JPH0251108A - optical fiber unit - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical fiber unit in which a converging body made by twisting and converging a plurality of optical fibers is coated with a converging material and integrated. The present invention relates to an optical fiber unit having excellent separability between individual optical fiber strands and a covering material made of a focusing material.

[Prior Art] When a plurality of optical fibers are assembled into a cable, first a plurality of coated optical fibers are twisted together to form a unit, and a plurality of optical fiber bar units are formed into a unit. An optical cable may be constructed by further collecting books.

Optical cable configurations consisting of a collection of optical fiber units can be easily assembled into cables by hardening them together with a convergence material to prevent them from coming apart when inserting multiple optical fibers into the inner groove that makes up the cable. It is for the purpose of

Conventionally, a plurality of optical fibers are bundled together and consolidated with a convergence material to form an integrated optical fiber unit. Conventionally, a plurality of optical fibers coated with silicone resin are twisted together, and around the periphery of the same type of Alternatively, an optical fiber unit coated with a convergence material made of a different type of silicone resin is generally used.

This type of optical fiber unit uses silicone resin, which is a material with excellent heat resistance, as a converging material, and is therefore commonly used for cables that may be exposed to high temperatures. Note that this type of optical fiber unit is required to have a characteristic that allows easy separation of the optical fiber strand and the converging material when connecting the optical fibers.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventionally, in this type of optical fiber unit, the silicone resin coating of the optical fiber and the silicone resin convergence material are in close contact with each other.
There is a problem of poor separability.

Therefore, when connecting optical fibers, the silicone resin converging material at the end of the optical fiber unit is removed.
Connection cannot be made unless the optical fiber is in the state of bare optical fiber. Therefore, in an optical fiber unit, it is an essential characteristic that the silicone resin coating of the optical fiber wire and the silicone resin of the convergence material can be clearly separated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber unit that solves the conventional problems and facilitates separation of the optical fiber wire and the convergence material when connecting the optical fibers.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention integrates a bundle of optical fibers made of optical fibers coated with a wire coating material made of silicone resin by hardening them with a convergence material made of silicone resin. The optical fiber unit having such a structure is characterized in that both or one of the wire covering material and the converging material is made of silicone resin to which silicone oil is added.

Further, when dimethylsiloxane-based silicone resin is used as the silicone resin for the wire coating material and binding material, it is preferable to add diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based silicone oil.

Furthermore, when diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based silicone resin is used as the wire coating material and binding material, it is preferable to add dimethylsiloxane-based silicone oil.

Note that the diphenylsiloxane-based silicone oil added to the dimethylsiloxane-based silicone resin has the value of ((diphenylsiloxane component)/(dimethylsiloxane component 10 diphenylsiloxane component)} x 100, 1, 9w.
It is effective to set the component composition to t% or more and 15.0wt% or less.

Furthermore, the amount of silicone oil added is 1,9
A range of not less than wt% and not more than 15.0wt% is suitable.

[For production]

Since the optical fiber unit of the present invention has a structure in which silicone oil having a different composition is added to both or either one of the wire sheathing material of the optical fiber wire and the silicone resin as the convergence material, the added oil changes over time. It oozes out to the interface between the converging material of the optical fiber unit and the optical fiber strand, improving the peelability of the converging material and the optical fiber strand, making it easy to separate the optical fiber strand and the converging material when connecting optical fibers. Make it.

If the silicone resin used for the convergence material and the outermost layer of the optical fiber is a dimethylsiloxane-based resin, the oil to be added is preferably diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based silicone oil, which has a slightly different composition. . When the silicone resin is diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based resin, dimethylphenylsiloxane-based silicone oil is suitable. In other words, the silicone resin of the wire coating material and the binding material and the silicone oil to be added have different compositions by using a dimethylsiloxane-based resin and a diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based resin, which have mutually different compositions. Since these resins have poor compatibility with each other, over time, the silicone resin of the added oil with a different composition oozes out from the oil-added wire coating material and binding material, causing the binding material and optical fiber strands to bleed. It also seeps out at the interface. As a result, the exuded oil improves the peelability between the converging material and the optical fiber.

The amount of oil added is l, based on the silicone resin added.
Qwt% to 15. A range of Qwt% is preferred. l, 9
If the amount is less than wt%, the amount of oil exuded from the silicone resin will be small, and sufficient releasability will not be obtained. Also 15.
If more than Qwt% is added, the silicone resin will swell due to the oil, making it impossible to obtain sufficient strength as a silicone resin, and the releasability will become too good, which is the original purpose of unitization. This will impair the structural characteristics of integrating a plurality of fiber strands.

In addition, the phenyl content of the diphenylsiloxane oil to be added is such that the value of ((diphenylsiloxane component)/(dimethylsiloxane component 10 diphenylsiloxane component)} x 100 is l, 9wt% or more in the molecule of the silicone resin. Sufficient releasability can be obtained within the range of the amount added above.However, due to the structure of the silicone resin composition, there is a limit to the amount of phenyl that can be added due to steric hindrance. (If the silicone resin oozes out to the outside sufficiently, the releasability will not improve. Examples will be described in detail below.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional structure of a prototype optical fiber unit according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an optical fiber, and 2 denotes a strand coating material which is applied to the optical fiber 1 and forms an optical fiber strand 3 made of thermosetting silicone resin.

The outer periphery of the three twisted optical fibers 3 was further coated with a binding material 4 made of dimethylsiloxane-based thermosetting silicone resin to fix and integrate the three optical fibers 3.

