Flexible optical fiber ribbon and bonding effect detection system and method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a flexible optical fiber ribbon and a bonding effect detection system and method thereof, the flexible optical fiber ribbon comprises a plurality of optical fibers arranged side by side, and an intermittent bonding part is arranged between adjacent optical fibers; the transmission rate of the intermittent bonding part to a detection light wave band is below 50%; the optical fiber coating is coated with a coloring layer, and the coloring layer is coated with a light-transmitting layer; the transmittance of the coloring layer to a detection light wave band is below 30%, and the transmittance of the light-transmitting layer to the detection light wave band is above 85%; and the bonding part with the qualified bonding effect covers the light-transmitting layer in the direction of the detection light. A photosensitive element is used in cooperation, on-off detection is conducted through optical signals, sensitivity and accuracy are achieved, and the speed is far higher than that of imaging detection. By adopting optical signal on-off detection, the defects of trailing, ghosting and the like caused by traditional imaging detection can be avoided, the detection efficiency is greatly improved, the manufacturing speed bottleneck caused by quality monitoring of a production line is relieved, and the manufacturing efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of optical communication, and more specifically, relates to a flexible optical fiber ribbon, a method and a system for detecting its bonding effect. Background Art

[0002] There are intermittent connection parts between adjacent optical fibers of the flexible optical fiber ribbon. The connection parts are formed by a device distributing a bonding material or glue regularly between the optical fibers. Due to problems such as equipment stability and glue quality, the glue dots may be sprayed obliquely, crossing other optical fibers, resulting in bonding between optical fibers that do not need to be bonded. Sometimes, there will even be defective products such as missed glue dots and abnormal glue dot lengths. The bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon is the key to determining the structural stability of the flexible optical fiber ribbon and even the ribbon cable.

[0003] Since the production line speed of the flexible optical fiber ribbon is fast, reaching 2 - 10 m / s, and the glue dot pitch is small, about 40 - 100 mm, even when using a high-speed camera for shooting, it is difficult for visual inspection to keep up with the glue dotting speed. Moreover, due to the limited shutter speed, the acquired images will have problems such as trailing and artifacts, and it is impossible to accurately identify the positions with poor bonding effects through intelligent algorithms or even the naked eye. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above defects or improvement requirements of the prior art, the present invention provides a flexible optical fiber ribbon, a method and a system for detecting its bonding effect. The purpose is to form a light-transmitting layer outside the colored optical fiber as a signal light receptor, cooperate with an opaque bonding part, and use the on-off and intensity of the signal light as detection signals to detect the bonding effect of the bonding part, without imaging or image analysis, greatly improving the speed of quality detection of the bonding effect of the bonding part, and not restricting the production line speed of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, thereby solving the technical problem that the bonding parts of the existing flexible optical fiber ribbon cannot be detected online one by one, resulting in the bonding effect being undetectable.

[0005] To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a flexible optical fiber ribbon is provided, which includes a plurality of optical fibers arranged side by side, and there are intermittent bonding parts between adjacent optical fibers;

[0006] The transmittance of the intermittent bonding part for the detection light band is below 50%;

[0007] The optical fiber coating is coated with a colored layer, and the colored layer is coated with a light-transmitting layer;

[0008] The transmittance of the colored layer for the detection light band is below 30%, and the transmittance of the light-transmitting layer for the detection light band is above 85%;

[0009] The bonding parts with qualified bonding effects cover the light-transmitting layer in the detection light direction.

[0010] Preferably, for the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the thickness of the light-transmitting layer is 10-50 um, and the thickness d of the light-transmitting layer should be greater than or equal to half of the width threshold D of the bonding part.

[0011] Preferably, for the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the modulus of the light-transmitting layer is greater than 500 Mpa and it is a photocurable acrylic resin; the modulus of the coloring layer is greater than 600 Mpa and the material is photocurable acrylic ink.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, including an optical detection device arranged downstream of the bonding part forming device on the production line. The optical detection device includes a detection light source and a light receiver.

[0013] The detection light source is arranged above the flexible optical fiber ribbon and emits detection light in a preset wavelength band; the light receiver is arranged below the bonding part at the detection position and is on the optical path of the detection light source.

[0014] At the expected moment when the bonding part appears at the detection position, when the width of the bonding part is less than the width qualified threshold of the bonding part, the detection light passes through the optical fiber light-transmitting layer and is detected by the light receiver as a light signal, and it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part is unqualified.

[0015] Preferably, for the detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the wavelength band of the detection light is in the visible light range.

[0016] Preferably, for the detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the detection range of the light receiver covers the width range of adjacent optical fibers.

[0017] Preferably, for the detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the distance between the light receiver and the flexible optical fiber ribbon is 0.5-30 mm.

