JPH10268169A - Optical transmission line and its manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an optical fiber cord capable of holding a reinforcing member at a predetermined position and preventing its bias. A supply path for supplying a reinforcing body is formed on a tapered peripheral surface of a nipple. The reinforcing body 20 supplied from the supply path 126 once joins the softened resin flowing through the flow path V. When the resin is extruded and coated around the optical fiber 10, the reinforcing body 20 is simultaneously wound around the optical fiber 10. Thereby, the reinforcing body 20
Is held at a predetermined position while being taken in the sheath layer 30 around the optical fiber 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical transmission line in which a reinforcing member is provided around an optical transmission central body and a sheath layer is coated, and an apparatus for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional optical fiber cord has a structure as shown in FIGS.

In this optical fiber cord 200, a linear reinforcing member 204 is spirally or linearly provided around an optical fiber 202 comprising a core and a clad, and a sheath layer 206 made of resin is coated on the outer periphery thereof. ing.

[0004] The reinforcing member 204 is made of a fibrous resin aligned or twisted, and the number of the reinforcing members 204 is determined according to the tensile strength required for the cable 200. According to the optical fiber 2
02 are arranged at equal intervals.

An optical fiber cord having such a structure is manufactured by a manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIG. 12 or FIG.

In this manufacturing apparatus, a fiber supply section 212 in which an optical fiber 202 is wound and stored in a reel 211 and a reinforcing body supply section 214 in which a reinforcing body 204 is wound and stored in a plurality of reels 213 are supplied. Optical fiber 20
Extrusion head 22 for covering sheath layer 206 with
0.

The optical fiber 202 supplied from the fiber supply section 212 is supplied to the extrusion head section 220 along a predetermined supply line A.

Further, the reinforcing member supply section 214 is provided rotatably about the axis of the optical fiber 202 on the feed line A, whereby a plurality of reinforcing members 204 are attached to the optical fiber 202. It is configured to be spirally wound around the outer periphery.

The extrusion head section 220 includes a head body 222.
Nipple 230 in a mounting hole 224 formed through
Is mounted, and a die 240 is mounted in front of the nipple 230 so as to close the mounting hole 224.

The nipple 230 has an optical fiber 20
A guide hole 232 is formed for feeding and guiding the nozzle 2, and a tapered peripheral surface 234 is formed at the front of the outer peripheral surface. The inner peripheral surface of the die 240 has a tapered peripheral surface 23.
4 are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other, and a resin flow path softened by heating is formed between them.

When the optical fiber 202 in which the plurality of reinforcing members 204 are spirally wound or linearly attached is fed to the front side of the nipple 230 through the guide hole 232,
Then, the resin is extrusion-coated to form the sheath layer 206, and the optical fiber cord 200 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is manufactured.

[0012]

However, the optical fiber cord 200 manufactured by the above-described apparatus has the following problems.

That is, in the cable 200, after the extrusion coating process, the reinforcing member 204 is simply positioned and held between the sheath layer 206 and the optical fiber 202 that have been cooled and shrunk. Reinforcement 20
When the holding force of the cable 200 is weak and an external force such as bending acts when the cable 200 is used, as shown in FIG.
May be displaced in the circumferential direction of the cable 200 to cause a bias in its arrangement.

As described above, if the arrangement of the reinforcing members 204 is deviated, when the tensile force acts on the cable 200, the internal optical fiber 202 is distorted, which may cause an increase in light loss. In particular, in the case of a spirally wound coil, there is a possibility that the light loss increases due to the spiral distortion.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and provides an optical transmission line and an apparatus for manufacturing the optical transmission line, which can hold a reinforcing member at a predetermined position and prevent the arrangement thereof from being biased. The purpose is to:

[0016]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an optical transmission line according to the present invention comprises a reinforcing member provided around an optical transmission center, and a resin material coated on the optical transmission center. And is disposed at a predetermined position so as to be embedded in the sheath layer.

