Device and method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform conical head

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform conical heads, the device comprises a furnace body, a heating assembly, a vacuum pump and a pressure sensor, the heating assembly is located in the furnace body, the heating assembly comprises a plurality of cylindrical heating bodies, the internal space of each heating body forms an optical rod accommodating area, and the vacuum pump is located in the furnace body. The heating body is provided with a wire used for being connected with a power source. The vacuum pump is communicated with the furnace body; the pressure sensor is communicated with the furnace body and used for detecting the pressure in the furnace body. The problems of low production efficiency and high cost in the prior art can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of optical rod manufacturing, and in particular to a device and method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads. Background Art

[0002] The existing technology for manufacturing optical rods, no matter what method is used, has rod handles at both ends, and forms a cladding by vertical or horizontal deposition sintering. Before entering the drawing furnace to draw into optical fiber, the tail end and the handle need to be removed, that is, the starting end of the optical rod needs to be processed into a streamlined cone head shaped like a water droplet.

[0003] There are two main methods for processing cone heads at present. Both use a resistance and induction muffle furnace or an oxyhydrogen flame to form a high-temperature atmosphere to soften the light rod and use gravity or tension to remove the useless tail end.

[0004] For the muffle furnace method, the structure of a heating element is currently used. Only one light rod can be processed at a time, and the production efficiency is low. The heating target temperature is still 2000℃. When it exceeds 400℃, graphite will react with oxygen. Therefore, in order to prevent graphite oxidation, inert gas protection is used. Since helium has a small molecular weight and is expensive, the protective gas is mainly argon. Argon isolates the graphite heating element from oxygen in the air. With argon protection, the life of the graphite heating element is greatly increased, but the consumption of argon will increase enterprise costs and waste resources. The one-to-one corresponding structure requires a matching rod feeding mechanism, and the peripheral water, electricity, and gas are all indispensable investments, and the equipment efficiency is low.

[0005] For the oxyhydrogen flame method, a large-flow blowtorch is required to bake the surface of the polishing rod for a long time. The consumption of hydrogen and oxygen is huge, and the heat is not enough. Currently, a small amount of propane and oxygen with higher thermal efficiency are used to pull the cone. This method is used in the field of special polishing rod processing with a diameter of Φ50mm and below. The diameter of the most common G652.D polishing rod in the communication field is generally Φ150mm-Φ200mm. In the future, the diameter may be larger, and the use of oxyhydrogen flame will be unable to cope with it.

[0006] Currently in the field of optical rod manufacturing, the upstream process of the cone removal process is the sintering process. Vacuum sintering equipment has been popularized in the sintering process. The large-scale vacuum cone head processing process is the next hot spot and difficulty.

[0007] It is necessary to make further optimization to address the problems such as low thermal efficiency of oxyhydrogen flame, low utilization rate of muffle furnace equipment and supporting peripheral equipment, and bottleneck of heating element life. Summary of the invention

[0008] The embodiments of the present application provide a device and method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads to solve the problem of low production efficiency in related technologies.

[0009] In a first aspect, a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads is provided, comprising:

[0010] Furnace body;

[0011] A heating component is located in the furnace body, the heating component includes a plurality of cylindrical heating elements, the inner space of the heating element forms a light rod receiving area, and the heating element is provided with a wire for connecting a power source;

[0012] a vacuum pump connected to the furnace body;

[0013] A pressure sensor is communicated with the furnace body and is used to detect the pressure in the furnace body.

[0014] In some embodiments, the power source is connected in series with each of the heating elements via a wire;

[0015] Alternatively, each of the heating elements is connected in parallel to the power source via a wire.

[0016] In some embodiments, two electrodes are connected to the heating element, and one end of the electrode extends out of the furnace body and is connected to the wire.

