An optical cable

Abstract

The application belongs to the field of cables, and particularly relates to an optical cable. The optical cable comprises a sheath structure, a three-dimensional support, a shaft tube and an optical fiber line; the shaft center of the sheath structure is provided with a middle cavity; the three-dimensional support is coaxially arranged in the middle cavity with the sheath structure, and comprises a center tube part in a circular tube shape and a plurality of three-dimensional support ribs which are arranged in a circumferential direction on the outer wall of the center tube; the three-dimensional support ribs are arranged in a radial direction of the optical cable, the inner end of the inner end head of the inner end part of the three-dimensional support ribs is bent towards one side of the circumferential direction and is tangentially fixed to the outer wall of the center tube, and the outer end of the outer end head abuts on the inner wall of the middle cavity to divide the middle cavity into a plurality of sub-cavities, and each sub-cavity is provided with a sponge filling strip; the sponge filling strip is provided with an optical fiber groove for arranging the optical fiber line. The optical cable can effectively realize the lightweight of the optical cable through reasonable structural cooperation, and can greatly improve the mechanical performance of the optical cable without arranging a reinforcing member, so that the optical cable has excellent compression resistance and impact resistance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of cables, and particularly relates to an optical cable. Background Technology

[0002] Optical fiber cable is a commonly used cable that transmits optical signals and is currently widely used in various fields.

[0003] To ensure axial stability, unsupported load capacity, and strength, existing optical cables typically incorporate metal reinforcing members. While these reinforcing members generally improve the cable's performance, in certain environments, their presence can significantly increase the overall cable weight-to-length ratio, meaning the weight per unit length increases. This directly leads to higher transportation costs and greater difficulty in unsupported loads.

[0004] To address these issues, various technical personnel are currently developing and researching lightweight optical cables. However, the lightweight optical cables developed and researched so far all suffer from insufficient strength and poor compressive strength, resulting in unsatisfactory performance in actual use. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problems of existing optical cables having a high weight ratio, and the fact that lightweighting existing optical cables generally results in weak strength, poor compressive strength, and easy damage or destruction of internal optical fibers under external pressure, this invention provides a lightweight optical cable.

[0006] The purpose of this invention is:

[0007] 1) Reduce the weight of the optical cable to form a lightweight optical cable structure;

[0008] 2) While keeping the optical cable lightweight, improve its various mechanical properties, especially optimize its compressive strength.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution.

[0010] An optical cable, comprising:

[0011] Sheath structure, three-dimensional support components, core tube, and optical fiber;

[0012] The sheath structure has a central cavity at its axis;

[0013] The three-dimensional support member is coaxially arranged with the sheath structure in the central cavity, and includes a central tube portion in the shape of a circular tube, and several three-dimensional support ribs distributed circumferentially on the outer wall of the central tube.

[0014] The stereoscopic support rib is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end head of the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib is bent towards one side of the circumference and is fixed tangentially to the outer wall of the central tube, the outer end head of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end, and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity to divide the middle cavity into a plurality of sub-cavity structures, and a sponge filling strip is arranged in each sub-cavity structure.

[0015] The sponge filling strip is provided with an optical fiber groove for arranging the optical fiber line.

[0016] Preferably,

[0017] The stereoscopic support rib is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib is bent towards one side of the circumference and is fixed tangentially to the outer wall of the central tube, the outer end head of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end, and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity to divide the middle cavity into a plurality of sub-cavity structures, and a sponge filling strip is arranged in each sub-cavity structure.

[0018] Preferably,

[0019] The optical fiber groove is in a double-arc shape or an S shape in the radial cross section of the optical cable, and is divided into an inner side and an outer side along the radial direction, the outer side is close to one side of the stereoscopic support rib where the outer end is bent and arched, the outer side of the optical fiber groove and the stereoscopic support rib form a first arching arc in the same direction of arching, and the inner side of the optical fiber groove is close to one side of the adjacent stereoscopic support rib where the inner end is bent and arched, and the inner side of the optical fiber groove and the adjacent stereoscopic support rib form a second arching arc in the same direction of arching.

[0020] Preferably,

[0021] The optical fiber line is arranged in the optical fiber groove.

[0022] Preferably,

[0023] The outermost optical fiber line in the optical fiber groove is replaced by a reinforcing member.

[0024] Preferably,

[0025] The hollow structure in the central tube is provided with an axial tube.

[0026] Preferably,

[0027] The axial tube is a hollow elastic tube, and the hardness of the hollow elastic tube is less than that of the stereoscopic support member.

[0028] Preferably,

[0029] The axial tube is provided with a spring member.

