TW201333571A - Fiber-optic cable - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a fiber-optic cable in which colored film requiring production time is not used, and in which the desired optical units can be easily distinguished during mid-span branching. A fiber-optic cable formed by covering with a jacket an optical unit (3) in which an intermittently fixed tape core (6) having markings (13) formed thereon is housed in a transparent tube (7), wherein the optical unit (3) is distinguished by the particular type of markings (13) formed on the intermittently fixed tape core (6). Therefore, when a portion partway along the cable is separated for viewing during mid-span branching, the optical unit (3) can be distinguished from the particular type of markings (13) thereof.

Description

Fiber optic cable

The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable which is an outer cover of an optical component which accommodates an intermittently fixed tape core to which a mark is applied, in a tubular member formed into a cylindrical shape from a film.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an optical fiber cable in which a plurality of optical components are coated on a skin, and the optical component accommodates a plurality of optical fibers in a tubular member formed into a cylindrical shape from a film.

In the optical fiber cable of Patent Document 1, when a specific optical fiber is taken out from the middle of the cable to be connected to the drop cable, the optical fiber cable is used to identify a plurality of optical components accommodated in the cable. A pigmented film is used.

[Advanced technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-123472

However, in Patent Document 1 in which a colored film is used, it is necessary to produce a film to which color is applied, and it is necessary to manufacture a device for each color change, and thus the work is troublesome.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fiber optic cable that can easily identify a desired optical component without the use of a colored film that consumes manufacturing man-hours and that can be easily separated in the middle.

An aspect of the present invention is an optical fiber cable comprising: an optical component configured to have an intermittent fixed core wire, wherein the intermittent fixed core wire is arranged in parallel with a plurality of optical fibers and adjacent to each other a plurality of the connecting portions are respectively disposed in the longitudinal direction of the fixing tape core and the width direction of the fixing tape core, and the core wire is intermittently fixed in the intermittent tape, and the mark is formed in a certain period along the longitudinal direction of the fixing tape core, and the intermittent fixing tape is formed The core wire is housed in a tubular member which is formed by molding a transparent strip-shaped film into a cylindrical shape and overlapping the both end edges of the film in the circumferential direction; and covering the outer skin around the optical component.

In one aspect of the invention, at least two tensile members embedded in the outer skin may be further provided.

In one aspect of the invention, the optical module may further include a transparent resin sheath layer covering the outer periphery of the film.

In one aspect of the invention, a plurality of optical components may be covered by the outer skin, and the types of marks formed on the intermittent fixed tape core wires in the respective optical components are different.

Hereinafter, the specific application of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Implementation form.

[Structure of optical fiber cable]

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a fiber optic cable 1 covered with a plurality of optical components. The optical fiber cable 1 is configured such that a plurality of optical modules 3 are coupled to each other around the tensile body 2, and the optical structure of the optical components 3 is covered by a sheath (sheath) 5 of the pressing tape 4.

As the outer skin 5, for example, a black flame retardant polyethylene in which magnesium hydroxide or red phosphorus is added to high-density polyethylene can be used. Further, as the outer skin 5, various olefin-based materials such as low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, medium-density polyethylene, vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA) may be used. A flame retardant polyolefin to which an additive such as a flame retardant or the like is added.

As the tensile body 2, a fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) such as an aromatic polyamide FRP or a glass FRP, and a steel wire can be used. Further, instead of the tension body 2, an anti-tension body may be embedded in the outer skin 5.

The material for pressing the belt 4 can be used, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or nylon (registered trademark), etc. Thermoplastic resin.

Fig. 2 shows an example of the optical module 3 housed in the optical fiber cable 1 of Fig. 1. The optical module 3 includes an intermittently fixed core wire 6, a tubular member 7 formed of a film shape to accommodate the intermittent fixed core wire 6, and a resin sheath layer 8 covering the surface of the tubular member 7.

