WO2018225679A1 - Optical fiber covering removal instrument and optical fiber covering removal method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an optical fiber covering removal instrument that is provided with: an optical fiber fixation part for holding an optical fiber core in which the circumference of a glass fiber is covered with a covering layer; and a covering removal instrument body that is provided to the optical fiber fixation part so as to be connectable thereto and disconnectable therefrom, and that has a covering removal part which heats, by means of a heater, the covering layer in the vicinity of an end of the optical fiber core being held in the optical fiber fixation part and which cuts the covering layer with a pair of cutting blades, wherein the optical fiber fixation part is separated from the covering removal instrument body in a state where the covering layer is cut by the covering removal part, whereby the glass fiber in the vicinity of said end is pulled out of the covering layer in the vicinity of said end. A heating element is disposed in at least one of the pair of cutting blades, so that at least one of the pair of cutting blades is heated.

Description

Optical fiber coating remover and optical fiber coating removal method

The present invention relates to an optical fiber coating remover and an optical fiber coating removal method.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-114304 filed on June 9, 2017, and incorporates all the contents described in the Japanese application.

In recent years, the demand for high-speed data communication has been increasing due to the rapid spread of the Internet, and the service of FTTH (Fiber To The Home) that installs an optical fiber to each home is expanding. Therefore, it is expected that optical connectors for optical connection will be handled even in general households. For example, by removing the optical fiber covering portion connected to the optical communication device in the door and attaching the optical connector, and inserting the optical connector into the adapter for optical connection, the optical communication device in the home can be connected to the FTTH network. More and more are connected.
As an example of an optical fiber sheath remover used in such applications, a heating portion that heats the coating portion of the optical fiber, a blade member that cuts the coating portion, and a fixing portion that holds the optical fiber near the heating portion And the covering portion is heated after holding the optical fiber in the vicinity of the heating portion, and the covering portion is removed after being cut into the covering portion (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-8852 Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-112791

An optical fiber coating remover according to an aspect of the present invention is provided.
An optical fiber fixing portion that holds an optical fiber core wire that is covered with a coating around a glass fiber, and the optical fiber core that is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion and is held by the optical fiber fixing portion. A coating remover main body having a coating removing unit that heats the coating in the vicinity of the end of the wire by a heating unit and that is cut by a pair of cutting blades, and in a state in which the coating is cut by the coating removing unit An optical fiber sheath remover that pulls out the glass fiber near the end from the sheath near the end by separating the optical fiber fixing portion from the sheath remover body,
By disposing a heating element on at least one of the pair of cutting blades, the at least one cutting blade is heated.

In addition, the optical fiber coating removal method according to one aspect of the present invention,
An optical fiber core whose glass fiber is covered with a coating is held by an optical fiber fixing portion, and the optical fiber is fixed by a coating removing portion of a coating remover body provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion. The coating in the vicinity of the end of the optical fiber core held by the heating unit is heated by a heating unit, cut by a pair of cutting blades, and the optical fiber fixing unit is cut in the state where the coating is cut. A method of removing the glass fiber in the vicinity of the end portion from the coating in the vicinity of the end portion by separating the glass fiber from the main body,
When the coating is heated by the heating unit, the at least one cutting blade is heated by a heating element disposed on at least one of the pair of cutting blades.

It is sectional drawing of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core wire which can be coat-removed with the optical fiber sheath removal device concerning this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the optical fiber coating remover which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a state in which a cover is opened in a state where a shaft of the optical fiber coating remover in FIG. 2 is extended. It is a perspective view of the state which set the optical fiber core wire to the optical fiber coating removal machine of FIG. 2, and removed the coating. It is a schematic diagram of the coating remover main body with which the optical fiber coating remover of FIG. It is a graph which shows the temperature change of the cutting blade heated by the heat generating body which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic diagram of the coating remover main body which concerns on the modification 1. FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the coating remover main body which concerns on the modification 2. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the multi-core tape core wire which can be coat-removed with the optical fiber coating remover which concerns on this embodiment.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such an optical fiber coating removal apparatus, the coating removal property is enhanced by heating the coating portion of the optical fiber by the heating portion to weaken the adhesion between the glass fiber and the coating portion. However, there is room for improvement in the coating removal property of the optical fiber in the portion where the cutting is made by the blade member.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber coating remover and an optical fiber coating removing method capable of improving the removal of the coating of the optical fiber core wire and performing the coating removal work satisfactorily.