[0017] In some embodiments, the electrode is made of oxygen-free copper;

[0018] And / or, a cooling channel is provided inside the electrode, and the cooling channel is connected to a coolant circulation pipeline;

[0019] And / or, the heating element is made of graphite, and the heating element and the electrode are connected via a graphite gasket and a graphite bolt;

[0020] And / or, a sealing ring is provided between the electrode and the furnace body.

[0021] In some embodiments, the power supply is a direct current power supply;

[0022] And / or, the heating elements are evenly distributed in a circular shape;

[0023] And / or, the effective height of the heating element is 100 mm to 130 mm, the inner diameter is 190 mm to 230 mm, the outer diameter is 220 mm to 260 mm, the number of grooves is 18 to 24, and the groove depth is 80 mm to 110 mm;

[0024] And / or, the optimal central value of the thermal resistance of the heating element is 0.032Ω to 0.041Ω.

[0025] In some embodiments, the device further comprises a gas source, and the gas source is connected to the furnace body through a first pipeline;

[0026] The first pipeline is connected with a first valve.

[0027] In some embodiments, the vacuum pump is connected to the furnace body through a second pipe, and a second valve is provided on the second pipe.

[0028] In some embodiments, the furnace body includes a furnace side wall, an upper cover and a lower cover, and the furnace side wall, the upper cover and the lower cover are all provided with cooling channels, and the cooling channels are connected to a coolant circulation pipeline;

[0029] And / or, the device further comprises a rod feeding assembly, the rod feeding assembly comprises a driving mechanism and a light rod hanging part connected to the driving mechanism, the light rod hanging part is provided with a plurality of light rod interfaces, each of the light rod interfaces corresponds to the heating element one by one.

[0030] In a second aspect, a method for large-scale processing of an optical fiber preform cone head is provided, comprising:

[0031] Providing a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones as described above;

[0032] Place the light stick into the light stick receiving area of ​​the heating element;

[0033] Evacuate the furnace to the target pressure within the set time;

[0034] Each of the heating elements is energized to process the cone head.

[0035] In some embodiments, the device further comprises an air source, the air source is connected to the furnace body through a first pipeline, and a first valve is connected to the first pipeline; the vacuum pump is connected to the furnace body through a second pipeline, and a second valve is provided on the second pipeline;

[0036] Before evacuating the furnace body to a target pressure within a set time, the method further comprises: leak testing the furnace body;

[0037] Leak detection of the furnace body includes:

[0038] Close the first valve, open the second valve, start the vacuum pump to evacuate the air, and record the evacuation time and the pressure in the furnace body;

[0039] Compare the vacuuming time with the set time, and the pressure in the furnace with the target pressure;

[0040] When the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body is less than the target pressure, there is a leak, the vacuum pump is stopped, the second valve is closed, the first valve is opened to replenish air to a positive pressure, the furnace body is repaired, and the vacuum pump is re-evacuated until the pressure in the furnace body is equal to the target pressure when the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time;

[0041] When the pressure in the furnace body is equal to the target pressure and the vacuum pumping time is greater than the set time, if the pressure in the furnace body rises after closing the second valve, there is a leak, driving the vacuum pump to stop, closing the second valve, opening the first valve to replenish air to positive pressure, repairing the furnace body, and re-evacuating until the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body is equal to the target pressure.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided by this application include:

[0043] In order to solve the problem that the muffle furnace can only process one light rod cone head at a time, the heating component provided in the embodiment of the present application includes multiple heating elements, each of which can process one light rod cone head, so that the present application can process multiple light rod cone heads at the same time, thereby improving production efficiency. The scale of production benefits will be significantly better than traditional methods. At the same time, each heating element is sealed in the furnace body, and the heating elements can also radiate each other, reducing energy loss and improving energy utilization.

[0044] In view of the problem that the muffle furnace has too many auxiliary equipment such as furnace cooling water, furnace protective gas, and rod feeding mechanism, the present application can process multiple rod cones at the same time. After the vacuum is exhausted to meet the requirements, the cone dropping process can be completed in a unified manner. Compared with the traditional method that one rod corresponds to a complete set of muffle furnace, furnace cooling water, protective gas, rod feeding mechanism, and control system, the equipment investment is greatly reduced.