In addition, in the thermosetting silicone resin of the binding material 4, ((diphenylsiloxane component)/(dimethylsiloxane component 10 diphenylsiloxane component))×
The value of 100 is 0.0.8°1.0.5.0,15.9w
Diphenylsiloxane oil with 5 types of component composition of 0.08, 1.0.5.0.15.0.1 t%, respectively.
7. 5 (component composition) with added amount of OowtA species
6 (Additional amount) = Prepare 30 types of thermosetting silicone resins, and after stirring thoroughly, coat the outer periphery of a twisted convergence body of optical fiber strands and cure it, and change the composition of 30 types of convergence materials. We prototyped an optical fiber unit.

Table 1 shows the results of evaluating the separability between the optical fiber strand and the focusing material for the prototype optical fiber unit sample.

Table ○: Good Δ: Remnants of convergence material remain on the surface of the wire sheathing material Δ・×: Residue of convergence material remains on the surface of the wire sheathing material, silicone resin swells A-×, unit does not integrate , If the diphenylsiloxane component content of the oil added to the silicone resin swelling is to and 0.8 wt%, the oil addition amount Owt% is 0.
．． After 8wt% throating and separation, residue of the convergence material remained on the surface of the wire coating material, so the amount of oil added was reduced to 1.0wt%, 5%.
．． Even if the concentration was increased to 0 wt%, 1O, or 0 wt%, sufficient separation could not be obtained. Also, the amount of oil added was 17.0wt%.
When this was done, the silicone resin swelled and did not have sufficient strength as a covering material.

In addition, the content of diphenylsiloxane component is 1゜0wt%.
, 5.9wt%, 15.0wt%, the amount of oil added is Q, 8wt%, 1.0wt%, 5.0wt%, 1
When the amount increased to 5.0 wt%, good separation properties were exhibited in both cases. However, when the amount of oil added was increased to 17.0 wt%, the converging material and the optical fiber did not come into close contact with each other, and the converging material did not function as a converging material to form an integrated unit. Moreover, the silicone resin swelled and did not have sufficient strength as a covering material.

As is clear from the above results, diphenylsiloxane-based oils with a diphenylsiloxane component content of 1.0 wt% to 15.0 wt% or more and 15.0 wt% or less are used. By adding Qwt% to the focusing material, it was possible to easily and stably separate the focusing material and the optical fiber strand.

In this example, diphenylsiloxane-based oil was added, but a sample of the optical fiber unit of the example in which methylphenylsiloxane-based oil was added was prepared according to this example, and the separation performance was evaluated, and the same effect was obtained. The results showed that

Further, in the above embodiment, diphenylsiloxane-based oil was added to the convergence material, but the optical fiber was coated with a coating material or a multilayer coating.

A sample of the optical fiber unit of the example was prepared by adding diphenylsiloxane oil to the silicone resin of the outermost layer of the optical fiber strand, and the separability was evaluated.
Similar effects were confirmed within the same amount of oil added.

Furthermore, when the separation performance was similarly evaluated for a sample in which diphenylsiloxane-based oil was added to both the binding material and the wire coating material, similar effects were confirmed.

Furthermore, regarding the sample prepared according to the previous example, in which diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based silicone resin was used as the binding material or wire coating material, and dimethylsiloxane-based oil was added. , similar evaluations were obtained regarding the effect of separability.

In each of the above-mentioned examples, a thermosetting silicone resin was used as the wire sheathing material and the binding material, and silicone oil was added. Various samples of the used example were prepared with the same configuration as in the previous example, and when an attempt was made to evaluate the separability of the unit, similar effects were confirmed in all cases within the same range of oil addition amount.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the optical fiber unit of the present invention is
In a configuration in which a converging body made up of a plurality of silicone resin-coated optical fibers bundled together is coated with a silicone resin converging material and integrated, either the converging material or the fiber coating material, or both, contain the converging material and the filament. 1, Qwt% to 15.0wt% of silicone oil with a different composition from the silicone resin of the coating material.
Since the added oil is added in a range of The separation between the optical fiber strand and the converging material is good, and the separation and connection work can be performed easily and stably, which is highly effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an optical fiber unit according to the present invention. 1... Optical fiber, 2... Wire coating material, 3... Optical fiber wire, 4... Convergence material Patent applicant Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Kugobe Tamamushi

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) In an optical fiber unit having a structure in which a bundle of multiple optical fiber wires, each of which is coated with a silicone resin wire sheathing material, is consolidated and integrated with a silicone resin bundler. . An optical fiber unit, wherein the wire sheathing material and the binding material are comprised of a wire sheathing material added with silicone oil and a binding material added with silicone oil. (2) In an optical fiber unit having a structure in which a bundle of multiple optical fibers, each of which is coated with a silicone resin wire sheathing material, is consolidated with a silicone resin bundler and integrated. . An optical fiber unit, wherein the wire sheathing material is made of a wire sheathing material added with silicone oil. (3) In an optical fiber unit having a structure in which a bundle of multiple optical fiber wires, each of which is coated with a silicone resin wire sheathing material, is consolidated and integrated with a silicone resin bundler. . An optical fiber unit, wherein the convergence material is made of a convergence material added with silicone oil. (4) The optical fiber according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the silicone resin is a dimethylsiloxane-based silicone resin, and the silicone oil added is a diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based oil. unit. (5) Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the silicone resin is made of a diphenylsiloxane-based or methylphenylsiloxane-based silicone resin, and the silicone oil added is made of a dimethylsiloxane-based oil.
Optical fiber unit as described. (6) The diphenylsiloxane-based silicone oil to be added is {(diphenylsiloxane component)/(dimethylsiloxane component + diphenylsiloxane component)}
5. The optical fiber unit according to claim 4, wherein the value of 100 is 1.0 wt% or more and 15.0 wt% or less. (7) The amount of silicone oil added is 1.0w.
The optical fiber unit according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the optical fiber unit comprises t% or more and 15.0wt% or less.