JP4186868B2 - Optical cable disassembly method and disassembly apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical cable disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus for disassembling an optical cable collected for disposal and stripping a resin cable jacket so that it can be recycled.

  Along with the progress of optical networking to promote information distribution, the amount of used optical cables discarded is also increasing. Under such circumstances, the protection of the global environment and the promotion of effective use of resources are required, and the recycling of optical cables has become a major issue. In particular, studies are being made on the reuse of cable jackets that use resin materials such as polyethylene. Regarding the recycling of the cable jacket, the optical cable itself has been developed mainly for the purpose of facilitating reuse, and various proposals have been made (for example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

The optical cable newly laid in the future will be used in the form taking the above-mentioned reuse into consideration, so that it can be expected that the recycling will be further promoted. However, for the time being, many of the optical cables collected as used have not been configured in consideration of such reuse. For this reason, in order to disassemble and recycle an existing optical cable, generally, a method of stripping the cable jacket using a cutter blade is used.
JP 2002-243999 A JP 2004-20619 A

  As an optical cable, one having a multi-core structure in which an optical fiber ribbon is housed in a slot as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is often used. FIG. 6A shows an outline of an optical cable using this slot, and FIG. 6B shows an example in which the outer cover of the optical cable is cut with a cutter blade. In the figure, 1 is an optical cable, 2 is a slot, 2a is a slot groove, 3 is an optical fiber ribbon, 4 is a tape material, 5 is a tear string, 6 is a cable jacket, and 7 is a cutter blade. As shown in this figure, the optical cable 1 houses a large number of optical fiber ribbons 3 in a slot 2 having a plurality of spiral or SZ-shaped slot grooves 2a, and absorbs or presses the outer periphery thereof. A tape material 4 is generally wound, a tear string 5 is vertically attached as necessary, and the outer periphery thereof is covered with a cable jacket 6 such as polyester.

  When the optical cable 1 is discarded as used, the optical cable 1 is structurally more complex than a metal cable, and therefore it is difficult to separate only the cable jacket 6. That is, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), for example, a water-absorbing tape material 4 is wound around the outer periphery of the cable main body to prevent water running into the slot 2, and the outside of the cable jacket is wrapped around the outside. 6 is formed in a close contact state. In many cases, the water-absorbing tape material 4 adheres to the cable jacket 6 because the optical cable 1 is exposed to high temperatures or swells due to water absorption after long-term use. Also, if the cable jacket 6 is peeled off and left for a long time, the adhering tape material 4 absorbs moisture, the adhering state becomes stronger, and the removal becomes more difficult.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the cable jacket 6 is peeled off by applying a cutter blade 7 to the side surface of the cable jacket and pulling it away from the slot 2. In this case, the cutter blade 7 is cut off in a state where the tape material 4 is also torn simultaneously and the tape material 4 adheres to the inner surface of the cable jacket 6. Further, some optical cables 1 are provided with a tear string 5 for tearing the cable jacket 6. It is possible to tear only the cable jacket 6 by pulling the tear string 5. However, in this case, the optical cable collected for disposal is often supplied after being cut to a length of about several m to 30 m. With such a length, if the tear string 5 is pulled, it will come off from the optical cable, and the cable jacket 6 cannot be torn.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of a work flow for disassembling and recycling the existing collected optical cable 1 under the above-described situation. In the figure, 10 is a supply device, 11 is a stripping device, 12 is a dryer, 13 is a tape removing device, 14 is a grinding device, 15 is an extrusion device, 16 is a cooling device, 17 is a pellet forming device, and 18 is a recycled product. Indicates. Description of other reference numerals is omitted by using the same reference numerals as those used in FIG.

  When the optical cable 1 is regenerated, the recovered optical cable 1 for disposal is provided in the form of a bundled product wound in a coil shape of a short product of about several meters to about 30 meters. The optical cable 1 is set in a supply device 10 and a cable jacket 6 is peeled off by a stripping device 11 which is also called a stripping device. As described above, the cable jacket 6 is peeled off with the tape material 4 such as a water-absorbing tape attached to the inside, and supplied to the regeneration process. After the cable jacket 6 is peeled off, the optical fiber ribbon or the like is taken out from the slot by hand, divided into small pieces, and disposed as industrial waste.

