A high-core-count ribbon optical cable and its manufacturing method

Abstract

This invention discloses an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable and its manufacturing method. The ribbon optical cable, from the inside out, comprises an optical fiber ribbon, a TPU ribbon, a tear cord, a reinforcing member, a water-blocking tape, an outer sheath, and water-blocking powder. The TPU ribbon is spirally twisted around the optical fiber ribbon, and the water-blocking powder is attached to both the optical fiber ribbon and the TPU ribbon. The reinforcing member is embedded in the outer sheath. The manufacturing method involves passing the optical fiber ribbon through a powder coating machine to add water-blocking powder, then adding TPU ribbon around the optical fiber ribbon through an extruder. A water-blocking powder filling device is added at the extruder head, coating the TPU ribbon with water-blocking powder to form sub-units. These sub-units are twisted together, longitudinally wrapped with water-blocking tape, and then extruded to form a sheath with embedded reinforcing members, ultimately forming the ribbon optical cable. The advantages include a high core count, allowing for quick peeling of the TPU ribbon using fingers, improving construction efficiency; and a protruding outer sheath that allows for quick identification of the reinforcing member's location, facilitating rapid longitudinal stripping or opening of vents.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical cable technology, specifically to an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of communication services such as fiber-to-the-home, large customer access, and data center construction, people's demand for information is increasing daily, leading to a growing demand for optical fiber. Coupled with the increasing scarcity of urban pipeline resources, optical cables are continuously developing towards higher core counts; there is even demand for 3456-core optical cables abroad. However, the ribbon optical cables currently on the market have the following drawbacks:

[0003] 1. Generally, the outer sheath of large-core ribbon optical cables is a central loose tube type, stranded optical cable, skeleton type optical cable, etc. The outer diameter of the optical cable is large and the fiber density is small, which makes it impossible to use in increasingly scarce pipeline resources.

[0004] 2. The PBT coating material of the optical fiber ribbon is an integral covering structure, which results in a larger outer diameter of the optical cable. At the same time, due to the nature of the PBT material, it cannot be quickly peeled off with fingers and requires the use of tools for separation, which seriously affects the construction efficiency.

[0005] 3. Conventional sheaths contain fiber optic paste, which needs to be cleaned during optical cable installation, causing some environmental pollution.

[0006] 4. The protective sleeve at the reinforcing strip in the existing technology is generally circular, which makes it difficult to quickly identify the location of the reinforcing part and increases the difficulty of longitudinal peeling or opening the window. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the issues of excessively large outer diameter and the inability to quickly peel off the protective layer covering the entire fiber ribbon in the aforementioned high-core-count ribbon optical cables, this invention provides an ultra-high-core-count ribbon optical cable and its manufacturing method. Several dry sheaths are twisted together, and the outer sheath of each sheath is composed of several TPU tapes spirally twisted together. It can be easily peeled off with fingers, and can also be quickly peeled longitudinally and have windows opened. At the same time, it has the advantage of high fiber density.

[0008] A high-core-count ribbon optical cable includes an optical fiber ribbon, a TPU ribbon, a reinforcing member, a tear cord, an outer sheath, a water-blocking tape, and a water-blocking powder. From the inside out, the ribbon optical cable consists of an optical fiber ribbon, a TPU ribbon, a tear cord, a reinforcing member, a water-blocking tape, and an outer sheath. The optical fiber ribbon, water-blocking powder, and TPU ribbon form the optical cable sheath. The TPU ribbon is spirally twisted around the optical fiber ribbon, the water-blocking powder is attached to the optical fiber ribbon and the TPU ribbon, and the reinforcing member is embedded in the outer sheath.

[0009] Preferably, the fiber optic ribbon is any one of ordinary fiber optic ribbon, flexible fiber optic ribbon, or mesh fiber optic ribbon, and the fiber optic ribbon has 12 or 24 cores.

[0010] Preferably, the number of TPU strips is ≥2, the width of the TPU strips is ≥1.0mm, and the thickness of the TPU strips is 0.1~0.3mm.

[0011] Preferably, the reinforcing member is a non-metallic reinforcing member, using FRP tape or aramid yarn.

[0012] Preferably, the outer sheath is raised.

