Optical cable reuse system

Abstract

Provided is an optical cable reuse system comprising: a code which is attached to an optical cable and in which is stored component information about the outer jacket of the optical cable; an acquisition unit that acquires the component information; and a communication unit that transmits the component information to another device after the optical cable is laid.

Description

Optical cable reuse system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an optical cable reuse system.

[0002] Conventionally, techniques for reusing the outer sheath of an optical cable have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for dismantling an optical cable in which a tape material is interposed between a cable main body and the cable outer sheath, and the cable outer sheath is stripped off.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-326656

[0004] The optical cable reuse system disclosed herein comprises: a code attached to an optical cable and storing component information of the optical cable's outer sheath; an acquisition unit that acquires the component information; and a communication unit that transmits the component information to another device after the optical cable is laid.

[0005] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical cable, a sub-duct, and a main duct used in an optical cable reuse system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the reuse system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a method for reading component information stored in the code shown in Fig. 1.

[0006] [Problem to be Solved by the Present Disclosure] Incidentally, the name of the resin material contained in the sheath of an optical cable is sometimes printed on the sheath. However, simply checking the name of the material printed on the sheath may not be enough to fully understand the type of resin material and additives contained in the sheath, and therefore a technology that can more accurately identify the components of the sheath is desired.

[0007] The present disclosure aims to provide an optical cable reuse system that can more accurately grasp the components of the optical cable jacket and appropriately reuse the jacket.

[0008] Effect of the Present Disclosure According to the present disclosure, the components of the jacket of an optical cable can be more accurately determined, and the jacket can be appropriately reused.

[0009] (Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure) First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. An optical cable reuse system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: (1) a code attached to an optical cable and storing component information of the jacket of the optical cable; an acquisition unit that acquires the component information; and a communication unit that transmits the component information to another device after the optical cable is laid.

[0010] With this configuration, for example, component information of the optical cable can be transmitted to a device owned by a recycler, allowing the recycler to accurately grasp the components of the sheath of the optical cable remaining after installation and appropriately reuse the sheath. Furthermore, since a code storing the component information is attached to the optical cable, workers at the installation site can easily obtain the component information of the sheath of the optical cable.

[0011] (2) In the optical cable reuse system of (1) above, the communication unit may transmit the component information to an external server.

[0012] With this configuration, for example, a recycler can obtain component information by accessing an external server using a device that the recycler owns.

[0013] (3) In the optical cable reuse system described in (1) or (2), the component information may include the type of resin material contained in the jacket of the optical cable.

[0014] With this configuration, it is possible to more appropriately determine the blending ratio and the destination of reuse of the optical cable sheath.

[0015] (4) In the optical cable reuse system according to any one of (1) to (3) above, the component information may include the type of additive contained in the outer sheath of the optical cable.

[0016] With this configuration, it is possible to more appropriately determine the blending ratio and the destination of reuse of the optical cable sheath.

[0017] (5) In the optical cable reuse system according to any one of (1) to (4) above, the outer jacket of the optical cable may be reused as a member for laying another optical cable.

[0018] When the sheath of an optical cable is reused as the sheath of another optical cable, the use of the reused sheath may affect the characteristics of the other optical cable. In contrast, if the sheath of an optical cable is reused as an installation component for another optical cable as described above, it is possible to avoid affecting the characteristics of the other optical cable.

[0019] (6) In the optical cable reuse system of (5) above, the laying member may be a duct in which the other optical cable is laid.

[0020] This allows for effective use of the resin material contained in the jacket of the optical cable.

[0021] (7) In the optical cable reuse system of (5) above, the proportion of the outer sheath of the optical cable that is reused in the laying member may be 25% or less.

[0022] However, as the mixing ratio of recycled materials in the installation component increases, the tensile breaking elongation of the installation component tends to decrease. In contrast, by limiting the proportion of recycled optical cable sheaths in the installation component to 25% or less, as described above, it is possible to prevent the tensile breaking elongation of the installation component from decreasing.

