TW202033995A - Storage tray and method for storing optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

There are constraints on the fusion splicing work for an optical fiber due to the limited excess length of an optical fiber unit. A storage tray according to the present invention comprises: a fiber storage section for storing the excess length of an optical fiber; and a unit storage section for storing the excess length of an optical fiber unit, in which the optical fiber is protected with a protective tube. The storage tray allows the optical fiber unit to have a relatively long excess, thereby relaxing the constraints on the splicing work for an optical fiber.

Description

Storage tray and optical fiber storage method

The invention relates to a storage tray and an optical fiber storage method.

Patent Documents 1 to 4 describe optical fiber units in which a binding material is wound around a bundle of plural optical fibers. In addition, Patent Documents 3 and 4 describe methods of manufacturing an optical fiber unit by winding a plurality of binding materials around a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers.

In addition, Patent Documents 5 to 7 describe various tubes. Patent Document 5 describes a protective tube that covers the periphery of the optical fiber for protection. Patent Document 6 describes that a plastic wire or a metal wire is braided to form a freely stretchable cylindrical net to protect the wiring. Patent Document 7 describes that the electric wire is protected by a network tube that increases in diameter when shortened. [Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

Patent Document 1: International Publication No. WO2015/053146 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-169939 Patent Document 3: JP 2013-97320 A Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-049081 Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-215438 Patent Document 6: Japanese Unexamined Publication No. 63-49356 Patent Document 7: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-10441

[The problem to be solved by the invention]

The binding materials described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are wound around a bundle of optical fibers in a manufacturing plant in order to bind a plurality of optical fibers. Therefore, the binding materials described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are not used to protect optical fibers, nor are they used to insert optical fibers. In addition, the laying of optical fibers is not set at the laying site. The binding materials described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are installed on the periphery of the bundle of optical fibers (and the binding materials described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are installed at the laying site. It is difficult to install on the periphery of the bundle of optical fibers).

In addition, according to the protection tubes described in Patent Documents 5 to 7, the optical fiber can be protected by inserting the optical fiber into the protection tube when laying the optical fiber. However, in this case, the rigidity of the optical fiber unit (a member that protects the optical fiber with a protective tube) becomes high, which makes it difficult to bend the optical fiber unit. Therefore, the excess length of the long optical fiber unit cannot be set. In addition, in the past, in order to avoid the mixing of the wiring of the optical fiber unit in the shelf (the wiring between the optical cable and the storage tray), the excess length of the long optical fiber unit has not been set. As a result, since the optical fiber unit is short, there is a restriction in the connection operation of connecting the optical fibers extending from the optical fiber unit, and the connection operation of the optical fiber becomes difficult.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a relatively long excess length of the optical fiber unit, and to relax the restriction on the connection operation of the optical fiber. [Means to solve the problem]

The main invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is a storage tray, which is provided with an optical fiber storage portion, an excess length of the optical fiber, and a unit storage portion that accommodates the excess length of the optical fiber unit protected by a protective tube.

The other characteristics of the present invention will be clarified from the description of the description and drawings described later. [Invention Effect]

According to the present invention, since the excess length of the optical fiber unit can be made relatively long, the restriction on the connection operation of the optical fiber can be alleviated.

At least the following items can be clarified from the descriptions in the manual and illustrations described later.

It is clear that there is a storage tray, which is provided with: an optical fiber storage portion for accommodating the excess length of the optical fiber, and a unit storage portion for accommodating the excess length of the optical fiber unit protected by a protective tube. According to such a storage tray, the excess length of the optical fiber unit can be made relatively long, so that the restriction on the connection operation of the optical fiber can be alleviated.

A spacer is provided to separate the optical fiber accommodating part and the unit accommodating part, and it is preferable that a connecting part for performing the optical fiber wiring is formed in the spacer. Thereby, optical fiber wiring can be performed between the optical fiber housing part and the unit housing part.

The connecting part is preferably arranged at the end of the spacer. Thereby, the bending of the optical fiber unit accommodated in the unit accommodating part can be alleviated.

It is preferable to form a holding part which protects the cylindrical member attached to the end part of the said protection tube in the said connection part. Thereby, the end of the optical fiber unit can be fixed to the storage tray, and the storage operation becomes easy.

The holding part preferably has a groove for inserting the protrusion of the cylindrical member, and a pressing part for pressing the cylindrical member from a direction in which the protrusion is inserted into the groove. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the cylindrical member from being separated from the holding portion.

The unit accommodating portion is provided with a bottom plate portion on which the optical fiber unit is placed, and a folded portion opposed to the plate portion, and a part of the optical fiber unit accommodated in the unit accommodating portion can be arranged on the bottom plate and the folded portion Departments are better. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the accommodated optical fiber unit from falling off from the unit accommodating part.

It is clear that there is an optical fiber storage method, and proceed: the steps of making a first optical fiber unit that protects the optical fiber of the first optical cable with a protective tube; the steps of making a second optical fiber unit that protects the optical fiber of the second optical cable with a protective tube; prepare an optical fiber receiving part and The step of the storage tray of the unit accommodating part; the step of connecting the optical fiber of the first optical cable extending from the first optical fiber unit and the optical fiber of the second optical cable extending from the second optical fiber unit; connecting the optical fiber after the connection The step of accommodating the excess length of the above-mentioned optical fiber accommodating portion; and the step of bending and accommodating the excess length of the first optical fiber unit and the second optical fiber unit in the unit accommodating portion. According to such an optical fiber accommodation method, the excess length of the optical fiber unit can be made relatively long, and therefore the restriction on the connection operation of the optical fiber can be alleviated.

The above-mentioned protective tube is preferably a mesh-shaped tube with openings formed in a mesh shape. Thereby, the optical fiber unit can be bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating part.

Preferably, a cylindrical member is attached to the end of the mesh-shaped tube, and the cylindrical member is held in the storage tray. Thereby, the end of the optical fiber unit can be fixed to the storage tray, and the storage operation becomes easy.

It is preferable that the excess length of the first optical fiber unit and the second optical fiber unit be bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating part in a state in which the cylindrical member is held in the storage tray. This facilitates the storage operation of the optical fiber unit.

=== Embodiment of the protection unit 20 === <Basic structure of protection unit 20> Fig. 1A is an explanatory diagram of the protection unit 20 of this embodiment. Fig. 1B is an exploded explanatory view of the protection unit 20 of this embodiment. FIG. 1C is an explanatory diagram of a state where the cylindrical member 24 (the second cylindrical member 24B) is removed from the tubular member 22 and the mesh-shaped tube 10 is extended.

The protection unit 20 is a member for protecting the optical fiber 5 after the optical fiber 5 is inserted through the mesh tube 10. The protection unit 20 has a mesh tube 10, a tubular member 22 (pipe member), and a cylindrical member 24 (ring member).

•Mesh tube 10 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams of the mesh tube 10. Fig. 2A shows the mesh tube 10 in an extended state. In addition, Fig. 1A also shows an enlarged sectional view of the A-A section. Fig. 2B shows the mesh tube 10 in a folded state. In addition, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show the state where the optical fiber 5 is inserted into the mesh tube 10.

The mesh tube 10 is a cylindrical member in which a large number of openings 10A (mesh) are formed in a mesh shape. By forming a large number of openings 10A, meshes are formed in the mesh tube 10. The mesh tube 10 is formed by bending the peripheral edge portion 10B (peripheral edge portion 10B surrounding the opening portion 10A) around the opening portion 10A to be foldable in the longitudinal direction. In the present embodiment, the length of the mesh-shaped tube 10 after shrinking in the longitudinal direction is 10% or less of the length of the mesh-shaped tube 10 that can be formed in the initial state before shrinking (state after expansion).

The plurality of optical fibers 5 are inserted into the inside of the mesh tube 10 to protect the optical fibers 5. Therefore, the mesh tube 10 serves as a protection tube for protecting the optical fiber 5. In the following description, the mesh tube 10 into which a plurality of optical fibers 5 are inserted is referred to as "fiber unit 3".

FIG. 3A is an expanded view for explaining the shape of the mesh tube 10. Fig. 3A shows the mesh-shaped tube 10 that is not bent on a cylindrical surface, and the mesh-shaped tube 10 is shown on the cylindrical coordinate system. The horizontal axis in the figure indicates the position in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the vertical axis represents the angle from the reference position (0 degree), and represents the position in the peripheral direction on the cylindrical surface. Moreover, FIG. 3B is an enlarged perspective view of the mesh tube 10 shown in FIG. 3A.

The opening 10A (mesh) is surrounded by at least two peripheral edge parts 10B, and constitutes a hole penetrating the mesh tube 10 in the radial direction. The peripheral edge portion 10B is a linear (including a band shape and a string shape) that surrounds the opening 10A. Between the opening 10A and the opening 10A, there is a peripheral edge portion 10B. The peripheral portion 10B is also called a "strand". A branch portion 10C is formed at the boundary of the opening portion 10A of 3 or more. There are 3 or more peripheral portions 10B extending from the branch portion 10C. Fig. 3A shows the case of the mesh-shaped tube 10, a branch portion 10C is formed at the boundary of four openings 10A, and four peripheral edge portions 10B extend from the branch portion 10C. The branch 10C is also called "bridging".

