阅读说明：本技术 一种光纤拉丝涂覆装置及涂覆方法 (Optical fiber drawing coating device and coating method ) 是由 孙志成 邵晓峰 王晔 张海涛 王玉树 朱刘盅 曹珊珊 刘志忠 薛驰 薛济萍 于 2021-10-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及光纤加工生产技术领域,具体涉及一种光纤拉丝涂覆装置及涂覆方法。一种光纤拉丝涂覆装置,包括：模体,具有允许光纤贯穿的容纳腔；保温结构,套设在所述模体外周,具有用于容纳导热液体的腔体；第一温控结构,设于所述保温结构的腔体中,包括加热器、冷却器和温度传感器；控制器,与所述第一温控结构信号连接,用于接收所述温度传感器反馈的温度信号,以控制所述加热器的升温或冷却器的降温。本发明提供了一种涂覆均匀,产品质量高的光纤拉丝涂覆装置及涂覆方法。(The invention relates to the technical field of optical fiber processing and production, in particular to an optical fiber drawing coating device and a coating method. An optical fiber drawing coating apparatus comprising: the die body is provided with an accommodating cavity for allowing the optical fiber to penetrate through; the heat insulation structure is sleeved on the periphery of the die body and is provided with a cavity for containing heat conduction liquid; the first temperature control structure is arranged in the cavity of the heat insulation structure and comprises a heater, a cooler and a temperature sensor; and the controller is in signal connection with the first temperature control structure and is used for receiving the temperature signal fed back by the temperature sensor so as to control the temperature rise of the heater or the temperature reduction of the cooler. The invention provides an optical fiber drawing coating device and a coating method with uniform coating and high product quality.)

1. An optical fiber drawing coating apparatus, comprising:

a mold body having a receiving cavity for allowing the optical fiber (13) to pass therethrough;

the heat insulation structure (1) is sleeved on the periphery of the die body and is provided with a cavity for containing heat conduction liquid;

the first temperature control structure is arranged in a cavity of the heat insulation structure (1) and comprises a heater (17), a cooler (18) and a temperature sensor (19);

the coating diameter detector (22) is arranged at an outlet of the accommodating cavity of the die body and is used for monitoring the coating diameter of the optical fiber (13) in real time;

and the controller (2) is in signal connection with the first temperature control structure and the coating diameter detector (22) and is used for receiving a signal of the coating diameter detector (22) and a temperature signal fed back by the temperature sensor (19) so as to control the temperature rise of the heater (17) or the temperature drop of the cooler (18).

2. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to claim 1, wherein the heater (17) and the cooler (18) are uniformly distributed along the circumference of the cavity of the heat-insulating structure (1).

3. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to claim 2, further comprising a second temperature control structure (20), wherein the second temperature control structure (20) is arranged at the inlet of the accommodating cavity of the die body and is in signal connection with the controller (2).

4. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the die body comprises a guide die (4), an inner coating die (5) and an outer coating die (6) which are arranged in sequence along the drawing direction, the peripheries of the guide die (4), the inner coating die (5) and the outer coating die (6) are all in a conical shape, and the inner wall of the heat preservation structure (1) is in a conical shape matched with the periphery of the die body.

5. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to claim 4, further comprising an air seal structure (3) connected with the guide die (4), wherein a gas inlet (11) is formed in a side wall of the air seal structure (3), an optical fiber inlet (10) is formed in an end face, away from the guide die (4), of the air seal structure (3), and a baffle ring (12) is arranged on the periphery of the optical fiber inlet (10).

6. The optical fiber drawing coating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the optical fiber outlet inner diameter of the outer coating die (6), the optical fiber outlet inner diameter of the guide die (4), and the optical fiber outlet inner diameter of the inner coating die (5) are gradually reduced.

7. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of baffles (7) are arranged in the inner coating die (5) and the outer coating die (6) at intervals along the circumferential direction, and a diversion trench (8) is formed between two adjacent baffles (7).

8. The optical fiber drawing and coating device according to claim 4, wherein the heat insulating structure (1) is provided with a first material passage (15) communicated with the inner coating die (5) and a second material passage (16) communicated with the outer coating die (6).