[0045] In addition, in order to address the problem of high consumption of inert argon gas in the muffle furnace, the present application is equipped with a vacuum pump, which can be protected in a vacuum environment, saving a lot of costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0047] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a heating component provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a heating element provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0050] In the figure: 1. furnace body; 2. heating component; 20. heating element; 21. optical rod receiving area; 22. wire; 23. electrode; 3. vacuum pump; 30. second pipeline; 31. second valve; 4. pressure sensor; 5. power supply; 6. gas source; 60. first pipeline; 61. first valve; 7. rod feeding assembly; 70. driving mechanism; 71. optical rod hanging part; 72. optical rod interface; 8. optical rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0052] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads, which includes a furnace body 1, a heating component 2, a vacuum pump 3 and a pressure sensor 4; the heating component 2 is located in the furnace body 1, and the heating component 2 includes a plurality of cylindrical heating elements 20, the internal space of the heating element 20 forms an optical rod receiving area 21, and the heating element 20 is provided with a wire 22 for connecting to a power source 5; the vacuum pump 3 is connected to the furnace body 1; the pressure sensor 4 is connected to the furnace body 1, and is used to detect the pressure in the furnace body 1.

[0053] In order to solve the problem that the muffle furnace can only process one light rod cone head at a time, the heating component 2 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes multiple heating elements 20, and each heating element 20 can process one light rod cone head, so that the present application can process multiple light rod cone heads at the same time, thereby improving production efficiency, and the production scale benefit will be significantly better than the traditional method. At the same time, each heating element 20 is sealed in the furnace body 1, and each heating element 20 can also radiate each other, reducing energy loss and improving energy utilization.

[0054] In view of the problem that the muffle furnace has too many auxiliary equipment such as furnace cooling water, furnace protective gas, and rod feeding mechanism, the present application can process multiple rod cones at the same time. After the vacuum is exhausted to meet the requirements, the cone dropping process can be completed in a unified manner. Compared with the traditional method that one rod corresponds to a complete set of muffle furnace, furnace cooling water, protective gas, rod feeding mechanism, and control system, the equipment investment is greatly reduced.

[0055] In addition, in order to address the problem of high consumption of inert argon gas in the muffle furnace, the present application is equipped with a vacuum pump, which can be protected in a vacuum environment, saving a lot of costs.

[0056] It is understandable that the present application may not use the vacuum method, but by injecting protective gas, it is also possible to process multiple light rod cones at the same time to improve production efficiency.

[0057] It is understandable that the number of the heating elements 20 in the present application can be designed according to actual needs. For example, the number of the heating elements 20 can be set to 8-20.

[0058] In the present application, each heating element 20 can be connected in series or in parallel. For example, as an example, see Figure 2 As shown, the power source 5 and each of the heating elements 20 are connected in series via a wire 22 and are powered by the same power source 5 .

[0059] For another example, as an example, each of the heating elements 20 is connected in parallel to the power source 5 via a wire 22 .

[0060] It is understandable that each heating element 20 can also be connected to a power source 5 individually via a wire 22 .

[0061] The connection mode of each heating element 20 and the connection mode with the power source 5 can be selected according to actual needs.

[0062] To connect the power supply 5, see Figure 2 As shown, the heating element 20 is connected to two electrodes 23 , and one end of the electrode 23 extends out of the furnace body 1 and is connected to the wire 22 .

[0063] The material of the electrode 23 can be selected according to actual needs. For example, as an example, the electrode 23 is made of oxygen-free copper.

[0064] Since a part of the electrode 23 is located in the furnace body 1, the electrode 23 needs to be cooled. Specifically, a cooling channel is provided inside the electrode 23, and the cooling channel is connected to a coolant circulation pipeline; the electrode 23 is cooled by the coolant circulation.