In this embodiment, a plurality of first wires 11 formed in a spiral shape in a predetermined direction (S direction) and a plurality of second wires 12 formed in a spiral shape in a direction opposite to the first wire 11 (Z direction) are formed.网眼状管10。 Mesh-shaped tube 10. In addition, in the present embodiment, the mesh tube 10 is formed by four first wires 11 and four second wires 12, but the number of wires is not limited to this. The peripheral edge part 10B of this embodiment is comprised by a wire material. In addition, the branch portion 10C is formed by the intersection of the two wires. In this embodiment, the intersection of two wires is joined (that is, the branch portion 10C of this embodiment is a junction of two wires). In this embodiment, the intersection of two wires is welded and joined.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, in the branch portion 10C, two wires are overlapped in a joined state. That is, in the present embodiment, the branch portion 10C has a two-layer structure of two wires to be joined, and has higher strength than the one-layer structure of the peripheral edge portion 10B (wire) except for the branch portion 10C. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B excluding the branch portion 10C is easier to bend than the branch portion 10C.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the S-direction wire (first wire 11) is arranged on the Z-direction wire (second wire 12) in the branch portion 10C, and the two wires are crossed. That is, in the present embodiment, the wire material in the S direction (the first wire material 11) and the wire material in the Z direction (the second wire material 12) are not braided. Thereby, compared with the case of braiding two-direction wires (when the first wire 11 in the S direction and the second wire in the Z direction cross each other differently), the mesh tube 10 can be easily manufactured.

Figure 4A is a cross-sectional view of the wire of this embodiment. The wire has a plurality of core portions 13 and covering portions 14. The core 13 is a fibrous member (core material) extending in the longitudinal direction (the longitudinal direction of the wire). The covering part 14 is a covering member covering the periphery of a plurality of core parts 13. The melting point of the covering portion 14 is lower than the melting point of the core portion 13. In the manufacture of the wire of this embodiment, the core material (core 13) covered with the covering portion 14 is bundled with a plurality of fibers, so that the melting point of the covering portion 14 is higher than and lower than the melting point of the core 13 The temperature stretches on one side and integrates a large number of fibers to form a wire. In addition, when the mesh tube 10 is manufactured, heating is performed at a temperature higher than the melting point of the cladding portion 14 and lower than the melting point of the core portion 13, whereby the wire in the S direction (the first wire 11) and the wire in the Z direction The intersection of the (second wire 12) heat-welds both. The melting point of the core part 13 is higher than that of the covering part 14, so even when the covering part 14 is heated to a melting point or higher, the core part 13 can be kept in a state that is not easy to melt, so the welded wire (peripheral part 10B) can be maintained. )Strength of.

In addition, the wire is not a composite material as shown in Figure 4A, but can also be made of a single material. The wire shown in Fig. 4B is constructed by fusing and integrating fibers composed of an uncoated core material. The wire shown in Fig. 4C is not a fused fibrous member, but a film-like structure. The wire (peripheral portion 10B) may also be made of a single material as shown in Figs. 4B and 4C. In the following description, the structure shown in Figure 4A is referred to as a "two-layer monofilament", the structure shown in Figure 4B is referred to as a "single layer monofilament", and the structure shown in Figure 4C is referred to as a "film".

In addition, as described later, the wire is preferably plastic. Thereby, the mesh-shaped tube 10 is comprised so that the peripheral edge part 10B has the shape retention property of a curved state. In addition, for example, when the core portion 13 is made of polyester fiber and the covering portion 14 is made of two layers of monofilaments of polypropylene to constitute a wire, the peripheral edge portion 10B constitutes the mesh-shaped tube 10 so as to have shape retention in a curved state. However, as long as the peripheral edge portion 10B has the shape retention property of the curved state, when the mesh tube 10 is constructed, the material of the wire is not limited for this. For example, the core portion 13 may be a material other than polyester fiber, or the covering portion 14 may be a material other than polypropylene, or other organic materials may be used to form the wire. In addition, the wire may be composed of two layers of monofilaments, or may be composed of materials other than organic materials.

In the present embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B is formed into a belt shape (belt shape, flat shape) as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. Thereby, in this embodiment, the peripheral edge part 10B becomes easy to bend|fold by forming the peak line or the bottom line on the belt surface.

FIG. 5A is a development view for explaining another shape of the mesh tube 10. Fig. 5B is an enlarged perspective view of the mesh tube 10 shown in Fig. 5A. With respect to the above-mentioned meshed tube 10, which is formed by joining wires in the S direction and the Z direction (see FIGS. 3A and 3B), the meshed tube 10 is configured as a cylindrical shape with a plurality of openings 10A. member. As described above, the branch portion 10C may not be a junction portion.

6A and 6B are developed views for explaining other shapes of the mesh tube 10. In the mesh-shaped tube 10 shown in FIG. 6A, the linear peripheral edge portions 10B do not intersect, but three peripheral edge portions 10B extend in a T shape from the branch portion 10C. As described above, the two linear peripheral portions 10B may not cross. The meshed tube 10 shown in FIG. 6B is formed by forming a plurality of first wires 11 spirally in a predetermined direction (S direction) and a plurality of second wires 12 arranged in the longitudinal direction (vertically attached) to form a mesh状管10。 Like tube 10. As described above, when the intersection of the two wires is joined to form the mesh-shaped tube 10, all the wires may not be arranged in a spiral shape.

In addition, the shape of the opening 10A may not be a square or a rectangle, but may be a rhombus or a parallelogram. In addition, the shape of the opening 10A may not be a quadrangle but other polygonal shapes. In addition, the shape of the opening 10A is not limited to a polygonal shape, and may be a circle or an ellipse. The opening 10A may be formed in a slit shape that does not have a predetermined area.

Fig. 7A is an explanatory diagram of the shape of the marshalling pipe of the comparative example. Fig. 7B is an enlarged explanatory view of the vicinity of the mesh of the marshalling pipe of the comparative example. The marshalling tube serving as a comparative example is constructed by braiding wires into a tube. The intersection of the wires is not joined, so the intersection angle of the wires is variable. As in the case of the above-mentioned marshalling tube, the wires are not bent, and the crossing angle of the wires is changed, thereby making it stretchable in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the amount of expansion and contraction in the longitudinal direction of the marshalling pipe is relatively small. Also, in the case of marshalling pipes, the diameter of the pipe can be changed by changing the crossing angle of the wires during expansion and contraction. Therefore, when the marshalling tube is extended, the inner diameter of the marshalling tube becomes thinner, and the optical fiber 5 inserted inside is compressed, which may increase the transmission loss of the optical fiber 5.

8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of the state before and after expansion and contraction in the vicinity of the opening 10A (mesh) of the mesh tube 10 of the embodiment. In this embodiment, when the mesh tube 10 is contracted in the longitudinal direction (refer to FIG. 2B), as shown in FIG. 8B, the peripheral edge portion 10B of the opening 10A is bent and folded in the longitudinal direction. This is because in the present embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B is restricted (joined) by the branch portion 10C, and the crossing angle between the wires of the comparative example is not variable. The peripheral edge portion 10B after bending is not only displaced in the cylindrical peripheral surface of the mesh-shaped tube 10 before deformation, but also displaced in the radial direction. As a result, compared with the marshalling pipe of the comparative example, the amount of shrinkage in the longitudinal direction of the present embodiment is greatly increased. In addition, in the present embodiment, the length of the mesh tube 10 after shrinking in the longitudinal direction can be made 10% or less of the length of the mesh tube 10 in the initial state before shrinking (the expanded state) (with respect to Therefore, the shrinkage mechanism of the marshalling tube of the comparative example shown in Fig. 7B cannot shrink to 1/10 of the length of the initial state).

In addition, in this embodiment, the branch portion 10C restricts (joins) the peripheral edge portion 10B. As in the comparative example, the crossing angle of the wires is not variable. Therefore, when the mesh tube 10 is stretched, the inner diameter of the mesh tube 10 can be suppressed. Excessively thin. Therefore, when the mesh-shaped tube 10 in the folded state is extended, it is possible to suppress the compression of the optical fiber 5 inserted inside, and the transmission loss of the optical fiber 5 can be suppressed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B is configured in a belt shape (belt-shaped, flat shape) (see Figure 4A), so it is easy to bend the peripheral edge portion 10B and form a peak line or valley line on the belt surface, so it is curved The peripheral edge portion 10B is easily displaced in the radial direction, and the amount of shrinkage in the longitudinal direction can be very large. In addition, in this embodiment, the relative strength of the peripheral portion 10B (1-layer structure) excluding the branch portion 10C and the branch portion 10C (2-layer structure) is low, so when the mesh tube 10 is folded in the longitudinal direction, It is possible to induce bending of the peripheral portion 10B to form a peak line or a valley line on the belt surface (displace the belt surface in the radial direction).

In the present embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B has plasticity, and the peripheral edge portion 10B is plastically deformed while the peripheral edge portion 10B is bent, and the bent shape of the peripheral edge portion 10B is maintained. That is, in this embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B has shape retention in a curved state. Accordingly, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the mesh tube 10 can be kept in a state in which the mesh tube 10 is contracted in the longitudinal direction, and the shape of the mesh tube 10 can be maintained. In addition, in the present embodiment, the peripheral edge portion 10B in the curved state may be stretched back to its original state. Thereby, the present embodiment is a state in which the mesh tube 10 is contracted in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 1A). As shown in FIG. 1C or 2A, the mesh tube 10 can be extended in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the present embodiment utilizes the property of extending the peripheral edge portion 10B in the bent state back to its original state, so that the operation of inserting the optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10 is easy.

