JP2017009925A - Optical fiber unit, optical fiber cable, and manufacturing method for optical fiber unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical fiber unit that can be easily branched is provided. Two bundle members 5a and 5b are provided on the outer periphery of a plurality of optical fiber cores 3. The bundle members 5a and 5b are twisted back while reversing the winding direction forward and backward, and wound around the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber cores 3. The bundle members 5a and 5b are spirally wound around the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber cores 3. Without being wound, the bundle members 5a and 5b are joined at the joint 7 at the intersection of the two. The joint 7 is provided on the center line C of the optical fiber unit 1. The bundle members 5a and 5b are arranged in respective ranges A and B of about 180 ° divided by the center line C. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber unit and the like that can be easily branched.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of the Internet, FTTH (Fiber To The Home) that realizes a high-speed communication service by directly drawing an optical fiber into a general household is rapidly expanding. In general, an optical fiber cable used for FTTH accommodates a collection of optical fibers so as to be compatible with large-capacity data communication.

  Here, the aggregate of optical fibers is formed by aggregating a plurality of optical fiber ribbons, for example. Moreover, what bundled this optical fiber assembly with the bundle material is named generically, and is called the optical fiber unit.

  As such an optical fiber unit, for example, there is one in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires are formed by spirally winding two strings, which are bundle materials, in directions opposite to each other (Patent Document 1).

  In addition, an optical fiber unit is proposed in which a bundle of optical fibers is bundled and a plurality of bundle materials are spirally wound in the longitudinal direction, and the bundle materials are bonded to each other at the intersection where the two intersect. (Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-26534 JP 2011-169939 A

  However, as in the patent literature, when two bundle materials are used, wound in opposite directions and joined at the intersection, it is difficult to remove the joined portion during the branching operation, and the junction at the intersection is temporarily cut. Even so, there is a problem that each bundle material must be unwound in the opposite direction, and it takes time to remove the bundle material.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide an optical fiber unit and the like that can be easily branched.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first invention comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores and a plurality of bundle members arranged on the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber core wires, None of them is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire, and at least one of the bundle members is twisted back around the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber core wires while reversing the winding direction forward and backward. In the optical fiber unit, the bundle materials are joined at an intersection of the materials.

  The length of the joint portion of the bundle material is desirably 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less.

  It is desirable that the peel strength of the joint portion of the bundle material is 0.01N or more and 2.0N or less.

  The bundle material may be a resin tape, and the joint portion of the bundle material may be joined by heat fusion.

  According to the first invention, none of the plurality of bundle members are spirally wound, and at least one of them is twisted back while reversing the winding direction forward and backward, and joined at the intersection of the bundle members. . For this reason, joining of a junction part can be easily removed by pulling the bundle material turned back. Further, when the joining portion is removed, the inner optical fiber core wire can be taken out without rewinding the bundle material. For this reason, branch workability is good.

  In particular, if the length of the joint portion of the bundle material is 5 mm or more, the joint portion does not come off during production or the like, and if the length of the joint portion of the bundle material is 20 mm or less, the straight portion that is the joint portion Can be prevented from jumping out of the optical fiber due to being too long.

  In addition, if the peel strength of the joint portion of the bundle material is 0.01N or more and 2.0N or less, the joint portion is not detached during the manufacturing process, and it is easy to peel the joint portion during the branching operation. is there.

  Further, if the bundle material is a resin tape and the joint portion of the bundle material is joined by heat fusion, the optical fiber unit can be easily manufactured.

  A second invention is an optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of optical fiber units according to the first invention, a tension member, and a jacket provided on an outer periphery of the optical fiber unit.

  According to the second invention, an optical fiber cable excellent in branch workability can be obtained.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of optical fiber cores are bundled, and a plurality of bundle members are continuously fed to the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire, while the bundle members are connected to each other on one side of the optical fiber core wire. The bundle material and the optical fiber core so that the optical fiber core is in contact with the joint on the one side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core. And moving the bundle material to the other side of the optical fiber core; joining the bundle materials at a joint on the other side of the optical fiber core wire; and A direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fiber core, and relatively moving the bundle material and the optical fiber core so that the optical fiber core is in contact with the joint on the other side, Bundle material of the optical fiber core A step of moving the serial to one side of a method for manufacturing an optical fiber unit, characterized in that repeated.

