JP2014016529A - Optical fiber cable - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical fiber ribbon in which a number of optical fiber cores are intermittently connected is bundled to form a unit, and a plurality of units are bundled into a cable to form a tape core and optical fiber in each unit. The core wire provides an optical fiber cable that is unitized so as to be easily identified and separated from the tape core wire and the optical fiber core wire in other units.
An optical fiber tape core in which three or more optical fiber cores are arranged in a line on a plane, and adjacent optical fiber cores are intermittently connected by alternately connecting and separating portions in the longitudinal direction. It is bundled by press winding (23a to 23c) so as to cover the entire circumference of the wire to form a tape core unit (21a to 21c), and a plurality of the tape core units 21 are twisted to form a cable core 20a. An outer cover 27 is applied to the outer periphery of the outer cover.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-core optical fiber cable in which a plurality of optical fiber ribbons are assembled and integrated at high density.

  With the recent expansion of broadband services such as video distribution, IP telephony, and data communications, the number of subscribers to home-use data communications services (FTTH: Fiber To The Home) using optical fibers is increasing. In this FTTH, a drop optical cable is used to drop the main optical fiber cable to the subscriber's home. However, it is desired to reduce the diameter and density of the main optical fiber cable and improve the workability of the optical fiber drawing. It is requested.

  As an optical fiber ribbon used for an optical fiber cable for this purpose (hereinafter referred to as a tape ribbon), for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in the longitudinal direction of the tape ribbon, adjacent optical fibers are connected to each other. The thing of the shape connected intermittently by the isolation | separation part (non-connecting part) is disclosed. When this tape core is used for an optical fiber cable, it is easy to separate the optical fiber cores into single cores, while maintaining the arrangement of the optical fiber cores so that the optical fibers can be identified and fused together. It is also possible to ensure the ease of connection and the like. In addition, the tape core can be rounded or folded to improve the storage property, and the bending distortion can be reduced.

  Also, a plurality of the above-mentioned tape cores are bundled and integrated into a unit by using colored yarn or tape, the units are assembled by twisting together, and an outer sheath is applied to the outer periphery to form a 1000-fiber optical fiber cable. Is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 4619424 JP 2010-286735 A

In order to select and pull down a desired optical fiber core with the optical fiber cable described above, first identify the unit number by the color of the thread or tape wound around the unit, The optical fiber number is identified by the color of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber number is identified by the color of the optical fiber.
Further, in the above Patent Documents 1 and 2, since only a thread or tape is wound around each unit, in a state where a plurality of units are bundled, the optical fiber core wire and the thread or tape are substantially There is a problem that it is difficult to distinguish the unit number because it is cluttered in parallel and it is difficult to identify the unit number.

Even if the yarn or tape can be identified, when the desired yarn or tape is picked and the unit is separated from other units, the unity feeling as a unit is weak only by winding the yarn or tape. For this reason, the optical fiber core to be taken out may be caught on the optical fiber of another unit, and the optical fiber core wire of the other unit cannot be distinguished.
In Patent Document 2, a unit is divided into five bundles of tape cores (subunits) to have a hierarchical structure. Is weak. For this reason, it is difficult to separate a desired subunit, the workability of taking out the optical fiber core wire is deteriorated, and there is a problem that wiring mistakes are easily caused.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and bundles optical fiber tape core wires in which a number of optical fiber core wires are intermittently connected to form a unit, and bundles a plurality of the units to form a cable. At the time, provision of an optical fiber cable in which a tape core and an optical fiber in each unit are unitized so that they can be easily distinguished from and separated from a tape and an optical fiber in other units. With the goal.