•Tube member 22 The tubular member 22 (refer to FIGS. 1A to 1C) is a hollow cylindrical member (tube), and the bundle of optical fibers 5 can be passed through the inside. In the following description, one end of the tubular member 22 is referred to as the "first end 22A", and the other end is referred to as the "second end 22B". On the periphery of the pipe member 22, a mesh-shaped pipe 10 folded in the longitudinal direction is arranged. In addition, a pair of cylindrical members 24 (rings) are arranged on the periphery of the pipe member 22.

The tubular member 22 is inserted through the bent mesh tube 10. That is, the part of the mesh tube 10 of the protection unit 20 has the tubular member 22 arranged inside, and has a double-tube structure in which the mesh tube 10 folded around the tubular member 22 is arranged. The tubular member 22 is arranged inside the mesh tube 10 so that when the optical fiber 5 is inserted into the mesh tube 10, the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 can be hooked on the mesh tube 10. Therefore, the tubular member 22 becomes a stent for inserting the optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10. In addition, in this embodiment, the bundles of plural optical fibers 5 are inserted through the folded mesh tube 10 (described later), so it is particularly advantageous to arrange the tubular member 22 inside the mesh tube 10.

The tubular member 22 is longer than the mesh-shaped tube 10 after folding. In addition, both ends of the tubular member 22 extend from the ends 10X on both sides of the folded mesh tube 10.

• Cylindrical member 24 The cylindrical member 24 (see FIGS. 1A to 1C) is a hollow cylindrical member (ring) shorter than the tubular member 22, and the bundle of optical fibers 5 or the tubular member 22 can pass through the inside. Therefore, the cylindrical member 24 is the same as the tubular member 22 and forms a stent for the optical fiber 5 to be inserted into the mesh tube 10. The inner diameter of the cylindrical member 24 is larger than the outer diameter of the tubular member 22. Therefore, the tubular member 22 can be inserted inside the tubular member 24 and the tubular member 24 can be slid in the longitudinal direction of the tubular member 22. The protection unit 20 has a double-barrel structure in which the cylindrical member 24 is arranged at the inner side of the tubular member 22 and the cylindrical member 24 is arranged on the periphery of the tubular member 22. By sliding the cylindrical member 24 of the protection unit 20, the cylindrical member 24 can be detached from the tubular member 22.

The cylindrical member 24 is attached to both ends of the mesh tube 10, respectively. Therefore, the protection unit 20 has a pair of cylindrical members 24. In the following description, one of the cylindrical members 24 is referred to as the "first cylindrical member 24A", and the other cylindrical member 24 is referred to as the "second cylindrical member 24B". By removing the cylindrical member 24 from the tubular member 22, the mesh-shaped tube 10 in the folded state around the periphery of the tubular member 22 can be extended (refer to FIG. 1C).

In the state shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the first cylindrical member 24A and the second cylindrical member 24B is shorter than that of the tubular member 22. The first end 22A of the tubular member 22 extends from the outer end of the first cylindrical member 24A, and the second end 22B of the tubular member 22 extends from the outer end of the second cylindrical member 24B. Thereby, the optical fiber 5 is inserted into the tubular member 22, and the optical fiber 5 can be inserted into the cylindrical member 24 (the first cylindrical member 24A and the second cylindrical member 24B) and the mesh tube 10.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the cylindrical member 24. The cylindrical member 24 has a cylindrical portion 241 and a protrusion 242. In the figure, the projecting direction of the pair of protrusions 242 is the X direction, the axial direction of the cylindrical tube 241 is the Z direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X and Z directions is the Y direction, indicating that there is X Direction, Y direction and Z direction.

The cylindrical part 241 is the main body part of the cylindrical member 24, and is a hollow cylindrical part. The bundle of optical fibers 5 or the tubular member 22 can pass through the inside of the barrel 241. The inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 241 is larger than the outer diameter of the tubular member 22. A protrusion 242 is formed on the periphery of the cylindrical portion 241.

The protrusion 242 is a portion protruding outward from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 241. In this embodiment, the pair of protrusions 242 protrude in the X direction from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 241 to the outside. Therefore, the X-direction width W of the pair of protrusions 242 (the X-direction dimension of the cylindrical member 24 at the location where the protrusions 242 are formed) is larger than the outer diameter D of the cylindrical portion 241.

In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion amount of the protrusion 242 in the Y direction is smaller than the protrusion amount in the X direction. In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion 242 hardly protrudes in the Y direction, and the Y-direction dimension H of the cylindrical member 24 at the location where the protrusion 242 is formed is approximately the same as the outer diameter D of the cylindrical portion 241. In other words, the Y-direction dimension H of the protrusion 242 (the Y-direction width of the protrusion 242) is substantially the same as the outer diameter D of the cylindrical portion 241. Thereby, when the two cylindrical members 24 are overlapped in the Y direction (described later), the total size of the two cylindrical members 24 overlapped in the Y direction can be suppressed.

The protrusion 242 is formed in a thin plate shape. Therefore, the thickness T of the protrusion 242 (the dimension of the protrusion 242 in the Z direction) is relatively small (thin). A notch is formed at the edge of the protrusion 242. Due to the formation of the notch, unevenness is formed on the edge of the protrusion 242. Concave and convex are formed on the edge of the protrusion 242, so that the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is easily hooked by the protrusion 242, and the cylindrical member 24 is easily attached to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10.

As described later, the protrusion 242 is used to fix the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 to another member (the storage tray 42 or the branch unit 50 described later). In other words, the protrusion 242 serves as a fixing portion for fixing the cylindrical member 24 to other members (in addition, the cylindrical member 24 is a holder for fixing the end of the optical fiber unit 3 (end 10X of the mesh tube 10) ). In addition, the protrusion 242 is inserted into the groove of another member (the groove 471 or groove 53A described later), thereby fixing the end of the mesh tube 10 to another member (the storage tray 42 or the branch unit described later). 50 etc.). In addition, the protrusion 242 can also be used to fix (hook) the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 to the cylindrical member 24. In other words, the protrusion 242 serves as a fixing portion that fixes the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 to the cylindrical member 24.

In this embodiment, the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is covered with a pair of protrusions 242, so that the mesh tube 10 is hooked on the protrusions 242, and the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is heated, thereby The cylindrical member 24 and the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 are welded and joined. However, the method of attaching the cylindrical member 24 to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is not limited to this. For example, an adhesive or an adhesive tape may be used to attach the cylindrical member 24 to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10. In addition, it is also possible not to use an adhesive or an adhesive tape, and only hook the mesh tube 10 to the protrusion 242, thereby attaching the cylindrical member 24 to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10.

<Manufacturing method of protection unit 20> 10A to 10D are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method of the protection unit 20.

First, as shown in FIG. 10A, a mesh tube 10 with cylindrical members 24 attached to both ends and a tubular member 22 are prepared. As shown in FIG. 10B, the tubular member 22 is inserted into the first tubular member 24A and the mesh tube 10, and the first tubular member 24A is temporarily fixed to the end of the tubular member 22. Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the mesh tube 10 is brought close to the first cylindrical member 24A, thereby folding the mesh tube 10 in the longitudinal direction (shrinking the mesh tube 10 in the longitudinal direction). Thereby, the folded mesh tube 10 can be arranged on the periphery of the tubular member 22. And, as shown in FIG. 10D, the mesh tube 10 is folded and shrunk in the longitudinal direction until the second cylindrical member 24B (the cylindrical member 24 attached to the end 10X on the opposite side of the mesh tube 10) is in the tubular shape Until the periphery of the member 22. Thereby, the protection unit 20 shown in FIG. 1A can be manufactured.

<Protection method of optical fiber 5 using protection unit 20> 11A to 11E are explanatory diagrams of the protection method of the optical fiber 5 using the protection unit 20. In addition, the same figure is also an explanatory diagram of the laying method of the optical fiber 5 using the protection unit 20.

First, the worker prepares the protection unit 20 and the optical fiber 5 to be protected. Here, a plurality of optical fibers 5 are extended from the optical cable 1. As shown in FIG. 11A, the operator inserts the end 5A of the bundle of optical fibers 5 toward the first end 22A of the tubular member 22.

Next, while inserting the optical fiber 5 into the tubular member 22 of the protection unit 20, the operator slides the protection unit 20 toward the exit of the optical cable 1 (when peeled off), as shown in Figure 11B, the tubular member of the protection unit 20 The first end 22A of 22 reaches the vicinity when the optical cable 1 is peeled off. By inserting the optical fiber 5 through the tubular member 22, the optical fiber 5 can be inserted through the inside of the folded mesh tube 10 (and the cylindrical member 24), so there is no need to hook the optical fiber 5 to the mesh tube 10. Therefore, as compared with a case where the optical fiber 5 is directly inserted into the mesh tube 10, the insertion operation of the optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10 can be easily performed.