[0065] In the present application, the heating element 20 is preferably made of graphite, and the heating element 20 and the electrode 23 are connected via a graphite gasket and a graphite bolt.

[0066] In order to prevent gas leakage from the furnace body 1 , a sealing ring is provided between the electrode 23 and the furnace body 1 .

[0067] The power source 5 can be a DC power source, and the total power of the DC power source should be able to heat all the heating elements to 2300° and maintain stable operation for a long time.

[0068] It is understandable that there are many ways to distribute the heating elements 20. For example, Figure 2The ring-shaped distribution can be uniformly distributed in the middle, and other distribution methods such as array distribution can also be adopted, and the ring-shaped distribution method is preferably adopted.

[0069] In order to make the heating element 20 present an excellent heating effect, the present application optimizes the structure of the heating element 20 .

[0070] According to the diameter of the light rod currently produced between 150mm and 180mm, the effective height, inner diameter, outer diameter, number of slots and groove depth of the heating element are designed appropriately.

[0071] The optimal central value of the hot resistance of a single heating element 20 is 0.032Ω~0.041Ω (Note: the hot resistance is the equivalent resistance value of the heating element when it generates 2300° high temperature. The hot and cold states vary slightly with the temperature. The resistance in the hot state is the target resistance). A large number of studies and production uses have shown that within this resistance value range, the appropriate effective height, inner diameter, outer diameter, and slot depth are selected to ensure that the current charge is evenly distributed, meet the optimal conductive current density of graphite, and have the longest heating life.

[0072] Based on this, see Figure 3 As shown, the effective height L of the heating element 20 is 100 mm to 130 mm, the inner diameter is 190 mm to 230 mm, the outer diameter is 220 mm to 260 mm, the number of grooves is 18 to 24, and the groove depth M is 80 mm to 110 mm.

[0073] Furthermore, the final selected heating element structure has an effective height L of 130mm, an inner diameter of 224mm, an outer diameter of 244mm, 24 grooves, and a groove depth M of 107mm. At this time, the lifespan is the longest, reaching 1800 hours. Therefore, the cumulative lifespan of the heating element can reach 2000 light rods, and a single replacement can meet the annual production load. The efficiency is significantly improved, and long-term batch production and high energy utilization are possible.

[0074] It can be understood that in the present application, the furnace body 1 includes furnace side walls, an upper cover and a lower cover, and cooling channels are provided in the furnace side walls, the upper cover and the lower cover. The cooling channels are connected to a coolant circulation pipeline, and the furnace body 1 is cooled by the circulation of the coolant.

[0075] Understandably, see Figure 1 As shown, the device also includes a rod feeding assembly 7, which includes a driving mechanism 70 and a light rod hanging part 71 connected to the driving mechanism 70, and a plurality of light rod interfaces 72 are provided on the light rod hanging part 71, and each of the light rod interfaces 72 corresponds to the heating element 20 one by one.

[0076] The driving mechanism 70 drives the optical rod hanging part 71 to move downward, so that the optical rod hung on the optical rod interface 72 can enter the corresponding heating element 20. It can be seen that all optical rods are transported to the designated position by the same rod delivery assembly 7.

[0077] See also Figure 1 As shown, the device further comprises a gas source 6 , and the gas source 6 is connected to the furnace body 1 through a first pipeline 60 , and a first valve 61 is connected to the first pipeline 60 .

[0078] The gas source 6 can be nitrogen or other gases. After the cone is removed and before the rod is taken out, the furnace body 1 is replenished with gas by opening the first valve 61 to a positive pressure, such as 100 Pa, and then the temperature is lowered. After completion, the furnace can be opened to take out the rod.

[0079] Further, see Figure 1 As shown, the vacuum pump 3 is connected to the furnace body 1 through a second pipe 30 , and a second valve 31 is provided on the second pipe 30 .

