JPH10319251A - Single core separating tool of optical fiber tape - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take out a coated optical fiber as a single core from an optical fiber tape, formed by coating plural coated optical fibers, being parallel with each other, with ultraviolet curing resin and being integrally made to be a tape-like shape, without damaging the coated optical fibers even if the coated resin is thin and easily removing the coated resin even in the mid part of the optical fiber tape. SOLUTION: Supporting parts 7 are provided at the tips of both arms 2, 3 whose base end parts, being capable of opening/closing, are connected, respectively, both parts 7 are made mutually attachable and detachable, file plates 12 capable of holding the optical fiber tape T between them in the direction of its thickness are provided in both supporting parts 7, respectively, and the file plates 12 is urged by a spring so as to abut them on the optical fiber tape T by a constant pressurizing force in the state that the supporting parts 7 are located at the closest position on which they are limited to stop at the time of approach. By sliding/moving the tool along the tape T in this state, the coating resin 31 is scratched by the file plate 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a separation tool for separating an optical fiber tape, in which a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a tape shape and integrally coated with a resin, into a single optical fiber. Belongs to the technical field.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of (two or more) optical fiber cores have been used as cores used in optical fiber cables.
There is known an optical fiber tape which is arranged in a tape shape in parallel with each other, and these core wires are collectively covered with an ultraviolet curable resin to be integrated, thereby increasing the density of optical fiber cables and collectively connecting optical fiber core wires. And so on.

In such an optical fiber tape,
For the connection and the like, it is required that the resin is peeled off at the terminal and the intermediate part and the optical fiber core wire is taken out as a single core. As a separation tool for performing single-core separation of the optical fiber, conventionally, for example, a plane (plane) type having a blade portion projecting obliquely from a tool body is known. By sliding the tool body along the optical fiber tape, the coating resin on the outer surface of the tape is shaved off by a blade portion and peeled off.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, although there is no problem with respect to the end of the optical fiber tape, it is difficult to peel off the resin in the intermediate portion, and it is not suitable for use in the intermediate portion. Have been.

In recent years, in order to increase the density and reduce the cost of optical fiber cables, the diameter of a core wire in an optical fiber tape has become larger, and accordingly, the coating resin tends to be thinner. With the above-mentioned coating resin, there is a possibility that the core wire may be damaged by the blade portion in the above-mentioned conventional plane type tool.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to improve the structure of the above-described single-fiber separation tool so that even if the coating resin of the optical fiber tape is thin. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to take out the optical fiber core as a single core by easily peeling off the coating resin without damaging the optical fiber core and even in the middle of the optical fiber tape.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a file member is moved on both sides of an optical fiber tape in a state where the file member is pressed with a constant pressing force. Only the coating resin of the optical fiber tape was scratched to the vicinity of the core wire.

More specifically, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel with each other are coated with a resin and the coated resin is formed from an optical fiber tape integrated into a tape shape. A tool body having a pair of support portions that can be separated from each other and that are stopped and regulated at a predetermined approach position when approaching each other as a single-core separation tool that is peeled to separate each optical fiber core wire into a single core; A file member provided on each of the support portions so as to be movable in a direction of coming into contact with and separating from the opposing support portion, and a file member capable of holding the optical fiber tape from its thickness direction when the support portions approach each other; Biasing means for biasing the file member so as to abut against the optical fiber tape with a constant pressing force when positioned at the position,
When the file member is pressed against the optical fiber tape with a constant pressing force by the urging means, when the file member is relatively slid along the tape, only the coating resin of the optical fiber tape is damaged.

With the above configuration, when using a tool,
When the target optical fiber tapes are arranged between the support portions of the tool body and the support portions are positioned at the close positions, the file members of the respective support portions are pressed against the optical fiber tape by the urging means with a constant pressing force. In this state, when the tool is relatively slid along the optical fiber tape, the file member moves while scratching only the coating resin of the tape to near the core wire, and the coating resin is peeled off and removed by the scratch. can do. Therefore, the file member is pressed against the resin coating of the optical fiber tape with a certain force and slid,
Since only the coating resin is scratched, it does not damage the optical fiber core even if the coating resin of the optical fiber tape is thin, and easily removes the coating resin even in the middle part of the optical fiber tape. Thus, the optical fiber can be taken out as a single core.

