JP7613003B2 - Optical fiber assemblage manufacturing method and manufacturing device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assembly.

Patent document 1 describes a guide roller that guides the running of an optical fiber core wire, which is a glass fiber coated with resin, and that has a Vickers hardness of 1000 or more on the surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber core wire.

Patent document 2 describes that in an optical fiber cable in which the entire length and the entire circumference of multiple parallel optical fibers are covered with resin to form an integrated optical fiber ribbon core, the Young's modulus of the resin is set to approximately 900 MPa.

JP 2013-028513 A JP 2005-043467 A

When manufacturing an optical fiber cable, the optical fiber core wire, optical fiber ribbon core wire, or optical fiber ribbon core wire unit (hereinafter also referred to as "optical fiber core wire, etc.") that constitutes the optical fiber cable is transported while being guided by guide rollers during various manufacturing processes, such as the drawing process, the coating process with various resins, or the winding process onto other bobbins, etc.

However, in conventional optical fiber cable manufacturing methods, if a foreign object is present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, the foreign object can bite into the resin coating the optical fiber as the optical fiber core passes through the guide roller, pressing against the glass layer of the optical fiber inside the resin, which can lead to the optical fiber breaking.

The objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assembly that can suppress breaks in the optical fiber caused by foreign matter present between a guide roller and an optical fiber core, an optical fiber ribbon core, or an optical fiber ribbon core unit during the manufacture of the optical fiber assembly.

A method for producing an optical fiber assemblage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of:
A method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage, comprising a running step of running an optical fiber core wire including an optical fiber and at least one resin layer coating the optical fiber, an optical fiber ribbon core wire including a plurality of optical fibers and a resin layer coating the plurality of optical fibers, or an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit including a plurality of optical fiber ribbon core wires while being guided by one or more guide rollers,
the guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit;
The Young's modulus is equal to or less than the Young's modulus of at least one of the resin layers coating the optical fiber or the resin layer coating the optical fiber core .

An apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
An optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus including one or more guide rollers for guiding the running of an optical fiber core wire including an optical fiber and at least one resin layer coating the optical fiber , an optical fiber ribbon core wire including a plurality of optical fiber core wires and a resin layer coating the plurality of optical fiber core wires, or an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit including a plurality of optical fiber ribbon core wires,
the guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit;
The Young's modulus is equal to or less than the Young's modulus of at least one of the resin layers coating the optical fiber or the resin layer coating the optical fiber core .

The configuration disclosed above makes it possible to suppress breaks in the optical fiber caused by foreign matter present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, optical fiber ribbon core, or optical fiber ribbon core unit during the manufacture of the optical fiber assembly.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a guide roller constituting the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an optical fiber ribbon.

[Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure]
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
A method for producing an optical fiber assemblage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of:
A method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage, comprising a running step of running an optical fiber core wire, an optical fiber ribbon core wire, or an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit while being guided by one or more guide rollers,
The guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress breakage of the optical fiber caused by foreign matter present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, optical fiber tape core, or optical fiber tape core unit during the manufacture of the optical fiber assembly.

In the method for producing the optical fiber assemblage,
The running step preferably comprises running the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit while pressing the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit against the guide rollers with a pressing load of 0.1 N/mm or more and 0.7 N/mm or less.
According to the above configuration, for example, during the manufacture of an optical fiber assemblage, it is possible to improve the manufacturing efficiency of the optical fiber assemblage while suppressing breakage of the optical fiber caused by foreign matter present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, etc.

The method for producing the optical fiber assemblage includes the steps of:
It is preferable that the Young's modulus at the contact surface is 100 MPa or less.
According to the above configuration, for example, during the production of an optical fiber assemblage, it is possible to further suppress breakage of the optical fiber caused by foreign matter existing between the guide roller and the optical fiber core or the like.

In the method for producing the optical fiber assemblage,
The contact surface is preferably made of polypropylene or foamed polyurethane.
According to the above configuration, for example, it is possible to easily and inexpensively configure an apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage.

An apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
An optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus having one or more guide rollers for guiding the running of an optical fiber core, an optical fiber ribbon, or an optical fiber ribbon unit, comprising:
The guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress breakage of the optical fiber caused by foreign matter present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, optical fiber tape core, or optical fiber tape core unit during the manufacture of the optical fiber assembly.