[0018] Preferably, for the detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, the light receivers are arranged staggered in the optical fiber arrangement direction.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for detecting the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, irradiating the bonding part to be detected on the flexible optical fiber ribbon with detection light along the detection direction from one side of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, and detecting the detection light from the other side; when the detection light is detected as passing through, it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part to be detected is unqualified.

[0020] Preferably, the method for detecting the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon is characterized in that the detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon provided by the present invention is applied.

[0021] Generally speaking, compared with the prior art, the above technical solution conceived by the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The present invention improves the structure of the optical fiber coating and the light transmission performance of the bonding part used in the flexible optical fiber ribbon, and uses a photosensitive element to detect the on-off of the optical signal in cooperation. It is sensitive and accurate, and the speed is far beyond that of imaging detection. The present invention uses optical signal on-off detection to avoid the drawbacks such as trailing and afterimage caused by traditional imaging detection, greatly improves the detection efficiency, eliminates the bottleneck of the manufacturing speed of the production line due to quality monitoring, and improves the manufacturing efficiency.

[0023] The flexible optical fiber ribbon bonding effect detection system provided by the present invention has both hardware and software costs much lower than the traditional optical imaging + image recognition system combination, reducing the cost of the flexible optical fiber ribbon production line.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, for the flexible optical fiber ribbon provided by the present invention, the bonding force of the optical fiber bonding part is simplified from the combination of the bonding resin + various color resin surfaces to the combination of the bonding resin + high-transparency resin. There is no need to consider the influence of different optical fiber coloring pigments on the bonding force between the optical fiber coating and the bonding part, reducing the difficulty of controlling the delicate balance of the bonding force and the tearing force in material development, manufacturing, and ribbon splicing processes, which is beneficial to ensuring the stability of product quality. Description of the Drawings

[0025] Figure 1 is a plan view of the flexible optical fiber ribbon provided by the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible optical fiber ribbon A-A provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the flexible optical fiber ribbon bonding effect detection system provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the flexible optical fiber ribbon bonding effect detection signal provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements or structures, where: 1 is the optical fiber, 2 is the first arranged bonding part, 3 is the second arranged bonding part, 4 is the optical fiber glass part, 5 is the natural-color optical fiber resin, 6 is the coloring layer, 7 is the bonding resin, 8 is the high-transparency layer, 9 is the light source, 10 is the detection light, and 11 is the light receiver. Detailed Embodiments

[0030] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0031] The flexible optical fiber ribbon provided by the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, includes a plurality of optical fibers arranged side by side, and there are intermittent bonding parts between adjacent optical fibers;

[0032] The transmittance of the intermittent bonding part for the detection light band is below 50%;

[0033] The optical fiber coating is coated with a coloring layer, and the coloring layer is coated with a light-transmitting layer;

[0034] The transmittance of the coloring layer for the detection light band is below 30%, and the transmittance of the light-transmitting layer for the detection light band is above 85%;

[0035] The bonding parts with qualified bonding effects cover the light-transmitting layer in the detection light direction. The thickness of the light-transmitting layer is 10 - 50 um, and the thickness d of the light-transmitting layer should be greater than or equal to half of the bonding part width threshold D. The light-transmitting layer outside the optical fiber is used as a detection signal receptor. When the detection light passes through the light-transmitting layer, it means that the bonding effect of the bonding part is poor. Therefore, the thickness of the light-transmitting layer determines the detection accuracy. The greater the thickness, the higher the detection standard and the higher the requirement for the bonding effect of the bonding part. Conversely, the requirement for the bonding part is reduced.

[0036] The modulus of the light-transmitting layer is greater than 500 Mpa and is a photocurable acrylic resin; the modulus of the coloring layer is greater than 600 Mpa, and the material is photocurable acrylic ink. The modulus of the light-transmitting layer is lower than that of the coloring layer. When separating the optical fibers, the light-transmitting layer will break preferentially to the coloring layer, avoiding the coloring layer from being torn and affecting the recognition effect after branching the optical fibers.

[0037] The flexible optical fiber ribbon bonding effect detection system provided by the present invention, as Figure 3 shown, includes a light detection device arranged downstream of the bonding part forming device on the production line. The light detection device includes a detection light source and a light receiver;

[0038] The detection light source is arranged above the flexible optical fiber ribbon and emits detection light of a preset band. The light spot of the light source needs to be emitted vertically and focused on the center of the adjacent optical fibers to be detected, and its light spot diameter is less than or equal to the distance between adjacent optical fibers of the flexible optical fiber ribbon; the light receiver is arranged below the bonding part at the detection position and is on the optical path of the detection light source; the band of the detection light is preferably in the visible light range for convenient observation and imaging.

