shown in FIG. 3, the obtained PE spacer 10 has eight spiral grooves 12 formed on the outer circumference of the spacer body covering layer 8. The groove depths of the spiral grooves 12 are 2.8 mm and the groove width is 2.8 mm, which is substantially U-shaped and is arranged evenly in the circumferential direction.

These spiral grooves 12 had a spiral structure twisted in an SZ shape with an inversion pitch of 235 mm and an inversion angle of 360 °, had a target dimensional shape, and satisfied various specifications.

The PE spacer 10 had a minimum rib thickness of approximately 1.5 mm at the root of the rib 13 separating the spiral grooves 12, and the maximum spiral advancing angle was 11.9 degrees.

Moreover, as a result of measuring the groove inclination angle (alpha), the inclination angle was fully suppressed at about 15 degrees. This groove inclination angle α is defined as shown in FIG.

Here, the straight line L1 connecting the spacer center O and the groove bottom center A of the inverted end face of the PE spacer 10 is connected here, and the groove bottom center A and the groove outer width center B are connected. When the straight line L2 is used, the groove inclination angle α is represented by the narrow angle of these straight lines L1 and L2.

In addition, the rib 13 of the SZ spacer 10 formed of the spacer body resin layer 8 was cut out and divided into four portions from the base to the tip as shown in Fig. 3, and then the resin density was measured by the density gradient pipe. It was 0.9497 in the rib root (a), 0.9505 in the rib center (root side; b), 0.9505 in the rib center (c), and 0.9503 in the rib tip (d).

In other words, in the present embodiment, the rib 13 separating the side of the spiral groove 12 of the spacer 10 is formed with an increasing density gradient toward its distal end from its approximately root portion, which is approximately the root. Resin density of a part becomes smallest compared with resin density of a front end part and a center part.

Next, each of the two-core tape-shaped optical fibers having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 0.6 mm was stored in each of the grooves 12 of the SZ spacer 10 for 8 sheets (to prevent core wire movement and water penetration), and then filled with jelly. And a sheath sheath to obtain a 128-core SZ type optical fiber cable.

As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance with respect to the optical fiber cable, good performance was confirmed at 0.21 to 0.22 dl / km.

Example 2

A strand strand twisted with seven steel wires with an outer diameter of φ 1.0 mm was introduced into the crosshead as an anti-tension body (1), and pre-coated with ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (GA-006 manufactured by Nippon Unica) on the outer circumference of the anti-tension body. The inner layer (2) and the linear low density polyethylene resin (NUCG5350: manufactured by Nippon Unica) were coextruded at 200 DEG C as a precoated outer layer (3), and the outer diameter of the ethylene-ethylacrylate copolymer resin layer was φ3.6 mm. The coated tensile tension line 4 whose outer diameter of the linear low density polyethylene resin coating outer diameter was 5.8 mm was obtained.

This coated tension wire 4 is preheated to 60 ° C. by passing the heating bath 5 in the same manner as in Example 1, and then to the extruder 7 having the rotary die 6 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the spacer. After introducing and rotating-extrusion coating a high density polyethylene resin (Hizex6600M: manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd.) of MI = 0.03 (g / 10min) at a speed of 7.5 m / min as a resin for forming the spacer body resin layer 8, the cooling zone Guided to (9) and cooled to obtain a PE spacer 10a having an outer diameter of φ11.2 mm.

In the cooling zone 9, the air nozzle 11 was arrange | positioned similarly to Example 1 in three steps. In addition, the resin discharge nozzle of the rotating die 6 used what was designed so that the Sb / Snb value demonstrated in Example 1 may be 0.93.

The obtained PE spacer 10a equally arranges six U-shaped spiral grooves 12 having a groove depth of 2.5 mm and a groove width of 2.5 mm in the circumferential direction, and these spiral grooves 12 further have an inversion pitch of 240 mm. It had a spiral structure twisted in an SZ shape at an inversion angle of 360 °, had a target dimensional shape, and satisfied various specifications.

The minimum rib thickness of the rib fundamental of this PE spacer 10a was about 1.85 mm, and the maximum spiral advancing angle was 8.3 degrees.

Moreover, as a result of measuring the groove inclination angle (alpha) of the cross section of the inverted part of this PE spacer 10a, the groove inclination was fully suppressed at about 12 degrees.