Further, an apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line according to the present invention comprises:
Surrounding a die around a cylindrical nipple formed with a guide hole for feeding and guiding the optical transmission center body from the base end side to the distal end side, an outer peripheral portion of the nipple and an inner peripheral portion of the die are formed. A flow path of the softening resin is formed therebetween, and the softening resin supplied through the flow path is extruded around the optical transmission center body fed to the tip side of the nipple through the guide hole to cover the core. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line for forming a layer,
A supply port of a reinforcing body is formed in the nipple, and the reinforcing body supplied from the supply port merges with the softening resin flowing through the flow path and is taken in the sheath layer. It is characterized by being attached around.

In the meantime, a tapered peripheral surface whose outer dimension is gradually reduced along the feeding direction of the optical transmission center body is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the nipple, and the softened resin is formed on the tapered peripheral surface. A resin guide groove may be formed along the flow path, and a bottom of the resin guide groove may be formed at a position closer to an axis of the nipple than a supply port of the reinforcing member.

Further, a small-diameter cylindrical peripheral surface is formed from a tip end of the tapered peripheral surface via a step portion, and a bottom portion of the resin guide groove is formed continuously with the cylindrical peripheral surface; The supply port of the reinforcing body may be formed in the step.

Further, a plurality of supply ports of the reinforcing member may be formed at equal intervals around the nipple, and the resin guide grooves may be formed between the respective supply ports.

The nipple may be rotatably mounted around the optical transmission center, and the nipple may be driven to rotate as the optical transmission center is fed.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an optical fiber cord as an optical transmission line according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber cord includes an optical fiber 10 as an optical transmission center composed of a core and a clad, and a plurality of linear reinforcing members provided around the optical fiber 10. 20 and a resin sheath layer 30 coated around the optical fiber 10.

The reinforcing members 20 are spirally wound around the optical fiber 10 and are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Each of the reinforcing bodies 20 arranged as described above is held at the above-mentioned predetermined position while being embedded in the sheath layer 30.

According to the optical fiber cord configured as described above, since the reinforcing member 20 is held at a predetermined position in a state embedded in the sheath layer 30, even if an external force such as bending acts on the cable. In addition, the reinforcing member 20 does not shift from its disposition position, that is, the disposition does not shift to one side as shown in FIG. Therefore, even when a tensile force acts on the cable, no distortion occurs in the optical fiber 10, and the occurrence of optical loss due to the distortion can be prevented.

Next, an apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber cord according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

This manufacturing apparatus is an apparatus for manufacturing the optical fiber cord of the first embodiment. The reel 211, the fiber supply unit 212, and the reel 213 are the same as those of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. And reinforcing body supply unit 2
The description of 14 is omitted here.

In this manufacturing apparatus, instead of the extrusion head 220 shown in FIG. 12, the extrusion head 5 shown in FIG.
0 is used.

The extruding head section 50 includes a rotating body 60, a nipple 100, and a die 70 in a mounting hole 54 formed in a penetrating shape from the rear side to the front side of the head main body 52. Then, the rotating body 60 is
And optical fiber 1 fed through nipple 100
0, the softened resin supplied from above the head main body 52 through a flow path V (described later) between the nipple 100 and the die 70 is extruded and coated.

The head main body 52 is provided with a supply path W for supplying the resin supplied from a resin supply unit (not shown) provided above the head body 52 into the flow path V in the mounting hole 54. .

The rotating body 60 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a feed hole 62 for feeding the optical fiber 10 and the reinforcing body 20 is formed at a rear portion of an inner peripheral portion thereof, and a nipple mounting portion is formed at a front portion. 64 are formed. In addition, the rotating body 60 is rotatably mounted in a sealed manner at the rear of the mounting hole 54 via a seal bearing 56, and the rotation of each of the reels 213 of the reinforcing body supply unit 214 is performed by rotation driving means (not shown). It is configured to be able to rotate in synchronization.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the nipple 100 includes a mounting portion 110 and a nipple body 120, and has a guide hole 140 formed therein.

The guide hole 140 has a feed hole 142 formed on the base end side having the same inner diameter as the feed hole 62 for feeding the optical fiber 10 and the reinforcing member 20. It has a fiber feed hole 146 for feeding the optical fiber 10 to the front side of the feed hole 142 via a tapered slope 144 whose inner diameter dimension gradually decreases in the direction.

The mounting section 110 is provided with the nipple mounting section 6.
When the mounting portion 110 is mounted on the nipple mounting portion 64, the nipple 100 is synchronized with the rotation of the reinforcing member supply portion 214 with the rotation of the rotating body 60. It is configured to be driven to rotate.