Fig. 3 shows an example of the intermittent fixing belt core 6. The intermittently fixed core wire 6 has a structure in which three or more optical fibers 9 are arranged in parallel, and the two-core optical fibers 9 adjacent to each other are connected by a connecting portion 10 which is respectively in the longitudinal direction of the fixed tape core (Fig. 3) The middle arrow direction X direction) and the fixed tape core width direction (the arrow Y direction in Fig. 3) are intermittently arranged in plural.

In Fig. 3, a total of four optical fibers 9 (9A to 9D) are formed, and the two-core optical fibers 9 adjacent to each other among the four optical fibers 9 are in the longitudinal direction X of the fixing strip by the connecting portion 10 and The fixed tape core width direction Y orthogonal thereto is intermittently connected. The connecting portion 10 connecting the adjacent two-core optical fibers 9 is formed in the longitudinal direction X of the fixing tape core, and is formed in plural at a predetermined pitch P1. For example, the connection portion 10 between the optical fiber 9A connecting the first strip and the optical fiber 9B of the second strip is formed in the longitudinal direction X of the fixed strip core, and is formed at a predetermined pitch P1. The connection portion 10 between the optical fiber 9B connecting the second strip and the optical fiber 9C of the third strip, and the connecting portion 10 between the optical fiber 9C connecting the third strip and the optical fiber 9D of the fourth strip are also similarly fixed in the length of the core wire. The direction X is formed across a predetermined pitch P1.

Further, the connection portion 10 connecting the adjacent two-core optical fibers 9 has only one at the same position in the width direction Y of the fixed tape, and the connection portion 10 between the two-core optical fibers 9 adjacent to the other connection is not On the same line, the position of the fixed strip core length Y is staggered. Therefore, the joint portion 10 formed in the intermittently fixed core wire 6 is arranged in a zigzag shape as a whole. Further, the arrangement of the connecting portion 10 is not limited to the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, and may be another arrangement structure. The configuration in Figure 3 is only a real Example.

Figure 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the intermittently fixed core wire. The connecting portion 10 is filled with a resin (for example, an ultraviolet curable resin) in a gap between the adjacent two-core optical fibers 9 to be hardened, and the two optical fibers 9 (9A, 9B) are connected to each other. In the connecting portion 10, the four adjacent optical fibers 9 are moved in the longitudinal direction, and the ultraviolet curable resin is intermittently supplied to the gap between the two-core optical fibers 9, and then hardened by irradiation with ultraviolet light. And formed.

Figs. 5 and 6 show an example of the optical fiber 9. The optical fiber 9 includes a glass optical fiber 11 disposed at the center, a fiber coating layer 12 covering the outer periphery of the glass optical fiber 11, a mark 13 applied to the outer circumferential surface of the fiber coating layer 12, and a half of the outermost layer covered from above. Transparent coloring layer 14. Further, the mark 13 may be applied to the outer periphery of the colored layer 14, or may be applied to the surface of the tape-forming material constituting the connecting portion 10.

For example, the diameter of the glass optical fiber 11 is set to 125 μm. The fiber coating layer 12 is composed of a resin layer provided to cushion the side pressure applied to the glass and to prevent trauma. The mark 13 is a mark for recognizing with another optical component 3 when, for example, a specific optical component 3 is taken out from a plurality of cables stored in the cable.

The mark 13 is provided so as to be substantially wound around the circumferential surface of the optical fiber 9, for example, a band-shaped ring mark (ring mark) which is set in black. When the plurality of connecting portions 10 are provided, the mark 13 is provided at a position where the connecting portion 10 is arbitrarily provided or at a position where all of the connecting portions 10 are provided. The color of the mark 13 can also be a color other than black as long as each light group can be identified. Other colors are also available for each other.

In the present embodiment, the mark 13 is placed at the same position as the connecting portion 10 between the first optical fiber 9A and the second optical fiber 9B. In the present embodiment, the pitch P1 of the joint portion 10 and the pitch P2 of the mark 13 are the same. The pitch P1 of the joint portion 10 and the pitch P2 of the mark 13 are set such that, in the case where the optical fiber cable 1 is divided in the middle, the joint portion 10 and the mark 13 must be covered among the split lengths after the outer skin 5 is cut off. All are more than one cycle.

