JP2006194925A - Optical fiber structure and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide compact wiring corresponding to a connection port in the vicinity of a connection point, and there are few restrictions on the wiring direction like an optical cable for wiring to the vicinity of a connection point. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber structure and a method for manufacturing the same.
An optical fiber structure according to the present invention is an optical fiber structure in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are wired between an optical input end and an optical output end. And a plurality of optical fiber core wires arranged in parallel in a plurality of layers in parallel and a single layer of optical fiber core wires. At least one of the single-core wiring portions (C) formed is connected to the planar alignment portion (A). It is preferable that the plurality of optical fiber core wires of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B) are covered with a single layer silicone material.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical fiber structure including a plurality of optical fiber cores used for optical communication and optical information processing such as an optical circuit package and an optical circuit device, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  An optical fiber structure is obtained by fixing optical fibers aligned in a plane or bundling optical fibers, and is often used as an optical fiber wiring when handling a plurality of optical fibers. As the optical fiber structure, an optical fiber ribbon or an optical fiber cable is often used. The optical fiber ribbon is used to store an optical fiber in a compact and high-density cable, and is also used for multi-fiber wiring of optical fibers between devices or in devices. In addition, the use of optical fiber cables is subdivided according to the number and structure of the cores, and from a trunk line system in which almost straight wiring is made with several thousand cores, straight or curved wiring with several cores is possible. It is used for in-building wiring, home network, etc. wired indefinitely by combining them.

However, when using an optical fiber ribbon for wiring in a device of about a full rack, it is easy to bend in the direction perpendicular to the plane in which the optical fibers are aligned, while in the parallel direction Since the fibers are fixed, it is difficult to bend and the wiring direction is limited. In addition, since the optical fiber ribbons are arranged in a single layer, space can be saved in the thickness direction, but the number of optical fibers constituting the tape strands increases, When the diameter is increased, the occupation area of the tape core wire is increased, and the device design may be limited. On the other hand, optical fiber cables have few restrictions on the wiring direction as described above, but their rigidity is so strong that the repulsive force destroys electronic elements on the printed circuit board and requires a wide wiring space. There was a problem in using it for delicate wiring.
JP-A-5-19150 No. 7-5449

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-described problems in the prior art. That is, the object of the present invention is that there are few restrictions on the wiring direction as in the case of an optical fiber cable for wiring up to the vicinity of the connection point, and it is compact in correspondence with the connection port near the connection point. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber structure capable of wiring and a manufacturing method thereof.

  The optical fiber structure of the present invention is an optical fiber structure in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are wired between a light input end and a light output end, and the plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in a single layer in parallel. A single alignment of the optical fiber cores and the stacked alignment unit (B) in which the plurality of optical fiber cores are arranged in parallel in a plurality of layers. At least one of the line portions (C) is configured to be connected to the planar alignment portion (A) (Claim 1). The plurality of optical fiber core wires of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B) are preferably covered with a single layer coating material (Claim 2), and the coating material is an optical fiber. Only one side may be covered (Claim 3). As the coating material, a silicone material is preferable. Further, it is preferable that the stacked alignment portion (B) and the single-core wiring portion (C) are fixed by a protective member (Claim 5), and the protective member is cylindrical or spiral, It is preferable that the optical fiber core wire is accommodated (claim 6).

  The method for producing an optical fiber structure according to the present invention includes a plane alignment portion (A) manufacturing step in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer and coated with a coating material, and one end of the plane alignment portion (A) The method further comprises the step of producing a stacked alignment portion (B) in which a plurality of optical fiber core plane structures obtained by branching are laminated. A step of branching a single optical fiber core wire from one end of the optical fiber planar structure of the stacked alignment portion (B) may be added. Another manufacturing method includes a plane alignment portion (A) manufacturing process in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer and covered with a coating material, and a single core light is formed from one end of the plane alignment portion (A). It has the single core wire branching process which branches a fiber core wire (Claim 9).