  The cable jacket 6 peeled off from the optical cable 1 is heated and dried by passing it through a dryer 12 to remove moisture and the like in order to be used in the regeneration process. This drying process makes it relatively easy to remove the tape material 4 attached to the cable jacket 6, and the water absorbing tape is removed by the tape removing device 13 using a rotating brush or the like. However, the removal of the tape material 4 adhering in an adhesive state is not complete with the tape removing device 13 alone, and therefore the remaining material is removed by the operator.

  Thereafter, the cable jacket 6 from which the tape material 4 has been completely removed is finely pulverized by the pulverizer 14. The pulverized resin material is heated and melted and continuously extruded and supplied as a reusable resin material by the extrusion device 15, and cooled by the cooling device 16. Thereafter, the cooled resin material is pelletized by the pellet molding device 17 and reused as a recycled product 18.

  Through the above work flow, the cable jacket peeled off from the collected optical cable can be used as a new cable jacket material. However, in the above-described work flow, there is a problem that it takes equipment and man hours and cannot be profitable in terms of cost. In view of this, it is conceivable to regenerate the cable jacket by heating and melting it with foreign matters such as water-absorbing tape still attached to the cable jacket. In this case, the foreign matter is removed using a filter such as a net in the regeneration step, but clogging is likely to occur, and therefore the filter is frequently replaced. Therefore, if automatic exchange means is used for exchanging the filter, the equipment cost increases. Further, if the quality of the recycled product cannot be ensured, an optical cable using this will lead to an increase in transmission loss.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can remove foreign matters such as water-absorbing tape at the stage of stripping the cable jacket, and is profitable by reducing equipment and man-hours required for removing foreign matters at the regeneration stage. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical cable disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus capable of improving the performance and ensuring a recycled product with stable quality.

Disassembling method of an optical cable according to the present invention, Hashirase from optical cable is interposed tape material between the cable body portion and the cable outer, in disassembling method of an optical cable stripping the cable jacket, is fed into the optical cable to the base unit Holding the position of the optical cable by an adjustable first cable holding roller , and then holding the optical cable by a second cable holding roller disposed immediately after the first cable holding roller; With the cutter blade installed at the same position , cut the cable jacket from the cable body part by cutting the cable jacket from the two opposite directions , leaving a thin skin of about 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm along the longitudinal direction. Strip off . Taking over the cable jacket encased switching included on the discharge side, is then removed by an incision in the tape material.

An optical cable disassembly device according to the present invention is an optical cable disassembly device that strips a cable jacket from an optical cable in which a tape material is interposed between the cable main body and the cable jacket. A feeding device; a cutter device that cuts the cable jacket along the longitudinal direction; and a take-up device that discharges the cable jacket that has been cut . The cutter device includes an adjustable first cable holding roller that holds the position of the optical cable, a second cable holding roller that is arranged immediately after the first cable holding roller and holds the optical cable, and a second cable. It has a cutter blade adjustment mechanism that is installed at the same position as the holding roller and can adjust the depth of cut from two directions that oppose the longitudinal direction of the cable jacket . The cutting amount of the cutter blade can be adjusted in units of 0.1 mm or less, and a screw type adjusting unit and a cutting amount measuring unit can be used for this adjustment.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, foreign material adhesion, such as a water absorbing tape of the cable jacket stripped off by dismantling, can be reduced, and the installation and work amount in the regeneration process of a cable jacket can be simplified. Further, since the stripped cable jacket has little foreign matter adhesion, the quality of the recycled product can be made stable and high.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating stripping of a cable jacket according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a dismantling apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 20 is a dismantling device, 21 is a guide roller, 22 is a cable feeding device, 23 is a cutter device, 24a is a first cable holding roller, 24b is a second cable holding roller, 25 is a cutter blade adjusting mechanism, 26 is a jacket guide roller, 27 is a jacket take-up device, 28 is a tape cutting device, 29 is a string guide roller, and 30 is a string winding device.

  The optical cable which is the subject of the present invention includes, for example, a cable main body portion and an outer sheath in which an optical fiber tape core wire 3 is accommodated in a spiral or SZ-shaped slot groove 2a provided in a slot 2 as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the tape material 4 is interposed between the cable jacket 6 and the cable jacket 6. The tape material 4 is provided on the outer periphery of the slot 2 by winding or the like, and has a function as a presser winding for holding the optical fiber tape core wire 3 accommodated in the slot groove 2a in the slot groove 2a. In addition, by using a water-absorbing material for the tape material 4, it is possible to provide a function of preventing water from running along the slot groove 2a in the cable, which is also called a water-absorbing tape.