[0030] Preferably,

[0031] The inner wall of the middle cavity of the sheath structure is further provided with a clamping structure corresponding to the stereoscopic support rib;

[0032] The number of the clamping structures is equal to the number of the stereoscopic support ribs of the stereoscopic support member, and the clamping structures are arranged correspondingly to the stereoscopic support ribs.

[0033] Preferably,

[0034] The clamping structure is in the shape of a water drop on the radial section of the optical cable, which is composed of a round head end and a tail end;

[0035] The round head end of the clamping structure is tangent to the inner wall of the middle cavity and the curved arc of the outer end head of the three-dimensional support rib is attached to the round head wall.

[0036] The tail end of the clamping structure is fixed to the tail wall on the outer side in the radial direction and the inner wall of the middle cavity.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0038] The optical cable of the present application can effectively realize the lightweight of the optical cable through reasonable structural cooperation, and can greatly improve the mechanical properties of the optical cable without setting a reinforcing member, so that the optical cable has excellent compression resistance and impact resistance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 The figure is a structural schematic diagram of the optical cable of the present application;

[0040] Figure 2 The figure is a structural schematic diagram of the axial side of the optical cable of the present application;

[0041] Figure 3 The figure is a stress deformation schematic diagram of the three-dimensional support rib of different structures;

[0042] Figure 4 The figure is a stress decomposition diagram of the optical cable of the present application after setting the clamping structure;

[0043] In the figure: 100 is a sheath structure, 101 is a middle cavity, 102 is a clamping structure, 1021 is a round head end, 10211 is a round head wall, 1022 is a tail end, 10221 is a tail wall, 200 is a three-dimensional support member, 201 is a central tube, 202 is a three-dimensional support rib, 2021 is an outer end head, 2022 is an inner end head, 300 is a sponge filling strip, 301 is an optical fiber slot, 400 is an optical fiber line, 500 is a reinforcing member, 600 is an axial tube, and 601 is a spring member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The present application will be further described and illustrated in detail in the following specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement the present application based on these descriptions. In addition, the embodiments of the present application involved in the following description are generally only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Therefore, based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0045] In the description of the present application, it is to be understood by the terms "thickness", "upper", "lower", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "circumferential" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., and the meaning of "several" is one or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited.

[0046] In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection", "fixing" and the like should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or it can be integrated; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected or in communication with each other; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise explicitly limited. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0047] Unless otherwise specified, the raw materials used in the embodiments of the present application are commercially available or available to those skilled in the art. Unless otherwise specified, the methods used in the embodiments of the present application are methods mastered by those skilled in the art.

[0048] Embodiments

[0049] A light cable with light weight and softness as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The light cable specifically comprises:

[0050] The sheath structure 100, the three-dimensional support 200, the shaft tube 600 and the optical fiber line 400;

[0051] The shaft center of the sheath structure 100 is provided with a middle cavity 101;

[0052] The middle cavity 101 is used to set the three-dimensional support 200, specifically, the three-dimensional support 200 is coaxially arranged with the sheath structure 100 and is arranged at the shaft center of the light cable, and the three-dimensional support 200 specifically comprises a center tube 201 part in a circular tube shape, and a plurality of three-dimensional support ribs 202 parts distributed and arranged on the outer sidewall of the center tube 201;

[0053] The stereoscopic support rib 202 is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end head 2022 of the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib 202 is bent towards one side of the circumference and tangent to the outer wall of the central tube 201, the inner end head 2022 is fixed to the outer wall of the central tube 201, and the outer end head 2021 of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity 101 and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity 101;

[0054] The stereoscopic support rib 202 is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end head 2022 of the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib 202 is bent towards one side of the circumference and tangent to the outer wall of the central tube 201, the inner end head 2022 is fixed to the outer wall of the central tube 201, and the outer end head 2021 of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity 101 and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity 101;

[0055] The stereoscopic support rib 202 is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end head 2022 of the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib 202 is bent towards one side of the circumference and tangent to the outer wall of the central tube 201, the inner end head 2022 is fixed to the outer wall of the central tube 201, and the outer end head 2021 of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity 101 and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity 101;

[0056] The stereoscopic support rib 202 is arranged radially along the optical cable, the inner end head 2022 of the inner end of the stereoscopic support rib 202 is bent towards one side of the circumference and tangent to the outer wall of the central tube 201, the inner end head 2022 is fixed to the outer wall of the central tube 201, and the outer end head 2021 of the outer end extends to the wall part of the middle cavity 101 and is bent towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end and abuts against the inner wall of the middle cavity 101;

[0057] The hollow structure in the central tube 201 is provided with an axial tube 600;

