JP2008153030A - Cable with identification function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mistake a cable to be pulled out with a conventional cable.
A cable with an identification function of the present application is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from a device at one end or both ends of a cable whose outer periphery is coated, and a coated optical fiber is provided along the axial direction outside the cable. A light incident / exit section is formed at the outer periphery near both ends of the coated optical fiber or / and at any axial position in the axial direction, and the light incident from any one of the light incident / exit sections is any other light incident / exit section. It was made to radiate | emits visually from. Further, the coated optical fiber is provided along the axial direction outside the cable, and both end surfaces of the core wire exposed to the outside of the coated optical fiber and / or any outer peripheral position in the axial direction may be used as the light incident / exit section. it can. Furthermore, the optical fiber can be spirally wound around the outer periphery of the cable, or two or more optical fibers can be provided at two or more locations on the outer periphery of the cable that are different in the circumferential direction.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable with an identification function used for connection between various devices such as a communication device, between a computer and a peripheral device, or connection of a home appliance to a power source, and in particular, a number of cables that are difficult to distinguish. It is suitable for wiring to a place where cables and cords (hereinafter collectively referred to as “cables”) are wired.

  In the advanced information society in recent years, the network is required to be faster and more multifunctional, and the network system has become multi-layered (hierarchized) and more complicated than before. For connection between these devices, a data transmission cable with a connector commonly called a patch cord is used. The number of cables used is as large as several tens even in a small network system server and hundreds in a large network system such as a telephone station. Although the normal lengths of the cables are different, cables of about 5m to 20m are often used. These cables are usually connected to the connection terminals on the back or front of the equipment and are routed in the equipment installation room, and the actual situation is that they are concentrated on the back or front of the equipment.

  These devices are regularly inspected, updated, and switched. In that case, the cable connecting the devices is inserted and removed. In this case, since the cables are dense as described above, there is an error in connecting / disconnecting the cables, which causes many network troubles during inspection and maintenance work. The occurrence of this trouble leads to data corruption and leakage, system down, etc., and there is a danger that it may develop into a big social problem depending on the line in the information society today.

  In order to prevent the occurrence of the trouble, conventionally, the cable can be visually recognized by changing the color of the cable or attaching an identification tag (tag) to the cable. However, with that alone, it is difficult to accurately confirm the correspondence between the ends of the cable to be plugged in and out of many dense cables, and the mistake of plugging and unplugging the cable has not been solved.

  Conventionally, a cable as described in Patent Document 1 has been developed in order to solve the above problems. This cable is designed to check the position of both ends of the cable when a buzzer sound is generated from the buzzer when a conducting clip is brought into contact with the connector at one end and a lead wire of the buzzer is brought into contact with the connector at the other end. Yes, by using this cable, it is possible to specify a cable to be inserted and removed from a large number of dense cables.

Japanese Patent No. 3363132

  Even when the cable described in Patent Document 1 is used, the buzzer sound stops when the buzzer is mistaken when visually confirmed, or even if the cable can be confirmed, if the buzzer is removed from the cable before insertion or removal. Therefore, there is a case where the cable is mistaken just before the insertion / removal, and the mistake of the insertion / removal cannot be completely solved after all.

  The present invention provides a cable with an identification function that can reliably identify the positions of both ends of a cable visually and can prevent mistakes in inserting and removing the cable.

  As described in claim 1, the cable with an identification function of the present application is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from a device at one end or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is disposed outside the cable in the axial direction. A light incident / exit section is formed at the outer periphery near the both ends of the coated optical fiber or / and at any axial position in the axial direction, and the light incident from any one of the light incident / exit sections is any of the other The light is emitted from the light incident / exit section so as to be visible.

  As described in claim 2, the cable with an identification function of the present application is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from the device at one end or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is disposed outside the cable in the axial direction. The both ends of the core wire exposed to the outside of the coated optical fiber and / or any outer peripheral position in the axial direction are used as the light incident / exit parts, and the light incident from any one of the light incident / exit parts is another It was made to radiate | emit so that visual observation was possible from either light incident / exit part.

  As described in claim 3, the cable with an identification function of the present application is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from the device at one end or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is different in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the cable. Two or more locations are provided along the axial direction of the cable, and light incident / exit portions are formed on both end surfaces of each coated optical fiber and / or any outer peripheral position in the axial direction. The incident light is emitted so as to be visible from any other light incident / exit section.

  As described in claim 4, the cable with an identification function of the present application is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from a device at one end or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is disposed on the outer periphery of the cable. Is formed in a spiral shape, and light incident / exit portions are formed at both end faces of the coated optical fiber and / or any outer peripheral position in the axial direction, and light incident from any one of the light incident / exit portions is any of the other It was made to radiate | emits visually from the light incident / exit part.

