A device and method for automatically removing glue from a guided fiber strand

Abstract

A device and method for automatically removing glue from a guiding fiber bundle during fiber withdrawal, the device comprising: front and rear glue removing mechanisms arranged in sequence in the direction of fiber withdrawal; each of the front and rear glue removing mechanisms comprising at least one pair of electric clamps for clamping the fiber from different sides of the fiber and removing glue; wherein the front end of the frontmost electric clamp is provided with a glue collecting component for temporarily storing glue flowing down from the fiber being withdrawn and blocked by the electric clamp. The device and method can avoid the incompleteness of manual glue removal for a long time and the injury to the hand of the operator when the guiding fiber is broken by external force, improve the speed and safety of fiber withdrawal, and improve the quality and efficiency of winding the guiding fiber bundle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical fiber winding technology, and in particular to an automatic degumming device and method for debonding and removing adhesive from guided optical fiber coils. Background Technology

[0002] Guided optical fibers are widely used in wire-guided missiles, torpedoes, submarine-launched missiles, underwater unmanned vehicles, and other equipment. They are a special type of optical cable with advantages such as small outer diameter, light weight, large transmission bandwidth, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and low cost. The guided optical fiber bundle needs to be coated with a special adhesive during the winding process to solidify into a bundle. When the fiber is unwound, it is pulled out under a certain tension, simultaneously transmitting information.

[0003] Currently, domestic optical fiber winding technology and equipment are gradually maturing, but the equipment functionality is still not perfect. Due to the special nature of guided fiber bundles, winding a long-distance guided fiber bundle usually takes tens of hours. Each time a layer of fiber is wound, a layer of glue is applied for curing. If the winding device has multiple layers of misaligned fibers or large gaps in the fiber bundle and is not stopped in time, a fiber unwinding operation is often required. However, since the fiber has already been coated with glue, unwinding will cause the various rollers of the optical fiber winding equipment and the original fiber bundle to be covered with glue. After a period of time, the glue will cure, which will affect the effect of subsequent winding, resulting in uneven fibers, misaligned or overlapping fibers, uneven tension, or even fiber breakage in the subsequently wound guided fiber bundles.

[0004] If manual degumming is used, firstly, there is a risk of damaging the optical fiber due to careless operation, which could injure people's hands. Secondly, in the middle and later stages of the guidance fiber winding process, each layer of fiber can reach more than 200 meters. If gaps are not detected in time, the distance that needs to be removed from the fiber will be very long, which will cause great trouble for manual operation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This disclosure provides an automatic adhesive removal device and method for fiber unwinding, which avoids the incompleteness of manual adhesive removal over a long period of time and the injury to the human hand caused by the breakage of the guiding fiber by external force, improves the speed and safety of fiber unwinding, and also improves the efficiency of winding the guiding fiber bundle.

[0006] The automatic de-adhesive removal device for guide fiber coils disclosed herein mainly includes:

[0007] The front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms are arranged sequentially in the fiber retraction direction, with the one encountered first during fiber retraction being the front adhesive removal mechanism.

[0008] The front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms each include at least one pair of electric grippers for clamping the optical fiber from different sides of the retracting optical fiber to remove adhesive.

[0009] Furthermore, both the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms include motion control components for the electric gripper, used to control the opening / closing, translation, and rotation of the electric gripper to adjust its position and from which side it clamps the optical fiber.

[0010] Furthermore, the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms clamp the optical fiber from the left and right sides and the top and bottom sides, respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, the electric gripper adopts a semi-cylindrical structure, which contains flexible material for wiping away the adhesive on the fiber stripper.

[0012] Furthermore, the front end of the electric gripper is equipped with an adhesive collection component to temporarily store the adhesive that flows down the retracting optical fiber and is blocked by the electric gripper.

[0013] Furthermore, the front pair of electric grippers have their rear sections used to hold the flexible material for wiping away the adhesive, while the front section serves as the adhesive collection component. The two ends of the adhesive collection component are relatively closed, leaving space for optical fibers to pass through.

[0014] Furthermore, it also includes a glue extraction device for removing glue from the glue collection component.

[0015] An automatic de-adhesive removal method for guide fiber coils using the above-mentioned device includes the following steps:

[0016] When fiber removal is required, control the lifting and rotation of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms to position the guiding fiber precisely at the center of the electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms.