In the optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus,
The guide roller includes a rod-shaped core member and a surface member that covers a surface of the core member,
It is preferable that the surface member functions as the contact surface and is detachable from the core member.
According to the above configuration, for example, when the contact surface becomes scratched or dirty, it is only necessary to replace the surface member that constitutes the contact surface, and therefore running costs can be reduced.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a manufacturing method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even in different drawings, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

In this specification, the term "optical fiber core" refers to, for example, a single-core optical fiber coated with an ultraviolet-curable resin or the like. The term "optical fiber assembly" refers to, for example, an assembly that includes multiple optical fiber cores. Specific examples of "optical fiber assembly" include optical fiber ribbon cores, optical fiber ribbon core units that are composed of multiple optical fiber ribbon cores, and optical fiber cables that include multiple optical fiber cores or one or more optical fiber ribbon cores within a sheath.

(Optical fiber assembly manufacturing device)
The optical fiber assembly manufacturing apparatus according to the present disclosure can be suitably used, for example, in the case of manufacturing an optical fiber tape core wire using multiple optical fiber core wires, manufacturing an optical fiber tape core wire unit using multiple optical fiber tape core wires, manufacturing an optical fiber cable using multiple optical fiber core wires or one or more optical fiber tape core wires, or performing a rewinding process of an optical fiber assembly, etc.

Below, an example of an optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a guide roller 20 constituting the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1.

The manufacturing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a payout bobbin 10, multiple guide rollers 20, and a take-up bobbin 30. In the manufacturing device 1, the optical fiber core wire, optical fiber tape core wire, or optical fiber tape core wire unit (i.e., "optical fiber core wire, etc.") paid out from the payout bobbin 10 runs on a pass line 40 while being guided by multiple guide rollers 20, passes through a pass line 40', and is wound onto the take-up bobbin 30 as an optical fiber assembly.

The optical fiber core wire, etc. is wound on the payout bobbin 10. There may be multiple payout bobbins 10 depending on the application of the manufacturing device 1. For example, when manufacturing an optical fiber cable from multiple optical fiber ribbon core wires, the manufacturing device 1 may be provided with a number of payout bobbins 10 corresponding to the number of optical fiber ribbon core wires included in the optical fiber cable to be manufactured. In addition, when manufacturing an optical fiber cable as described above, the manufacturing device 1 may be provided with a payout bobbin (not shown) that pays out the tensile strength members, etc. to be included in the optical fiber cable. When there are multiple payout bobbins 10 or when a payout bobbin that pays out the tensile strength members, etc. is provided, the material paid out from each payout bobbin is collected at a predetermined point on the pass line 40.

The guide rollers 20 guide the optical fiber core wires running on the pass line 40. In FIG. 1, everything arranged on the pass line 40 (except for the payout bobbin 10) is a guide roller 20, including those not marked with a reference number.

The Young's modulus of the contact surface (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "contact surface") of the guide roller 20 that comes into contact with the optical fiber core wire or the like traveling on the pass line 40 is 1000 MPa or less. It is preferable that the Young's modulus of the contact surface is 100 MPa or less. Note that the portion of the guide roller 20 that does not come into contact with the optical fiber core wire or the like may have a Young's modulus higher than 1000 MPa.

The material constituting the contact surface of the guide roller 20 is not particularly limited as long as it has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less. From the standpoint of cost and availability, the material constituting the contact surface is preferably a resin material such as polyurethane or polypropylene, or a foam of these resin materials.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide roller 20 preferably includes a core member 21 and a surface member 22. The core member 21 is the base of the guide roller 20 and is, for example, cylindrical. From the viewpoint of durability, for example, the core member 21 preferably has a higher Young's modulus than the surface member 22. The material constituting the core member 21 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel, or a resin material such as polyurethane or polypropylene.

The surface member 22 is a sheet-like member that circumferentially covers the core member 21 and functions as a contact surface. There are no particular limitations on the thickness of the surface member 22, and it can be determined appropriately depending on the desired durability, etc. An example of the thickness of the surface member 22 is about 2 to 3 mm. The material that constitutes the surface member 22 is the same as the material of the contact surface described above.

It is preferable that the surface member 22 is detachable from the core member 21. The surface member 22 can be fixed to the core member 21 by a conventionally known adhesive means such as tape. The surface member 22 can be removed from the core member 21 by removing the adhesive means.