9. An optical fiber drawing coating method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

coating and curing the optical fiber in sequence, monitoring the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid and the diameter of the coating in real time during coating, and increasing the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid when the diameter of the coating is smaller than a preset value; when the coating diameter is larger than a predetermined value, the temperature of the heat conductive liquid is lowered.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of adjusting the flow rate of the inert gas around the outer circumference of the optical fiber when the diameter of the coating layer does not reach a predetermined value after the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid is increased or decreased.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of optical fiber processing and production, in particular to an optical fiber drawing coating device and a coating method.

Background

Optical fiber plays a very important role in modern communication systems. The optical fiber is manufactured by heating and softening an optical fiber preform at high temperature, drawing the optical fiber preform into glass fiber, coating two layers of polymer resin materials on the surface of the glass fiber, and curing to finally form the optical fiber for communication. Coating of optical fibers is a critical link in the manufacture of optical fibers. The coating device is one of the core components in optical fiber manufacturing, and influences the coating concentricity error of the optical fiber, the mechanical strength of the optical fiber, the environmental performance and the splicing performance of the optical fiber. The existing coating is formed by a mold and a cup body and a water bath water jacket, and the water bath temperature cannot be changed in linkage with the coating diameter, so that the coating is uneven.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the invention is to overcome the defects that the coating is not uniform and the product quality is affected when the optical fiber coating device in the prior art performs high-speed wire drawing, so that the optical fiber wire drawing coating device and the coating method which can rapidly increase and decrease the temperature, are uniform in coating and have high product quality are provided.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides an optical fiber drawing coating apparatus, comprising:

the die body is provided with an accommodating cavity for allowing the optical fiber to penetrate through;

the heat insulation structure is sleeved on the periphery of the die body and is provided with a cavity for containing heat conduction liquid;

the first temperature control structure is arranged in the cavity of the heat insulation structure and comprises a heater, a cooler and a temperature sensor;

the coating diameter detector is arranged at an outlet of the accommodating cavity of the die body and is used for monitoring the coating diameter of the optical fiber in real time;

and the controller is in signal connection with the first temperature control structure and the coating diameter detector and is used for receiving the signal of the coating diameter detector and the temperature signal fed back by the temperature sensor so as to control the temperature rise of the heater or the temperature drop of the cooler.

Optionally, the heaters and the coolers are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the cavity of the heat preservation structure.

Optionally, the mold further comprises a second temperature control structure, wherein the second temperature control structure is arranged at an inlet of the accommodating cavity of the mold body and is in signal connection with the controller.

Optionally, the die body comprises a guide die, an inner coating die and an outer coating die which are sequentially arranged along the wire drawing direction, the peripheries of the guide die, the inner coating die and the outer coating die are all in a conical shape, and the inner wall of the heat insulation structure is in a conical shape matched with the periphery of the die body.

Optionally, the optical fiber connector further comprises an air seal structure connected with the guide die, a gas inlet is formed in the side wall of the air seal structure, an optical fiber inlet is formed in the end face, far away from the guide die, of the air seal structure, and a baffle ring is arranged on the periphery of the optical fiber inlet.

Optionally, the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the outer coating die, the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the guide die, and the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the inner coating die are gradually decreased.

Optionally, a plurality of baffles are arranged in the inner-layer coating die and the outer-layer coating die at intervals along the circumferential direction, and a diversion trench is formed between every two adjacent baffles.

Optionally, the heat insulation structure is provided with a first material channel communicated with the inner coating die and a second material channel communicated with the outer coating die.

Also provided is an optical fiber drawing coating method, comprising the following steps:

coating and curing the optical fiber in sequence, monitoring the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid and the diameter of the coating in real time during coating, and increasing the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid when the diameter of the coating is smaller than a preset value; when the coating diameter is larger than a predetermined value, the temperature of the heat conductive liquid is lowered.

Optionally, the method further comprises the step of adjusting the flow rate of the inert gas around the periphery of the optical fiber when the diameter of the coating layer does not reach a predetermined value after the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid is increased or decreased.

The technical scheme of the invention has the following advantages:

1. according to the optical fiber drawing coating device provided by the invention, the diameter of the optical fiber coating is monitored in real time during optical fiber drawing coating, and meanwhile, the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid in the heat-insulating structure is monitored in real time by the temperature sensor so as to control the heating of the heater or the cooling of the cooler, so that the coating is uniform, the diameter of the produced optical fiber meets the requirement, and the product quality is ensured.

2. According to the optical fiber drawing and coating device provided by the invention, the second temperature control structure is arranged, so that when the optical fiber meeting the requirements cannot be produced through the adjustment of the first temperature control structure, a supplementary adjustment effect can be achieved.