  According to the third invention, an optical fiber unit excellent in branch workability can be easily obtained.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical fiber unit or the like that can be easily branched.

(A) The perspective view which shows the optical fiber unit 1, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the optical fiber unit 1. FIG. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the process of manufacturing the optical fiber unit 1. FIG. (A), (b), (c) is a figure which shows the process of manufacturing the optical fiber unit 1. FIG. (A) The perspective view which shows the optical fiber unit 1a, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the optical fiber unit 1a. (A) is a figure which shows the optical fiber cable 10, (b) is a figure which shows the optical fiber cable 10a. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the optical fiber unit 1.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the optical fiber unit 1, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber unit 1. The optical fiber unit 1 includes an optical fiber core wire 3, bundle materials 5a, 5b, and the like.

  The optical fiber core wire 3 may be a single wire or a tape core wire. The number of the optical fiber cores 3 is not limited to the illustrated example. Two bundle members 5 a and 5 b are provided on the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber core wires 3. Note that the number of bundles is not limited as long as it is plural, but is preferably two. The bundle materials 5a and 5b are, for example, resin tapes.

  The bundle materials 5 a and 5 b are twisted back while reversing the winding direction forward and backward, and are wound around the outer circumferences of the plurality of optical fiber cores 3. That is, the bundle members 5 a and 5 b are not spirally wound around the outer circumferences of the plurality of optical fiber core wires 3.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1B, the bundle material 5a is provided on the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire 3 in the circumferential range B of the optical fiber unit 1 while reversing the winding direction forward and backward. It is done. Similarly, the bundle material 5b is provided on the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire 3 in the circumferential range A of the optical fiber unit 1 while reversing the winding direction forward and backward.

  In addition, the bundle materials 5a and 5b are joined at the joint 7 at the intersection of the two. In the illustrated example, the joint portions 7 on both sides are provided on the center line C of the optical fiber unit 1. Further, the bundle materials 5a and 5b are arranged in respective ranges A and B of about 180 ° divided by the center line C. Note that the winding range of the bundle material is not limited to 180 °.

  By doing in this way, the junction part 7 can be easily removed by pulling bundle material 5a, 5b to a reverse direction. Moreover, if the junction part 7 remove | deviates, the bundle materials 5a and 5b will leave | separate and the internal optical fiber core wire 3 can be taken out easily.

  For example, in FIG. 1B, if the right joint 7 is removed, the bundle members 5a and 5b can be joined only by the left joint 7 and the right half of the bundle members 5a and 5b can be completely opened. it can. For this reason, it is not necessary to unwind the bundle materials 5a and 5b as in the case where the bundle materials 5a and 5b are spirally wound.

  In addition, it is desirable that the length of the joint portion 7 with respect to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber unit 1 is 5 mm or more and 20 mm. If the length of the joint portion 7 is less than 5 mm, the joint portion 7 may come off during manufacturing. If the length of the joint portion 7 exceeds 20 mm, the linear range in which the bundle members 5a and 5b are joined in the same direction as the optical fiber core wire 3 becomes longer. It becomes easy to pop out and handling becomes worse.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the maximum peel strength of the joint portion 7 is 0.01 N or more and 2.0 N or less. The peel strength is a strength value using a peel test of JIS K 6854. If the maximum peel strength is less than 0.01 N, the joint portion 7 may come off during manufacture. Further, if the maximum peel strength exceeds 2.0 N, the joining force is too strong, and it becomes difficult to remove the joining portion 7 of the bundle members 5a and 5b at the time of branching work and the optical fiber core wire 3 is damaged. There is a fear.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the optical fiber unit 1 will be described. First, a plurality of optical fiber core wires 3 supplied from the optical fiber core wire supply unit are bundled to form a bundle of optical fiber core wires 3. Next, two bundle members 5a and 5b are supplied to the outer periphery of the optical fiber core bundle.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2A, bundle materials 5a and 5b are arranged on one side (downward in the figure) of the optical fiber core wire 3. As shown in FIG. Moreover, a part of bundle material 5a, 5b is joined by the junction part 7. FIG. For example, by sandwiching the bundle materials 5a and 5b with a heated jig, both can be easily heat-sealed. The bundle members 5a and 5b may be joined by other means such as an adhesive.