When the two support portions are moved closer to each other, the stop-regulated position of the two support portions is an approach position. In this approach position, the file member is pressed with a constant pressing force by the urging of the urging means. Since the tape is pressed against the tape, the approach position is automatically set by simply bringing both support parts close to each other until the stop is restricted, and the file member is pressed at a constant pressing force at the approach position by the optical fiber. The tape can be pressed against the tape, and the pressing force can be easily managed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adjusting means for variably adjusting the urging force of the urging means so as to change the pressing force of the file member. In this case, the pressing force of the file member against the optical fiber tape by the urging means can be freely changed,
It can be set to an appropriate value corresponding to the optical fiber tape, and can be widely applied to various different types of optical fiber tape.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the tool body of the single-core separation tool has a pair of arms whose base ends are swingably connected to each other to open and close, and a supporting portion is provided at the tip of each arm. Provide. With this configuration, the support portion can be brought into contact with or separated from the arm simply by opening and closing the arms, thereby facilitating the work of separating the single optical fiber.

[0013]

1 to 4 show a single-fiber separation tool A for an optical fiber tape according to an embodiment of the present invention. This tool A is made of an optical fiber tape T as shown in FIG. 31 is to separate the optical fibers 30, 30,... Into a single core. That is, as shown in detail in FIG. 7, a plurality of optical fiber tapes T (four in the illustrated example) are juxtaposed in parallel in a state of contact with each other.
Of the optical fibers 30, 30,...
(A resin that is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays) and is integrated into a tape shape.
Although not shown, for example, a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μ (micron), a primary coating layer made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin having an outer diameter of 200 μ arranged around the glass fiber, and a periphery of the primary coating layer And a secondary coating layer made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin having an outer diameter of 240 μ, and an outer diameter of 250 μ placed around the secondary coating layer.
(= 0.25 mm = outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 30) and a colored coating layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin. Therefore, the distance between the side edges of the optical fiber cores 30 located at both ends in the width direction of the optical fiber tape T is, for example, 1 mm (= 0.
25 mm × 4). The thickness of the coating resin 31 is set to several μ.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a tool body, and the tool body 1 is provided with a bracket 2 on the base end side.
a, 3a are first and second arms 2, 3 which are swingably connected by a connection shaft 4 and can be opened and closed by an operator's operation, and contact surfaces 10, 10 of support portions 7, 7, which will be described later. Are brought into contact with each other, the arms 2 and 3 are closed. Although not shown, at the base end of the arms 2 and 3, the arms 2 and 3 are stopped moderately in an intermediate opening state in which the opening angle is, for example, 15 °, and in an intermediate opening state in a closed state. A spring mechanism for biasing the head is provided.

On one side surface of the distal ends of the arms 2 and 3, supporting portions 7 and 7 made of rectangular blocks which can be separated from each other by opening and closing the arms 2 and 3 are integrally fixed. I have. Since the structures of the two support portions 7, 7 are basically the same as each other, the same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the surface of each support portion 7, that is, the surface facing the opposing support portion 7, has a rectangular cross section extending in parallel with the direction of the arms 2 and 3 corresponding to each support portion 7. A groove 8 is formed. On the surface of the support portion 7 on both sides of the groove 8, plate members 9, 9 of the same thickness are provided above the opening of the groove 8 with a space smaller than the width of the bottom of the groove 8. It is attached so as to cover it in a state where it is placed. The surfaces of the two plate members 9, 9 are formed on a contact surface 10 that comes into contact with the surfaces (contact surfaces 10) of the plate members 9, 9 in the mating support portion 7 with the arms 2, 3 closed. When the two support portions 7, 7 approach each other due to the closing operation of the arms 2, 3, when the contact surfaces 10, 10 come into an approaching position where they come into contact with each other, the stop of the both support portions 7, 7 is performed. Has become.