  The optical fiber structure of the present invention has excellent flexibility in bending in the direction perpendicular to the plane in which the optical fibers are aligned in the plane alignment portion of the optical fiber core wire. Further, in the optical fiber stacking and aligning portion (B) in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are stacked, the optical fiber bundle width is narrow, so that space-saving wiring is possible. The conventional wide optical fiber structure has drawbacks such as being unable to be twisted at a short distance and requiring a three-dimensionally large wiring space, but the optical fiber structure of the present invention And solved these shortcomings. For this reason, by combining the optical fiber structure of the present invention, it is possible to perform flexible wiring with the same wiring member in accordance with the wiring location regardless of the length of the wiring distance.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an optical fiber structure according to the present invention. A plane alignment portion (A), a stack alignment portion (B), and a single-core wiring portion (C) specified in claim 1 are respectively illustrated. This corresponds to the A, B, and C portions of 1. That is, FIG. 1 shows an optical fiber structure in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are wired, and a planar alignment portion (A) in which the plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer, The present invention has a stacked alignment portion (B) in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a plurality of layers, and a single core wiring portion (C) in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are wired in a single core. FIG. 2 is an overall view of the optical fiber structure of FIG. 1 and cross-sectional views of (A), (B), and (C) constituting the present invention. In the optical fiber structure of the present invention, it is not always necessary to have both the stacked alignment portion (B) and the single-core wiring portion (C). Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the length of A, B, and C in FIG. 1, or ratio of those lengths, It designs suitably by the use condition of an optical fiber structure.

  In the plane alignment portion (A), the optical fiber cores 1a to 1h are aligned in parallel in a single layer, and the covering material 2 covers them. In the stacking alignment portion (B), four optical fiber cores 1a to 1d and 1e to 1h are aligned in parallel in a single layer, and they are stacked. The four optical fiber core wires are separately covered with the coating material 2, and are individually integrated with each other. In the single core wiring portion (C), the optical fiber core wire is in a single core wire state and is not integrated with other core wires. The stacked alignment portion (B) and the single-core wiring portion (C) are provided with a cylindrical protective member 3 and bundle all the core wires. The protective member may cover all of the stacked alignment portion (B) or the single-core wiring portion (C), or may cover a part thereof. In addition, the coating material 2 may cover only one side of the optical fiber core wire. FIGS. 2A and 2B show a state in which only one surface is covered with the coating material 2. The cross sections of the plane alignment portion (A) and the stack alignment portion (B) are respectively shown.

  The optical fiber structure of FIG. 1 can be manufactured in the order of planar alignment portion (A) → laminated alignment portion (B) → single-core wiring portion (C). For example, it is manufactured as follows. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical fiber structure according to the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, eight optical fiber cores 1a to 1h are fixed in parallel in a planar shape. Next, the coating material 2 is applied to a desired range on the cores 1a to 1h by using a coating apparatus (described in detail in Examples described later). Thereafter, the coating material is cured. Next, one end of the eight coated optical fibers is separated into two, 1a to 1d and 1e to 1h (FIG. 3B). The four optical fiber cores separated into two are stacked one above the other and fixed by the protective member 3 to produce the stacked alignment portion (B) 6 (FIG. 3C). The same applies to the production of the single-core wiring portion from the stacked alignment portion (B). The four core wires of the stacked alignment portion (B) are separated one by one and then bundled.

  The optical fiber core used in the present invention is not limited in any way, and may be appropriately selected according to its use. For example, an optical fiber core such as a silica-based optical fiber core or a plastic optical fiber core Lines can be used. In addition, the outer diameter and the number are not limited at all. In addition, the coating material used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and it is easy to split longitudinally before or after curing a rubber-like resin material, a thermosetting resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, an electron beam curable resin, or the like. And a curable resin having flexibility, a thermoplastic resin having flexibility, and the like. In particular, a silicone material that can be easily peeled off after curing and can be easily molded, among which silicone rubber is preferable. The protective member used in the present invention has a function capable of bundling optical fiber cores and is not particularly limited. However, the protective member is cylindrical or spiral, and can be protected by inserting the optical fiber cores therein. What can be produced is particularly preferred.

  Further, in the step of coating with the coating material of the manufacturing method of the present invention, the coating may be performed so that the coating of the coating material is formed with a certain thickness on the surface of the optical fiber core. Is not to be done. Further, as a method of separating the optical fiber core wire, a tearing method or a cutting method may be used, and the separation method is not limited at all. The applied coating material is cured and dried as necessary. The curing method may be appropriately selected depending on the type of coating material. For example, when an ultraviolet curable resin is used, it may be cured by ultraviolet irradiation after coating, and when a thermosetting resin is used, it may be cured by a heater such as a dryer.