On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the nipple body 120 is
It is finished to a tapered peripheral surface 122 whose outer diameter dimension gradually decreases along the feeding direction of the optical fiber 10. The nipple body 120 has a supply path 12 for guiding the reinforcing body 20 extending from the tapered slope 144 to the tapered peripheral surface 122.
6 are formed. Here, the supply passages 126 are formed in the same number as the required number of the reinforcing bodies 20. The supply passages 126 a, which are openings on the tapered peripheral surface 122 side of the supply passages 126, are provided with the fiber feed holes 146. Are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction at positions surrounding the. In addition, each supply path 1 is formed on the tapered peripheral surface 122.
26 so as to be located between each of the resin guide grooves 130.
Are formed. Each guide groove 130 is provided with the optical fiber 10
Is formed vertically long along the feeding direction of the tapered peripheral surface 12.
2 has an inclined portion 131 inclined from the substantially central portion toward the axis of the nipple 100 and a bottom portion 132 extending from the inclined portion 131 to the front end of the nipple 100. The bottom 130 is formed at a position closer to the axis of the nipple 100 than the supply port 127.

The die 70 is mounted on the front side of the nipple 100 so as to close the mounting hole 54.
A resin guide hole 72 is formed at a position corresponding to the fiber feed hole 146 of FIG. The tapered peripheral surface 122 and the inner peripheral surface of the resin guide hole 72, which is the inner peripheral surface of the die 70, are arranged at a predetermined interval, and a flow path V of the softened resin is formed therebetween. You.

The operation of the optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus thus configured will be described below.

First, the optical fiber 10 fed from the fiber supply unit 212 is introduced into the extrusion head unit 50,
The feed hole 62 of the rotating body 60 and the guide hole 1 of the nipple 100
The paper is fed forward along the feed line A through the resin guide hole 72 of the die 40 and the die 70.

On the other hand, each of the reinforcing bodies 20 fed out from the reinforcing body supply section 214 is similarly introduced into the extrusion head section 50, and corresponds to each of the corresponding ones through the feed hole 62 of the rotating body 60 and the feed hole 142 of the nipple 100. The sheets are inserted one by one into the supply path 126 and sent out forward.

In this state, the feeding of the optical fiber 10 and the reinforcing member 20 along the feeding line A is started, and the resin is supplied from the supply path W to the flow path V. The rotating body 60 and the nipple 100 are rotated around their axes in a certain direction in synchronization.

Then, at the front side of the nipple 100, each reinforcing member 20 is spirally wound around the optical fiber 10, and the resin in the flow path V is extruded and coated on the optical fiber 10.

At this time, each reinforcing member 20 supplied from the supply port 127 once merges with the resin in the flow path V, and is wound around the optical fiber 10 so as to be taken into the resin. Will be done. Therefore, the reinforcing body 20 is not simply held between the optical fiber 202 and the sheath layer 206 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, but is shown in FIGS. As described above, it is spirally wound while being embedded in the sheath layer 30. In addition, each supply path 1 formed at equal intervals
Since the reinforcing members 20 are supplied from 26, the reinforcing members 20 are arranged around the optical fiber 10 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

Further, a part of the resin in the flow path V flows into the guide groove 130 of the nipple 100, and the guide groove 130
As a result, the reinforcing body 20 is buried in the sheath layer 30 more deeply because the nipple 100 is guided and supplied closer to the axis of the nipple 100 than the supply port 127.

The optical fiber cord coated with the resin by extrusion together with the reinforcing member 20 is sent out from the extrusion head section 50, cooled and solidified in a cooling tank (not shown), and wound around a drum or the like. Housed and stored.

According to the optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus configured as described above, the supply port 127 is formed so as to face the flow path V, and the reinforcing member 20 supplied from the supply path 126 is used for the flow path V. Because it joins the resin inside,
An optical fiber cord arranged around the optical fiber 10 can be manufactured by embedding the reinforcing member 20 in the sheath layer 30. At this time, each supply path 126 is connected to the nipple 100
The reinforcing members 20 are arranged at equal intervals around the optical fiber 10 along the circumferential direction thereof. In addition, the nipple 100 together with the reinforcing body supply unit 214 is provided.
Is rotated, so that the reinforcing body 20 is
It will be spirally wound around zero.