[0058] The axial tube 600 is a hollow elastic tube, and a material softer than the stereoscopic support member 200 is usually selected for preparation, for example, the stereoscopic support member 200 is prepared by using elastic silicone rubber, the elastic silicone rubber has the characteristics of high elastic modulus and high deformation recovery capacity, and the axial tube 600 is prepared by using a PVC elastic hose;

[0059] Under the cooperation of the above structure, the overall optical cable has good compression resistance, and specifically,

[0060] When the optical cable is subjected to pressure, the sheath structure 100 is deformed to drive the middle cavity 101 to deform, the stereoscopic support member 200 as the inner support structure of the middle cavity 101 plays a main supporting role, and at the same time, the stereoscopic support member 200 is the first force receiving object after the deformation of the middle cavity 101, the external force is first transmitted to the stereoscopic support rib 202, and due to the special structure of the stereoscopic support rib 202, the stereoscopic support rib 202 can have good supporting and buffering effects while avoiding the breakage of the connection between the stereoscopic support rib 202 and the central tube 201;

[0061] For example, when the stereoscopic support rib 202 is only provided with an arc-shaped structure at the outer end and the inner end is fixed to the central tube 201 along the radial direction of the optical cable, as shown in (a), the inner end is easily bent at a large angle towards one side of the circumference after being subjected to stress, and is easy to be torn and broken, and when the stereoscopic support rib 202 is only provided with an arc-shaped structure at the inner end, as shown in (b), the outer end is easy to be bent towards the other side of the circumference after being subjected to stress, and is easy to be torn and broken; Figure 3 Figure 3 ​(b) the inner end is quickly attached to the surface of the central tube 201, which causes the support structure to completely present a flat section, and the external force is directly conducted inward, which increases the pressure of the central tube 201 and the buffering effect is poor;

[0062] The three-dimensional support rib 202 of the present application adopts a special structure, which is Figure 3 (c) The opposite double-arc structures of the outer end and the inner end of the three-dimensional support rib 202 make the three-dimensional support rib 202 present an S-shaped deformation trend on the radial cross section of the optical cable after being stressed. The deformation of the two ends can avoid the direct radial conduction of the external force, and at the same time, a larger elastic deformation is generated, thereby generating a more excellent buffering effect. At the same time, it also avoids the tearing damage of the connection part of the three-dimensional support rib 202 and the central tube 201, and ensures the structural stability and high deformation resistance of the three-dimensional support 200.

[0063] The central tube 201 and the shaft tube 600 cooperate with each other to be the main stressed part. First, the central tube 201 with high elastic modulus absorbs external force through deformation. On the other hand, when the optical cable is subjected to periodic force, the central tube 201 is prone to fatigue damage. The built-in shaft tube 600 can assist the deformation reset of the central tube 201, and at the same time, it can periodically absorb stress to reduce the fatigue damage of the central tube 201.

[0064] The shaft tube 600 is further provided with a spring member 601. In the actual processing process, the spring member 601 can be used as the main body to be processed and manufactured in a plastic molding manner. The setting of the spring member 601 increases the deformation recovery ability of the shaft tube 600, improves the recovery ability of the central tube 201 of the three-dimensional support 200, has higher fatigue strength, and improves the impact resistance and fatigue resistance of the whole shaft tube 600. At the same time, it also ensures the softness of the shaft tube 600.

[0065] Further,

[0066] The optical fiber groove 301 is similar to the double-arc shape of the three-dimensional support rib 202 on the radial cross section of the optical cable. It is divided into inner and outer sides along the radial direction. The outer side is close to the side of the outer end of the three-dimensional support rib 202 which is curved and arched. The outer side of the optical fiber groove 301 and the three-dimensional support rib 202 form a first arching arc with the same arching direction. The inner side of the optical fiber groove 301 is close to the side of the inner end of the adjacent three-dimensional support rib 202 which is curved and arched. The inner side of the optical fiber groove 301 and the adjacent three-dimensional support rib 202 form a second arching arc with the same arching direction. The setting mode is similar to, staggered and alternating with the three-dimensional support rib 202.

[0067] As mentioned above, the stereoscopic support rib 202 of the present application has a unique deformation trend after the optical cable is stressed, and the optical fiber groove 301 is arranged to reduce the extrusion of the sponge filling strip 300 on the optical fiber line 400 after the optical cable is stressed;

[0068] The outermost optical fiber line 400 of the several optical fiber lines 400 arranged along the shape of the optical fiber groove 301 is replaced by a reinforcing member 500;

[0069] The reinforcing member 500 is arranged according to the needs, and the reinforcing member 500 used is a light and high-strength wire reinforcing member 500;

[0070] Since the deformation trends of the various parts of the optical fiber groove 301 are different, the stresses on the optical fiber lines 400 arranged therein are uneven, and the outermost optical fiber line 400 of the optical fiber groove 301 along the radial direction is relatively the most stressed. After the optical fiber line 400 at this position is replaced by the reinforcing member 500, on the one hand, the deformation of the optical fiber groove 301 can be inhibited to form a deformation resistance, and on the other hand, the reinforcing member 500 can also serve as the main stressed member to improve the stress threshold of the overall optical cable.