However, in this embodiment, the mesh tube 10 is folded in the longitudinal direction at the peripheral edge portion 10B of the curved opening 10A (see Figure 8B), so the amount of shrinkage in the longitudinal direction of the mesh tube 10 is extremely large (see Figure 2B) , Figure 10D). Therefore, in this embodiment, the length of the mesh tube 10 or the length of the protection unit 20 is sufficiently shorter than the length of the optical fiber 5 to be protected. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11A, after inserting the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 toward the first end 22A of the tubular member 22, the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 is protruded from the second end 22B of the tubular member 22 immediately. Therefore, when the protection unit 20 is slid from the exit portion of the optical fiber 5 (when peeled off) (from the state of FIG. 11A to FIG. 11B), the operator can hold the optical fiber 5 protruding from the second end 22B of the tubular member 22 , While pulling the optical fiber 5, move the mesh tube 10 (and the tubular member 22). Thereby, in the present embodiment, the work of moving the protective tube to the root of the optical fiber 5 (at this time, the exit portion of the optical cable 1 (at the time of peeling)) is easy. In addition, if the optical fiber 5 is inserted into a protective tube (such as a long silicone tube or polyethylene tube: referred to as "silicone tube, etc." below) of the same length as the optical fiber 5 to be protected, the optical fiber 5 is often not easy Since it protrudes from the exit of the protective tube, the work of covering the protective tube to the root of the optical fiber 5 becomes difficult. In contrast, the use of the mesh tube 10 with a large shrinkage in the longitudinal direction allows only the optical fiber 5 to be inserted into the short mesh tube 10 or the tubular member 22, which improves workability.

Next, the worker removes the temporarily fixed first cylindrical member 24A from the tubular member 22, and draws out the first cylindrical member 24A to the outside of the first end 22A of the tubular member 22 as shown in FIG. 11C. The end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is attached to the first cylindrical member 24A. Therefore, when the first cylindrical member 24A is pulled out from the first end 22A of the tubular member 22, the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 is also removed. It is drawn out from the first end 22A of the tubular member 22. In this embodiment, since the cylindrical member 24 (the first cylindrical member 24A) is attached to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10, the end of the mesh tube 10 is compared with the case without the cylindrical member 24. The extraction of the portion 10X from the end (first end 22A) of the tubular member 22 becomes easy. In addition, the operator fixes the first cylindrical member 24A drawn out from the tubular member 22 in the vicinity of the exit portion of the optical fiber cable 1. For example, the first cylindrical member 24A is fixed to the optical cable 1 by an adhesive tape. However, an operator who holds the protection unit 20 with his right hand can also hold the first cylindrical member 24A and the exit portion of the optical cable 1 with his left hand, thereby fixing (temporarily fixing) the first cylindrical member 24A to the optical cable 1.

Next, the operator slides the tubular member 22 toward the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 as shown in FIG. 11D. At this time, the optical fiber 5 passes through the inside of the cylindrical member 22, and the first cylindrical member 24A is fixed to the exit portion of the optical cable 1, so the mesh tube 10 can be drawn out from the first end 22A of the tubular member 22. As a result, the mesh tube 10 in the folded state is extended, and as shown in FIG. 2A, the bundle of optical fibers 5 is inserted into the inside of the extension portion of the mesh tube 10.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 11E, the operator slides the tubular member 22 to the outside of the end 5A of the optical fiber 5, and removes the tubular member 22 from the bundle of the optical fibers 5. At this time, the second cylindrical member 24B temporarily fixed to the tubular member 22 is removed from the tubular member 22 so that the tubular member 22 is separated from the mesh tube 10. As shown in the figure, the second cylindrical member 24B is attached to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10.

=== Shelf 40, storage tray 42, branch unit 50 === ＜Shelf 40＞ FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the inside of the scaffold 40. FIG.

The first optical cable 1A and the second optical cable 1B are introduced into the shelf 40. The plurality of optical fibers 5 of the first optical cable 1A and the plurality of optical fibers 5 of the second optical cable 1B are respectively connected, and the connecting portions of the plurality of optical fibers 5 are housed in a shelf 40 (accommodating tray 42 in detail). In this embodiment, the optical fibers 5 of the first optical cable 1A and the optical fibers 5 of the second optical cable 1B are welded and connected, and the shelf 40 is configured as a welding rack that houses a large number of welded connections. However, the shelf 40 may also be an end frame for connecting the optical fibers 5 to each other (in this case, the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 of the first optical cable 1A, or the end 5A of the optical fiber 5 of the second optical cable 1B are respectively installed and connected , The connector connects the optical fibers 5 to each other).

In the present embodiment, in the shelf 40, the optical fiber 5 from the outlet of the first optical cable 1A or the second optical cable 1B is wired in a state of being inserted into the mesh tube 10. In the shelf 40, the optical fiber 5 at the outlet of the first optical cable 1A or the second optical cable 1B is protected by the mesh tube 10. In the following description, the member in which the bundle of optical fibers 5 of the first optical fiber cable 1A is inserted through the mesh tube 10 is referred to as "first optical fiber unit 3A", and the bundle of optical fibers 5 of the second optical cable 1B is referred to as inserted through the net. The component of the eye tube 10 is the "second optical fiber unit 3B".

The shelf 40 has a storage shelf 41 and a branch unit 50. As shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of storage sheds 41 are arranged in the vertical direction on the shelf 40, and branch units 50 are arranged on the sides of each storage shed 41. Fig. 12 only depicts the wiring of the first optical fiber unit 3A between one set of one branch unit 50 and one storage shed 41 (actually, most of the first optical fiber units 3A are wired in the shelf 40). In addition, in the figure, only one set of wiring to the second optical fiber unit 3B of one storage shed 41 is depicted (actually, most of the second optical fiber units 3B are wired in the shelf 40).

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the storage shed 41 and the branch unit 50.

The storage shelf 41 is a shelf provided with a plurality of storage trays 42 (here, six). The bundle of optical fibers 5 (plural optical fibers 5) of the first optical fiber cable 1A and the bundle of optical fibers 5 (plural optical fibers 5) of the second optical cable 1B are introduced into each storage tray 42. In this embodiment, the first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B are introduced into each storage tray 42. The plurality of optical fibers 5 of the first optical cable 1A and the plurality of optical fibers 5 of the second optical cable 1B are respectively welded and connected, and the plurality of welded connections are accommodated in the storage tray 42.

The storage shed 41 is provided with a front panel. When the front panel is opened, the storage tray 42 can be withdrawn from the storage shed 41.

In addition, the following description defines each direction as shown in the figure. That is, let the vertical direction be the "up and down direction", and define "up" and "down" according to the direction of gravity. Suppose the direction from the storage shed 41 to the storage tray 42 is the "front-rear direction", and the side where the storage tray 42 is drawn out is "front", and the opposite side is "rear". In addition, the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction is referred to as the "left-right direction", the right-hand side when the storage tray 42 is viewed from the front side is "right", and the opposite side is "left". In addition, the arrangement direction of the plurality of storage trays 42 of the storage shed 41 is the "up and down direction". In addition, the disk surface of the accommodating disk 42 is a surface perpendicular to the vertical direction and parallel to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction.

＜Containment tray 42＞ Figure 14 is a perspective view of the storage tray 42.

The storage tray 42 is a tray for storing the excess length of the optical fiber 5. The storage tray 42 is a shallow and flat-bottomed storage member composed of a bottom plate portion 421, a side plate portion 422, a front plate portion 423, and a rear plate portion 424. The bottom plate portion 421 is a portion constituting the disk surface (mounting surface) of the accommodating disk 42 and a portion where the accommodating objects (the optical fiber 5 and the optical cable unit 3) are placed. A side plate 422, a front plate 423, and a rear plate 424 are formed extending upward from the edge of the bottom plate 421. The side plate portion 422, the front plate portion 423, and the rear plate portion 424 are plate-shaped portions that prevent the contents (the optical fiber 5 and the optical cable unit 3) from falling off.

The height of the front plate portion 423 and the rear plate portion 424 is approximately the same as the height of the receiving tray 42. In contrast, the height of the side plate portion 422 (the size in the vertical direction) is lower than the height of the storage tray 42 (the height of the front plate portion 423 or the rear plate portion 424). Thereby, when a plurality of storage trays 42 are arranged in the storage shelf 41 in a vertical direction, a gap is formed on the side surface of the storage tray 42. This gap becomes a passage for introducing the optical fiber unit 3 into the storage tray 42 (see Fig. 13).

The rear plate portion 424 has a folded-back portion 424A. The folded-back portion 424A is a plate-shaped portion extending from the upper edge of the rear plate portion 424 to the front side. The folded-back portion 424A is arranged opposite to the bottom plate 421, and a part of the optical fiber unit 3 can be arranged between the folded-back portion 424A and the bottom plate 421. And by arranging a part of the optical fiber unit 3 between the folded back portion 424A and the bottom plate portion 421, the posture of the optical fiber unit 3 accommodated in the receiving tray 42 can be stabilized. When the optical fiber unit 3 is bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44 in a figure 8 (or U shape), for example (described later), a part of the optical fiber unit 3 is arranged between the folded portion 424A and the bottom plate portion 421, so the The optical fiber unit 3 may become difficult to fall off due to the folded-back portion 424A.

In this embodiment, the storage tray 42 can be taken out of the storage shed 41. Since the storage tray 42 can be detached from the storage shed 41, the operation of storing the optical fiber 5 or the optical fiber unit 3 in the storage tray 42 is easy.

The storage tray 42 of this embodiment has an optical fiber storage portion 43, a unit storage portion 44, a partition portion 45, a connection portion 46, and a holding portion 47.