[The invention's effect]
According to the optical fiber sheath remover and the optical fiber sheath removal method of the above invention, the strippability of the optical fiber core wire can be improved and the sheath removal operation can be performed satisfactorily.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described.
An optical fiber coating remover according to an aspect of the present invention is provided.
(1) An optical fiber fixing portion that holds an optical fiber core wire that is covered with a coating around a glass fiber, and the optical fiber fixing portion is provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion, and is held by the optical fiber fixing portion. The coating near the end of the optical fiber core wire is heated by a heating unit, and a coating remover main body having a coating removing unit that is cut by a pair of cutting blades, and the coating is cut by the coating removing unit An optical fiber sheath remover that pulls out the glass fiber near the end from the sheath near the end by separating the optical fiber fixing portion from the sheath remover main body in a state,
By disposing a heating element on at least one of the pair of cutting blades, the at least one cutting blade is heated.
According to the said structure, the removal property of the coating of an optical fiber core wire can be improved, and a coating removal operation | work can be performed favorably.

(2) The outer diameter of the glass fiber may be less than 125 μm, and the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire including the coating may be less than 250 μm.
According to the above configuration, for the optical fiber core wire having a diameter smaller than that of the general-purpose optical fiber core, the glass fiber and the cover are coated in comparison with the general-purpose optical fiber core wire in order to improve the coating removal property and prevent disconnection at the time of the coating removal. It is necessary to weaken the adhesive strength with. For this reason, it is more preferable to remove the coating of the thin optical fiber core with the optical fiber sheath remover as described above.

(3) The heating elements are respectively disposed on both of the pair of cutting blades,
A temperature control unit that controls the heat generation temperature of the heat generator may be provided for each of the heat generators.
According to the said structure, each of a pair of cutting blade can be heated in a different mode (temperature, time, etc.).

(4) The heating elements are respectively disposed on both of the pair of cutting blades,
A single temperature control unit that controls the heat generation temperature of each of the heating elements in parallel may be provided.
According to the above configuration, the configuration of the optical fiber sheath remover can be simplified by reducing the number of temperature control units.

(5) The heating element is disposed on a first cutting blade that is one of the pair of cutting blades,
On the other second cutting blade facing the first cutting blade, a heat conductive medium having high heat conductivity made of a material having higher heat conductivity than the second cutting blade is arranged,
Heat may be conducted from the first cutting blade or the heating element to the second cutting blade via the heat conducting medium.
According to the above configuration, the configuration of the optical fiber sheath remover can be simplified by reducing the number of temperature control units.

In addition, the optical fiber coating removal method according to one aspect of the present invention,
(6) An optical fiber core wire whose periphery is covered with a coating is held by an optical fiber fixing portion, and the coating removing portion of the coating remover body provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion. The coating near the end of the optical fiber core held by the optical fiber fixing unit is heated by a heating unit, cut by a pair of cutting blades, and the optical fiber fixing unit is cut in a state where the coating is cut. An optical fiber sheath removing method for pulling out the glass fiber near the end from the sheath near the end by separating the sheath from the sheath remover body,
When the coating is heated by the heating unit, the at least one cutting blade is heated by a heating element disposed on at least one of the pair of cutting blades.
According to the above method, the removal property of the coating of the optical fiber core wire can be improved, and the coating removal operation can be performed satisfactorily.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an optical fiber sheath removal device and an optical fiber sheath removal method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a single-core optical fiber core 1 that is stripped by the optical fiber sheath remover of this example. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber core wire 1 includes a glass fiber 2 composed of a core 2 a that propagates light and a cladding 2 b that confines the light, and a coating layer 3 composed of a resin material for protecting the periphery of the glass fiber 2. (An example of coating). The coating layer 3 includes a primary resin layer 3a that covers the periphery of the clad 2b and a secondary resin layer 3b that covers the periphery of the primary resin layer 3a. Further, an ink layer 4 for identification may be added around the covering layer 3 (secondary resin layer 3b). As the resin constituting the primary resin layer 3a and the secondary resin layer 3b, for example, polyolefin resin, fluorine resin, urethane (meth) acrylate resin, or the like is used.