The overall shape of the guide roller 20 is not particularly limited, but is preferably, for example, a cylindrical rod-shaped roller. The guide roller 20 may have a flange near the end, or may have no flange. From the viewpoint of facilitating the attachment and detachment of the surface member 22 and allowing a high degree of freedom in the roller diameter, it is preferable that the guide roller 20 is a rod roller without a flange.

The number and arrangement of the guide rollers 20 can be appropriately determined depending on the application of the manufacturing device 1 and the path of the pass line 40. Although not shown, the manufacturing device 1 may further include conventionally known components such as a capstan that applies a predetermined tension to the optical fiber core, a brake mechanism that adjusts the tension of the optical fiber core by applying a brake to the payout bobbin, and a control mechanism that controls the running speed and pressing load of the optical fiber core.

Although not shown, one or more conventionally known mechanisms may be further arranged on the pass line 40 depending on the application of the manufacturing apparatus 1. When the manufacturing apparatus 1 manufactures an optical fiber ribbon from a plurality of optical fiber cores, for example, a coating mechanism that applies an ultraviolet curing resin all at once around the plurality of optical fiber cores, or an ultraviolet irradiation mechanism for curing the applied ultraviolet curing resin, may be arranged on the pass line 40. In this case, the optical fiber assembly that travels on the pass line 40' and is wound around the winding bobbin 30 is an optical fiber ribbon.

In addition, when the manufacturing apparatus 1 manufactures an optical fiber cable, for example, a spacer forming mechanism for forming a spacer, a sheath forming mechanism for forming a sheath, etc. may be arranged on the pass line 40. In this case, the optical fiber assembly that travels on the pass line 40' and is wound onto the winding bobbin 30 is an optical fiber cable.

(Method of manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage)
Next, as an example of a method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage according to the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage using the above-mentioned manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described. The manufacturing method according to the present disclosure includes at least a running step of running an optical fiber core wire or the like unwound from a payout bobbin 10 on a pass line 40 while being guided by a plurality of guide rollers 20.

Here, using FIG. 3, an optical fiber tape core wire 60, which is an example of an optical fiber core wire that runs on the path line 40 in the running process, will be described. The optical fiber tape core wire 60 can also be an optical fiber assembly. The optical fiber tape core wire 60 includes four optical fiber core wires 50 and a tape resin layer 61. Each optical fiber core wire 50 includes an optical fiber 51, a primary resin layer 52, a secondary resin layer 53, and a colored resin layer 54.

The optical fiber 51 includes a core and a clad. The optical fiber 51 is, for example, a glass fiber. The primary resin layer 52 covers the outer circumference of the optical fiber 51. The primary resin layer 52 is formed, for example, of a soft ultraviolet-cured resin having a relatively low Young's modulus. The secondary resin layer 53 covers the outer circumference of the primary resin layer 52. The secondary resin layer 53 is formed, for example, of a hard ultraviolet-cured resin having a relatively high Young's modulus. The colored resin layer 54 covers the outer circumference of the secondary resin layer 53. The colored resin layer 54 is a layer for improving the identifiability of the optical fiber core 50, and is formed, for example, of a colored ultraviolet-cured resin. The Young's modulus of the colored resin layer 54 is, for example, greater than 1000 MPa.

The optical fiber ribbon 60 is made by arranging four optical fiber cores 50 in a row and covering them together with a ribbon resin layer 61. The ribbon resin layer 61 is made of, for example, an ultraviolet-curable resin.

The optical fiber ribbon core wire 60 is a four-core ribbon core wire, but is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more cores. The number of cores of the optical fiber ribbon core wire 60 may be, for example, two, eight, twelve, or thirteen or more cores. The optical fiber ribbon core wire 60 may also be an intermittent type ribbon core wire in which connected portions and non-connected portions are intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction between at least some of the adjacent optical fiber core wires 50. The optical fiber ribbon core wire 60 may also have a structure in which the tape resin layer 61 is recessed along the space between the adjacent optical fiber core wires 50. As described above, the one that runs on the pass line 40 in the running process may be an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit in which a plurality of ribbon core wires such as the optical fiber ribbon core wire 60 are stacked or twisted together, or an optical fiber cable including a ribbon core wire such as the optical fiber ribbon core wire 60.