The marks 13 are respectively provided in the respective optical fibers 9A to 9D, and the marks 13 are arranged on all the optical fibers 9A to 9D, are arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction X of the fixed tape, and are arranged in a line in the width direction Y of the fixed tape. From another point of view, the four optical fibers 9 are juxtaposed at the same position in the longitudinal direction X of the fixed strip core, and are arranged in a row in the width direction Y of the fixed strip, and are connected at positions where the four marks 13 are aligned. In the portion 10, the four optical fibers 9 are arranged in the longitudinal direction X of the fixed tape core, and have a plurality of marks 13 provided at a distance P2 between the fixed periods. Further, the marks 13 are provided at the same position as the above-described connecting portion 10, but they may not be at the same position.

The colored layer 14 is used to identify the index of each of the optical fibers 9A to 9D, which is a translucent color. Therefore, the mark 13 below the colored layer 14 can be seen through. For example, the optical fiber 9A of the first strip is set to the blue coloring layer 14. The optical fiber 9B of the second strip is set to the yellow coloring layer 14. The optical fiber 9C of the third section is set to the green coloring layer 14. The optical fiber 9D of the fourth item is set to a red coloring layer. In this embodiment, four are set to be different. The color layer 14 of the color recognizes each of the optical fibers 9A to 9D in accordance with the color of the colored layer 14.

The intermittently fixed tape core wires 6 thus constituted are respectively identified by the types of the aforementioned marks 13 being different. For example, in the case of having five intermittent fixed tape core wires 6 (6A to 6E) shown in Fig. 7, the number of marks 13 in Fig. 7(A) is one, and Fig. 7(B) is marked. The number of 13 is two, the number of the marks 13 in FIG. 7 (C) is three, the number of the marks 13 in FIG. 7 (D) is four, and the number of the marks 13 in the seventh figure (E) is one. , but the length of the mark becomes longer. By the difference in the number or shape of the marks 13 as described above, each of the intermittent fixed tape core wires 6A to 6E can be identified. Further, the shape of the mark 13 is not limited to the ring mark. Further, in the seventh drawing, five types of marks 13 are exemplified. However, when the number of the optical units 3 is five or more, the type of the marks 13 must be increased to the approximate number of the optical units 3. In addition, in FIG. 7, the connection part 10 is abbreviate|omitted, in order to isolate the type of the mark 13 easily.

The tube member 7 is formed by molding the both ends of the strip-shaped film in the width direction, that is, the film end edges 7a and 7b, in a circumferential direction to form a partially overlapping portion. The pipe member 7 is formed into a cylindrical shape by passing and heating a film in which a plurality of optical fibers 9 are disposed, for example, by gradually reducing the inner diameter of the molding die from the inlet to the outlet. The film constituting the tube member 7 is made of various plastic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene (PE), and polyimide. The film, or consisting of a non-woven fabric and such composite materials.

The resin coating layer 8 is, for example, a colorless and transparent ultraviolet curable resin. It is formed by coating the outer periphery of the coating film 7 and drying it. The resin coating layer 8 is formed by accommodating a plurality of optical modules 3 in the cable to prevent the adjacent optical modules 3 from coming into contact with each other, so that the overlapping portion of the tube 7 is opened and the optical fiber 9 is detached therefrom. Further, the film 7 and the resin coating layer 8 are colorless and transparent, and the mark 13 is more easily recognized. However, as long as the mark 13 can be recognized, it is possible to concentrate or lightly color. Further, in the case where the film 7 is provided with a habit of preventing the optical fiber 9 from coming off, or when only one optical module 3 is housed, the resin coating layer 8 may not be provided.