The general optical fiber core 1 has, for example, a glass fiber diameter of about 125 μm and a coating outer diameter (the outer diameter of the optical fiber core 1) including the ink layer 4 of about 250 μm. According to the optical fiber coating removal method of this example, the optical fiber core wire 1 having a diameter smaller than a general outer diameter, for example, a glass fiber diameter of 80 to 125 μm, and the coating outer diameter including the ink layer 4 is used. The optical fiber core wire 1 having an outer diameter of 150 to 250 μm (the outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire 1) can be suitably removed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the optical fiber sheath remover 11 of this example includes a sheath remover main body 12 and an optical fiber holder fixing portion (an optical fiber fixing portion) connected to one end side of the sheath remover main body 12. For example) 13.

3 and 4, the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 has two slide shafts 14 extending to the sheath remover main body 12 side. These slide shafts 14 are slidably inserted into the slide holes 15 of the sheath remover main body 12. Thereby, the optical fiber holder fixing | fixed part 13 is provided so that contact / separation is possible with respect to the coating removal body 12, and can be slid freely. The direction in which the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 is separated from the sheath remover main body 12, that is, the direction in which the optical fiber core wire 1 is pulled out is referred to as the front of the optical fiber sheath remover 11.

The holder holder lid 22 is provided at the top of the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 so that it can be opened and closed. A holder mounting portion 21 is formed on the upper surface of the portion exposed by opening the holder pressing lid 22. An optical fiber holder 20 holding the optical fiber core wire 1 from above and below is placed on the holder mounting portion 21 (see FIG. 4).

The optical fiber holder 20 is mounted at a position slightly away from the vicinity of the end of the optical fiber core wire 1. Then, the optical fiber holder 20 is held by the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 by closing the holder pressing lid 22 in a state where the optical fiber holder 20 is placed on the holder mounting portion 21. By adjusting the mounting position of the optical fiber holder 20 with respect to the optical fiber core wire 1, the length of the coating removal target portion of the optical fiber core wire 1, which is the portion where the coating layer 3 is desired to be removed, can be determined.

The sheath remover body 12 has a sheath removing portion 31 on one end side to which the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 is connected. An optical fiber pressing lid 32 is provided at the upper portion of the coating removing portion 31 so as to be freely opened and closed. A plate-shaped optical fiber pressing medium 33 is provided at the center of the optical fiber pressing lid 32. The optical fiber holding medium 33 holds the optical fiber core wire 1 between the heater 42 described later.

A cutting blade 34A (an example of a first cutting blade) is attached to an upper front surface of a portion exposed by opening the optical fiber holding lid 32 in the coating removing portion 31. A cutting blade 34B (an example of a second cutting blade) is attached to the front surface of the optical fiber holding lid 32. The cutting blades 34A and 34B are provided at the central portions of the base bodies 34A1 and 34B1, respectively. The cutting blade 34 </ b> A is attached to the coating removal unit 31 by fixing the base 34 </ b> A <b> 1 with a screw F to the upper front surface of the portion exposed by opening the optical fiber pressing lid 32 in the coating removal unit 31. The cutting blade 34 </ b> B is attached to the coating removing unit 31 by fixing the base body 34 </ b> B <b> 1 to the front surface of the optical fiber holding lid 32 with a screw F.