[0017] The electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms close simultaneously, clamping the optical fiber from different sides respectively;

[0018] The guide fiber with glue began to retract, and the glue collection component of the front glue removal mechanism collected most of the glue that was blocked by the flexible material in the electric gripper of the front glue removal mechanism.

[0019] The returned optical fiber first passes through the flexible material in the electric clamp of the front adhesive removal mechanism to remove adhesive. There will be some residual adhesive on the other two sides of the optical fiber. Then, it passes through the flexible material in the electric clamp of the rear adhesive removal mechanism to wipe the remaining two sides, and all the residual adhesive on the optical fiber is wiped away.

[0020] After fiber removal is completed, the electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms are opened.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes the following steps:

[0022] After fiber removal begins, the glue extraction device is activated to remove the glue from the glue collection component.

[0023] Furthermore, it also includes the following steps:

[0024] After fiber removal is complete, replace the flexible material in the electric gripper and clean the glue from the glue collection component in preparation for the next glue removal.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this disclosure are:

[0026] (1) The electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms can clamp the fiber removal mechanism in a cross manner, so that the adhesive on the optical fiber is removed by the upper and lower flexible materials and then by the left and right flexible materials, and the residual adhesive on the guiding optical fiber can be effectively wiped off.

[0027] (2) Excess glue can be automatically extracted and recycled in a glue recycling box to avoid excessive glue overflow affecting the guiding optical fiber and winding equipment, thus improving the efficiency and quality of winding the guiding optical fiber coil.

[0028] (3) It can remove the glue with flexible materials and avoid hard friction between the guiding fiber and the automatic glue removal device, thus avoiding damage to the outer sheath of the guiding fiber and protecting the integrity of the guiding fiber.

[0029] (4) Compared with manual degumming, it avoids the incompleteness of manual degumming over a long period of time, as well as the damage to people caused by fiber breakage due to manual external force. It improves the speed and safety of fiber removal, as well as the quality and production efficiency of winding guidance fiber bundles. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The above and other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals generally represent the same components.

[0031] Figure 1 The following is a schematic diagram of an exemplary automatic adhesive removal device according to the present disclosure; wherein, 1-rear adhesive removal mechanism electric gripper, 2-original guiding fiber optic coil, 3-rear adhesive removal mechanism rotary motor, 4-front adhesive removal mechanism rotary motor, 5-lifting mechanism, 6-front adhesive removal mechanism electric gripper, 7-lifting mechanism electric lifting rod, 8-adhesive pump, 9-human-machine interface, 10-PLC control box.

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electric gripper structure in an exemplary embodiment; wherein: 11-sponge layer of the front adhesive removal mechanism, 12-sponge baffle, 13-adhesive extraction port, 14-adhesive extraction tube, 15-hollow part of the front adhesive removal mechanism, 16-arc-shaped opening, 17-sponge layer of the rear adhesive removal mechanism.

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the adhesive removal process;

[0034] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the control system of the adhesive removal device. Detailed Implementation

[0035] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0036] This disclosure provides an automatic adhesive removal device for fiber optic cable removal during fiber optic cable unwinding. According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, as shown in the attached... Figures 1-4 As shown, it mainly includes:

[0037] The system includes an electric gripper for the front glue removal mechanism, an electric gripper for the rear glue removal mechanism, a rotary motor that controls the rotation of both, a lifting mechanism, an electric lifting rod for the lifting mechanism, a glue extraction pump, a human-machine interface, and a PLC control box.

[0038] The electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms adopt a symmetrical semi-cylindrical structure, each containing a sponge layer. Only one section of the electric gripper of the front adhesive removal mechanism contains a sponge layer, while the hollow part, consisting of a sponge baffle and the end face of the electric gripper, forms an adhesive collection area that connects to the adhesive pump.

[0039] The automatic adhesive removal method based on the above-mentioned device specifically includes the following steps:

