JPH0511599B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ultraviolet curing device, and particularly to an ultraviolet curing device for continuously curing an ultraviolet curable coating material applied to the surface of a thin wire-like object by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays. The present invention relates to a curing device.

[Prior Art] In recent years, with the development of optical fiber technology, equipment related to fiber coating has been developed.However, as a curing equipment using ultraviolet rays, there is no one using a magnetron sold by Fusion Systems Corporation of the United States. There are those characterized by electrode lamps, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 152567/1982, and even those proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-43185 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-80744) by the present applicant. The one shown in the figure can be used.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing, and inside the housing 1, elliptical cylindrical reflecting mirrors 2A and 2B, which are formed by dividing an ellipse into two along its short axis, are arranged facing each other. Narrow gaps 3A and 3B for cooling are installed in parts of both reflecting mirrors 2A and 2B. 4 is a UV light source placed with its center line aligned with the first focal axis of the ellipse.
The lamp is a high-pressure mercury lamp, for example, and 5 is an ultraviolet-transmissive hollow tube that is arranged with its center line aligned with the second focal axis and that allows an optical fiber 6, which is a linear object, to pass along the center line. be.

In addition, in this example, the UV lamp 4 and the hollow tube 5
In order to cool the air from the surroundings, cooling air is introduced into the housing 1 from the air filter 7, and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust duct 8 through the path shown by the arrow. It is configured such that nitrogen gas for cooling is introduced into the hollow tube 5 from one end side and circulated therein.

In the ultraviolet curing device configured in this manner, while the ultraviolet irradiation object, for example, the optical fiber 6, is moved at high speed within the hollow tube 5 along its center line, it is moved to the position of the first focal axis. The ultraviolet rays from the installed UV lamp 4 are focused along the center line of the hollow tube 5, which is the second focal axis, and can effectively cure the ultraviolet curable coating material around the optical fiber 6. .

Therefore, such hollow tubes 5, including this example, have generally been adopted as integral round pipes or square pipes.

Generally, when drawing an optical fiber, the other end of the base material is heated and melted while the tip of the base material is restrained, and the optical fiber is passed through an ultraviolet curing coating device while being drawn, and then passed through an ultraviolet curing device. The fifth
It has been considered that guiding it into the integrated hollow tube 5 shown in the figure is difficult in terms of workability. In particular, it is very inconvenient when first guiding the optical fiber to the winding drum or when inspecting the equipment during the work. I would like to configure the ultraviolet curing device to be set to the working state.

Therefore, from the viewpoint of workability as mentioned above, a split type hollow tube is desired, and as mentioned above, the coating equipment is already structured in two parts so as not to hinder the work. This is the current situation.

In the first place, the purpose of providing this hollow tube 5 is to
If the drawn thin optical fiber 6 comes into direct contact with cooling air, there is a risk of sideways wobbling, so it is necessary to block the outside air, and in order to cool the optical fiber without causing sideways wobbling, an ultraviolet curing type is further used. The purpose is to flow nitrogen gas along the hollow tube 5 in order to block oxygen, which has the effect of inhibiting the hardening of the coating material.Therefore, if the hollow tube 5 is integrated, there will be no problem in this regard. However, in the case of a split type, its sealability becomes a problem.

The conventional split-type hollow tube was constructed as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the hollow tube 15 is configured with two equally divided members 15A and 15B, or as shown in FIG. 6B, the hollow tube 15 is configured with a flange portion 16. However, the hollow tube 15 shown in FIG. 6A has poor sealing performance as described above. In other words, in order to improve the sealing performance, the surfaces of the mating parts are polished with sufficient precision after cutting, but even so, when installed in the device, the combined state does not maintain good sealing performance. I can't stand it. That is, since cooling air is supplied to the ultraviolet curing device as in the example shown in FIG. 5, when the air pressure is positive, air flows into the hollow tube 15, and when the air pressure is negative, the air flows into the dividing member 15A. and 15
B begins to sag outwards in its center, and the sealing performance is compromised in any case.

In addition, in the case of the split type shown in FIG. 6B, the contact surface between the flange portions 16 is obtained, resulting in better sealing performance. The part may become an obstacle, and the light from the direction of the mating surface (in the direction indicated by the arrow) may be absorbed by the mating part, or the central axis of the hollow tube 15 may be evenly distributed from the surroundings due to light shielding by the flange part. Not only will the light not be focused, but the manufacturing cost will be high.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, the present invention focuses on the various problems mentioned above and attempts to solve them. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet curing device equipped with a split type hollow tube.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an ultraviolet ray generating source having a linear light source, an ultraviolet light source disposed in a direction parallel to the linear light source, and a linear object placed in the parallel direction. In the ultraviolet curing device, the ultraviolet curing device includes a hollow tube that is housed movably in a direction of The pipe has two members each having a curved surface and at least a portion of the curved surface being open in the parallel direction, and the two members are joined and connected with the open sides facing each other. configured to be separable, so that when the two members are joined, at least the open end edge of one of the two members is in contact with the circumferential surface of the other of the two members. Configure.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically based on the drawings.