[0023] (Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure) Specific examples of the optical cable reuse system of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0024] [Configuration of Cable, Subduct, and Main Duct] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical cable 1, a subduct 2, and a main duct 3 in which an optical cable 1 reuse system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is used. As shown in Fig. 1, a subduct 2 is laid inside the main duct 3, and an optical cable 1 is further laid inside the subduct 2. Although Fig. 1 shows one optical cable 1 laid inside one subduct 2, multiple optical cables 1 may be laid inside one subduct 2.

[0025] The optical cable 1 is, for example, a microduct cable that is laid inside the subduct 2 by air pressure feeding or towing, and has an outer diameter of approximately 20 mm. The optical cable 1 includes a cable core 11 and an outer jacket 12 formed around the cable core 11.

[0026] The cable core 11 includes an optical fiber ribbon 16 including a plurality of optical fiber cores 13, and an overwrap tape 14 that wraps around the plurality of optical fiber ribbons 16. The optical fiber cores 13 that make up the optical fiber ribbon 16 are, for example, intermittently connected to adjacent optical fiber cores 13 along the longitudinal direction of the optical cable 1. Note that although the optical cable 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a slotless type, it may also be a slotted type.

[0027] The overwrapping tape 14 is wrapped longitudinally or spirally around the plurality of optical fiber ribbons 16. The jacket 12 is formed by extrusion molding around the overwrapping tape 14. The jacket 12 is preferably formed from a material with a silicone additive content ranging from 0.1% to 0.5% by mass. In this case, when the optical cable 1 is laid inside the subduct 2, the jackets 12 can be made to slide easily when the jackets 12 are in contact with each other or with the subduct 2, making the laying of the optical cable 1 easier.

[0028] In addition, a code 15 is attached to the outer jacket 12. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the code 15 is a QR Code (registered trademark), which can record a large amount of information such as letters and numbers by combining white cells and black cells and can be read at high speed.

[0029] The code 15 stores component information of the jacket 12 of the optical cable 1. The component information includes the type of resin material contained in the jacket 12, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and the content of each type of resin material. Furthermore, the component information includes the type of additive contained in the jacket 12, such as carbon or silicone.

[0030] [Configuration of Information Management System] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the reuse system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 2, the reuse system 100 includes a first terminal 30, a second terminal 40, and an external server 50. The first terminal 30 is connected to the second terminal 40 and the external server 50 via a wireless base station 61 and an external network 62 such as the Internet so as to be able to communicate with the second terminal 40 and the external server 50. The second terminal 40 is connected to the external server 50 via the external network 62 so as to be able to communicate with the external server 50.

[0031] The first terminal 30 is, for example, a smartphone used by a worker who installs the optical cable 1, and includes an acquisition unit 31 equivalent to a smartphone camera and a communication unit 32. The second terminal 40 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) used by a recycler.

[0032] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a method for reading the component information stored in the code 15 shown in Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. 3, the codes 15 are attached to the jacket 12 of the optical cable 1 at a plurality of locations at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the optical cable 1. The predetermined intervals are within the range of 30 cm to 1 m, for example.

[0033] 2 and 3 , the worker captures an image of one of the multiple cords 15 using the first terminal 30. As a result, the acquisition unit 31 in the first terminal 30 acquires the component information stored in the cord 15. Furthermore, for example, if there is a surplus of optical cable 1 after laying the optical cable 1, the worker acquires the component information stored in the cord 15 from the jacket 12 of the surplus optical cable 1 and performs an operation on the first terminal 30 to transmit the component information to the second terminal 40. As a result, the communication unit 32 in the first terminal 30 transmits the component information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to the second terminal 40 via the wireless base station 61 and the external network 62.

[0034] When the second terminal 40 receives the component information transmitted from the first terminal 30, it displays the content of the component information on a monitor of the second terminal 40. This allows the recycler to accurately grasp the components of the jacket 12 of the optical cable 1 remaining after installation.