3. The periphery of the guide die, the inner coating die and the outer coating die are all in a conical shape, and the inner wall of the heat insulation structure is in a conical shape matched with the periphery of the die body. Automatic centering and conical extrusion sealing are achieved through the conical structure, and the problem that the actual alignment condition of a die is unstable due to sealing of a sealing ring, and the stability of optical fiber coating concentricity error data is affected is solved.

4. According to the optical fiber drawing and coating device provided by the invention, the baffle ring is arranged on the periphery of the optical fiber inlet of the air seal structure, so that the optical fiber can be prevented from being blown by gas, and the product quality is further ensured.

5. According to the optical fiber drawing coating method provided by the invention, the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid and the coating diameter are monitored in real time when the optical fiber is coated, and the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid is regulated in real time according to the comparison between the coating diameter and the preset value, so that the synchronous change of the temperature of the heat-conducting liquid and the coating diameter is realized, and the product quality is further ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an optical fiber drawing coating apparatus provided by the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mold body and insulation structure of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a top view of an inner coating die and an outer coating die.

Description of reference numerals:

1. a heat preservation structure; 2. a controller; 3. a gas seal structure; 4. guiding a mold; 5. coating the inner layer with a mold; 6. coating a die on the outer layer; 7. a baffle plate; 8. a diversion trench; 9. positioning pins; 10. an optical fiber inlet; 11. a gas inlet; 12. a baffle ring; 13. an optical fiber; 14. a fixed block; 15. a first material passage; 16. a second material passage; 17. a heater; 18. a cooler; 19. a temperature sensor; 20. a second temperature control structure; 21. a curing oven; 22. and (4) a coating diameter detector.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the present invention will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it should be understood that the described embodiments are some, but not all embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

In an embodiment of the optical fiber drawing coating apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 3, heat conducting oil is used as heat conducting liquid, and a coating object is a quartz optical fiber, and the apparatus includes a mold body, a heat insulation structure 1 sleeved on the periphery of the mold body, a first temperature control structure arranged in a cavity of the heat insulation structure 1, a coating diameter detector 22 arranged at an outlet of an accommodating cavity of the mold body, and a controller 2 in signal connection with the first temperature control structure and the coating diameter detector 22.

The die body is made of high-strength alloy steel, and an accommodating cavity allowing the optical fiber to penetrate through is formed in the die body. Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the die body includes an air seal structure 3, a guide die 4, an inner coating die 5 and an outer coating die 6, which are sequentially arranged along the wire drawing direction, and the peripheries of the guide die 4, the inner coating die 5 and the outer coating die 6 are all tapered and subjected to mirror surface treatment. As shown in fig. 3, a plurality of baffles 7 are circumferentially arranged on the upper portions of the inner-layer coating die 5 and the outer-layer coating die 6 at intervals, a diversion trench 8 is formed between every two adjacent baffles 7, a first conical die hole, a second conical die hole and a third conical die hole are respectively arranged among the guide die 4, the inner-layer coating die 5 and the outer-layer coating die 6, and all the die holes are large in top and small in bottom and are internally mirror-finished; the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the outer coating die 6, the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the guide die 4 and the inner diameter of the optical fiber outlet of the inner coating die 5 are gradually reduced.

In order to ensure the firmness of installation, positioning pins 9 are arranged at the joint of the guide die 4 and the inner coating die 5 and the joint of the inner coating die 5 and the outer coating die 6; the air seal structure 3 is connected with the guide die 4 through threads. The center of the upper part of the air seal structure 3 is provided with an optical fiber inlet 10, and the central axis of the optical fiber inlet 10 coincides with the central axis of the first conical die hole, the central axis of the second conical die hole and the central axis of the third conical die hole.

The side wall of the air seal structure 3 is provided with an air inlet 11, and the periphery of the optical fiber inlet 10 is provided with a baffle ring 12. The baffle ring 12 is spaced from the bottom of the gas sealing structure 3 to allow carbon dioxide entering through the gas inlet to surround the periphery of the optical fiber 13.

Insulation construction 1 is the cylinder, chooses for use the better brass of thermal conductivity, and inside has the cavity that is used for holding heat conduction liquid, insulation construction 1's inner wall for with the toper of die body periphery adaptation, big end up, surface mirror surface handles, the bottom trompil. The bottom of the heat insulation structure 1 is provided with a positioning pin 9 for limiting the position of the outer coating die 6, and the upper part is provided with a fixing block 14 for pressing the guide die 4.