A flat metal file plate 12 having a file portion 12a with a predetermined roughness on the surface is filled in the space between the plate members 9 and 9 (opening of the concave groove 8) of each support portion 7 so as to close the space. Are located in The file plate 12 is capable of holding the optical fiber tape T from both sides in the thickness direction by the approaching operation of the support portions 7, 7. The hinge 13 is formed of a thin plate spring having the shape of an arrow.
Is supported so as to be movable in the direction of protruding and retracting from the concave groove 8. That is, one side of the hinge 13 is integrally attached to the back surface of the file board 12 (the surface facing the bottom of the concave groove 8), and the other side of the hinge 13 is connected to the arm base side surface 7a of the support portion 7. In this case, the side surface 7a is mounted in a portion cut off in a concave groove shape having a rectangular cross section. One side of the hinge 13 is formed to have a width larger than the space between the plate members 9 and 9 and smaller than the width of the concave groove 8. Stopper part 13
a, 13a. The stopper portions 13a, 13a
13a is brought into contact with the back surface of the plate material 9, 9 to make the file board 1
The position of the protruding direction from the second groove 8 is regulated so that the file portion 12a on the surface thereof is substantially flush with the contact surface 10 (the surface of the plate material 9).

Further, a screw hole 16 is formed in the bottom surface of the concave groove 8 so as to penetrate to the bottom surface of the support portion 7 (the surface opposite to the facing surface). A pressing force adjusting screw 17 (adjusting means) with a hexagonal hole, which is screwed from above, is screwed. The adjusting screw 17 and the file plate 12
A compression spring 18 (biasing means) composed of a coil spring partially inserted into the screw hole 16 is compressed between the rear surface and the compression spring 18 to project the file plate 12 from the groove 8. To the stopper 13a of the hinge 13,
13a is brought into contact with the plate material 9, 9 rear surface.
In other words, the abutting surfaces 10, 10 with the two supporting portions 7, 7 sandwiching the optical fiber tape T between the respective file plates 12, 12.
When the file plates 12 are positioned at the approaching position due to contact between the optical fiber tapes T, the file plates 12 are urged by a spring 18 so as to abut against the optical fiber tape T with a constant pressing force, and the urging force of the spring 18 is pressed. It is variably adjusted by the force adjusting screw 17. Then, with the optical fiber tape T sandwiched between the two file boards 12, the support portions 7 are positioned at the approaching position (the position at which the contact surfaces 10 abut on each other). When each of the file plates 12 is pressed against the optical fiber tape T with a constant pressing force by the urging force of the spring 18 and the tool A is relatively slid along the optical fiber tape T in this state, when the tool A is slid, Only the file board 12
It is made to hurt.

Further, in the support portion 7 of the first arm 2, guide plates 20, 20 protruding from the contact surface 10 are attached to the arm base side surface 7 a and the arm end side surface, respectively. In the center of the protruding part,
Notch recesses 21 are formed corresponding to the positions of the file plate 12, and the optical fiber tape T is stretched between the two guide plates 20, 20 so as to be fitted into the notch recesses 21, 21 so as to be inserted. The tape T is guided and held at a position directly above the file plate 12.

The method of using the single-core separating tool A having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
By arranging the arm 2 on the lower side and the second arm 3 on the upper side so that the arms 2 and 3 are in the middle open state,
The support parts 7, 7 at the tips of both arms 2, 3 are separated from each other,
The optical fiber tape T is set on the support portion 7 of the first arm 2 so as to be inserted between the cutout recesses 21 and 21 of the guide plates 20 and 20 and that the thickness direction of the tape T is in the vertical direction. . In this state, the optical fiber tape T is placed on the upper surface of the file plate 12 in the support portion 7 on the first arm 2 side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the operator grips the arms 2 and 3 with hands H and closes the arms 2 and 3 so that the contact surfaces 10 and 10 of the support portions 7 and 7 are in contact with each other. In this state, the optical fiber tape T is sandwiched between the file plates 12 of the support portions 7. At this time, the file board 1 movable in the concave groove 8
2 moves in the direction of immersion of the concave groove 8 by pressing from the tape T, and the stopper portions 13a, 13a of the hinge 13 are separated from the back surface of the plate members 9, 9, but each file plate 12 is provided with a spring 18 Since the optical fiber tape T is urged in the protruding direction by the urging force, the optical fiber tape T is sandwiched between the two file plates 12 while being pressed by the respective file plates 12 with a constant pressing force.