  The cable jacket 6 is formed by extrusion or the like on the outer side of the tape material 4 wound around the outer periphery of the cable main body (the state where the optical fiber tape core wire 3 is accommodated in the slot 2). It is in close contact. In addition, in order to make it easy to tear and remove the cable jacket 6 in the formation of the connection end of the optical cable, it was formed between the cable jacket 6 and the tape material 4 with Kevlar (R) or the like. There is a configuration in which one or two tear strings 5 are arranged. The cable jacket 6 is generally made of polyethylene (mainly mostly low-density polyethylene), for example, having a thickness of about 2.0 mm. When the optical cable is disposed of, the polyethylene can be collected and reused. desired.

  For this reason, the cable jacket 6 is cut by the cutter blade 7 and separated from the cable body by peeling off. However, conventionally, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the cutter blade 7 is also peeled off in a state where the tape material 4 is also torn simultaneously and adhered to the inner surface of the cable jacket 6. For this reason, if the tape material 4 is peeled off while being attached to the cable jacket 6, it will be difficult to peel off the cable jacket 6 this time, resulting in a work flow as shown in FIG.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the cutter blade 7 is cut into the cable jacket 6 so that a thin skin S of about 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm remains. As a result, the tape material 4 is held in a state of being wound around the cable body, and the thin skin portion S of the cable jacket 6 can be cut off with a tearing force, whereby only the cable jacket 6 can be peeled off. Note that the adhesive force between the tape material 4 and the cable jacket 6 is partially strong, and the tape material 4 may be peeled off while being attached to the cable jacket 6 side, but this is partial. It can be easily removed.

  The optical cable according to the present invention is disassembled by a disassembly apparatus 20 schematically shown in FIG. The optical cable 1 collected for disassembly is supplied in the form of a bundled product wound in a coil shape of a short product of about several meters to about 30 m. For this reason, the optical cable 1 is taken by the cable feeding device 22 from the feeding side through the guide roller 21. The cable feeding device 22 can be constituted by, for example, a pinch roller, and feeds the optical cable 1 to the cutter device 23 with the rollers sandwiched between the rollers.

  In the cutter device 23, the first cable holding roller 24a and the second cable holding roller 24b are set in accordance with the outer diameter of the optical cable 1 so that the optical cable 1 is held at a predetermined position and can be accurately cut by the cutter blade 7. It is installed so that the position can be adjusted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1B, the cutter blade 7 leaves a thin skin S on the inner surface side of the cable jacket 6 on the side surface of the optical cable 1 so as not to cut into the tape material 4 inside. It is adjusted by the cutter blade adjustment mechanism 25.

  That is, by providing the first and second cable holding rollers 24a and 24b that can be adjusted in position and the cutter blade adjusting mechanism 25, the cutter blade 7 can cut into the cable jacket 6 with high accuracy. It becomes possible to set. Note that the cutter blade 7 can be cut in a physically stable manner by being cut from two opposing directions of the optical cable 1, and the cable jacket 6 can be easily cut off in two. it can. The configuration of the cutter device 23 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The cable jacket 6 into which the cut of a predetermined depth is made by the cutter device 23 is pulled by the jacket take-up device 27 through the jacket guide roller 26 and is peeled off from the cable main body. The jacket take-up device 27 can be constituted by, for example, a pinch roller. The cable jacket 6 is sandwiched between rollers, and is attached to a discharge shooter (not shown) installed toward the outside of the dismantling device 20. Send it in. The discharged cable jacket 6 is bundled into a form for use in a regeneration process, for example, by winding it into a coil.

  A tape cutting device 28 can be provided on the outlet side of the dismantling device 20. The tape cutting device 28 cuts the tape material 4 that is wound around the outer periphery of the cable main body and exposed by peeling off the cable jacket 6 with a cutter or the like. Since the tape material 4 is cut in units of one turn of winding, if the adhesive force with the outer surface of the cable main body (the outer peripheral surface of the slot) is weak, the tape material 4 may fall off by natural fall or the cable main body It can be easily peeled off by wiping. Moreover, even if the adhesive force is strong, even if it cannot be easily peeled off, it is not necessary to remove it with special equipment. That is, it may be disposed as industrial waste together with the slot or the optical fiber ribbon.