The optical fiber accommodating portion 43 is a accommodating portion that accommodates the excess length of the optical fiber 5. The optical fiber accommodating portion 43 accommodates the bundle of optical fibers 5 of the first optical cable 1A (plural optical fibers 5); the bundle of optical fibers 5 of the second optical cable 1B (plural optical fibers 5); and a plurality of welded connection portions. In other words, the optical fiber accommodating portion 43 is formed to accommodate a plurality of welded connection portions and the excess length of the optical fiber 5 welded and connected by the welded connection portion. The optical fiber accommodating portion 43 is provided with a holder portion 431 for holding the welded connection portion and a guide portion 432 for guiding the optical fiber 5.

The unit accommodating portion 44 is a accommodating portion for accommodating the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3. The first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B are accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44. In other words, the excess length of the first fiber unit 3A and the second fiber unit 3B can be accommodated in the fiber accommodating portion 43.

However, the mesh tube 10 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the peripheral edge portion 10B (peripheral edge portion 10B surrounding the opening 10A) can be bent and folded in the longitudinal direction, and the optical fiber unit 3 inserts the optical fiber 5 into the mesh shape The structure of the tube 10 is therefore compared with the optical fiber unit 3 in which the optical fiber 5 is inserted through a long silicone tube or the like, the optical fiber unit 3 of this embodiment has a flexible structure that is relatively easy to bend. Therefore, in this embodiment, the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 introduced into the storage tray 42 can be bent into a figure of 8 (or U shape), for example, and can be stored in the unit storage portion 44. In addition, if the optical fiber 5 is inserted into a long silicone tube to form the optical fiber unit 3, the rigidity of the silicone tube is higher than that of the mesh tube 10, and it is difficult to bend the optical fiber unit 3, so the optical fiber unit 3 is housed in the unit housing Department 44 is difficult.

The spacer 45 is a portion separating the optical fiber accommodating part 43 and the unit accommodating part 44. The space on the front side of the spacer 45 (the space between the spacer 45 and the front plate part 423) becomes the fiber accommodating part 43, and the space on the rear side of the spacer 45 (the space between the spacer 45 and the rear plate 424 The space) becomes the unit accommodating part 44. A connecting portion 46 is formed in the partition portion 45.

The connection part 46 is a part (connection path; passage) that connects the optical fiber housing part 43 and the unit housing part 44. The connection part 46 is a part which forms the partition part 45 and penetrates the front-back direction. The optical fiber 5 is wired between the optical fiber housing section 43 and the unit housing section 44 through the connection section 46. The connecting portion 46 is formed in a groove shape, and the upper side is open. Thereby, the optical fiber 5 is put into the connecting portion 46 from the upper side, and the optical fiber 5 is wired between the optical fiber housing portion 43 and the unit housing portion 44. In this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 is inserted into the connecting portion 46 from the upper side, and thereby the optical fiber 5 inserted through the cylindrical member 24 is wired between the optical fiber accommodating portion 43 and the unit accommodating portion 44. In this embodiment, the two cylindrical members 24 can be arranged in the connecting portion 46 in a state where they are arranged in a vertical arrangement.

In this embodiment, two connecting portions 46 are formed in the partition portion 45. One connecting portion 46 is used for wiring of the optical fiber 5 of the first optical fiber unit 3A, and the other connecting portion 46 is used for wiring of the optical fiber 5 of the second optical fiber unit 3B. The two connecting portions 46 are formed at the respective left and right end portions of the partition portion 45. Thereby, the bending of the optical fiber unit 3 accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44 can be alleviated. For example, when the connecting portion 46 is formed in the center portion of the partition portion 45 (the center portion in the left-right direction), the optical fiber unit 3 needs to be bent sharply in the vicinity of the connecting portion 46. Therefore, the connecting portion 46 is preferably formed at the end portion in the left-right direction of the partition portion 45.

The connecting portion 46 is formed with a holding portion 47. The holding portion 47 is a portion for holding the cylindrical member 24 of the protection unit 20 (the cylindrical member 24 attached to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10). In this embodiment, the holding portion 47 can hold the two cylindrical members 24 in a state of being arranged up and down. However, the holding portion 47 may hold one cylindrical member 24, or may hold two or more cylindrical members 24. By providing the holding portion 47, the end portion of the optical fiber unit 3 (the bundle of optical fibers 5 inserted into the mesh tube 10) can be fixed to the storage tray 42, and the optical fiber 5 (from The optical fiber 5) extended from the optical fiber unit 3 moves.

FIG. 15A is an enlarged perspective view of the holding portion 47. FIG. FIG. 15B is a diagram of a state in which the cylindrical member 24 is held by the holding portion 47.

The holding portion 47 has a groove portion 471. The groove portion 471 is formed on the left and right side surfaces of the connecting portion 46 along the vertical direction. The protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24 is inserted into the groove 471. The protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24 is inserted into the groove 471 to fix the cylindrical member 24 to the holding portion 47.

In addition, the holding portion 47 includes a pair of lower claw portions 472 and a pair of upper claw portions 473.

The lower claw portion 472 is a portion (pressing portion) that prevents the lower cylindrical member 24 from being separated from the holding portion 47. It is arranged so that the pair of lower claw portions 472 can press the upper side of the cylindrical portion 241 of the cylindrical member 24 attached to the connecting portion 46. The distance between the pair of lower claw portions 472 in the left-right direction is preferably narrower than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 241 of the cylindrical member 24. In addition, it is preferable that the pair of lower claw portions 472 are expanded at the left-right direction and elastically deformable.

The upper claw portion 473 is a portion (pressing portion) that prevents the upper cylindrical member 24 from being separated from the holding portion 47. The arrangement is such that the pair of upper claw portions 473 can press the upper side of the cylindrical portion 241 of the upper cylindrical member 24. The space between the pair of upper claw portions 473 in the left-right direction is preferably narrower than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 241 of the cylindrical member 24. In addition, it is preferable that the pair of upper claw portions 473 are expanded at the left-right direction and elastically deformable.

In addition, in this embodiment, the lower claw portion 472 and the upper claw portion 473 constitute a pressing portion that presses the cylindrical member 24 from the upper side (the direction in which the protrusion 242 is inserted into the groove portion 471). However, the pressing portion that presses the cylindrical member may not have a claw shape. In addition, in this embodiment, two pressing parts (lower claw part 472 and upper claw part 473) are formed up and down, but the number of pressing parts provided in holding part 47 is not limited to two.

In this embodiment, the optical fiber accommodating unit 48 is arranged on the front side of the accommodating tray 42, thereby forming the optical fiber accommodating portion 43 and the unit accommodating portion 44. The optical fiber accommodating unit 48 is a member in which the optical fiber accommodating portion 43, the spacer portion 45, and the connecting portion 46 are integrally molded with resin. However, the method of forming the optical fiber housing portion 43 and the unit housing portion 44 in the housing tray 42 is not limited to this. The unit accommodating portion 44 and the optical fiber accommodating portion 43 may also be integrally molded with resin. A resin-made partition part 45 may be placed on the housing tray 42 and the housing space of the housing tray 42 may be divided into two by the partition part 45 to form the optical fiber housing part 43 and the unit housing part 44.

＜Branch unit 50＞ Figure 16 is an exploded view of the branch unit 50 of this embodiment. Figure 17 is an exploded view of the branch unit 50 of the reference example. FIG. 16 shows that the meshed tube 10 and the cylindrical member 24 (first cylindrical member 24A) are inserted through the bundle of the branched optical fibers 5. In contrast, the reference example in Fig. 17 is that a long silicone tube 10' as a protective tube is inserted into the bundle of the branched optical fiber 5.

The branch unit 50 is a member that branches a bundle of a plurality of bundled optical fibers 5 from the optical cable 1. The bundle of the optical fibers 5 branched from the branch unit 50 is inserted into the mesh tube 10 (and the cylindrical member 24), and is wired between the storage trays 42. Normally, as shown in Fig. 17, the bundle of optical fibers 5 is inserted through the long silicone tube 10' to protect the optical fibers 5. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the mesh tube 10 serves as protection for the bundle of optical fibers 5.

The branch unit 50 has a main body 51 and a cover 57.

The main body 51 is a member that holds the bundle of the optical fiber cable 1 and the branched optical fiber 5. The main body 51 has a first fixing portion 52, a second fixing portion 53 and a receiving portion 54.

The first fixing portion 52 is a portion (cable fixing portion) that fixes the end of the optical cable 1 (first optical cable 1A). The first fixing portion 52 has a supporting portion 521 and a fastening portion. The supporting portion 521 is a member that supports the optical cable 1. Here, although the supporting portion 521 is composed of a sawtooth plate having teeth that bite into the outer covering of the optical cable 1, the supporting portion 521 may not have the teeth. In addition, the support portion 521 may be integrally formed with the main body portion 51. The fastening member 522 is a member that fixes the optical cable 1 between and the supporting portion 521.

The second fixing part 53 is a part for fixing the protective tube (the mesh tube 10 of the present embodiment or the silicone tube 10' of the reference example) inserted through the bundle of the optical fibers 5. The second fixing portion 53 has a groove 53A into which the grip plate 531 (see FIG. 17) can be attached. The holding plate 531 is a metal plate having teeth that bite into the silicone tube 10'. As shown in Fig. 17, the holding plate 531 has four recesses 531A, and four silicone tubes 10' can be inserted into each recess 531A.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the grip plate 531 is not attached to the second fixing portion 53, and the protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24 is inserted into the groove 53A of the second fixing portion 53. The protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24 is inserted into the groove 53A of the second fixing portion 53 to thereby fix the cylindrical member 24 to the second fixing portion 53. In this embodiment, the second fixing portion 53 is capable of fixing three cylindrical members 24 in a state where it can be arranged up and down. However, the second fixing portion 53 may fix one or two cylindrical members 24, or may fix three or more cylindrical members 24. In this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 is fixed to the second fixing portion 53 so that the end of the optical fiber unit 3 can be fixed to the branch unit 50 and the movement (detachment) of the mesh hole 10 through which the optical fiber 5 is inserted can be suppressed.