When the tool A is slid relative to the optical fiber tape T in a state of being sandwiched between the two file plates 12, 12, the coating resin 31 of the tape T is moved by the core 12 by the file portion 12a on the surface of the file plate 12. .., 30,... (The core wire 30 does not reach itself) and is easily peeled. Then, the plurality of optical fiber cores 30, 30,... May be taken out as a single core by peeling off the damaged coating resin 31. The slide operation of the tool A is basically performed only once.

Therefore, in this embodiment, both file boards 1
2 and 12 are pressed against the coating resin 31 of the optical fiber tape T with a certain pressing force and slided.
, So that even if the coating resin 31 of the optical fiber tape T is thin, it does not damage the optical fiber cores 30, 30,. Easy coating resin 31 anywhere
And each optical fiber core 30 can be taken out as a single core.

Further, the arms 2 and 3 are closed and both support portions 7 and
When the two contacting surfaces 10, 10 abut against each other and stop of the two support portions 7, 7 is stopped, the stop position becomes an approach position. Is pressed against the optical fiber tape T with a constant pressing force, so that the approach position is automatically adjusted only by bringing the two support portions 7, 7 close to each other until the stop is restricted by the contact between the contact surfaces 10, 10. As a result, the pressing force of the file plate 12 against the optical fiber tape T is kept constant, so that the pressing force of the file plate 12 against the tape T can be easily managed.

Further, when the pressing force of the file plate 12 is excessive or insufficient, the urging force of the spring 18 may be changed by screwing the pressing force adjusting screw 17 from the back side of each support 7. By doing so, the pressing force of the file plate 12 against the optical fiber tape T by the spring 18 can be set to an appropriate value corresponding to the optical fiber tape T, and the present invention can be applied to various different types of optical fiber tape T. it can.

Further, the tool body 1 of the single-core separation tool A
Are composed of openable arms 2 and 3, and each of the arms 2 and 3
Since the supporting portions 7, 7 are attached to the distal end of the optical fiber 30, the supporting portions 7, 7 can be brought into and out of contact only by opening and closing the arms 2, 3, and the single-core separation operation of the optical fiber 30 can be easily performed. It can be carried out.

In the above-described embodiment, the main body 1 of the tool A is constituted by the openable arms 2 and 3 whose base ends are swingably connected. However, a tool main body having another structure can be adopted. . In short, the tool main body only needs to have a pair of support portions that can be brought into contact with and separated from each other and that are stopped at the approach position when approaching.

In the above-described embodiment, the metal file plate 12 is used as the file member. However, the file member may be made of resin or other material. Sandpaper (paper file) or cloth file to which the particles are adhered can also be used.

[0028]

Next, a specific example will be described. A single-core separation tool having substantially the same configuration as that of the above embodiment is prepared, and a file member in which a sandpaper (paper file) is adhered and fixed to the surface of the flat plate is used instead of a metal file plate as in the above embodiment. Was. The optical fiber tape is made by arranging four optical fiber core wires having a diameter of 0.25 mm and coating and integrating them with an ultraviolet curing resin as shown in the above embodiment (see FIG. 7), and the tape width is approximately 1 mm. is there. The sandpaper had a length of 10 mm, and was pressed against the optical fiber tape in a range of 10 mm over the entire width of the tape. Then, the roughness of the sandpaper and the pressing force (the biasing force of the spring) were changed variously, and the single-fiber separation operation (one slide movement operation) of the optical fiber tape was performed using a tool, and the performance at that time was evaluated. . The results were as follows.

