JPH07209565A - Method for manufacturing tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] A plurality of optical fibers 2 are arranged in one plane and passed through a die 4, and a resin is collectively covered to form a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 1 having a width w and a height h. In the case of manufacturing, a die 4 having an outlet width W of w <W ≦ 1.5w and a height H of h <H ≦ 1.5h is provided with a resin outlet 7 for supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces of the arrayed optical fibers. , Resin outlet 11 to supply resin to both sides
Are provided and the resin is supplied to the resin outlets to collectively coat the resin. At that time, the resin supply amount A to both sides is
The amount of resin supplied B to the upper and lower surfaces is 0.25 to 2 times. [Effect] A tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire having excellent performance can be obtained without disturbing the arrangement of the optical fibers (without increasing the eccentricity) and ensuring the side wall thickness of the coating and the desired dimensional accuracy. It can be easily manufactured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional method for manufacturing a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire is shown in FIGS. In the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 1, a required number of optical fibers (usually in the form of an elemental wire having a primary coating) 2 are arranged in one plane and passed through a die 4, and the resin 3 is collectively coated with the die 4. It is manufactured by A nipple 5 for aligning the optical fibers 2 is arranged on the entrance side of the die 4. The die 4 and the nipple 5 are held by a die holder 6 to form a die unit. FIG. 7 shows only the lower half of the die unit, on which the upper half is combined as in FIG.

The die 4 has a resin outlet 7 for supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces of the optical fibers 2 arranged in a plane. A resin is supplied to the resin outlet 7 from a die resin inlet 8. In this example, the nipple 5 is also formed with a resin outlet 9 for supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces. The resin is supplied to the resin outlet 9 from the nipple resin inlet 10.
The resin outlet 9 of the nipple 5 may be omitted.

The optical fibers 2 arranged in a plane are composed of dice 4
When it passes through, the resin 3 is coated from above and below to form a tape. An ultraviolet curable resin is generally used as the resin 3. The coated resin 3 is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays in the subsequent process.

FIG. 10 shows a cross section of the manufactured tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 1. Tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 1
Is good or bad, the thickness a of the side surface of the coated resin 3, the thickness b of the upper and lower surfaces, the eccentricity c of the optical fiber 2, and each optical fiber 2
It is evaluated by the transmission loss of.

[0006]

In the conventional manufacturing method,
By supplying equal amounts of resin to the upper and lower surfaces of the arrayed optical fibers, the eccentricity c of the optical fibers can be within the allowable range (30 μm
(Below). But this way,
There was a problem that the side wall thickness a was insufficient. That is, in the conventional manufacturing method, if the resin supply amount is adjusted so that the eccentricity c is sufficiently small, the sufficient side face thickness a cannot be obtained, and if the resin supply amount is increased to secure the side face thickness a. The eccentricity c becomes large, or the thickness b of the upper and lower surfaces becomes extremely thick only on one side.

If the side wall thickness a is insufficient, there is a problem that the transmission loss of the optical fibers located at both ends of the plurality of optical fibers arranged in a plane increases.

In view of the problems of the prior art as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber core wire which can sufficiently secure the side wall thickness a without deteriorating the eccentricity c of the optical fiber. It is to provide a manufacturing method.

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a plane and passed through a die, and a resin is collectively coated to form a tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber. In the manufacturing method, the die is provided with a resin outlet for supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces of the arrayed optical fibers, and a resin outlet for supplying resin to both side surfaces, and the resin is supplied to these resin outlets, In the method for producing a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire for collectively covering the above, when the width of the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire is w and the height is h, the width W of the outlet of the die is <W ≦ 1.5w and the height H is
h <H ≦ 1.5h, and the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces of the arrayed optical fibers is the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces.
It is characterized in that it is 0.25 to 2 times.

[0010]

By doing so, the resin is supplied not only to the upper and lower surfaces of the planarly arranged optical fibers but also to the side surfaces,
It is possible to secure the thickness of the side surface without forcibly increasing the amount of resin supplied to the upper and lower surfaces.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, the same parts as those in FIGS. 7 to 9 described above are designated by the same reference numerals. This manufacturing method is different from the conventional manufacturing method in that not only the resin outlet 7 for supplying the resin to the upper and lower surfaces of the optical fibers 2 arranged in a plane but also the resin outlet 11 for supplying the resin to both side surfaces is provided to the die 4.
In addition to supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces and both side surfaces, the width of the tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber finally obtained as shown in FIG. 10 is w and the height is h. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the width W of the exit of the die 4 is changed to w
<W ≦ 1.5w, height H is h <H ≦ 1.5h, and the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces of the planarly arranged optical fibers, that is, the resin supply amount A from the resin outlet 11 is 0.25 to 2 of the resin supply amount B supplied from the outlet 7 to the upper and lower surfaces
It is in the doubled point.