The heating elements 50 (see FIG. 5) for heating the cutting blades 34A and 34B are arranged on the cutting blades 34A and 34B. The heating element 50 is attached to the bases 34A1 and 34B1 of the cutting blades 34A and 34B by, for example, screwing.

These cutting blades 34A and 34B are blades for cutting the coating layer 3 and the ink layer 4 of the optical fiber core wire 1 disposed in the coating removing unit 31. By closing the optical fiber holding lid 32 with respect to the coating removal portion 31, the cutting blades 34A and 34B are engaged with each other, and only the coating layer 3 (including the ink layer 4) of the optical fiber core wire 1 is cut. .

The coating removing unit 31 further has a heating unit 41 on the upper surface of the portion exposed by opening the optical fiber holding lid 32. The heating unit 41 includes a plate heater 42 and a heater support member 43 on which the heater 42 is mounted.

Further, the sheath removing unit 31 is provided with a heating element energization switch (not shown) that is turned on and off by opening and closing the optical fiber holding lid 32 and a heater energization switch (not shown). When the optical fiber holding lid 32 is closed, the heating element energization switch is turned on to supply power to the heating element 50, and the heater energization switch is turned on to supply power to the heater 42. The heating element energization switch and the heater energization switch may be switched on / off without being interlocked with the opening / closing of the optical fiber holding lid 32.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the sheath remover main body 12 is provided with a power supply unit 75 on the other end side opposite to the connection side with the optical fiber holder fixing unit 13. The power supply unit 75 can accommodate 4 to 8 1.2 to 1.5 volt batteries as internal power supplies. In addition, a power cord 81 can be inserted into and removed from the power source 75, and power can be supplied from an external power source by inserting the power cord 81.

Further, a lid 76 is detachably provided on the power supply unit 75. Inside the power supply unit 75, a heating element control unit 77 (see FIG. 5 for an example of a temperature control unit) that controls the heating temperature of the heating element 50, and a heater control unit 78 that controls the temperature of the heater 42 (see FIG. 5). ) And are stored. The power supply unit 75 is provided with an operation unit 79 having various monitor LEDs such as a heating element energization confirmation LED, a heater energization confirmation LED, and a temperature display LED, and various switches such as a power switch and a temperature adjustment switch.

Next, the configuration of the sheath remover main body 12 will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram in a cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber core wire 1 held between the sheath remover main bodies 12 of the optical fiber sheath remover 11. In this schematic diagram, the main members (cutting blades 34A, 34B, heating element 50, heating element controller 77, optical fiber pressing medium 33, etc.) in the sheath remover main body 12 are shown, and the other sheath remover main body 12 is shown. The components and the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 5, in this example, the heating element 50A is disposed on the cutting blade 34A and the heating element 50B is disposed on the cutting blade 34B with respect to the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B. As described above, the heating elements 50A and 50B are attached to the base bodies 34A1 and 34B1 of the cutting blades 34A and 34B. In this case, the heating elements 50A and 50B may be attached so as to contact only the bases 34A1 and 34B1, or attached so as to contact both of the cutting blades 34A and 34B and the bases 34A1 and 34B1. It may be done.

As a method of attaching the heating elements 50A and 50B, for example, the heating elements 50A and 50B are previously attached to the bases 34A1 and 34B1, respectively, and the cutting blades 34A and 34B can be freely replaced with respect to the bases 34A1 and 34B1. It may be a configuration. Alternatively, the cutting blades 34A and 34B may be fixed to the heating elements 50A and 50B in advance, respectively, and the heating elements with cutting blades may be replaceable with respect to the bases 34A1 and 34B1, respectively.

The heating element 50A is connected to a heating element controller 77A that controls the heating temperature of the heating element 50A. The heating element 50B is connected to a heating element controller 77B that controls the heating temperature of the heating element 50B. In this example, the heating elements 50A and 50B are provided as separate members from the cutting blades 34A and 34B. For example, a heating element (such as a heating wire) is provided inside the cutting blades 34A and 34B to provide the cutting blades 34A and 34B. It is good also as a structure which heats. Or it is good also as a structure which provides a heat generating body (heating | fever electric wire etc.) inside base | substrate 34A1, 34B1, and heats cutting blade 34A, 34B.