[0039] The detection range of the optical receiver covers the width range of adjacent optical fibers. Preferably, the optical receiver is 0.5 - 30 mm away from the flexible optical fiber ribbon to avoid receiving stray light signals that may cause false detection. The space for the optical receiver is usually larger than the width of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, resulting in a space barrier. Using a matrix photosensitive element restricts the detection speed. In a preferred solution, the optical receivers are arranged staggered in the fiber arrangement direction. While solving the space hindrance, they perform on-off detection without interfering with each other (only detecting the light intensity, not the light signal shape), and the detection speed and sensitivity are far beyond imaging detection.

[0040] At the expected moment when the bonding part appears at the detection position, when the width of the bonding part is less than the width qualified threshold of the bonding part, the detection light passes through the optical fiber light-transmitting layer and is detected by the optical receiver for the optical signal, and it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part is unqualified.

[0041] The method for detecting the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon provided by the present invention includes the steps of: irradiating the bonding part to be detected on the flexible optical fiber ribbon with detection light along the detection direction from one side of the flexible optical fiber ribbon, and detecting the detection light from the other side; when the detection light is detected as passing through, it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part to be detected is unqualified.

[0042] The present invention uses the light-transmitting layer as a sensor, and performs on-off detection using the optical signal through the photosensitive element, which is sensitive, accurate, and far faster than imaging detection, and is applicable to high-speed flexible optical fiber ribbon production lines.

[0043] The following are examples:

[0044] Example 1

[0045] The flexible optical fiber ribbon provided in this example is a 12-core optical fiber ribbon, and the distance between the centers of the optical fibers is 250 μm. The structure of the 250-μm colored optical fiber used in this example is: a 210-μm natural-color optical fiber, the diameter of its glass part is 125 μm, and there are inner and outer coatings outside the glass. After coating, the diameter is 210 μm. Then, acrylic-based ink is used for coloring, and the outer diameter of the coloring layer is 220 μm. A layer of acrylic photocurable high-transmission resin with a thickness of about 15 μm is colored outside the colored optical fiber. The light transmittance of this high resin is above 85%, making the diameter of the optical fiber become 250 μm. After this layer is colored, the light-transmitting layer does not affect the distinction between optical fibers through the coloring layer. The light transmittance of the coloring layer is 25%. The modulus of the high-transmission curing resin is 550 Mpa, the modulus of the light-transmitting layer is lower than that of the coloring layer, and the modulus of the coloring layer is 650 Mpa. When the optical fibers are separated, the light-transmitting layer will break preferentially to the coloring layer, avoiding the coloring layer from being torn and affecting the recognition effect after branching the optical fibers. The bonding resin, that is, the intermittent connection part, is distributed intermittently between the optical fibers. There is a first row of bonding parts distributed at the position of A-A, and a second row of bonding parts distributed at the position of B-B, asFigure 1 As shown, the length of the bonding resin is 5 to 20 mm, and the spacing between the resins is 50 to 100 mm.

[0046] Example 2

[0047] The flexible optical fiber ribbon bonding effect detection system provided in this example is as Figure 3 shown. N - 1 light sources are arranged vertically directly above the ribbon plane of the optical fiber ribbon, and the light sources are arranged staggeredly. Corresponding to the bonding parts of the first arrangement and the second arrangement, in the length direction of the optical fiber, the staggered distance is greater than the length of the light source itself, and in the width direction of the optical fiber, they are staggered by a certain distance in sequence. If necessary, for the bonding parts of the first or second arrangement, they are further arranged staggeredly at multiple positions in the length direction. Calibrate the light sources. The light spots of the light sources need to be emitted vertically and focused on the centers of the adjacent optical fibers to be detected. The diameter of the light spots is less than 200 um to avoid covering other optical fibers. At the same time, directly below the light sources, a light receiver is arranged at a place about 10 mm away from the optical fiber ribbon plane. The light receivers are staggered in the length direction of the optical fiber and aligned with the light sources above. There is no interference between the light receivers, and the staggered distance makes it impossible for them to receive the optical fibers emitted by the nearby light sources. During detection, the light sources remain constantly on after the device is turned on and continuously emit laser light. When the optical fibers corresponding to the channels move to the laser range along with the bonding parts, due to the extremely low light transmittance, the light receiver directly below cannot receive the optical signal. When the non - bonding parts of the optical fibers move to the laser range, the light receiver directly below can receive the signal. The on - off of the signal can be converted into whether there is a bonding part between the optical fibers or whether the bonding effect of the bonding part is qualified.