The roughness of the sandpaper is # 400 to #
When the number is 800, the optical fiber core can be satisfactorily separated as a single fiber. Particularly, # 600 is the best.

When the roughness of the sandpaper exceeds # 800, good separation of the optical fiber is not possible because the roughness is too fine.

If the roughness of the sandpaper is less than # 100, it becomes too coarse and damages the optical fiber core.

If the pressing force is 0.1 to 1 N per 10 mm length of the optical fiber tape having a width of 1 mm, the optical fiber core can be satisfactorily separated into single fibers, particularly 0.3 to 0.4 N.
Is best.

If the pressing force is less than 0.1 N, the pressing force becomes insufficient, and good separation of the optical fibers cannot be performed.

When the pressing force exceeds 1 N, the pressing force becomes too large and damages the optical fiber.

According to the results, according to the tool of the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily separate the optical fiber core from the optical fiber tape. In particular, four optical fiber cores having a diameter of 0.25 mm can be used. When the optical fiber tapes which are arranged side by side and coated and integrated with the ultraviolet curable resin are separated by a tool using sandpaper, the roughness of the sandpaper is # 400.
~ # 800, it was clear that a good separation effect was obtained when the pressing force was 0.1 to 1N for a tape length of 10 mm.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the optical fiber tape can be held in the thickness direction thereof by the support portions of the tool main body in the single-fiber separation tool for the optical fiber tape which can be separated from each other. A file member is provided, and when the support portion is positioned at the approach position where the stop is restricted at the time of approach, the file member is urged to abut against the optical fiber tape with a constant pressing force. Is relatively slid along the optical fiber tape so that only the coating resin of the tape is damaged, so that even in the case of an optical fiber tape having a thin coating resin or an intermediate portion of the optical fiber tape, the core wire can be moved. The coating resin can be easily removed without being damaged, and the optical fiber core wire can be stably and easily taken out as a single core, thereby facilitating single core separation work.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the pressing force of the file member against the optical fiber tape is made variable, so that the pressing force of the file member against the optical fiber tape can be freely changed to correspond to the optical fiber tape. The appropriate value can be set, and the application range of the optical fiber tape can be expanded.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the tool body is of an openable / closable arm type, and the support portion is provided at the tip of each arm, so that the work of separating the single optical fiber from the optical fiber is further facilitated. Can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an intermediately opened state of a single core separation tool according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the tool.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tool.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tool.

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

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a use state of the tool.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the optical fiber tape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A Single-core separation tool 1 Tool body 2, 3 Arm 7 Support section 10 Contact surface 12 File plate (file member) 17 Pressing force adjusting screw (Adjusting means) 18 Spring (biasing means) T Optical fiber tape 30 Optical fiber core Wire 31 UV curable resin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber tape comprising a plurality of optical fiber cores arranged in parallel with each other and coated in a resin and integrated in a tape shape, the coated resin is peeled off, and each optical fiber core is formed into a single core. A tool body having a pair of support portions that can be separated from each other and that are stopped at a predetermined approach position when approaching each other; and a support that is opposed to each of the support portions. A file member that is provided so as to be movable in the direction of coming and going to the part, and that can pinch the optical fiber tape from the thickness direction when the support parts approach each other, and when the support part is positioned at the approach position, Urging means for urging the file member so as to abut against the optical fiber tape with a constant pressing force, wherein the tape member is pressed against the optical fiber tape by the urging means with a constant pressing force. Along the phase Slide when moving, single-fiber separation tool of the optical fiber ribbon, characterized by being configured to injure only the coating resin of the optical fiber tape manner. 2. The optical fiber tape single-core separating tool according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting means for variably adjusting the urging force of the urging means so as to change the pressing force of the file member. Single fiber separation tool for fiber tape. 3. The single-fiber separation tool for an optical fiber tape according to claim 1, wherein the tool body has a pair of arms whose base ends are swingably connected to each other to open and close. A single-fiber separation tool for optical fiber tape, wherein a support portion is provided at a tip of an arm.