1, 2 and 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. Here, 25 is a hollow tube such as a quartz tube, and in this example, as shown in FIG. Consists of 1B. When these housing members 1A and 1B are separated, the reflecting mirror 2 is also disassembled into reflecting mirrors 2A and 2B shown in FIG. 5, and the hollow tube 25 is also separated into two divided members 25A and 25B. Separated housing member 1A
and 1B.

Symbols 26A and 26B are guide rods 27, respectively.
This is a guide member that is slidable along A and 27B. 28 is a plunger that is driven to separate or join the housing members 1A and 1B described above, and this plunger 28 can be operated via a driving means (not shown). 19 is the mounting plate of this device, 30 is the two hollow tube dividing members 2
These are holding members that fix 5A and 25B to the upper surfaces of housing parts 1A and 1B, respectively.

In the ultraviolet curing device configured in this way, the state shown in FIGS.
By operating the housing members 1A and 1B to separate them, the hollow tube 25 can be separated into two divided members 25A and 25B, as shown in FIG. Thereby, a distance corresponding to the opening/closing stroke 2S as shown in FIG. 1 can be maintained between these divided members 25A and 25B. In addition, in FIG. 3, 31 is a block for nitrogen purging to the hollow tube 25;
2 is a pipe for supplying nitrogen purge gas to the purge block 31.

Therefore, in this example, in order to be able to separate and join the hollow tube 25 into two divided members 25A and 25B, a member having a roughly cylindrical shape having two different diameters is cut out and shaped into a gutter. The hollow tube 25 is constructed as a joined body. In this way, hollow tube 2
5, two members 25A and 2
It is possible to obtain a bonded state in which good sealing performance is maintained at the overlapped portion with 5B.

FIG. 4A shows such split members 25A and 2.
5B is shown in its joined state. In the case of this example, the dividing member 25A is made smaller in diameter than the dividing member 25B, and openings 35A and 35B aligned in the axial direction thereof are respectively formed. When the opening angles formed by the openings 35A and 35B on the central axis are θ _A and θ _B , respectively, θ _A + θ _B <360°...(1) is established, and more preferably θ _A ≦180°. stipulated in

Therefore, such divided members 25A and 25
When B is joined as shown in FIG. 4A with its openings 35A and 35B in symmetrical positions, an overlapping portion 36 is obtained between both divided members 25A and 25B, and this In this state, the notch edge 37 of one divided member 25A can be kept in contact with the other divided member 25B in a state where it is substantially in contact with the other divided member 25B.

FIG. 4B shows an example of an ideal joining configuration. That is, in this example, the outer shape of the dividing member 25A is
D _OA is made approximately equal to the inner diameter D _IB of the dividing member 25B, and the notch angle θ _B of the dividing member 25B is 180°.

With this configuration, complete contact is maintained on the curved surface of the overlapping portion 36, which not only improves the sealing performance to an ideal state, but also allows the tubes of both divided members 25A and 25B to Since the centers of the two can be made to coincide with each other, ideal light condensation can be obtained in the joined state.

FIG. 4C shows an embodiment of the present invention in which manufacturing economy is considered; in this example, the divided members 25A and 25
Both B and B are half-mounted approximately circular pipes, and member 25B
The inner diameter _DIB of the member 25A is made slightly larger than the outer diameter _DOA of the member 25A. Here, the relationship between the opening angles θ _A and θ _B can be determined in various ways as shown in FIGS. 4D to 4F.

For example, D _IB = 30 mm, D _OA = 25 m, and the wall thicknesses of members 25A and 25B are 1.5 mm and 1.8 mm, respectively.
By setting θ _A =θ _B =180°, good sealing performance and light condensing properties could be obtained. In this case,
Since both members 25A and 25B are semicircular, they can be divided into two by dividing one perfect circular tube into two.
It is possible to form two divided members, which is advantageous from the standpoint of efficient use of materials. In addition, in this case, the diameter D _IB and the diameter D _OA
It is appropriate that the difference is about 1 to 5 mm.

In other words, if you do as in this example, the center of the tube will shift and the shape of the joined state will deviate somewhat from the circular shape as shown in the figure, but cutting using a laser, diamond cutter, etc. easy to do,
Processing costs are also low.

FIG. 4G shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the inner diameters and outer diameters of the dividing members 25A and 25B are approximately the same. The end edge portion 38 of the inner circumferential surface of the split member 25B maintains contact with the outer circumferential surface of the dividing member 25A in a state in which it is substantially in contact with the outer circumferential surface.

Note that the dividing members 25A and 25B do not necessarily have to have the same diameter. For example, FIG. 4H shows an example in which the outer diameter D _OA and the inner diameter D _IB of the dividing members 25A and 25B are determined to satisfy D _OA >D _IB . In this case as well, the end edge portion 38 of the inner circumferential surface of the dividing member 25B maintains contact with the outer circumferential surface of the dividing member 25A in a state in which it is substantially in contact with the outer circumferential surface. However, even if the inner diameter D _IB of the dividing member 25B is smaller than the outer diameter D _OA of the dividing member 25A,
It is preferable that the difference be small in order to achieve close contact.