  Further, the disassembling apparatus 20 can be provided with a string winding device 30 for winding the tear string 5. When the tear cable 5 as shown in FIG. 1A is housed in the optical cable 1, the tear cable 5 is exposed to the outside by peeling off the cable jacket 6, so that the string guide roller After 29, it is wound up by the string winding device 30.

  As described above, the disassembling device 20 includes the cable feeding device 22 and the tape cutting device, in addition to the cutter device 23 that cuts the cable jacket 6 and the jacket take-up device 27 that pulls and peels off the cable jacket 4. 28. Alternatively, the string winding device 30 can be installed on one frame and assembled as a whole in a compact manner. In addition, a caster can be attached to the gantry to make it portable. For example, by carrying the dismantling device 20 to the collection place of the collected optical cable as waste material, the setup time for dismantling can be shortened. it can. Furthermore, it is possible to perform a dismantling process on site as needed.

  3-5 is a figure explaining the cutter apparatus by this invention, FIG. 3 is a figure which shows an outline, FIG. 4 (A) is sectional drawing which shows the specific example of a cutter apparatus, FIG.4 (B) is FIG. (A) AA arrow view, FIG. 5: shows the BB arrow view of FIG. 4 (A). The reference numerals in the figure are the same as those used in FIGS.

  In the cutter device 23, the optical cable 1 sent to the dismantling device is held at a predetermined position by a plurality of cable holding rollers. For example, immediately before the cutter blade 7, the first cable holding roller 24 a is arranged in four directions, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the optical cable 1, and holds the optical cable 1 in the four directions. The first cable holding rollers 24a are installed so that their positions can be adjusted according to the outer diameter of the optical cable 1, respectively.

  The cable jacket 6 is cut by the cutter blade 7 in a state where the position of the optical cable 1 is held by the first cable holding roller 24a. It is preferable to cut the cutter blade 7 from two opposing directions with respect to the optical cable 1, and the second cable holding roller 24b is installed in two directions orthogonal to the cutting direction of the cutter blade 7. . The second cable holding roller 24b can prevent the cutting position by the cutter blade 7 from fluctuating due to vibration or the like. Similarly to the first cable holding roller 24a, the second cable holding roller 24b is also installed so that its position can be adjusted according to the outer diameter of the optical cable 1.

  Moreover, the cutter blade 7 can adjust the cutting depth by the cutter blade adjustment mechanism 25. The adjustment of the cutting position of the cutter blade 7 is desirably an adjustment mechanism that can be performed with high accuracy of 0.1 mm or less. The cutter blade adjusting mechanism 25 is realized by using, for example, a screw-type adjusting means including an axially movable non-rotating shaft member 25a and a rotatable driving member 25b screwed with the shaft member 25a. Can do.

  4 and 5 show a specific example of the cutter device 23 described with reference to FIG. 3. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 4A, the cutter device 23 includes a circular base portion 23a and a circular tube portion 23b. . The optical cable 1 moves through the center of the base portion 23a and the tube portion 23b from the left side to the right side in the drawing. It arrange | positions so that it may cut from the up-down direction of the optical cable 1 to which the cutter blade 7 moves in the center part of the base part 23a, and the cutting amount of the cutter blade 7 is adjusted with the cutter blade adjustment mechanism 25. FIG. The cutter blade adjustment mechanism 25 is coupled to the cutter blade 7 and is movable in the direction of the arrow, a rotatable drive member 25b that is screwed into the shaft member 25a and moved, and a drive member 25b. It consists of a handle member 25c and a guide member 25d for guiding the movement of the cutter blade 7.

  The position of the cutter blade 7 is adjusted by rotating the drive member 25b by rotating the handle member 25c, thereby moving the shaft member 25a and moving the cutter blade 7 coupled to the shaft member 25a. In addition, the cutter blade 7 is ensured to have a cut-out position without swinging by the guide member 25d. On the handle member 25c side, the cutting amount of the cutter blade 7 is measured according to the rotation amount by the rotation of the handle member 25c, or a measuring means that can be estimated is provided so that the position can be easily adjusted.

  The first cable holding roller 24a is installed immediately before the cutter blade 7 as shown in FIG. 4A. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, four directions (one direction is omitted in the drawing) It is installed so that the optical cable 1 is sandwiched between the structure (exposed display). The second cable holding roller 24b is installed at the same position as the cutter blade 7 so as to sandwich the optical cable 1 from two directions perpendicular to the cutting direction of the cutter blade 7, as shown by a chain line in FIG. Yes. Note that the distal end surface of the guide member 25d is in contact with the optical cable 1 from two directions orthogonal to the second cable holding roller 24b and has a cable holding function.