Such an optical fiber cord is held at a predetermined position even when an external force such as bending acts on the optical fiber cord without causing a bias in the arrangement of the reinforcing members 20. Therefore, even when a tensile force acts on the cable, it is possible to prevent the optical fiber 10 from being distorted and to prevent the occurrence of optical loss due to the distortion.

Further, the reinforcing body supply section 214 and the nipple 10
By appropriately changing the rotation cycle with 0, the reinforcing body 20 can be arranged in a spiral shape with a predetermined cycle, and
By stopping the rotation, the reinforcing member 20 can be arranged linearly around the optical fiber 10.

Although the guide groove 130 is not always necessary, when the guide groove 130 is provided, the resin flowing from the inclined portion 131 of the guide groove 130 to the bottom 132 is used as the reinforcing member 20.
Of the nipple 100 near the axis,
The reinforcing body 20 is more deeply embedded in the sheath layer 30, and the reinforcing body 20 can be more reliably held at a predetermined position.

Incidentally, instead of the nipple 100 in the second embodiment, a nipple 100b shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 of the third embodiment may be used.

The nipple 100b is attached to the mounting portion 110b
And a nipple body 120b,
A guide hole 140b is formed therein.

Similarly to the guide hole 140, the guide hole 140b has a feed hole 142b, a tapered slope 144b, and a fiber feed hole 146b.

The mounting portion 110b, like the mounting portion 110, is configured to be mounted by screwing with the nipple mounting portion 64.

On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the nipple main body 120b is finished into a tapered peripheral surface 122b whose outer diameter is gradually reduced along the feeding direction of the optical fiber 10, and the peripheral surface of the tapered peripheral surface 122b. Step 1 from the front end of
A small-diameter cylindrical peripheral surface 124b is finished via 23b. The outer dimensions of the cylindrical peripheral surface 124b are smaller than the outer dimensions of the front end of the tapered peripheral surface 122b, and the nipple 100b is formed at the front end of the tapered peripheral surface 122b.
Is vertically depressed on the axis side of. Also,
The nipple body 120b has a supply passage 126b for guiding the reinforcing body 20 from the tapered slope 144b to the step 123b.
Are formed. Step 1 of these supply paths 126b
The supply ports 127b, which are openings on the 23b side, are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction so as to surround the fiber feed hole 146b at a position separated by a predetermined distance when facing the flow path V. Further, a resin guide groove 130b is formed between each of the supply paths 126b. Each guide groove 13
Reference numeral 0b denotes an inclined portion 131b which is formed vertically long along the feeding direction of the optical fiber 10 and which is inclined from a substantially central portion of the tapered peripheral surface 122b toward the center of the nipple 100b, and a cylindrical portion on the front end side from the inclined portion 131b. Bottom 1 to peripheral surface 124b
32b. Therefore, this bottom portion 130b
It is formed at a position closer to the axis of the nipple 100b than the supply port 127b.

The nipple 100b configured as described above
The same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained even in an optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus using the same.

In addition, since the supply port 127b is formed in the step portion 123b which is a surface substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the resin in the flow path V, the reinforcing member 20 is taken deeper into the sheath layer 30. Rarely, 20 is more reliably held in a fixed position.

In each of the first to third embodiments, the optical fiber cord in which the sheath layer 30 is coated around the optical fiber 10 has been described. However, a plurality of optical fiber cords are twisted and an inner coating layer is formed thereon. The same structure can be obtained even with an optical fiber cable in which the coated material is used as an optical transmission center body and the outer periphery of the optical transmission center body is covered with a reinforcing member and a sheath layer.

[0057]

As described above, according to the optical transmission line of the present invention, since the reinforcing member is disposed at a predetermined position so as to be taken into the sheath layer, an external force such as bending acts on the cable. Also, the reinforcing member is held at a predetermined position without causing a bias. Therefore, when the optical transmission line is stretched or the like, the optical transmission center body is not distorted and the optical loss can be suppressed low.