[0080] Through the first valve 61 and the second valve 31, the present application can determine whether there is a leak in the furnace body 1, thereby preventing external gas from entering the furnace body 1 due to failure to check the leak, thereby preventing the heating element 20 from being oxidized.

[0081] The present application also provides a method for large-scale processing of an optical fiber preform cone head, which comprises the following steps:

[0082] 101: Provide a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads.

[0083] 102: Place the light rod 8 into the light rod receiving area 21 of the heating element 20;

[0084] 103: Evacuate the furnace body 1 to a target pressure within a set time;

[0085] 104: Power on each of the heating elements 20 to process the cone head.

[0086] Wherein, before evacuating the furnace body 1 to a target pressure within a set time, the method further comprises: leak testing the furnace body 1;

[0087] The furnace body 1 is leak tested, specifically including:

[0088] 201 : Close the first valve 61 , open the second valve 31 , start the vacuum pump 3 to evacuate the air, and record the evacuation time and the pressure in the furnace body 1 .

[0089] 202: Compare the vacuuming time with the set time, and the pressure in the furnace body 1 with the target pressure.

[0090] 203: When the vacuuming time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body 1 is less than the target pressure, there is a leak. This leak may be a relatively large leak. The sealing part (for example, the electrode is not sealed tightly, the upper cover or the lower cover of the furnace body is not sealed tightly, etc.) may not be pressed tightly, so the vacuum pump 3 is driven to stop, the second valve 31 is closed, and the first valve 61 is opened to replenish air to a positive pressure, and then the furnace body 1 is repaired. Then return to step 201 and vacuumize again until the vacuuming time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body 1 is equal to the target pressure.

[0091] When the pressure in the furnace body 1 is equal to the target pressure and the vacuuming time is greater than the set time, if the pressure in the furnace body 1 rises after closing the second valve 31, there is a leak, which may be a relatively small leak. The vacuum pump 3 is driven to stop, the second valve 31 is closed, and the first valve 61 is opened to replenish air to a positive pressure. Helium can be used to detect leaks, and the furnace body 1 can be repaired after the location is found. Then, return to step 201 and vacuumize again until the vacuuming time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body 1 is equal to the target pressure.

[0092] It is understandable that, in step 203, generally, each vacuuming time of the vacuum pump 3 corresponds to a pressure. When the time spent on vacuuming reaches a certain vacuuming time, the measured pressure reaches the pressure corresponding to the vacuuming time.

[0093] Therefore, if the vacuuming time in step 202 is equal to the set time, and the pressure in the furnace body 1 is equal to the target pressure, it means that the furnace body 1 has no leaks.

[0094] If they are inconsistent, there may be a leak.

[0095] Therefore, leakage detection can be performed based on the judgment result of step 203 .

[0096] When there is no leak or the leak is blocked, the subsequent step 104 can be performed.

[0097] The above set time and target pressure can be set according to actual needs.

[0098] Example:

[0099] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a device is provided for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cone heads with an angle of up to 2300°.

[0100] (I) Ring series heating design

[0101] (1) It is preferred to use 8 heating elements connected in series to generate heat, and each individual heating element is made of graphite material.

[0102] (2) Each heating element is equipped with two electrodes at the bottom. The material is oxygen-free copper. The electrode is designed with a sandwich to form a cooling channel. The cooling channel has two interfaces, one inflow interface and one outflow interface. It is connected to the coolant circulation pipeline to take away the heat. The inlet water temperature is 18°-20°. Since the coil is connected to the graphite heating element, the return water temperature will rise and will remain at 35° after stabilization. The flow demand of each electrode is about 12L, and the total demand is about 12×16=192L.

[0103] (3) The heating element and the electrode are connected with graphite gaskets and high-strength graphite bolts.

[0104] (4) The heating elements are evenly distributed in a furnace with a diameter of two meters. The electrodes are inverted and inserted at the bottom of the furnace and sealed with flanges and O-rings. The outside of the electrodes are connected in series one by one with copper cables with a diameter of 50 mm to form a closed loop. Finally, two openings are left to connect the positive and negative electrodes of the DC power supply. The total power of the DC power supply is about 640 kW, and the actual use is about 440 kW. The current is about 1250 A and the voltage is about 336 V.