The present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.
Example 1
4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining the optical fiber structure of the first embodiment. 4A, an 8-fiber optical fiber ribbon 5 having a length of 2300 mm (manufactured by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.) is branched every four cores at a position Y 300 mm from the end X, and is long from the branch Y of the optical fiber bundle A stacked alignment portion (B) 6 was produced by stacking the four-core optical fiber bundles from the portion having a thickness of 100 mm in two stages (FIG. 4B). Thereafter, four protective members 7 made of a heat-shrinkable silicone rubber shrinkable tube having a length of 10 mm were prepared, and an optical fiber laminated and aligned portion (B) 6 was inserted therein. These protective members 7 are placed at positions of 100 mm, 700 mm, 1300 mm, and 1900 mm from the branching portion Y of the optical fiber bundle, respectively, and heated for 5 minutes by a heater to contract the tube, thereby stacking and aligning the optical fibers (B) 6 was bundled and fixed. As a result, an optical fiber structure (FIG. 4C) of Example 1 composed of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B) was obtained.

  With respect to the optical fiber structure according to the first embodiment, the portion of the 8-fiber ribbon that is the plane alignment portion (A) of the optical fiber core is bent in the direction perpendicular to the plane in which the optical fibers are aligned. On the other hand, it is excellent in flexibility, and the wiring direction can be easily changed. Moreover, in the optical fiber lamination alignment part (B) stacked in two stages of optical fibers, since the optical fiber bundle width is narrow, wiring is possible in a space-saving manner. In the conventional wide optical fiber structure, when the alignment direction is changed by twisting, it is impossible to twist at a short distance, and since the width is wide, there is a disadvantage that the wiring space is three-dimensionally large. . However, in the optical fiber structure of the present invention, it is easy to twist at a short distance and the width is narrow, so that wiring in a small space is possible. For this reason, it is possible to combine optical fiber structures combined with optical fiber structures in accordance with the wiring locations, and it is possible to perform flexible wiring with the same wiring member regardless of the length of the wiring distance.

(Example 2)
FIGS. 5A to 5D are views for explaining the optical fiber structure of the second embodiment and the manufacturing method thereof. First, 64 optical fiber cores having a length of 2000 mm (manufactured by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., silica-based optical fiber cores, outer diameter of 0.25 mm) are arranged in parallel on a flat surface. Rubber (coating material 2) was coated to produce a 64-fiber optical fiber ribbon 22 having a length of 2000 mm (FIG. 5A).

  The coating apparatus used for the manufacture of this example has the configuration shown in FIG. That is, a uniaxial control robot 13 having a two-dimensional plane 17 on which a flat substrate 14 on which an optical fiber core is placed is disposed, and a ball screw shaft 20 provided with a drive motor 18 at one end of the side wall 12 and a bearing 19 at the other end. It consists of The forming jig 15 has a width of 40 mm, a length of 30 mm, and a height of 40 mm, has a flat bottom surface, and is installed on the movable unit 11 attached to the ball screw shaft 20 in a direction perpendicular to the substrate. Therefore, the movable unit 11 can move the forming jig in the vertical and horizontal directions. Note that coating of the coating material and movement of the optical fiber relative to the substrate were performed manually, and room temperature curable silicone rubber (made by Toray Dow Corning Silicone; trade name: SE9186L) was used as the coating material.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), a fan that branches eight optical fiber alignment portions (reference numeral 24) into eight at a branch portion Q of 300 mm from the end P of the 64-fiber optical fiber ribbon 22. The out optical fiber structure 23 was produced. Thereafter, the 8-fiber bundles from the branching portion Q beyond the portion R having a length of 100 mm were stacked in eight stages (FIG. 5C). Thereafter, the spiral tube 25 having a length of 1500 mm is used as a protective member, and an optical fiber bundle is inserted into the protective tube 25 to obtain an optical fiber structure according to the second embodiment composed of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B). (FIG. 5D).