In the running process, optical fiber cores such as the optical fiber ribbon core 60 are guided by multiple guide rollers 20 while running. As mentioned above, the Young's modulus of the contact surface of the guide rollers 20 is 1000 MPa or less, which is much lower than that of conventional guide rollers.

In the running step, the optical fiber core or the like is preferably run while being pressed against the guide roller 20 with a pressing load of 0.1 N/mm or more and 0.7 N/mm or less. The pressing load can be adjusted, for example, by a capstan, a brake mechanism, a control mechanism, or the like. Note that the "pressing load" in this specification is a value calculated by the following formula 1.

Formula 1: Pressing load (N/mm) = tension of optical fiber core (N) / radius of guide roller (mm)

The manufacturing method of the present disclosure may include other steps depending on the optical fiber assembly to be manufactured. For example, when manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon from multiple optical fiber cores, the manufacturing method of the present disclosure may include a series of steps conventionally known for manufacturing an optical fiber ribbon (e.g., a step of forming a tape resin layer, etc.). Also, when manufacturing an optical fiber cable from multiple optical fiber cores or one or more optical fiber ribbon cores, the manufacturing method of the present disclosure may include a series of steps conventionally known for manufacturing an optical fiber cable (e.g., a step of forming a sheath, etc.).

The manufacturing method of the present disclosure preferably includes a replacement step of replacing the surface member 22 of the guide roller 20 with a new one after carrying out the running step and other series of steps. The replacement step is preferably carried out, for example, when the optical fiber core wire wound around the payout bobbin 10 runs out and the payout bobbin 10 is replaced with a new one.

Advantages of the manufacturing method of the present disclosure include, for example, the following. First, as a premise, conventional guide rollers were often made of materials with a high Young's modulus, such as stainless steel (Young's modulus: about 200 GPa), from the viewpoint of durability, etc. When such a hard guide roller is used, if a foreign object is present between the guide roller and the optical fiber core, etc., the foreign object will bite into the soft optical fiber core, etc. As a result, pressure is applied to the optical fiber inside the optical fiber core, etc., which can lead to the optical fiber breaking. In particular, when an optical fiber cable contains a large number of optical fiber cores, etc., it is often manufactured while applying high tension to the optical fiber core, which increases the frequency of optical fiber breakage.

On the other hand, the manufacturing method according to the present disclosure uses a guide roller 20 having a contact surface with a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less, that is, a contact surface that is very soft compared to conventional guide rollers. Also, the Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at the contact surface is usually equal to or less than the Young's modulus of at least one of the resin layers that cover the optical fiber core or the like (for example, the secondary resin layer 53, the colored resin layer 54, and the tape resin layer 61). Therefore, even if a foreign object is present between the guide roller 20 and the optical fiber core or the like, the foreign object is more likely to bite into the guide roller 20 side and less likely to bite into the optical fiber core or the like side compared to the case where a conventional hard guide roller is used. As a result, according to the manufacturing method according to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the application of pressure to the optical fiber inside the optical fiber core or the like, and to prevent the optical fiber from breaking.

In addition, because the contact surface is soft, even when a relatively high tension is applied to the optical fiber core wires running along the pass line 40 (for example, when the pressing load is 0.1 N/mm or more and 0.7 N/mm or less), it is possible to prevent the optical fiber from breaking. In other words, since there is little risk of the optical fiber breaking, it can be said that it is possible to apply a relatively high tension to the optical fiber core wires during the manufacture of the optical fiber assembly.

In addition, because the contact surface is soft, it may become damaged or dirty when it comes into contact with a large amount of optical fiber cores, etc. However, in the manufacturing method disclosed herein, when the contact surface becomes damaged or dirty, it is possible to replace only the damaged or dirty contact surface (surface member 22) with a new one by carrying out the above-mentioned replacement process. In other words, when the manufacturing method disclosed herein includes the above-mentioned replacement process, it is possible to keep the condition of the contact surface good while suppressing running costs.

The present disclosure will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present disclosure is not limited in any way to the following examples.

(Wire-on test and wire break evaluation)
The following wiring test was carried out on each of the following test subjects A and B. The structure of the optical fiber ribbon included in each test subject is shown in Table 1.