Each of the optical modules 3 has a different type of the marks 13 formed on the intermittent fixed core wires 6. In the first drawing, eight optical modules 3 are housed in the same cable. However, the optical components 3 accommodate the intermittent fixed core wires 6 having different marks 13.

According to the present embodiment, in each of the optical modules 3, the types of the marks 13 formed on the intermittently fixed core wires 6 are different, and the cylindrical film 7 accommodating the respective optical modules 3 is transparent. After the portion of the outer skin 5 is peeled off, the mark 13 of the intermittently fixed core wire 6 accommodated therein can be recognized through the transparent film 7. Therefore, each of the optical components 3 can be identified by the type of the mark 13 being different. Thereby, the optical component 3 to be taken out from the cable can be discriminated, and the specific optical fiber can be easily taken out from the optical component 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a coloring film which consumes manufacturing man-hours, and it is possible to easily find a desired optical component 3 from the inside of the pipe member 7 and take out a specific optical fiber 9 at the time of the intermediate rear tapping operation.

[Intermediate rear line method of optical fiber]

Next, an example of an intermediate post-sorting method for taking out the intermediate rear sub-line and taking out the specific optical fiber 9 will be described with respect to the optical fiber cable 1 having the above configuration.

The outer skin 5 is cut out at the portion where the optical fiber 9 is to be taken out, and the outer skin of the portion is removed. Then, at a portion where the outer skin 5 is removed at the cut portion, a plurality of optical modules 3 that are spliced around the center of the tensile body 2 are exposed.

Then, the type of the mark 13 formed on the intermittent fixed tape core wire 6 is determined from the optical module 3 taken out from the plurality of optical modules 3, and the intermittent fixed tape core wire 6 in which the optical fiber 9 to be taken out is accommodated is searched. At this time, the outermost layer of the optical module 3, that is, the resin coating layer 8 and the film constituting the tube member 7 are transparent, so that the mark 13 can be seen from the surface side. As a result, the optical component 3 of interest can be easily found from among the plurality of optical components 3.

Then, the found optical component 3 is restored. Then, at the portion where the outer skin 5 is removed, the optical module 3 that has been restored by the splicing is suspended downward. Next, the resin coating layer 8 of the relaxed optical module 3 is removed, and the overlapping portion of the tube 7 is opened to take out the optical fiber 9 therefrom. Then, looking at the outermost layer of the optical fiber 9, i.e., the color of the colored layer 14, is colored to find the specific optical fiber 9 to be taken out.

In this way, it is not necessary to use the coloring film which consumes the manufacturing man-hours and the intermediate optical component 3 can be easily found from the inside of the cable and the specific optical fiber 9 can be taken out during the intermediate post-spinning operation. In other words, in the case where a plurality of optical fibers 9 are unitized by a colored film, the production of the colored film must be performed for each color, and the preparation work of the manufacturing apparatus is required for each color change. However, in the present embodiment, the pipe member is changed and placed. The intermittent fixing of the core wire 6 in 7 is sufficient. Intermittent The fixing tape core 6 must be formed with the mark 13, but it can be easily manufactured by adding a marking process to its manufacturing process.

In particular, in the intermittently fixing the core wire 6, since the respective optical fibers 9 are connected by the connecting portion 10, the mark position of the mark 13 is not shifted. On the other hand, when the optical fiber 9 is marked one by one, the position of the mark 13 of each optical fiber 9 is shifted by the feeding speed of the optical fiber 9, and the like, when a plurality of optical fibers 9 are arranged in parallel, The situation where all the positions of the marks 13 are inconsistent is generated. Further, even if the optical unit 3 is bent, since the optical fibers 9 are intermittently connected to each other by the connecting portion 10, there is no offset to the extent that the marking 13 is difficult to recognize.

[Examples]

In the embodiment, a fiber optic cable in which five optical components are housed in the same cable is manufactured, and the optical component is covered with a film and a 12-core intermittently fixed tape core wire in which twelve optical fibers are intermittently fixed. First, the 12 fibers before the coloring are sent, and the marks are applied at the same position in the width direction at the time of the 12 entire lines.