  By the above method, an optical fiber structure including a stacked alignment portion (B) in which wiring is dense and space saving can be saved, and a planar wiring portion in accordance with the output port can be produced. In addition, since only one side of the optical fiber core wire is covered with silicone rubber as a coating material, an optical fiber structure with better flexibility was made. For this reason, the planar alignment portion (A) of the 64-fiber optical fiber can be wired to a finer location, and the wiring range can be expanded.

(Example 3)
FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating an optical fiber structure according to the third embodiment. Similarly to Example 2, after producing the fan-out optical fiber structure 23 from 64 optical fiber ribbons having a length of 2000 mm, as shown in FIG. At the position S of 150 mm from the branch part Q to the optical fiber alignment part, the eight optical fiber alignment parts 24 were branched for each single fiber. Thereafter, as in the second embodiment, the eight optical fiber aligning portions 24 are stacked, and finally the single core wire branched from the eight optical fiber aligning portions 24 is turned into a spiral tube as shown in FIG. 25 in a single core wire state. Through the above steps, an optical fiber structure including a planar alignment portion (A), a stacked alignment portion (B), and a single-core wiring portion (C) was produced. In this optical fiber structure, since the optical fiber core wire in the spiral tube used as the protective member can freely move in all directions for each single core, the optical fiber structure is more free than the optical fiber structure of the second embodiment. It became possible to bend in the direction and flexibly adapt to wiring along the corner of the device.

It is a figure which shows the cross section of the whole figure explaining the optical fiber structure of this invention, a plane alignment part (A), a lamination | stacking alignment part (B), and a single core wiring part (C). (A)-(b) It is the figure where only the single side | surface of the optical fiber core wire of the plane alignment part (A) and the lamination | stacking alignment part (B) was covered with the coating material. (A)-(c) It is a figure explaining the manufacturing method of the optical fiber structure of this invention. (A)-(c) It is a figure explaining Example 1 of this invention. (A)-(d) It is a figure explaining Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the coating device used for the Example of this invention. (A)-(b) It is a figure explaining Example 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a-1h Optical fiber core wire 2 Coating material 3, 7 Protection member 5 8 core optical fiber tape core wire 6 Stacking alignment part (B)
11 movable unit 12 side wall 13 uniaxial control robot 14 substrate 15 forming jig
17 Two-dimensional plane 18 Drive motor 19 Bearing 20 Ball screw shaft 22 Optical fiber tape core wire 23 Fan-out optical fiber structure 24 Eight optical fiber alignment section 25 Spiral tube

Claims (9)

  In an optical fiber structure in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are wired between an optical input end and an optical output end, a planar alignment portion (A) in which the optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer is provided. A laminated alignment portion (B) in which the plurality of optical fiber core wires are aligned in parallel in a plurality of layers, and a single core wiring portion (C) in which the plurality of optical fiber core wires are wired in a single core At least one of the optical fiber structures is configured to be connected to the planar alignment portion (A).   2. The optical fiber structure according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of optical fiber core wires of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B) are covered with a single layer coating material.   3. The optical fiber according to claim 2, wherein only one surface of the plurality of optical fiber core wires of the planar alignment portion (A) and the stacked alignment portion (B) is covered with a single layer coating material. Structure.   4. The optical fiber structure according to claim 2, wherein the single-layer coating material is a silicone-based material.   The optical fiber structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the stacked alignment portion (B) and the single-core wiring portion (C) are fixed by a protective member.   6. The protective member has a cylindrical or spiral shape, and the stacked alignment portion (B) and the single-core wiring portion (C) are housed in the protective member. An optical fiber structure as described in 1.   Planar alignment portion (A) manufacturing process in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer and coated with a coating material, and a plurality of optical fiber core wires obtained by branching one end of the plane alignment portion (A) A method for manufacturing an optical fiber structure, comprising: a stacking alignment part (B) manufacturing process for stacking planar structures.   The optical fiber according to claim 7, further comprising a single-fiber branching process for branching a single-core optical fiber from one end of the optical fiber planar structure of the stacked alignment portion (B). Manufacturing method of structure. A planar alignment portion (A) manufacturing process in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are aligned in parallel in a single layer and coated with a coating material, and a single optical fiber core is branched from one end of the planar alignment portion (A) A method of manufacturing an optical fiber structure, comprising a single-fiber branching step.

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