Also, the optical fiber core wire 1 placed on the sheath remover main body 12 is sandwiched between the optical fiber pressing medium 33 and the heater 42 and heated by the heater 42 as described above. The heater 42 is electrically connected to the heater control unit 78 of the power supply unit 75, and the heating temperature of the heater 42 is controlled by the heater control unit 78. In this example, the heaters 42A and 50B for heating the cutting blades 34A and 34B and the heater 42 for heating the optical fiber core 1 are provided, but only the heating elements 50A and 50B for heating the cutting blades 34A and 34B. May be provided.

Next, an optical fiber coating removing method in which the coating layer 3 at the end of the optical fiber core wire 1 is removed by the optical fiber coating remover 11 to expose the glass fiber 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the operator slides the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 of the optical fiber sheath remover 11 in the direction of the sheath remover main body 12, and closes the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 to the sheath remover main body 12. Open the lid 32. Next, the operator sets the optical fiber holder 20 to which the optical fiber core wire 1 is attached to the holder mounting portion 21 of the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13. At this time, of the optical fiber core wire 1 attached to the optical fiber holder 20, the tip portion (the portion to be removed from which the coating layer 3 is to be removed) disposed behind the optical fiber holder 20 is heated by the heater 42. It is mounted on the surface 42a.

Subsequently, the operator closes the holder pressing lid 22 of the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 and closes the optical fiber pressing lid 32 of the sheath remover main body 12.

When the optical fiber holding lid 32 is closed, the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B approach each other and cut into the coating layer 3 (including the ink layer 4; the same applies hereinafter) of the optical fiber core wire 1.
As the optical fiber core wire 1 of this example, for example, a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μm and an optical fiber core wire 1 having an outer diameter of 200 μm is used. Further, the vertical distance between the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B approached by closing the optical fiber holding lid 32 is 140 to 150 μm.
For this reason, only the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1 is cut by the cutting blades 34A and 34B.

Further, when the optical fiber holding lid 32 is closed, the heater energization switch is turned on, and the heater 42 is energized. Here, when the set heating temperature of the heater 42 is 140 ° C., for example, the center temperature of the heating surface 42 a of the heater 42 is raised to about 140 ° C. For this reason, the coating layer 3 of the coating removal target portion of the optical fiber core wire 1 placed on the heating surface 42a of the heater 42 is heated at high speed by the heater 42 and softens.

Also, the heating element energization switch is turned on by closing the optical fiber holding lid 32, and the heating elements 50A and 50B are energized. By heating the heating elements 50A, 50B, the heat generated by the heating elements 50A, 50B is conducted to the bases 34A1, 34B1 in contact with the heating elements 50A, 50B, and the cutting blades 34A, 34B are heated. Further, by heating the heater 42, the radiant heat of the heater 42 is conducted to the cutting blades 34A, 34B, and the cutting blades 34A, 34B are also heated by this radiant heat. Here, it is conceivable that the heating temperature of the heating elements 50 </ b> A and 50 </ b> B is increased to about 140 ° C., similarly to the set heating temperature of the heater 42. However, since the cutting blades 34A and 34B are inferior in thermal conductivity to the heater 42, the heating temperature of the cutting blades 34A and 34B is raised to a temperature lower than the set heating temperature 140 ° C of the heater 42, for example, about 110 ° C. It only has to be done. In this way, by heating the cutting blades 34A and 34B, in the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1, the vicinity of the portion cut by the cutting blades 34A and 34B is also rapidly heated by the heated cutting blades 34A and 34B. And soften.