[0013] Preferably, several sub-units are twisted together to form a cable core, and water-blocking tape, reinforcing members, and sheaths are added to form an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable.

[0014] A method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable includes the following steps:

[0015] Step 1: Pass the fiber optic ribbon with water-blocking powder through the extruder head; turn on the extruder and traction machine, and TPU is extruded from the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head to form several TPU ribbons;

[0016] Step 2: When the optical fiber ribbon passes through the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head at a constant speed, the outer mold of the extruder rotates at the same time, so that the TPU ribbon is spirally wrapped around the optical fiber ribbon.

[0017] Step 3: Install a water-blocking powder filling device 5cm away from the outer mold opening of the extruder. When the TPU tape passes through the water-blocking powder filling device, the TPU tape has not yet cooled down and is in a high temperature melt state. The water-blocking powder will adhere to the TPU tape. The water-blocking powder filling device collects the excess water-blocking powder.

[0018] Step 4: The fiber optic ribbon with added water-blocking powder passes through a set of air-cooling devices consisting of 4 dryers, and compressed air is used to cool the TPU ribbon.

[0019] Step 5: The fiber optic ribbon passes through the tension wheel and is wound onto the reel to form a fiber optic ribbon subunit;

[0020] Step 6: Twist several fiber optic strip sub-units together through a twisting process, wrap water-blocking tape longitudinally, and use binding yarn to fix the water-blocking tape to the outside of the twisted sub-units.

[0021] Step 7: In the sheathing process, the cable core is laid out through the wire feeding frame and then passes through the extruder head;

[0022] Step 8: The reinforcing member is fed through the inner mold using an active feeder; the tear rope is fed through the active feeder and enters the inner mold outside the water-blocking strip; a special fixing device is used to set the tear rope at 180° on the horizontal plane; the reinforcing member passes through the hole in the inner mold, and the reinforcing members on both sides are set at 180° on the horizontal plane.

[0023] Step 9: Secure the cable core, tear rope, and reinforcing member together, turn on the traction machine and extruder, extrude the sheath material, and finally form an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable.

[0024] Preferably, the outer mold of the extruder head is rotatable and has three arc-shaped openings at 120 degrees.

[0025] Preferably, the speed range of the optical fiber in step two is 10–70 m / min.

[0026] Preferably, in step four, the TPU strip is cooled to below 50°C.

[0027] Preferably, in step four, the air-cooling device is a set of four horseshoe-shaped water blowers for extruders with an opening diameter of 10mm, and the water-blocking powder filling device is an electrostatic powder passing machine.

[0028] Preferably, the TPU sheaths used in the optical cable neutron units are of different colors.

[0029] Compared with the closest existing technology, the technical solution provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0030] (1) In the existing sleeve technology, the fiber ribbon is surrounded by a layer of PBT to form a conventional sleeve; while the sleeve of the present invention uses a TPU sheath. The TPU is extruded by an extruder to form several TPU strips, which are spirally twisted around the fiber ribbon to form protection for the inner fiber ribbon.

[0031] (2) In the prior art, the water-blocking material around the sleeve is usually added in the next cabling process. However, when the TPU tapes of the present invention are just coming out of the extruder, the TPU tapes have not yet cooled down and are in a high temperature melt state. The water-blocking powder will adhere to the TPU tapes and form the water-blocking material of the cable core. This method of adding water-blocking powder is very different from the conventional method. The water-blocking powder is more evenly distributed, the water-blocking effect is better, one process is reduced, and the production efficiency is improved.

[0032] (3) Conventional reinforcements are generally located in the middle and outside of the cable core; however, the reinforcement of this invention is embedded in the sheath. Compared with reinforcements located in the middle and outside of the cable core, this can effectively reduce the outer diameter of the optical cable. The reinforcement of this invention is embedded in the sheath, which can quickly strip the sheath when the optical cable is stripped. In addition, the reinforcement of this invention is a non-metallic reinforcement, using FRP tape or aramid yarn, which can be bent, shaped and fit more tightly with the sheath. Compared with reinforcements embedded in the sheath, it will not cause an additional increase in the thickness of the sheath.

[0033] (4) The outer sheath of the existing technology is generally circular, making it difficult to distinguish where to start the stripping. However, the outer sheath of the reinforcing strip of the optical cable of the present invention is set in a raised shape, which can quickly identify the position of the reinforcing member and facilitate quick longitudinal stripping or opening of the skylight.