  Next, the bundle members 5a and 5b are arranged in a direction (vertical direction in the figure) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core 3 so that the optical fiber core wire 3 comes into contact with the joint 7 on one side. And the optical fiber core wire 3 are relatively moved (arrows D and E in the figure), and the bundle members 5a and 5b are moved to the other side (upward in the figure) of the optical fiber core wire 3. In addition, as for relative movement of bundle material 5a, 5b and the optical fiber core wire 3, only either one may be moved and both may be moved.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the bundle members 5a and 5b are brought close to each other on the other side of the optical fiber core wire 3 (upward in the figure) (arrow F in the figure).

  Furthermore, as shown to Fig.3 (a), the bundle materials 5a and 5b are joined. After the bundle materials 5a and 5b are joined together, the bundle materials 5a and 5b are twisted back in the opposite direction (separated in the direction opposite to the proximity direction F in FIG. 2B). Next, the bundle members 5a and 5b and the optical fiber core wire 3 are relatively moved so that the optical fiber core wire 3 is brought into contact with the joint portion 7 on the other side that has been bonded first (arrow G, H) The bundle members 5a and 5b are moved to one side (downward in the drawing) of the optical fiber core wire 3.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the bundle members 5a and 5b are brought close to each other on one side (downward in the figure) of the optical fiber core wire 3 (arrow I in the figure).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, after the bundle members 5a and 5b are joined together, the bundle members 5a and 5b are twisted back in the opposite direction (separated in the opposite direction to the proximity direction I in FIG. 3B). . Next, the bundle members 5a and 5b and the optical fiber core wire 3 are relatively moved so that the optical fiber core wire 3 is brought into contact with the joint portion 7 on one side that has been bonded first (arrow J, K) The bundle members 5a and 5b are moved to the other side of the optical fiber core wire 3 (upward in the figure).

  By repeating the above, the optical fiber unit 1 can be manufactured without the bundle materials 5a and 5b being spirally wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire 3 (without being continuously wound in the same direction over a plurality of circumferences). it can.

  In addition, the length of the adhesion part 7 can be adjusted by changing the magnitude | size of the jig | tool which pinches | interposes the bundle materials 5a and 5b. Moreover, the pitch of an adhesion part can be adjusted by changing the supply speed of bundle material 5a, 5b and the relative movement timing of the middle materials 5a, 5b and the optical fiber core wire 3.

  In the above description, the method has been described in which both the bundle members 5a and 5b are reversed in the normal and reverse directions, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present invention, at least one of the plurality of bundle materials may be twisted back by reversing the direction.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the optical fiber unit 1a. The optical fiber unit 1a has substantially the same configuration as that of the optical fiber unit 1, but only the bundle material 5a is reversed in the forward and reverse directions, and the bundle material 5b is arranged substantially linearly in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber unit 1a. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the bundle material 5a is provided in the circumferential range L of the optical fiber unit 1 while reversing the winding direction forward and backward, and the bundle material 5b has almost no change in the circumferential position. do not do. That is, the bundle material 5a is twisted back while reversing forward and backward within a range of about 360 ° on the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire 3.

  Even in this case, the optical fiber unit 1a can be obtained by repeating the joining of the bundle members 5a and 5b and the movement of the relative positions of the bundle members 5a and 5b and the optical fiber core wire 3.

  Next, an optical fiber cable using the optical fiber units 1 and 1a will be described. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view showing the optical fiber cable 10. A plurality of optical fiber units 1 and 1a obtained by the above-described method are twisted together, and a buffer body 11 such as polypropylene yarn is provided on the outer periphery thereof to form a cable core.

  Further, an outer sheath 13 made of polyethylene or the like is extruded and coated on the outer periphery of the obtained cable core together with the tension member 15 made of steel wire or the like and the tear string 17. That is, a pair of tension members 15 are provided inside the jacket 13 at positions facing each other across the cable core, and are opposed to each other across the cable core in a direction substantially perpendicular to the facing direction of the tension member 15. A tear string 17 is provided.