Subsequently, the operator confirms that the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1 has reached the optimum coating removal temperature (for example, 140 ° C.) using the monitor LED of the operation unit 79. After confirming the temperature, each of the sheath remover main body 12 and the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 is gripped and slid in a direction in which the optical fiber holder fixing portion 13 is separated from the sheath remover main body 12 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 5). Let

In this way, the glass fiber 2 in the vicinity of the end portion of the optical fiber core wire 1 is pulled out of the coating layer 3 and is heated and softened by being heated at the tip side of the cutting portion by the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B. Only is removed.
When the worker opens the optical fiber holding lid 32 when the covering removal work is completed, the heating element energization switch and the heater energization switch are turned off, and the energization of the heating elements 50A and 50B and the heater 42 is stopped. .

By the way, the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B is formed of, for example, a metal having a high hardness (stainless steel or the like) in order to maintain a sharp state and enhance durability so that the coating layer 3 can be easily cut. In many cases, thermal conductivity may be low compared to other metals. Therefore, in the conventional configuration, even when the heater 42 is heated, the temperature of the cutting blades 34 </ b> A and 34 </ b> B is sufficient to sufficiently weaken the adhesion between the glass fiber 2 and the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1. In some cases, the temperature was not reached. Therefore, even if the coating removal operation is performed in this state, the adhesion force between the glass fiber 2 and the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1 at the cutting position by the cutting blades 34A and 34B is not sufficiently weakened. After the removing operation, a residue of the coating layer 3 may be generated around the glass fiber 2 in the vicinity of a portion cut by the cutting blades 34A and 34B.

On the other hand, according to the optical fiber coating remover 11 and the optical fiber coating removing method of this example, the cutting blades 34A and 34B are provided with the heating elements 50A and 50B, and the cutting blades 34A and 34B are heated by the heat of the heating elements 50A and 50B. 34B can be heated. For this reason, the vicinity of the cutting part in the coating layer 3 can be softened by the heat of the cutting blades 34A and 34B, and the adhesion between the glass fiber 2 and the coating layer 3 at the time of coating removal can be weakened. Thereby, the removability of the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1 can be improved, and the coating removal operation can be performed satisfactorily.

Further, temperature control units 77A and 77B for controlling the heat generation temperatures of the heat generating elements 50A and 50B are provided corresponding to the respective heat generating elements. For this reason, since each of a pair of cutting blade 34A, 34B can be heated in a different mode (temperature, time, etc.), the removability of the coating layer 3 can be improved further.

In addition to the optical fiber core wire 1 having an existing outer diameter, the outer diameter of the coating layer 3 including the ink layer 4 is smaller than that of the existing one (for example, the outer diameter of the glass fiber 2 is less than 125 μm). This is suitable for removing the coating layer 3 of the optical fiber core wire 1 having a diameter of less than 250 μm. For optical fiber cores with a diameter smaller than that of existing optical fiber cores (general-purpose optical fiber cores), coating removal compared to general-purpose optical fiber cores is required to improve coating removal and prevent disconnection during coating removal. It is necessary to remove the coating after weakening the adhesion between the glass fiber 2 and the coating layer 3 at the time. Therefore, for the optical fiber core wire 1 having a small diameter, the adhesive force between the glass fiber 2 and the coating layer 3 can be weakened, and the fiber pressing stress when the coating layer 3 is removed can be reduced. It is preferable to perform the coating removal operation using the optical fiber coating remover 11 and the removal method.