[0035] The first terminal 30 may transmit the component information not only to the second terminal 40 but also to the external server 50. For example, assume that the code 15 stores the component information of the jacket 12 of the optical cable 1 as well as an ID (Identification) of the optical cable 1. In this case, the first terminal 30 can acquire the component information and ID stored in the code 15, associate the acquired component information with the ID, and store them in the external server 50.

[0036] Furthermore, the second terminal 40 can acquire the component information stored in the external server 50. For example, suppose that a recycler inputs the ID of the optical cable 1 and performs an operation on the second terminal 40 to request acquisition of component information of the jacket 12 of the optical cable 1. In this case, the second terminal 40 can acquire the component information corresponding to the input ID from the component information stored in the external server 50 and display the component information on a monitor or the like. That is, the recycler can not only directly acquire the component information of the jacket 12 from the worker who installs the optical cable 1, but also access the external server 50 using the second terminal 40 to acquire the component information of the jacket 12 stored on the external server 50.

[0037] The first terminal 30 is not limited to a smartphone, and may be AR (Argumented Reality) glasses, etc. The jacket 12 of the optical cable 1 may be provided with a two-dimensional code or a one-dimensional code other than a QR code as the code 15.

[0038] Furthermore, the component information stored in the code 15 is not limited to information indicating the components of the outer jacket 12 themselves, but may also be identification information corresponding to the components of the outer jacket 12. For example, assume that the external server 50 stores a correspondence table indicating the correspondence between the components of the outer jacket 12 and the identification information. When the second terminal 40 receives the identification information from the first terminal 30 as the component information stored in the code 15, it can obtain the component corresponding to the identification information from the correspondence table stored in the external server 50.

[0039] [Reuse of Sheath] As described above, a recycler can accurately grasp the components of the sheath 12 of the optical cable 1, which allows the recycler to more appropriately reuse the sheath 12. For example, the recycler can take into consideration the type of resin material and the type of additives in the sheath 12 and more appropriately determine the compounding ratio and destination of the sheath 12 when reusing it.

[0040] The jacket 12 of the optical cable 1 is reused, for example, as part of an installation component such as a duct in which another optical cable is installed. If the jacket 12 is reused as the jacket of another optical cable, the use of the reused jacket 12 may affect the characteristics of the other optical cable. In contrast, if the jacket 12 is reused as an installation component of the other optical cable as described above, it is possible to avoid affecting the characteristics of the other optical cable, and further, it is possible to effectively utilize the resin material contained in the jacket 12.

[0041] Furthermore, when the sheath 12 of the optical cable 1 is reused as part of the installation component, it is desirable that the proportion of the sheath 12 of the optical cable 1 in the installation component be 25% or less. Here, as the blend ratio of reused material in the installation component increases, the tensile breaking elongation of the installation component tends to decrease. In contrast, as described above, if the proportion of the sheath 12 of the optical cable 1 that is reused in the installation component is 25% or less, it is possible to prevent the tensile breaking elongation of the installation component from becoming low.

[0042] Although the present disclosure has been described above based on specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0043] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 optical cable 2 sub-duct 3 main duct 11 cable core 12 jacket 13 optical fiber core 14 overwrap tape 15 cord 16 optical fiber ribbon 30 first terminal 31 acquisition unit 32 communication unit 40 second terminal 50 external server 61 wireless base station 62 external network 100 reuse system

Claims

1. An optical cable reuse system comprising: a code attached to an optical cable and storing component information of the optical cable's outer sheath; an acquisition unit that acquires the component information; and a communication unit that transmits the component information to another device after the optical cable is laid.

2. The optical cable reuse system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits the component information to an external server.

3. An optical cable reuse system as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the component information includes the type of resin material contained in the outer sheath of the optical cable.

4. An optical cable reuse system as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the component information includes the type of additive contained in the outer sheath of the optical cable.

5. An optical cable reuse system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer sheath of the optical cable is reused as a member for laying another optical cable.

6. The optical cable reuse system according to claim 5, wherein the installation member is a duct in which the other optical cable is installed.

7. The optical cable reuse system according to claim 5, wherein the proportion of the optical cable sheath that is reused in the installation member is 25% or less.