The identification-provided cable according to claims 1 to 4 of the present application forms a light incident / exit part at the outer periphery near both ends of the coated optical fiber provided on the outside of the cable, both ends, and at any outer peripheral position in the axial direction, Since the light incident from any one of the light incident / exiting portions is emitted from any one of the other light incident / exiting portions so as to be visible, the following effects are obtained.
(1) When unplugging a cable inserted into a communication device or plugging a cable into a communication device, just enter light from one of the light incident / exit portions, and from among a large number of closely packed cables It is possible to visually check the cable to be plugged and unplugged and the connectors at both ends without mistakenly, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles such as data breakage, leakage and system down.
(2) Light can be incident on the cable simply by bringing the light source close to the operator without bringing the light source into contact with the light incident / exiting portion of the cable, and the confirmation work is easy.
(3) Since the light incident / exit portions are provided in the vicinity of both ends of the optical fiber, the connectors can be easily confirmed by attaching the connectors to the both ends of the optical fiber, and it is ensured that an error in inserting and removing the connector with respect to the device is prevented.
(4) Since the light incident / exit part is exposed to the outside of the optical fiber, light is easily incident on the light incident / exit part, and light emitted from the light incident / exit part is reliably emitted to the outside, and the light is easily and It can be confirmed reliably.
(5) When the light incident / exit portion is formed at an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the axial direction of the optical fiber, the cable can be confirmed at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction.

  In the cable with the identification function according to the second aspect, since both ends of the optical fiber are the light incident / exit portions, it is not necessary to bother to form the light incident / exit portions, and the configuration is simple and easy to manufacture.

  In the cable with an identification function according to claim 3, since the optical fiber is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the cable, the optical fiber and the optical fiber can be formed as long as a light incident / exit portion is formed at an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the axial direction of the optical fiber. Can be confirmed at any position in the longitudinal direction.

  In the cable with an identification function according to claim 4, since two or more optical fibers are provided at two or more locations on the outer periphery of the cable that are different in the circumferential direction, a light incident / exit portion is formed at an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the axial direction of the optical fiber. If this is the case, even if the cable is twisted, the optical fiber is hidden behind the cable so that it is difficult to see or cannot be seen with certainty.

(Embodiment 1)
An example of an embodiment of a cable with an identification function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the cable with an identification function shown in FIG. 1, a connector 2 that can be attached to and detached from a communication device is attached to both ends of a communication cable 1, and an optical fiber 3 is provided along the axial direction on the outer periphery of the cable 1. .

  The cable 1 may be a metal cable coaxial cable or an optical fiber cable. In either case, the outer periphery of the core wire is covered with an insulating material, a reinforcing material, or the like. The connector 2 attached to both ends of the cable 1 can be of the shape shown in the figure or another shape.

  The optical fiber 3 is for discriminating the cable 1, and the core wire is covered with the covering material 4. The core wire may be made of glass or plastic. The optical fiber 3 has a covering portion fixed to the covering of the cable 1 along the outer periphery of the cable 1. The fixing means can be performed by any means such as bonding with an adhesive, thermal welding, or winding of a tape.

  1 is formed on the outer peripheral surface near both ends of the optical fiber 3 shown in FIG. 1 (before the connector 2). When light is incident on the core of the optical fiber 3 from one of the light incident / exiting parts 5, the light propagated (transmitted) in the core is emitted from the other light incident / exiting part 5 to the outside. This is the part that I tried to do. The light incident / exit part 5 is formed by peeling off the coating material 4 of the optical fiber 3 to expose the optical fiber 3 to the outside, and scratching, excising or bending the outer peripheral surface to provide a light reflecting surface. is there. The light incident / exit portions 5 are formed at positions near both ends of the optical fiber 3 in the axial direction (positions near the connector). It is also possible to make it easy to confirm the emitted light. The optical fiber 3 fixes the light incident / exit part 5 to the cable 1 with the outside of the cable 1 so that light can easily enter the light incident / exit part 5 and light emitted from the light incident / exit part 5 can be easily seen from the outside. It is supposed to be.

(Embodiment 2)
2nd Embodiment of the cable with an identification function of this invention is described based on FIG. The basic configuration of the cable with identification function in FIG. 2 is the same as that of the first embodiment, except that both end faces of the optical fiber 3 are exposed in front of the connector 2 and both end faces are exposed to the light incident / exit section 5. It is that. In this case, do not fix the covering material 4 near both ends of the optical fiber 3 to the covering of the cable 1,
It is also possible to lift the both ends of the optical fiber 3 or bend the cable 1 so that light can easily enter from the light incident / exit portions 5 on both end faces of the optical fiber 3 (see the broken line portion in FIG. 2). Also, the covering material 4 at both ends can be peeled off to expose both ends of the optical fiber 3 so that light can be easily incident and light emission can be easily confirmed. In this case, the exposed end portion of the optical fiber 3 can be protected with a cap or the like.

(Embodiment 3)
The optical fiber 3 of the cable with an identification function according to the present invention has a light incident / exit part 5 at positions near both ends of the optical fiber 3, and the light incident / exit part 5 at both end surfaces of the optical fiber 3. The emission parts 5 can also be formed at arbitrary positions in the axial direction of the optical fiber 3. In that case, the covering material 4 may be transparent or semi-transparent so that the light emitted from each light incident / exiting portion 5 can be seen through from the outer periphery of the covering material 4.