The accommodating part 54 is a part for accommodating the branch part (outlet part; at the time of peeling) of the optical cable 1. The accommodating portion 54 is filled with an adhesive so that the outlet portion of the optical cable 1 can be adhesively fixed to the branch unit 50. After the cover 57 is attached to the main body 51, the adhesive is filled into the accommodating part 54 from the injection port 57A of the cover 57. To prevent the leakage of the adhesive, an upstream stopper 541 is provided on the upstream side of the accommodating part 54 and a downstream stopper 542 is provided on the downstream side of the accommodating part 54.

In this embodiment, the optical cable 1 has a bundle of 12 bundles of optical fibers 5. In this embodiment, after the exit of the optical cable 1, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11E, the protection unit 20 is used to insert the bundle of each optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10 and the cylindrical member 24. In this embodiment, when the bundle of optical fibers 5 is inserted into the mesh tube 10 using the protection unit 20, the cylindrical member 24 (first cylindrical member 24A) is arranged near the exit of the optical fiber cable 1. Fig. 16 shows 12 first cylindrical members 24A (and mesh tube 10) after the bundle of optical fibers 5 has been inserted.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 (first cylindrical member 24A) can be fixed to the second fixing portion 53. Specifically, in the groove 53A of the second fixing portion 53 with the gripping plate 531 removed, the protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24 is inserted from above, whereby the cylindrical member 24 (first cylindrical member 24A) It is fixed to the second fixing portion 53. The protrusions 242 of the three cylindrical members 24 arranged up and down can be inserted into each groove 53A.

When the protection unit 20 of this embodiment is used, the operation of inserting the optical fiber 5 (the operation of protecting the optical fiber 5) is easier than when the optical fiber 5 is inserted through the long silicone tube 10' (see Fig. 17) of the reference example. . Moreover, according to this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 of the protection unit 20 can be fixed to the 2nd fixing part 53 of the branch unit 50 in its state, and it is convenient.

＜Laying method of optical fiber 5＞ Figures 18A to 18C are explanatory diagrams of the laying method of the optical fiber 5 using the storage tray 42 of the present embodiment. In addition, the figure shows a storage method (optical fiber storage method) in which the optical fiber 5 is stored in the storage tray 42.

First, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11E, the worker inserts the bundle of optical fibers 5 of the first optical fiber cable 1A into the mesh tube 10 using the protection unit 20 to produce the first optical fiber unit 3A. After the first optical fiber unit 3A is produced, the operator inserts the first cylindrical member 24A of the mesh tube 10 into the second fixing portion 53 and fixes it, and attaches the cover portion 57 to the main body portion 51 from The injection port 57A of the cover 57 is filled with an adhesive to the accommodating part 54 to fix the first optical cable 1A and the first optical fiber unit 3A to the branch unit 50. Twelve first optical fiber units 3A extend from the branch unit 50, but in Figure 18A, one of the first optical fiber units 3A is shown. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11E, the operator uses the protection unit 20 to insert the bundle of the optical fibers 5 of the second optical fiber cable 1B into the mesh tube 10 to produce the second optical fiber unit 3B.

Next, as shown in Fig. 18A, the operator uses a welding device to weld and connect the plurality of optical fibers 5 of the first optical cable 1A extending from the second cylindrical member 24B and the second optical fiber 5 extending from the second cylindrical member 24B. The plural optical fibers 5 of the optical cable 1B. For example, when the first optical fiber unit 3A or the second optical fiber unit 3B each has 24 12-core intermittently connected optical fiber ribbons, the operator takes out each optical fiber ribbon of the first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B one by one. It is set in the welding connection device, and the optical fibers 5 are welded and connected to each other.

However, in the present embodiment, the excess length of the first optical fiber unit 3A or the second optical fiber unit 3B can be accommodated in the accommodating tray 42 unit accommodating portion 44, so the longer first optical fiber unit 3A or second optical fiber unit 3B can be provided. Therefore, the present embodiment can reduce the limitation of the installation place of the welding connection device, and the welding operation can be performed in a place far away from the shelf 40. In addition, if the optical fiber 5 is inserted into the long silicone tube 10' to form the optical fiber unit 3, the optical fiber unit 3 cannot be accommodated in the accommodating tray 42 because the optical fiber ribbon 3 is difficult to bend, that is, the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 cannot be made longer. Since it is long, the welding operation has to be performed in the vicinity of the scaffold 40, and the welding operation is inconvenient. In addition, the present embodiment can perform the welding operation at a place away from the scaffold 40, so a plurality of workers can perform the welding operation at the same time. In addition, the first optical fiber unit 3A or the second optical fiber unit 3B of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the optical fiber 5 is inserted into the flexible mesh tube 10, and therefore has a flexible configuration that is relatively easy to bend. Therefore, this embodiment facilitates the setting operation of the optical fiber 5 of the welding connection device. In addition, if the optical fiber 5 is inserted through the silicone tube 10' to form the optical fiber unit 3, the high rigidity of the silicone tube 10' makes it difficult to bend the optical fiber unit 3, making it inconvenient to set the optical fiber 5 of the welding connection device.

After the optical fiber 5 is welded and connected, the operator mounts the second cylindrical member 24B on the holding portion 47 of the storage tray 42 as shown in FIG. 18B, and stores the excess length of the optical fiber 5 in the optical fiber storage portion 43 of the storage tray 42. In the present embodiment, the storage tray 42 is taken out from the storage shed 41. Since the excess length of the optical fiber 5 can be stored in the optical fiber storage portion 43 of the storage tray 42, the storage operation of the optical fiber 5 becomes easy. When the second cylindrical member 24B is mounted on the holding portion 47 of the storage tray 42, the optical fiber 5 of the first fiber unit 3A or the second fiber unit 3B is wired to the connection portion 46 of the storage tray 42 (see Fig. 14, 15A Figure). In addition, when the second cylindrical member 24B is attached to the holding portion 47 of the storage tray 42, the end of the first optical fiber unit 3A or the second optical fiber unit 3B is arranged in the unit storage portion 44 of the storage tray 42.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18C, the worker accommodates the excess length of the first optical fiber unit 3A and the excess length of the second optical fiber unit 3B in the unit accommodating portion 44 of the accommodating tray 42. In addition, when the second cylindrical member 24B is mounted on the holding portion 47 of the storage tray 42 (see FIG. 18B), the end of the optical fiber unit 3 is in a state of being arranged in the unit storage portion 44 of the storage tray 42, so the optical fiber The work of storing the excess length of the unit 3 in the unit accommodating portion 44 is easy. In addition, in this embodiment, the second cylindrical member 24B is fixed to the holding portion 47 of the storage tray 42 to form a state where the end of the optical fiber unit 3 is fixed. Therefore, the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 is stored in the unit storage portion 44. It becomes easy.

===Summary === The storage tray 42 of the present embodiment includes an optical fiber storage portion 43 that contains the excess length of the optical fiber 5, and a unit storage portion 44 that contains the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 (see FIG. 14). In this embodiment, the storage tray 42 is provided with the unit storage portion 44, whereby even if the excess length of the long optical fiber unit 3 is set, the wiring of the optical fiber unit 3 in the shelf (the wiring between the optical cable 1 and the storage tray 42 ) Of mixed. Therefore, with the accommodating tray 42 of the present embodiment, a relatively long excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 can be provided, the restriction on the installation location of the welding device can be reduced, and the restriction on the connection operation of the optical fiber can be alleviated. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment uses the mesh tube 10 as a protective tube, whereby the optical fiber unit 3 (a member for inserting the optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10: refer to Figure 2A) can be bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44. However, the protective tube is a flexible member, and the protective tube for protecting the optical fiber 5 is not limited to the mesh tube 10 as long as the optical fiber unit (a member that protects the optical fiber 5 with a protective tube) can be bent and housed in the unit accommodating portion 44.

In addition, the storage tray 42 of the present embodiment includes a partition portion 45 separating the optical fiber storage portion 43 and the unit storage portion 44, and a connecting portion 46 for optical fiber wiring is formed in the spacing portion 45 (see FIGS. 14 and 15A). Thereby, the optical fiber 5 can be wired between the optical fiber accommodating portion 43 and the unit accommodating portion 44. Therefore, the optical fiber 5 extending from the protective tube is accommodated in the accommodating portion 43, and the protective tube (mesh tube 10) The optical fiber unit 3 that protects the optical fiber 5 is accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44.

In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 46 is arranged at the end of the partition portion 45 (see Fig. 14). Thereby, compared with the case where the connecting portion 46 is arranged at the center of the partition portion 45, the bending of the optical fiber unit 3 accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44 can be alleviated. However, as long as the bending of the optical fiber unit 3 can be tolerated, the connecting portion 46 may be arranged at the center of the partition portion 45.