In the optical fiber cable according to the present invention, three or more optical fiber cores are arranged in a line on a plane, and adjacent optical fiber cores are intermittently connected in the longitudinal direction by alternately connecting and separating portions. A tape core unit is formed by bundling by press winding so as to cover the entire periphery of the optical fiber ribbon, and a plurality of the tape core units are twisted to form a cable core, and a jacket is applied to the outer periphery of the optical cable core It is characterized by that.
The above-mentioned presser winding has a tape-like long body attached vertically, and a thread-like or belt-like coarse winding string is wound spirally around it, or the tape-like long body is formed into a cylindrical body in advance. Then, it can be formed by opening and closing the opening / closing portion and covering it vertically, or by winding a tape-like long body in a spiral shape.

Further, the above-described tape core unit can be formed by bundling a plurality of tape core subunits in which a small number of optical fiber ribbons are bundled. This optical fiber subunit is formed by spirally winding a bundle of ribbons or belts around the above-mentioned small number of optical fiber ribbons, or by surrounding a small number of optical fiber ribbons. A tape-like long body is wrapped vertically or spirally so as to cover the whole.
The presser winding is given a unit number for identifying the tape core unit or a color for identifying the tape core unit.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of optical fiber tape core wires in which optical fiber core wires are intermittently connected are connected or assembled into a unit to form a multi-core tape core unit, and the multi-fiber tape core unit When a plurality of optical fibers are bundled into a multi-fiber optical fiber cable, the integrity of the tape core unit can be improved. As a result, it is possible to easily identify and separate the tape core and the optical fiber core in the desired tape core unit from the optical fiber cable from the tape core and the optical fiber core of another tape core unit. It becomes possible to do. For this reason, the workability of drawing the optical fiber core wire from the optical fiber cable can be improved.

It is a figure which shows an example of unitization of an example of the optical fiber ribbon used for the optical fiber cable of this invention, and a tape strand. It is a figure explaining the example of the press winding of the optical fiber cable and tape core wire unit by this invention.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As the optical fiber ribbon used in the optical fiber ribbon unit in the present invention, for example, one having a shape as shown in FIG. In this optical fiber ribbon 10, three or more optical fibers 11 are arranged in a line on a plane, and adjacent optical fibers are alternately connected to connecting portions 12 and unconnected portions separating portions 13. The optical fiber tape core wire (hereinafter, referred to as a tape core wire) is in an intermittently connected form. In the description of the present invention, an 8-core tape core is illustrated as the tape core 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, two 4-core ribbons may be connected to form an 8-core, or two 8-core ribbons may be connected to form a 16-core tape. In addition, 6 tape cores of 4 cores can be connected, or 3 taper cores of 8 cores can be connected to make 24 cores, 10 tape cores of 4 cores can be connected, or 8 cores can be tapered. It is good also as a 40 core tape core wire by connecting 5 core wires. In addition, it is preferable to use the intermittent connection similar to the connection part 12 and the isolation | separation part 13 which connect between each optical fiber core wire for connection of said tape core wire.

In addition, the optical fiber core wire 11 in the present invention is, for example, an optical fiber strand obtained by coating a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μm with a fiber coating having a coating diameter of about 250 μm. A single-core optical fiber including a coating provided with a colored layer on the outer surface is assumed.
The tape core wire 10 shown in FIG. 1A is positioned in the longitudinal direction so that the connecting portion 12 that connects the adjacent optical fiber core wires does not overlap the connecting portion 12 between the adjacent optical fiber core wires. This is an example formed differently.

  FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the connection and separation between the optical fiber cores at positions a, b, and c in the longitudinal direction of the tape core wire 10. At the position a, the optical fiber cores 11 at both ends are separated, the two adjacent optical fiber cores are paired and connected by a connecting part 12, and the pair is a separating part 13. Between the optical fiber core wires at the position b, the entire adjacent cores are separated by the separation unit 13. Between the optical fiber cores at the position c, a portion where the optical fiber core wires at the position a are separated is the connecting portion 12, and the connected portion is the separating portion 13.