FIG. 4I shows yet another embodiment of the invention.
In this example, the divided members 25A and 25B have approximately the same diameter, and their ends 39A and 39B are bent inward and outward, respectively, and the joining surfaces formed at the ends 39A and 39B are Ensure that contact is maintained by

When configured in this way, although there are difficulties in processability, since surface contact can be obtained, good sealing performance can be obtained, and the light collection efficiency can also be improved.

Regarding the hollow tube 25 in the form shown in FIG. 4A, the inner diameter D _IB of the dividing member 25B is 21 mm, and its opening angle θ _B
is 180°, and the outer diameter D _OB of the split member 25A is
As a result of a comparative experiment between a hollow tube 25 made by joining 20.5 mm tubes with an opening angle θ _A of 60 degrees and a conventional integrated hollow tube with an inner diameter of 21 mm, it was found that there was almost no leakage of nitrogen gas. No difference was observed, confirming that the split-type hollow tube 25 of the present invention has excellent sealing properties, and excellent results were also obtained in terms of curability for ultraviolet curable coating materials.

Furthermore, the hollow tube according to the present invention having such a diameter has the above-mentioned difference ΔD between the diameters D _IB and D _OA of 5 mm or less, and the angle θ _C formed with the center of any of the tubes in the overlapping portion 36. It is effective that the sum of the diameters is in the range of 10 to 85 degrees, and the opening angle θ _B of the dividing member on the larger diameter side is in the range of 150 to 350 degrees. It was confirmed that setting ΔD to less than 0.2 mm would require high positioning accuracy during opening and closing, making it impractical. On the other hand, when ΔD exceeds 1.5 mm, the sealing performance deteriorates. Furthermore, if θ _C is less than 10°, the sealing performance will deteriorate, and if θ _C exceeds 85°, for example, when separating the optical fiber with the optical fiber positioned at its center, the optical fiber will break into the splitting member. It has been confirmed that there may be a risk of injury.

Furthermore, when the opening angle θ _B of the dividing member 25B is set to less than 150°, the dividing member 25A becomes the dividing member 25B.
It was confirmed that it became difficult to fit in, and on the other hand, if the angle exceeded 350°, the sealing performance deteriorated.

In addition, in the above examples and experiments, the case where the cross-sectional shape of the divided member is a perfect circular arc, but the cross-sectional shape is not necessarily limited to a perfect circular arc, and it can be effectively It can also be formed by a part of a quadratic curve where light can be focused.
However, even in this case, at least the edge portions of both ends forming the opening on one member side should be in contact with the surface of the other member side in a state where the overlapping portion is approximately in contact with the surface on the other member side. It is necessary.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the hollow tubes have approximately the same or slightly different radius,
The joint is formed by two quadratic curved surface members each having an opening parallel to the central axis, and the openings of these two quadratic curved surface members are made to be able to be joined and separated while facing each other. When the opening is opened, at least the edge of one of the members forming the opening is in contact with the circumferential surface of the other member.
Not only can the irradiated object be handled by passing through the center of the hollow tube in two parts, but also it is possible to make contact between the members at the overlapped parts when they are joined. Good sealing performance can be maintained by
Since the light is focused almost evenly from the surroundings onto the central axis of the hollow tube, good light focusing can be obtained, and therefore, ultraviolet curing can be carried out efficiently.

Furthermore, by forming the overlapping part, even if the formation accuracy of the edge part when forming the notch part is somewhat low, the above-mentioned contact state can be maintained, so that the hollow tube can be sealed. This prevents loss of sexuality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the ultraviolet curing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the separation operation of the hollow tube of the ultraviolet curing device of the present invention Figures 4A to 4I are cross-sectional views showing various embodiments of the hollow tube, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a conventional ultraviolet curing device, and Figures 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the hollow tube. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the case where a pipe|tube can be disassembled into two members, respectively. 1... Housing, 1A, 1B... Housing member, 2A, 2
B, 2...Reflector, 3A, 3B...Gap, 4...UV lamp, 5, 15, 25...Hollow tube, 6...Optical fiber, 7...Air filter, 15A, 15B, 15
C, 15D, 25A, 25B... hollow tube dividing member,
16...Flange part, 26A, 26B...Guiding member,
27A, 27B...Guide rod, 28...Plunger, 2
9...Mounting plate, 30...Holding member, 31... _N2 purge block, 32... _N2 purge gas supply pipe, 35A,
35B...Opening portion, 36...Overlapping portion, 37, 38...Edge portion, 39A, 39B...End portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1: an ultraviolet light generation source having a linear light source; a hollow tube disposed in a direction parallel to the linear light source and housing a linear object movably in the parallel direction; In the ultraviolet curing device, the ultraviolet curing device includes a reflecting mirror that focuses ultraviolet rays from a source through the hollow tube, wherein the hollow tube has a curved surface, and at least a portion of the curved surface is directed in the parallel direction. It has two members that are open to the
The two members are configured such that they can be joined and separated with their open sides facing each other, and
The ultraviolet rays are characterized in that, when the two members are joined, at least the open end edge of one of the two members is in contact with the circumferential surface of the other of the two members. Curing equipment.