[0040] When multiple layers of misaligned fibers are found in the winding device or large gaps appear in the fiber bundle, press the pause button on the HMI 9 first, then switch to the fiber removal control interface on the HMI 9, and press the fiber removal button to start fiber removal: The PLC control box 10 controls the rear adhesive removal mechanism's rotary motor 3 to rotate 90° and then standby. After 1 second, the PLC controls the electric telescopic rod 7 of the lifting mechanism 5 to extend, and the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms rise to the set position simultaneously, with the guided fiber exactly at the center of the electric gripper 1 of the rear adhesive removal mechanism. After 1 second, the PLC controls the front adhesive removal mechanism's rotary motor 4 to rotate 90°, with the guided fiber exactly at the center of the electric gripper 6 of the front adhesive removal mechanism. The electric gripper 6 of the front adhesive removal mechanism and the electric gripper 1 of the rear adhesive removal mechanism close simultaneously, and the sponge layer 11 in the electric gripper clamps the fiber, exerting a certain pressure on the guided fiber. Two seconds later, the guide fiber with adhesive begins its retraction. It first passes through the arc-shaped opening 16, where the hollow part 15 of the front adhesive removal mechanism collects most of the adhesive that was blocked by the sponge layer 11. Simultaneously, the adhesive extraction pump 8 starts, and the adhesive is extracted through the extraction port 14 and extraction tube 15. After the guide fiber retraction passes through the upper and lower sponge layers 11 of the front adhesive removal mechanism's electric clamp 6, a slight amount of residual adhesive remains on the left and right sides of the guide fiber. This residue is then wiped away by the left and right sponge layers 17 of the rear adhesive removal mechanism's electric clamp 1, completely removing the remaining adhesive from the guide fiber.

[0041] After fiber removal is completed, press the fiber removal completion button on the fiber removal control interface 9 of the human-machine interface 9. The glue pump 8 will run for 5 seconds and then stop. The electric gripper 6 of the front glue removal mechanism and the electric gripper 1 of the rear glue removal mechanism will open simultaneously. The guiding fiber will be in the center of the electric gripper. After 1 second, the PLC control box 10 will control the rotating motor 4 of the front glue removal mechanism to rotate 90° to the initial state. The front glue removal mechanism will then return to the initial position. After 1 second, the PLC will control the electric telescopic rod 7 of the lifting mechanism 5 to retract. The electric gripper 6 of the front glue removal mechanism and the electric gripper 1 of the rear glue removal mechanism will descend to the initial horizontal position simultaneously. The rotating motor 3 of the rear glue removal mechanism will rotate 90° to the initial state. The rear glue removal mechanism will then return to the initial position. Fiber removal is complete. Manually replace the sponge layer 11 of the front adhesive removal mechanism and the sponge layer of the rear adhesive removal mechanism in the electric clamp, clean the adhesive in the extraction port 14 and the extraction tube 15, and prepare for the next adhesive removal. Switch to the fiber winding menu in the human-machine interface 9, click the run button, and the guided fiber winding equipment will run, and the guided fiber will start to move forward for winding.

[0042] The above technical solutions are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, based on the application methods and principles disclosed in the present invention, it is easy to make various types of improvements or modifications, and not limited to the methods described in the specific embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the methods described above are only preferred and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A method for automatically removing adhesive from guide fiber coils, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A front and rear adhesive removal mechanism and an adhesive extraction device are arranged sequentially in the direction of optical fiber retraction. Each of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms includes at least one pair of electric grippers for clamping the optical fiber from different sides of the retracting optical fiber to remove adhesive. The front end of the foremost electric gripper is provided with an adhesive collection component for temporarily storing the adhesive that flows down the retracting optical fiber due to being blocked by the electric gripper. The front pair of electric grippers have a rear section for holding a flexible material to remove the glue, and a front section for serving as the glue collection component. The two ends of the glue collection component are relatively closed, with space left for optical fibers to pass through. The glue extraction device is used to extract the glue from the glue collection component. When fiber removal is required, control the lifting and rotation of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms to position the guiding fiber precisely at the center of the electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms. The electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms close simultaneously, clamping the optical fiber from different sides respectively; The guide fiber with glue began to retract, and the glue collection component of the front glue removal mechanism collected most of the glue that was blocked by the flexible material in the electric gripper of the front glue removal mechanism. The returned optical fiber first passes through the flexible material in the electric clamp of the front adhesive removal mechanism to remove adhesive. There will be some residual adhesive on the other two sides of the optical fiber. Then, it passes through the flexible material in the electric clamp of the rear adhesive removal mechanism to wipe the remaining two sides, and all the residual adhesive on the optical fiber is wiped away. After fiber removal is completed, the electric grippers of the front and rear adhesive removal mechanisms are opened.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: After fiber removal begins, the glue extraction device is activated to remove the glue from the glue collection component.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the following step: After fiber removal is complete, replace the flexible material in the electric gripper and clean the glue from the glue collection component.

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