(Example)
FIG. 6 relates to the temporal change of the temperature of the cutting blade in the conventional configuration (example 1) in which the heating element is not arranged on the cutting blade, and the above embodiment in which the heating elements 50A, 50B are arranged on the cutting blades 34A, 34B. It is a graph which shows the time change of the temperature of cutting blade 34A, 34B in a structure (example 2). FIG. 6 is a graph obtained by measuring a change in the temperature of the cutting blade after starting heating of the heating elements 50A and 50B, assuming that the temperature is normal temperature and before heating of the heating elements 50A and 50B is started, t = 0 (s). Note that heating of the heating elements 50A and 50B is stopped at the time of t = 10 (s). The heating set temperature of the heater 42 and the heating elements 50A and 50B is 140 ° C. In both Example 1 and Example 2, temperature measurement was performed at a portion corresponding to the point P shown in FIG. The result is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the conventional configuration (Example 1) in which no heating element is arranged on the cutting blade, the temperature of the cutting blades 34 </ b> A and 34 </ b> B after the elapse of 10 seconds from the start of heating of the heater 42 was 70.5 ° C. . On the other hand, in the configuration (example 2) of the embodiment in which the heating elements 50A and 50B are arranged on the cutting blades 34A and 34B, the cutting blades 34A and 10A after 10 seconds have elapsed from the start of heating of the heating elements 50A and 50B and the heater 42, respectively. The temperature of 34B was 108.3 degreeC. Thereby, in Example 2 which concerns on the structure of this embodiment, the temperature of cutting blade 34A, 34B at the time of heating of heat generating body 50A, 50B and the heater 42 became significantly high compared with Example 1 which concerns on the conventional structure. I was able to confirm.
The above-mentioned temperature is an example reference value, and changes appropriately depending on the temperature setting of the heater 42 and the heating elements 50A and 50B, the shape of the cutting blades 34A and 34B, and the like.

(Modification 1)
Next, the structure of the coating remover main body 12A according to Modification 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure similar to the coating removal main body 12 which concerns on said embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the sheath remover main body 12A according to the first modification, the heating temperature of the heating elements 50A and 50B can be controlled in parallel with respect to the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B. The heating element controller 77C is provided. In this case, the object whose temperature is to be monitored may be either one of the heating elements 50A and 50B. According to the above configuration, the number of heating element control units, the number of monitoring LEDs, and the like can be reduced, and the configuration of the sheath remover body can be simplified.

(Modification 2)
Next, the structure of the coating remover main body 12B according to Modification 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure similar to the coating removal main body 12 which concerns on said embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the sheath remover main body 12B according to the second modification, the heating element 50C is disposed on the cutting blade 34A, and the heat conduction medium 51 is disposed on the cutting blade 34B facing the cutting blade 34A. The heat transfer medium 51 is attached to the base body 34B1 of the cutting blade 34B. The heat transfer medium 51 may be attached so as to contact only the base 34B1, or may be attached so as to contact both of the cutting blade 34B and the base 34B1. A heating element controller 77D capable of controlling the heating temperature is connected to the heating element 50C. In this case, only the heating element 50C may be used as a target for monitoring the temperature. The arrangement of the heating element and the heat conduction medium may be a configuration in which the heating element 50B is arranged on the cutting blade 34B and the heat conduction medium 51 is arranged on the cutting blade 34A facing the cutting blade 34B.

When the optical fiber holding lid 32 is closed, the pair of cutting blades 34A and 34B approach each other, and the heating element 50C of the cutting blade 34A and the heat conduction medium 51 of the cutting blade 34B face each other and come into surface contact. Thereby, the heat generated in the heating element 50C and the heat conducted from the heating element 50C to the cutting blade 34A are conducted to the heat conducting medium 51. For this reason, the heat conducted to the heat conducting medium 51 is further conducted to the cutting blade 34B, and the cutting blade 34B is heated. The heating element 50C and the heat conducting medium 51 are in contact with each other so that the vertical distance between the cutting blades 34A and 34B is a predetermined distance (for example, in the case of the optical fiber core 1 in which the outer diameter of the glass fiber 2 is 125 μm). 140 to 150 μm).