  By intermittently connecting the optical fiber cores as described above, the arrangement state between the optical fiber cores is maintained to facilitate the multi-core batch fusion connection and to maintain the order of the core wire numbers. Moreover, it can isolate | separate easily to a single core by tearing the connection part 12 with a cutter etc. FIG. Further, by making the length X of the connecting portion 12 smaller than the length Y of the separating portion 13 (for example, X = 40 mm, Y = 60 mm), the whole core is separated into a single core as shown in the section b. The region Z that has been formed can be formed. When this region Z exists, it is easy to bend the tape core wire 10, and it is easy to fold the tape core wire 10 or to bundle it by rounding it into a circular shape.

FIG. 1C is a diagram showing a state in which a multi-core tape core wire 10 is folded or rolled into a circular shape and bundled, and a thread-like or belt-like coarse winding cord 14 is spirally wound to form a unit. In the present invention, the tape core wires are bundled to form a unit and are referred to as a tape core unit or a tape core subunit.
The tape core 10 to be unitized may be a single tape core having several tens of cores, and is a collection of a plurality of tape cores having small cores of about 4 to 16 cores. There may be. Further, although FIG. 1C shows a state in which the tape core wires are bundled in a straight line, they may be twisted together.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of an optical fiber cable in which a plurality of tape core units each formed of the above-described intermittently connected tape cores are assembled. The optical fiber cable 20 is formed by twisting a plurality of tape core units 21 into a cable core 20a and covering the outer periphery with a jacket 27 such as black low-density polyethylene. In the outer jacket 27, as in a normal optical fiber cable, two steel wires having an outer diameter of about 1 mm are embedded in a tension member 28, and a tear string 29 for tearing the outer jacket made of aramid fiber or the like. Is disposed.

  The optical fiber cable 20 shown in FIG. 2A is, for example, a cable made of 1000 optical fibers. In this case, the cable core 20a is formed by bundling five tape core units 21 made of 200 optical fibers and bundling them into a circular shape. In addition, although each tape core unit 21 has shown the example bundled so that a cross section may become a fan shape, for example, in order to make it gather at high density, it is not limited to this in particular, An external shape is bundled Should be circular.

  When the number of optical fiber cores is increased to 200, the tape core unit 21 of the optical fiber cable 20 is not easily identified and can be easily taken out. Is not. In addition, it is not easy to bundle a large number of tape core wires at high density, and it is difficult to reduce the diameter. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 2B to 2D, a tape core subunit 22 having a smaller number of cores than the tape core unit is formed, and a plurality of the tape core subunits 22 are bundled to form a tape. The core unit 21 can be used. For example, by bundling five tape core subunits 22 made of 40 optical fibers, a tape core unit made of 200 optical fibers can be obtained.

  2 (B) to FIG. 2 (D), the ribbon core unit 21a-21c shown in FIG. Are bundled so as to form a fan shape, and presser windings 23a to 23c are applied so as to cover the entire outer periphery of the tape core wire. The presser windings 23a to 23c are wound so that the entire outer periphery of the tape core wire constituting the unit is covered, thereby enhancing the sense of unity as the tape core wire unit, and the tape core wires in other tape core wire units. It is not confused with the optical fiber core and can be improved in discrimination.

  Tape core unit 21a shown in FIG. 2 (B), as presser winding 23a, tape-like long body 24 made of non-woven fabric is vertically attached so that the entire outer periphery of the tape core wire constituting the unit is covered, This is an example in which a thread or belt-shaped rough winding string 24a is spirally wound around the outside. For example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) tape is used for the coarsely wound string 24a, and the color thereof is colored blue, yellow, green, red, purple, etc. according to the number of the tape core unit. it can.

  In addition, as a tape-shaped long body 24, a polyethylene tape and a PET tape can be used other than a nonwoven fabric, for example. Moreover, waterproofness can also be provided by apply | coating a water absorbing powder to a nonwoven fabric. In addition to the PET tape, a cotton thread, a polyester thread, a nylon thread, a polyethylene tape, a polypropylene (PP) tape, or the like can be used as the coarsely wound string 24a.