In addition, after cutting one rib of the SZ spacer 10a formed of the main body resin and dividing it into four portions from the root to the tip, the resin density was measured by the density gradient pipe. As a result, the rib root (a) was 0.9496 and the rib center (root side). b) 0.9503, the rib center (c) were 0.9504, and the rib tip (d) was 0.9502.

Subsequently, 4 sheets of 2-core tape-shaped optical fibers each having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 0.6 mm were stored in each groove in the same manner as in Example 1, each was filled with jelly, and then wound and sheath-coated to obtain a 48-core SZ-type optical fiber cable. As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance with respect to this optical fiber cable, the performance was satisfactory at 0.20 to 0.22 dl / km.

Example 3

A forged steel wire having an outer diameter of φ2.6 mm was introduced into the crosshead as an anti-tension body, and an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (GA-006: manufactured by Nippon Unica) was pre-coated on the outer circumference of the anti-tension body, and a linear low density polyethylene resin. (NUCG5350: manufactured by Nippon Unica) was coextruded at 200 ° C. as a preliminary coating outer layer, and the outer diameter of the ethylene-ethylacrylate copolymer resin layer was φ3.2 mm and the outer diameter of the linear low density polyethylene resin coating was φ4.5. The coated tensile tension line 4a of mm was obtained.

The coated tensile tension line 4a is preheated to 60 ° C. by passing the heating bath 5 in the same manner as in Example 1, and then to an extruder 7 having a rotary die 6 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the spacer. After introducing and rotating extrusion coating a high density polyethylene resin (Hizex6600M: manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd.) of MI = 0.03 (g / 10min) at a speed of 7 m / min as a resin for forming the spacer body resin layer 8, the cooling zone ( 9) was guided and cooled to obtain a PE spacer 10b having an outer diameter of 10.2 mm.

In the cooling zone 9, the air nozzle 11 was arrange | positioned similarly to Example 1 in three steps. In addition, the resin discharge nozzle of the rotating die 6 used what was designed so that the Sb / Snb value demonstrated in Example 1 may be 0.94.

The obtained PE spacer 10b arrange | positions five substantially U-shaped spiral grooves 12 of groove depth 2.5mm and groove width 3.0mm equally in the circumferential direction, and also these spiral grooves 12 have an inversion pitch of 150 It had a spiral structure twisted into an SZ shape at mm and an inversion angle of 270 ° and had a target dimensional shape to satisfy various specifications.

The minimum rib thickness of the rib fundamental of this PE spacer 10b was about 1.85 mm, and the maximum spiral advancing angle was 8.3 degrees.

Moreover, when the groove inclination angle (alpha) of the cross section of the inversion part of this PE spacer 10b was measured, the groove inclination was fully suppressed to about 13 degrees.

Furthermore, after cutting one rib of the SZ spacer 10b formed of the main body resin and dividing it into four portions from the root to the tip, the resin density was measured by the density gradient tube. As a result, the rib root (a) was 0.9498 and the rib center (root side). b) 0.9505, the rib center (c) were 0.9504, and the rib tip (d) was 0.9503.

Subsequently, each of the four core tape-shaped optical fibers having a thickness of 0.40 mm and a width of 1.1 mm was stored in each of the grooves in the same manner as in Example 1, each was filled with jelly, and then coated with a sheath to obtain a 100-core SZ type optical fiber cable. As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance of this optical fiber cable, good performance was obtained at 0.22 ㏈ / km.

Example 4

Aramid fiber (Kevler 3120dtex manufactured by Toray Dupont Co., Ltd.) is used as a reinforcing fiber, which is impregnated with a vinyl ester resin (Ester H-6400: manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Industries, Inc.), drawing molded to an outer diameter of 4.5 mm, and introduced into the cross head. After extrusion coating the LLDPE resin (NUCG5350 manufactured by Nippon Unica) to cool the coating resin on the surface, the internal vinyl ester resin was cured in a steam curing tank at 145 ° C., and the tensile strength line having an outer diameter of 5.8 mm. (4b) was obtained.

This coated tension line 4b is preheated to 60 ° C. by passing through the heating bath 5 in the same manner as in Example 1, and then to an extruder 7 having a rotary die 6 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the spacer. After introducing and rotating-extrusion coating a high density polyethylene resin (Hizex6600M: manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd.) of MI = 0.03 (g / 10min) at a speed of 7.5 m / min as the resin for forming the spacer body resin layer 8, the cooling zone Guided to (9) and cooled to obtain a PE spacer 10c having an outer diameter of φ11.2 mm.