In addition, in the present embodiment, a holding portion 47 for holding the cylindrical member 24 is formed in the connecting portion 46 (see FIGS. 15A and 15B). Thereby, the end of the optical fiber unit 3 can be fixed to the receiving tray 42. In addition, the holding portion 47 may not be formed in the storage tray 42. In addition, at this time, cylindrical members 24 may be formed at both ends of the mesh tube 10.

In addition, the holding portion 47 of the present embodiment has a groove 471 for inserting the protrusion 242 of the cylindrical member 24, and a pusher for pressing the cylindrical member 24 from the direction (upper side) in which the protrusion 242 is inserted into the groove 471 Press part (lower claw part 472 and upper claw part 473) (refer to Figure 15A and Figure 15B). Thereby, the cylindrical member 24 can be suppressed from being detached from the holding portion 47. In addition, the pressing part is not limited to the lower claw part 472 or the upper claw part 473. In addition, the holding portion 47 may not be provided with a pressing portion.

In addition, the unit accommodating portion 44 of this embodiment is provided with a bottom plate portion 421 and a folded portion 424A opposite to the bottom plate portion 421, and a part of the optical fiber unit 3 accommodated in the accommodating unit 44 can be arranged on the bottom plate portion 421 and the folded portion Between 424A (see Figure 14). Thereby, it is possible to prevent the contained optical fiber unit 3 from falling out of the unit accommodating portion 44.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 18A to 18C, after the first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B are produced, the optical fiber 5 extending from the first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B are welded Extension of the optical fiber 5. In addition, the excess length of the optical fiber 5 after the welding connection is fused in the fiber accommodating portion 43 of the accommodating tray 42, and the excess length of the first fiber unit 3A and the second fiber unit 3B is bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44. Thereby, the excess length of the relatively long optical fiber unit 3 can be formed, the limitation of the installation place of the welding connection device can be reduced, and the limitation of the connection operation of the optical fiber can be relaxed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the protective tube that protects the optical fiber 5 of the optical cable 1 is a mesh tube 10. By using the mesh tube 10 as a protective tube, the optical fiber unit 3 (a member for inserting the optical fiber 5 into the mesh tube 10: see FIG. 2A) can be bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44. However, as explained, the protective tube is not limited to the mesh tube 10.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 is attached to the end 10X of the mesh tube 10 and the cylindrical member 24 is held in the storage tray 42. Thereby, the end of the optical fiber unit 3 can be fixed to the receiving tray 42.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical member 24 is held in the storage tray 42 and the excess length of the first optical fiber unit 3A and the second optical fiber unit 3B is stored in the unit storage portion 44. Thereby, the optical fiber unit 3 can be accommodated in the unit accommodating portion 44 in a state where the end of the optical fiber unit 3 is fixed to the accommodating tray 42, and the work of bending and accommodating the excess length of the optical fiber unit 3 in the unit accommodating portion 44 becomes easy.

=== Reference description === <For the Young's modulus and bending rigidity of the wire> Measure the Young's modulus and bending of the two-layer monofilament wire (the first wire 11 or the second wire 12) shown in Figure 4A rigidity. Here, the core portion 13 is made of polyester fiber, and the covering portion 14 is made of polypropylene, and a two-layer monofilament wire made of an organic material is produced. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the wire rod is 0.1 mm in thickness and 1 mm in width. As a result of the measurement, the Young's modulus of the wire rod is about 4000 N/mm ² , and the bending rigidity is about 0.5 N/mm ² . In addition, the Young's modulus and bending rigidity of the wire rod are measured as follows.

Young's modulus is measured using a tensile testing machine. Here, a test piece (wire) is set between the chucks set to 200 mm, and the load-elongation curve is measured at a stretching speed of 200 mm/min. In addition, the Young's modulus (unit: N/mm ² ) of the wire rod was measured based on the inclination of the linear portion at the initial stage of the measured load-elongation curve.

The bending rigidity is measured according to a 3-point bending test. Figure 19A is an explanatory diagram of the method of measuring bending rigidity. Figure 19B is an explanatory diagram of the load-deflection curve. As shown in Fig. 19A, a test piece (wire) is set between the fulcrums at a set distance L of 30 mm, and the flexural modulus E is measured according to a 3-point bending test. Here, the bending load F1 when the bending amount becomes 1 mm and the bending load F5 when the bending amount becomes 5 mm are measured (see Fig. 19B), and the bending modulus E is measured based on the measured bending loads F1 and F5. In addition, the bending load F1 was measured using an electronic scale arranged under the fulcrum. The flexural rigidity EI (unit: N•mm ² ) was calculated from the measured flexural modulus E (unit: Pa) and the elastic two-dimensional moment I (unit: mm ⁴ ) of the test piece.

<For shrinkage ratio RI> Manufacture of multiple types of protection with different number N of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 (total number 2N), the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10, the spiral pitch L, and the outer diameter S of the tubular member 22 Unit 20. Here, the numbers of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 are 4 (8 in total) or 6 (12 in total), respectively. In addition, the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10 is in the range of 6.3 mm to 8.3 mm. And, the spiral pitch L is 20mm~100mm. In addition, the outer diameter S of the tubular member 22 is in the range of 3.5 mm to 8 mm.

Figure 20 is an explanatory diagram of the pitch P and the inner diameter D. Suppose the number of the first wire 11 (or the second wire 12) is s, as shown in the figure, when the spiral pitch of one circle of the first wire 11 is L (mm), the pitch P (mm) is P=L/s . Also, as shown in the figure, assuming that the angle of the intersection of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 (the size of the angle widened in the longitudinal direction) is θ, the inner diameter D (mm; the diameter of the inner dimension) is calculated as follows .

The shrinkage ratio RI when each mesh tube 10 shrinks in the longitudinal direction is measured. When the length of the mesh tube 10 before shrinking in the longitudinal direction (initial length) is L0, and the length of the mesh tube 10 after shrinking in the longitudinal direction (the length when shrinking) is L1, the shrinkage ratio RI( %) is the following formula.

The measurement results of the shrinkage ratio RI of each mesh tube 10 are as follows (confirmed that a shrinkage ratio RI of 3-12% can be achieved). In addition, when each mesh tube 10 is contracted in the longitudinal direction, the mesh tube 10 can be easily folded in the longitudinal direction with the force of the hand, and the tubular member 22 will not be buckled.

＜For mesh ratio R＞ The number and helical pitch of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 of the mesh tube 10 are changed, and a plurality of types of mesh tubes 10 with different mesh ratios R are produced. Here, the numbers of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 are 4 (8 in total) or 6 (12 in total), respectively. In addition, the spiral pitch is 50 mm or 100 mm. Let the ratio of the area occupied by the opening 10A on the expanded surface to the total area of the mesh-shaped tube on the expanded surface (the area occupied by the opening 10A and the area occupied by the peripheral edge 10B) be the mesh ratio R (%) At this time, the mesh ratio R of each mesh tube 10 is 46.2%, 55.5%, and 49.4%.

The actual installation of the mesh tube 10 after the bundle of optical fibers 5 is inserted into the closer is performed. In this installation, the optical fiber 5 (optical ribbon inserted through the mesh tube 10) or mesh tube is formed correspondingly Whether the peripheral portion 10B (the first wire 11 or the second wire 12) of 10 is hooked to the peripheral member is evaluated. When there is no hook, it is evaluated as "○ (good)", and when there is a hook, it is evaluated as "Ⅹ (bad)". The evaluation results of the hooking peripheral members of each mesh tube 10 are as follows.

＜Prominence for optical fiber＞ Multiple types of bundles n of optical fibers, the number N of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 (total number 2N), the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10, the pitch P, and the shape of the opening 10A are different的网眼状管10。 Mesh-shaped tube 10. Here, it is assumed that the number of 12-core intermittently connected optical fiber ribbons is 12 or 24, and the number of optical fibers n is 144 or 288. In addition, the numbers of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 are 4 (8 in total) or 6 (12 in total), respectively. In addition, the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10 is in the range of 6.3 mm to 8.3 mm. In addition, the pitch P is 8.3 mm to 45 mm (the spiral pitch is 50 mm to 270 mm). In addition, the shape of the opening is a rhombus, and the lengths of the two diagonals of the rhombus are different (in the table, the length of the diagonal along the longitudinal direction (the length of the opening in the longitudinal direction) and the alignment along the peripheral direction are described. The length of the diagonal (the length of the opening in the peripheral direction)).

When each mesh tube 10 was bent with a bending radius of 15 mm, it was confirmed whether or not the optical fiber 5 protruded from the opening 10A of the mesh tube 10. In addition, when the meshed tube in the bent state is stretched inward (bending center side), the presence or absence of the optical fiber 5 protruding from the opening 10A of the meshed tube 10 is checked. The results of the presence or absence of protruding optical fibers of each mesh tube 10 are as follows.

As shown in Table 3, the shorter the opening length in the longitudinal direction, the less likely the optical fiber 5 to protrude from the opening 10A of the mesh tube 10. When the shape of the opening is a rhombus, as long as the length of the opening in the longitudinal direction is 18 mm or less, it is possible to suppress the protrusion of the optical fiber 5 when the mesh tube 10 is bent. Furthermore, when the shape of the opening is a rhombus, as long as the length of the opening in the longitudinal direction is 14 mm or less, it is possible to suppress the protrusion of the optical fiber 5 when the meshed tube 10 in the curved state is stretched.