[0034] (5) The TPU strip of the present invention can be 2, 3 or other numbers, and the specific number can be determined according to the outer diameter of the sub-unit; the width of the TPU strip is determined according to the outer diameter of the sub-unit, and the width is greater than or equal to 1.0 mm, the maximum width is unlimited, and the thickness is preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm. These width and thickness settings can be easily and quickly torn by hand; in addition, several spirally twisted TPU sheaths, because of the spiral twisting method and the relatively soft TPU material, can be quickly peeled off with fingers without the need for any tools, which improves work efficiency;

[0035] (6) The optical fiber ribbon of the present invention can be a regular optical fiber ribbon, a flexible optical fiber ribbon, or a mesh optical fiber ribbon, and the number of optical fiber ribbons in each subunit can be adjusted as needed; the optical fiber ribbon can be 12 cores or 24 cores, and the number of optical fiber ribbons depends on the specific situation; the type and number of cores of the optical fiber ribbon can be determined according to the specific situation, which is more conducive to actual operation; the subunit of the optical cable of the present invention uses TPU sheaths of different colors and different numbers of TPU ribbons outside the TPU tubes as a distinction, so as to realize the identification of the tubes in the cable, thereby forming optical cables with different core numbers. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the ordinary fiber optic ribbon cable structure of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the mesh fiber ribbon cable structure of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a side view of the sleeve of the present invention;

[0039] The components include: 1. Fiber optic ribbon, 2. TPU ribbon, 3. Water-blocking tape, 4. Reinforcing member, 5. Tear rope, 6. Outer sheath, and 7. Water-blocking powder. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] Please see Figures 1 to 3This invention provides an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable, comprising an optical fiber ribbon 1, a TPU ribbon 2, a reinforcing member 4, a tear cord 5, an outer sheath 6, and a water-blocking powder 7. From the inside out, the ribbon optical cable consists of the optical fiber ribbon 1, TPU ribbon 2, tear cord 5, reinforcing member 4, water-blocking tape 3, and outer sheath 6. The optical fiber ribbon 1, water-blocking powder 7, and TPU ribbon 2 form the optical cable sheath. Several TPU ribbons 2 are spirally twisted around the optical fiber ribbon 1, forming protection for the inner optical fiber ribbon 1. The water-blocking powder 7 is attached to the optical fiber ribbon 1 and TPU ribbon 2. The reinforcing member 4 is embedded in the outer sheath 6, and its position relative to the cable core can effectively reduce the outer diameter of the optical cable. When the optical cable is stripped, it can quickly strip the sheath.

[0042] Furthermore, fiber optic strip 1 can be any one of ordinary fiber optic strip, flexible fiber optic strip, or mesh fiber optic strip, and fiber optic strip 1 can have 12 or 24 cores; the type and number of cores of fiber optic strip 1 can be determined according to the specific needs, which is more conducive to actual operation.

[0043] Furthermore, the number of TPU strips 2 is ≥2, the width of TPU strips 2 is ≥1.0mm, and the thickness of TPU strips 2 is 0.1~0.3mm. These width and thickness settings allow for easy and quick tearing by hand.

[0044] Furthermore, the reinforcing member 4 is a non-metallic reinforcing member, using FRP tape or aramid yarn, which allows for a tighter fit between bending, forming, and the sheath. Compared to the reinforcing members embedded in the sheath, it does not cause an additional increase in the thickness of the sheath.

[0045] Furthermore, the outer sheath 6 is raised, which can quickly identify the location of the reinforcement and facilitate quick longitudinal peeling or opening of the window.

[0046] A method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable includes the following steps:

[0047] Step 1: Pass the fiber optic ribbon 1 with water-blocking powder 7 through the extruder head; turn on the extruder, and TPU is extruded from the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head to form several TPU ribbons 2; the sleeve is made of TPU sheath, and TPU is extruded through the extruder to form several TPU ribbons. The several TPU ribbons are spirally twisted around the fiber optic ribbon to form protection for the internal fiber optic ribbon.

[0048] Step 2: When the fiber optic ribbon 1 passes through the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head at a constant speed of 10-70 m / min, the outer mold of the extruder rotates simultaneously, so that the TPU ribbon 2 is spirally wrapped around the fiber optic ribbon.