In the cooling zone 9, the air nozzle 11 was arrange | positioned similarly to Example 1 in three steps. In addition, the resin discharge nozzle of the rotating die 6 used what was designed so that the Sb / Snb value demonstrated in Example 1 may be 0.93.

The obtained PE spacer 10c arrange | positions six substantially U-shaped spiral grooves 12 of groove depth 2.5mm and groove width 2.5mm equally in the circumferential direction, and these spiral grooves 12 further inverted pitch 240mm It had a spiral structure twisted in an SZ shape at an inversion angle of 360 °, had a target dimensional shape, and satisfied various specifications.

The minimum rib thickness of the rib fundamental of this PE spacer 10c was about 1.85 mm, and the maximum spiral advancing angle was 8.3 degrees.

Moreover, as a result of measuring the groove inclination angle (alpha) of the cross section of the inversion part of this PE spacer 10c, the groove inclination was fully suppressed to about 12 degrees.

Furthermore, after cutting one rib of the SZ spacer 10c formed of the main body resin and dividing it into four portions from the root to the tip, the resin density was measured by the density gradient pipe. As a result, the rib root (a) was 0.9497, the rib center (the root side). b) 0.9504, the rib center (c) were 0.9505, and the rib tip (d) was 0.9503.

Subsequently, 4 sheets of 2-core tape-shaped optical fibers each having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 0.6 mm were stored in each groove in the same manner as in Example 1, each was filled with jelly, and then wound and sheath-coated to obtain a 48-core SZ-type optical fiber cable. As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance of this optical fiber cable, good performance was obtained at 0.22 ㏈ / km.

Example 5

A strand strand twisted with seven steel wires having an outer diameter (φ) of 1.4 mm was introduced into the crosshead as an anti-tension body 1, and an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (GA-006: manufactured by Nippon Unica) was formed on the outer circumference of the anti-tension body 1. ) As a precoated inner layer (2) and a linear low density polyethylene resin (NUCG5350 (manufactured by NIPGON UNIKA)) as a precoated outer layer (3) and coextruded at 200 ° C. to give an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin layer outer diameter of φ4. The coated tensile tension line 4 of 8 mm and the outer periphery linear low density polyethylene resin coating outer diameter of 9.7 mm was obtained.

This coated tension wire 4 is preheated to 60 ° C. by passing the heating bath 5 in the same manner as in Example 1, and then to the extruder 7 having the rotary die 6 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the spacer. After introducing and rotating-extrusion coating a high density polyethylene resin (Hizex6600M: manufactured by Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd.) of MI = 0.03 (g / 10min) at a speed of 6 m / min as the resin for forming the spacer body resin layer 8, the cooling zone Guided to (9a) and cooled to obtain a PE spacer 10d having an outer diameter of 15.7 mm.

In the cooling zone 9a, the air nozzle 11 of the structure similar to Example 1 is provided in 4 steps along the running direction of the spacer 10d at intervals of 300 mm.

In the case of this embodiment, the dry air supplied into the annular space part 11b was injected and cooled by the speed of 20 m <3> / HR from each cooling nozzle 11c substantially perpendicularly (perpendicularly) with respect to the spacer 10d.

In addition, the resin discharge nozzle of the rotating die 6 used what was designed so that the Sb / Snb value demonstrated in Example 1 may be 0.95.

The obtained PE spacer 10d equally arranges eight substantially U-shaped spiral grooves 12 having a groove depth of 2.8 mm and a groove width of 2.8 mm in the circumferential direction, and these spiral grooves 12 further have an inversion pitch of 235 mm. It had a spiral structure twisted in an SZ shape at an inversion angle of 360 °, had a target dimensional shape, and satisfied various specifications.

The minimum rib thickness of the rib fundamental of this PE spacer 10d was about 1.5 mm, and the maximum spiral advancing angle was 11.9 degrees.

Moreover, as a result of measuring the groove inclination angle (alpha) of the cross section of the inverted part of this PE spacer 10d, the groove inclination was fully suppressed to about 14 degrees.

In addition, after cutting one rib of the SZ spacer 10c formed of the main body resin and dividing it into four portions from the root to the tip, the resin density was measured by the density gradient pipe. As a result, the rib root (a) was 0.9498, the rib center (the root side). b) 0.9505, the rib center (c) were 0.9506, and the rib tip (d) was 0.9504.