Then, in order to identify the 12-core optical fiber, an ultraviolet curable resin was applied to the outer periphery of the optical fiber to intermittently follow the optical fiber as a fixed tape resin for intermittently fixing the core wire, thereby obtaining a 12-core intermittently fixed tape core wire with a mark. Each of the marking printing, coloring, and fixing of the taped resin is carried out in the same production line, and it is possible to manufacture an intermittently fixed tape core wire which does not cause a mark printing offset.

In addition, the color of the fiber is used to identify each fiber within the same optical component. There are 12 colors in blue, orange, green, brown, gray, white, red, black, yellow, purple, peach, and water. The color of the fiber does not need to be completely colored in different colors because the individual fibers can be identified from the arrangement of the intermittently fixed core wires.

The type of mark is to prepare five different marks in order to identify five light components. Specifically, a black ring mark with a length of 2 mm, an intermittent fixed core wire every 150 mm, an intermittent fixed core wire with two places, an intermittent fixed core wire with three places, and an intermittent fixed core wire with four places, The black ring mark with a length of 5 mm has one intermittent fixed core wire per 150 mm, and a total of five types are manufactured.

Further, the marking printing is performed between the fiber coating layer and the colored layer, but it may be printed from the colored layer or may be printed from the taped material of the core wire intermittently.

In the optical module, the intermittently fixed core wire is placed in a colorless and transparent PET film which has been given a cylindrical shape in advance, and a colorless transparent ultraviolet curable resin is applied to the outer periphery thereof and cured. The PET film and the ultraviolet curable resin in which the intermittently fixed core wires are bundled are made transparent, so that the marks can be visually recognized in the state of the optical component. The optical fiber cable is manufactured by twisting five kinds of optical components having different types of markings and coating them with the outer skin.

Then, the manufactured optical fiber cable is subjected to the intermediate rear line and the identification of the optical component is confirmed. Specifically, the optical fiber cable was disintegrated approximately 500 mm in the middle of the cable, and it was confirmed that the five optical components housed inside were identifiable. As a result, it is possible to discriminate the types of marks formed in the respective optical components, and Identify the light components.

Further, in the interior of the optical module, there is a case where a water-absorbent yarn for waterproofing is provided depending on the type thereof. If the water absorbing yarn is located outside the intermittent fixed core wire, a part of the mark will be hidden by the water absorbing yarn and cannot be recognized, but the mark can be recognized by rotating the light component or the like.

Then, from the identifiable optical component, the optical component to be taken out is identified and marked out of the cable, and the optical fiber of a specific color among the 12 colored optical fibers is taken out from the pulled optical component. Thereby, the intended optical fiber can be taken out without fail.

[Other implementations]

The above is an example of the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the optical fiber cable of the loose tube structure of Fig. 1. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, a plurality of optical modules 3 are housed in the slots 17 of the slotted core portion 16 having two tension members 15 and having a C-shaped cross section, and the opening of the slot 17 is covered by the pressing belt 18. The present invention is also applicable to the C-groove type optical fiber cable 20 in which the outer casing 19 is covered.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 9, the present invention can also be applied to a self-supporting type optical fiber cable 29 that connects the cable portion 25 and the suspension portion 27 with a connecting portion 28, which is a plurality of optical components. 3 is housed in an optical fiber accommodating portion 24 formed by a sheath 23 having a tensile body 21 and a tear cord 22, and the hanging portion 27 is covered with a plurality of tensile members 26 in the outer sheath 23.

Further, the optical fiber cable 1 of the present embodiment mainly describes a case where a plurality of optical modules 3 are provided, but at least one optical module 3 is required. E.g As shown in FIG. 10, in the optical fiber cable 29 of the self-support type similar to that of the ninth embodiment, one optical module 3 may be housed in the optical fiber accommodating portion 24 of the cable portion 25. The one optical module 3 includes the intermittent fixing core wire 6 shown in Fig. 2, and the tubular member 7 which is formed into a cylindrical shape for accommodating the intermittent fixing core wire 6, and does not have a resin for coating the surface of the tubular member 7. The outer skin layer 8 can also be used. The type of the mark of the optical module 3 is not particularly limited, and for example, any of Figs. 7(A) to 7(E) can be applied.