Test object A: An optical fiber ribbon unit consisting of 12 intermittent optical fiber ribbons with 12 cores (outer diameter of optical fiber core: approximately 200 μm) Test object B: An optical fiber ribbon unit consisting of 12 intermittent optical fiber ribbons with 12 cores (outer diameter of optical fiber core: approximately 250 μm)

In the wire-passing test, 30 guide rollers were arranged on the pass line, and the test object was passed through 3000 m while pressing it against each guide roller. The wire-passing test was carried out in a factory building that was not dustproof. The factory building was in an atmosphere where foreign matter ( _SiO2 , _Al2O3 , sand dust, etc.) of about 20 μm to 70 μm was present. After the wire-passing, the test object was evaluated for the presence or absence of breaks using an _OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer).

The above wire-passing tests were conducted under multiple conditions that varied the material and Young's modulus of the contact surface of the guide roller, as well as the pressing load on the guide roller. For each test subject, multiple wire-passing tests were conducted for each condition, and the frequency of wire breakage under each condition was calculated. Details of each condition and the frequency of wire breakage under each condition are shown in Table 2.

The frequency of optical fiber breakage was calculated by the following formula 2. In the formula 2, the "total length of the test object" is the length of the test object (10,000 km) multiplied by the number of optical fiber cores included in the test object.

Formula 2: Frequency of wire breakage (cores/10,000 km) =
Number of broken optical fiber cores (cores) / (total length of test object (10,000 km)

In Table 2, Examples 2, 3, 5, and 6 are working examples, while Examples 1 and 4 are comparative examples. It can be seen that Example 2, which uses test object A, has a significantly lower frequency of wire breakage compared to Example 1. Also, in Example 3, the frequency of wire breakage is zero at all pressing loads.

Examples 4, 5, and 6, which used test object B, showed zero breakage frequency at any pressing load. This is because the outer diameter of the optical fiber core included in test object B was large. In other words, the thickness of each layer that makes up test object B was sufficient to protect the optical fiber. However, based on the trends shown in examples 1 to 3, in the case of example 4, if the pressing load is further increased, it is thought that the optical fiber will break at an earlier stage than in examples 5 and 6.

Although the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the components described above are not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed to any number, position, shape, etc. suitable for implementing the present invention.

1: Manufacturing device (for optical fiber assembly) 10: Pay-out bobbin 20: Guide roller 21: Core member 22: Surface member 30: Take-up bobbin 40, 40': Pass line 50: Optical fiber core 51: Optical fiber 52: Primary resin layer 53: Secondary resin layer 54: Colored resin layer 60: Optical fiber ribbon core 61: Tape resin layer

Claims (6)

A method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage, comprising a running step of running an optical fiber core wire including an optical fiber and at least one resin layer coating the optical fiber, an optical fiber ribbon core wire including a plurality of optical fibers and a resin layer coating the plurality of optical fibers, or an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit including a plurality of optical fiber ribbon core wires while being guided by one or more guide rollers,
the guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit;
The Young's modulus is equal to or less than the Young's modulus of at least one of the resin layers coating the optical fiber or the resin layer coating the optical fiber core .
A method for manufacturing an optical fiber assemblage. The running step includes running the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit while pressing the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit against the guide rollers with a pressing load of 0.1 N/mm or more and 0.7 N/mm or less.
The method for producing the optical fiber assemblage according to claim 1 . The Young's modulus at the contact surface is 100 MPa or less.
The method for producing an optical fiber assemblage according to claim 1 or 2. The contact surface is made of polypropylene or foamed polyurethane.
The method for producing the optical fiber assemblage according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus including one or more guide rollers for guiding the running of an optical fiber core wire including an optical fiber and at least one resin layer coating the optical fiber , an optical fiber ribbon core wire including a plurality of optical fiber core wires and a resin layer coating the plurality of optical fiber core wires, or an optical fiber ribbon core wire unit including a plurality of optical fiber ribbon core wires,
the guide roller has a Young's modulus of 1000 MPa or less at a contact surface that comes into contact with the optical fiber, the optical fiber ribbon, or the optical fiber ribbon unit;
The Young's modulus is equal to or less than the Young's modulus of at least one of the resin layers coating the optical fiber or the resin layer coating the optical fiber core .
Optical fiber assembly manufacturing equipment. The guide roller includes a rod-shaped core member and a surface member that covers a surface of the core member,
The surface member functions as the contact surface and is detachable from the core member.
6. The optical fiber assemblage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5.

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