As a result, the optical fibers 2 are arranged in a plane.
When passing through the die 4, the upper and lower surfaces are coated with the resin, and at the same time, both side surfaces are coated with the resin supply amount A having a proper ratio with the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces. Thus, the side wall thickness (a in FIG. 10) of the coated resin 3 can be secured. By the way, the reason why the width W and the height H of the die outlet are set to be w <W ≦ 1.5w and h <H ≦ 1.5h is not within these ranges, the width w and the height of the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire. This is because it is not only difficult to finish h to the desired dimensional accuracy, but also the appearance of the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire becomes poor.

The side resin outlet 11 is supplied with resin from the die side resin inlet 12 of the die holder 6, and the resin supply amount can be adjusted separately from the upper and lower surface resin outlets 7. There is. The amount of resin supplied from the resin outlets 11 for both side surfaces is adjusted so as not to disturb the arrangement of the optical fibers 2 (so that the eccentricity c in FIG. 10 does not become large).

FIG. 3 shows the width W and height H of the die exit as w
When <W ≦ 1.5w and h <H ≦ 1.5h, the relationship between the ratio (A / B) of the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces to the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces and the magnitude of the eccentricity c is shown. The results obtained by the experiment are shown. According to this, the eccentricity c is set to the standard value of 30.
In order to keep it below μm, the amount of resin supplied to both sides A
It should be understood that the value should be 0.25 to 2 times the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces. More preferably, if A is 0.50 to 1.30 times, the eccentricity c can be reduced to about 25 μm or less, and if A is 0.8 times, the eccentricity c can be reduced to 20 μm or less. The tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire obtained within the above range was finished with an accuracy of ± 10 μm, which is the desired dimension, and there was no problem in terms of dimensional accuracy, and its appearance was smooth.

FIG. 4 shows the above ratio (A / B) and the side wall thickness (FIG. 10) of the manufactured tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber.
The results obtained by experiments for the relationship with a) are shown below. In order to prevent an increase in transmission loss of the optical fibers located at both ends of the tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber, it is said that it is desirable to secure the side wall thickness a of 20 μm or more. It is understood that the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces may be 0.25 times or more the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces.

From the above experimental results, when the tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire is manufactured by supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces and both side surfaces of the planarly arranged optical fibers, the width W of the die outlet and the height When the height H is set to w <W ≦ 1.5w and h <H ≦ 1.5h, and the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces is set to 0.25 to 2 times the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces, It has been clarified that a sufficient side wall thickness a and a desired dimensional accuracy can be secured without disturbing the arrangement.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the resin flow paths 13 for both side surfaces in the die holder 6 are used.
Is connected to the resin outlets 11 for both side surfaces of the die 4 on the divided surface of the die unit. Since the other configuration is the same as that of FIG. 1, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment is an example in which an integrated die having no die holder is used for coating the resin 3 on the optical fibers 2 arranged in a plane. The reference numerals of the respective parts correspond to those of FIG. 1, 4 is a die, 8 is a resin inlet for the upper and lower surfaces of the die (the resin outlet 7 for the upper and lower surfaces is not shown), and 11 is a resin outlet for the side surface of the die 4. , 12 are resin inlets for die side surfaces, 5 are nipples, and 10 are resin inlets for nipples. The present invention can be implemented using such an integrated die.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, the side wall thickness a of the coating and the dimensional accuracy can be secured without disturbing the arrangement of the optical fibers (without increasing the eccentricity c), It is possible to easily manufacture a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire having excellent performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a manufacturing method of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the die portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a resin supply amount ratio A / B and an eccentricity c.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a resin supply amount ratio A / B and a side wall thickness a.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional manufacturing method.

8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the die portion of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 2: Optical fiber 3: Resin 4: Die 5: Nipple 6: Dice holder 7: Resin outlet for upper and lower surfaces 11: Resin outlet for side surfaces

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire by arranging a plurality of optical fibers on a plane and passing the dies through a die, and coating resin all together in a die. A resin outlet for supplying resin to the upper and lower surfaces and a resin outlet for supplying resin to both side surfaces are provided, and the resin is supplied to these resin outlets to collectively cover the resin in the tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber. In the manufacturing method, when the width of the tape-shaped multi-fiber optical fiber is w and the height is h, the width W of the exit of the die is w <W ≦ 1.5w and the height H is H.
And h <H ≦ 1.5h, and the resin supply amount A to both side surfaces of the arrayed optical fibers is set to 0.25 to 2 times the resin supply amount B to the upper and lower surfaces. Manufacturing method of multi-core optical fiber.