Apparatus and method for assembling optical cable

摘要

An apparatus for assembling an optical cable comprises a spacer paying-out portion 7, a stationary ribbon supply unit 9, a gathering portion 14 and a taking-up portion 21. The spacer paying-out portion 7 supplies a spacer 2 having a spiral groove in the surface of a long spacer body from a supply reel 1 while revolving around a line axis X-X. The stationary ribbon supply unit 9 supplies a plurality of optical fiber ribbons 11. The gathering portion 14 forms the optical fiber ribbons 11 sent out of the stationary ribbon supply unit 9 into a cable core 15 by holding the optical fiber ribbons 11 within the spiral groove of the spacer 2 sent out of the spacer paying-out portion 7 and running forward while rotating on its center axis. The taking-up portion 21 winds the cable core 15 on a taking-up reel 20 while revolving around the line axis. A winding roller 8 (8') having an rotational direction identical to an rotational direction of the supply reel 1 of the spacer 2 and used for winding the spacer 2 or the cable core 15 is installed adjacently before and after the gathering portion whereby to revolve the winding roller around the line axis in synchronization with the revolution of the spacer paying-out portion 7. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a twisting of the spacer in the gathering portion resulting from a winding habit of the spacer during a step of assembling cables.