[0105] (II) Heating element structure design

[0106] (1) According to the current rod diameter between 150mm and 180mm, design the appropriate effective height, inner diameter, outer diameter, number of slots, and groove depth of the heating element.

[0107] (2) After a large number of repeated tests, the final life span varied greatly from 40 hours to 1800 hours. Finally, the heating element with the longest life span of 1800 hours was selected. Its structure was an effective height of 130 mm, an inner diameter of 224 mm, an outer diameter of 244 mm, 24 slots, and a groove depth of 107 mm.

[0108] (3) The optimal center value of the thermal resistance of a single heating element is 0.032 ohms.

[0109] (III) Vacuum control method before heating

[0110] (1) The furnace is evacuated. The pressure sensor has a range of -1000Pa to 1000Pa, and can detect both negative and positive pressures. -1000Pa represents a vacuum state.

[0111] (2) Set the target vacuum pressure to -1000 Pa and the vacuum time to 5 min.

[0112] (3) The vacuum pump is turned on, the first valve is closed, and the second valve is opened. The pressure value detected by the pressure sensor gradually decreases. If it cannot be pumped to -1000Pa within 5 minutes, it is determined that there is a large leak. After stopping the machine and replenishing air to positive pressure, check whether the sealing part is compressed. If it takes more than 5 minutes to pump to -1000Pa, but the pressure rises slowly after the second valve is closed, there is a small leak. After stopping the machine and replenishing air to positive pressure, use helium to check for leaks. After finding the leak, restart until it reaches -1000Pa within 5 minutes and remains stable. It is determined that the preparation work is ready.

[0113] (IV) Control method for taking out the rod after the process is completed

[0114] (1) Air supply pressure setting. The pressure sensor has a range of -1000Pa to 1000Pa, and can detect both negative and positive pressures. -1000Pa represents a vacuum state.

[0115] (2) Set the target pressure value to 100 Pa and the air replenishment time to 5 minutes.

[0116] (3) The vacuum pump is turned off, the first valve is opened, the second valve is closed, and air replenishment begins. The pressure sensor detection value gradually increases. When it reaches 100 Pa, air replenishment stops.

[0117] (4) The furnace cooling time is about 1 hour.

[0118] When the time is up, the screen displays "Process completed, furnace preparation OK".

[0119] In summary, the device provided by the present application has a cumulative heating element life of up to 2,000 pieces, and the demand can be met by replacing the heating elements once a year, with long-term mass production and high energy utilization.

[0120] Since vacuum sintering has already matured, it is better to plan ahead for vacuum processing of cone removal to gain an advantage.

[0121] A series ring heater group is constructed by connecting several heating elements in series, thus realizing large-scale production.

[0122] Through the vacuum pumping mode, a vacuum environment is achieved, the use of inert gas is eliminated, and sustainable development with low carbon, energy saving and reduced resource waste is achieved. On the basis of the already lowest production cost, the production cost is further reduced, further widening the gap with the industry.

[0123] This application will greatly reduce the duplication of equipment investment, such as the lifting rod mechanism, gas panel, water circulation system, etc., reduce the requirements for peripheral water and gas, and facilitate management.

[0124] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0125] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0126] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones, characterized in that: It includes: Furnace body (1); A heating component (2) is located in the furnace body (1), the heating component (2) comprises a plurality of cylindrical heating elements (20), the internal space of the heating element (20) forms a light rod receiving area (21), and the heating element (20) is provided with a wire (22) for connecting to a power source (5); A vacuum pump (3) connected to the furnace body (1); A pressure sensor (4) is connected to the furnace body (1) and is used to detect the pressure inside the furnace body (1).

2. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power source (5) and each of the heating elements (20) are connected in series via a wire (22); Alternatively, each of the heating elements (20) is connected in parallel to the power source (5) via a wire (22).

3. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating element (20) is connected to two electrodes (23), one end of the electrode (23) extends out of the furnace body (1) and is connected to the wire (22).

4. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 3, characterized in that: The electrode (23) is made of oxygen-free copper; And / or, a cooling channel is provided inside the electrode (23), and the cooling channel is connected to a cooling liquid circulation pipeline; And / or, the heating element (20) is made of graphite, and the heating element (20) and the electrode (23) are connected via a graphite gasket and a graphite bolt; And / or, a sealing ring is provided between the electrode (23) and the furnace body (1).

5. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply (5) is a direct current power supply; And / or, each of the heating elements (20) is evenly distributed in a circular ring shape; And / or, the effective height of the heating element (20) is 100 mm to 130 mm, the inner diameter is 190 mm to 230 mm, the outer diameter is 220 mm to 260 mm, the number of grooves is 18 to 24, and the groove depth is 80 mm to 110 mm; And / or, the optimal central value of the thermal resistance of the heating element (20) is 0.032Ω to 0.041Ω.

6. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device further comprises a gas source (6), wherein the gas source (6) is connected to the furnace body (1) via a first pipeline (60); The first pipeline (60) is connected to a first valve (61).

7. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 6, characterized in that: The vacuum pump (3) is connected to the furnace body (1) via a second pipeline (30), and a second valve (31) is provided on the second pipeline (30).

8. The device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 1, characterized in that: The furnace body (1) comprises a furnace side wall, an upper cover and a lower cover, wherein the furnace side wall, the upper cover and the lower cover are each provided with a cooling channel, and the cooling channel is connected to a coolant circulation pipeline; And / or, the device further comprises a rod feeding assembly (7), the rod feeding assembly (7) comprising a driving mechanism (70) and a light rod hanging portion (71) connected to the driving mechanism (70), a plurality of light rod interfaces (72) being arranged on the light rod hanging portion (71), and each of the light rod interfaces (72) corresponds one-to-one to the heating element (20).

9. A method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones, characterized in that: It includes: Provide a device for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones as claimed in claim 1; Place the light rod (8) into the light rod receiving area (21) of the heating element (20); The furnace body (1) is evacuated to a target pressure within a set time; Each of the heating elements (20) is energized to process the cone head.

10. The method for large-scale processing of optical fiber preform cones according to claim 9, characterized in that: The device further comprises an air source (6), the air source (6) being connected to the furnace body (1) via a first pipeline (60), the first pipeline (60) being connected to a first valve (61); the vacuum pump (3) being connected to the furnace body (1) via a second pipeline (30), the second pipeline (30) being provided with a second valve (31); Before evacuating the furnace body (1) to a target pressure within a set time, the method further comprises: performing a leak test on the furnace body (1); The furnace body (1) is leak tested, specifically comprising: The first valve (61) is closed, the second valve (31) is opened, the vacuum pump (3) is started to evacuate the air, and the evacuation time and the pressure in the furnace body (1) are recorded; Comparing the vacuuming time with the set time, and the pressure in the furnace body (1) with the target pressure; When the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body (1) is less than the target pressure, a leak exists, the vacuum pump (3) is stopped, the second valve (31) is closed, the first valve (61) is opened to replenish air to a positive pressure, the furnace body (1) is repaired, and vacuum pumping is performed again until the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body (1) is equal to the target pressure; When the pressure in the furnace body (1) is equal to the target pressure and the vacuum pumping time is greater than the set time, if the pressure in the furnace body (1) rises after the second valve (31) is closed, there is a leak, and the vacuum pump (3) is stopped, the second valve (31) is closed, and the first valve (61) is opened to replenish air to a positive pressure, and then the furnace body (1) is repaired and vacuum pumped again until the vacuum pumping time reaches the set time and the pressure in the furnace body (1) is equal to the target pressure.

Images