(Embodiment 4)
Although the optical fiber 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is parallel to the cable 1, the optical fiber 3 can be spirally wound around the outer periphery of the cable 1 as shown in FIG. 3. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the optical fiber 3 and the cable 1 around which the optical fiber 3 is wound can be formed by adding the light incident / exiting portions 5 to the portions near both ends and forming the optical fiber 3 at arbitrary positions in the axial direction. At any position in the longitudinal direction. The covering material 4 may be transparent or semi-transparent so that light emitted from each light incident / exiting portion 5 can be seen through from the outer periphery of the covering material 4.

(Other embodiments)
When the optical fibers 3 are provided in parallel along the cable 1, two or more optical fibers 3 can be attached at two or more different locations in the circumferential direction of the cable 1 as shown in FIG. 4. In this way, even if the cable 1 connected to the device is twisted, the optical fiber 3 is hidden behind the cable so that it is difficult to see or cannot be seen with certainty. Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 4, both end faces of the optical fiber 3 can be used as the light incident / exit portions 5, and the light incident / exit portions 5 can be formed at any number of axial positions of the optical fiber 3.

  The optical fiber 3 attached to the cable 1 may be an uncovered bare optical fiber 3. Although the bare optical fiber 3 can be left exposed to the outside, it can be coated at the same time as the cable 1 is coated.

  In FIGS. 1 and 2, both end faces of the optical fiber 3 are exposed in front of the connector cover 6, but both end faces may be covered with the connector cover 6 so as not to be exposed to the outside. When wrapped and covered in this manner, both end faces of the optical fiber 3 are less likely to be damaged because the wired cables and optical fibers are not in contact with the end faces.

  The connector 2 is not limited to being provided at both ends of the cable 1 but can be provided only at one end. In this case, the end of the cable 1 that does not include the connector 2 can be fixedly connected to a communication device or a peripheral device connected thereto.

(Usage form of cable with identification function of the present invention)
The cable with an identification function of the present invention configured as described above is used by inserting the connector 2 at each end into a communication device in the same manner as the conventional cables. When inspecting, rearranging, moving, or expanding the communication equipment connected to the cable with the identification function, the connector 2 is removed and replaced. In this case, the cable to be inserted / removed is checked before the connector 2 is pulled out or inserted. In order to confirm, an operator brings the light source 7 close to or in contact with one light incident / exit part 5 of the optical fiber 3 provided along with the cable 1 to be inserted and removed as shown in FIGS. Is incident on the other light incident / exit section 5, the emitted light is visually confirmed, and the connector 2 of the confirmed cable 1 is inserted and removed. Incident light can be laser light in addition to light emitted from a light bulb or LED. The light source 7 is a portable light such as a pen light or a search light, a light source that can be used by taking out a power source from a commercial power source in the field, or a dedicated light source newly developed for the cable with an identification function of the present invention. The light source may be any one such as a portable or fixed laser oscillator (laser light source).

  The cable with an identification function of the present invention is not limited to a data transmission cable with a connector used in various communication devices, and can be used for a cord with a connector for various electric devices including home appliances.

The front view which shows an example of embodiment of the cable with an identification function of this invention. The front view which shows another example of embodiment of the cable with an identification function of this invention. The front view which shows another example of embodiment of the cable with an identification function of this invention. The front view which shows another example of embodiment of the cable with an identification function of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cable 2 Connector 3 Optical fiber 4 Coating material 5 Light incident / exit part 6 Connector cover 7 Light source

Claims (4)

  A connector that can be attached to and detached from the equipment is provided at one or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is provided along the axial direction outside the cable, and the outer periphery or / and the shaft near the both ends of the coated optical fiber. A light incident / exit part is formed at an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the direction, and the light incident from one of the light incident / exit parts is visibly emitted from any other light incident / exit part Functional cable.   A cable whose outer periphery is coated is provided with a connector that can be attached to and detached from the device, and the coated optical fiber is provided along the axial direction on the outside of the cable, and both ends of the core are exposed to the outside of the coated optical fiber. A light incident / exit part is defined as a light incident / exit part at a surface or / and an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the axial direction, and light incident from any one light incident / exit part is emitted visibly from any other light incident / exit part. A cable with identification function.   A connector that can be attached to and detached from the device is provided at one or both ends of the cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is provided along two or more locations in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the cable along the axial direction of the cable. Light incident / exit parts are formed on both end faces of the coated optical fiber and / or any outer peripheral position in the axial direction, and light incident from any one of the light incident / exit parts can be viewed from any other light incident / exit part A cable with an identification function, wherein   A connector that can be attached to and detached from a device is provided at one or both ends of a cable whose outer periphery is coated, and the coated optical fiber is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the cable, and both end surfaces of the coated optical fiber and / or A light incident / exit part is formed at an arbitrary outer peripheral position in the axial direction, and light incident from any one light incident / exit part is emitted visibly from any other light incident / exit part. Cable with identification function.

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