Light intensity-adjustable fiber coating layer ultraviolet curing apparatus

Abstract

The invention relates to a light intensity-adjustable fiber coating layer ultraviolet curing apparatus. The apparatus comprises a cylindrical mounting base, UVLED light source modules are circumferentially and axially arranged in the inner cavity of the cylindrical mounting base, a cylindrical focusing lens is arranged in front of the luminescence surfaces of the UVLED light source modules to make ultraviolet lights emitted by the UVLED light source modules focused on a curing axis, an ultraviolet sensor is arranged in the inner cavity of the cylindrical mounting base, the ultraviolet sensor is connected with an UVLED power supply control module through an ultraviolet intensity signal processing module, and the UVLED power supply control module is connected with the UVLED light source modules to make the fiber drawing speed and the ultraviolet intensity form a control closed loop. The apparatus allows the output of UVLED light sources and the fiber drawing speed to be adjusted and matched in real time in order to guarantee and improve the fiber coating layer curing quality, efficiently utilize the UVLED light sources and save electric energy; and the apparatus has the advantages of reasonable and simple structure, high curing efficiency, less energy consumption, high automation degree, good coating layer quality and simple use.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a device for efficiently curing the coating layer of a high-speed drawn optical fiber, in particular to an ultraviolet curing device for an optical fiber coating with adjustable light intensity, which belongs to the technical field of optical fiber manufacturing equipment. Background technique [0002] The outer surface of the optical fiber usually has one or several coating layers as its protective layer. In a typical optical fiber drawing process, when the preform is melted and drawn into a bare optical fiber, two or more layers of coatings need to be coated on-line. Usually a relatively soft inner coating prevents microscopic bending of the fiber, and a relatively hard outer coating provides additional protection and better handling of the fiber. These organic polymer coatings can be cured onto the fiber surface by heat (thermal curing) or exposure to ultraviolet light (UV curing). Ultraviolet (UV) curing of optical fiber ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Mercury lamps have the disadvantage of requiring considerable power to produce UV radiation of sufficient intensity

For example, curing a single-coated fiber (such as polymer coating) may require a total power consumption of 50kW

Another disadvantage of mercury lamps is that a large amount of energy used to light mercury lamps is emitted as heat instead of ultraviolet rays, which means that mercury lamps have a relatively low energy utilization rate

However, in actual use, the UVLED light source module cannot automatically adjust the ultraviolet light intensity according to the real-time drawing speed and coating conditions of the optical fiber, which will not only cause waste of energy consumption, but also affect the curing quality of the optical fiber coating

Images