In the case of a split-line connection in an environment in which a plurality of optical fiber cables are laid, when a plurality of optical fiber cables are connected, it is difficult to recognize a plurality of optical fiber cables. According to the structure shown in FIG. 10, the type of the optical unit 3 can be easily recognized by extracting a part of the optical unit 3 housed in the optical fiber accommodating portion 24 and extracting the mark during the branching operation. Therefore, it can be easily recognized whether the optical component 3 and the optical fiber cable 29 are connected objects.

[Industrial availability]

The present invention can be utilized in an optical fiber cable in which an optical module is sheathed, and the optical component is housed in a tubular member formed into a cylindrical shape by a film.

1, 20, 29‧‧‧ fiber optic cable

2, 15, 21, 26‧ ‧ ‧ tensile body

3‧‧‧Light components

4, 18‧‧‧ Pressing belt

5, 19, 23‧‧ ‧ skin (sheath)

6‧‧‧Intermittent fixing with core wire

7‧‧‧ Pipe fittings

7a, 7b‧‧‧ film edges

8‧‧‧Resin outer skin layer, resin coating

9, 9A~9D‧‧‧ fiber

10‧‧‧Connecting Department

11‧‧‧glass fiber

12‧‧‧Fiber coating

13‧‧‧ mark

14‧‧‧Colored layer

16‧‧‧Slotted core

17‧‧‧ slotting

22‧‧‧Tear rope

24‧‧‧Fiber Storage Department

25‧‧‧ Cable Department

27‧‧‧ hanging line

Y‧‧‧Fixed belt core width direction

X‧‧‧Fixed core wire length direction

P1, P2‧‧‧ spacing

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the optical fiber cable of the embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an optical module housed in the optical fiber cable of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the intermittent fixing core wire housed in the optical module of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the intermittently fixed core wire of Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a mark formed on an optical fiber constituting the intermittently fixed core wire of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an optical fiber constituting the intermittently fixed core wire of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 (A) to (E) are schematic views showing the types of marks formed on the cores of the intermittently fixed tapes.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a fiber optic cable having a different cable construction.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of another example of a fiber optic cable having a different cable construction.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of another example of a fiber optic cable having a different cable construction.

3‧‧‧Light components

6‧‧‧Intermittent fixing with core wire

7‧‧‧ Pipe fittings

7a, 7b‧‧‧ film edges

8‧‧‧Resin outer skin layer, resin coating

13‧‧‧ mark

Claims (5)

An optical fiber cable comprising: an optical module configured to have an intermittently fixed core wire, wherein the intermittent fixed tape cores are arranged in parallel with a plurality of optical fibers, and the two adjacent optical fibers are connected by a connecting portion; a plurality of the connecting portions are respectively disposed in the longitudinal direction of the fixing tape core and the width direction of the fixing tape core; the intermittent fixing tape core wire is formed with a mark along a longitudinal direction of the fixing tape core wire, and the intermittent fixing tape core wire is accommodated in the pipe fitting The tube member is formed by molding a transparent strip-shaped film into a cylindrical shape and overlapping the both end edges of the film in the circumferential direction; and covering the outer skin around the optical component. The optical fiber cable of claim 1, further comprising at least two tensile members embedded in the outer skin. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the optical module further comprises a transparent resin sheath layer covering the outer periphery of the film. The optical fiber cable of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of optical components are covered by the outer skin, and the types of the marks formed on the intermittent fixed tape core wires are different for each of the optical components. The optical fiber cable according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of optical components are covered by the outer skin, and the types of the marks formed on the intermittent fixed tape core wires are different for each of the optical components.