According to the optical transmission line manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the supply port of the reinforcing member is formed in the nipple, and the reinforcing member supplied from the supply port joins the softening resin flowing through the flow path to form the sheath layer. Since it is attached to the periphery of the optical transmission center body in a state where it is taken in, even if an external force such as bending acts on the manufactured cable, the reinforcing body is not biased and the predetermined position is maintained. Is held. Therefore, when the optical transmission line is pulled or the like, the optical loss can be suppressed low without causing distortion in the optical transmission center body.

In the meantime, a tapered peripheral surface whose outer dimensions are gradually reduced along the feeding direction of the optical transmission center body is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the nipple, and the tapered peripheral surface is formed with a flow path of the softening resin. If the resin guide groove is formed along the bottom and the bottom of the resin guide groove is formed closer to the axis of the nipple than the supply port of the reinforcing member, the softened resin flowing through the resin guide groove enters the inside of the reinforcing member. Will be covered by the optical transmission line,
The reinforcement is more reliably taken into the sheath layer. Thereby, the reinforcing body is more reliably held at the predetermined position.

Further, a small-diameter cylindrical peripheral surface is formed from the leading end of the tapered peripheral surface via a step, and the bottom of the resin guide groove is continuous with the cylindrical peripheral surface. If the supply port is formed in the stepped portion, the softened resin flowing through the resin guide groove will be covered with the optical transmission line so as to enter the inside of the reinforcing body more, and the reinforcing body is more reliably taken into the sheath layer It is. Thereby, the reinforcing body is more reliably held at the predetermined position.

Further, by forming a plurality of supply ports for the reinforcing member at equal intervals around the nipple and forming resin guide grooves between the respective supply ports, the reinforcing members can be uniformly spaced around the optical transmission center. Can be arranged.

Further, if the nipple is rotatably mounted around the optical transmission center body and the nipple is driven to rotate in accordance with the feeding of the optical transmission center body, the reinforcing body spirals around the optical transmission center body. It is wound in a shape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber cord according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the optical fiber cord according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a nipple of the manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a nipple of the manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a nipple of an optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a nipple of the optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional optical fiber cord.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing the optical fiber cord of the above.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a conventional optical fiber cord manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the optical fiber cord of the above.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional problem.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 optical fiber 20 reinforcing member 30 sheath layer 70 dice 100 nipple 122 tapered peripheral surface 127 supply port 130 guide groove 132 bottom 140 guide hole V flow path

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A reinforcing member provided around a light transmission center body is disposed at a predetermined position so as to be embedded in a resinous sheath layer coated on the light transmission center body. Optical transmission line. 2. A die is provided around a cylindrical nipple formed with a guide hole for feeding and guiding an optical transmission center body from a base end side to a distal end side, and an outer peripheral portion of the nipple and the die are surrounded by a die. A flow path of the softening resin is formed between the inner peripheral portion and the softening resin supplied through the flow path around the optical transmission center body fed to the tip side of the nipple through the guide hole. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line that forms a sheath layer by extrusion coating, wherein a supply port of a reinforcing member is formed in the nipple, and the reinforcing member supplied from the supply port joins the softening resin flowing through the flow path. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line, wherein the apparatus is attached around the optical transmission center body while being taken into the sheath layer. 3. A tapered peripheral surface whose outer dimensions are sequentially reduced in diameter along a feeding direction of the optical transmission center body is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the nipple, and the softened resin is formed on the tapered peripheral surface. 3. A resin guide groove is formed along the flow path of (a), and the bottom of the resin guide groove is formed closer to the axis of the nipple than the supply port of the reinforcing body. Optical transmission line manufacturing equipment. 4. A small-diameter cylindrical peripheral surface is formed from a leading end of the tapered peripheral surface through a step, and a bottom of the resin guide groove is formed continuously with the cylindrical peripheral surface. The optical transmission line manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a supply port of the reinforcing member is formed in the step portion. 5. A plurality of supply ports of the reinforcing body are formed at equal intervals around the nipple, and the resin guide grooves are formed between the respective supply ports. The apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line according to any one of claims 4 to 4. 6. The optical system according to claim 2, wherein the nipple is rotatably mounted around the optical transmission center body, and the nipple is driven to rotate as the optical transmission center body is fed. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical transmission line according to any one of the preceding claims.