The heat conducting medium 51 can be made of a material having high heat conductivity, such as copper, aluminum, silver, gold, or resin having high heat conductivity. The heat conductive medium 51 is preferably made of, for example, a copper tape among these materials having high heat conductivity.
According to the above configuration, the heat from the heating element 50 </ b> C can be efficiently conducted to the cutting blade 34 </ b> B via the heat conducting medium 51. Moreover, the number of heating element control units, the number of monitor LEDs, and the like can be reduced, and the configuration of the sheath remover body can be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment and modification, the case where the coating layer 3 (and the ink layer 4) of the single-core optical fiber 1 is removed is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the optical fiber sheath remover 11 and the optical fiber sheath removal method are as shown in FIG. 9 in which a plurality of optical fiber core wires 5 arranged in parallel and integrated (hereinafter referred to as a multi-core tape core wire 5). It can also be applied to. The multicore tape core wire 5 is obtained by arranging a plurality of optical fiber core wires 1 in parallel and integrating them with a coating layer 6 (an example of a coating). Also in the case of the multicore tape core wire 5, the cutting blades 34 </ b> A and 34 </ b> B are provided with the heating element 50 and the heat conductive medium 51, and the cutting blades 34 </ b> A and 34 </ b> B are heated by the heat of the heating element 50. 6 can be improved and the coating removal operation can be performed satisfactorily.

While 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 invention. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members described above are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for carrying out the present invention.

1: Optical fiber core wire 2: Glass fiber 2a: Core 2b: Clad 3: Coating layer (coating)
3a: Primary resin layer 3b: Secondary resin layer 4: Ink layer 5: Multi-core tape core wire 6: Coating layer (coating)
11: Optical fiber coating remover 12 (12A, 12B): Coating remover main body 13: Optical fiber holder fixing part (optical fiber fixing part)
20: Optical fiber holder 21: Holder mounting part 31: Cover removal part 33: Optical fiber pressing medium 34A: Cutting blade (first cutting blade)
34B: Cutting blade (second cutting blade)
34A1, 34B1: Substrate 41: Heating unit 42: Heater 50 (50A to 50C): Heating element 51: Thermal conductive medium 77 (77A to 77D): Heating element control unit (temperature control unit)
78: Heater control unit

Claims (6)

1. An optical fiber fixing portion that holds an optical fiber core wire that is covered with a coating around a glass fiber, and the optical fiber core that is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion and is held by the optical fiber fixing portion. A coating remover main body having a coating removing unit that heats the coating in the vicinity of the end of the wire by a heating unit and that is cut by a pair of cutting blades, and in a state in which the coating is cut by the coating removing unit An optical fiber sheath remover that pulls out the glass fiber near the end from the sheath near the end by separating the optical fiber fixing portion from the sheath remover body,
   An optical fiber sheath remover in which at least one of the pair of cutting blades is provided with a heating element to heat the at least one cutting blade.
2. The optical fiber sheath remover according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the glass fiber is less than 125 µm, and an outer diameter of the optical fiber core wire including the coating is less than 250 µm.
3. The heating elements are respectively disposed on both of the pair of cutting blades;
   The optical fiber coating remover according to claim 1, wherein a temperature control unit that controls a heat generation temperature of the heat generating body is provided corresponding to each of the heat generating bodies.
4. The heating elements are respectively disposed on both of the pair of cutting blades;
   The optical fiber coating remover according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a single temperature control unit that controls the heat generation temperature of each of the heat generating elements in parallel is provided.
5. The heating element is disposed on a first cutting blade that is one of the pair of cutting blades,
   On the other second cutting blade facing the first cutting blade, a heat conductive medium made of a material having higher thermal conductivity than the second cutting blade is disposed,
   The optical fiber coating remover according to claim 1 or 2, wherein heat is conducted from the first cutting blade or the heating element to the second cutting blade via the heat conducting medium.
6. An optical fiber core whose glass fiber is covered with a coating is held by an optical fiber fixing portion, and the optical fiber is fixed by a coating removing portion of a coating remover body provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the optical fiber fixing portion. The coating in the vicinity of the end of the optical fiber core held by the heating unit is heated by a heating unit, cut by a pair of cutting blades, and the optical fiber fixing unit is cut in the state where the coating is cut. A method of removing the glass fiber in the vicinity of the end portion from the coating in the vicinity of the end portion by separating the glass fiber from the main body,
   An optical fiber coating removing method, wherein when the coating is heated by the heating unit, the at least one cutting blade is heated by a heating element disposed on at least one of the pair of cutting blades.

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