  The first and second cable holding rollers 24a and 24b may have any function of holding the moving position by elastically pressing the side surface of the optical cable 1, and driving an air cylinder mechanism (not shown) or the like. A mechanism can be used. By using this drive mechanism, it is possible to realize one-touch setting by automatically following and holding the outer diameter of the optical cable, and work skills can be reduced.

  Then, by combining with the configuration of the cutter blade position adjustment 23, the cutter blade 7 can be set with a highly accurate cutting position of 0.1 mm or less. As described with reference to FIG. Incisions can be made continuously in the longitudinal direction of the cable jacket so as to leave a thin skin of about .5 mm. As a result, the cable jacket supplied to the regeneration process can be supplied in a state where there is little adhesion of foreign matter, and the work of removing the water-absorbing tape required by the work flow of FIG. Recycled recycled products can also be made stable with no foreign matter mixed in.

It is a figure explaining stripping of the cable jacket of the optical cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the dismantling apparatus of the optical cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the cutter apparatus by this invention. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the cutter apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which partially demonstrates the specific example of the cutter apparatus by this invention. It is a figure explaining stripping off the cable jacket of the conventional optical cable. It is a figure explaining the work flow of the dismantling and reproduction | regeneration of the conventional optical cable.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical cable, 2 ... Slot, 2a ... Slot groove, 3 ... Optical fiber tape core wire, 4 ... Tape material, 5 ... Ripped string, 6 ... Cable jacket, 7 ... Cutter blade, 10 ... Supply apparatus, 11 ... Stripping device, 12 ... dryer, 13 ... tape removing device, 14 ... crushing device, 15 ... extrusion device, 16 ... cooling device, 17 ... pellet forming device, 18 ... recycled product, 20 ... dismantling device, 21 ... guide roller 22 ... Cable feeding device, 23 ... Cutter device, 23a ... Base portion, 23b ... Tube portion, 24a ... First cable holding roller, 24b ... Second cable holding roller, 25 ... Cutter blade adjusting mechanism, 25a ... Shaft member, 25b ... Drive member, 25c ... Handle member, 25d ... Guide member, 26 ... Coating guide roller, 27 ... Coating device, 28 ... Tape cutting device, 29 ... String Idorora, 30 ... cord winding device.

Claims (7)

A method for disassembling an optical cable that strips the cable jacket from an optical cable having a tape material interposed between the cable body and the cable jacket,
Hashirase by feeding the optical cable to the cutter device, the in the cutter apparatus, and holds the position of the optical cable by a first cable holding roller adjustable, then a second, which is placed immediately after the first cable holding roller The optical cable is held by the cable holding roller, and a thin blade of about 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm along the longitudinal direction is formed on the cable jacket by a cutter blade installed at the same position as the second cable holding roller. A method for disassembling an optical cable, comprising making a cut from two opposing directions and stripping the cable jacket from the cable body. The method of disassembling an optical cable according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the cable jacket with the cut is taken to the discharge side, and then the tape material is cut and removed . An optical cable dismantling device that strips a cable jacket from an optical cable having a tape material interposed between a cable body and a cable jacket,
A cable feeding device that feeds and runs the optical cable; a cutter device that cuts the cable jacket along a longitudinal direction; and a take-up device that discharges the cable jacket that has been cut.
The cutter device includes: an adjustable first cable holding roller that holds a position of the optical cable; a second cable holding roller that is arranged immediately after the first cable holding roller and holds the optical cable; A cutter blade adjusting mechanism that is installed at the same position as the cable holding roller of 2 and that can adjust the cutting amount of the cutter blade that cuts from two directions opposite to the longitudinal direction of the cable jacket. dismantling apparatus for an optical cable you. 4. The optical cable disassembling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cutting amount of the cutter blade is adjustable in units of 0.1 mm or less . 5. The optical cable disassembling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cutter blade adjusting mechanism includes a screw-type adjusting unit and a cutting amount measuring unit . Claim 3, characterized in that it comprises said optical cable infeed Komu sent to the cutter device unit, and a cutting device for cutting the tape material which is exposed the cable jacket is stripped in on the same single An optical cable dismantling device as described in 1. The optical cable disassembling apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a string winding device that winds the tear string .

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