  A tape core unit 21b shown in FIG. 2 (C) is a cylinder having an opening / closing portion 25a that is previously fitted with a tape-like long body 25 made of a non-woven fabric with PET attached thereto as the presser winding 23b. This is an example in which the entire outer periphery of the tape core wire constituting the unit is covered so as to be formed into a shape. As a method of forming the long body 25 into a cylindrical body, a long body made of non-woven fabric with PET attached thereto is wound while applying heat to a jig according to the outer shape of the unit, and a curl is attached. To mold. And the opening / closing part 25a which is the joint of the long body 25 is opened and it covers so that it may vertically attach to the outer periphery of a tape core unit.

  A tape core unit 21c shown in FIG. 2 (D) has a tape-like long body 26 made of non-woven fabric as a presser winding 23c so that the entire outer periphery of the tape core constituting the unit is covered. It is an example wound spirally so as to have. In addition to the nonwoven fabric, for example, a polyethylene tape or a PET tape can be used as the tape-like long body 26. Moreover, waterproofness can also be provided by apply | coating a water absorbing powder to a nonwoven fabric.

  In any of the above examples, the surface of the presser windings 23a to 23c can be easily identified by attaching the number of the tape core unit. Moreover, you may make it attach | subject the color which identifies a tape core unit to the elongate body of the presser windings 23a-23c, or its surface.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, the tape core subunit 22 constituting the tape core units 21a to 21c is formed by spirally winding a thread or a belt-like rough winding string on the outside thereof. Can be unitized. For example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) tape is used for the rough winding cord, and the color of the tape is colored blue, yellow, green, red, purple, etc. according to the number of the tape core subunit. it can.

  Further, the tape core subunit 22 constituting the tape core units 21a to 21c is the same as that shown in FIGS. 2B and 2D, and the entire periphery of the optical fiber tape core with a small number of cores. A tape-like long body may be attached vertically or spirally so as to cover the unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Optical fiber ribbon (tape core), 11 ... Optical fiber core, 12 ... Connection part, 13 ... Separation part, 14 ... Coarse winding string, 20 ... Optical fiber cable, 20a ... Cable core, 21-21c ... Tape core unit, 22 ... Tape core subunit, 23a-23c ... Presser winding, 24 ... Long body (longitudinal), 24a ... Coarse winding string, 25 ... Long body (molded cylindrical body), 25a ... Opening / closing part, 26 ... Long body (spiral winding), 26a ... Overlapping part, 27 ... Outer jacket, 28 ... Tension member, 29 ... Tear string.

Claims (9)

Three or more optical fiber cores are arranged in a line on a plane, and the entire periphery of an optical fiber tape core in which adjacent optical fiber cores are intermittently connected by alternately connecting and separating portions in the longitudinal direction. Bundled with a presser roll so as to cover the tape to make a tape core unit,
An optical fiber cable, wherein a plurality of the tape core units are twisted to form an optical fiber cable core, and an outer sheath is provided on an outer periphery of the optical fiber cable core.   2. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein the presser winding is formed by vertically attaching a tape-like long body and spirally winding a thread-like or belt-like rough winding string around it.   2. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein the presser winding is formed by forming a tape-like long body into a cylindrical body in advance, and covering the longitudinal opening and opening the opening / closing portion.   The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein the presser winding is formed by winding a tape-like long body in a spiral shape.   5. The optical fiber cable according to claim 1, wherein the tape core unit is formed by bundling a plurality of tape core sub-units, each of which is formed by bundling a small number of optical fiber ribbons.   6. The optical fiber according to claim 5, wherein the optical fiber subunit is bundled by spirally winding a thread-like or belt-like coarse winding string around the optical fiber ribbon having a small number of cores. Fiber cable.   The tape core subunit is bundled by wrapping a tape-like long body vertically or spirally so as to cover the entire periphery of the optical fiber core with the small number of optical fibers. Item 6. An optical fiber cable according to Item 5.   The optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a unit number for identifying the tape core unit is attached to the presser winding.   The optical fiber cable according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a color for identifying the tape core unit is attached to the presser winding.

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