[0049] Step 3: Install a water-blocking powder filling device 5cm away from the outer die opening of the extruder. TPU tape 2 passes through the water-blocking powder filling device. At this time, TPU tape 2 is still in a high-temperature molten state and has not yet cooled. The water-blocking powder 7 will adhere to TPU tape 2, forming the water-blocking material of the cable core. The water-blocking powder filling device collects the excess water-blocking powder. This method of adding water-blocking powder is significantly different from the conventional method. The water-blocking powder is more evenly distributed, the water-blocking effect is better, a step is reduced, and production efficiency is improved.

[0050] Step 4: The fiber optic ribbon 1 with added water-blocking powder 7 is passed through a set of air-cooling devices consisting of 4 dryers. Compressed air is used to cool the TPU ribbon to below 50°C.

[0051] Step 5: Fiber optic ribbon 1 passes through the tension wheel and is wound onto the reel to form a fiber optic ribbon subunit.

[0052] Step 6: Twist several fiber optic strip sub-units together through a twisting process, wrap water-blocking tape longitudinally, and use binding yarn to fix the water-blocking tape to the outside of the twisted sub-units.

[0053] Step 7: In the sheathing process, the cable core is laid out through the wire laying frame and then passes through the extruder head.

[0054] Step 8: The reinforcing member 4 is fed through the inner mold using an active feeder; the tear rope is fed through the active feeder and enters the inner mold outside the water-blocking strip 3; a special fixing device is used to set the tear rope at 180° on the horizontal plane; the reinforcing member 4 passes through the inner mold through the hole set in the inner mold, and the two reinforcing members 4 on both sides are set at 180° on the horizontal plane.

[0055] Step 9: Secure the cable core, tear rope, and reinforcing member together, turn on the traction machine and extruder, extrude the sheath material, and finally form an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable.

[0056] Furthermore, the extruder head outer mold is rotatable and has three 120-degree arc-shaped openings.

[0057] Furthermore, in step four, the air-cooling device is a set of four horseshoe-shaped water blowers for extruders with an opening diameter of 10mm, and the water-blocking powder filling device is an electrostatic powder passing machine.

[0058] Furthermore, the TPU sheaths used in the optical cable sub-units are of different colors, and different numbers of TPU strips are used outside the TPU sheaths to distinguish them, thereby enabling the identification of the sheaths in the cable and forming optical cables with different core counts.

[0059] Example 1:

[0060] Taking the manufacture of 1728-core ribbon optical cable as an example

[0061] The sub-unit is produced using ordinary fiber optic ribbon or mesh fiber optic ribbon to create a 144-core sheath. Twelve fiber optic ribbons are passed through an electrostatic powder coating machine to add water-blocking powder. Then, through an extruder, three TPU tapes are added around the fiber optic ribbons, spirally twisted together. A water-blocking powder filling device is added at the extruder head to coat the TPU tapes with the powder, forming the sub-unit. The twelve sub-units are twisted together, longitudinally wrapped with water-blocking tape, and then extruded to form a sheath inlaid with FRP tape. The outer sheath at the FRP tape location protrudes, forming a 1728-core ribbon optical cable.

[0062] Example 2:

[0063] Taking the manufacture of 3456-core ribbon optical cable as an example

[0064] The sub-unit is produced using ordinary fiber optic ribbon or mesh fiber optic ribbon, forming a 144-core sheath. Twelve fiber optic ribbons are passed through an electrostatic powder coating machine to add water-blocking powder. Then, three TPU tapes are added around the fiber optic ribbons using an extruder. These three TPU tapes are spirally twisted around the fiber optic ribbons. A water-blocking powder filling device is added at the extruder head to coat the TPU tapes with the water-blocking powder, forming the sub-unit. Twenty-four sub-units are twisted together, longitudinally wrapped with water-blocking tape, and then an FRP tape-embedded sheath is extruded. The outer sheath at the FRP tape location protrudes, forming a 3456-core ribbon optical cable.

[0065] Principle: This invention is an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable. It is suitable for cables with 576 cores or more, and can reach a maximum of 3456 cores. This optical cable is constructed by twisting several optical fiber ribbons into one sub-unit, adding reinforcing members, and extruding an outer sheath to form an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable.