[0071] Further,

[0072] The inner wall of the middle cavity 101 of the sheath structure 100 is also provided with a clamping structure 102 corresponding to the stereoscopic support rib 202;

[0073] The number of the clamping structure 102 is equivalent to the number of the stereoscopic support ribs 202 of the stereoscopic support member 200, and the clamping structure 102 is arranged corresponding to each stereoscopic support rib 202;

[0074] The clamping structure 102 is in the shape of a water droplet on the radial cross section of the optical cable, which is composed of a round head end 1021 and a tail end 1022. The round head end 1021 is tangent to the inner wall of the middle cavity 101 and the curved arc of the outer end head 2021 of the stereoscopic support rib 202 is fitted to the round head wall 10211, and the tail end 1022 is fixed to the inner wall of the middle cavity 101 along the radially outer tail wall 10221;

[0075] After the clamping structure 102 is arranged, the change trend of the middle cavity 101 after the optical cable is stressed is more stable, as Figure 4 The round head end 1021 of the clamping structure 102 pushes the stereoscopic support rib 202, which can more effectively guide the stereoscopic support rib 202 to form an S-shaped deformation trend, that is, during the deformation of the sheath structure 100, the clamping structure 102 is slowly pressed radially, and the junction of the round head end 1021 of the clamping structure 102 and the inner wall of the middle cavity 101 actually forms an included angle, which has a similar "clamping" effect on the stereoscopic support rib 202 of the stereoscopic support member 200, avoiding the displacement of the stereoscopic support rib 202 to produce a more optimal S-shaped deformation effect, and strengthening the deformation buffer effect of the internal structure of the optical cable.

Claims

1. An optical cable characterized by, include: Sheath structure, three-dimensional support components, core tube, and optical fiber; The sheath structure has a central cavity at its axis; The three-dimensional support member is coaxially arranged with the sheath structure in the central cavity, and includes a central tube portion in the shape of a circular tube, and several three-dimensional support ribs distributed circumferentially on the outer wall of the central tube. The three-dimensional support rib is arranged radially along the optical cable. The inner end of the rib bends towards one side of the circumference and is tangentially fixed to the outer wall of the central tube. The outer end extends to the wall of the central cavity and bends towards the other side of the circumference opposite to the bending direction of the inner end, abutting against the inner wall of the central cavity, dividing the central cavity into several sub-cavity structures. Each sub-cavity is filled with a sponge filling strip. The sponge filling strip has an optical fiber groove for setting optical fiber lines.

2. The optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, At least three three-dimensional support ribs are provided.

3. The optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fiber optic groove is double-arc or S-shaped in the radial cross-section of the optical cable. It is divided into inner and outer sides along the radial direction. The outer side is close to the side where the outer end of the three-dimensional support rib is bent and arched. The outer side of the fiber optic groove forms a first arch with the three-dimensional support rib in the same direction of arching. The inner side of the fiber optic groove is close to the side where the inner end of the adjacent three-dimensional support rib is bent and arched. The inner side of the fiber optic groove forms a second arch with the adjacent three-dimensional support rib in the same direction of arching.

4. An optical cable according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, The optical fibers are arranged in the optical fiber slots.

5. An optical cable according to claim 4, characterized in that, The outermost fiber optic cable in the fiber optic slot is replaced by a reinforcing member.

6. An optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hollow structure inside the central tube is fitted with a core tube.

7. An optical cable according to claim 6, characterized in that, The core tube is a hollow elastic tube, and the hardness of the hollow elastic tube is less than that of the three-dimensional support.

8. An optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, A spring is installed inside the central tube.

9. An optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall of the cavity of the sheath structure is also provided with a snap-fit ​​structure corresponding to the three-dimensional support ribs; The number of snap-fit ​​structures is equivalent to the number of three-dimensional support ribs of the three-dimensional support component, and they are set in a corresponding manner to the three-dimensional support ribs.

10. An optical cable according to claim 9, characterized in that, The snap-fit ​​structure is teardrop-shaped in the radial cross-section of the optical cable, and it consists of a rounded end and a tail end; The round end of the snap-fit ​​structure is tangent to the inner wall of the central cavity, and the curved arc of the outer end of the three-dimensional support rib fits against the round end wall. The tail end of the snap-fit ​​structure is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the central cavity along the radially outer tail wall.

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