Next, a plurality of types of mesh-shaped tubes 10 with further different shapes of the openings 10A are produced. Here, the mesh-shaped tube 10 is constituted as one cylindrical member in which a large number of openings 10A are formed, and the openings 10A are formed into a slit shape or a rectangular shape. In the case of the slit-shaped opening 10A, the slit is formed along the longitudinal direction, and the slit width (the length of the opening in the circumferential direction) is less than 0.5 mm. In addition, the width of the peripheral edge portion 10B (the circumferential dimension of the peripheral edge portion 10B) between the opening 10A and the opening 10A adjacent to the circumferential direction is 4 mm when the opening 10A is slit, and the opening 10A is rectangular. In the case of a shape, it is 2mm. In the same manner as described above, it is confirmed whether the optical fiber 5 protrudes from the opening 10A of the mesh tube 10 when the mesh tube 10 is bent and when the mesh tube 10 in the bent state is drawn inward. The results of the presence or absence of protruding optical fibers of each mesh tube 10 are as follows.

As shown in Tables 3 and 4, regardless of the shape of the opening 10A, the shorter the opening length in the longitudinal direction, the less likely the optical fiber 5 to protrude from the opening 10A of the mesh tube 10. As long as the opening length in the longitudinal direction of the opening 10A is 20 mm or less, the protrusion of the optical fiber 5 when the mesh tube 10 is bent can be suppressed. In addition, as long as the opening length in the longitudinal direction of the opening 10A is 14 mm or less, it is possible to suppress the protrusion of the optical fiber 5 when the meshed tube 10 in the curved state is stretched.

＜Strength for branches＞ A plurality of types of mesh-like tubes 10 having different numbers N (total number 2N) of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12, the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10, and the pitch P are produced. Here, the numbers of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 are 4 (8 in total) or 6 (12 in total), respectively. In addition, the inner diameter D of the mesh tube 10 is 6.3 mm or 8.3 mm. In addition, the spiral pitch L is 50 mm.

A tensile force of 180N is applied to each mesh tube 10, and the presence or absence of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 of the branch portion 10C (the branch portion 10C at the intersection of the first wire 11 and the second wire 12 is welded and joined) Separation. The results of the presence or absence of separation of the branch portion 10C of each mesh-shaped tube 10 are as follows (it was confirmed that the branch portion 10C would not be damaged with a tensile force of 180N).

＜Bundling of mesh tube 10＞ Prepare 12 fiber units 3 of 288 fibers inserted through a mesh tube 10 with an outer diameter of 8.3 mm, bundle the 12 fiber units 3, and measure the outer length of the bundle of 12 fiber units. For comparison, prepare 12 polyethylene protection tubes (outer diameter 9.7mm, wall thickness 0.7mm) inserted through 288 optical fibers, bundle the 12 protection tubes, and measure the periphery of the bundle of 12 protection tubes length. In addition, a rope is wound around the periphery of the 12 bundled optical fiber units or around the periphery of the bundled 12 optical fiber units, and the rope length is measured, thereby measuring the outer length of each bundle. Since the cross-sectional shape of the optical fiber unit 3 using the mesh tube 10 is easier to deform than that of a polyethylene protective tube, the outer length of the bundle of 12 protective tubes made of polyethylene is 14 mm, and the mesh tube 10 is used. The outer length of the bundle of 12 optical fiber units 3 is 10 mm.

===Other === The above-mentioned embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and of course, the present invention also includes equivalents thereof.

1: Optical cable 1A: First optical cable 1B: 2nd optical cable 3: Fiber unit 3A: 1st fiber unit 3B: 2nd fiber unit 5: Optical fiber 10: Mesh tube 10’: Silicone tube 10A: Opening 10B: Perimeter 10C: Branch 10X: End 11: The first wire 12: 2nd wire 13: Core 14: Covering part 20: Protection unit 22: Tubular member 22A: end 1 22B: end 2 24: cylindrical member 24A: The first cylindrical member 24B: The second cylindrical member 241: Tube 242: protrusion 40: scaffold 41: Shelter 42: Containment Disk 421: bottom plate 422: Side Board 423: front panel 424: rear panel 424A: Turn-back section 43: Optical fiber housing 431: Bracket 432: Guidance 44: Unit Containment Department 45: Spacer 46: Contact Department 47: holding part 471: Groove 472: lower claw 473: upper claw 48: Optical fiber containment unit 50: branch unit 51: main body 52: The first fixed part 521: Support 522: Fastening member 53: The second fixed part 53A: groove 531: control board 531A: recess 54: Containment Department 541: upstream stopper 542: Downstream stopper 57: Lid 57A: Injection port

[FIG. 1A] This is an explanatory diagram of the protection unit 20 of this embodiment. [Figure 1B] This is an exploded explanatory view of the protection unit 20 of this embodiment. [Figure 1C] is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the cylindrical member 24 is removed from the tubular member 22 to extend the mesh-shaped tube 10. [FIG. 2A] and [FIG. 2B] are explanatory diagrams of the mesh tube 10. [Figure 3A] is an expanded view for explaining the shape of the mesh-shaped tube 10. [Figure 3B] is an enlarged perspective view of the mesh tube 10 shown in Figure 3A. [Figure 4A] is a cross-sectional view of the wire of this embodiment. [Figure 4B] and [Figure 4C] are cross-sectional views of other wires. [FIG. 5A] is a development view for explaining another shape of the mesh tube 10. [Figure 5B] is an enlarged perspective view of the mesh tube 10 shown in Figure 5A. [FIG. 6A] and [FIG. 6B] are developed views for explaining other shapes of the mesh tube 10. [Figure 7A] is an explanatory diagram of the shape of the marshalling pipe of the comparative example. [Figure 7B] is an enlarged explanatory view of the vicinity of the mesh of the marshalling pipe of the comparative example. [Fig. 8A] and [Fig. 8B] are explanatory diagrams of the state before and after expansion and contraction in the vicinity of the opening 10A (mesh) of the mesh tube 10 of this embodiment. [Figure 9] is a perspective view of the cylindrical member 24. [FIG. 10A] ~ [FIG. 10D] are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method of the protection unit 20. [FIG. 11A] ~ [FIG. 11E] are explanatory diagrams of the protection method of the optical fiber 5 using the protection unit 20. [Figure 12] is an explanatory diagram of the state inside the scaffold 40. [Figure 13] is a perspective view of the storage shed 41 and the branch unit 50. [Figure 14] is a perspective view of the storage tray 42. [Figure 15A] is an enlarged perspective view of the holding portion 47. [Figure 15B] is a diagram of a state in which the cylindrical member 24 is held by the holding portion 47. [Figure 16] This is an exploded view of the branch unit 50 of this embodiment. [Figure 17] is an exploded view of the branch unit 50 of the reference example. [Fig. 18A] to [Fig. 18C] are explanatory diagrams of the laying method of the optical fiber 5 using the storage tray 42 of this embodiment. [Figure 19A] is an explanatory diagram of the method of measuring bending rigidity. [Figure 19B] is an explanatory diagram of the load-deflection curve. [Figure 20] is an explanatory diagram of the pitch P and the inner diameter D.

1A: First optical cable

1B: 2nd optical cable

3: Fiber unit

3A: 1st fiber unit

3B: 2nd fiber unit

5: Optical fiber

24A: The first cylindrical member

24B: The second cylindrical member

41: Shelter

42: Containment Disk

43: Optical fiber housing

44: Unit Containment Department

50: branch unit

Claims (10)

A containment tray with: Optical fiber receiving part, the excess length of the receiving optical fiber, and The unit accommodating part accommodates the excess length of the optical fiber unit protected by the protective tube. The storage tray according to claim 1, wherein a partition is provided to separate the optical fiber storage portion and the unit storage portion, A connection part for performing the optical fiber wiring is formed in the spacer part. The storage tray according to claim 2, wherein the contact part is arranged at an end of the partition part. The storage tray according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a holding portion for protecting a cylindrical member attached to an end of the protective tube is formed in the connecting portion. The storage tray according to claim 4, wherein the holding portion has a groove for inserting the protrusion of the cylindrical member, and a groove for pressing the cylindrical member from a direction in which the protrusion is inserted into the groove. Pushing department. The storage tray according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the unit storage portion is provided with a bottom plate portion on which the optical fiber unit is placed, and a folding portion opposite to the bottom plate portion, A part of the optical fiber unit accommodated in the unit accommodating part may be arranged between the bottom plate part and the folded-back part. An optical fiber containment method to: Steps of making the first optical fiber unit that protects the optical fiber of the first optical cable with a protective tube; Steps of making a second optical fiber unit that protects the optical fiber of the second optical cable with a protective tube; The steps of preparing a receiving tray with an optical fiber receiving portion and a unit receiving portion; Connecting the optical fibers of the first optical cable extending from the first optical fiber unit and the optical fibers of the second optical cable extending from the second optical fiber unit; The step of accommodating the excess length of the optical fiber after connection in the optical fiber accommodating part; and A step of storing the excess length of the first optical fiber unit and the second optical fiber unit in the unit accommodating portion. The optical fiber housing method according to claim 7, wherein the protective tube is a mesh tube having an opening formed in a mesh shape. The optical fiber housing method according to claim 8, wherein a cylindrical member is attached to the end of the mesh tube, The cylindrical member is held in the storage tray. The optical fiber accommodating method according to claim 9, wherein the excess length of the first optical fiber unit and the second optical fiber unit is bent and accommodated in the unit accommodating part while the cylindrical member is held in the storage tray.

Images