  Further, in the present invention, in addition to the optical fiber cable 10 shown in FIG. 5A, for example, an optical fiber cable 10a using a slot shown in FIG. 5B may be used.

  In the optical fiber cable 10a, the optical fiber units 1 and 1a are arranged in a plurality of slot grooves 21 formed on the outer periphery of the slot 19, respectively. The tension member 15 is provided substantially at the center of the slot 19, and the outer cover 13 is formed after the outer periphery of the slot 19 is pressed and wound as necessary. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the optical fiber cable 10 can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the bundle members 5a and 5b are not spirally wound in the same direction, but are optical fibers so that the winding direction is reversed in the predetermined circumferential range. Since it is provided on the outer periphery of the core wire 3, the joint portion 7 can be easily broken, and the inner optical fiber core wire 3 can be easily taken out without unwinding the bundle members 5 a and 5 b. As a result, the three-branching operation of the optical fiber core wire is easy.

  Moreover, since the length of the joining part 7 of the bundle materials 5a and 5b is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less, the joining part 7 does not come off during manufacturing or the like, and the light caused by the linear part that is the joining part 7 becomes too long. The jump-out of the fiber core can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the peel strength of the joint part of the bundle material is 0.01N or more and 2.0N or less, the joint part 7 does not come off during the manufacturing or the like, and the joint part 7 can be peeled off during the branching operation. Easy.

  Moreover, since the bundle materials 5a and 5b are resin tapes and the joint portions 7 of the bundle materials 5a and 5b are joined by heat fusion, the optical fiber units 1 and 1a can be easily manufactured.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, the technical scope of this invention is not influenced by embodiment mentioned above. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  For example, in the joint portion 7 at the intersection of the bundle materials 5a and 5b, the vertical relationship (position relationship between the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side) of the wrap portions of the bundle materials 5a and 5b is not limited to the above-described example. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1B, the bundle material 5a is disposed on the outer peripheral side, the bundle material 5b is disposed on the inner peripheral side, and the other joint portion 7 is reversed as shown in FIG. In addition, in one joint portion 7, the bundle material 5b may be disposed on the outer peripheral side, and the bundle material 5a may be disposed on the inner peripheral side. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, in any joint part 7, the bundle material 5a may be arrange | positioned at the outer peripheral side, and the bundle material 5a may be arrange | positioned at the inner peripheral side. The same applies to the optical fiber unit 1a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ... Optical fiber unit 3 ... Optical fiber core wire 5a, 5b ... Bundle material 7 ... Joint part 10, 10a ... Optical fiber cable 11 ... Buffer body 13 ... Jacket 15 ... Tension member 17 ... Tear string 19 ... Slot 21 ... Slot groove

Claims (6)

A plurality of optical fiber cores;
A plurality of bundle members disposed on the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber cores;
Comprising
None of the bundle material is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire, and at least one of the bundle materials is twisted around the outer periphery of the plurality of optical fiber core wires while reversing the winding direction forward and backward. And the said bundle materials are joined at the cross | intersection part of the said bundle materials, The optical fiber unit characterized by the above-mentioned.   2. The optical fiber unit according to claim 1, wherein the length of the joint portion of the bundle material is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less.   3. The optical fiber unit according to claim 1, wherein a peel strength of a joint portion of the bundle material is 0.01 N or more and 2.0 N or less.   The optical fiber unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bundle material is a resin tape, and a joining portion of the bundle material is joined by heat fusion. A plurality of optical fiber units according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A tension member;
A jacket provided on the outer periphery of the optical fiber unit;
An optical fiber cable comprising: While bundling a plurality of optical fiber cores, while continuously sending a plurality of bundle materials to the outer periphery of the optical fiber core wire,
The bundle members are bonded to each other at one side of the optical fiber core, and the optical fiber core is bonded to the one side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core. Relatively moving the bundle material and the optical fiber core so as to abut, and moving the bundle material to the other side of the optical fiber core;
The bundle members are joined to each other on the other side of the optical fiber core by a joint, and the optical fiber core is joined to the other side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core. Relatively moving the bundle material and the optical fiber core so as to abut, and moving the bundle material to the one side of the optical fiber core; and
The manufacturing method of the optical fiber unit characterized by repeating.

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