[0048] Example 3

[0049] The process of detecting the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon provided in Example 1 using the detection system provided in Example 2 is as follows:

[0050] For the 12 - core optical fiber ribbon of the optical fiber ribbon to be detected, an optical detection device composed of 11 light source + light receiver systems is arranged. The length of the bonding part of the optical fiber ribbon is 10 mm, and the spacing is 60 mm.

[0051] The manufacturing speed of the fiber optic ribbon is 5 m / s. When the bonding part moves under the laser spot, the optical receiver will be in a pulse silent state where it cannot receive optical signals for about T1 = 2 ms. After that, it will be in a pulse active state where it can receive optical signals for T2 = 10 ms. At the same time, the phase of the optical signals received by the optical receivers of the 11-channel light source + optical receiver is compared. Through computer data processing, the misalignment distance of the bonding part on any fiber optic channel can be calculated. This misalignment distance can be compared with the preset misalignment distance of the bonding part. If there is an offset, an alarm will also occur. At this time, it is necessary to check whether there is a blockage in the bonding part forming device or whether there is an accumulated error in the control between the mold / nozzle.

[0052] When the nozzle or the mold is partially blocked and only part of the resin is ejected, it will affect the pulse active and pulse silent times. The actual signal periods received by the optical receiver are t1 and t1 respectively. When (t1 / T1 - 1) and (t2 / T2 - 1) exceed ±10%, an alarm will occur and it is necessary to stop the machine for inspection.

[0053] When there is an accumulated error in the control between the mold / nozzle, an alarm will occur when the phase difference (t3 / T3 - 1) between different channels exceeds ±20%, and it is necessary to stop the machine for inspection.

[0054] When the nozzle or the mold is blocked and the bonding resin cannot be ejected at all, no bonding part is formed between the optical fibers. At this time, the intensity received by the optical receiver is P1. Because the pulse silent state far exceeds the specified T2, an alarm will occur at this time and it is necessary to stop the machine for inspection.

[0055] When the nozzle or the mold is blocked and only part of the bonding resin is ejected, there is a limited bonding part between the optical fibers. The width of the bonding part will be lower than the width threshold of 20 um. At this time, the bonding force between the optical fibers will be at a low level, and it cannot be guaranteed that the optical fibers still remain in a ribbon shape during the manufacturing of the fiber optic ribbon and subsequent cabling and use of the fiber optic ribbon. At this time, the intensity of the optical receiver is P2. When P2 / P1 is greater than 80%, an alarm will still occur and it is necessary to stop the machine for inspection.

[0056] Those skilled in the art can easily understand that the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible optical fiber ribbon, characterized in that, It includes multiple optical fibers arranged side by side, and there are intermittent bonding parts between adjacent optical fibers; The transmittance of the intermittent bonding part for the detection light band is below 50%; The optical fiber coating is coated with a coloring layer, and the coloring layer is coated with a light-transmitting layer; The transmittance of the coloring layer for the detection light band is below 30%, and the transmittance of the light-transmitting layer for the detection light band is above 85%; The bonding part with qualified bonding effect covers the light-transmitting layer in the detection light direction.

2. The flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the light-transmitting layer is 10 - 50 μm, and the thickness d of the light-transmitting layer should be greater than or equal to half of the bonding part width threshold D.

3. The flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modulus of the light-transmitting layer is greater than 500 Mpa and it is a photocurable acrylic resin; the modulus of the coloring layer is greater than 600 Mpa and its material is photocurable acrylic ink.

4. A detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, It includes a light detection device arranged downstream of the bonding part forming device on the production line. The light detection device includes a detection light source and a light receiver; The detection light source is arranged above the flexible optical fiber tape and emits detection light of a preset band; The light receiver is arranged below the bonding part at the detection position and is on the optical path of the detection light source; At the expected moment when the bonding part appears at the detection position, when the width of the bonding part is less than the width of the bonding part qualified threshold, the detection light passes through the light-transmitting layer of the optical fiber and is detected by the light receiver for the light signal, and it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part is unqualified.

5. The detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 4, characterized in that, The band of the detection light is in the visible light range.

6. The detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 4, characterized in that, The detection range of the light receiver covers the width range of adjacent optical fibers.

7. The detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 6, characterized in that, The light receiver is 0.5 - 30 mm away from the flexible optical fiber tape.

8. The detection system for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 4, characterized in that, The light receivers are arranged staggeredly in the optical fiber arrangement direction.

9. A detection method for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Make the detection light irradiate on the bonding part to be detected of the flexible optical fiber tape from one side along the detection direction, and detect the detection light from the other side; when it is detected that the detection light passes through, it is determined that the bonding effect of the bonding part to be detected is unqualified.

10. The detection method for the bonding effect of the flexible optical fiber ribbon according to claim 9, characterized in that, Apply the flexible optical fiber tape bonding effect detection system according to any one of claims 4 to 8.

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