Subsequently, similarly to Example 1, 8 sheets of 2-core tape-shaped optical fibers each having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 0.6 mm were accommodated in the respective grooves, filled with jelly, and then wound and sheath-coated to obtain a 128-core SZ-type optical fiber cable. As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance of this optical fiber cable, good performance was obtained at 0.21 dB / km.

Comparative Example 1

As a cooling method of the spacer body resin, 0.1% of surfactant (Mappon FL-30: manufactured by Matsumoto Co., Ltd.) was introduced into the pipe while being inserted through a SUS pipe having an inner diameter of φ75 mm and a length of 1 m having a packing having a hole diameter of φ16.5 mm on the outlet side. A PE spacer with an outer diameter of φ15.7 mm was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the hot water at 40 ° C. added to the% concentration was introduced at the lower side and overflowed at the upper side to cool and solidify.

The cross-sectional dimensions, inversion pitch, inversion angle, and the like of this SZ spacer were the same as those in Example 1, but were greatly inclined to about 25 ° as a result of measuring the groove inclination angle α of the inversion section end face.

In addition, after cutting one rib of the SZ spacer formed of the main body resin and dividing it into four parts from the root to the tip, the resin density was measured by the density gradient tube. As a result, the rib root (a) was 0.9512 and the rib center (root side; b). This 0.9511, the rib center (c) were 0.9508, and the rib tip (d) was 0.9503.

Subsequently, eight sheets of two-core tape-shaped optical fibers were stored in each groove in the same manner as in Example 1, each was filled with jelly, and then wound and sheath-coated to obtain a 128-core SZ-type optical fiber cable. As a result of measuring the optical transmission performance with respect to this optical fiber cable, a deviation occurred in the performance at 0.25 to 0.55 dB / km.

As described in the above embodiments, the optical fiber cable spacer and the optical fiber cable using the copper spacer according to the present invention and the manufacturing method of the copper spacer suppress the inclination of the groove in the inverting portion and do not deteriorate the transmission loss. Suspicious homeization can be realized.

Claims (10)

An optical fiber formed on the outer circumference of the intermediate coating layer, wherein the intermediate coating layer is formed of a thermoplastic resin around the central tensioning body, and the spacer body coating layer having spiral grooves for receiving optical fibers that are periodically reversed in the longitudinal direction and continuous in the longitudinal direction is formed. In the spacer for the cable, And said spiral groove has a minimum rib thickness of 1.0 mm or more, a groove depth of 2.0 mm or more, and a maximum spiral advancing angle of 8 degrees or more. 3. The spacer for an optical fiber cable according to claim 2, wherein the helical groove has a groove inclination angle of 18 degrees or less in the spacer section of the inverting portion. The optical fiber cable spacer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ribs separating the side surfaces of the spiral grooves have an increasing density gradient toward the distal end at the approximately root portion thereof. The optical fiber cable spacer according to claim 3, wherein the density gradient is such that the resin density of the base portion is the smallest as compared with the resin density of the tip portion or the center portion. An optical fiber cable comprising a tape-like optical fiber in at least one or more of the spiral grooves, using the optical fiber spacer according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An optical fiber formed on the outer circumference of the intermediate coating layer, wherein the intermediate coating layer is formed of a thermoplastic resin around the central tensioning body, and a spacer body coating layer having spiral grooves for receiving optical fibers that are periodically reversed in the longitudinal direction and continuous in the longitudinal direction is formed. In the manufacturing method of the cable spacer, After the spacer body coating layer is formed, fabrication of an optical fiber cable spacer is performed by cooling dry air almost perpendicularly to the outer circumference of the spacer from a position spaced apart from the outer circumference of the spacer through a cooling air nozzle. Way. 7. The manufacturing method of an optical fiber cable spacer according to claim 6, wherein the cooling air nozzle is provided in a plurality of multistage shapes at predetermined intervals along a running direction of the spacer with respect to the spacer traveling at a predetermined speed. 8. The optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein the cooling by the cooling air nozzle is performed at an early stage with a rib separating the side surface of the spiral groove having a substantially root portion first. Method for producing a spacer. The method of manufacturing a spacer for an optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the coated tensioning body in which the intermediate coating layer is formed is introduced by heating in advance to an extruder forming the main body coating layer. The method of manufacturing a spacer for an optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the intermediate coating layer is selected from thermoplastic resins compatible with polyethylene.