[0066] The subunit adopts a fully dry structure, containing a certain number of fiber optic ribbons. These ribbons can be ordinary fiber optic ribbons, mesh fiber optic ribbons, etc. Water-blocking powder is added around the fiber optic ribbons, and then a TPU sheath is added to form the subunit. The TPU sheath is extruded using a special mold, producing several TPU ribbons. These TPU ribbons are then spirally twisted around the fiber optic ribbons. Water-blocking powder is added to the TPU sheath to form the water-blocking layer of the cable core. By twisting several subunits together and then extruding a sheath inlaid with FRP ribbons, the optical cable is formed.

[0067] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can still make modifications or equivalent substitutions to the specific implementation of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention are within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention pending approval.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable, characterized in that: The ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable includes an optical fiber ribbon, a TPU ribbon, a reinforcing member, a tear cord, an outer sheath, a water-blocking tape, and water-blocking powder. From the inside out, the ribbon optical cable consists of the optical fiber ribbon, TPU ribbon, tear cord, reinforcing member, water-blocking tape, and outer sheath. The optical fiber ribbon, water-blocking powder, and TPU ribbon form the optical cable sleeve. The TPU ribbon is spirally twisted around the optical fiber ribbon. The water-blocking powder is attached to the optical fiber ribbon and TPU ribbon. The reinforcing member is embedded in the outer sheath. The manufacturing method of the ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable includes the following steps: Step 1: Pass the fiber optic ribbon with water-blocking powder through the extruder head; turn on the extruder and traction machine, and TPU is extruded from the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head to form several TPU ribbons; Step 2: When the optical fiber ribbon passes through the arc-shaped opening of the extruder head at a constant speed, the outer mold of the extruder rotates at the same time, so that the TPU ribbon is spirally wrapped around the optical fiber ribbon. Step 3: Install a water-blocking powder filling device about 5cm away from the outer mold opening of the extruder. When the TPU tape passes through the water-blocking powder filling device, the TPU tape has not yet cooled down and is in a high temperature melt state. The water-blocking powder will adhere to the TPU tape. The water-blocking powder filling device collects the excess water-blocking powder. Step 4: The fiber optic ribbon with added water-blocking powder is cooled by compressed air using an air-cooling device. Step 5: The fiber optic ribbon passes through the tension wheel and is wound onto the reel to form a fiber optic ribbon subunit; Step 6: Twist several fiber optic strip sub-units together through a twisting process, wrap water-blocking tape longitudinally, and use binding yarn to fix the water-blocking tape to the outside of the twisted sub-units. Step 7: In the sheathing process, the cable core is laid out through the wire feeding frame and then passes through the extruder head; Step 8: The reinforcing member is fed through the inner mold using an active feeder; the tear rope is fed through the active feeder and enters the inner mold outside the water-blocking strip; a special fixing device is used to set the tear rope at 180° on the horizontal plane; the reinforcing member passes through the hole in the inner mold, and the reinforcing members on both sides are set at 180° on the horizontal plane. Step 9: Secure the cable core, tear rope, and reinforcing member together, turn on the traction machine and extruder, extrude the sheath material, and finally form an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable.

2. The manufacturing method of an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The extruder head has a special structure, with the outer mold being rotatable and having three 120-degree arc-shaped openings.

3. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step two, the speed range of the optical fiber ribbon passing through at a constant speed is 10–70 m / min.

4. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step four, the TPU strip is cooled to below 50°C.

5. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step four, the air-cooling device is a set of four horseshoe-shaped water blowers for extruders with an opening diameter of 10mm; the water-blocking powder filling device is an electrostatic powder passing machine.

6. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical fiber ribbon can be any one of ordinary optical fiber ribbon, flexible optical fiber ribbon, or mesh optical fiber ribbon, and the optical fiber ribbon has 12 or 24 cores.

7. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of TPU strips is ≥2, the width of the TPU strips is ≥1.0 mm, and the thickness of the TPU strips is 0.1~0.3 mm.

8. The method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reinforcing member is a non-metallic reinforcing member, which is an FRP tape or aramid yarn.

9. A method for manufacturing an ultra-high core count ribbon optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer sheath is convex.

Images