And the heat insulation structure 1 is also provided with a first material channel 15 communicated with the inner coating die 5 and a second material channel 16 communicated with the outer coating die 6.

The first temperature control structure includes a heater 17, a cooler 18, and a temperature sensor 19. The heaters 17 are four heaters which are uniformly distributed at the lower part of the cavity of the heat insulation structure 1 and are used for heating heat conduction oil; the four coolers 18 are uniformly distributed on the upper part of the cavity of the heat insulation structure 1 and are used for cooling heat conduction oil; the temperature sensor 19 is arranged at the lower part of the cavity of the heat insulation structure 1.

And a curing furnace 21 and a coating diameter detector 22 are sequentially arranged at the outlet of the accommodating cavity of the die body and are used for curing the optical fiber 13 coated twice and monitoring the coating diameter of the optical fiber 13 in real time.

The controller 2 is arranged outside the heat preservation structure 1, is a PLC, is in signal connection with the temperature sensor 19, the heater 17, the cooler 18, the curing oven 21 and the coating diameter detector 22, and is used for receiving signals of the coating diameter detector 22 and temperature signals fed back by the temperature sensor 19 so as to control the temperature rise of the heater 17 or the temperature drop of the cooler 18.

As shown in fig. 1, a second temperature control structure 20 is further disposed at an inlet of the accommodating cavity of the mold body, the second temperature control structure 20 is an optical fiber cooling system, a cavity is disposed inside the optical fiber cooling system, helium gas is introduced into the cavity and directly coats the periphery of the optical fiber 13, and the optical fiber cooling system is in signal connection with the controller 2.

An optical fiber drawing coating method comprises the following steps:

the optical fiber 13 sequentially passes through the second temperature control structure 20, the air seal structure 3, the guide die 4, the inner coating die 5, the outer coating die 6, the curing oven 21 and the coating diameter detector 22 from top to bottom. Under the action of high-pressure gas, the inner layer coating enters the inner layer coating die 5 through the first material channel 15 and the corresponding diversion trench 8 on the heat insulation structure 1, and the surface of the optical fiber 13 is coated for the first time; the outer layer coating enters the outer layer coating die 6 through the second material channel 16 and the corresponding diversion trench 8 on the heat insulation structure 1, and the surface of the optical fiber 13 is coated for the second time. The silica fiber coated with the liquid coating enters a curing furnace 21 and undergoes a polymerization reaction after ultraviolet radiation to form a solid coating.

When the first coating and the second coating are carried out, the heater is controlled to heat according to set parameters, the coating temperature and the coating diameter are monitored in real time, when the coating diameter detector 22 detects that the coating diameter of the optical fiber 13 is smaller than a preset value, the PLC controls the heater 17 to heat according to a temperature signal fed back by the temperature sensor 19, and the heating amplitude is not larger than 4 ℃; when the coating diameter detector 22 detects that the coating diameter of the optical fiber 13 is larger than a preset value, the PLC controls the cooler 18 to cool according to a temperature signal fed back by the temperature sensor 19, and the cooling amplitude is not larger than 4 ℃. When the coating diameter of the optical fiber 13 still does not reach the predetermined value after the temperature is raised or lowered, the PLC controls the second temperature control structure 20 to adjust the flow rate of the helium gas until the predetermined value is reached.

When the wire drawing speed is greatly reduced in the production process, namely the reduction amplitude is larger than 100m/min, the PLC controls a cooler in the heat insulation structure to reduce the temperature of the heat conduction oil to a set temperature parameter at a corresponding speed, so that the diameter of the produced optical fiber meets the requirement, the diameter fluctuation of the optical fiber is small, the coating concentricity is stable, meanwhile, the coating waste is reduced, and the method is suitable for the ultrahigh-speed wire drawing production of more than 2800 m/min. And heat conduction oil is adopted to replace water, so that the problems that a water bath pipeline is easy to scale and influence heat conduction to block a water channel and circulating water is easy to evaporate and needs frequent water replenishing are avoided, and the problems of coating quality such as sudden change of the diameter of a coating and the like caused by water replenishing in the production process are easily solved.

It should be understood that the above examples are only for clarity of illustration and are not intended to limit the embodiments. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art in light of the above description. And are neither required nor exhaustive of all embodiments. And obvious variations or modifications therefrom are within the scope of the invention.